John Mousinho hailed Portsmouth’s “remarkable achievement” after the come-from-behind 3-2 win over Barnsley at Fratton Park secured the League One title and promotion to the Championship.

Pompey looked to be missing their opportunity in front of their own fans when, needing one point to return to the second tier after a 12-year absence, they were 2-1 behind after Devante Cole and John McAtee struck either side of Kusini Yengi’s equaliser.

But the hosts hit back in the final seven minutes with Colby Bishop scoring from the penalty spot and Conor Shaughnessy heading home the winner.

Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent Sport: “I think once everything settles down it will sink in properly. I’ve never experienced anything like that, the last 15 minutes, it was absolutely incredible.

“Even at 2-1 down, to get the momentum and the crowd behind us, I am just so proud of the boys. I’m genuinely just so pleased for everyone connected to the football club. They’ve gone through so much.

“When we got it back to 3-2 I thought we have played so poor, but found a way to win somehow in a game where we really struggled. It really does sum up the boys.

“A tough night, tough conditions, but they got the job done. It’s hard for me to sum it up, but I get what’s happened over the last 15 years at the club and how difficult it was, on the brink of liquidation, to come back and have a night like this is incredible to be involved in.

“To be head coach, it is a privilege. Hopefully we can have a few more nights like this.

“I never could have imagined this happening this quickly. This was obviously the goal at some point, but didn’t think it would happen with two games to go this season. It is a remarkable achievement. That is a serious effort to be crowned champions ahead of some of the big boys in this league as well.”

Play-off chasing Barnsley, having lost three of their last four games, are four points above seventh-placed Lincoln.

Boss Neill Collins told the club’s official website: “There are a lot of positives. But the biggest frustration is that all those positives didn’t add up to what I thought would be a deserved victory.

“We perform like that, we’ll be fine. We’ll win games. It’s just the fine margins. For me, it’s the fine margins that have gone against us the past four or five games.

“Tonight again, it’s some of our doing. But that’s what we need to concentrate on. That’s what the Football League is all about.”

John Mousinho hailed Portsmouth’s “remarkable achievement” after the come-from-behind 3-2 win over Barnsley at Fratton Park secured the League One title and promotion to the Championship.

Pompey looked to be missing their opportunity in front of their own fans when, needing one point to return to the second tier after a 12-year absence, they were 2-1 behind after Devante Cole and John McAtee struck either side of Kusini Yengi’s equaliser.

But the hosts hit back in the final seven minutes with Colby Bishop scoring from the penalty spot and Conor Shaughnessy heading home the winner.

Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent Sport: “I think once everything settles down it will sink in properly. I’ve never experienced anything like that, the last 15 minutes, it was absolutely incredible.

“Even at 2-1 down, to get the momentum and the crowd behind us, I am just so proud of the boys. I’m genuinely just so pleased for everyone connected to the football club. They’ve gone through so much.

“When we got it back to 3-2 I thought we have played so poor, but found a way to win somehow in a game where we really struggled. It really does sum up the boys.

“A tough night, tough conditions, but they got the job done. It’s hard for me to sum it up, but I get what’s happened over the last 15 years at the club and how difficult it was, on the brink of liquidation, to come back and have a night like this is incredible to be involved in.

“To be head coach, it is a privilege. Hopefully we can have a few more nights like this.

“I never could have imagined this happening this quickly. This was obviously the goal at some point, but didn’t think it would happen with two games to go this season. It is a remarkable achievement. That is a serious effort to be crowned champions ahead of some of the big boys in this league as well.”

Play-off chasing Barnsley, having lost three of their last four games, are four points above seventh-placed Lincoln.

Boss Neill Collins told the club’s official website: “There are a lot of positives. But the biggest frustration is that all those positives didn’t add up to what I thought would be a deserved victory.

“We perform like that, we’ll be fine. We’ll win games. It’s just the fine margins. For me, it’s the fine margins that have gone against us the past four or five games.

“Tonight again, it’s some of our doing. But that’s what we need to concentrate on. That’s what the Football League is all about.”

