Match Report: Notts County miss out on top three with defeat at Grimsby Town

Notts County have thrown away the chance of making the top three in League Two with one game to spare after falling to a 2-1 defeat at Grimsby Town on Saturday afternoon.

With third-placed Wycombe Wanderers winning at Chesterfield, it meant that Chairboys won automatic promotion to League One alongside champions Accrington Stanley and second-placed Luton Town.

The result was also good news for Grimsby, who now sit five points clear of the bottom two with one game left, thus guaranteeing their place in the Football League next season.

Notts were dour in the opening 45 minutes, with the woodwork coming to their rescue as Harry Clifton's curling effort from the edge of the box came back off the post.

The visitors' first real chance came on 19 minutes when a cross from the left was met by Jonathan Forte but he steered his header just wide of the near post.

Grimsby, however, continued to press and drew first blood just before the half-hour mark when Notts failed to clear and Nathan Clarke pounced on the loose ball in the penalty area to roll the ball home.

Kevin Nolan’s men almost conjured up an immediate response, with Matty Virtue appealing for a penalty when he appeared to have been tripped in the area but play continued, which saw Lewis Alessandra strike but could only fire over.

Though Notts did press on, they came close to conceding a second on the stroke of half time when Martyn Woolford charged onto Luke Summerfield's cross and, after seeing his initial effort blocked, failed to force the follow-up over the line as Adam Coliln gathered.

The Magpies showed a marked improvement in the second half and came close on a number of occasions, with Richard Duffy thumping a header just wide of the post.

James McKeown then did well to keep his side ahead when he pulled off a one-handed save on the goalline after the Grimsby defence failed to cope with a Lewis Alessandra cross.

Notts continued to push on and succeeded in grabbing a late equaliser when Michael O’Connor’s header hit the bar, allowing Dan Jones to stab home from close range, but at the other end,

But as they went in search of the winner, Jamille Matt popped up to squeeze the ball home from a corner deep into injury time to crush County's automatic promotion hopes.