Sunday, May 14, 2023

Notts County Is Back In The Football League

 In the most dramatic fashion imaginable, Notts County secured promotion to League 2, after five years in the National League, England's fifth tier.  They finished second to media darlings Wrexham, who got the automatic promotion slot, and had to go through the playoffs.  The came from behind in both playoff matches in the last minutes of regular time.  In the semifinal, they scored a very late extra time goal to avoid PKs.  In the the final against Chesterfield, they came from behind late twice (once in regular time, then in extra time) to force PKs, and won those 4-3 with the last kick of the game.

I came to follow County after meeting a transplanted Yorkshireman in New Zealand who was an avid County fan.  Notts County is the oldest football team in the world.  Their in-town rivals are Nottingham Forest, who seem likely to escape relegation from the EPL (though that's not assured just yet).  A succession of failed ownership models saw County sink several levels, but now they are on the up and will probably establish themselves as a mid-table or better League 2 outfit, and could advance further if their Danish owners invest more.  Anyway, I'm excited for their success.

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