Conor Shaughnessy struck late on as Portsmouth secured the League One title and promotion to the Championship with a 3-2 win over Barnsley at Fratton Park.

Pompey knew one point would return them to the second tier following a 12-year absence, but they were up against it after Devante Cole and John McAtee scored for the play-off chasing Tykes either side of Kusini Yengi’s equaliser.

However, the hosts got the job done courtesy of Colby Bishop’s 83rd-minute penalty and Shaughnessy’s last-gasp effort.

John Mousinho was pleased with Portsmouth’s 1-1 draw at Bolton despite the leaders’ bid for promotion and the Sky Bet League One title put on hold.

Abu Kamara’s seventh-minute goal put the visitors in front, but Aaron Collins’ fifth goal in three games after 36 minutes ensured Pompey need a point against Barnsley at Fratton Park on Tuesday to reach the Championship.

“It keeps Bolton at arm’s length which was an important thing for us to do,” said manager Mousinho.

“We came here for the win and during the game we made substitutions to try and win it. I think though on balance, Bolton probably deserved to win it.

“I was displeased how we reacted to going a goal up. I thought we were poor.

“We made some poor decisions, slashed at a few clearances and didn’t do enough to track runners.

“It took Bolton equalising for us to click back into gear and decide we wanted to play and be more recognisable.

“We regrouped at half-time and it was a much better performance in the second half. Hopefully, now we can get the job done on Tuesday.

“There was talk in the week whether it was better to go and do it at Fratton. But we were desperate to try and get the job done here.

“Obviously we couldn’t, but going back to Fratton with the opportunity to do it in front of the long-suffering home fans and needing a point will be a fantastic occasion.”

Bolton have three games remaining, but need a slip up by Derby in order to gain automatic promotion.

Collins’ header from Nat Ogbeta’s cross after 36 minutes was his seventh since joining the club.

The Trotters could easily have become only the fifth side to beat Portsmouth this season.

Instead, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson missed an easy second-half chance, while substitute Dion Charles hit the post late on.

“It is frustrating but it hard to be too critical of the players,” said manager Ian Evatt.

“Portsmouth are top of the league for a reason and bar the first seven to 10 minutes where we conceded a poor goal in transition to their most dangerous player, I thought we dominated.

“We had opportunities to win, missed a couple of big opportunities and had 19 shots to their five.

“When you watch a game you get a feel for who is the most dominant team and then the data backs it up. That was the case.

“It was a good performance and we deserved more. Now we have to pick everyone up because we haven’t lost it.

“There can be turns left, right and centre. So, the most important for us is to win the game on Tuesday (at home to Shrewsbury) and get it back to a point (on Derby).

“But we have to pick the players up because they are disappointed. They know we should have won the game. But now is not the time to be feeling sorry for ourselves.”

Aaron Collins’ latest Bolton goal earned a 1-1 draw to ensure Portsmouth’s Sky Bet League One title and promotion celebrations remain on ice.

Pompey were heading back to the Championship for the first time in 12 years when Abu Kamara scored a classy seventh-minute opener.

But Wanderers kept alive their own hopes of promotion to the second tier without need of the play-offs nine minutes before half-time.

Nat Ogbeta had not distinguished himself when Kamara raced beyond him to score with a low left-footed finish.

However, the former Manchester City prospect provided the assist for Collins to head in for a fifth goal in three games and his seventh since signing from Bristol Rovers.

It was nothing more than Ian Evatt’s side deserved in front of the club’s highest ever third tier attendance of 25,738.

Collins was denied a second by goalkeeper Will Norris in first-half stoppage time with Jon Dadi Bodvarsson unable to convert the rebound.

Bodvarsson missed a great chance to win it for Bolton after 69 minutes, while substitute and leading scorer Dion Charles hit the post three minutes from time.

The first EFL promotion places could be confirmed this Saturday, with Portsmouth, Stockport and Wrexham all looking for the results to rubber-stamp their elevation.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what is required in each division.

