Derby boss Paul Warne hailed his side’s attacking mentality after the 1-0 victory at Cambridge secured a club-record 13th away win of the season.

The Rams could have secured promotion if both Bolton and Peterborough dropped points, but all three League One automatic-promotion chasers won to take the race for second down to the final day.

Cambridge gave as good as they got after half-time but were unable to force an equaliser, having seen Nathaniel Mendez-Laing break the deadlock in the 39th minute, but the U’s need two points from their last two games to secure their spot in League One.

Even that would only be necessary if Cheltenham win both of their remaining fixtures.

“I’ve tried to be consistent with the lads all the time, keep convincing them not to live in regret, try and play on the edge. We’ve never set up to draw,” said Warne.

“It’s not about setting out to get points, it’s about trying to win every game we can. We’re not always going to be at our best but we always create enough chances to give ourselves a chance.

“We had an opportunity today to take another step, got an opportunity today to be remembered for something for however many years it takes to beat it, and an opportunity to get us a step closer to where we want to be, to make everyone proud.

“The first thing the players do is they get on their phones, they just know they’ve got another week. I don’t think we’ve picked up any severe injuries, I had a good plethora of players to pick from today.

“We’ve got everyone fit for the last game of the season, which I’m not going to complain about.”

Mendez-Laing’s goal proved to be the winner to leave Derby three points clear of Bolton heading into the final match.

Cambridge came on strong after the break, with Jordan Cousins firing just wide from distance and Ryan Bennett seeing a shot blocked.

Cambridge boss Garry Monk felt his side matched their promotion-seeking opponents.

He said: “It’s just a real shame for us, a disappointment that the one moment with their goal was from our set-play and a counter-attack which we didn’t deal with well enough.

“We’re really disappointed with that, to concede that way. Really there was nothing else in the game.

“In the second half the territory was all ours and we were really pushing but if we’re honest we probably just lacked that bit of composure and quality in the final third.

“We’re competing hard. We’ve just taken second in the league really close and had them pinned back for the whole second half.

“There can’t be many teams that do that to Derby. We just needed that little bit more composure, to move their shape before we delivered certain passes.

“I can’t complain again with the players. You can see there’s a group of players fighting, trying to get the right results for the club. We just have to continue with that.”

Darren Moore insists he is the man to lead the massive rebuild needed after Port Vale’s two-season stay in Skybet League One ended in a 2-0 defeat at Bolton.

Moore says he is sufficiently “energised” to try to transform the fortunes of a side that were early-season third tier pacesetters.

Vale had to win at the Toughsheet Community Stadium and hope results elsewhere went in their favour to keep them up.

But second-half goals from Aaron Collins and Cameron Jerome sent them down and kept alive Wanderers’ slim hopes of automatic promotion.

“The biggest thing is to galvanise and get together to start the rebuilding for next season,” said Moore, less than 12 months after taking Sheffield Wednesday into the Championship.

“But I am here for the rebuild. I am energised.

“It is fantastic club with wonderful owners and a wonderful fan base.

““We have lots of ideas going forward and I look forward to getting that plan into action. But it is a big rebuild, let’s not kid ourselves.

“Structurally, we have got to get it right first and then it will be implemented on the pitch.

“We have to get a team together to cope with the demands of that league (League Two) and be pushing on to get this club back to this league and beyond.”

Vale earned five of their 10 league wins by mid-September. Moore was appointed on a five-and-a-half-year deal five months later but failed to stop the rot.

“It’s a sad day,” he added. “You can hear a pin drop in the dressing room. The mood is down and sombre.”

Bolton must beat Peterborough on the final day of the season and hope second-placed Derby lose to Carlisle to avoid the play-offs for a second successive campaign.

“We must have laser focus for what lies ahead,” said manager Ian Evatt.

“We are a really good team and I have felt we have been in pretty good form for a couple of months.

“There is some hope. For us, it is being in a position to take advantage.

“We have to go to Peterborough and win, first and foremost. If we get a miracle elsewhere, then fantastic. If not then we continue our momentum into the play-offs.

