Notts County held Chesterfield to a 0-0 draw at Meadow Lane on 15 May 2025 to win their League Two play-off semi-final 1-0 on aggregate and move within one game of promotion. Jayden Luker’s goal in Sunday’s first leg at Chesterfield proved enough across 180 minutes.

Notts County will face Salford in the play-off final at Wembley on Monday, 25 May, with an 11-year wait to return to League One still hanging over them. Chesterfield were the team left chasing after finishing one place and one point behind Notts County in the regular season, and this semi-final, an East Midlands derby, was settled by the narrowest of margins.

James Belshaw, who joined Notts County in January with promotion in mind, helped keep the lead intact with a low reflex save in the second half to deny Dilan Markanday. That stop mattered because Chesterfield spent long stretches looking for the moment that would turn the tie, but they never found it.

For Notts County, the result also carried a familiar edge. They had already beaten Chesterfield in a Wembley promotion final in 2023, and this was the third time they have got the better of their rivals in the play-offs in six years. Martin Paterson summed up the mood after the final whistle by saying, “That’s what football is all about.”

The second leg followed a first meeting that had been framed by police warnings over crowd disorder, but the football finished with Notts County doing what they needed to do. They did not have to force the issue on Thursday night. Luker’s strike had already changed the tie, and Chesterfield could not find a way back.

The reward is a Wembley final against Salford, with Notts County still trying to end their 11-year absence from League One. After 180 minutes against Chesterfield, they have earned one more chance to finish the job.