Frantic start to proceedings at Meadow Lane but no real pattern to the play and a few hurried and loose touches in midfield from both sides already.

Image source, Shutterstock

In contrast to the first half of their first leg, the opening 45 minutes at the Peninsula goes by without any drama.

The biggest chance of the night fell to Ryan Graydon after Kelly N'Mai escaped multiple challenges to get off a pass.

It was a good opportunity but Graydon's strike was tame to see his team-mate's hard work go to waste.

Salford won't be too upset though as Grimsby haven't done anything of any real note and if they don't rustle up some magic in the second, that's the Ammies place at Wembley booked.

Andrew Aloia
BBC Sport, East Midlands at Meadow Lane

Well, that was a nice touch at the Kop end at Meadow Lane.

A massive tifo banner was unfurled at ground level and passed all the way to the back of the stand.

It read 'This is Nottingham' with one very determined looking Magpie swooping above the words.

That added a touch of theatre to this evening of play-off football.

An additional two minutes to play in this half.

Both sides will be having an in-depth team talk after this half you'd imagine.

My word there's an atmosphere at Meadow Lane tonight.

17,000 fans, an almighty (and slightly intimidating) Magpie tifo behind the goal and two local rivals with heaps of history and a spot of bad blood too.

Buckle up, we're under way...

Another Salford counter-attack is thwarted by some good defending up the other end.

Not much in it so far. Not much action either, really.

Grimsby for all their possession have only two off-target shots to show for it. Only one for Salford, albeit an on-target one.

A couple of minutes to go until half-time.

Image source, Shutterstock

Escaping death and resurrecting his career has given Notts County's Nick Tsaroulla reasons to treasure every moment as a footballer.

And playing in front of a sell-out crowd of 17,000 at Meadow Lane tonight in the second leg of the Magpies' League Two play-off semi-final against East Midlands rivals Chesterfield is one of those moments he intends to "soak up".

The car crash that nearly cost the 27-year-old his life, external, external when he was a teenager on the books at Tottenham in 2017 has given the winger a deep appreciation of what Notts are playing for and the role he has in trying to get the club back to League One after an 11-year absence.

"It's a short career, a short life," he told BBC Sport.

"Life can be taken away in any second, football can be taken away in any second, which it was for me - and then you realise how much you miss it and you just want to enjoy every second of it.

"That's exactly what we're going to do. That's the spirit we embody as a team. That's what we did in the first leg and we're going to go out and do that again in the second leg."

Click here for more on Tsaroulla's story.

Andrew Aloia
BBC Sport, East Midlands at Meadow Lane

So, what the vibe ahead of the second leg in this tie between Notts County and Chesterfield?

Well, I think ex-Magpies striker Mark Stallard, who is working as part of BBC Radio Nottingham's commentary team, summed it up best in a passing conversation we had earlier when he said "this game has every chance of being as good as the first tie was bad".

Jayden Luker nabbed the only goal of the game at Chesterfield to give Notts a 1-0 advantage tonight. It was a goal that came from the Magpies' only shot on target.

Chesterfield huffed and puffed at their place, but the closest they came to getting on the board was a Lee Bonis penalty that clatted the post.

Chesterfield are now chasing this tie, so can we expect them to try and blow the doors out early? They certainly know all about making a big impression at Meadow Lane, having won 3-2 on their last visit in March.

It certainly has the ingredients to be an entertaining night.

Image source, Shutterstock

Image source, Opta

• Following their 1-0 win in the 1st leg of this tie, Notts County will be aiming to win back-to-back games against Chesterfield as an EFL side for the first time since doing a league double over them in League One in 2011-12 (3-1 away, 1-0 home).
• Chesterfield have won away to Notts County in League Two in both of the past two seasons, winning 2-1 in March 2025 and 3-2 in March this year, after the Magpies received a 19th minute red card.
• Notts County have won only two of their past six home League Two matches (D1 L3), having won five in a row beforehand. One of those six games was a 3-2 defeat to Chesterfield in March.
• Chesterfield were unbeaten in each of their final five away games in the League Two regular season (W4 D1) – the Spireites also went unbeaten on the road against each of the other top seven teams in the final standings (W3 D3).
• Notts County won 1-0 in the first leg but have never won both legs of an EFL play-off semi-final tie, with this their seventh. They last reached a final in 1995-96 under Colin Murphy in the third tier.
• Chesterfield have lost each of their past five matches in the EFL play-offs, the joint longest losing run in the history of the play-offs; Lincoln lost five on the bounce between 2005 and 2007 and Reading lost five consecutively between 2001 and 2009.
• Notts County’s Tom Iorpenda has eight assists in League Two this season, including four in his past eight games. It’s the most assists by a player aged 21 or younger in a season since 2021-22, when Kane Wilson (13) and Ollie Cooper (8) did so.
• Chesterfield’s Paul Cook has never won a match in the EFL play-offs in seven attempts (D1 L6), the joint most games without winning in the history of the play-offs along with Uwe Rosler. His six defeats are also the joint most, along with Billy Davies, Mick McCarthy and Steve Coppell.

