Cole struck in the 54th minute at the end of a swift counter-attack from the Tykes after Kacper Lopata headed away a Cheltenham corner.
It was four against one and John McAtee fed Nicky Cadden, who in turn set up Cole to slot past Luke Southwood.
Watters added the second in the second minute of time added on after Southwood blocked Aiden Marsh’s effort.
Barnsley had goalkeeper Liam Roberts to thank for being on level terms at half-time as Cheltenham attempted to end their long wait for a goal this season.
Roberts denied Rob Street at his near post in the 10th minute and made an even better save to turn Lewis Freestone’s header over six minutes later.
At the other end Jack Shepherd’s header hit a post and bounced into the arms of Southwood just before the break.
Cole opened the scoring before Nicky Cadden thumped an effort against a post on the hour.
Street forced Roberts into a one-handed save in the 61st minute and the Robins have now gone more than 10 hours without a goal, with Watters compounding their misery in the final moments.
Daniel Mandroiu left the hosts a man down 10 minutes into the second half after a rash challenge on Josh Gordon before Jack Burroughs’ own goal three minutes later sealed the Imps’ fate.
Maamria’s men are now six league games unbeaten after the Brewers’ hierarchy stuck by their man through a painful seven-game winless streak to start the season.
After Albion’s third successive win at Sincil Bank, Maamria said: “I’m thrilled. I thought the lads were terrific today to come to a place like this where they don’t lose many.
“We came here again, put in a brilliant performance, and got a good win. The only negative is we didn’t score more goals.
“We’ve got to keep improving all the time. We’ve got to stay grounded.
“I thought we were excellent in the first half. We controlled the ball and played how we wanted to play.
“The worst part of our performance was after we scored when they were down to 10 men.
“We started going long too often, almost as if we were too desperate to win the game. We ended up doing things that weren’t in the game management.
“We lacked that quality in the final third, and that’s something we need to work on. I said it after the Wigan game, when their man should have been sent off, that I was glad he wasn’t because it’s harder playing against 10 men sometimes.”
Mark Kennedy saw his misfiring side slip to successive league defeats as their current slump stretched to just one win from six.
On Mandroiu’s game-defining red card, he said: “There’s no dispute that it’s a red card. I can’t really argue with it and it changed the game.
“I can’t defend the goal because of that but there has to be a mentality, a toughness and a maturity after that happens.
“I’m 47 and played a lot of football and I thought to myself that we just needed to manage the game for the next five minutes, but we didn’t do that.
“He apologised to his team-mates. He’s a really good guy. What’s disappointing for me is I’ve had multiple conversations with Danny this week and what’s hard for me is to see him get a red card so quickly after those conversations because they’ve been hard conversations.
“It’s mind-boggling for me to understand. We’re here to educate and help him and not destroy his talent.
“Danny’s future is simple for me. He could be in the Championship or back in Ireland. If he changes his mentality and the structure to his game then he can go wherever he wants because he’s got exceptional talent.”
Bez Lubala grabbed two goals to turn the game in Albion’s favour by half-time after Antony Evans had nodded Rovers in front.
“That is a huge win for us,” Maamria said. “The more wins you have then the tougher they get. Although the scoreline is 4-1 it was a tough win when we weren’t at our best and that is the growth that the team has made in the last few weeks.
“When you produce results like that and you are at 70 per cent of your best then that is something the team can go forward with.”
With the game on a knife edge in the second half, Ryan Woods’ red card for Rovers handed Albion the initiative again with Joe Powell and Kwadwo Baah scoring spectacular late goals to seal an emphatic victory, but Maamria reserved praise for Lubala.
“Bez does so much work for the team, in terms of the press and dropping in to keep the shape of the team,” Maamria said. “I am so pleased for him today because he is a good finisher and he was clinical today. He had a chance for a hat-trick but was unselfish to set it up for someone else.”
Rovers boss Joey Barton felt his side did not get the rub of the green after going in front with the red card a turning point.
“It was a huge moment,” Barton said.
“We were trying to get back in the game at the start of the second half and I thought the lads came out really sharply. We had a couple of good crosses that somehow we didn’t manage to get on the end of.
“Sometimes it is one of those days. Their first two goals are both crosses that deflected between our players’ legs so you know you are maybe not getting the rub of the green and then the sending-off, for me, was needless.
“It didn’t need to happen and then the momentum that we have built up in the second half went out of our sails a bit and it gave Burton the impetus. Credit to them they have gone on to see the game out with two fantastic strikes.”