Championship

Rotherham are down and nothing else will be decided this weekend at either end of the table, though Southampton will secure a play-off place unless they lose and Coventry and Preston both win.

League One

Portsmouth will be confirmed as a Championship team for next season if they beat third-placed Bolton.

Should Pompey drop points, they can still be promoted on Saturday if they at least match the results of both second-placed Derby and fourth-placed Peterborough, who face Leyton Orient and Oxford respectively.

At the bottom, Carlisle are already relegated and the other three places will remain in contest at least until midweek, though Fleetwood could end Saturday nine points adrift of safety with only nine to play for.

League Two

Stockport need only a point against Morecambe to secure their promotion.

Wrexham could join them with victory over bottom club Forest Green, if MK Dons do not beat Mansfield in the battle of fourth against third – that would also send Stockport up even if they lose. The top three are already secure in the play-offs as a minimum and could be joined by MK Dons.

Relegation issues will not be confirmed, but Forest Green could be left six points adrift with two games remaining.

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho saluted two-goal Colby Bishop as the league leaders moved to the brink of sealing promotion with a 3-1 win at home to Shrewsbury.

Top-scorer Bishop took his tally for the season to 20 to give Pompey the chance to secure a return to the Championship after a 12-year absence at Bolton next weekend.

Mousinho: “It’s a fantastic achievement for Colby to get 20 goals in successive seasons. He hasn’t played every game, so what he has achieved is brilliant.

“The result is the most important thing but the performance is important as well.

“With Peterborough and Derby not playing today, it gave us a chance to push on and extend the lead at the top. It wasn’t in spectacular fashion but we got the job done.

“I don’t think we played particularly well to be honest. We started well by getting the early goal but we became sloppy. We were slightly better in the second half but I think we were a bit jaded from Tuesday’s game. It was a difficult game to bounce back from.

“If you would have offered me a win having not played well, I would have taken it.”

Pompey took the lead after only three minutes when Conor Shaughnessy crossed from the left and Shrews skipper Chey Dunkley could only put the ball into his own net.

Shrewsbury levelled after 29 minutes when a break on the left saw the ball reach an unmarked Jordan Shipley in the box and he easily beat home goalkeeper Will Norris.

Pompey regained the lead three minutes before half time from the penalty spot after clever play by Kusini Yengi resulted in him being brought down and Bishop converted.

Shrewsbury played the second half with more purpose but Pompey finished the job off with 14 minutes remaining when Bishop slammed home from 10 yards.

Shrews boss Paul Hurst said: “To get a result, you must put your chances away.

“We had a game plan, which after three minutes we were thinking ‘do we tear it up’, but we had to make sure that we didn’t concede again.

“There was always the thought that we were going to be blown away but they didn’t perhaps play as they wanted to.

“I genuinely thought we would get something from the game but a soft penalty for them saw us going in at half time a goal down instead of level.

“The penalty was a terrible decision. If that had been at the other end, it wouldn’t have been given, trust me. An experienced referee got it wrong. It was an easy decision for him to make.”

Colby Bishop’s double helped a below-par Portsmouth beat Shrewsbury 3-1 to move another step closer to promotion.

Table-topping Pompey started with two centre forwards and the early pressure paid dividends when they took the lead on three minutes.

Conor Shaughnessy crossed from the left and Shrews skipper Chey Dunkley could only put the ball into his own net.

Pompey were in total control but their lethargic and scrappy play produced little.

Shrewsbury took advantage and equalised on 29 minutes. A break on the left saw the ball reach an unmarked Jordan Shipley in the box and he easily beat home goalkeeper Will Norris.

Conceding seemed to wake Pompey up and they regained the lead three minutes before half time from the penalty spot.

Clever play by Kusini Yengi resulted in him being brought down and top scorer Bishop converted.

Shrewsbury played the second half with more purpose but Pompey finished the job off with 14 minutes remaining when Bishop slammed home from 10 yards.

Victory left Pompey nine clear of third-placed Bolton with four games remaining.

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho was relieved to see his side take a point from their top-of-the-table clash at home to nearest challengers Derby after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 at Fratton Park.

