It was an action packed final day, but City couldn’t quite fight back to earn a late draw against Mansfield Town.
Brian Barry-Murphy made one change to the side which beat Northampton Town, with Yousef Salech replacing Callum Robinson.
It's fair to say that the home side started the quicker of the two teams. Harry Tyrer had already denied Jon Russell at point blank range before Ryan Sweeney put Mansfield ahead after two minutes with a close range header.
The Bluebirds grew into the match after falling behind, with Chris Willock and David Turnbull seeing efforts go off target. The hosts went further ahead 23 minutes in though, as a lapse of concentration in our half saw Lucas Akins run clear and slot in.
Akins made City's day even more difficult three minutes later, with a powerful finish into the top corner for the Stags' third of the afternoon.
Ollie Tanner curled over just after the half hour mark as City looked to respond to the onslaught from the home team, but it was still 3-0 to the Stags going in at the interval.
The boss looked to his substitutes bench ten minutes into the second half, with Alex Robertson, Omari Kellyman and Isaak Davies introduced. Tanner swapped sides to the left after Davies came on, and this almost worked instantly when the winger crashed an effort off the crossbar.
City's luck in front of goal improved just after the hour mark as Davies fired low into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. However, any renewed optimism only lasted two minutes as the hosts regained their three goal advantage through Rhys Oates' breakaway.
This topsy turvy ten minutes continued when the Bluebirds pulled another goal back after 67 minutes. Kellyman’s shot from the edge of the box looked like a comfortable save for Liam Roberts, but the goalkeeper spilled it over the line.
It was one-way traffic until the game's seventh goal went in, and typically it went in at the other end of the pitch. City were caught on the counter, with substitute Oliver Irow scoring for the hosts.
This action packed final match had another goal with 86 minutes on the clock. Tanner struck the bar for a second time, with Ronan Kpakio there to tap in the rebound.
The final minutes of normal time saw a late City debut. 16-year-old midfielder Paul Moreno came on, replacing Rubin Colwill. 18-year-old defender Noah Williams had been introduced earlier in the game for his league debut.
Kellyman made it a nervy finish for the hosts with a late strike to reduce the deficit to just one, but the Bluebirds couldn’t find a late leveller.
For City, it’s the summer now, and the Championship beckons!
FINAL SCORE: MANSFIELD TOWN 5-4 CARDIFF CITY
Mansfield Town: L.Roberts, Knoyle, Bowery (McLaughlin 72'), Sweeney, Moriah-Welsh (Irow 76'), Reed (Taylor 84'), Hendry (Hartmann 84'), Evans, Russell, Oates (Gardner 76'), Akins. Subs Not Used: T.Roberts, Dwyer.
Cardiff City: Tyrer, Kpakio, Lawlor, Fish, Bagan (Williams 70'), Turnbull (Davies 57'), J.Colwill (Robertson 57'), R.Colwill (Moreno 88'), Tanner, Willock (Kellyman 57'), Salech. Subs Not Used: Turner, Tankiewicz.