Bolton Wanderers 2-3 Barnsley

(Bolton win 5-4 on aggregate)

EOIN TOAL’S FIRST-HALF header helped Bolton into the League One play-off final despite being beaten by Barnsley in Tuesday’s night’s second leg.

Bolton held the upper hand after last Friday’s 3-1 semi-final first-leg win but had their lead cut in the 36th minute by Sam Cosgrove.

They quickly hit back with a fine Aaron Collins strike before former Derry City defender Toal headed them into the lead just before the break.

Barnsley scored again through Adam Phillips in the 64th minute and Cosgrove then made it 3-2 on the night 12 minutes later to set up a tense finale, but the Trotters held out as they gained revenge over the side that beat them in last season’s play-off semis.

They will head to Wembley a week on Saturday to vie with either Oxford or Peterborough for a place in the Championship – the U’s are 1-0 up in the tie ahead of Wednesday’s second leg at the Weston Homes Stadium.

Bolton are seeking a return to the second tier having last been in the division in 2018-2019, and a second promotion under manager Ian Evatt, who guided them out of League Two in 2021.

For Barnsley and their Irish contingent, missing out on the final completes a disappointing end to 2023-24 in which they failed to win any of their final six games of the regular season and sacked manager Neill Collins with one remaining.