Cambridge United 2-0 Forest Green Rovers - Cambridge secure safety with dramatic final day victory
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Sam Smith celebrates his stunning second goal against Forest Green
Cambridge secured League One survival with victory over Forest Green Rovers on a dramatic final day.
Before the game, Mark Bonner's men knew that they needed to beat already-relegated Rovers and hope both MK Dons and Morecambe failed to win.
Harrison Dunk and an excellent Sam Smith strike gave them the victory they required at the Abbey Stadium.
Morecambe's defeat at Exeter coupled with MK Dons' 0-0 draw at Burton meant Cambridge stayed up by one point.
Despite having lost three of their last four, the hosts began brightly and Conor McGrandles bent a shot past the angle of post and bar in the early stages, while Harvey Knibbs managed to squirm past a couple of defenders but was denied a shot on goal by Dylan McGeouch's challenge.
The deadlock was broken on 25 minutes when McGrandles' deep inswinging corner was turned in by Dunk at the far post. It was Dunk's third goal of the season, all coming in the last seven games.
Harvey Bunker fizzed a shot wide for Forest Green before a moment of magic doubled the advantage eight minutes before the break.
Smith scored a sublime second goal against Forest Green to set Cambridge on their way to safety
Jack Lankester swung the ball across the area from the left and, from a difficult angle, Smith side-footed an excellent volley back across Ross Doohan's goal and into the net via the top of the far post.
It was his 14th goal of the season and, crucially, his seventh in the last nine games.
Rovers almost halved the deficit before the break as Dom Bernard thundered a far-post header into the woodwork from a left-wing cross but it needed a fine block from Charlie Cooper to deny Dunk his second after the turnaround.
Lankester had already been denied by Doohan when he jinked his way forward and beat two defenders before firing into the side-netting.
Despite leading 2-0 there was a nervy finale with MK Dons needing just one goal to relegate Cambridge, but there were jubilant scenes at full-time as news came through of full-time at Burton.
Defeat number 31 rounded off a difficult season for Duncan Ferguson's Forest Green who finished bottom, ending the campaign with one win in 25 and no away clean sheet.