Substitute Owen Moxon’s 25-yard screamer 13 minutes from time ensured the League One leaders took a share of the spoils to move a step closer to sealing promotion to the Championship.

Mousinho said: “Having gone behind twice it always feels like a decent enough point.

“I just think overall we probably had enough of it but did not dominate the ball enough, but I thought on the whole, it was pretty good performance against a really good side so we will take the point and move on.

“We’ve just got to follow it up with a win at the weekend (against Shrewsbury).

“Derby sat in and they made it difficult for us, were really tough for us to break down and they countered us with pace. You have to deal with that and I didn’t think we dealt with it brilliantly.

“The first goal was a brilliant move and probably the first time we’ve properly moved it from side to side. I was really pleased with both goals; two very different goals because one was about a team move and the other one was a brilliant strike from the edge of the box.”

Derby went in front in the 23rd minute when the unmarked Joe Ward drove the ball beyond home goalkeeper Will Norris following a quick counter.

The lead only lasted four minutes as Colby Bishop flicked a delightful ball through for Abu Kamara to confidently slot home.

The Rams regained the lead 10 minutes before half-time as Ward’s effort from outside the box took a deflection before finding the corner.

In the 77th minute substitute Moxon latched onto a loose ball and thrashed the ball beyond Joe Wildsmith from distance to draw the hosts level.

The result keeps Pompey five points clear of Derby with five games to play, with third-placed Bolton a further four behind the Rams.

Derby boss Paul Warne said: “I’m not too frustrated at the point.

“If you had told me before the game we would come away with a point, I would have taken that. But it is disappointing to lead twice and not win.

“We’ve played a motivated, highly fit, confident, and well-organised side. The league table shows you that.

“We scored two goals and thought that it was enough to win the game, but we’ve conceded to a screamer which is disappointing as Joe (Wildsmith) hasn’t had a lot to do tonight.

“I think they’ve run out of ideas, which is why they’ve had to attempt shots from 30 yards. The players have worked so hard and I’m proud of them.”

Owen Moxon picked the perfect time to score a spectacular first Portsmouth goal as the league leaders twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at home to second-placed Derby at Fratton Park.

Moxon lashed home from 25 yards out 13 minutes from time as John Mousinho’s men moved another step closer to promotion to the Championship.

Derby went in front in the 23rd minute when the unmarked Joe Ward drove the ball beyond home goalkeeper Will Norris following a quick counter-attack.

The lead only lasted four minutes as Colby Bishop flicked a delightful ball through for Abu Kamara to confidently slot home.

The Rams regained the lead 10 minutes before half-time as Ward’s effort from outside the box took a deflection before finding the corner.

In the 77th minute substitute Moxon latched onto a loose ball and thrashed the ball beyond Joe Wildsmith to draw the hosts level.

The draw keeps Pompey five points clear of Derby and nine ahead of third-placed Bolton with just five games to play.

Portsmouth assistant Jon Harley is not focused on promotion despite a 3-1 victory at Wycombe moving the Sky Bet League One leaders closer to the Championship.

Pompey moved 11 points clear of third-placed Bolton following a stylish performance at Adams Park, in which top scorer Colby Bishop scored twice to make it 18 goals for the season.

Eight points from their remaining six games are required for Pompey to seal their return to the second tier after a 12-year absence, with a top-of-the-table clash with Derby to come on Tuesday night.

Harley, in charge on the touchline due to John Mousinho’s ban, said: “I don’t think that (promotion) is something we really want to talk about too much.

“As boring as it sounds, we’ve got a massive game against Derby coming up, so we just focus on that.

“I think if we focus on one game at a time, then the rest will take care of itself.

“Obviously, there is that going on in the back of our minds, we just want to get there as soon as we can and Derby becomes our next focus.

“The gaffer came down at half-time and had a few words and the key message, really, was let’s show some more energy.

“We knew it was going to be a fight in the second half and everyone stood up to it.

