Promotion-chasing Barnsley failed to capitalise on their dominance as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to relegation-battling Cheltenham in League One.

The Tykes slipped seven points off the automatic promotion places and – with the four teams above them all playing each other – missed the chance to move up to fourth.

Cheltenham remain in the bottom four and are without a win in six, but the draw edged them to within five points of safety.

Jon Russell thought he had put the hosts ahead after four minutes when he turned home Luca Connell’s free-kick, but the assistant referee had raised his flag for offside.

The Tykes countered dangerously in the 31st minute as Adam Phillips slotted through to Sam Cosgrove, but his low effort from the edge of the box was always curling wide.

Cheltenham almost took the lead against the run of play in the 34th minute when Tom Pett curled one towards the bottom right corner from the edge of the box and prompted a smart save from Liam Roberts.

Russell should have broken the deadlock four minutes after the break when he was found at the back post by Cosgrove but dinked his close-range effort over the crossbar.

Barnsley substitute Devante Cole had an opportunity to make it 1-0 with eight minutes to play when a smart cross from Phillips gave the forward a free header inside the box, but he nodded wide.

Barnsley boss Neill Collins praised his side’s reaction from their weekend mauling as they came from a goal down to beat Carlisle 3-2.

Question marks were raised about the Tykes’ promotion credentials after they were hammered 5-1 by Lincoln on Saturday.

But, despite falling behind to Luke Armstrong’s early goal, they equalled a club record of 10 successive away games unbeaten in the same season.

Goals from captain Jordan Williams, John McAtee and Jonathan Russell put them in command and they held on for all three points after Daniel Butterworth pulled one back for League One’s bottom club Carlisle.

And Collins said: “That’s a huge win and in some respects our biggest win of the season.

“We are on a great run, but despite all of the positives, one performance gets questions asked and I thought the players answered them well.

“It’s fantastic to get a big record like that at a club like Barnsley who have had a lot of good teams over the years.

“One mistake and it was a goal and in the back of the net, but after that we were really good.

“We could have been ahead at half-time but we came out and continued and really could have had more.

“There was another mistake at the end and that made it a bit more interesting than I would have liked.”

Williams produced a fine 20-yard strike to level in the 33rd minute.

Collins added: “It was fantastic. Jordan has been an excellent captain and got a great goal. For large parts his performance was excellent.”

Paul Simpson’s Carlisle have lost 11 of their last 12 as relegation straight back to League Two creeps ever closer.

They are now 16 points adrift of safety and Simpson said: “You have to be brutally honest, they were the better team.

“When you look at the levels, you’ve got a team who have been in the Championship and fighting for promotion and we’re where we are because that’s where we deserve to be.

“That’s clear to see in terms of the technical ability of them and the care they took on the passing.

“We had opportunities where we got into the final third, but we don’t take enough care on it.

“The disappointing thing is we work day in and day out on passing and possession drills. We get in good areas, but can’t do it.

“I’ve said to the players that it’s an education. We’re seeing and we’re suffering because we’re coming up against teams who are physically stronger and that’s not a case of just working on it in the gym, they’re psychologically made up better than us.

“That’s something we’ve got to change because we’re aspiring to be like that as a football club.

“We want to improve and be able to compete at this level, but currently we’re a long way off it.”

Barnsley got back to winning ways as they held on for a 3-2 victory at League One bottom club Carlisle.

Neill Collins’ promotion-chasing side were hammered 5-1 by Lincoln on Saturday and it looked like they may have been suffering a hangover when Carlisle took an early lead through Luke Armstrong.

But Jordan Williams, John McAtee and Jonathan Russell all scored for the visitors before Daniel Butterworth set up a tense finish.

Armstrong started the scoring when he grabbed his second goal in as many games in the 10th minute.

Captain Williams produced a fine 20-yard strike to level in the 33rd minute.

McAtee rattled the crossbar minutes later before Sam Cosgrove forced Carlisle goalkeeper Harry Lewis into a good stop to tip his powerful strike over.

After the break, McAtee poked home the second after Cosgrove dinked the ball over Lewis.

Towering Russell got the third when he nodded home Corey O’Keeffe’s cross at the back post with 14 minutes left.

Butterworth pulled one back with three minutes to go but Barnsley held on for the points as Paul Simpson’s strugglers lost for the 11th time in their last 12 league outings.

Lincoln head coach Michael Skubala praised his side’s intensity as they secured an emphatic 5-1 victory over promotion-chasing Barnsley at Oakwell.

Joe Taylor opened the scoring before Jack Moylan (2), Daniel Mandriou and Jovon Makama added second-half goals.

