KEVIN PHILLIPS turned an impressive 31 goal season into an astounding 33 goal haul with a brilliant double which gave Sunderland the win they needed at Swindon - but it still wasn't enough to earn automatic promotion. They won, and in some style, but by the time Mark Walters grabbed a late consolation for Swindon, the Wearsiders knew that Middlesbrough had done enough to take second spot and that they would have to settle for the lottery of the play-offs. It was cruel on Peter Reid's side, who had lost just three of their last 35 games and collected 90 points. That's ten more than Barnsley gained last season and seven more than their own title-winning side in 1995-96. But they had started nervously, and could have been a goal down before hundreds of their 8,000-strong support had taken their seats, Walters curling over a trademark cross to give Steve Cowe a free header. But the striker somehow contrived to miss the ball completely. Philippe Cuervo was also allowed to get a shot on target before Sunderland came to life, Kevin Ball forcing a superb save from Fraser Digby with a left-foot volley. After 14 minutes, Walters repeated his party piece down the left flank, Cowe this time getting a header in, but straight at Lionel Perez. But the visitors had overcome their sticky start by now and took the lead through a tremendous finish from Phillips, the former Watford striker controlling Darren Holloway's cross on his chest before swivelling to volley past the helpless Digby who had just been named Swindon's Player of the Year. He justified the accolade shortly after when he turned Daniele Dichio's header around the post. Alan McDonald was then the Swindon hero, blocking Michael Ball's goal-bound shot. Walters went agonisingly close to reducing the deficit a minute after the break, but his free-kick was kept out by a combination of post and Perez. Minutes later, Phillips seemed to have claimed his hat-trick, but his 55th-minute strike was ruled out for offside. News of Boro's four-goal, second-half burst reached the Sunderland faithful and presumably the players, as the rest of the game was mainly played in an eerie silence as the play-offs loomed. Walters finally earned the reward his individual performance deserved on 87 minutes, curling a superb left-foot shot past Perez, but Sunderland held on for victory and a meeting with Sheffield United for the prize of a Wembley berth. SWINDON: Digby, Kerslake, Davis, McDonald, Bullock (Watson 87), Borrows, Walters, Cuervo (Hay 75), Onuora, Cowe, Robinson. Subs Not Used: Taylor. Booked: Walters, Cuervo, Onuora. SUNDERLAND: Perez, Holloway, Makin, Clark, Craddock, Williams, Summerbee, Ball, Dichio (Bridges 77), Phillips, Johnston. Subs Not Used: Rae, Ord. Booked: Holloway, Ball. Att: 14,868 Ref: M E Pierce (Portsmouth).

BLUES MISS OUT BY ONE GOAL Birmingham 0 Charlton 0   IF ONLY it had been 1-0. Any win would have been enough for Birmingham to beat Sheffield United to the final play-off spot. Instead, while the Blades look forward to a meeting with Sunderland next week, the Blues can only look to another year playing the likes of Bury and Swindon. Birmingham, who completed the season with an unbeaten run of eight games, did everything but score the vital goal which would have given them a lifeline to the Premiership. They were repeatedly foiled in this emotionally-charged game by a brilliant display from Charlton goalkeeper Sasa Ilic. The pressure on both teams was intense, with the visitors nursing an outside chance of claiming an automatic promotion place, but it was Birmingham who were always the more positive in attack. Charlton's Mark Bright wasted the first clear-cut opening when he misdirected his header from Shaun Newton's cross just wide of the upright. As the game settled down, though, Trevor Francis' men emerged as the more dangerous. But the Londoners had Ilic, and they were indebted to him for keeping them in the game. He made a brilliant save from a Peter Ndlovu header and then finger-tipped away a crashing drive from Martin O'Connor. A glancing header from Paul Furlong from Chris Marsden's free-kick beat the keeper but went agonisingly wide. Early in the second half, Ndlovu created another clear opening but the unlucky Furlong could only watch in disbelief as his header hit the post and bounced back into play. With the news that the Blades were trailing at Stockport, Birmingham intensified their bid to gain the vital goal they required but Ilic continued to deny them. Late in the game, the Charlton keeper pushed out another effort from Furlong and then, in a nail-biting finish, saved in quick succession from substitute Brian Hughes and the ever-dangerous Ndlovu. Charlton will now meet in-form Ipswich in the play-offs. BIRMINGHAM: Poole, Gill (Purse 65), Charlton, Bruce, Johnson, Marsden, McCarthy (Hughes 73), O'Connor, Adebola, Ndlovu, Furlong (Forster 80) CHARLTON: Ilic, Mills, Bowen, K. Jones, Rufus, Youds, Newton, Kinsella, Bright (Lisbie 71), Mendonca, Heaney (S Jones 59) Subs Not Used: Brown Booked: Rufus, Newton, Heaney, Kinsella Att: 25,877 Ref: R J Harris (Oxford)

