10 April 2023 , 16:40
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Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster asked questions about the National League only getting two promotion spots after his stoppage-time penalty save gave Phil Parkinson's side victory over Notts County in their top of the table clash.
With the two sides locked on 100 points and with just a handful of games remaining, the winner at the Racecourse Ground was bound to gain the upper hand in the race for the one automatic promotion spot from the National League. John Bostock gave Notts County a half-time lead, but Wrexham battled back to lead 2-1 and 3-2 going into second half stoppage-time.
Just as Elliot Lee's goal looked to have sealed victory, County were awarded a penalty for a handball in the box. Cedwyn Scott stepped up to take the kick, but former England keeper Foster pawed the ball to safety to send the home crowd wild.
A 3-1 loss at Halifax had put Wrexham's title bid under pressure, but Parkinson's men got the result they needed thanks to Foster's heroics. While there is still work to do, the goalkeeper was pleased with how things panned out.
"Just listen to that," Foster told BT Sport while gesturing towards the crowd in full voice after the win. "This is non league, we fill this out every week, 10,000 fans - the most passionate... we took 4,500 away to Halifax last week, we put in an awful performance and we needed to win big today.
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"You just dive and hope for the best," he said of the penalty save. "If you go the right way and get your hand on it, you'd like to think you'll save it."
Foster also said it was "almost a shambles" that only two teams go up from the league. Notts County are now likely to face the play-offs despite sitting more than 20 points clear of the side in third.
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Ben Foster was Wrexham's hero with his penalty save (@btsportfootball / Twitter)He added: "Obviously we're [Wrexham and Notts County] far and away better than the rest of the teams, so they need to look at that. But fair play to Notts County, that was as good a game as I've played in, genuinely."
Foster, who played Premier League football for the likes of Manchester United and Watford, had previously spoken of the need for a reaction after defeat at Halifax. With only one automatic promotion place available, there was no doubt about how big a game the Notts County clash was.
"It's a good chance to try and bury some of these demons straight away and it's obviously a massive game for us," Foster told Mirror Football ahead of Monday's game. "We know what is at stake when we play Notts County on Monday, and hopefully we can take a bit of anger from the [Halifax] game and turn it into a real high-tempo, proper performance for our fans to enjoy.
"It's very good for the neutral (the title race), not so good for a Wrexham fan. Friday would have been a great chance to maintain that lead and to maintain our unbeaten run. But that is football and fair play to Halifax, they were good."