Everything looked good for Rovers early on after Evans gave his side the lead, but Barton’s men were unable to build on it.
“It’s disappointing,” he said. “You come away from home and make a fantastic start, get your noses in front and you expect to kick on from there. If I am honest, we didn’t.
“We fell into thinking that we can sit back on the 1-0 but credit to Burton, they got themselves back into it. We find ourselves 2-1 down and then the red card leaves us with a real mountain to climb.”
But it was Randell Williams’ first goal of the season that separated the teams after Wanderers failed to capitalise on a quickfire 2-0 lead.
Top scorer Sam Hoskins’ sixth goal of the season after 66 minutes gave the Cobblers an unexpected lifeline.
However, the Trotters stayed ahead, returning to winning ways after a shock 3-1 home defeat to Carlisle last time out.
Northern Ireland international Charles took only eight minutes to register his ninth of goal of the campaign after Williams’ shot came back off a post.
Williams had not scored since Valentine’s Day but arrowed in a right-footed effort to double Bolton’s lead eight minutes later.
Bolton’s biggest concern was complacency as skipper Ricardo Santos’s sloppy pass allowed Hoskins to test keeper Nathan Baxter.
And the result was back in the balance when the Cobblers’ captain headed in Manny Monthe’s cross for what ultimately proved just a consolation .
The Northern Ireland international scored his 21st league goal just four minutes after Nicky Cadden threatened to put Barnsley in the driving seat for Friday’s return at Oakwell.
The eventual winners will meet Sheffield Wednesday or Peterborough at Wembley for the right to join Plymouth and Ipswich in the Championship next season.
Unlike Posh’s 4-0 hammering of the Owls, this second semi-final – played in front of a crowd of 23,450 – was far cagier.
Barnsley finished one place and five points in front of their hosts after the regular season. But Wanderers enjoyed a more profitable end to the campaign and showed their resilience after falling behind.
The return of captain Mads Andersen after a two-game injury absence boosted Barnsley in this fourth and penultimate meeting between the teams this season.
The corresponding home league fixture ended in a sterile 0-0 draw, Barnsley won the FA Cup duel while Wanderers romped to a 3-0 win at Oakwell on January 2.
Barnsley hope to return to the Championship after just one season away while a Jack Grealish goal for Aston Villa contributed to Wanderers dropping from the second tier in April 2019.
Charles fired high and wide from Elias Kachunga’s cross as Wanderers looked to replicate the whirlwind start from their Papa John’s Trophy triumph against Plymouth.
Liam Kitching blocked defender George Johnston’s effort but it was Barnsley who looked most likely to break the first-half stalemate.
Luca Connell, a former Bolton academy midfielder, drilled a lot shot from distance that James Trafford – in his farewell home appearance – did not hold first time.
Adam Phillips thumped another effort over the crossbar while Manchester City loanee Trafford blocked Slobodan Tedic’s flick.
Devante Cole turned Ricardo Santos but could not direct his attempt on target while Trafford was called into action to save from Cadden.
And it was Cadden who put the Tykes in front with his sixth goal of the campaign after 63 minutes. Wanderers failed to clear a Phillips corner and Cadden fired home from the edge of the area after Cole played the ball back into his path.
Bolton boss Ian Evatt immediately introduced substitutes Dan N’Lundulu and Kieran Lee for Kachunga and Josh Sheehan and within four minutes the home side were level.
Harry Isted had not had a shot to save but when called upon to deal with Randell Williams’ left-wing centre, he could only push the ball towards Charles for the equaliser.
Barnsley shrugged off the disappointment and Bobby Thomas twice went close to restoring the visitors’ advantage.
Andersen then showed his qualities with a vital block from N’Lundulu but neither team could find a crucial second goal.
Charles struck just before half-time to ensure the Trotters’ rise from seventh with 17 points – the same tally as Vale who drop to sixth as a result.
Bolton started the better of the two sides, with Charles’ shot from Josh Dacres-Cogley’s pass just missing the target in the eighth minute.
There was not any further goalmouth action of note until the 43rd minute, when Charles broke through and found the bottom corner with his left foot for his sixth league goal of the season.
The Valiants came close to an equaliser moments later, but Ben Garrity’s effort from James Plant’s pull-back was well saved by Nathan Baxter.
Randell Williams threatened to double Bolton’s advantage eight minutes after the restart, forcing a good stop out of Connor Ripley after a long, mazy run from right to left.
