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AFC Wimbledon secured their place in the League Two playoff final thanks to an early strike by Josh Neufville. The Dons will face Walsall at Wembley on 26 May for a place in League One.
With the veteran striker David McGoldrick ruled out because of injury, and Alassana Jatta missing through suspension after being dismissed in the first leg, the Notts County manager, Stuart Maynard, was forced to make changes with Maï Traoré coming in to lead the attack.
AFC Wimbledon took their first step to Wembley after eight minutes. Neufville controlled the ball on the left of the area and was able to lob the goalkeeper, Alex Bass, to put the hosts two goals up on aggregate.
Needing an early response to get themselves back in the tie, Notts County started pressing the resolute home defence. However, the Dons repelled the pressure on their back line in the Plough Lane sunshine. The hosts had the perfect chance to wrap proceedings up 10 minutes after the restart. Matty Stevens fed Marcus Browne, but his effort was blocked by Lewis Macari.
Browne was testing the energy of the Notts County backline, using his pace to excellent effect. In their first real effort of the contest, Notts County tested Owen Goodman, when a Jodi Jones shot from outside the area was palmed away by the Crystal Palace loanee.
Stevens looked set to put the tie beyond any doubt on 69 minutes when he found space in the area from a deep James Tilley cross. However, Bass denied him with an excellent one-handed save.
Wimbledon kept searching for the second goal with Tilley testing Bass again on 72 minutes with a long-range effort. Notts County kept pressing, but the home side stayed firm.
The Don’s manager, Johnnie Jackson, believes the toughness of his side has driven them to the playoff final and that his defence is pivotal. “We’ve made ourselves a tough nut to crack,” he said. “They had to make two enforced changes, but they didn’t do too much different. We knew they would come and put it on us.
“We knew if we kept a clean sheet we’d be through, though we probably should have won by more in the end. To get the goal when we did really helped because they started well. I knew we’d have to suffer at times.
“I never played at Wembley – one thing I really regretted when I retired. To get the opportunity to lead this team out is really special. We have to enjoy these moments, but we haven’t done anything yet.”
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Stuart Maynard was left to rue his side’s early setback and the absence of McGoldrick and Jatta. He said: “There were no real openings in the beginning, but then we conceded a very sloppy goal. In the second half the frustration creeps in. We kept going all the way to the end. That’s all I can ask from the group.
“We believed we could hurt them. You have to give credit to the opposition. They have the most clean sheets in the division for a reason. I wish them well in the final. Any team in the country would have missed McGoldrick and Jatta. We want McGoldrick to be in the team next season. He is in my plans.”
Walsall secured their place in the final on Friday, beating Chesterfield 2-1 at the Bescot Stadium to complete a 4-1 aggregate victory.
Having eased to a 2-0 win in the first leg, the hosts had to be patient to secure their trip to Wembley as the second leg stayed goalless past the 80-minute mark. Two substitutes then combined for Walsall as Albert Adomah set up Charlie Lakin to score and put the outcome of the tie beyond doubt.
Armando Dobra scored a consolation for Chesterfield in added time, before Adomah provided another assist, this time for Levi Amantchi in the 95th minute. Walsall fans poured on to the pitch after Amantchi’s goal, and after they returned to the stands, the final whistle signalled the Saddlers’ first Wembley visit since 2015.
