Chesterfield defeated 10-man Bromley 3-2 after extra time to set up a National League play-off final against Notts County.
Having gone a goal down to Adam Marriott’s opener in first-half stoppage time, the Spireites turned things around after the break and had looked on course for a 2-1 triumph thanks to a Deji Elerewe own goal and Darren Oldaker’s strike.
Michael Cheek dramatically forced extra time, however, with a goal nine minutes into added time, only for Liam Mandeville to grab the winner after 103 minutes, leaving Chesterfield 90 minutes away from ending their four-year exile from the Football League.
The match was delayed by 10 minutes due to crowd congestion, but that did not stop the Spireites making a strong start, with Ryan Colclough forcing Reice Charles-Cook into a low save.
There was a further delay due to an emergency in the crowd, before Bromley took the lead in the eighth minute of first-half injury time.
Ross Fitzsimons was unable to deal with a cross at the near post, allowing Marriott to poke home from a yard out.
Chesterfield upped the ante after the break and levelled when Elerewe turned Colclough’s cross into his own net under pressure from Andrew Dallas.
Bromley, aiming for Football League status for the first time in their history, were reduced to 10 men in the 75th minute when Elerewe was sent off for a tackle on Mandeville.
It did not take long for the hosts to take advantage as Oldaker’s deflected 20-yard free-kick fizzed past Charles-Cook and looked destined to set up their Wembley date.
But Bromley had other ideas and, nine minutes into 10 added on, they sent the game to extra time as Cheek poked home from close range.
The Spireites were not going to be denied, though, and Mandeville sealed their trip to the national stadium by rifling home the winner.
Gateshead barred from play-offs after ground fails to meet EFL entry criteria
Gateshead have been withdrawn from the Vanarama National League play-offs after failing to meet the entry criteria for membership into the Football League.
The north-east club finished sixth in the National League standings and were poised for a trip to Solihull Moors on Tuesday, with the winners advancing to a semi-final against Barnet on Saturday.
But because Gateshead were unable to meet the 10-year security of tenure at the Gateshead International Stadium, Solihull have instead been handed a bye directly into next weekend’s clash against the Bees.
Gateshead lobbied its town council, which owns the stadium, to provide the security of tenure and after that was turned down, the National League wrote in support of the club’s application.
A National League statement said “the response received was not supportive of the club’s requirements” and while options were offered to the club by the council, this was unsatisfactory for the EFL.
An EFL statement said: “Gateshead Football Club will not be permitted by the National League to participate in this season’s play-offs as the terms of the club’s occupation at the Gateshead International Stadium, owned by the Borough Council of Gateshead, does not meet the relevant qualifying criteria to enable the club to become a Member of the EFL.
“All other clubs permitted to play in the National League play-offs adhered to the requirements as set out in EFL regulations.”
Gateshead lodged an appeal, backed by the National League, against the “irrational or unreasonable” decision but the EFL confirmed that “has now been rejected after consideration by an independent arbitrator”.
The National League said it is “disappointed with the decision” but “recognise the entry requirements are clearly stated in the EFL rules”.
Gateshead, who are set to play Solihull Moors in the FA Trophy final on May 11, say they are “extremely disappointed” and will continue to object to both the National League and EFL on the outcome.
A club statement said: “Rest assured we will continue to challenge both on their decisions and we will endeavour to ensure that footballing matters are decided on the pitch.
“Our players and staff remain 100 per cent focused on the task in hand and we wish to go on record to express our gratitude to National League for supporting our challenge to the EFL.”
Aldershot miss out on play-off place after draw at Dagenham
Aldershot rescued a point in a 3-3 draw at Dagenham but missed out on a National League play-off spot.
Daggers striker Inih Effiong opened the scoring in the 34th minute, slamming home his 16th league goal of the season from Josh Hare’s cutback.
Aldershot were awarded a penalty at the start of the second half when Elliott Johnson brought down Kwame Thomas.
The Shots forward looked to be in an offside position and both managers were booked as tempers flared, but Cian Harries kept his cool to convert the spot-kick.
Dagenham boss Ben Strevens was then shown a red card before Lorent Tolaj headed the visitors in front in the 72nd minute.
Ryan Hill finished off a swift counter-attack to pull the home side level with eight minutes left and after Effiong was denied by the woodwork, the Daggers thought they had won it through Dion Pereira’s strike.
There was still time for Aldershot to level, though, as Josh Barrett found the top corner with a free-kick.
Ollie Banks fires late winner for NL Champions Chesterfield against Maidenhead
Ollie Banks scored a late winner as champions Chesterfield ended their time in the National League with a 3-2 victory over Maidenhead in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,108 at the SMH Group Stadium.
The Spireites, having lost four consecutive games since sealing promotion back to the English Football League last month, were 2-0 ahead after half an hour.
Joe Quigley’s fine work helped Liam Mandeville poke in from close range in the 28th minute before the forward got on the scoresheet himself shortly after, firing home after a goal-mouth scramble.
However, Maidenhead came out firing after the interval and were level courtesy of two goals in three minutes, with Tristan Abrahams slotting into an empty net after Harry Tyrer parried Reece Smith’s shot and then Kevin Lokko heading in.
But after Tom Naylor had a goal disallowed and Armando Dobra hit the post, Chesterfield finally found a winner at the death when Banks hammered in.
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