Adam Phillips pulled one back for the hosts, but they could not push for a comeback.

Skubala said: “We started the game really well; we started the game really bright. Our press was a little bit different to try and deal with Barnsley’s way of playing.

“I thought second half we were bang on.

“What pleased me today was, the whole team was connected. We were really good out of possession, we were aggressive when we needed to be aggressive, we didn’t give second balls up.

“Our energy and intensity was a little bit too much for them.”

On the performance of Mandriou, Skubala said: “Daniel Mandriou is a good player. We’ve had to play him a little bit lower, but again we trust him with what to do.

“Another player that’s been out the team for a bit, not getting the minutes he wants.

“He came on today and I thought he did a brilliant job.”

On the goals his side scored, Skubala said: “Good goals, I’m really pleased with all the goals. All the goals were good finishes.

“What’s really pleasing is we took our chances. We feel like sometimes we’re getting into the final third and we just need a bit more quality.

“But today I thought they showed the quality in the final third which is brilliant.”

Barnsley head coach Neill Collins admitted it was a poor performance from his team.

He said: “It probably doesn’t take rocket science to work out that the majority, if not all of our team, were way below the standards they’ve set.

“I should stress that the players have been fantastic this season, they’ve taken a lot of plaudits and rightfully so.

“But today there were just so many that fell below the levels and made individual, basic errors that were capitalised on by a very good side, who are in a very good moment.

“The scoreline was a combination of things and the biggest one just being that we had too many players being way below par.

“When you make mistakes and you get punished by goals then you take it out of your hands.

“We started poorly, went behind. But then from that point on we looked ourselves, looked like we were getting into great positions.

“But you just can’t legislate when you’re already 1-0 down to make the mistakes that we did for the second and third goal.

“There’s no question that we made it an awful lot easier for them and we don’t normally make it easy for teams.”

Lincoln extended their unbeaten run to 11 games with an emphatic 5-1 away victory over Barnsley.

Joe Taylor opened the scoring before a Jack Moylan brace, Daniel Mandriou and Jovon Makama added second-half goals.

Adam Phillips pulled one back for the hosts, but they could not push for a comeback.

Lincoln took the lead after 15 minutes when Lasse Sorensen knocked it across for Taylor to finish beyond Liam Roberts.

They doubled their lead in the 55th minute through substitute Moylan, who weaved past the Barnsley defence before slotting past Roberts.

Michael Skubala’s side added a third three minutes later when Josh Earl gave the ball away in his own half. Mandriou picked up the ball and drove into the box before finding the back of the net.

Moylan got his second of the game in the 72nd minute when he let fly from 25 yards out and found the bottom left corner.

Barnsley pulled one back with 13 minutes to play when Phillips fired home from inside the box.

The Imps responded quickly and added a fifth through Makama two minutes later.

Bolton head coach Ian Evatt felt his side should have won at Barnsley after seeing them come back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2, with the equaliser coming deep into time added on.

Goals from John McAtee (25) and Donovan Pines (47) put the home side in control before Victor Adeboyejo pulled a goal back.

Randell Williams then levelled in the eighth minute of added time, following up to score after Josh Sheehan’s penalty was saved.

Evatt said: “I have some frustrations tonight because that’s a game we should have won.

“I think for the first 20/25 minutes, we were dominant and we started to build momentum and had one or two opportunities.

“We do a lot of diligent work on the opposition and their strategy and we knew we’d find it really tough to play our usual build-up because they’re really aggressive in the press.

“We knew they’d commit bodies forward and leave Aaron (Collins) and Victor two-for-two in huge space and we just had to put the ball into good areas with quality and we did that.

“The first (goal), we made a bad decision and played inside, we concede a goal, which completely rocks us. Then we lost our marbles for probably the next 15/20 minutes.

“We got into half-time and gave them the same messages again. And then we come out and we play another pass inside, when it should go into the space behind. It ends up in a corner and we end up 2-0 down.

“Great credit to the players that they’ve shown immense belief and character. We get the first one back and then it’s just a matter of time. We missed too many gilt-edged opportunities.

“They kept fighting, they kept believing and in the end they got at least what they deserved.”

Barnsley boss Neill Collins was disappointed to let a two-goal lead slip but refused to get too downhearted.

He said: “It’s disappointing because you’re 2-0 up and you’ve had a fantastic performance, probably to the 85th minute.

“And then really they came on top. We’re all really disappointed because we wanted to be celebrating three points and for large parts of the game, we probably deserved three points.

“We were up against a really good side. One they get the goal to go 2-1, you’re going to be under pressure. I think we could have handled it a little better.

