BOLTON Wanderers gained the upper hand in the first Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final with a 3-1 win at managerless Barnsley.
A fine move down the right-hand side resulted in Brentford loanee Paris Maghoma crossing into the six-yard box for Dion Charles to slide in with the finish midway through the first half.
Northern Ireland international Charles doubled the Trotters lead from the penalty spot eight minutes into the second period, after Josh Sheehan was brought down by Tykes goalkeeper Liam Roberts.
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With quarter of an hour to go, the home side pulled a goal back when Conor Grant fed Sam Cosgrove, who sidefooted his strike into the back of the net.
Four minutes into stoppage time, Bolton restored their two-goal lead when Randell Williams scored direct from a corner.
The two teams will battle it out for a place at Wembley in the return fixture on Tuesday night.
Oxford United welcome Peterborough United for their semi-final first leg tomorrow night. Kick-off at the Kassam Stadium is at 7.45pm.
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