The picturesque scene at 5:20pm, after Bristol Rovers secured an immediate return to League One, had been a distant thought in the minds of Gasheads hoping for automatic promotion yet expecting the play-offs ahead of their final day clash with Scunthorpe, but if there’s anything we’ve learned about this team this season, they can never be counted out.
Northampton, who sat above Rovers on goal difference at the start of the day, charged into a three-goal lead at Barrow, meaning Joey Barton’s side required eight goals to leapfrog the Cobblers and claim the final automatic promotion place.
Barrow’s Josh Kay reduced the goals needed to seven for the Gas, but even then, with Rovers 2-0 up at the time, scoring another five seemed near-impossible.