“We’ve got to be really careful that we don’t feel disappointed too long because we’ve got 11 games left and we’re a point closer to where we need to be.

“I think we’ve got to take the positives as always and learn some harsh lessons as well.

“If we continue to improve, we’ll be there or thereabouts.”

Bolton came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Barnsley with substitute Randell Williams equalising deep into time added on.

Goals from John McAtee and Donovan Pines put the home side in control before Victor Adeboyejo and Williams scored to level the scores.

McAtee struck the opener after 25 minutes, slotting past Joel Coleman after the ball fell to him when Mael de Gevigney blocked George Thomason’s clearance.

Pines then produced an emphatic finish just after the break, with the ball going in off the underside of the bar, following Luca Connell’s corner.

Liam Roberts came to Barnsley’s rescue, saving Thomason’s shot with his legs.

Bolton pulled a goal back when Thomason found Aaron Collins, whose ball across the face of goal was met by a close-range finish from Adeboyejo in the 62nd minute.

Bolton’s Jon Dadi Bodvarsson went close to scoring a minute from time with a shot which hit a post.

A penalty at the death, awarded following a foul, was taken by Josh Sheehan and saved by Roberts, but Williams followed up to score in the eighth minute of added time.

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield blamed his side’s ill-discipline for their 4-2 loss to promotion-chasers Barnsley.

The Chairboys twice let a lead slip before substitute David Wheeler was sent off as the Reds completed a resounding comeback.

Dale Taylor and Kieran Sadlier twice put Wycombe ahead, only for Sam Cosgrove and Donovan Pines to respond each time before Corey O’Keeffe and Conor Grant secured the victory.

“Where was it lost? Slight lack of discipline, I think,” Bloomfield said. “There were a couple of soft goals that were entirely preventable from our side, so that feeds into it, and obviously the sending-off doesn’t help.

“I still fancied us at 3-2 down, but obviously with 10 men it’s tough.

“A few things contributed, maybe a slight bit of fatigue crept in with some of our decision-making at times defensively.

“I thought we started the game extremely well. For 30-35 minutes to play like we did against a team that’s looking to try and get up automatically, we have to be pleased with that, but we’re not pleased because we want to win the game.”

Taylor’s 16th-minute opener was cancelled out by an equaliser in first-half stoppage time from Cosgrove, who netted the rebound from a Luca Connell free-kick.

Sadlier then tapped home after good build-up play from Garath McCleary to restore the hosts’ lead, but only for four minutes.

Pines bundled the ball home before O’Keeffe put Barnsley into the lead for the first time with 65 minutes gone.

Wheeler saw red less than a minute after coming on for a heavy tackle on O’Keeffe and the Tykes made certain of their win with a thumping effort from Grant.

Barnsley boss Neill Collins said: “The resilience they’ve shown after going behind and then going behind again, to come back was fantastic.

“The quality of our play when we put it together caused Wycombe real problems. We created some really good moments and the quality of a couple of our goals was excellent.

“So I think overall, coming away from home against a team that’s made it really difficult for teams at home recently is all positive.

“I think we were the victims of our downfall with respect to the two goals we gave away and then when we did go 4-2 in the lead we contrived to give up two or three chances just from poor choices.

“But in the end we regrouped and saw it out pretty comfortably. There’s more positives than negatives of course.”

Barnsley won for the third game in a row as they beat 10-man Wycombe 4-2 at Adams Park.

Dale Taylor had put the Chairboys ahead before Sam Cosgrove equalised for the visitors.

Kieran Sadlier restored Wycombe’s lead, only for goals from Donovan Pines and Corey O’Keeffe to turn the game in Barnsley’s favour.

The hosts then saw David Wheeler sent off seconds after coming on, with Conor Grant thumping in a fourth.

Wycombe struck first when Taylor reacted quickest to a half-cleared cross and placed a first-time strike into Liam Roberts’ net.

But the visitors equalised in first-half stoppage time when Cosgrove scored the rebound after Luca Connell’s free-kick hit the crossbar.

Wycombe regained the lead just after half-time as Garath McCleary slid the ball back for Sadlier to tap home.

But the lead was brief as Pines bundled in a corner to equalise and the visitors then went ahead when O’Keeffe turned in a deflected cross.

Wheeler was sent off for a heavy tackle on O’Keeffe before substitute Grant slammed the ball home to complete the scoring.

Charlie Adam could not hide his frustration after Fleetwood impressed against Barnsley but fell to a 2-1 defeat.

