Huddersfield Town 1-0 Sheffield United: Danny Ward goal keeps Terriers up & sends Reading down
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Five wins from their past eight matches secured Huddersfield's survival with a game to spare
Huddersfield Town beat promoted Sheffield United to secure their Championship status and relegate Reading in the process.
The Terriers won it thanks to a thumping finish from forward Danny Ward from 25 yards out after the break.
A point would have been enough to see Neil Warnock's side confirm their second-tier survival and they are now six points ahead of the Royals with just one game to play.
Town will close out the season with a home game against Reading in a match that had looked like a possible relegation shootout but will instead be a dead rubber.
The Terriers were seven points adrift of safety at the start of March but a run of just two defeats in their past 11 matches and Reading's six-point deduction for breaching an agreed business plan has seen them pull off a remarkable escape from trouble.
The 74-year-old Warnock cut short a holiday in the USA to come out of retirement and take over at the John Smith's Stadium in February and the veteran boss is now likely to walk away with his mission accomplished.
Terriers scrap to survival after turbulent season
It has been a tough campaign on and off the pitch for the West Yorkshire side, who were beaten in last season's Championship play-off final by Nottingham Forest.
Influential Spanish head coach Carlos Corberan opted to leave the club out of the blue just over three weeks before the start of the season and first-team coach Danny Schofield was promoted behind him.
However, he won just one of his nine games in charge and was sacked in September to be replaced by Scottish coach Mark Fotheringham.
The former Hertha Berlin assistant was unable to inspire a turnaround in fortunes and was relieved of his duties in February.
Defeat at fellow strugglers Wigan under caretaker Narcis Pelach followed and the Terriers slipped to second bottom of the table.
Something drastic was required and Warnock was tempted out of retirement and away from his holiday to try to rescue them.
He led them to a 2-1 win over Birmingham in his first match but two subsequent 4-0 defeats left the Terriers seven points adrift of safety and seemingly doomed to a return to League One after 11 years away.
Neil Warnock and assistant Ronnie Jepson, who was part of the Huddersfield team Warnock led to promotion to the second tier in 1995, celebrate staying up
But the veteran manager then masterminded wins over Millwall, Middlesbrough, Watford and Cardiff to leave them needing just a single point from their final two matches.
Off the pitch, American businessman Kevin M Nagle agreed a takeover of the club in March and there will now be renewed hope of a period of stability for a side who have spent the past 14 seasons either fighting for promotion or trying to avoid relegation.
Warnock has reiterated he is not interested in taking the job on a permanent basis but has offered to assist the club in their search for a fourth manager in under 12 months.
Thanks to his efforts, that successor will take over a team in the second tier.
Warnock savours 'amazing adventure'
Warnock said before Thursday's game that keeping Town up this season would rank as his biggest achievement in management.
He has won eight promotions, including three to the Premier League, across more than 1,600 games in the dugout and, along with assistant Ronnie Jepson, was given a guard of honour by Town players at the end of the game.
"I'll never forget it for the rest of my life. I've never had a guard of honour in my life," he told BBC Radio Leeds.
"They know I have worked my socks off to get the best out of them and they've loved every minute.
"The players believe in me and I can't be prouder tonight. The reception was fantastic."
Danny Ward's fifth goal of the season was enough to win the match for Huddersfield
It was apt that the game's only goal was scored by a player who Warnock had worked with at two of his former clubs.
Ward played under Warnock for both Rotherham and Cardiff and the manager said he had spoken to him before taking the Huddersfield job in February.
"It couldn't work out any better for me because Danny Ward is one of the best players I've had in my career," he said.
"I've had him three times now and I called him before I took the job and said I wouldn't take it if he wasn't going to be fit. He has never let me down and I am delighted for him. He does everything I ask of him."
Warnock intimated last month that he would return to retirement at the end of the season but could be tempted out again in February or March next year.
He conceded that the stresses of the job take a toll but concluded that this has been "an amazing adventure".
Blades beaten but their battle won
Sheffield United had completed their own mission last week when they beat West Brom 2-0 to win promotion back to the Premier League after two seasons away.
They followed that up with a thumping 4-1 win over Preston on Saturday to show they were not going to let up in their final three matches.
Daniel Jebbison missed a great chance to give them an early lead when he shot straight at Lee Nicholls in the Town goal after being played in.
The Blades enjoyed the lion's share of possession and chances in the first half but Huddersfield stepped things up after the break and were rewarded for their renewed efforts when Ward's instinctive shot beat Wes Foderingham.
Buoyed by the goal, the Terriers went in search of a match-clinching second but David Kasumu fired wide from a good position.
United never really looked like finding an equaliser and they will now look to end their season on a winning note when they travel to Birmingham on Monday.
Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"We passed the ball well, but the moment that Huddersfield played with the edge they needed to play with, to get what they're fighting for, you could see the difference then in the two teams and that defined the result.
"We had eight games in April and we've been two games a week now since the international break, virtually all season, so we've done extremely well to win all those games. Tonight was a game too far, but I think everyone understands the reason for it.
"It doesn't make it feel any better. Sit back, calm down and I probably should be thinking about promotion and be pleased with that, but right now I'm just thinking about that second 45."