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Hull City missed the chance to wrap up automatic promotion to the Premier League as they were beaten by a struggling Barnsley side who boosted their Championship survival hopes.

Victory for the Tykes was enough to lift them out of the relegation zone, while Hull will have to beat Cardiff in their final game to seal promotion.

Jacob Mellis fired Barnsley into an early lead with a sweet strike.

Chris O'Grady doubled their lead after 50 minutes with a low effort.

With Peterborough also winning it means Barnsley remain in the bottom three on goal difference. David Flitcroft's side must grab a point or win against Huddersfield to stand a chance of securing safety.

Steve Bruce's team have not scored in three matches now and only have a one-point advantage over third-placed Watford going into the final round of fixtures next Saturday.

The Tigers will need to defeat champions Cardiff at home to ensure their Premier League return after three seasons in the second tier.

Barnsley were handed the perfect start by former Chelsea player Mellis, who was played in by O'Grady inside the area before thumping the ball into the net off the underside of the crossbar.

The goal kicked Hull into life with Robbie Brady firing just wide before George Boyd's half-volley was well held by Tykes goalkeeper Luke Steele.

Five minutes after the restart the Tykes doubled their advantage. This time Chris Dagnall had the ball pinched from his feet by team-mate O'Grady, who drove a fierce low shot into the bottom corner.

Hull boss Bruce brought on striker Nick Proschwitz, who had a good chance but failed to connect with a header from six yards out.

McShane also went close in the closing stages with a header from a corner.

Hull manager Steve Bruce:

"The reason why we've got ourselves in this position is we've played badly before and responded.

"It's a big, huge week and I'm confident we'll respond in the right way.

"Thankfully, it's still in our hands but we certainly need to perform to a level which we haven't seen today."

Barnsley boss David Flitcroft on the result:

"It's massive, isn't it?

"I think the occasion - the last home game - again we're only two weeks away from getting crushed and in a lot of people's minds the season was over against Charlton.

"The courage, the bravery they've displayed; but also the quality was on show. That was evident today."