Barnsley led through Sam Cosgrove’s header before Bosun Lawal pegged them back with a brilliant goal from distance.

Having wasted chances when dominating the first half, Fleetwood were then undone by Herbie Kane’s winner just before the hour mark.

Adam was left to rue those early missed opportunities, with his second-bottom side seven points from safety.

“We were the better team in the first half and the opportunities that we had were big chances,” he said.

“I think we should have had a penalty as well, that was a big call in a big moment, that would have got us back to 1-1, then we got our goal with a wonderful strike and it’s a huge disappointment but the effort that the lads put in was incredible.

“It’s frustrating but I think if you look at what we produced our performance was very good in terms of what we tried to do. Our game plan was working but we got caught with two opportunities against us that we feel could have been avoided.

“But I can’t fault my lads, they are giving everything and that performance against one of the top teams in the league should be a moment for them to grasp where we are and what we’re trying to do.

“Small margins win you games and small margins lose you games too. They’ve given us that performance against one of the best teams in the league who are in great form and have lost once away from home all season so we knew it was going to be a difficult game.”

Barnsley boss Neill Collins said the three points from another successful away day were hard earned and showed his players’ character.

“I’ve just said to the players the only thing that matters on days like today is the three points,” he said.

“I can’t be too judgemental about any performances, although the performance was good, especially in the last 30 minutes, but when you come to these places it might not be conducive to playing any type of football.

“The wind and rain was a real leveller, and I thought Fleetwood asked a lot of questions of us and our players stood up to it, so we move on thinking this was a big three points.

“They’ve shown character throughout this season, I think character is a great word for the group, I think they’ve got a lot of quality and energy but to have that character is going to stand us in really good stead.

“I thought their best chances came earlier in the game and we felt pretty comfortable in the second half. Every game’s tough away from home, especially playing against relegation teams because it’s make or break for them.

“I thought Fleetwood were so up for it and if we’d have been anything less than we were we could have been blown away but we weren’t. They’ve stepped up to every challenge really well.”

Herbie Kane hit the winner for promotion-chasing Barnsley as they beat second-bottom Fleetwood 2-1.

The Tykes had led through Sam Cosgrove’s header midway through the first half, but Bosun Lawal brought the relegation-battling Cod Army level with a stunning long-range strike.

Barnsley, League One’s best travellers with just one away defeat all season, won via Kane’s goal on the hour mark.

Cosgrove had sent a perfectly-placed header from Adam Phillips’ cross inside the far post to give the visitors the lead.

But with just over half an hour played, Lawal let fly with a rocket that beat Liam Roberts’ despairing dive and found the top corner.

Fleetwood had deserved to go in level at the break as, once they had fallen behind, Promise Omochere headed wide from close range and a towering header by Ben Heneghan was brilliantly tipped over by Roberts.

In the second half a chance at either end went begging, Ronan Coughlan denied by Roberts and Nicky Cadden shooting wide for Barnsley.

Kane restored the lead in the 59th minute, slotting into the bottom corner from another Phillips pass.

Fleetwood forward Coughlan was thwarted by Mael de Gevigney’s tackle and at the other end Phillips saw a fierce shot palmed away by Jay Lynch.

Home midfielder Gavin Kilkenny sent a powerful strike inches over in stoppage time, and the visitors managed to see out the victory.

Barnsley boss Neil Collins rued his side’s lack of clinical edge after Herbie Kane’s late penalty earned them a 1-1 League One draw at Shrewsbury.

The Tyke’s second-half stoppage-time equaliser means they remain in fourth position but are now five points behind third-placed Bolton as they extended their unbeaten away run to eight games in the league.

Shrewsbury pulled ahead after just seven minutes through a Nicky Cadden own goal. Dan Udoh drove a dangerous ball into the box before the Barnsley wing-back guided it into his own net.

Home substitute Taylor Perry conceded a penalty at the death after bringing down Mael De Gevigney in the area and Kane stepped up to convert the resulting spot-kick for the Tykes.

Both sides had plenty of chances, but the heroics of Shrewsbury goalkeeper Marko Marosi ensured Barnsley left the Croud Meadow with only a share of the spoils.

Barnsley boss Collins said: “On Saturday, we saw a good goalkeeping performance at Leyton Orient and tonight – Shrewsbury keeper Marko Marosi – managed to up it.

“We should have got more than one goal if our finishing was a little better, but credit to the keeper, he was outstanding. Two or three of the best saves I have seen this season.

“The two negatives is the early goal again. We have got to nip that in the bud. It has been a trend from the start of the season.

“We have had periods when we have not done it and we have been very successful, but it gives us a mountain to climb.

