League One final day round-up: Derby clinch promotion, Cheltenham suffer relegation

Derby beat Carlisle 2-0 to secure promotion back to the Championship, while Cheltenham couldn't get the win they needed at Stevenage that would have seen them survive.

The Rams knew all they had to do was avoid defeat against bottom side Carlisle, and they got off to the best possible start, scoring after just five minutes through Max Bird.

Bolton, who were the side needing Derby to slip-up, raced into a lead at Peterborough themselves to keep the pressure on the Rams, but Derby sealed promotion with a second goal just before the hour mark that meant it was party time at Pride Park.

The Trotters, who ended up drawing 3-3 on the final day, have to settle for third place then, and will take on Barnsley in the play-offs, who conceded a late equaliser against Northampton to see them drop from fifth to sixth in the final standings.

Fifth place was taken by Oxford, who did what they needed to in winning 2-1 at Exeter. The U's went into the game outside of the play-off places, needing a win themselves and for Lincoln not to beat champions Portsmouth, and that was how it went, as the Imps lost 2-0.

But, it could have been so different, as Lincoln missed a penalty early in the second half that would have seen them go 1-0 up.

Blackpool, also in with a chance of pinching a play-off spot, went 1-0 up away at Reading only to fall 3-1 behind and eventual lose 3-2, meaning it will be another League One campaign for them.

At the other end of the table it was a battle between Burton and Cheltenham to avoid the drop, with the latter needing a win and for the former not to win in order to survive.

Burton did not win, they got thrashed 3-0 in fact at already relegated Fleetwood, but Cheltenham couldn't get the win they were looking for, losing 2-1 at Stevenage, and as a result they drop in League Two.

More from Sporting Life

• Fixtures, results and live scores
• Expert xG analysis and features
• Transfer news and done deals
• Football and other sports tips
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.