Super Notts Back In League One

Notts County 3-0 Salford City (EFL League 2 Playoff Final) 25.05.26

A high majority of 30,581 spectators at a sun-drenched Wembley Stadium bore witness to a scintillating, Notts County performance on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon,

Having finished fifth in the final, League Two standings, Martin Paterson’s side well and truly put Karl Robinson’s Salford City, who finished a place and a point better off, to the sword, with Luke Garbutt, Matthew Young et al seemingly having no answer for the victors’ attacking prowess.

With temperatures soaring pitch-side at the high-thirties, both sides failed to register a significant attempt on target in the opening quarter of the final, James Belshaw (Notts County) and Matthew Young (Salford City) taking a back seat, then Jodi Jones turned up the heat.

The winger sent a sumptuous pass through to striker, Alassana Jatta, just after the half hour mark, and he finished beautifully past Young; then, as the game headed towards the interval, a free-kick from Jones was met by captain Rod McDonald at Salford’s back post and the County defender volleyed back across goal for Lucas Ness to head home the decisive second.

The wind was now well-and-truly out of Salford’s sails, despite a quick start to the second forty-five when the only really opportunity for Salford saw Kallum Cesay bursting through on goal, only to be smothered by Belshaw.

That was the only chance they had and, as the game ticked into the final quarter, Jones got his goal; Ness, and substitute Conor Grant, combined well for the latter to release Jones, and he finished the move off emphatically.

It was a result well-deserved for County and their travelling support, with manager Paterson telling BBC Radio Nottingham after the game; “The thing I’m most pleased and proud of is the way the team performed throughout the 98 minutes.

“I thought we were excellent – we respected the game, we respected the opponents and performed excellently. We played the game and not the occasion.

“The essence of a team is stepping up and performing as a team and I thought from the starting XI to the substitutes and to those that didn’t get on, the lads paid me back and more importantly paid the supporters back.

“The players and the supporters, I hope they all have a great night.”

Notts County: James Belshaw, Lucas Ness, Rod McDonald (captain), Jacob Bedeau, Nick Tsaroulla (Keanan Bennetts, 86), Oliver Norburn (Matthew Palmer, 78), Scott Robertson, Jodi Jones (Maziar Kouhyar, 86), Tom Iorpenda, Jayden Luker (Conor Grant, 68), Alassana Jatta (Lee Ndlovu, 86)