“What is important is that we don’t look backwards. What’s done is done. There can be some frustrations but that is not going to help anyone moving froward.

“We could have scored more goals but we have seen that game a lot this season. Sometimes there is anxiety in the box when we should be more composed.

“But Aaron came up with a bit of magic and I’m delighted for Cameron to get a couple of goals this week because his performances deserve that.”

Neil Critchley hailed a brave Blackpool performance as the Seasiders beat promotion rivals Barnsley 3-2 to boost their League One play-off chances.

Goals from Sonny Carey, James Husband and Hayden Coulson put the hosts 3-0 up but John McAtee pulled one back for Barnsley, before Adam Phillips’ late strike set up a nervy finish.

Blackpool need to win their final game of the season away to Reading, and hope that both Lincoln and Oxford drop points in order to secure a place in the top six.

Blackpool are bang in form and have now won their last four games, with Critchley proud of their battling display.

“We don’t do things easy, but I thought we were outstanding up until they scored their first goal. Even when they scored their first goal, we had chances to make it 4-1,” he said.

“We looked a really good team. Our mentality was excellent, we played with confidence and took the game to the opposition. I’m not sure how it ended 3-2, but we won and we take it down to a very exciting and interesting last day.

“It was on par with our best of the season the first hour. We played with a calmness in possession and with an intensity without the ball. We were dangerous.

“I didn’t enjoy the end to the game, but I’m grateful we got the three points.

“We had to win this game, so we took the handbrake off and went for it. The only blot on the copybook today was the goals we conceded.”

Carey gave Blackpool the lead on 12 minutes with a curling shot from 25 yards out that found the corner, while Husband headed in Karamoko Dembele’s pinpoint free-kick before Coulson smashed one into the roof of the net just after the restart.

McAtee pulled one back for Barnsley to give them a glimmer of hope midway through the second half, steering into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Phillips then set up a nervy finish in added time when he fired into the corner, but Critchley’s side held on.

Barnsley know a win on the final day will secure them a play-off place but manager Neil Collins knows they can not relax.

“I think we just got overwhelmed at the start of the game and we created our own problems right from the start – poor clearances, poor in tackles, poor defending,” he said.

“We came out second half, and again we made poor decisions and went 3-0 down. It would have been very easy for the players to feel sorry for themselves, and were it not for some of the officiating we should be standing here with a point.

“Performance wise, it wasn’t up to standard. But the spirit the players showed was really good, and again we were on the wrong side of a couple of decisions.”

Shrewsbury head coach Paul Hurst admitted the over-riding emotion after securing League One safety with a 1-1 draw at Charlton was “relief”.

The Shrews ensured they will have a 10th successive campaign in England’s third tier.

The Shropshire club reappointed Hurst as head coach in January after predecessor Matt Taylor had suffered seven losses in eight matches.

Daniel Udoh’s confident finish put the visitors ahead at The Valley – his 10th goal in all competitions – in the 23rd minute.

But George Dobson, set to leave Charlton after signing a pre-contract agreement with Hungarian club Fehervar, equalised in the 46th minute.

Hurst said: “Relief is the first emotion and then enjoyment and togetherness. I have to say I’m really pleased for the chairman (Roland Wycherley) because it hasn’t been easy, I think he has gone on record saying how difficult the last couple of seasons have been – but this one in particular.

“He will be a very happy man tonight. But I feel like almost the job starts again.

“Credit to the players, staff and everyone involved that they managed to get over the line.

“I’ve enjoyed being back in work. It wasn’t the longest break but you have to respect and cherish the times when you are working.

“No doubt there have been some challenges in front of us – like hoping to bring more players in than we did (in the last transfer window) and we’ve had some big injuries.”

Charlton are undefeated in 14 matches – losing just once since Nathan Jones was appointed manager in February – but they are guaranteed their lowest finish since 1926.

Dobson did have a moment to savour in SE7 as he raced on to Connor Wickham’s through ball, going past Shrews keeper Marko Marosi to convert in what is set to be his last outing as an Addicks player on home turf.

