Ryan Seager’s double earned Dorking a 2-1 win over already relegated Scunthorpe
The forward ensured Dorking finished 16th in the National League, nine points above the relegation zone.
Seager opened the scoring for the hosts after 28 minutes and doubled their lead on the hour.
Daniel Elliott pulled a goal back for the Iron with eight minutes left but their disastrous season ended with another defeat.
Bromley came from behind to draw 1-1 at Oldham as they finished the regular season in seventh place in the National League.
Joe Nuttall opened the scoring a minute before the break after rounding Bromley goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook and slotting home.
But the visitors levelled in the 79th minute through James Vennings’ powerful finish into the bottom corner.
Charles-Cook came to Bromley’s rescue in the 80th minute as he pushed Mark Shelton’s effort wide.
Bromley, who were already guaranteed a place in the play-off eliminators, will now face Woking on Wednesday, with a semi-final spot on the line.
Edward Jones’ late strike earned Altrincham a share of the spoils with Aldershot as the sides ended the season with a 1-1 draw.
A good cross from Ollie Harfield found Jack Barham but his chance for the Shots was headed just wide, while Tahvon Campbell was also causing problems for the Altrincham defence, hitting a menacing strike that flew past the post.
Regan Linney had a great chance to put the Robins ahead after the break when his effort hit the post, but Tyler Cordner put Aldershot in front in the 66th minute with a deflected shot.
Barham’s low-driven shot was saved before Zak Goodson had a chance to equalise with his strike going narrowly wide.
In the 87th minute a low cross found Jones in the box and he was able to turn in the equaliser for Altrincham to snatch a late point.
Darren Ferguson refused to give up on promotion despite seeing Peterborough blow their penultimate chance to climb back into the Sky Bet League One play-off places.
Posh drew a blank in front of goal for the eighth time on home turf this term when they were held to a stalemate by a Bristol Rovers side who had lost their previous three games.
Top goalscorer Jonson Clarke-Harris glanced their best opportunity wide with 15 minutes to go against his former team – just before League One player of the season Aaron Collins almost struck for Rovers but was denied by home goalkeeper Will Norris.
Posh must now win at Barnsley on the final day of the season to stand a chance of sneaking into the top six, with a two-point deficit to sixth-placed Derby to overcome.
Ferguson said: “We’ve not scored in three of the last four games which is unusual, and in six home games since I came back – which is really not a good stat.
“I know there will be a big frustration that we couldn’t make points up on Derby by winning this game, but I can’t fault the players as they gave absolutely everything to the last second.
“It all goes down to the last day of the season and we’re in a situation where two teams already guaranteed places in the play-offs (Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley) play two teams trying to get in there in Derby and ourselves.
“Derby obviously have a big advantage so we have to hope we win and they lose – and stranger things have happened than that.
“But if we don’t do our job – like we didn’t do today – we’re not going to get in the play-offs.”
Rovers chief Joey Barton said: “Players like Jono (Clarke-Harris) and Azza (Collins) get all the plaudits for scoring goals and winning games, so it’s sod’s law on a day where two of the most free-scoring forwards in the division play each other it ends up 0-0.
“I felt the better chances were probably ours and I’m a bit frustrated we couldn’t put one of them away.
“It was easier for us than Peterborough as the pressure was on them. They played really well up until the final third, but we have to be given credit for that as we set up in a deeper block than we usually do to make it difficult for them.
“We’d gladly swap our position for theirs to have a live chance of getting into the play-offs on the final day of the season.
“We went into the last day of last season needing to score to get promotion and we did it, so you have to keep believing and good luck to Peterborough against Barnsley.”
Steve Cooper was left counting the cost of a contentious VAR decision after relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest slipped to a 2-1 Premier League defeat at Brentford.
Ivan Toney appeared to be in an offside position when Josh Dasilva scored Brentford’s winner in stoppage time.
But after a lengthy check by VAR Neil Swarbrick, the striker was deemed to be onside and the goal was given, dealing a major blow to Forest’s survival hopes.
“I really hope the decision was based on real facts and not a judgement call,” said Forest boss Cooper.
“If its onside, we have to accept it. But we have to wait and see the image they made the call from. I really hope at this stage of the season, they didn’t make a call based on assumption.