Kofi Balmer headed just wide from Conor Grant’s corner in the 74th minute as Vale pushed to restore parity, but it was not to be for the hosts as Bolton held on for maximum points.
Posh’s first-half dominance was rewarded with two goals from Hector Kyprianou and Ricky-Jade Jones, with substitute Ryan De Havilland adding a third late on.
Kyprianou had the simple task of breaking the deadlock in the 24th minute after Harrison Burrows cut the ball back into his path following an Archie Collins blast being parried by goalkeeper James Beadle.
The advantage doubled 10 minutes later when Jones sped onto a fine Ephron Mason-Clark pass, skipped round Beadle and finished into a gaping net.
Fine Beadle stops from Joel Randall and Jones then followed as Darren Ferguson’s men dominated the opening 45 minutes.
Oxford were livelier in the second period as Billy Bodin demanded a penalty for a shove after firing a Josh Murphy cross wide just after the hour but only received a caution from referee James Linington for his appeal.
Marcus McGuane then tested Posh keeper Nicholas Bilokapic from long range before the home side went back on the attack with Beadle denying Kwame Poku and Mason-Clark.
But the hosts struck again in the second minute of stoppage time when substitute David Ajiboye picked out fellow replacement De Havilland to finish.
The Gloucestershire club appointed the 51-year-old Scot in January but he was unable to keep them in League One, with Rovers winning just six of their 46 games.
“It had been a privilege to work with Dunc these last few months and this was a very difficult decision to make,” Rovers chairman Dale Vince said.
“I’m grateful to Dunc for joining us in such difficult circumstances and for all of his hard work at the club.
“But I feel this is overall the right decision for everyone and I wish Dunc well in his next coaching role. We are parting as friends. You can’t ask for much more than that.”
Forest Green have previously demonstrated a desire to steer away from the conventional in their recruitment of head coaches.
In May 2021 Vince told the PA news agency that a female coach working in the Women’s Super League had been a standout candidate to become the club’s new boss until it emerged her CV had been put forward without her knowledge.
The decisive moment of the contest came after just five minutes when goalkeeper Max Thompson fumbled Luke Leahy’s free-kick and the ball was forced over the line by Keogh.
The home side responded well to that early setback as Patrick Brough side-footed wide and Sam Hoskins went close with a couple of efforts before Sam Sherring headed over.
Louis Appere failed to beat Max Stryjek as another Northampton chance went begging, and the hosts continue to dominate with Hoskins dragging a low shot wide from the edge of the box.
Appere prodded beyond the far post and it was more of the same in the second half with Stryjek flying to his right to keep out Hoskins.
Wycombe’s goalkeeper was having a busy afternoon and he also got his body behind Appere’s shot, but Northampton lost momentum as the second half wore on and Wycombe were able to see out the rest of the game without too much trouble.
Derby went with an attacking formation but the first clear chance fell to Blackpool in the 29th minute, with George Byers scuffing a shot wide from 15 yards.
It brought an instant response from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, whose curling shot was touched behind by Daniel Grimshaw and the corner was almost forced in at the near post.
But Grimshaw could do nothing in the 40th minute when a cross was half cleared to Adams, who scored with a first-time shot from the edge of the area.
Derby should have added a second in the 55th minute when Mendez-Laing put Conor Washington through on the right but he failed to beat Grimshaw.
Blackpool almost took advantage in the 71st minute through a Sonny Carey free-kick which Rams keeper Joe Wildsmith clawed away.
There was another late scare for Derby when Kyle Joseph twice had goalbound shots blocked by Curtis Nelson and Eiran Cashin.
After they trailed to two Cameron Brannagan goals, the Rams hit back with efforts from Craig Forsyth, Liam Thompson and Cashin extending their unbeaten run to nine matches.
Oxford got off to the ideal start with a goal inside two minutes.
Mark Harris, who had bagged a brace in Oxford’s 2-1 win at Pride Park in August, ran on to Brannagan’s pass and knocked the ball past Joe Wildsmith before being clattered by the keeper.
Brannagan then sent Wildsmith the wrong way from the penalty spot.
County had barely recovered from that early blow when Brannagan hit them again.
Stan Mills was fouled outside the box and Brannagan smashed the 22-yard free-kick around Derby’s wall and into the far corner with Wildsmith helpless.
But Derby responded by pulling a goal back in first-half stoppage time, with Forsyth converting at the far post after James Collins flicked on a corner.
