Manager Stuart Maynard credited his Notts County players with “a great achievement” after they secured their place in the League Two play-offs thanks to a 3-1 victory at Harrogate.
The Magpies climbed to fifth in the table having ended their four-match winless run to guarantee a top-seven finish with a game to spare.
They still have an outside chance of snatching third spot on the final day, and ensuring they go up automatically, but having had so many injury problems to contend with over the course of the season, Maynard insists his team has done well just to maintain a promotion push.
He said: “It was a massive three points and it cements us in the play-offs, which is a great achievement for the squad with all the adversity we have had to come through this year with injuries and stuff.
“It is a credit to all of our lads and it is really pleasing but we are still disappointed as a group because of the standards we set ourselves.
“We really want to fight and go all the way for the automatic promotion places.”
George Abbott handed County a 33rd-minute lead at Wetherby Road but Harrogate’s Jack Muldoon scored with a fine individual effort to level matters.
Conor Grant restored the visitors’ advantage early in the second half, then struck again on 76 minutes to wrap things up.
Although very pleased with his side’s second-half showing, Maynard conceded County weren’t great during the opening period.
“I thought we started the first half well and then we got a bit sloppy,” he added. “You could see from their goal, we kind of let them into it, but Harrogate probably deserved to be in front.
“We knew at half-time it wasn’t good enough. For me, we probably deserved to be one down because of the level we were at. We didn’t really get our passing game going.
“We were a little bit nervy because we knew this was a big, big game for us. But once we got them in at half-time and calmed them down, the lads were outstanding and the goals we scored were brilliant.
“Second half, we deserved to win the game comfortably. We showed our class and moved the ball well on a very bobbly pitch.”
Harrogate boss Simon Weaver was left to rue a lack of clinical edge after his team suffered a first loss in 11 home outings.
“Notts took their chances and we didn’t, it’s as simple as that,” he said. “On another day it is a completely different scoreline but fair play to them.
“We created but we didn’t score enough today.”
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