Chesterfield saw their promotion hopes come to an end after a goalless draw at Notts County in the second leg of their League Two play-off semi-final at Meadow Lane.
The Magpies progressed to Wembley with a 1-0 aggregate victory thanks to Jayden Luker’s decisive strike in the first leg at the SMH Group Stadium.
In front of a sold-out crowd in Nottingham, Chesterfield pushed relentlessly for the goal that would level the tie but were unable to find a way past Notts goalkeeper James Belshaw, who produced several important saves to keep the Spireites out.
Paul Cook made three changes to his side for the trip to Meadow Lane, including the return of captain Tom Naylor, and Chesterfield started brightly. James Berry saw an early free-kick deflected wide before later forcing Belshaw into action with a low effort.
At the other end, defender Janoi Donacien made two crucial interventions before half-time, first sliding in to deny Tom Iorpenda before blocking a close-range effort from Luker.
Chesterfield continued to press after the break and came closest when Dilan Markanday’s effort was superbly saved by Belshaw to preserve Notts County’s aggregate advantage.
As the clock ticked down, the Spireites threw everything forward in search of a dramatic equaliser. Deep into stoppage time, Sil Swinkels met a cross at the back post, but Belshaw was again equal to the effort to send the home side through.
After the match, Chesterfield manager Paul Cook praised both his players and supporters despite the disappointment.
“First of all, thanks to the supporters – the support they have given us all season has been amazing. I so wanted us to score tonight to give them something to celebrate.
“I couldn’t ask any more of the players tonight. But the whole game epitomised our season. And for me, I just wish Notts County well at Wembley. It’s a tough league and it’s a tough game.
“For us, we lick our wounds a little bit and move on. There hasn’t been a lot between the teams as a rule anyway, so for us we had to make sure that Notts County had to defend tonight.
“I felt they got out of our ground too easy on Sunday and we lost it. But tonight I felt we were the better team and we did the club proud in relation to how we performed, but unfortunately we couldn’t get that goal.”
Notts County will now face Salford City in the League Two play-off final at Wembley later this month, while Chesterfield’s season comes to an end after an impressive return to the Football League.
