Notts County drew 1-1 with Bristol Rovers at Meadow Lane on Saturday, securing a place in the play-offs by finishing 5th in League Two.
The Magpies went into the game with hopes of automatic promotion, albeit slim ones. Had Notts won, Cambridge United lost and Salford City failed to win, County would have finished 3rd and guaranteed themselves League One football next season.
However only getting a point on the final day of the campaign means Martin Paterson’s side will go up against Chesterfield over two legs for a place in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.
Notts started the game the better side, with talisman Jodi Jones causing havoc down the Bristol Rovers defence’s right-hand side. The hosts thought they had an early penalty when Nick Tsaroulla was brought down in the box in the ninth minute, but the referee booked the Notts winger for a dive, to the dismay of the home faithful.
Jones continued to cause issues, constantly getting the better of Pirates’ right-back Joel Senior. In the 19th minute Jones’ low-driven cross to the front post just evaded Alassana Jatta as it deflected behind for a corner. Just a couple of minutes later Jones got the better of his man again, but his cleverly dinked cross to the back post was too high for Jatta once more.
The Magpies took the lead in the 27th minute. Jones’ looping cross was well-met by Jatta, who nodded it down for Tsaroulla to lash into the back of the net for his second goal in as many games. And the lead was almost doubled shortly after as Jayden Luker stung the palms of Brad Young in the Rovers’ net from the edge of the box.
The visitors’ best chance came late in the first half. A beautiful one-two was played between Shaq Forde and Promise Omochere, with the latter backheeling the ball into Forde’s path but his strike was well saved by James Belshaw.
The second half began more end-to-end. A quick counter attack in the 49th minute led to Luker playing Jatta through on goal, but his off-balance tame shot was no problem for Young. Then, half-time substitute Tommy Leigh fed Forde down Rovers’ left-hand side, but his effort was dragged inches wide of the far post.
The away side’s equaliser came in the 55th minute. Leigh’s long ball found the feet of Ellis Harrison, who drove into the Notts box and fired a shot between the legs of Belshaw to net his seventh goal in his last five games.
Chances were few and far between after that. The Gas applied pressure 10 minutes before the end, with the ball ricocheting to Yusuf Akhamrich on the right-hand side of the box but his effort was dragged wide. Shortly after, Ryan Howley’s shot from the edge of the box was bravely blocked by Scott Robertson.
The hosts thought they had won it late on. Matthew Dennis’ looping cross to the back post rebounded off the post before Jacob Bedeau tapped home to reclaim his side the lead, but the goal was disallowed for offside. As the final whistle blew, a sense of pride was felt around the ground. The home fans rewarded their side’s season-long efforts with a standing ovation as County secured their highest league finish since they were promoted back to the Football League in 2023.
And the team they beat on that day in the National League play-off final is who they will be up against in the League Two semi-finals. The first leg against Chesterfield will be away from home on Sunday, May 10 before they welcome the Spireites to Meadow Lane the following Friday.
Teams
Notts County: Belshaw (GK), McDonald (C), Bedeau, Norburn (Palmer 58′), Jones (Ndlovu 73′), Grant (Hall 58′), Ness, Iorpenda, Luker (Robertson 58′), Tsaroulla, Jatta (Dennis 73′)
Unused substitutes: Griffiths (GK), Kouhyar
Yellow cards: Tsaroulla (9′), Palmer (75′)
Head coach: Martin Paterson
Bristol Rovers: Young (GK), Senior, Sparkes, Mola (Howley 72′), Forde (Cavegn), Omochere (Leigh 46′), De Havilland (Akhamrich 46′), Balmer, Harrison (Quigley 78′), Harbottle (C), Smallwood
Unused substitutes: Southwood (GK), Rijks
Yellow cards: Forde (20′), Mola (65′), Akhamrich (77′)
Head coach: Steve Evans
Referee: Ross Joyce
Attendance: 16,264
