Northampton Town 2-2 Oldham Athletic: Cobblers & Latics relegated

Ash Taylor's goal put Northampton ahead before half-time - a goal which eventually cost Oldham their place in League One

Northampton Town and Oldham Athletic were both relegated from League One following their final-day draw.

Northampton required a win by at least nine goals to stand any chance of survival, while Oldham entered the game knowing they would be safe if they matched Rochdale's result against Charlton.

However, the draw at Sixfields and Rochdale's 1-0 win meant the Cobblers and the Latics will drop down to the fourth tier along with MK Dons and Bury.

Oldham looked to be closing in on survival when George Edmundson's first goal for the club, a shot from 15 yards, put them ahead.

But they then surrendered their first-half advantage and fell behind by half-time.

Matt Grimes converted a penalty to level after Sam Hoskins was fouled, and Cobblers captain Ash Taylor pounced on a rebound to complete the turnaround.

At that stage Oldham were in the relegation spots, and Thomas Haymer headed their equaliser to put Rochdale back in the bottom four, only for Joe Thompson to net Dale's winner at Spotland and send the Latics down by a point.

Latics drop after 21 years in third tier

After a nightmare start to the season which cost John Sheridan his job, Oldham gave themselves every chance of avoiding the drop with a strong last third of the campaign under Richie Wellens.

However, too many draws towards the end, including a last-minute penalty equaliser conceded against Gillingham in the final weeks of the campaign, kept them moored towards the wrong end of the table.

They lost only one of their final nine league games, but failure to win at Northampton ended 21 years of consecutive third-tier football and dropped them into the bottom rung of the English Football League for the first time since 1971.

Northampton's relegation finally confirmed

A season of off-pitch turmoil has been similarly chaotic on it, with Northampton going back down to England's fourth tier after just two seasons in League One.

Chinese firm Guangzhou-based 5USport, which bought a 60% share in June 2017, was forced to sell back its stake due to "investment restrictions".

And while the board has moved to reassure fans that the club is financially secure, the team's performances have been anything but reassuring.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink took over as manager from Justin Edinburgh on a three-year-deal in September 2017 with the Cobblers bottom of the table.

They climbed to as high as 18th in January but, by the time the former Chelsea striker was sacked in early April, Northampton had slipped back down to 22nd after a winless nine-game run.

Edinburgh's former Tottenham team-mate Dean Austin took over as caretaker boss for the final few weeks of the season, but could not steer the club to safety.