Wolves miss the top six - Report and pictures

Wolves kept their part of the bargain with an untroubled victory as Derby County faltered - but they lost out on a play-off place as Brentford won.

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Nouha Dicko (20 and 56 minutes), Ethan Ebanks-Landell (70) and Bakary Sako on the stroke of full-time scored Wolves' goals.

Replies from Aiden O'Brien (58) and debutant Jamie Philpot (82) made things more tight than they might have been.

Derby, surprisingly, went down 3-0 at home to Reading to finish eighth, from being title favourites earlier in the campaign.

Brentford's 3-0 victory at home to relegated Wigan and Ipswich's 3-2 defeat at Blackburn saw Wolves miss out on goal difference, four below than Ipswich Town.

Dicko's brace took his tally to 14 in the league and 15 overall, the tally Sako ended on in the Championship, for what is expected to be his final appearance in gold and black.

Both players along with Richard Stearman were named as the three contenders for Player of the Year, which will be announced at the annual awards dinner at Telford International Centre on Wednesday.

Rajiv van La Parra for Jack Price was the one change boss Kenny Jackett made from last week's 1-0 win at Wigan.

Price dropped to the bench, where Kevin Doyle was in the 18 for the last time for a league game before his move to Colorado Rapids.

Goals: Dicko 20, 56, O'Brien 58, Ebanks-Landell 70, Philpot 82, Sako 90.

Wolves (4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 64 mins): Kuszczak, Iorfa, Ebanks-Landell, Stearman, Golbourne, Van La Parra (Price 64), Edwards, McDonald, Sako, Afobe, Dicko.

Substitutes not used: Flatt (GK) Doherty, Henry, Doyle, Jacobs, Hause.

Millwall (4-4-2): Forde, Dunne, Nelson, Beevers, Harding, Martin (Philpot 80, Pavey 89), Abdou, Powell (Cowan-Hall 72), Upson, Gregory, O'Brien.

Substitutes not used: Archer (GK), Cummings, Gueye, Thompson.

Referee: Mark Haywood (North Yorkshire)

Attendance: 24,480. [/breakout]

Wolves kicked off in front of a healthy Molineux crowd and created the first chance inside of the opening minute.

Sako broke and surged through the middle and picked out Benik Afobe in the inside left position.

The former Millwall loan striker produced a weak finish, though, with his left foot that was easily gathered by goalkeeper David Forde.

The home side failed to retain the momentum of that early attack, however, and it led to a rather flat rest of the first period.

News filtered through that Derby had fallen behind at home to Reading which lifted the crowd, but not so much the hosts.

Millwall threatened through centre-back Sid Nelson, who glanced well over from Lee Gregory's cross following a corner in the eighth minute.

Seconds later, the same Millwall defender made a superb sliding tackle in his own box to deny Afobe, who found himself clean through.

Soon after McDonald put Afobe through but Forde was out in a flash, coolly dispossessing him just outside the box.

A blocked clearance in the 15th minute gave Wolves a great chance after it fell to van La Parra to leave him in a one-on-one with Forde, who blocked his shot.

Five minutes later, Wolves were in front when Dicko's shot on the turn from six yards out found the corner of the net, after a fine run by Sako ended with a shot smothered by Forde.

After a quiet start to the second-half, Dicko made it 2-0 when he cut inside from the left, cut across two defenders and lashed it into the top corner of the net.

But the increased lead lasted just two minutes when O'Brien bundled home, after goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak failed to hold Jimmy Abdou's free kick.

Wolves brought on Price for van La Parra in the 64th minute which saw them switch to 4-2-3-1, with Afobe wide right and Edwards in an advanced role.

Ethan Ebanks Landell made it 3-1 when he stabbed home when Forde failed to deal with Sako's vicious free kick.

And although 80th-minute substitute Jamie Philpot reduced the arrears, Sako's tight-angled shot after a corner on the stroke of the end of normal time restored the two-goal cushion.

There was five minutes of time added one but it was too little, too late for Wolves and they will have to wait another season to challenge for promotion.

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