Notts Co 3 – 0 Salford City

Notts County sealed promotion to League One for the first time in 11 years after beating Salford 3-0 at Wembley.

First-half goals from Alasana Jatta and Lucas Ness saw them through to the League Two play-off final.

Jody Jones sealed the win after the break. Just three years after promotion from the national league, the world’s oldest professional football club has returned to the third tier.

For Salford, watched by co-owners David Beckham and Gary Neville, an eighth season awaits their exit from League Two in August.

Stylish County win comfortably at Wembley

Both these sides were in contention for automatic promotion on the final day of the season before being forced to settle for the play-offs. Notts County beat Chesterfield 1-0 over two legs, beating Grimsby 4-3 in extra time.

It was County, though, who found the breakthrough on 32 minutes, when a long, searching pass from Jones eluded the Salford defense and into the path of Jatta, who calmly entered the box before finishing past Matthew Young.

And at the stroke of half time it was 2-0. A cleverly worked free-kick is slotted into the box, where Ness heads wide.

There were 20 minutes left in the game. Conor Grant gets down the right and drags the ball into the box. It missed Jatta but found Jones, who had acres of space to slide into the bottom corner.

Patterson ‘delighted’ to be promoted 18 months into managerial career

Notts County head coach Martin Patterson speaking to Sky Sports:

“It’s a moment of gratitude. I had a little moment at the end, even at 3-0, where (I thought), ‘You can’t take anything for granted’. When you’re competing against young and senior managers like me, you have to respect first, but there are two sides to it.

“No sympathy, but sympathy goes to Salford. They’re a great team, really competitive and beat us twice in the league, so we knew we had to work really hard and I thought we were brilliant from start to finish.

“It’s the culmination of 11 months of hard work and I’m only 18 months into my career, so I don’t know all the answers, but I do know one thing: it’s hard. It’s hard and there’s a lot of pressure with it. There’s an impact on your family life, whether people admit it or not.

“I am absolutely delighted for me and my family, for the football club, for the supporters and the owners.”

Robinson: It needs to be the lowest ebb

Salford head coach Karl Robinson speaking to Sky Sports:

“(We’re) less. Injuries. What we’ve said consistently is we’re the best version of ourselves; today we were beaten in most of the game. We give credit to Notts County. They came forward, they took their chances when they came and, in all respects, they were the better team. I have no other words than that.

“You have to be respectful in defeat, you have to be honest in defeat and sometimes, as managers, we look for excuses to cloud other people’s judgement. But the honest truth is we were beaten on all fronts today and that’s not us – in the biggest game of the season.

“We’ve played the oldest club in the Football League, we’re the youngest. We’re going to be a generational football club and this needs to be the lowest ebb of the club’s future. We need to use this as a springboard to get better.”

‘Notts County were great – but Salford didn’t come’

Bromley is the manager Andy Woodman On Sky Sports Football:

“Notts County were fantastic and deserve all the plaudits they got.

“I feel a bit sorry for Carl Robinson. His team didn’t come today and the big players didn’t come, for whatever reason. He’ll scratch his head.

“But it’s all about Notts County today. What a fantastic performance by Jodie Jones.

“They were absolutely flawless. Did Salford’s lack of quality make it easy for them? Or were they just on it from the word go?

“I think the latter. They didn’t give up any ground, they didn’t lose any headers, any second balls and they looked like a complete unit out there together.

“Credit to the way they set up. Clean sheets elevate you – I’ve always said that.”