Stanley's relegation to League Two was mathematically confirmed despite a 2-1 comeback victory at Oxford.

John Coleman’s men needed to win and overturn an improbable 16-goal difference to have a chance of staying up, but Cambridge’s win over Forest Green sealed their fate in any case.

Oxford went ahead in the eighth minute when Billy Bodin received Tyler Goodrham’s pass, burst through the inside left channel and hammered a shot past goalkeeper Lukas Jensen.

Korede Adedoyin equalised for Stanley with a brilliant individual goal in the 64th minute, ghosting past two opponents in midfield and firing home from 25 yards, moments after coming on as a sub.

Aaron Pressley headed in Shaun Whalley’s right-wing cross five minutes from time for Accrington’s winner.

The U’s, who only secured their safety last week, cut through the visitors’ defence several times only to be let down by poor finishing.

Marcus Browne could not beat Jensen, who also turned away Kyle Joseph’s drive, while Elliott Moore directed a free header over at a corner and Joseph blazed over.

Coleman said: “We were all over the place in the first half, but we’ve given our all and we thoroughly deserved to win.

“Yes, they had far better chances than us but that’s when your goalkeeper and your defenders need to make a good save or make blocks, and we haven’t had enough of that this season.

“But we scored two good goals. The sickening thing is if we’d have won last week, we’d have stayed up. Over the course of the season we haven’t been good enough and we have to accept that.

“We have to do it the right way and get ourselves back on an even keel, steady the ship and go again for next season. It’s going to be a tough league and we’re going to have to be prepared for a battle. We have given away too many chances all season.

“We’ve got to focus our efforts on restructuring the squad, get players in who can compete and produce on a regular basis in League Two, and make sure we don’t go down a slippery pole.

“We won’t get kidded by the result today – we’ve just got to sign the right players.

“I won’t rush into making decisions about who goes out. I need to get the right decisions so that we find ourselves in a healthier shape than we have this season.”