Exeter and Wycombe clinched automatic promotion, while Shrewsbury won the battle for a play-off spot.
Exeter and Wycombe go up as Shrewsbury seal play-off berth
Exeter and Wycombe clinched the final two automatic promotion places, while Shrewsbury overcame Dagenham & Redbridge in the battle for a play-off spot.
Chester dropped out of the Football League after a 2-1 defeat to Darlington as bottom club Luton lost 2-0 to champions Brentford.
Exeter returned to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1994 courtesy of a 1-0 victory over
Rotherham at the Don Valley Stadium.
The Grecians were unable to break the deadlock in the first half but were finally able to start celebrating after Richard Logan scored 19 minutes from time.
The result was enough to take Exeter up to second after
Wycombe suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat to a
Notts County side that had lost their last five matches.
Wycombe had to claim a point at home to County to make certain of a top-three finish but they fell behind to John Thompson's strike on the half-hour mark.
Peter Taylor's men drew level through David McCracken early in the second period, only to go behind again when Thompson struck for a second time.
Wycombe then had to wait on the outcome of
Bury's match against
Accrington and the Shakers failed to quite do enough despite winning 1-0.
Peter Cavanagh blazed a penalty over the crossbar for Accrington but Phil Jevons made no mistake with his spot-kick in the 90th minute.
The result left Bury level on 78 points with Wycombe but their goal difference was inferior by one and they were forced to settle for a play-off berth.
Dagenham & Redbridge started the day in seventh and only needed to avoid defeat against fellow promotion hopefuls
Shrewsbury to secure a place in the play-offs.
But Shrewsbury quickly took charge with early goals from Grant Holt and Chris Humphrey swinging the advantage in their favour.
Paul Benson pulled a goal back for Dagenham on 53 minutes but Shrewsbury stayed strong to triumph 2-1.
Rochdale and
Gillingham will also contest the play-offs and the sides met at Spotland in a dress rehearsal for a semi-final encounter.
And it was Gillingham who seized a possible psychological advantage with a 1-0 victory thanks to Curtis Weston's 20th-minute effort.
Chester needed a mathematical miracle to stay up and their relegation was duly confirmed following a defeat to a
Darlington side starting life without Dave Penney.
Grimsby secured their survival with a goalless draw against
Macclesfield to finish third from bottom.
Luton were unable to bow out of the division with a famous win as goals from Karleigh Osborne and Adam Newton gave title-winning
Brentford a 2-0 success at Griffin Park.
There was little riding on the results of the other four matches but Bournemouth, Port Vale, Bradford and Aldershot all managed to finish their campaigns in style.
Bournemouth raced into a 3-0 lead before half-time against
Morecambe and went on to prevail 4-0 for their third consecutive victory.
Port Vale won 2-1 at
Barnet,
Bradford recorded a 2-0 success over
Chesterfield and
Aldershot were also winners on the road, beating
Lincoln 2-0.