Jones said: “I believe he has signed a pre-contract – I want him to be at this football club and playing for Charlton.

“I will do everything I can to keep George Dobson at this football club. I did it in January – to prolong his stay. And I would like to keep him.

“He has done very, very well for me. I’m very proud of him. Now we need to find some common ground.

“He epitomises what I want us to be – front-footed and belief in what we do.

“At half-time we said some choice words and laid some tactical things down and we implemented it straight away. If we had only started the first half like that it could’ve been a different story.

“First half we weren’t us. Second half we asked for a reaction and we got it and we were much better.

“First half we were too passive all over, moved the ball too slowly and became that possession-based boring football team. Second half we were more us.”

Goals from Joel Randall and substitute Ricky Jade-Jones secured promotion-chasing Peterborough a comfortable 2-0 victory over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.

Former Rovers striker Jonson Clarke-Harris was handed a chance to show his old club what they are missing as Peterborough dominated but ended up being upstaged by his colleagues.

Midfielder Randall put Darren Ferguson’s side in command with his 11th goal this season on 41 minutes with a cool close-range volley following Malik Mothersille’s deflected cross.

After the break, Peterborough goalkeeper Jed Steer came to his team’s rescue with a smart save to thwart Scott Sinclair after the former Celtic winger outwitted Josh Knight in the penalty box.

Steer then pulled off a fine stop to deny Rovers skipper Antony Evans when he let fly from distance as the hosts pressed for an equaliser but there was to be no stopping Peterborough.

Jade-Jones, on for Mothersille, applied the finishing touch in the fifth minute of stoppage time with a back-heeled effort for his 13th goal this term after being teed up by Harrison Burrows.

Luke Chambers and Josh Magennis spoilt Portsmouth’s Sky Bet League One promotion party as Wigan beat the newly-crowned champions 2-1 at Fratton Park.

Pompey almost took the lead after six minutes when a poor backpass was intercepted by Colby Bishop, who tried to chip stranded goalkeeper Sam Tickle but put it well wide.

Wigan’s Jonny Smith hit a post in the 13th minute, but the visitors took the lead 10 minutes later when Chambers put the loose ball past Pompey goalkeeper Will Norris.

Latics should have gone two-up just before half-time as Norris parried Charlie Kelman’s powerful shot but Chambers put the follow-up wide.

Despite half-time substitutions, Pompey struggled to claw their way back into the game and Wigan looked to have sealed the win when Magennis beat Norris with seven minutes to go.

Kusini Yengi pulled one back for Pompey, but despite piling on the pressure in stoppage time they could not secure a 28th victory of the season.

Burton grabbed what could be a crucial three points in their fight against relegation in League One with a 3-2 win over Reading at the Pirelli Stadium.

Albion secured a first win on home soil in nine attempts and hauled themselves five points clear of Cheltenham, who have one game in hand.

Burton got off to a rapid start with two goals in the first 11 minutes.

Mason Bennett reacted quickest to Joe Powell’s low curling free-kick to smash home at the second attempt from inside the six-yard box in the fifth minute.

Mustapha Carayol chose the perfect time to curl home his first of the season with a superb effort from the edge of the box just six minutes later.

Reading always looked dangerous going forwards and it took a free-kick from skipper Lewis Wing to halve the deficit before Bobby Kamwa added a third for Albion just before half-time, blasting in from close range after Reading had failed to clear their lines.

The visitors scored again just before the hour mark when Sam Smith beat Max Crocombe from the penalty spot after Jasper Moon had been adjudged to have brought down Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan.

Albion survived a nervy final half hour as Reading pushed for an equaliser to give their survival hopes a massive boost.

Fleetwood’s relegation to League Two was confirmed despite their late 1-0 away victory against Leyton Orient.

Xavier Simons scored the only goal of the game three minutes into added time to secure victory for the visitors.

But Burton’s win at home to Reading sealed Fleetwood’s fate.

In a match of endeavour but lacking quality, Town almost took the lead early in the second half when a bullet header by Carl Johnston was punched clear by goalkeeper Sol Brynn from point-blank range.