“The guys are fuming over it. I’m still waiting for that clear-cut image. It’s a massive call in this time of the season.”
Forest had led through birthday boy Danilo, who celebrated turning 22 with a goal in first-half stoppage-time.
But Toney equalised with a free-kick eight minutes from time, taking his Premier League tally for the season to 20.
And with Forest down to 10 men after Danilo went off injured, substitute Dasilva lashed the ball home to send Forest spinning to a seventh straight away defeat.
“It was just about accepting Brentford were going to have the ball and manage that and overall we did,” added Cooper.
“We defended set-plays well. I didn’t see us conceding and I was hoping we could make better decisions when we got opportunities to break.
“To concede the goals we conceded is tough to take, for all of us. More than anything now, we have to stick together.”
Victory left Brentford in ninth place having reached the 50-pont mark.
“I like that more than the 40 points everyone talks about,” said boss Thomas Frank.
“We were not at our best. I think Nottingham Forest made it difficult for us and defended well. We played too slow. We didn’t play the killer pass.
“But coming back was very, very good. It must be so tough to be in their dressing room after a fine performance.”
The Bees have lost just twice at home this season, against Arsenal and Newcastle.
“Our fans help us a lot,” added Frank. “Every team needs good home form if they want to achieve something and we have created something quite unique.”
Gareth Ainsworth expressed his pride as QPR secured their Sky Bet Championship survival with a 1-0 win at Stoke.
Albert Adomah’s second-half winner proved to be the difference as the Hoops secured back-to-back wins for the first time since October.
In the process Ainsworth’s side extended their unbeaten run to three games and moved six points above the relegation zone with one game remaining.
The Potters offered little resistance, but the Rs were indebted to goalkeeper Seny Dieng after his string of impressive saves late on.
“I’m absolutely elated,” Ainsworth said. “You don’t want to celebrate too much because of the season we’ve had, but we’ve got to celebrate it.
“To everyone around us, we were down six weeks ago.
“People were writing us off and I’ve got to make sure the boys know how good they’ve been over the last month.
“I’ve been here eight weeks now; the first three weren’t pretty and I was trying to bring a new energy and approach to games.
“The last two away performances the lads have been magnificent and they have won us the game today.
“The fans were our 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th man today; they were brilliant and they never stopped.
“I’ve had some dark nights and in a tougher place than I’ve probably ever been in football management.
“But picking yourself up and being consistently you, it’s my way and I’m proud that I do that.
“Coming in and being energetic, and unashamedly me and consistent with what I believe, I never waned once in my belief.
“The boys and my staff deserve all the credit because they’ve been sensational and probably saved people’s jobs at QPR.
“I can’t wait to get stuck into a transfer window and a new pre-season with the boys in the Championship.”
Stoke slipped to a fourth successive home league defeat for the first time since 2019 as they disappointed again.
The Potters had to wait until the 74th minute to register their first effort as their winless run stretched to six games.
“We haven’t been good enough across the season,” Stoke boss Alex Neil said. “We realise that and our home form has been shocking.
“It’s actually embarrassing walking round at the end (for the lap of appreciation) but we’ve got a right to appreciate their efforts more than ours.
“We’ve got no right to have fans stay back and clap – that was a painful experience.
“It’s been a really disappointing season, but we’ve got a massive summer ahead of us for next year.
“Today’s irrelevant because we haven’t won enough games at home in particular and that game’s been on repeat for a while now.
“It’s an easy fix for us; we need variation in the squad so it’s fixable when we’ve got the right personnel.
“Even if I didn’t want it to be a busy summer, I don’t think I’ve got much of an option.
“We’ve got seven loanees and five or six out of contract, so automatically we’ve got 12 players that potentially won’t be here.
“That’s half a squad so it’s going to be a huge summer for us.
“I’m really confident that we’ll be far better next season and I know it’s no consolation to the fans at the moment, but I’m hoping that next season we’ll be a lot better.”
Head coach Danny Schofield spoke of his relief after Doncaster ended their winless run at nine matches with a 1-0 victory over Colchester.
Rovers’ form over the final three months of the campaign has been poor, seeing them slip from play-off contention and put them on course for a bottom-half finish.
That has brought inevitable pressure on Schofield, who was therefore pleased to sign off his side’s home campaign with a win, courtesy of Tommy Rowe’s first-half strike.
