 The match took place at Wembley Stadium. | |||||||
| Event | 2019–20 National League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 2 August 2020 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | James Bell | ||||||
| Attendance | 0[a] | ||||||
The 2020 National League play-off final , known as the Vanarama National League Promotion Final for sponsorship reasons, was a football match contested between Harrogate Town and Notts County to determine the second and final team to gain promotion from the National League to EFL League Two. It was played on 2 August 2020 at Wembley Stadium in London.[1] The first-placed team of the 2019–20 National League season (Barrow) gained automatic promotion to the League Two, while the teams placed from fourth to seventh in the table took part in play-off quarter-finals and teams placed second and third received byes to the semi-finals. The winners of the quarter-finals advanced to play the teams in the semi-finals and the winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place in League Two. The match was refereed by James Bell and played behind closed doors to comply with restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Harrogate Town took the lead in the fifth-minute with a goal from George Thomson and 23 minutes later Connor Hall doubled the lead. The first half ended with Harrogate leading 2–0. In a minute of the second half Notts County halved the deficit with a free-kick from Callum Roberts, but a goal on 70 minutes from Jack Diamond restored Harrogate's two-goal advantage which they maintained to the final whistle, winning 3–1 to earn promotion to League Two and the English Football League for the first time in their history.[2][3][4]
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- ^ "National League: Play-off schedule confirmed for three divisions". BBC Sport. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ Harris, Daniel (2 August 2020). "Harrogate Town 3–1 Notts County: National League play-off final – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Jones, Mark (2 August 2020). "Harrogate Town promoted to Football League for first time with play-off victory". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Krishnan, Joe (2 August 2020). "Harrogate Town promoted to League Two for first time in 106-year history after play-off win vs Notts County". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2 August 2020.