The Orient keeper was soon extended again to keep out a Ryan Broom effort.

But Jay Lynch was the busier of the two keepers in the first half. He was fully extended when he tipped a 22-yard free-kick by Tom James over the bar and then pushing away a powerful drive by Ethan Galbraith.

Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu went on an enterprising run before his effort was collected by Brynn as Fleetwood pushed for a second-half winner.

It arrived when Simons collected a pass from Tommy Lonergan after Orient failed to clear their lines and neatly struck the ball past Brynn.

But it was not enough to take Fleetwood’s fight to the last weekend of the season.

Exeter boss Gary Caldwell hailed an “unbelievable” win after his side triumphed 2-1 away at Northampton despite playing the whole second half with 10 men.

Luke Harris steered the Grecians ahead at Sixfields but Ryan Woods saw red for violent conduct after clashing heads with Jon Guthrie on the stroke of half-time.

Northampton dominated possession in the second half but created little and even though Guthrie did bring them level, Exeter claimed all three points thanks to Will Aimson’s 83rd-minute winner.

“It was another brilliant display of character and team spirit,” said Caldwell. “I thought the way we started the game was excellent.

“We were surprised by their team, they showed us a lot of respect and changed formation and they locked onto our box and tried to stop us playing.

“But when we adjusted, I thought we caused them a lot of problems and we scored during that period and we could have scored more goals.

“The game then became a bit loose just before half-time and the sending off changes everything but this team fights and always finds a way and it was another unbelievable win.

“It’s not the first time we have won with 10 men this season and that’s all about resilience and character.”

On the red card, Caldwell said: “I think it’s really soft. There’s a coming together and he goes down very, very easily and the referee couldn’t wait to get his red card out.”

The defeat drops Northampton out of the top half of League One.

Manager Jon Brady said: “I actually thought we started really well. For 10 or 15 minutes we dominated the game, we stepped onto them and we had most of the ball.

“Exeter haven’t lost away from home since Christmas and they got back into it but we really stepped on the gas and we’ve hit the post and had shots cleared off the line.

“The goalkeeper’s put one onto the bar and another shot hits our player on the chest when it was going in so we should have scored two or three in that period, but we gave away a real sloppy goal for the first one.

“They then have a man sent off and they sit behind the ball and we get it back to 1-1 but did we really test their goal enough? Probably not.

“But then we give another goal away. We go to clear the ball and it hits their player on the foot and goes in. It’s disappointing because of course you want to finish with a win at home but it’s still been a brilliant season.”

Garath McCleary scored twice as Wycombe made it three away wins on the spin with a 3-1 victory at relegated Carlisle.

It has been a fine week on the road for Matt Bloomfield’s side, who have secured nine points from a possible nine to stretch their unbeaten league run away from home to five games.

Joe Low knocked Luke Leahy’s deep cross back across goal for McCleary to open the scoring in the 15th minute.

The lead barely lasted five minutes as Jon Mellish’s cross bounced across the box and Alfie McCalmont was on hand to level for the hosts.

Wanderers restored their lead four minutes after the restart as teenager Richard Kone bundled the ball home from close range after hesitation in the box.

McCleary finished off the game with 15 minutes to go as he completed a team move with a fine header. Kone’s deft flick allowed Kieran Sadlier to race away on the left before Leahy put the ball on a plate for McCleary’s second.

Blackpool kept their play-off hopes alive with a 3-2 win over fellow promotion chasers Barnsley.

Sonny Carey gave Blackpool the lead on 12 minutes with a curling shot from 25 yards out that found the corner.

A James Husband header from Karamoko Dembele’s pinpoint free-kick put Blackpool 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time, while Hayden Coulson smashed one into the roof of the net just after the restart.

John McAtee pulled one back for Barnsley to give them a glimmer of hope midway through the second half, steering into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Adam Phillips then set up a nervy finish in added time when he fired into the corner, but Neil Critchley’s side held on.

The Seasiders need to win their final game of the season away to Reading, and hope that both Lincoln and Oxford drop points in order to secure a place in the top six, while fifth-place Barnsley know a win will be enough.

