Bolton warmed up for the Sky Bet League One play-offs with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.

On-loan Manchester United striker Shola Shoretire put Bolton in front in the 24th minute, tapping in a goalbound effort from Gethin Jones – who soon limped off.

Things went from bad to worse four minutes later for Bolton as Luca Hoole nodded in the equaliser after Sam Finley’s cross cannoned off the woodwork and then Josh Coburn’s header crashed off the crossbar.

Wanderers boss Ian Evatt’s injury worries deepened after the break as Shoretire hobbled off but replacement Daniel Nlundulu eased those concerns as the Southampton loanee restored the visitors’ lead with 20 minutes remaining with a 20-yard strike.

Aaron Morley doubled Bolton’s advantage in the 78th minute with a long-range effort before Rovers substitute John Marquis slotted home from close range with five minutes remaining.

It set up a tense finale and the hosts came close to earning a point when Scott Sinclair’s stoppage-time strike hit the bar.

Accrington’s relegation to League Two was mathematically confirmed despite a 2-1 comeback victory at Oxford.

John Coleman’s team needed to win and overturn an improbable 16-goal difference to have a chance of staying up but Cambridge’s win over Forest Green sealed their fate in any case.

Oxford went ahead in the eighth minute when Billy Bodin received Tyler Goodrham’s pass, burst through the inside left channel and hammered a shot past goalkeeper Lukas Jensen.

Korede Adedoyin equalised for Stanley with a brilliant individual goal in the 64th minute, ghosting past two opponents in midfield and firing home from 25 yards, moments after coming on as a sub.

Aaron Pressley headed in Shaun Whalley’s right-wing cross five minutes from time for Accrington’s winner.

The U’s, who only secured their safety last week, cut through the visitors’ defence several times only to be let down by poor finishing.

Marcus Browne could not beat Jensen, who also turned away Kyle Joseph’s drive, while Elliott Moore directed a free header over at a corner and Joseph blazed over.

A goalless draw at Burton was not enough for MK Dons as they suffered final day heartbreak and relegation to Sky Bet League Two.

Winless in seven games prior to the final day of the League One campaign, the Dons knew that victory would be enough to keep them up.

However, the 0-0 draw – combined with Cambridge’s home win over Forest Green – was not enough to save them.

It was not for the want of trying as Mark Jackson’s side peppered the Burton goal throughout but a lack of composure and an inspired display from keeper Craig MacGillivray kept them out.

The visitors had the better early chances in a nervy first half. Several efforts went wastefully high or wide, with Paris Maghoma and Conor Grant failing to hit the target.

Jonathan Leko finally got an effort on goal but was denied by the outstretched leg of MacGillivray, who then pulled off an excellent save to keep out Sullay Kaikai’s curling effort.

John Brayford and Mark Helm both fired straight at goalkeeper Jamie Cumming as the hosts sought the breakthrough.

In a tense second half Zac Ashworth made a crucial block to deny Leko as time ticked away for the Dons, before substitute Dawson Devoy saw his shot thump the post.

The visitors threw everything at Burton late on and came close in a goalmouth scramble near the end.

However, they could not find a way through a resilient back line and drop to League Two.

Cambridge beat Forest Green 2-0 on the final day of the League One season to complete a remarkable escape from relegation.

The U’s were seven points from safety going into the final nine games of the campaign but their win over Rovers, coupled with MK Dons and Morecambe dropping points, means Mark Bonner’s side stay up.

They had fallen into the drop zone on January 14 and climbed out of it only on the final day thanks to goals from Harrison Dunk and Sam Smith.

Both goals came in the first half, with Cambridge taking the lead after 25 minutes when Conor McGrandles’ corner was scrambled home by Dunk, and it was 2-0 eight minutes before half-time.

Jack Lankester helped the ball on to Smith, who fired a superb volley in off the far post.

Rock-bottom Forest Green did threaten, with Dominic Bernard heading against the bar from close range, and Lankester almost headed a corner into his own net soon after the break.

The remainder of the game petered out into a non-event, with attentions turned to the outcome of scores elsewhere as Cambridge secured a third season in the third tier.

Freddie Ladapo scored Ipswich’s 100th goal in League One this season but a double from ex-Tractor Boys youngster Jack Marriott saw Fleetwood hold the already-promoted visitors to a 2-2 draw.

The result coupled with Plymouth’s victory at Port Vale ensured the West Country side denied their Suffolk rivals for the third-tier title.

