Barnsley FC 1 Bolton Wanderers 3: Stoppage-time goal kills hopes of another 2-0 turnaround in Reds fortunes

But a stoppage-time goal scored direct from a corner by former Hull City winger Randell Williams put paid to that.

It looks as though Barnsley will go out of the League One play-offs before they can appoint an new manager, despite a show of defiance for about 20 minutes on Friday.

Substitute Sam Cosgrove's goal had given Barnsley hope in a contest where all looked lost, but heading across the Pennines to overturn a 3-1 deficit on Tuesday looks more than one step too far for a managerless side bereft of confidence after a dreadful end to the season compounded by some awful and awfully-timed off-field decision-making.

The Reds had been 2-0 up and heading into the automatic promotion places in the regular-season meeting between the teams. But Bolton came back to equalise and started a sequence of two wins from 12 matches which meant their hosts only just scraped into the play-offs.

Barnsley might feel they got a raw deal with the Trotters' opening goal, but the fact was they did not do their job well enough, and nor did they respond well enough. They ought to be used to setbacks by now.

The game was just starting to get frantic when Bolton took a hold of it just as their opponents were threatening to.

Adam Phillips had been booked for splattering his man and Josh Dacres-Cogley inexplicably not for doing something to Herbie Kane, emerging as the best player on the night at that stage.

When Devante Cole became the next player in need of treatment shortly afterwards. he was ordered off the field as a result.

Barnsley were desperately trying to get him back on when Ricardo Almeida Santos played the ball out to the right under no pressure and Paris Maghoma was abe to exchange passes with a couple of team-mates before whipping a low cross Dion Charles tapped in.

It seemed to force Barnsley back into their shell just as they had been poking their head out.

Once they got a feel for the game, the Reds started playing through Kane, who did the other side of his game well too.

It was the former Liverpool midfielder whose shot was deflected in the 10th minute, benefitting from a good advantage Will Finnie played with the head of English referees, Howard Webb, watching from the stands.

In the 13th minute a good ball from John McAtee, out on the left, picked out his strike partner Cole, to lay off. Phillips' shot was unworthy of the build-up.

But when former Halifax Town loanee Charles opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, it set them back. Maghoma was the next person to threaten a goal, showing his confidence by taking the ball a pace wide of Josh Early and shooting just beyond the goal from a tight angle.

Corey O'Keefe did go on a good run Ricardo's diving header dealt with well and Phillips shot wide when the ball was worked to him, but Bolton were seldom made to look uncomfortable.

Barnsley were when Bolton released Aaron Collins down the left and Charles could only get a faint touch on his diving header.

One became two early in the second half, Roberts fouling Josh Sheehan after a mix-up with Jordan Williams and although he got a strong left hand to Charles' penalty, it was thumped even stronger.

Barnsley's malaise was clear when they did well to win the ball defensively in their own corner, only for Williams to dawdle on the ball, unaware George Thomason wanted it back. Shortly afterwards O'Keefe conceded a corner trying to cushion a header back to his goalkeeper.

Fortunately for the Reds, Finnie spotted a Bolton foul at the corner, just as he had when they put one in the net after 59 minutes when Cadden's outstretched leg saved a goal.

When Cole – Barnsley's top scorer with 18 goals but only one since the teams met in Lancashire on February 3 – was withdrawn in search of a goal, it met with cheering from the main stand.

It was his replacement, Sam Cosgrove, who got his side back into the tie with their first shot on target in it.

The man who came on alongside him, Conor Grant, measured a lovely pass, Cosgrove pulled away from his man and rifled a shot. Suddenly, 76 minutes we had a contest and a noisy home crowd.

Phillips really got hold of a corner pulled back to him, but hit it into a defender. He did the same again when Cosgrove caused the visitors problems jumping for a high ball.

Phillips forced an excellent low save from Nathan Baxter – like Williams, a former Hull player – and another decent one with a stoppage-time volley.

It looked as though Roberts had made a crucial save with his feet as Kyle Dempsey went through one-on-one a minute later but he and his defenders were unable to stop Williams curling his corner direct into the net and summersaulting his joy.

At 2-1 you felt the tie was still very much alive. At 3-1? Barnsley have to find something they mislaid in that spring league game between the teams.

Barnsley: Roberts; Williams, de Gevigney , Earl; Connell; O'Keeffe, Phillips, Kane (Grant 65), Cadden; McAtee (Jalo 88), Cole (Cosgrove 65).

Unused substitutes: Russell, Cotter, Killip, McCart.

Bolton Wanderers: Baxter; Jones, Ricardo, Toal; Sheehan; Dacres-Cogley, Maghoma (Dempsey 83), Thomason, Williams; Charles (Jerome 87), Collins (Adeboyejo 87).

Unused substitutes: Iredale, Coleman, Morley, Ogbeta.

Referee: W Finnie (Bedfordshire).