Four former Port Vale players featured at Wembley as Oldham Athletic won a dramatic National League play-off final to return to League Two.
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Midfielder Tom Pett and defender Charlie Raglan both started the game while Tom Conlon and Kian Harratt came off the bench. The latter scored a dramatic extra-time winner to see Oldham defeat Southend United 3-2. It was played in front of 52,000 at Wembley.
Oldham were trailing 2-1 before two goals in two minutes saw them turn the tie around. It was Harratt’s second goal in a Wembley play-off final as he also scored when the Valiants defeated Mansfield Town 3-0 in 2022. Tom Pett captained the Vale for that game with Conlon injured and on the sidelines.
However, Oldham club captain Conlon was able to lift the trophy on Sunday as Athletic celebrated their first promotion in 34 years.
Drink it in. #oafc pic.twitter.com/2rACiC4Nao
— (P) Oldham Athletic (@OfficialOAFC) June 2, 2025
Following the match, Oldham manager Micky Mellon told BBC Sport: “It’s an unbelievable achievement to turn it round and get a result from where we were. It’s a fantastic moment for us.
“This club is a monster. We were under a lot of pressure because we have a great family that back us – we needed to go up.
“It makes so much difference to everything about Oldham as a football club, we can really build forward behind the scenes now.
“It’s massive, it’s monstrous to get us in . Everything changes now for the club.”
Mellon added: “There are some really big clubs in the National League who have been allowed to stagnate.
“York should have gone up automatically. You can’t win that amount of points (96) and not go up automatically. It should be three up, three down. Teams like York and Southend would make the EFL better.
“I think the EFL has got to hand an olive branch out to its original members who are struggling.
“I’ve been in League Two and there are teams there who are not as ambitious or as big as those in the National League. It’s got to change.”
Great effort and well done to all