Ladapo’s 21st goal of the campaign gave Kieran McKenna’s men a 50th-minute lead with a stunning right-foot shot which went in via the crossbar.

Ipswich, who finished the season unbeaten in 19 league games, had previously only conceded twice in 15 games.

But Marriott, having began a much-travelled career at Portman Road, breached the mean defence twice in 12 minutes to put the undefeated record in danger.

Ipswich trailed for just four minutes until substitute Marcus Harness rifled in an equaliser to beat the club’s total of 100 achieved in 1960/61 under Sir Alf Ramsey.

But a frustrating afternoon saw Town reduced to 10 men for the final four minutes of stoppage time with substitute Harry Clarke booked twice in seven minutes late on.

Derby missed out on a League One play-off place following a crushing 1-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.

Captain Curtis Davies’ 41st-minute red card that led to Michael Smith’s match-winning penalty meant the Rams were dislodged from sixth place by Peterborough, who beat Barnsley 2-0.

The Owls, who were already guaranteed to finish third in the table and will meet Posh in the play-offs, ended the regular season unbeaten in 23 home games – the club’s longest sequence since January 1981.

Following a cagey start to the contest David McGoldrick’s fierce 20-yard drive was turned behind by Wednesday goalkeeper Cameron Dawson.

The hosts did not threaten until midway through the first period and, even then, skipper Barry Bannan’s ambitious long-range effort sailed over former Hillsborough team-mate Joe Wildsmith’s crossbar.

But Derby went on to press the self-destruct button on the stroke of half-time. Davies under-hit a back pass to Wildsmith and the keeper could only clear as far as Johnson, who Davies fouled to give away a penalty and earn a red card.

Smith confidently went on to claim his 20th goal of the season by sending Wildsmith the wrong way from the spot.

A frantic end to the first half might have seen McGoldrick level when his deft chip was clawed over the crossbar by Dawson.

Will Vaulks went close to doubling the lead in the second half when he smashed an edge-of-the-box strike against the bar before his follow-up was blocked by Craig Forsyth.

Bannan also fired narrowly wide from distance but the 10 men went close to equalising just before the hour mark when Max Bird’s scuffed shot beat Dawson but was kicked off the line by Aden Flint.

McGoldrick warmed Dawson’s hands from long range late on, but Paul Warne’s men could not force the equaliser that would have secured a top-six spot.

Goals from Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Taylor helped Peterborough clinch the final play-off position with a 2-0 Sky Bet League One win at Barnsley.

Darren Ferguson’s side will face Sheffield Wednesday in the play-off semi-finals, with Barnsley facing Bolton.

Posh took the lead inside six minutes at Oakwell through main man Clarke-Harris. Ephron Mason-Clark’s ball from the left found the club’s top scorer, who fired home from inside the box.

James Norwood thought he had equalised in the 15th minute but the linesman had raised his flag for offside.

The Reds came close again on the hour mark when Luca Connell’s corner was headed narrowly wide by Liam Kitching.

Peterborough’s Taylor had a brace of chances five minutes later to double his side’s lead but could not get the better of goalkeeper Harry Isted.

Visiting keeper Will Norris was called into action in the 69th minute when Josh Benson’s cross found the head of substitute Slobodan Tedic, whose effort was tipped around the post.

Peterborough doubled their lead in the 76th minute when Taylor headed home from Harrison Burrows’ corner – and when news of Derby’s loss at Hillsborough was confirmed, the away fans at Oakwell could look forward to play-off action.

Alfie May’s late strike earned Cheltenham a 2-2 home draw against Charlton in an entertaining season finale.

The Addicks led through Scott Fraser’s first-half strike, but Aidan Keena levelled for the Robins early in the second period.

Charlton re-took the lead when substitute Jack Payne struck with seven minutes left, but May’s 20th League One goal of the season sealed a point for the Robins.

Cheltenham started well, but Charlton created the better openings in the first half.

Mandela Egbo was denied by Luke Southwood’s near-post save and Tyreece Campbell headed wide from a good position.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi then saw an effort blocked by Caleb Taylor as Charlton continued to press, and they eventually found the breakthrough in the 34th minute.

Campbell’s strike was deflected into the path of Fraser, who rounded Southwood and tapped into the empty net.

Rak-Sakyi nearly made it 2-0 before half-time, but Southwood managed to smother at his feet.

Cheltenham levelled four minutes into the second half when May’s drive was parried by Ashley Maynard-Brewer and Keena followed up to score.

Southwood saved well from Campbell and Fraser as Charlton looked to reclaim the lead before Ryan Broom and May went close for Cheltenham.

