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.”

Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin insisted his side are still in a good position in their battle against the drop, despite his side’s 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

Saints’ captain Liam Gordon steered home just before half-time after United were unable to clear their lines and the visitors saw Charlie Mulgrew sent off in the second half as they failed to find a leveller.

The defeat ended a run of three successive cinch Premiership victories and Goodwin urged perspective as he praised the attitude of his side.

He said: “If we’d gone down without a fight then I would be very disappointed, but the character is there in the group.

“We are in a decent position if you consider where we were prior to the Hibs game. If I was sitting here still five points adrift, I’d be very concerned. But we’re not.

“We are still level on points with Kilmarnock, albeit Ross County have closed that gap.

“It looks like it will be between the three of us at the bottom and we have great belief in the group.”

St Johnstone manager Steven MacLean, meanwhile, played down the five point gap his side have opened up ahead of the teams below them as he praised the collective effort of his team.

MacLean, who earned a point against Hibs in his first game in interim charge, saw the Saints win at home for the first time since beating Rangers 2-1 in early November.

He said: “It’s massive but it’s only a cushion. I don’t look at other teams. People pointed out last week that teams had won under us but I’m only interested in our club and what we do.

“I think you can see that we’re improving and we’re getting better and if win our games then we’ll be fine.

“We don’t just defend as a back four. We defend from the front and also Liam Gordon has scored the goal so it’s a collective. We don’t work as individuals – we’ve got to be good as a group. I’m delighted for everybody.”

St Johnstone have another home match against Motherwell next week and MacLean – who is relishing his role as interim boss – hopes they can use Saturday’s result to build some momentum and go on a run of wins.

He added: “There’s improvement in this team. I think everybody can see that we’re getting there. We’re working hard in training. You can see slight changes that we’re making and hopefully they’re enjoying it as much as I am but I think we can get better too.

“I want to keep winning. I’m not just about one or two games. I want to go on a run and I want to make this team better like I know they can be.

“I want to concentrate on Motherwell next week. I’ll watch their games and we’ll work in training for Motherwell and try to win the game.”

Ruben Selles has told his Southampton side they must beat relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Monday.

Saints sit bottom of the Premier League table heading into the clash with Steve Cooper’s Forest who are also in the relegation zone.

And Selles wants his side to embrace the pressure of such a crucial game as they look to retain their top-flight status.

“I think we have been very realistic of our situation from the beginning and the players have also been realistic, they put their thought and honesty into us,” he said.

“It’s a must win, we know what sort of game it is. But again we talk always about habits and the habit for us is to play with that pressure on ourselves.

“Because in the last five games we talk about if we win one game then we’ll be back in the battle and we’re trying to do that with better performances and sometimes they are not that good and we need to do exactly the same in those terms.”

Victory in Monday’s clash would be a first for Southampton since March 4.

They trail 17th-placed Leeds by six points and face the prospect of playing in the Sky Bet Championship for the first time since 2012.

“We need to go into Monday night and know it’s an important game for us and go for it from the very beginning,” Selles added.

“This is the mentality and this is what I want the team to show every single game and that’s why we want to fight.

“This is the competitiveness of the Premier League we are still there. We didn’t have the best April but it is not only difficult for us, it is difficult for everybody.”

James Tarkowski has no regrets over his decision to join Everton last summer despite the threat of suffering a second successive relegation.

Tarkowski was Frank Lampard’s first summer signing last June, joining on a free transfer from Burnley where his final campaign ended with the Clarets dropping into the Championship.

Things have not gone to plan at Goodison Park – Lampard was sacked in January and Everton remain in deep trouble going into Monday’s trip to high-flying Brighton – while Burnley have bounced straight back to the Premier League, but Tarkowski insisted he would not change his decision.

“My focus is completely on Everton and I don’t regret joining this club, for sure,” he said in the Liverpool Echo.

Asked what lessons he could bring from his time battling the drop with Burnley, he added: “Not panicking too much and becoming too obsessed with other teams and what their results are and just trying to focus on us.

“I have said it for the last few weeks really – if we do our job, we haven’t got to concern ourselves with what other teams are doing. I don’t think we should be looking at other teams hoping they will do us a favour, if it happens that way, fair enough. But we have to focus on ourselves more than anything.”

After Lampard’s exit, Tarkowski found himself reunited with former Burnley boss Sean Dyche, sacked by the Clarets last April but brought in as Lampard’s replacement in January.

The centre-back said: “At Burnley… he had a team with quite a small budget and were expected to go down at the start of every season. He kept them in the league and he has a history of doing that.”

Everton will go into their final four fixtures without captain Seamus Coleman, who was injured in last Monday’s 2-2 draw at Leicester.

The 34-year-old’s injury is not as bad as first feared but is likely to have ended his campaign prematurely, a major blow to the club at a difficult time.

Even as Coleman was being carried off the pitch at the King Power, the full-back was trying to rally his team-mates.

“That tells you everything about Seamus,” Tarkowski said. “When I first turned to see it I thought he was shouting at the lad who tackled him, it was only when I heard our fans start to cheer that I realised what he was actually doing.

“I haven’t seen that before but it just epitomises what Seamus is like and his love for this club.