The Rams had threatened with James Beadle turning Max Bird’s effort around a post, and centre-back Cashin heading against the bar from 12 yards.
Derby dominated the second half and equalised nine minutes from time when substitute Thompson headed home just seconds after coming onto the pitch.
Five minutes later Cashin turned in a deep free-kick from the left to complete a spectacular Derby fightback in front of Oxford’s biggest gate of the season.
The Robins, who are yet to score this season, parted company with boss Wade Elliott in midweek and placed Kevin Russell in temporary charge.
It took Boro only seven minutes to pierce their defence when Dan Butler’s corner fell for Jordan Roberts in the box and he beat Luke Southwood with a low finish.
Jovan Malcolm smashed a shot against the bar for the hosts after Liam Sercombe’s pass in the 34th minute.
Aidan Keena fired a shot just over and Sercombe forced Krisztian Hegyi into a flying save before half-time as the Robins rallied.
But List made it 2-0 in the 69th minute after another Butler corner was not dealt with and he followed up to score his second in the 73rd minute after Southwood parried Ben Thompson’s shot from the edge of the box.
Cheltenham have now waited more than 13-and-a-half hours for a goal and never before has a team gone nine games without scoring at the start of a season.
Hector Kyprianou struck from point-blank range after a 21st-minute corner from Harrison Burrows to put Posh ahead against his former club.
But the capital club restored parity when Joe Pigott and Omar Beckles both threw their heads at a fine Jordan Graham cross in the 34rd minute – with the latter being credited with the leveller.
Neither side could strike again with Ferguson, who served the second game of a two-match touchline ban, demanding a rapid improvement from the misfiring hosts.
He admitted: “It was important we didn’t lose another game, but it was still a disappointing result.
“I felt the first half was not how we play. There was no urgency and no enthusiasm. We didn’t even up it when we scored.
“Then we lost a tackle on the edge of our box, didn’t stop the cross, didn’t defend the cross and Orient are back in the game with something to hang on to.
“I made two changes at half-time and, honestly, I could easily have made more. That is not what I expect from my team and the players hopefully now realise that.
“We had better tempo and quality at times in the second half, but still without creating too many clear-cut chances. We have a lot to think about as we clearly we need to be better than that.
“Some players need to start performing to the level I expect as they are nowhere near it at the minute.”
Orient boss Richie Wellens was much happier with the outcome, saying: “Peterborough are a yo-yo club between League One and the Championship so you have to be happy to take a point away to them – especially after going 1-0 behind to a poor goal.
“I would be disappointed to concede that type of goal against a really big, physical team, but even more so against a good footballing side that aren’t very physical.
“But that’s the second time in two away games we have come from behind and to get four points from them is really pleasing.
“Our equaliser was the first time we got the ball into the right areas and Jordan showed again how good his delivery is from a wide area.
“We could probably even have won it with the amount of counter attacks we had towards the end.
“Everyone said we had a bad start, but the performances were good and the results could have been different.
“We wanted to get our points tally ticking over and these four from the last two away games have helped that.”
The battling Imps had looked set to hold on for a hard-earned point after Danny Mandriou, who had scored three times in his past five league outings heading into the game, was sent off for the second time this season in the second half at Sincil Bank.
But defender Eoin Toal popped up with his second goal in three games to finally break the hosts’ resistance in the 89th minute.
Ian Evatt’s side dominated possession without creating too many clear-cut chances.
Lukas Jensen tipped Dion Charles’ volley past the post in what was the best effort of the game.
Mandriou saw red for a rash, late challenge on Aaron Morley with 18 minutes to go.
Late on, Kyle Dempsey was frustrated by Jensen as Bolton pushed for a winner.
And the man advantage eventually told when Toal nodded home Josh Sheehan’s delivery at the end.
The only goal of the game came in the 14th minute, when Connor Ripley failed to keep out Mason-Clark’s back-post header from Kwame Poku’s cross.
There were big shouts for a Vale penalty on the half-hour mark, but Ben Garrity was booked for diving having latched onto a short back-pass and gone down under a challenge from goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic.
Funso Ojo’s long-range attempt in the 41st minute was well tipped around the post by Bilokapic.
Down at the other end, Ripley produced a superb double save in added time – firstly denying Joel Randall and then Ricky-Jade Jones – to keep the deficit to one going into the break.
Ripley had to be alert again to deny Poku when one-on-one just before the hour mark.
The hosts threatened to equalise in the 67th minute as substitute James Plant’s goal-bound effort was blocked superbly by Ronnie Edwards on the line, but that was as close as they came.