Payne capitalised on a defensive error to make it 2-1 to the visitors in the 83rd minute, but May buried a left-footed shot inside the bottom-right corner to deny Charlton a first win over Cheltenham.

Plymouth clinched the League One title on the final day with a 3-1 victory at Port Vale.

The home side opened the scoring after just three minutes with a perfect through ball beyond the defence finding its way to James Plant, who slotted home.

Despite going behind, Plymouth did not panic and eventually forced an equaliser in the 34th minute when a loose ball in the box fell to Adam Randell, who made no mistake on the half-volley.

The momentum led to another four minutes later with a blistering run down the line from Bali Mumba eventually leading to a cross which Joe Edwards was on the end of.

Argyle were determined to add to their tally after the break and scored a third after just over an hour as a Finn Azaz shot from just outside the 18-yard box was too good for Aidan Stone to stop.

The full-time whistle prompted huge celebrations from the 3,926 away support.

Roberto De Zerbi believes Brighton fully merit a place in Europe next season as they prepare to continue their quest with a “tough, tough game” against relegation-threatened Everton.

Memorable back-to-back Premier League victories over Wolves and Manchester United have boosted the south-coast club’s bid to qualify for a maiden continental campaign.

The high-flying Seagulls are vying with Liverpool, Aston Villa and Tottenham for a top-seven spot and have games in hand on each of their rivals.

De Zerbi urged his in-form players to remain focused on executing his possession-based game plan and not become preoccupied by results or the league table.

“It will be a very tough, tough game because they are a strong team,” the Italian said of the Toffees.

“But we want to achieve our target and I think it’s clear for everybody we are fighting against big teams – Tottenham, Aston Villa, Liverpool – for Europe.

“And at the moment, I think we are deserving to reach the best position.

“We have to think not of the results, we have to be focused only on our style and quality of play.

“We have to be focused only on to enjoy and to show our quality because we are not used to playing for this target.”

Brighton cantered to a 4-1 win at Goodison Park in early January.

Frank Lampard was sacked by Everton less than three weeks later and replaced by Sean Dyche.

Although the Toffees have won just one of their last 11 top-flight fixtures, De Zerbi is braced for a stern test as sides at the bottom scrap for survival with time running out.

“It’s a totally different situation,” he replied when asked about the resounding success on Merseyside.

“When we won in Everton, it was a different team.

“I think when there are not many games (remaining) in the last part of the season, the games are always more difficult.”

Brighton enjoyed a record-breaking 6-0 thrashing of Wolves last weekend before the euphoria extended to Thursday evening’s last-gasp 1-0 triumph over United.

De Zerbi wants Seagulls fans to once again act as a 12th man by creating another raucous Amex Stadium atmosphere.

“It’s fantastic, my players feel it’s different to play at home,” he said.

“Now there is an enthusiasm, there is an incredible energy and we are playing with 12 players.”

Hibernian manager Lee Johnson hailed Elie Youan’s work-rate in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over St Mirren, although he admitted the unpredictable forward can leave him tearing his hair out in frustration at times.

The 24-year-old – on loan from Swiss side St Gallen – scored his seventh goal of the season after just four minutes and had supporters in raptures with his willingness to track back and make tackles.

“We expect that from our wingers,” said Johnson. “You’ve got to work hard. I’m pretty critical when they don’t, so when they do it’s fantastic.

“We call it (being) a ball thief when they nick it on the way back in. Elie’s earned his rest over the weekend because of the physical effort he put in, and that’s what Elie has got to do.

“He can frustrate the life out of us at times – I’m sure he even frustrates you guys (reporters), who are impartial – but he’s also got that real threat about him and can peg a team back and he can run all day.

“He’s still young and he’s got quite unique attributes so we just need to keep developing him.”

Hibs are keen to sign Youan permanently, and Johnson admits if the attacker was able to hit his best form consistently, he would be out of their reach.

“If he put it all together we wouldn’t have him,” he smiled. “That’s what we’ve got to try and do before we sell him!

“It’s difficult for me to talk about his contract but we do have an option to buy. Every negotiation is different. Some are done in advance and then put in a drawer, and some still need to be done. Obviously that’s not my bag, that’s for the CEO to deal with.”

Will Fish scored Hibs’ second before Alex Greive hit back for the Buddies who were unable to force an equaliser despite piling on the pressure in the closing stages.

The defeat saw Saints slip three points behind the fifth-placed Hibees in the battle for European places. Stephen Robinson’s men host fourth-placed Hearts next Saturday.