Schofield said: “It’s relief more than enjoyment for me. To get that result at this stage of the season is a big relief personally. I’ll never stop working hard and never stop fighting and I think you could see that today from the players.
“It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been on a tough 14 games or so. To get that win at home, in the last home game of the season, is a really positive thing to do.
“I asked the lads to step up their game in terms of defending balls into the box, which we’ve faced a lot and conceded in that aspect of the game. We competed more in this one and got the win as a by-product of that.
“Even though we were under pressure, I did feel as though we were in control in those situations.
“It’s not a lack of effort why we’ve been losing, it was key moments and they had a real energy to get that side of things right.”
Colchester boss Ben Garner took aim at the officials as he declared his frustration at seeing his side’s unbeaten run ended after eight matches.
Garner was involved in several fiery exchanges with the match officials during the second half as the U’s looked to level – and felt a last-gasp John Akinde shot had crossed the line before being batted away by Doncaster goalkeeper Louis Jones.
“I don’t know how we lost and I’m very frustrated,” he said. “We had enough good opportunities but didn’t take them and then gave a soft one away that gave them the chance to cling on for three points.
“We weren’t as clinical, ruthless or sharp as we have been, but the players have given everything over the last few weeks. They were probably just lacking two or three per cent – that’s all that was missing and, other than the goal, there was nothing else from them.
“I thought it was hard to get any momentum in the game. The match should always be about players, but I thought the officials made it about them too much.
“They should leave it to the players to decide the outcome. The ball looked like it was over the line with the last shot of the game.”
Liam Manning was delighted as Oxford all-but made sure of League One survival with a 3-0 win at relegated Forest Green.
Kyle Joseph, Tyler Goodrham and Billy Bodin struck to leave United three points above the drop zone with one game remaining.
Boss Manning, who replaced Karl Robinson in March, said: “It’s my son’s birthday on Monday so I’m now looking forward to celebrating with a beer and being with my family.
“Since we’ve come in, the lads have bought in. That’s why we’ve been able to do what we’ve done.
“I didn’t know any of the other scores until a couple of minutes before the end and was ageing quickly.
“The bigger picture is the potential of this club. I said to the players they should celebrate, but we don’t want to be fighting to survive in future.
“It was a bit flat in the first half and a bit passive from both teams, but we scored two great goals.”
Joseph reached double figures for the season with the opener in the 10th minute.
Midfielder Marcus McGuane picked out his run through the middle and Joseph shrugged off fellow Swansea loanee Brandon Cooper before drilling in his second goal in two games from just inside the box.
Half-time substitute Goodrham scored his second goal in two games less than one minute after the restart.
Rovers midfielder Dylan McGeouch dithered on the ball just outside the area on the left and Goodrham picked his pocket before curling his fourth of the season into the far top corner.
Striker Bodin sealed the win with his first goal of the year in the 68th minute.
Bodin left keeper Ross Doohan rooted to the spot as he curled in his eighth goal of the season from 20 yards.
Rovers manager Duncan Ferguson was furious Joseph wasn’t penalised for a foul on Cooper.
He said: “Other teams get decisions, we just don’t get them.
“He gives him a nudge and at that speed it’s easy to knock someone off the ball. He did it and went through and scored. On any other day you get a free-kick for that.
“We had a chance to make it 1-1. We never took that and then they scored two beauties.
“We struggled to get pressure on the ball and they showed real quality with their two finishes in the second half. They put the game to bed.”
Tony Mowbray suffered a hamstring injury while celebrating Sunderland’s dramatic late equaliser against Watford – but the pain will soon be forgotten if his side enjoy a play-off “party” at Preston next week.
The Black Cats kept their top-six hopes alive with a spirited late comeback in the 2-2 draw with Chris Wilder’s side, with Patrick Roberts scoring a stunning leveller in the fifth minute of added time.
That resulted in scenes of joy in the home dugout, but delight turned to pain for home boss Mowbray.
“I think it’s a hamstring injury,” he said.
“I never had a hamstring injury in 18 years as a professional because I was never fast enough but when that goal went in I obviously moved a bit too quick. I’m sure it’ll be fine, a bit of treatment. We have a full treatment room but if I can grab a physio I’ll be fine.”