“Then, of course, our finishing at times could have been better, but we are coming away with a fantastic performance.

“We should have scored goals. All-in-all, there is more to be positive about, but the frustration is the performance should have earned three points.”

Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst said: “I thought we looked like we were running on empty in quite a few areas.

“I would like us to be fitter generally. I would like us to have some options that we perhaps haven’t got.

“Credit to the lads that absolutely gave everything. We need that sort of commitment and effort, not just against Barnsley or Derby but against anyone we face.

“We felt there were certain parts of the game where we could hurt Barnsley and maybe the goal was a slight example of that.

“It was a great start and that hopefully give the lads confidence and it gets the crowd involved, who were great all night.

“I feel for Marko. He deserved a clean sheet tonight, there is no doubt about it.

“More often then not, playing against a top team you are going to need your keeper to make some big saves at big moments and he certainly did that.”

Herbie Kane netted a penalty at the death as Barnsley secured a late point in a 1-1 League One draw to Shrewsbury at the Croud Meadow.

The Shrews broke the deadlock in the seventh minute after Dan Udoh drove a dangerous ball into the heart of the box. The cross reached Nicky Cadden, who deflected into the back of his own net.

The Tykes had their first chance just before the 20-minute mark. John McAtee picked up a through ball on the edge of the box, but an acrobatic save by Marko Marosi kept out his curling effort.

Barnsley came close just past the 70th-minute mark when Cadden unleashed a wicked drive from just outside the box, but Marosi managed to tip the ball over the crossbar.

Tom Bayliss went on a surging run through the Barnsley defence with just under 15 minutes remaining, but his shot was parried out for a corner by Tykes goalkeeper Liam Roberts.

Shrewsbury substitute Taylor Perry conceded a penalty right at the death. Kane stepped up and converted it into the top-right corner to earn the away side a share of the spoils.

Barnsley boss Neill Collins hopes Adam Phillips’ dramatic late double can be a pivotal moment in their season.

The Tykes were heading for defeat against Leyton Orient until Phillips equalised in the 88th minute.

And, despite Barnsley going down to 10 men when Luca Connell saw red, Phillips struck again in stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win that moved them within four points of the automatic promotion places in League One.

“It’s not the way we planned it,” said a relieved Collins.

“I thought losing an early goal is always an issue. But the players responded very well, as did the crowd.

“And together we just kept going right to the very end. And you could see at the end, even with 10 men, when everyone’s up it’s very difficult and I’m so pleased for everyone that we got what I think was a deserved winning goal.

“At the end there, it could be a really pivotal moment of the season. It was great to see the second goal go in.”

Orient took the lead through Ruel Sotiriou in the 10th minute.

But their eight match unbeaten run came to an end as Phillips bagged a brace either side of Connell being shown a second yellow card.

Orient boss Richie Wellens was not happy with how his side attempted to hold on to their lead.

“It’s not cruel when you sit deep and invite teams on,” he said.

“I think first 20 minutes, half an hour we were very good. We went 1-0 up and every time we attacked we looked a real threat.

“Then we didn’t play with enough bravery to pass the ball, we didn’t play with enough bravery to switch the ball and everything we wanted to do.

“And the accumulation of not being brave enough and fatigue, especially in the last 10-15 minutes, has cost us the game.

“I don’t think we can begrudge them. I think they deserved to win the game cos the pressure was building.

“Our game management was really, really poor. And if you allow teams like this to build momentum and you never break it, then unfortunately you’re going to pay the price.”

Zac Ashworth scored for a second successive weekend to earn Bolton a 1-1 comeback draw against Skybet League One promotion rivals Barnsley.

But the Tykes will rue a series of missed chances before the West Brom loanee headed in a cross by substitute Aaron Collins after 64 minutes.

Bolton were beaten in last season’s third tier play-off semi-finals by the Oakwell outfit.

And they trailed after five minutes as Adam Phillips flicked on Barry Cotter’s long throw for Devante Cole’s 17th goal of the campaign.

Barnsley should have gone 2-0 up after 28 minutes as Josh Sheehan’s error gave Neill Collins’ side a four-on-two advantage but Phillips dragged his eventual shot wide.

Bolton continued to labour in the second half. They were indebted to keeper Nathan Baxter for three saves in quick succession from Cole, Phillips and John McAtee.

Boss Ian Evatt’s response saw Collins replace top scorer Dion Charles. And with his first touch the ex-Bristol Rovers star centred for Ashworth to rescue a point.

Collins almost won it for Wanderers but his deflected effort was tipped away by Liam Roberts.