“The energy really rose and I think the game got wrapped up and in the last 20 minutes we felt really comfortable.”

Portsmouth led after three minutes when Bishop’s shot went in via a big deflection off Ryan Tafazolli, but Wycombe quickly levelled through Matt Butcher’s assured finish.

Bishop then doubled his tally after 28 minutes by steering in Abu Kamara’s low cross before Christian Saydee made sure of victory midway through the second half.

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield said: “I felt we weren’t at our best, but we’ve gone pretty close.

“We had a couple of chances when we were 2-1 down – we hit the bar and had another couple of moments and if one of those goes in at 2-2, I really fancy us at home to have a good last half an hour.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and we had a bit of a sucker punch to go 3-1 down, which took the wind out of our sails a little bit.

“Portsmouth are at the top of the league for a reason.

“They’ve got some good players in forward areas who can hurt you at any moment and in Colby Bishop I think you’ll do well to find a better nine in the league.

“They’ve got some real good players and they’re a benchmark of where we want to get to.”

Derby head coach Paul Warne has urged his players to enjoy the pressure after they strengthened their automatic promotion chances with a 1-0 win over Blackpool.

The Rams came out on top in a tense, close-fought game that was settled by Ebou Adams’ superb first-half strike.

Clear chances were few and far between until the ball fell to Adams on the edge of the box in the 40th minute and the midfielder smashed home an unstoppable shot to celebrate his first Derby goal.

Derby should have added a second in the 55th minute when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing put Conor Washington through but Blackpool goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw made an excellent save.

It resulted in a nervy finish for Derby, who needed keeper Joe Wildsmith to beat out a Sonny Carey free-kick in the 71st minute.

Blackpool continued to find openings and Kyle Joseph had two goalbound shots blocked by Curtis Nelson and Eiran Cashin in the closing minutes.

The win sets Derby up for Tuesday night’s visit to leaders Portsmouth and Warne said: “I told the lads before the game that pressure is a privilege.

“To play in these games and to have something to go for is amazing because you can have loads of seasons where it just fizzles out.

“I don’t think there’s any easy opposition in this league, it is tough and what I did like today was our game management.

“I joked with the lads after that what we normally do with five minutes left is just give the ball away all the time so I really liked our game management at the end.

“I was impressed with our discipline out of possession. Footballers always want the ball all the time so I think the fact the lads took all the information on from the coaches this week, the out of possession stuff impressed me the most.”

For Blackpool head coach Neil Critchley, it was a familiar story.

He said: “I thought we played with bravery, passed the ball well, caused them problems, got into the final third often, got into good situations and failed.

“It’s been the story of our season in certain games away from home. They produced a moment of quality, we don’t, they defend the goal better than us and that’s why they win 1-0 and that’s why they are where they are and why we are where we are.

“We’ve got six games to go and there will be plenty of twists and turns but I’m sick of saying the same things. We’ve created more than enough good moments and didn’t do enough in front of the goal and that’s all too common for us this season.”

John Mousinho hailed a player he dropped for helping Portsmouth take another big step towards the Championship with a 1-0 win at Peterborough.

The Pompey chief left out two-goal midweek hero Kusini Yengi for a crunch clash at promotion rivals Peterborough.

But the Australian ace responded by climbing off the bench to grab the only goal that kept Portsmouth five points clear at the summit.

Yengi, sent on after Christian Saydee limped off in the first half, raced on to a pass from fellow substitute Gavin Whyte in the 77th minute to fire past Posh keeper Jed Steer.

Peterborough still look bound for the play-offs despite their five-match winning streak coming to an end.

Top-scorer Ephron Mason-Clark blasted against the bar midway through the first half as they drew a blank for just the third time all season in League One.

“I really feel for him,” said Mousinho about match-winner Yengi. “It wasn’t an easy decision to leave him out.

“He scored twice on Tuesday night and his overall performance was really good.

“He has been excellent whenever he has played and his goalscoring record is superb.

“It could have been a difficult one to take, but he was really professional about it when told yesterday. He trained really well in the afternoon, stayed positive around the place and thoroughly deserved his goal.

