Match Report: Notts County 2-2 Chesterfield

 

Notts County’s four-year stay in the National League was ended in the most dramatic fashion as they beat Chesterfield in a penalty shootout at Wembley. 

It was the Spireites that took an early lead when Andrew Dallas won and dispatched a penalty but a late John Bostock squirmed past Ross Fitzsimons to take the game to extra time. 

Chesterfield scored another early goal in extra-time through the Armando Dobra before late heartbreak as Ruben Rodrigues bounced a shot over everybody to take it to penalties. 

On-loan Archie Mair was the hero, saving from Darren Oldaker and Jeff King and gifting Cedwyn Scott the chance to secure Notts’ promotion from 12 yards, a chance he duly took.

Both sides named unchanged starting XI’s following their semi-final successes, the only change to either squad being Paul Cook’s decision to remove his substitute goalkeeper in favour of Tim Akinola. 

Chesterfield set out of the traps like a forest fire, starting on the front foot and looking to hurt Notts early. Ryan Colclough got the message, a wicked, dipping effort from the right landing on the top of the net. Sam Slocombe then gifted an opportunity for Jeff King to take aim from an indirect free-kick inside the area having touched the ball twice from his own goal kick. The keeper recovered well, quick off his line to smother the strike. 

Slocombe was involved again for all the wrong reasons as the pressure paid off. Notts’ high line was exposed by the run of Dallas and he won the race with Slocombe before being taken out. The Scotsman dusted himself down to confidently place the ball down the centre. 

It almost got worse when Matt Palmer was robbed of the ball but Dallas took too long to make a decision and his effort was blocked. 

Notts needed somebody to step up and Bostock and Aaron Nemane started answering that call, the former switching out to the latter who first beat Clements but saw his cut back to Austin cut out before beating Dobra only for Austin to shoulder his cross off target. 

There was another sticky period to endure as Chesterfield exploited the left channel again but neither recent match-winner Liam Mandeville or goalscorer Dallas could find the final pass. At the other end, Notts started building down the left but the best they could muster was Rodrigues finding Nemane to force a save. 

The second half wasn’t one for the ages. Notts started bright and it was the Nemane and Austin combination that again provided opportunity, Nemane getting down the right and cutting back only for Austin to curl over having got the ball stuck under his feet. 

Williams called up on last Sunday’s match-winner Jodi Jones and forward Cedwyn Scott in a bid to rescue the game and the former almost had an impact, his free-kick delivery headed wide by Connell Rawlinson. At the other end, Notts were given a reminder Chesterfield were still looking to kill things off when Colclough beat Bostock but struck wide. 

Slocombe was seemingly doing his best to make this a day to forget and he gave Mandeville a great opportunity to seal victory, a first time pass from a throw-in falling to the attacking midfielder who couldn’t take the opportunity. 

It proved a costly miss as the opposing goalkeeper had his own moment to forget. Bostock lined up a free-kick from a tight angle and decided to take aim at goal. His effort found the inside of the near post and Fitzsimons couldn’t handle the shot, letting it squirm beyond him to break hearts. 

Chesterfield weren’t done, Joe Quigley breaking down the right and almost finding Armando Dobra free in the area only for Rawlinson to make a big, last ditch challenge. 

He was close in normal time and Dobra wasn’t to be denied in extra time. Substitute Akinola found Ollie Banks who quickly switched out to the Albanian youth international. He drove forward and used the sizeable Rawlinson as a figure to bend the ball around and whip the ball into the far corner. 

Macaulay Langstaff had had a quiet day but finally got involved in the action thanks to Palmer. A through ball led to a left-footed strike that dragged wide of the far post and the same combination led to a first-time strike that proved comfortable for Fitzsimons. Rodrigues then found Scott with an threaded pass and the ex-Gateshead man found Rawlinson who curled just wide. 

Chesterfield were forced into a final change with Dobra unable to continue while Jeff King was forced to stay on despite running his race. Bailey Clements also began to struggle and the tide turned in a big way. 

