Monk: United deserved a point

HEAD COACH PHILOSOPHICAL AFTER U’S SUFFER NARROW DEFEAT TO ROVERS

LATE goals from Colby Bishop and Conor Shaughnessy on Tuesday night confirmed Portsmouth’s return to the Championship after a 12-year absence.

John Mousinho’s men twice hit back from behind to beat play-off hopefuls Barnsley 3-2 and ensure they will finish the season as champions, sparking celebrations at Fratton Park.

Pompey looked set to be frustrated in their search for the single point they needed in order to make certain of promotion when Devante Cole gave Barnsley an early lead then John McAtee restored the visitors’ lead after Kusini Yengi’s equaliser.

But Bishop levelled from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute and Shaughnessy headed in from a corner six minutes later to put the seal on Pompey’s promotion party.

Third-placed Bolton missed the chance to move to within a point of second-placed Derby as they were held 2-2 at home by 18th-placed Shrewsbury. The mid-table Shrews twice led through Daniel Udoh and Jordan Shipley, while Bolton responded through Cameron Jerome and Paris Maghoma, whose 71st minute leveller moves them within three points of secondplaced Derby.

Peterborough confirmed their place in the play-offs with a 4-1 win over Fleetwood, who remain just about alive in their battle to beat the drop. Two injury-time goals from Jonsson Clarke-Harris put the seal on a commanding Posh win although they had a fright at the start as Fleetwood - who need two wins and an improbable series of events elsewhere to stay up - opened the scoring after 17 seconds through Bosun Lawal.

Promise Omochere and Lawal missed penalties for the visitors either side of Malik Mothersille’s equaliser, before Archie Collins put

GARRY Monk was disappointed to not take anything from Cambridge United’s trip to Bristol Rovers’ the Memorial Stadium on Tuesday evening but the U’s head coach was pleased with his side’s attitude.

Monk admitted luck was not on Cambridge’s side in the late 1-0 defeat, especially given that both sides had enjoyed good chances to score and a draw was very much on the cards.

Chris Martin netted the only goal of the game after 87 minutes – after missing a first-half penalty – but Cambridge’s Macauley Bonne and Paul Digby had squandered good opportunities from corners before that, while Mamadou Jobe had also headed against the post.

“So close and it would have been deserved (to get a point), I felt overall. Especially in that second half,” said Monk.

“There was a similar pattern that we need to address.

“First half, not that it was bad but just that there were a couple of things we weren’t getting to grips with, especially in our defensive actions but we still had a couple of glorious chances in that first half from our set plays. We should have had a goal.

“Second half, we looked so comfortable from a defensive point of view.

“Much more aggressive in the moments we needed to be and we sorted that out.

“I just couldn’t see them scoring. I was thinking more about, how can we do a little bit better with our attacks?

“But even then, we had the best chances in the second half. What we needed was for one of them to go in.

“But it wouldn’t quite go in for us. And the one real opportunity for them and it goes in – but that’s football sometimes.”

Bristol Rovers finally netted at home, as Martin’s late strike ended a run of four matches at the Memorial Stadium without a goal for the hosts.

The win also made it back-to-back League One victories following success at Cheltenham at the weekend, as the Gas aim to finish their campaign on a high.

“It’s been a while at the Mem, a very good goal to win and a clean sheet to boot,” said boss Matt Taylor. “I was really pleased with our firsthalf performance.

“I thought we deserved to be ahead in the game. Another missed penalty (after Antony Evans’ miss at the weekend) and enough opportunities to be in a more comfortable position than we were.

“As the second half went on, certainly how the opposition set up, it became more and more frustrating for us and we couldn’t quite get their centre-halves or goalkeeper to work. But you only need that one moment as long as you’ve got that clean sheet behind you.

“Thankfully it came in the shape of a late goal.”