Notts County 3-2 Boreham Wood (National League Playoff Semi-Final) 07.05.23
It was never going to be easy, was it? After disappointment in losing out on the title to Wrexham, Notts County have long known their destiny was to dust themselves down, pick themselves up and win two further matches in order to gain the promotion they so badly crave. Well consider one won, halfway there, but boy the Magpies were made to fight.
At a packed Meadow Lane in the early afternoon sunshine against an organised eleven that came with a gameplan to defend and break, Notts came quickly out of the traps and might have had not one, but two goals as the usually reliable Ruben Rodrigues snatched at two opportunities inside the box.
Those misses were made to pay as the away side, who finished sixth in the division a cool 35 points below Notts County who they twice drew with during the regular season, and having beat Barnet to get thus far in the playoffs, they had the audacity to take the lead as Sousa got in behind and crossed low for Ilesanmi to bundle home.
That goal might have come against the run of play but Notts quickly picked themselves up, as they always seem to do, Baldwin unleashing from range inches wide, Langstaff then swirling inside the area but straight at the keeper.
It almost ended a first half in the balance with Magpies Manager Luke Williams considering what to tell his team. ‘More of the same’, would have been the guess, but then a bombshell, a minute before the break when Bostock’s loose pass caught out team-mate Baldwin and Ndluvo robbed the centre half to race through and put the Wood two up.
Cries of ‘Wembley’ were being sung by the 1,500 or so away fans but Notts County came out in the second half and immediately hit back, Baldwin had a couple of sighters in the first half, in the second half he let fly again and scored his first ever Notts County goal from range.
That halved the deficit, but Ndluvo should have immediately restored the away sides two goal cushion, he got in on some sloppy defending to round the keeper and put into the side netting.
At the other end Notts got a reprieve when Rodrigues was tripped inside the box, he picked himself up to take the penalty and against a former Notts County player, in Joe McDonnell on loan from Eastleigh and making his debut for the injured Nathan Ashmore, he placed low to the debutant’s right but the goalkeeper saved and inflicted more misery on Rodrigues who’s day, it certainly wasn’t.
Notts kept plugging though and as it all looked too late, one last huff and puff saw substitute Jodi Jones cross inside the box where the prolific marksman did what he does best again, no not Macaulay Langstaff who couldn’t add to his 42 season goals in the game, but Aden Baldwin who headed home his second of the afternoon, little would you believe he’d never previously scored for Notts.
That sent the crowd wild, as only a 96th minute leveller could, extra time was only going to end one way, and although Boreham Wood had much the better of the final thirty, it was Jodi Jones who smashed home a winner late into stoppage time as the match looked certain to go to penalties.
That goal, a minute ahead of the final whistle led to scenes of joy as the Meadow Lane surface was invaded by Magpies supporters, a great advert for the National League with Notts booking their place in the final at Wembley on Saturday, they’ll face Chesterfield who had an equally entertaining semi-final win against Bromley, a derby day, Notts v Derbys, the Spireites v the Magpies, 2nd v 3rd, it was never going to be anything else. Was it?…
One more win to go, lets hope that the Magpies can keep flying high with a win at the famous arch to regain football league status for the first time in four years.
Notts County: Slocombe, Cameron, Baldwin (Brindley 107), Chicksen (Jones 78), Rawlinson, Bostock, Austin (Scott 65), Rodrigues (O’Brien 103), Palmer, Nemane, Langstaff.
Boreham Wood: McDonnell, Sousa, Broadbent (Newton 95), Illesamni, Fyfield, Evans, Bush, Brunt (Rees 68), Marsh (Ricketts 89), Payne, Ndluvo (Lewis 67).
Venue: Meadow Lane (15,617)
*Main image @Official_NCFC Jodi Jones celebrates his late winner.
