One place and one point separated the two teams in the table at the end of the regular season, and the first leg at Chesterfield five days earlier summed up just how close the East Midlands rivals have been to one another.
Captain Tom Naylor returned to the Spireites starting side as one of three changes made for the trip to Nottingham, while Magpies boss Martin Paterson stuck with the same XI that prevailed at the SMH Group Stadium.
It was a first half of nearly moments for both sides at Meadow Lane, with Chesterfield’s James Berry having an early free-kick deflected wide, while a tame effort from the midfielder called Belshaw into action later in the half.
At the other end, Spireites defender Janoi Donacien made two crucial last-ditch interventions in his box before the break.
He first foiled Tom Iorpenda with a sliding challenge before going on to block a close-range effort from Luker that very nearly broke kindly for Alassana Jatta to pounce on.
The sublime first-touch control and finesse on the threaded pass from Jodi Jones to tee Iorpenda up for his glimpse of a chance was a snapshot of a high-quality first 45 minutes from the Magpies pair.
The second half got off to a more frantic start, with Notts’ Luker squandering a huge chance to break the deadlock after being found by a perfectly placed low cross from Iorpenda, while it took a low reflex save from Belshaw to keep Markanday from squaring things up on aggregate.
Chesterfield’s search for a way to extend their season went down to the final seconds, with Sil Swinkels meeting a hopeful cross at the back post with a header that called Belshaw into one final act.