Aaron Collins and substitute Cameron Jerome kept Bolton’s hopes of automatic promotion alive with second-half goals in a 2-0 win that sealed Port Vale’s relegation from Skybet League One.

Ian Evatt’s side missed a succession of chances and hit the woodwork three times before Collins broke the deadlock after 72 minutes.

A rising right foot shot brought Collins’ sixth goal in five games and his eighth since joining the Trotters in January. Veteran Jerome added a second in stoppage time.

Bolton must beat play-off rivals Peterborough on the final day of the season and hope Derby slip up against relegated Carlisle, with a favourable goal swing, to stand a chance of going up.

In contrast, Vale will return to the fourth tier, two years after gaining promotion.

Darren Moore’s side won only 10 of their 45 games, achieving five of those victories in the first six weeks of the season.

For manager Moore, Vale’s demotion comes just over a year since he guided Sheffield Wednesday into the Championship with a play-off final success against Barnsley.

Shrewsbury ensured a 10th successive campaign in League One after their 1-1 draw at Charlton.

The visitors have not won in six matches, drawing four times, but sharing the spoils at The Valley was enough to secure safety.

Dan Udoh put Shrewsbury ahead in the 23rd minute with his 11th goal of the season, slotting smartly across Addicks keeper Harry Isted.

Before that Town had gone close when Morgan Feeney’s header hit the left post with the ball rebounding on to Tunmise Sobowale and once again coming back off the woodwork.

Charlton levelled almost instantly after the restart. Addicks captain George Dobson, who has signed a pre-contract agreement to join Hungarian club Fehervar, raced on to Connor Wickham’s through ball and confidently went past Shrewsbury keeper Marko Marosi to finish into an unguarded net.

Addicks midfielder Karoy Anderson headed over from close range after meeting Thierry Small’s cross from the left shortly before the hour mark while Marosi got down well to parry away substitute Daniel Kanu’s strike.

Charlton extended their unbeaten run to 14 league matches, 10 of them draws.

Derby moved to the brink of promotion to the Championship after a 1-0 win at Cambridge.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s goal shortly before half-time leaves Paul Warne’s side needing one point at home to bottom club Carlisle next weekend to go up.

Cambridge will be safe if they win either of their two remaining games, or if Cheltenham fail to win both of theirs.

U’s keeper Will Mannion tipped Louie Sibley’s corner onto the bar early on, while at the other end Joe Wildsmith saved well from Macauley Bonne in the 15th minute.

Mendez-Laing nearly scored in spectacular style after 38 minutes, seeing his superb curler from nearly 30 yards come back off the bar, but he only had to wait a few seconds before putting the Rams ahead.

Sibley played Mendez-Laing in behind the defence, and he rounded keeper Mannion outside the box before firing into an empty net.

Cambridge came on strong after the break, with Jordan Cousins firing just wide from distance and Ryan Bennett seeing a shot blocked.

Lincoln moved into the play-off places with a 2-1 win at Cheltenham, whose League One future is now hanging by a thread.

The Imps have been resurgent under boss Michael Skubala, but they had to come from behind to take the points.

Cheltenham led through Liam Sercombe’s early penalty, but Joe Taylor levelled before half-time and Freddie Draper won it seven minutes after the break.

A midweek win at Burton had kept Cheltenham’s survival hopes alive and their chances of avoiding the drop improved when Jordan Thomas was tripped by Danny Mandroiu in the box. Sercombe stepped up to fire home from the spot in the 15th minute for his 11th goal of the season.

Lincoln responded well and Taylor’s superb run down the left was eventually stopped in the box, but the ball found its way back to him and he applied a clinical finish in the 40th minute for his 22nd goal of the campaign.

Luke Southwood saved from Alex Mitchell early in the second half and also kept out an effort from Ben House, but he could do nothing to prevent Draper from scoring with a low finish in the 52nd minute.

James Olayinka saw a late effort blocked for Cheltenham and their defeat left them five points from safety with two games to play.