“Seamus is such a good leader and a good captain, he is a great talker in the dressing room, so he will be a big miss in that aspect. That puts a bit more demand on the other lads to start talking and taking that ownership.”

Crystal Palace have promised to issue a club ban to a spectator that was alleged to have racially abused Tottenham forward Son Heung-min during Saturday’s match.

Footage has circulated on social media of a man in the away end at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium allegedly making a racist gesture towards Son.

The incident occurred in the 89th minute of Spurs’ 1-0 win when South Korea captain Son was replaced by substitute Arnaut Danjuma but had to walk around the outside of the pitch and past the Palace travelling support.

A Palace statement said: “We are aware of a video circulating online (as well as reports made directly to us) regarding an individual in the away end at Spurs yesterday, appearing to make racist gestures towards Heung-min Son.

“Evidence has been shared with the police, and when he is identified, he will face a club ban. We will not tolerate such behaviour in our club.”

A Tottenham statement read: “We are aware of an allegation of racial abuse towards Heung-min Son during yesterday’s match.

“Discrimination of any kind is abhorrent and has no place in society, our game and at our club.

“We are working with Met Police and Crystal Palace to investigate and identify the individual involved.

“We will do everything in our powers to ensure that if found guilty, the individual will receive the strongest possible action – as was the case earlier this season when Son suffered similar racial abuse at Chelsea.”

Tottenham supporters’ group Spurs REACH, which stands for Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage, wrote on Twitter: “Why oh, who, oh why, do adults in this day and age think that this is an acceptable way to behave towards another human being?

“We sincerely hope that Crystal Palace Football Club identify and ban this individual for life!”

Son was also racially abused during a match between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in August.

Chelsea banned a season-ticket holder indefinitely after footage emerged on social media of a fan in the home end making a racist gesture towards Son in the 2-2 draw.

The Crown Prosecution Service in March issued the Chelsea supporter with an order banning him from attending live football matches for three years.

Crystal Palace have promised to issue a club ban to a spectator that was alleged to have racially abused Tottenham forward Son Heung-min during Saturday’s match.

Footage has circulated on social media of a man in the away end at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium allegedly making a racist gesture towards Son.

The incident occurred in the 89th minute of Spurs’ 1-0 win when South Korea captain Son was replaced by substitute Arnaut Danjuma but had to walk around the outside of the pitch and past the Palace travelling support.

A Palace statement said: “We are aware of a video circulating online (as well as reports made directly to us) regarding an individual in the away end at Spurs yesterday, appearing to make racist gestures towards Heung-min Son.

“Evidence has been shared with the police, and when he is identified, he will face a club ban. We will not tolerate such behaviour in our club.”

A Tottenham statement read: “We are aware of an allegation of racial abuse towards Heung-min Son during yesterday’s match.

“Discrimination of any kind is abhorrent and has no place in society, our game and at our club.

“We are working with Met Police and Crystal Palace to investigate and identify the individual involved.

“We will do everything in our powers to ensure that if found guilty, the individual will receive the strongest possible action – as was the case earlier this season when Son suffered similar racial abuse at Chelsea.”

Tottenham supporters’ group Spurs REACH, which stands for Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage, wrote on Twitter: “Why oh, who, oh why, do adults in this day and age think that this is an acceptable way to behave towards another human being?

“We sincerely hope that Crystal Palace Football Club identify and ban this individual for life!”

Son was also racially abused during a match between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in August.

Chelsea banned a season-ticket holder indefinitely after footage emerged on social media of a fan in the home end making a racist gesture towards Son in the 2-2 draw.

The Crown Prosecution Service in March issued the Chelsea supporter with an order banning him from attending live football matches for three years.

Tottenham have launched an investigation after it was alleged Son Heung-min was racially abused by a spectator during Saturday’s match with Crystal Palace.

Footage has circulated on social media of a man in the away end at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium allegedly making a racist gesture towards Son.

The alleged incident occurred in the 89th minute of Spurs’ 1-0 win when South Korea captain Son was replaced by substitute Arnaut Danjuma but had to walk around the outside of the pitch and past the Palace travelling support.

“We are aware of an allegation of racial abuse towards Heung-Min Son during yesterday’s match,” a Tottenham statement read.

“Discrimination of any kind is abhorrent and has no place in society, our game and at our club.

“We are working with Met Police and Crystal Palace to investigate and identify the individual involved.

“We will do everything in our powers to ensure that if found guilty, the individual will receive the strongest possible action – as was the case earlier this season when Son suffered similar racial abuse at Chelsea.”

The PA news agency has contacted Crystal Palace for comment.

Tottenham supporters’ group Spurs REACH, which stands for Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage, wrote on Twitter: “Why oh, who, oh why, do adults in this day and age think that this is an acceptable way to behave towards another human being?

“We sincerely hope that Crystal Palace Football Club identify and ban this individual for life!”

Son was also racially abused during a match between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in August.

Chelsea banned a season-ticket holder indefinitely after footage emerged on social media of a fan in the home end making a racist gesture towards the Spurs attacker in the 2-2 draw.

The Crown Prosecution Service in March issued the Chelsea supporter with an order banning him from attending live football matches for three years.