“At this stage of the season it is all about winning games, but it was a really good performance from us as well.

“The fans made it a special day. That was probably the best away atmosphere I’ve ever experienced.

“To be able to win the game and put in that performance was superb. It was pure relief at the final whistle.

“We’ve just got to keep our heads down and keep winning as many games as possible.”

Posh boss Darren Ferguson said: “I’m really disappointed with the result, but really proud of the performance.

“We were by far the better team on the day and they’re really lucky to come away with a win.

“If anyone from Portsmouth says otherwise, they are kidding themselves.

“We controlled large parts of the game. Some of the play was fantastic.

“But football can be a cruel game and we just couldn’t get that first goal.

“You always need that bit of luck in big games, but we didn’t have it when Ephron hit the underside of the bar.

“I’m gutted for the players as they didn’t deserve to lose the game. You’d rather win and have a bad performance like on Wednesday.

“But if we play like that in the last eight games, we’ll be fine. I’ve still got a lot of confidence that we’re in a good place.

“The break has come at a good time to freshen up for a last push.”

Portsmouth took another big step towards the League One title with a vital 1-0 victory at promotion rivals Peterborough.

Australian striker Kusini Yengi climbed off the bench to grab the only goal in the 77th minute to send an army of 4,000 Pompey fans wild.

Yengi slammed his seventh of the season past Posh keeper Jed Steer to complete a ruthless breakaway after being picked out by fellow substitute Gavin Whyte’s pass.

And that was enough to extend the table-toppers’ unbeaten run to 12 games while bringing Posh’s five-match winning streak to an end.

Captain Harrison Burrows was inches away from giving Posh a first-half lead when steering a low shot past the far post.

Top-scorer Ephron Mason-Clark came even closer to breaking the deadlock when blasting against the bar.

That was soon followed by the best Pompey opportunity of the opening period as Colby Bishop headed a Marlon Pack free-kick straight at Steer.

Malik Mothersille saw a volley fly across the face of goal as Posh started the second half well, but it was Pompey who eventually made the breakthrough to move nine points clear of third place and closer to a Championship return.

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho praised two-goal hero Kusini Yengi after a 2-1 win over Burton retained their lead at the top of League One.

The victory moved leaders Pompey five points clear of second-placed Derby and six in front of Bolton in third.

Mousinho said: “It was a good result. It would be a shame to dwell on the last 10 minutes, because I thought we were excellent in those previous 80 minutes.

“But I said to the players at the end that we need to put games to bed because not doing so allowed them back into the game. Burton changed their shape and personnel which caused us problems at the end.

“We changed shape tonight because of player availability, and I thought it worked well with some good football. We played Kusini because we have options up front, and Colby Bishop has had a heavy workload.

“And, like tonight, he can score goals.”

Albion had the first effort at goal, with Rekeem Harper rattling the Pompey bar in the first minute.

Pompey found life difficult in the final third, but had a superb chance after 37 minutes when Yengi somehow shot wide of an open goal from two yards.

But he made amends in added time, when after having been brought down in the area, got up to score the penalty.

Pompey kept the pressure on in the second half, and despite Abu Kamara blasting high over the bar in the 57th minute, Yengi scored his second six minutes later when he tapped in from a hard low Kamara cross.

Burton pulled one back after 80 minutes when captain John Brayford fired home.

Albion boss Martin Paterson said: “We played a very good team tonight. One that can find holes in defences, so the team did tremendously well.

“My etiquette has always been to not discuss officials, but tonight that changes. The equilibrium of decisions and actions against my football club was not the same as theirs.

“I respect the decision for their penalty, but when my players put in the kind of effort they have tonight, and have an even better penalty shout turned down, it’s difficult not to say something.

“In the second half we made substitutions, changed shape, and scored a good goal.

“It’s totally unfair to my players not to have got a point out of the game. I was really proud of them tonight. We had them on the rack in the last 10 minutes, and the last two games we have been excellent.

“I think we will kick on from this having been denied.”