Substitute goalkeeper Archie Mair was the hero as Notts County beat Chesterfield in a Wembley penalty shoot-out to end a four-year absence from the English Football League.

Mair, on loan from Norwich and sent on in the final minute of extra time for the spot-kick contest, denied Darren Oldaker and Jeff King with full-length saves as County won 4-3 on penalties after the game had been drawn 2-2 after 120 minutes.

Macaulay Langstaff, Ruben Rodrigues, Jodi Jones and Cedwyn Scott were successful from the spot for County, the latter achieving redemption having missed from 12 yards in the promotion showdown with Wrexham last month.

Andrew Dallas’ early penalty seemed set to signal more end-of-season misery for County before John Bostock equalised with just two minutes left on the clock.

Paul Cook’s Chesterfield quickly regained the lead in extra time with Armando Dobra’s superb curling effort worthy of winning any cup final, but Rodrigues’ equaliser 12 minutes from time sent the game to penalties.

It was promotion delight at last for County who were relegated from the EFL in 2019 and have contested the National League play-offs in every campaign since.

Luke Williams’ side had finished 23 points clear of Chesterfield at the end of a regular season in which they had pushed champions Wrexham all the way.

Chesterfield, themselves beaten in the play-offs in the last two years, showed their attacking intent inside 35 seconds as Ryan Colclough fired over.

Nerves were clearly on show as goalkeeper Sam Slocombe dribbled out the resulting goal-kick.

Slocombe was penalised for kicking the ball twice and penalised to offer the Spireites a golden chance top open the scoring.

But as County defenders rushed from the goal-line, Slocombe atoned for his mistake by blocking King’s free-kick.

County’s reprieve lasted just moments as Slocombe suffered another rush of blood and brought down Dallas, who had raced onto a pass over the top of the Notts defence.

Dallas, part of the Solihull side beaten by Grimsby in last year’s play-off final, sent his penalty down the middle as Slocombe dived to his right.

The route to goal offered real promise for a Spireites side keen to exploit County’s high defensive line.

County had some hairy moments but finally found a foothold in the game and Chesterfield struggled to contain Aaron Nemane out wide.

Nemane’s powerful effort forced a save from Ross Fitzsimons at the near post and County upped the tempo after the restart.

Sam Austin had a clear sight of goal after another Nemane burst and Connell Rawlinson then had an even better chance, the unmarked defender sending his header from eight yards just wide.

Chesterfield were becoming increasingly camped in their own half, but Colclough drove agonisingly wide from a rare Spireites forward raid.

Time was fast running out for County when Fitzsimons spilled Bostock’s free-kick at his near post and the ball squirmed over the line.

Chesterfield were in front again three minutes in to extra time when Dobra was released on the left and cut back on to his right foot to beat Slocombe in style.

County belatedly fashioned a couple of chances for Langstaff and Rawlinson drifted an effort wide.

But Rodrigues’ shot bounced into the turf and over the head of Fitzsimons, and Williams’ decision to send on Mair would prove a masterstroke.

As an emotionally charged season reaches its climax Notts County boss Luke Williams knows there are no guidelines for grief.

The Magpies lost chief executive Jason Turner suddenly in March, aged just 50, with his funeral held last week.

Williams, who was among those who carried his coffin, has helped lead a club through heartache while trying to win promotion from the National League.

A staggering 107 points still saw them finish second, behind Wrexham, but they then claimed a blockbuster 3-2 win over Boreham Wood in their play-off semi-final on Sunday as Jodi Jones’ strike in the final minute of extra time capped a comeback from 2-0 down.

Now, Saturday’s play-off final against Chesterfield is their chance to end a four-year EFL exile with the memory of Turner a driving force.

“I don’t think there’s a manual,” Williams told the PA news agency.

“You can be involved in 1,000 games of football but this is something that is about life and there’s no rule book for this. I try my best to support people and to try to support Jason’s family as best I can.

“It’s been a huge challenge for me but at the same time I got to work with Jason and got to know him as a man. He’s made a huge impact on my life in a very, very positive way.

“Nothing that I’ve had to do has been a burden to me. It’s actually, in a way, helped me to mourn Jason’s passing.”

Saturday’s final at Wembley will mark the finale of a thrilling campaign, one where Williams and the club have kept going in tragic circumstances.

Yet it leaves the former Swindon boss wary for when the adrenaline wears off and he and the Magpies have time to reflect.

He said: “When you experience very, very strong emotions, very, very high emotions and very low emotions – when they’re all very extreme – I feel like you’re always very vulnerable when you come to an end of a chapter like this.

“I have experienced things similar in the past and I have a brilliant family and that is the key thing.

“After this type of rollercoaster you need to be with people that care about you and people you trust with your life to be able to help you to recover before it all begins again.

“Will I be able to draw on these experiences? I’m sure, yes. l hope nothing like that happens but you know life is so fragile so there is every chance I’ll be involved in something of a similar nature.

“So I think this stressful experience will help me to cope with that in the future.”

While champions Wrexham have been partying in Las Vegas, courtesy of owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Notts County have one last game.