Robinson of his team’s Euro prospects: “They aren’t as good as they were before the game. You can pull that back very quickly, there are 12 points still to play for.

“We’ve got Hearts at home next week and we’ve been very good at home. We need to press more aggressively than we did in the first 20 minutes (against Hibs) and hope and pray we don’t make individual errors.”

Steve Borthwick has returned to Leicester to recruit yet another member of his England staff with Tom Harrison to join as scrum coach ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

Harrison will join on June 1 to replace the Montpellier-bound Richard Cockerill and follows Richard Wigglesworth, Aled Walters, Kevin Sinfield and Borthwick himself in leaving Leicester for England.

The RFU announced in February that Wigglesworth and Walters would join at the end of the Gallagher Premiership season, and Harrison’s arrival was confirmed on Sunday as Borthwick finalised his coaching staff for the World Cup.

Wigglesworth will lead the attack coaching and kicking strategy while Sinfield will continue as defence coach. England men’s sevens head coach Tony Roques will work as contact and skills coach during training camps, while Walters will be the strength and conditioning coach.

Harrison is the Tigers’ assistant coach, leading on scrum coaching, and was part of the team that won the Premiership title in 2022.

“Tom is an excellent coach and will have a real impact in area that will be fundamental to us as a team,” Borthwick said.

“Leicester’s scrum is renowned across Europe and Tom has played a leading role in that success. I have full confidence in him and I am very happy that he will be joining England.”

Leicester chief executive Andrea Pinchon wished Harrison well in his new role while acknowledging the continuing challenge the Tigers have faced considering the number of staff that have left for England.

“Since coming into Leicester Tigers, Tom has been an exceptional contributor to the club on and off the field,” Pinchen said. “While obviously disappointed to be losing him at the end of the season, we wish him all the very best for this next chapter in his career.

“Tom is a great reflection of our club’s ability to produce coaches as well as players through the pathway programme at Leicester Tigers and while it has been another challenge for us this year, with coaches being poached by the national side, we continue to see it as a badge of honour for the level at which we are viewed within the game.”

Roques will again lend his expertise during the build-up to the summer, having previously worked with the England squad as part of the preparations for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Borthwick added: “As a group, we know each other well and we know the areas we will focus on to continue developing and building this team and be the best prepared team that we can be.

“We know this World Cup will be highly competitive, but we are genuinely excited by what this group of coaches and players can achieve in France.”

England are due to hold training camps in mid-June before taking part in a Summer Series in August with fixtures home and away against Wales, a trip to Dublin to face Ireland and a clash with Fiji at Twickenham.

The Pool D World Cup campaign then begins against Argentina in Marseille on September 9.

Wolves captain Ruben Neves admits only a catastrophe can send them down now.

Toti Gomes’ early header earned a 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday – a fourth straight home victory – and moved Julen Lopetegui’s men onto 40 points.

They are 13th, 10 points clear of the Premier League’s bottom three, and depending on other results could be mathematically safe by Monday night.

It comes after Wolves were bottom at Christmas and Neves knows their job is virtually done.

He told the club’s official site: “It’s not a secret for anyone, with 40 points we are pretty much there. A catastrophe needs to happen. It was really important for us and we can breathe a bit better now.

“It’s a big relief to come out of this fight and to enjoy the three games left in the league. We knew if we won this game, we’d be really close to our goal. It’s really hard to go down on 40 points.

“We had a bad start and changed coach, then the World Cup and we changed coach again.

“A lot of injuries, a lot of players out, but we wanted to achieve our main goal.”

Villa’s European hopes took a hit to keep them eighth and a point behind Brighton, having played three more games.

They host the Seagulls on the final day of the season and also face Tottenham and Liverpool, the other two sides immediately above them before the end of the campaign.

Successive 1-0 defeats could prove fatal in their quest to return to Europe for the first time since 2010-11 and midfielder John McGinn revealed his frustrations.

“We lost a goal from a set-piece, which is never nice, and you give yourselves a tougher task. We created a lot of chances to go and equalise and get more from the game,” he told the club’s official site.

“It’s definitely frustrating. There are a lot of things we could have done better, but overall, we controlled a lot of it.

“We’ve got to be a lot smarter in the final areas with our decision-making like we have been over the last few months.

“As much as when we were winning we weren’t getting carried away, it’s important we don’t let two defeats hamper what could be an exciting end to the season.

“We’ve made it extremely difficult for ourselves now but the challenge is still there for us. We’ll be aiming for three wins in the last three games.”