Notts were playing a lot down the left-hand side and having recycled possession more than once, Kyle Cameron put a ball into the area that Fitzsimons couldn’t punch far enough from danger. Rodrigues was closest to the loose ball and struck an effort into the ground that looped over everybody to find the net. 

Chesterfield were struggling for an out and defensive organisation became important. Nemane’s driving run saw him beat a couple but he was eventually crowded out and the follow up strike was blocked. The best Notts could muster against a stubborn low block was Jones cutting in from the right and curling wide. 

And so to penalties. Luke Williams made the bold decision to replace Slocombe with 22-year-old Archie Mair, on loan from Championship Norwich City. A regular for Scotland’s youth teams, a decent spell at King’s Lynn Town and nine league appearances this year for Dartford and Notts. This wasn’t a proven footballer but a gamble based on personality, mentality and what had been seen on the training ground. 

Ollie Banks and Macaulay Langstaff got things started right with efforts down the middle. Then came Mair’s first big moment, sprawling to his right to deny Darren Oldaker. 

Ruben Rodrigues made up for his miss against Boreham Wood. Laurence Maguire made it 2-2 before Jodi Jones finished well. Mair’s next big moment arrived against Jeff King, against shifting to his right but using his boot to stop a powerful strike hitting the net. 

John Bostock had the chance to finish things and showed supreme confidence, only to see his chip hit the underside of the bar. He walked off with the smile of a regretful but positive man but that smile may have dampened when Joe Quigley struck down the middle. 

And so it came to Cedwyn Scott. The ex-Gateshead forward who had had a positive season despite not starting as many games as he would have liked. More importantly, it was Scott who saw his last minute penalty saved by Ben Foster in the game billed as the biggest non-league match in history. A chance for redemption awaited. 

If there was pressure on his shoulders, he didn’t show it. Scott put the ball down, paced backwards, took a deep breath then slotted the ball to Fitzsimons’ left to seal promotion. 

A wave of noise rang out from one half of the famous Wembley stadium. The goalkeepers union bounded together to celebrate Mair. Scott ran off to be joined by his team-mates. Williams roared with emotion. Bostock dropped to his knees to say thanks to God. 

Notts County had to do it the hard way despite a record breaking season. Four late, late goals kept them in ties they otherwise struggled to navigate and the mentality that saw them take Wrexham to the wire showed again on the biggest stage. 

Promotion secured. Their Football League exile is over. 

Notts County: Slocombe (Mair); Rawlinson Baldwin (Brindley) Cameron; Nemane Palmer Bostock Chicksen (Jones); Rodrigues Austin (Scott); Langstaff. Unused: O’Brien. 

Chesterfield: Fitzsimons; King Palmer Grimes Clements; Oldaker Jones; Colclough (Banks) Mandeville (Akinola) Dobra (Maguire); Dallas (Quigley). Unused: McCallum. 

Tactics

Nothing out of the ordinary for an extraordinary tie. 

Notts did their usual thing. The back three supported by a defensive midfield pairing in build-up play with the wing-backs tasked to stay high and wide and Rodrigues and Austin dropping into gaps to try and receive possession. 

Chesterfield set up narrow in a bid to press as a unit and frustrate. Dobra and Colclough were tasked with Rawlinson and Cameron as the wide centre-backs with Mandeville asked to sit on Palmer and Dallas moving between Bostock and Baldwin, depending on as and when the ball was played backwards. While all four knew their men, the approach was to start on nominal positions but force the ball central and press at the opportune moment. They rarely attacked using their full-backs, a change of pace for the Spireites under Cook. 

When Chesterfield won possession, it was about moving the ball quickly in transition to beat the Notts high line or hold onto the ball in wider positions and look to play a longer ball over Notts to send Dallas or Mandeville in behind having made a run from a central position. Baldwin always looked to play the offside trap rather than follow and it made for a game of cat and mouse. 

