Town will be playing League 1 football again next year after going down to a 1-0 defeat to Millwall at Wembley on Saturday afternoon.

It was far from a poor performance from Danny Wilson's men, but Kenny Jackett's notoriously stout and well organised side proved too difficult to break down.

Both sides looked understandably nervy in the opening period of the game, with the odd pass and first touch going astray.

However it was Millwall who looked to have settled into the occasion quicker, and they carved out the only chance clear cut chance of the opening 20 minutes, when a neat Danny Schofield through ball set Steve Morison away, but the former Stevenage man's delicate chip looped narrowly over the bar.

After a lengthy period of Lions possession, Town then began to find their feet as the sun finally burst through the clouds, and they looked increasingly confident on the ball.

It was still the Lions who looked the most threatening going forward however, and they thought they'd gone in front when a Shaun Batt cross was nodded into his own net by Kevin Amankwaah, but the replays showed that the Ipswich Town loanee Liam Trotter was a yard offside when pressuring Amankwaah into the mistake, and Town fans breathed again.

They were almost celebrating a few moments later, as Alan Sheehan found himself in space 25 yards from goal and let fly with a shot that passed narrowly over David Forde's crossbar.

Millwall then took what was a deserved lead after 40 minutes, as a Scott Barron corner found its way into the six-yard box, where Lions skipper Paul Robinson was on hand to poke it past David Lucas into the net.

It was a case of all hands to the pump for Town for the remainder of the half as they tried desperately to avoid going into the break two adrift, and they will have been relieved to have done just that.

Town made a bright start to the second period, buoyed by what must have been a forceful team talk from Danny Wilson.

Simon Ferry, Charlie Austin and Danny Ward all made encouraging breaks into the Millwall penalty box, but for all Town's encouraging build up play, Forde remained largely untested in the Lions goal.

In fact, it was David Lucas who was busiest in the early exchanges of the second half, as he was called into action twice in quick succession to deny both Danny Schofield and Neil Harris who fired awkward bouncing shots goal wards.

As the game moved into its final 30 minutes, both sides looked increasingly desperate to snatch a goal which would alter the match hugely.

Then came the moment that Town fans were waiting for: a mistake from Lions goal scorer Paul Robinson let Charlie Austin in one-on-one with Forde, but the ball took a wicked bobble just as Austin struck it, and the shot flew well wide of the post.

Danny Wilson moved to a 4-3-3 formation soon after with Danny Ward moving alongside Austin and Paynter up front, and Town were almost caught out as a swift break from the Lions ended in a Neil Harris effort drifting just wide.

Town continued to strive for the equaliser but still found little or no way into the Millwall box, and it was still the Lions who looked most threatening on the break, with long balls and corners testing Town's resolve.

The introduction of Vincent Pericard gave Town a different dimension, but for all their efforts as the game wore on, they looked decreasingly likely to get back into the game against a stubborn Millwall unit.

And despite a last minute shot from Austin that trickled narrowly wide, Millwall held out to claim victory and promotion.

It was tough on Danny Wilson's side who have performed so brilliantly all year, but the Lions proved too strong in a scrappy affair in the rain at Wembley.