Middlesbrough suffered heartbreaking promotion failure after missing three chances to reach the Premier League in three weeks. Despite spending 35 of 46 matchdays in the Championship's top two, they fell short at every opportunity, culminating in a devastating injury-time defeat to Hull City in the play-off final.

The Teesside club's campaign was derailed by a late-season slump of just two wins in 10 games. After Southampton's expulsion from the play-offs due to the Spygate scandal gave them a reprieve, Boro couldn't capitalize, leaving their nine-year exile from the top flight intact.

Head coach Kim Hellberg expressed emptiness after the loss, calling it an emotional drain. Boro's wretched Wembley record now stands at six matches with five defeats, continuing a pattern of near misses that dates back to the 1996-97 season.