For Notts, their outlets were in wide positions where they tried to create an overload. This was often utilised down the left to start with Cameron, Bostock, Chicksen and Austin supporting and Palmer occasionally making a forward run to break the lines. However, Chesterfield stayed compact, marshalled by the experienced Ash Palmer and Mike Jones, refusing to break shape. 

The other avenue was the switch to the right with Bostock and Cameron proving more than capable. The narrow nature of their opposition meant Nemane was often in space to drive 1 v 1 and make something happen. 

As the game wore on, Chesterfield struggled to make the same runs and it didn’t help that they lacked obvious pace and forward runners as substitutions were made, which made it more difficult for them to build and turn Notts. They stayed in their structured shape and banked on the attacking midfielders being able to drive the team forward. 

Notts made a change with ten to go, swapping Jones from left to right and Nemane right to left. The idea of this was to give the full-backs and midfielders something different to think about while also requiring the attacking midfielders and wide centre-backs to move into wide positions to spread play, giving Chesterfield something different to think about. 

As noted in the report, Chesterfield were forced to change shape when Dobra came off injured in extra-time. Maguire entered and played at left centre-back, shifting King and Clements to wing-back with Banks and Akinola flanking Oldaker and Jones. With King injured and Notts playing on that, Akinola became an auxiliary wing-back himself. 

Who Impressed?

I was very impressed with Chesterfield’s defensive resilience and organisation and it’s difficult to pick out individuals. 

Darren Oldaker and Mike Jones were again superb in the middle, rarely giving up possession cheaply and sticking to their shape excellently. Jamie Grimes and Ash Palmer were excellent at centre-half, dominating their duels and barely giving Langstaff a sniff. And a word for Bailey Clements at left-back, the youngster signed to provide athleticism down the left but who defended his box brilliantly on the day. 

For Notts, John Bostock dictated everything. He barely gave the ball away, always showed, wasn’t afraid to make a tackle and the only blot on his game was that penalty. There's a reason he has always played a higher level previously. 

I thought Nemane showed why he has made himself a regular, creating a couple of big opportunities early on and dancing down the left late on. And, of course, Archie Mair, who stepped in for penalties and made himself a hero. 

Overall Thoughts

So, I’ll be continuing to cover Chesterfield. 

This one will have hurt. They won nine of their final 13 matches to secure third spot, did the hard yards in the semi-final and their performance at Wembley was excellent, only to concede goals at the end of normal and extra time then lose on penalties. Football is a brutal sport. 

I’m positive about the Spireites, however. It’s easy to forget that Paul Cook made wholesale changes last summer, bringing together a much younger group as he tackled the National League for the first time. A number of players have taken time to grow with the club while five of their XI on Saturday joined after the season had started.

The first year of any new manager’s tenure is about setting the culture and identity of your team and I feel Cook has been able to do that this year. Cook and his team will know exactly what they require to build on an 84-point year and they have the budget to make the necessary changes to the squad. Chesterfield enter next season as one of the favourites. 

The day ultimately belongs to Notts County and while they weren’t at their best at Wembley, there’s no denying they are deserving of promotion after a wonderful campaign in which they have broken records and led almost every underlying metric. 

So many people can be credited with this achievement. The owners, who took over with the club in a desperate position yet have overseen four top five finishes in such a competitive division while going against the norm in terms of what they want. Most important is the processes they have put in place to ensure that people who move on can be replaced without affecting the culture and identity of an ever-improving club. 

And what about Luke Williams. The squad he inherited had all the tools to succeed but needed a push to go from a good team to a winning team. Not only have Williams and his staff coached a talented group to play with total control but they’ve also done the hard yards, working harder and smarter, defending better as a team and responding positively to setbacks. All that came to fruition during a grind of a play-off campaign and they succeeded. 

There is no doubt in my mind that Notts will be comfortable stepping back up and the only debate is whether the processes they have in place are enough to see them win promotion at the first time of asking. Followers of League Two should enjoy what Notts bring to the party.