Notts County promoted to League Two after dramatic win
Notts County beat Chesterfield in a penalty shootout on Saturday to get promoted and earn a place in League Two.
The Magpies will join Wrexham in the four-tiered English soccer league next season. Wrexham previously grabbed automatic promotion from the National League after clinching the title at the end of April. Chesterfield and Notts County played the playoff final on Saturday for the final spot in next season’s League Two.
Chesterfield opened the scoring with less than six minutes on the clock. Notts County goalkeeper Sam Slocombe took out forward Andrew Dallas inside the box.
The Scottish striker converted the resulting penalty to give his team the early lead. While Chesterfield looked certain of 1-0 victory in normal time, John Bostock levelled the scoreline with just a few minutes remaining in the match.
More goals in extra time for both clubs
Chesterfield again took an early lead as the game went into extra time. Armando Dobra scored an incredible goal three minutes into the additional 30-minute period.
The Albanian struck a glorious curling effort into the top far corner of the net. Notts, however, fought back again to tie the score just 15 minutes later.
Ruben Rodrigues made it 2-2 in the 108th minute after a cross into the penalty area. The Portuguese forward connected on the loose ball, sent the shot into the ground, and the ball bounced over the Chesterfield keeper and into the net. Before entering the shootout, Notts County introduced keeper Archie Mair as a replacement for Slocombe. The move will go down in the history books with the club.
Mair unlikely penalty hero for Magpies
After both teams scored their opening penalties, Chesterfield’s Darren Oldaker missed his opportunity from the spot.
Teammate Jeff King saw his penalty saved to pile the pressure on Chesterfield. Bostock, who previously scored for Notts County, also missed his spot kick with the game on the line. However, Cedwyn Scott would eventually score the match-winning penalty to take Notts to League Two.
The Magpies finished second in the National League regular season behind Wrexham. The two teams will now face each other again next year, this time in the fourth tier of the English soccer division.
Photo credit: IMAGO / PA Images