Reynolds and McElhenney are expected at Wembley to support the Magpies, something which Williams welcomes as he looks to join them in League Two.

“It’s brilliant we’re able to be really fiercely competitive and do everything we possibly can to try to get to the title and then be able to be respectful and supportive at the same time,” added Williams.

“Not that I think anybody wants to take the passion and the competition out of football, we all want rivalry.

“We want passionate performances and brilliant moments to celebrate and the fans to be able to wind each other up. Then, afterwards, it is a nice development to see the class of the two clubs and the respect they have shown towards each other.”

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has been named Vanarama National League manager of the season.

But Wrexham striker Paul Mullin, who scored 47 goals in all competitions, lost out on the player of the season award to Macaulay Langstaff.

Notts County striker Langstaff scored 42 National League goals – four more than Mullin – as Luke Williams’ side finished four points short of champions Wrexham’s record total of 111.

Parkinson steered Wrexham over the line amid the fierce spotlight on the Welsh club because of their Hollywood star owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Wrexham missed out on promotion in the play-offs last season, but the Red Dragons ended a 15-year absence from the English Football League on the season’s penultimate weekend this time.

Notts County, who pushed Wrexham all the way in a thrilling title race, will contest the play-off final against Chesterfield on Saturday for the second promotion spot.

The top two dominate the National League team of the year with eight players. Notts County supply five players, two more than Wrexham.

National League Team of the Year: N Ashmore (Boreham Wood), J King (Chesterfield), A Chicksen (Notts County), B Tozer (Wrexham), K Cameron (Notts County), E Lee (Wrexham), M Palmer, R Rodrigues, M Langstaff (all Notts County), P Mullin (Wrexham), R Colclough (Chesterfield).

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.

Jodi Jones fired in a late winner deep into extra-time as Notts County came from two goals down to go through to the National League play-off final with a 3-2 win over Boreham Wood.

The visitors took a shock lead in the 38th minute when George Broadbent latched onto a long ball and fired across for Femi Ilesanmi who turned home from close range.

Boreham Wood doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time when Lee Ndlovu took advantage of some slack County possession and found himself one-on-one with Sam Slocombe before slotting home.

County pulled one back straight after the break after Aden Baldwin was left in acres of space 25 yards out, he let fly and fired past Joe McDonnell to make it 2-1.

The Magpies had a chance to equalise from the spot after Ruben Rodrigues was brought down inside the area. He stepped up but saw his penalty kick palmed away by McDonnell as Boreham Wood hung onto their lead.

But County’s relentless pressure finally paid off in the dying minutes of stoppage time when Jones’ cross was turned home by Baldwin for his second of the game to send the tie into extra-time.

As penalties were looming,  Jones let fly from long-range and although McDonnell got hands to it he could not keep it out and County had completed their comeback to book a place at Wembley.

A second-half turnaround helped Bromley win 2-1 at Woking and earn a place in the Vanarama National League play-off semi-finals for the first time.

Woking had finished fourth in the regular season to earn home advantage for the eliminator and Rohan Ince fired them ahead in the 13th minute.

Seventh-placed Bromley responded on the hour mark through Michael Cheek’s penalty and Deji Elerewe’s 77th-minute effort booked them a trip to Chesterfield on Sunday.

Ince provided Woking with the perfect start when he curled into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.

No second goal occurred for the hosts though and Cheek levelled from the spot for Bromley on the hour mark despite home supporters shining the torch on their phones behind the goal.

The Ravens were in the ascendency now and they grabbed a winner with 13 minutes left when a long throw from Omar Sowunmi found its way to Elerewe at the back post to head home.

Lee Ndlovu’s first-half brace sent Boreham Wood into the National League play-off semi-finals following their 2-1 victory over Barnet.

The Wood will now face Notts County in the next round after the Magpies finished as runners-up in the table.

Barnet missed several chances, with Finley Potter going close before Idris Kanu had a header cleared from the goalmouth.

Despite a bright start from the hosts it was Boreham Wood who took the lead in the 19th minute after a fantastic cross-field pass from Chris Bush set up Ndlovu, who found the bottom-left corner.

Nathan Ashmore made a strong save to deny Kanu’s curling effort, but the Wood doubled their lead two minutes into first-half stoppage-time when Ndlovu’s shot hit the post, but the forward was able to tap home the rebound.

Harry Pritchard pulled one back for Barnet seven minutes after the break with a cool finish into the top corner from close-range.

Ashmore made a good save from Kanu before the striker fired narrowly over the crossbar, but Boreham were able to see the game out to advance.

Ryan Reynolds felt vindicated after seeing Wrexham promoted to the English Football League following a 15-year absence.

The Deadpool star and fellow actor Rob McElhenney surprised everyone when they bought the Welsh club in November 2020.

And the co-owners were in attendance at the Racecourse Ground – along with another Hollywood star guest in Paul Rudd – to see Wrexham beat Boreham Wood 3-1 on Saturday to clinch the National League title.

Reynolds and McElhenney were emotional after the game as they celebrated with the players and manager Phil Parkinson, with Wrexham moving to 110 points – a National League record – meaning Notts County (106) could no longer catch them with one game remaining of what had been a pulsating title race.

