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Cardiff are celebrating an instant return to the Championship after results in the League One promotion race favoured the Welsh club, while Bromley have been promoted from League Two without playing.
After Bradford and Bolton were held to draws in Saturday’s early games, Cardiff needed more points from their game at Reading than Stockport could manage at Exeter. Cardiff did their part, winning 3-1, but Stockport were leading 3-2 in added time at St James Park. However, Jack Bycroft, the Exeter goalkeeper, went up for a corner and headed home in the sixth minute of added time.
Exeter’s manager, Matt Taylor, hailed Bycroft’s dramatic intervention, saying: “He committed to it, committed to the run and had the belief that the ball might be there and the moment it was, he committed to the header – and it was an excellent header as well.”
Lincoln’s title celebrations were put on ice, meanwhile, but a stoppage-time Rob Street equaliser earned the already-promoted Imps a 2-2 draw at Stevenage. They now need just one more point to be crowned champions but the reaction on the bench underlined how important the point was.
Ibrahim Cissoko scored a dramatic equaliser in the 11th minute of stoppage time as 10-man Bolton came from behind to snatch an unlikely 3-3 draw with playoff rivals Huddersfield, while Leo Farrell’s first goal for Barnsley rescued a point for his 10-man side deep into added time of a 2-2 draw against promotion-chasing Bradford on a day when the manager, Conor Hourihane, announced he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.
Plymouth kept their playoff hopes alive with a 3-1 win at struggling AFC Wimbledon. Alex Mitchell, Lorent Tolaj and Bim Pepple did the damage against the south London side at Plough Lane, where the hosts’ lone goal came via Alistair Smith.
Luton came from two goals down to draw 2-2 in a pulsating clash at Mansfield, and Blackpool all-but secured safety with a 1-0 win over Wycombe at Adams Park despite Hayden Coulson’s red card. Doncaster have survived after a comfortable 3-1 win at already-relegated Northampton as a result of second-half goals from Elliot Lee, Hakeeb Adelakun and George Broadbent, while Harry Gray’s fluke opener helped fire relegated Rotherham to a 2-0 win at Leyton Orient, who are winless in six games and still not safe from the drop themselves.
In League Two, Kabongo Tshimanga’s double earned Barnet a 2-1 victory at Notts County and sealed Bromley’s promotion to League One for the first time in their history – without the Ravens having to kick a ball.
MK Dons need one win to secure promotion after they eased to a comfortable 3-1 success at Crewe. Luke Butterfield netted a stoppage-time equaliser for Accrington to dent Swindon’s automatic promotion push after a 2-2 draw, Salford beat Oldham 2-1, Ryan Stirk grabbed a late equaliser for 10-man Chesterfield in their 1-1 draw at Fleetwood and Grimsby boosted their playoff hopes with a convincing 4-1 win at Gillingham.
Barrow were pushed deeper into relegation trouble with a 3-1 defeat at home to Walsall but Harrogate kept their survival hopes alive thanks to a dramatic late 1-0 victory over Colchester. Tranmere were beaten 2-1 by Bristol Rovers, Crawley were held to their first home goalless draw for three years in a stalemate with Shrewsbury, and Cheltenham recorded a narrow 1-0 victory at home to relegation-threatened Newport.