Salford's counter is blistering and it looks like Kelly N'Mai is going to reach a goal-scoring position in no time but the defensive tackle from Maldini Kacurri is excellently timed to see it out for a corner.

Great counter-attack from the hosts, even better recovery from the Mariners.

Image source, Opta

Martin Paterson has stuck with the same Magpies XI which ran-out 1-0 winners in the away leg of the semi-final on Sunday, though 14-goal forward Matt Dennis has returned to the bench.

Paul Cook has made three changes to the Spireites side which lost the first leg.

Armando Dobra misses out after going off with a shoulder injury on Sunday so James Berry starts on the left while Tom Naylor returns to captain the side in holding midfield in place of Liam Mandeville.

He drops to the bench along with Sam Curtis, with Janoi Donacien starting at right-back for the first time since January.

Image source, Opta

Gary Croft
Former Grimsby defender on BBC Radio Humberside

Grimsby haven't threatened too much so far. With the quality down the flanks there hasn't been too much.

They're holding us off and they'll be happy with that.

Image source, Shutterstock

Rough night for Maldini Kacurri so far.

He's still got a piece of tissue up his nose to staunch the blood and now he's brave in his defending, jumping high to put in a vital defensive header but knowing he's going to get clattered into by Ammies defender Brandon Cooper.

Image source, Shutterstock

Salford stopper Matty Young plays with dice as he tries to outmanoeuvre Andy Cook in the box.

It's a clever bit of footwork though and Cook ends up sliding on the grass without a bite on the ball while Young crosses out to his defenders without a sweat.

Image source, Shutterstock

It's still all to play for for Chesterfield, despite going down 1-0 at home in the first leg on Sunday.

The Spireites, who have suffered play-off defeats by Notts twice in the past six years, could not find an equaliser during an intense spell of second-half pressure.

Assistant manager Danny Webb told BBC Radio Sheffield his side were in better shape than at this stage last season when the Spireites lost the first leg of their League Two play-off semi-final 2-0 at home to Walsall.

He said it "would have been a real sickener" if County had got a second goal at the end "and then we would have been exactly where we were last year and you're having an uphill battle going there".

He added: "We'd love to have drawn but I think our supporters can be full of hope and optimism going to the game on Friday night."

Grimsby have a free kick but Maldini Kacurri needs to be seen for nasty nose bleed so they'll be a man down as they deliver it.

It doesn't manage to penetrate the Salford defence but they are able to keep possession before Kacurri can re-emerging donning his unmarked shirt.

Liam Hogan
Former Salford defender on BBC Radio Manchester

Karl Robinson will be really happy so far. Initially Salford were on the front foot and there will be tweaks.

It's all about doing your jobs and not just your identities in these games.

Image source, Shutterstock

County boss Martin Paterson insisted that progression to the League Two play-off final is far from guaranteed, despite beating Chesterfield in the first leg of their semi-final on Sunday.

The Magpies carry a slender 1-0 lead into the decisive return leg at Meadow Lane after Jayden Luker's first-half strike was enough to give County their first away victory in a play-off tie - at the eighth attempt.

But Paterson is keen to keep perspective and remind everyone that the tie has not been won yet.

"Absolutely not - I think you'd be an absolute fool to think that," he told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"We're halfway into two games so it's irrelevant how it looks right now.

"What matters is at the end of the second game, but there are positives to take, a lot of positives, and that will be a good thing to show the players.

"We looked really threatening in moments. We're halfway there and it's a tough, tough game coming up."

Image source, Shutterstock

Notts County take a one-goal lead into the second leg of their League Two play-off semi-final with Chesterfield.

The home side had a great chance to take the lead after five minutes of Sunday's first leg when Liam Mandeville was fouled in the area by Lucas Ness but Lee Bonis sent his low penalty against the foot of the post.

Jayden Luker put the away side in front with a finish at the back post from Tom Iorpenda's ball across the face of goal.

The Spireites had a greater share of possession for the final hour but James Belshaw's save from Tom Pearce's free-kick was as close as they came to an equaliser.

Click here for Sunday first leg match report.