Watford were two goals ahead at a sold-out Stadium of Light thanks to headers from Christian Kabasele in the first half and Ryan Porteous in the 69th minute.
But 60 seconds after that second goal, Luke O’Nien gave Sunderland a lifeline before Roberts’ moment of brilliance deep into stoppage time.
The draw leaves Sunderland in seventh, two points shy of sixth-placed Millwall ahead of their final-day trip to Deepdale.
Mowbray said: “It gives us real clarity that we have to go and win at Preston next week. If we do, everyone around us has tough games on paper.
“Let’s go and win. It’s real clarity now, we know we need to go and get the three points and see what happens.
“I’m pretty relaxed about it. We’ve given ourselves a real opportunity, we’ll take 6,000 fans there, let’s hope it’s a big party.
“We showed reasonable patience and then Roberts, a guy I’ve been speaking about since I came in here, I could never believe he was playing in League One last year, he’s an amazing footballer. Cometh the hour, cometh the man.
“I don’t think anybody could argue we didn’t deserve something from that football match.
“We’re in it until the last day of the season. It still might not be enough, but that’s OK, it’s been an enjoyable season working with the young players.”
Despite frustration at conceding the last-gasp leveller, Wilder was pleased with the way his side competed in front of a crowd of 44,944.
But he says there is a “lot of work to be done” this summer, with the Hornets, who are 13th, having endured a disappointing first season back in the Championship.
He said: “Roberts found a fabulous finish in the 95th minute. We wanted to take the sting out of it but we handed them a route back into the game.
“We need resilience. People thought we would come here and roll over in front of 45,000 fans.
“Our fans saw a team who wanted to win and have a go, but there is lots of work to be done at Watford.
“I am disappointed we’ve not extracted the results we wanted. I am disappointed we didn’t have anything to play for today. There will be reflection at the end of the season.
“We are going to finish mid-table and outsiders will say how has that happened, but there is a reason.”
Morecambe manager Derek Adams said his side’s comeback victory over Lincoln to keep their League One survival hopes alive was a “special” one in his career.
Adams, a veteran of more than 600 games as a manager, knew his side were dropping out of the league at one stage as they trailed 2-0 after 50 minutes to goals from Lasse Sorensen and Matty Virtue, with relegation rivals MK Dons leading Barnsley 4-1.
But two goals from Cole Stockton and a header from Oumar Niasse, along with Barnsley’s comeback to seal a 4-4 draw at MK Dons, means the Shrimps’ hopes of League One survival are still alive after a dramatic fightback.
Adams said: “When I heard MK Dons were beating Barnsley I knew we had to do something special to give ourselves a chance of taking the fight to the last week and we did just that.
“It was a special win for everyone involved with the club and you could see what it meant to everyone when Cole scored with four minutes to go. The club has been in turmoil for much of the season but the players have always given their all.
“Heads could have dropped today but the players stuck at it and in the end it was a special day for me, for the players and for everyone involved with this football club.”
Lincoln opened the scoring on the half hour with a goal on the break when Sorensen finished neatly from Ethan Erhahon’s threaded pass.
The Imps were denied a second by a world class Connor Ripley save from Daniel Mandroiu’s volley but did double their lead on 49 minutes when Virtue stroked home the ball from the edge of the box after another swift break from the visitors.
The Shrimps pulled one back one minute later with a stunning, dipping volley from Stockton to beat Carl Rushworth.
Dan Crowley then hit the post for the home side and Mandroiu hit the woodwork for the visitors before the Shrimps levelled on 66 minutes when Niasse took advantage of Rushworth recklessly racing from his area to head the ball into the empty net.
The action then swung from end to end before Morecambe scored the winner four minutes from time as Stockton netted his fifth in three games as he headed Ash Hunter’s free kick into the top corner to seal a dramatic three points.
Lincoln manager Mark Kennedy was unhappy with the way his side lost their two-goal lead.
He said: “I am really angry to be honest. Some of our football was scintillating at times and we had enough chances to win three games but we showed a really soft side to us today.
“We didn’t manage the occasion at all well as it was such a vital game for Morecambe and there were a few things that happened in the game that just can’t happen when you are a professional footballer.
“Something happened for all three goals and I’ve had my say in the dressing room. I accept we are young and I can accept mistakes but there were things out there I couldn’t accept today.”
MY ACCOUNT
