Notts County, the world's oldest professional football club, secured promotion to League One with a resounding 3-0 victory over Salford City in the National League play-off final at Wembley. Goals from Alassana Jatta, Lucas Ness, and Jodi Jones ended the club's 11-year absence from the third tier, in front of a crowd of 30,851.
Jatta opened the scoring in the first half, latching onto a superb pass from Jones before firing past Salford goalkeeper Matt Young. Ness doubled the lead with a towering header from a Rod McDonald long ball, and Jones sealed the win in the second half, finishing a cutback from substitute Conor Grant.
County manager Martin Paterson praised his players' mentality, saying: 'You talk about desire, this is stuff you can't qualify. How do you turn up at Wembley and perform? I don't have the answers, my players were excellent.' Salford boss Karl Robinson admitted his side were outplayed, stating: 'It's hard to be brutal when they have given their all this season. Incredible heat at certain stages; it was burning through.'
The victory continues County's rapid rise under Danish ownership, having spent four years in non-league before returning to the Football League in 2023. Salford, owned by the 'Class of 92' including Gary Neville and David Beckham, failed to cross the League One boundary for the first time.