DELIGHT FOLLOWS DEFEAT FOR NERVY BLADES Stockport County 1 Sheffield United 0		IPSWICH SEND OUT PLAY-OFF WARNING Ipswich Town 3 Crewe Alexandra 2
UNITED claimed the last play-off berth by a whisker, despite producing a nervous and distinctly uninspiring performance at Edgeley Park. Clearly the exertions of three games in eight days and a 59-game season have left them weary. The Blades settled better, knocking the ball around confidently, but it was Stockport who created the first chances, Chris Byrne almost opening the scoring when he drilled his shot just wide. Petr Katchouro then spurned a gilt-edged opportunity, firing wastefully wide when he was sent clear, and he was again involved eight minutes before the break when he attempted an acrobatic overhead kick but missed the ball completely. Dean Saunders was lurking at the far post but couldn't capitalise. A mammoth goalmouth scramble saw Brett Angell and Aaron Wilbraham both have efforts blocked on the line before the rattled Blades eventually hacked cleared. But the visitors' battle to hold on for a goalless draw ended on 61 minutes, when Kevin Cooper's speculative shot from the edge of the area nestled in the corner of the United net. As the final whistle was blown, Sheffield's players had to wait around to learn their fate, but then news filtered through that Birmingham could only draw with Charlton and the celebrations began. The play-offs, and a two-leg tussle with Sunderland awaits… STOCKPORT: Nixon, Connelly, Searle, Byrne, Flynn, McIntosh, Phillips, Wallwork, Angell, Wilbraham (Grant 69), Cooper (Woodthorpe 83). Subs Not Used: Dinning. Booked: McIntosh, Cooper. SHEFFIELD UTD: Tracey, Short, Quinn, Wilder, Sandford, Holdsworth, Saunders, Marker (Morris 52), Devlin, Hamilton, Katchouro (Taylor 63). Subs Not Used: O'Connor. Booked: Marker, Devlin. Att: 9,683 Ref: C R Wilkes (Gloucester).		CHARLTON should be very, very wary of play-off opponents Ipswich, because the First Division's in-form side have completed a run of just one defeat in 22 games since Boxing Day. There was a carnival atmosphere at Portman Road for a match that meant very little, and it took Ipswich 33 minutes to make the breakthrough. Jamie Clapham headed into the penalty area, the ball bounced over Lee Unsworth and fell kindly for David Johnson to fire home his 30th goal of the season succeeding where he had failed earlier, when he had rattled the crossbar from eight yards. Crewe played some tidy passing football and drew level seven minutes later when Kenny Lunt crossed from the left for Peter Smith to slip his shot home. Just after the break, Town's Alex Mathie provided Kieron Dyer with a glorious through-pass but he was pushed off the ball by Seth Johnson before he could shoot. Dyer elected to take the penalty kick himself but fired wide. Two goals in three minutes would leave Crewe with a mountain to climb, however. Mick Stockwell scored with a low shot at the far post before Mathie cut in from the right and beat Ademola Bankole with an angled drive. On the hour, Steve Garvey revived Crewe with a sizzling right-footer from 35 yards, but there was no real urgency to push for the equaliser. IPSWICH: Wright, Stockwell (Uhlenbeek 65), Taricco (Sonner 65), Dyer, Venus, Cundy, Clapham, Holland, Johnson, Mathie (Scowcroft 84), Petta. CREWE: Bankole, Bignot (D. Wright 77), S Smith, Unsworth, Foran (J. Wright 77), Charnock, Garvey, Johnson, Anthrobus, P Smith (Rivers 61), Lunt. Att: 19,105 Ref: R D Furnandiz (Doncaster).

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