"I am not sure I can process what happened tonight. I am still little speechless," Reynolds told BT Sport.

"[People ask] 'Why Wrexham?'. This is why Wrexham. This happening, right now, is why.

"Boreham Wood showed up today. They are an incredible team. They have one of the best defences in the entire league.

"This entire story, the reason we are all on edge of our seats is because Notts County are so damn good. They deserve to go up. We are rooting for Notts County. We want to see them go up [in the playoffs]."

Wrexham sealed their place in League Two for next season after recovering from going a goal down to Lee Ndlovu's first-minute lob, with Elliot Lee equalising in the 15th minute before two well-taken goals from top scorer Paul Mullin in the second half secured the famous win.

Fans poured onto the pitch on the full-time whistle as celebrations centred around being presented with the National League trophy.

"Well I think we can hear what it feels to the town. It's a time of celebration and be welcomed into their community and be welcomed to this, it is the honour of my life," McElhenney said.

The 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' star also had rather high words of praise for striker Mullin, who now has 38 league goals this season.

"I would like to say Paul Mullin is one of the greatest footballers in the world," McElhenney insisted.

Wrexham's fierce National League title battle with Notts County has been comparable to the great rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Ben Tozer.

There has been a great deal of focus on Wrexham over the past two seasons after the club were bought by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The Welsh side have thrived in the spotlight, finishing second last year and falling agonisingly short in an epic play-off defeat to Grimsby Town.

Wrexham bounced back this season and are now in pole position for the single automatic promotion place, needing only to beat Boreham Wood on Saturday to seal their return to the Football League.

That is only after a remarkable tussle with Notts County, however, culminating in the dramatic 3-2 Easter Monday win at the Racecourse Ground.

Both Wrexham and Notts have passed 100 points, with the league leaders setting a points record for the top five divisions of English football.

For defender Tozer, that incredible standard encourages comparisons with perhaps football's greatest rivalry, which saw Messi at Barcelona and Ronaldo at Real Madrid hit their peaks at the same time.

"Everyone would rather have won the league by March, and that's just the way things are," Tozer said, looking forward to the Boreham Wood game.

"People generally want things easy, but if you want to go and win a league, it's tough, it's hard. You have to do the right thing day in and day out.

"And again, it's been great to have that pressure. It probably was the same. We'd both be pushing each other really, and that's okay.

"It's a bit like the Messi and Ronaldo situation pushing each other on. It's been tough and it's been good."

Wrexham will play Chelsea in a pre-season friendly on July 19 as part of their United States tour.

The National League leaders, who are owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, will lock horns with the Premier League side at the University of North Carolina's Kenan Stadium.

It is the latest coup for Wrexham, who recently announced they will also play Manchester United in San Diego on July 25.

Chelsea were already scheduled to be in the US for the Premier League Summer Series, playing Brighton and Hove Albion on July 22 in Philadelphia, Newcastle United on July 26 in Atlanta and Fulham on July 30 near Washington D.C.

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson told the club's official website: "Our tour of the United States will be an exciting part of the summer's build-up to the new season and something we will all be looking forward to in July.

"To have the opportunity to play a team of Chelsea's calibre at the Kenan Stadium, North Carolina, will be a terrific test for our players and form an important part of our preparations for the 2023-24 season.

"We're looking forward to meeting some of the fans who have supported us so passionately from afar this season at a renowned athletics stadium."

Wrexham are four points clear of second-placed Notts County with two games remaining in the National League and will secure promotion to League Two with victory over Boreham Wood on Saturday.

Ben Foster has come out of retirement to join National League leaders Wrexham, the club owned by US actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The former England and Manchester United goalkeeper joins the Robins as they look to clinch a return to the English Football League, sprinkling a little more stardust on the promotion project.

Wrexham, who have eight games remaining, are three points clear of nearest rivals Notts County and have a game in hand over the Magpies.

Foster, 39, has spent most of his career in the Premier League and played for Watford last season as the Hornets suffered relegation from the top flight.

He now resumes his career in the fifth tier with a Wrexham side who have been the subject of the Welcome to Wrexham documentary, looking at the Reynolds and McElhenney era.

Wrexham have been competing at National League level since 2008, having previously been mainstays of the Football League for over 80 years.

Foster is no stranger to the north Wales club, having had a loan stint there in the early stages of his career, during his time as a Stoke City player.

He said of his return to football: "I'm over the moon. The first time I was here, it was genuinely the springboard to the rest of my career – on the back of the loan move, playing in the LDV Vans Trophy final at the Millennium Stadium, I got my move to Manchester United at the start of the next season. It was absolutely bonkers!

"If you'd told me 18 years ago that I'd have gone on to have the career that I have had, I probably wouldn't have believed you to be honest, so I do owe a lot to Wrexham."

Foster won eight England caps, last featuring in 2014 for the Three Lions, and has signed for Wrexham until the end of the season. He may feature in the home game against York City on Saturday.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson told the club's website he was "delighted" to bring in Foster, saying: "It was important we had all bases covered going into the last part of the season, which this signing ensures."