The game burst into life late in the first half with Brandon Hanlan slotting Wycombe into a 35th-minute lead after fine footwork from Joe Low in a packed penalty area.
The advantage was short-lived with Joel Randall striking direct from a corner in the 40th minute to grab his second goal in as many games.
Darren Ferguson’s men completed a rapid turnaround in the first minute of stoppage time when Mason-Clark curled a terrific finish past Max Stryjek after being picked out by David Ajiboye.
A stunning Nicholas Bilokapic save prevented Dale Taylor from pulling Wycombe level 30 seconds into the second half before former Chairboys defender Josh Knight cleared a Killian Phillips shot off the line.
But it was a Posh man who applied the final touch when Wycombe did eventually level in the 61st minute as Mason-Clark headed a Luke Leahy free-kick into his own net.
And it took another brilliant Knight block to keep out a goalbound Phillips effort to ensure Wycombe did not leave with all three points.
Vale were dominant from the off and frustrated Wigan, who struggled to get out of their half.
The well-deserved opener came in the 21st minute after a Gavin Massey cross reached Chislett who struck well from close range.
The second goal came just before the break as a super turn from Oliver Arblaster allowed him time to find Chislett who doubled his tally.
The hosts continued to attack after the restart and nearly extended their lead but for a string of saves from Sam Tickle.
Wigan pulled one back after 63 minutes when substitute Chris Sze scored from the edge of the box with his first touch of the game.
The visitors levelled 14 minutes later after a perfect cross from Callum McManaman landed at the feet of Charlie Wyke who slotted home.
Chislett grabbed his third and the winner in the 83rd minute with a sensational solo goal sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
The recent signing from Accrington struck his first goal for the club to stretch the Imps’ unbeaten league run to three games.
The hosts went close on the half-hour mark when Jordan Shipley drove a low cross into the heart of the box, which Ryan Bowman met but turned wide.
Shrewsbury had another chance two minutes later when Dan Udoh played a creative ball over the top to Taylor Perry.
The young midfielder darted into the box but Lukas Jensen blocked his close-range effort.
The Imps went close in the 55th minute when the ball landed at the feet of Hamilton on the edge of the box but Marko Marosi parried his effort away.
Shrewsbury responded a minute later from a corner, which reached Chey Dunkley in the middle of the box. The Shrews skipper’s header looked destined for the top corner but Jensen managed to get a hand to it.
The visitors took the lead with just over 10 minutes remaining when Hamilton found the bottom corner from inside the box.
Hamilton collected a pass from Lasse Sorensen and wrong-footed Orient keeper Sol Brynn to clinch the points in this rearranged fixture that proved a drab affair.
Hakeeb Adelakun should have scored five minutes earlier when he broke free down the right but with only the keeper to beat, he screwed his shot wide of the far post.
Four minutes later, Imps shot-stopper Lukas Jensen came to the rescue when he threw himself at a Ruel Sotiriou effort.
The visiting keeper had produced a fine double save in the first half to deny Brandon Cooper before getting down quickly to deny Aaron Drinan who seized on the loose ball.
Both sides were industrious but failed to generally find the spark or flair necessary to extend opposition defences.
There was little change in the pattern of play after the break and it was not until the closing stages that the game sprung into life.
Orient had been leading 1-0 in the original fixture on October 3 when the fixture was abandoned after 82 minutes due to a medical emergency when Os fan Derek Reynolds suffered a cardiac arrest and was treated pitchside.
Sadly, it was announced the following day that Reynolds had died. The rearranged fixture was preceded by a minute’s silence in his honour.
His long-range strike denied Paul Simpson’s recently-promoted side a first away win in League One since February 2014.
They hit the front after 19 minutes as Crystal Palace loanee Luke Plange opened his account for the club as he flicked home Owen Moxon’s drilled free-kick.
Former Republic of Ireland international Sean Maguire saw huge shouts for a penalty waved away on the stroke of half-time as the Cumbrians pushed for a second.
Lasse Sorenson squandered a great chance for the hosts when he nodded over at the back post in first-half stoppage time.
City equalised five minutes after the interval thanks to Hamilton’s stunning strike.
Lincoln’s Danish goalkeeper Lukas Jensen produced a great save to keep out Moxon down the other end.
Hamilton tried his luck again, this time with an audacious 30-yard free-kick which went wide.
The Imps huffed and puffed for a late winner but Carlisle held on for a battling point.
