Key Takeaways
- Cardiff City sealed instant promotion to the Championship after a 3-1 win at Reading and Exeter’s keeper scoring a late equaliser against Stockport.
- Exeter goalkeeper Jack Bycroft headed in the 96th minute to deny Stockport a vital win, ending their automatic promotion hopes.
- Bromley earned historic promotion to League One without playing, thanks to Barnet’s 2-1 win at Notts County.
Cardiff City will play Championship football next season after a dramatic final day in League One. The Bluebirds beat Reading 3-1 and then watched Exeter City’s keeper Jack Bycroft head a 96th-minute equaliser against Stockport County to confirm Cardiff’s second-place finish.
Stockport had led 3-2 deep into added time at St James Park, but Bycroft raced forward for a corner and nodded in his first-ever senior goal. The strike lifted Exeter’s slim survival hopes and ended Stockport’s dream of automatic promotion.
Exeter boss Matt Taylor praised the 23-year-old keeper: “He backed himself, timed the run and buried a brilliant header. It was a fairytale moment.”
In League Two, Bromley clinched promotion to League One for the first time in their 132-year history. The Ravens did not play on Saturday, but Kabongo Tshimanga’s two goals for Barnet at Notts County secured the result Bromley needed.
MK Dons moved a step closer to the third-tier with a 3-1 win at Crewe, while Accrington’s last-gasp equaliser dented Swindon’s automatic promotion push in a 2-2 draw.
Bolton’s 3-3 thriller at Huddersfield ended their top-two hopes. The Trotters, reduced to 10 men, trailed 3-1 before Ibrahim Cissoko levelled in the 11th minute of stoppage time. After the match Bolton condemned racist abuse aimed at one of their players on social media, calling it “disgusting and unacceptable” and urging stronger action from platforms and police.
Lincoln City need only a point to clinch the League One title after Rob Street’s late goal earned a 2-2 draw at Stevenage, while Plymouth kept their play-off hopes alive with a 3-1 win at AFC Wimbledon.
At the bottom, Doncaster Rovers guaranteed safety with a 3-1 win at already-relegated Northampton, and Blackpool are almost safe after a 1-0 victory at Wycombe despite playing the last half-hour with 10 men.
In the National League, York City edged closer to a return to the Football League with a 3-0 win over Yeovil, setting up a winner-takes-all clash with Rochdale next weekend.