Notts County slumped to a disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of a ruthless Stevenage side at the Lamex Stadium last Saturday. The result on paper is more reminiscent of John Sheridan’s tenure, but there are no panic alarms sounding at Meadow Lane despite losing 3-0 in the midst of a relegation dogfight.
Stevenage themselves haven’t been beaten since January 21st, and are now unbeaten in eight, racking up a hefty seven wins in the process. This in turn has sparked a shock play-off push, with Stevenage finding themselves in 6th after their recent scalps.
There is no shame in the defeat, and County can shake it off as a bad day at the office, the game itself was a similar tale to many other County games this season. A goal in the first 10 minutes to send us 1-0 down. Matt Godden striking in the 3rd minute to leave the ‘pies chasing the game from the offset.
“Kevin Nolan was keen to rid the game out of memory and remained hopeful that there will be no hangover from the defeat going forward.”
The early goal spurred on the hosts, who controlled the game comfortably for the duration of the first half, winning the majority of aerial contests and subsequent second balls. County’s big chances fell to experienced strikers Shola Ameobi and Jon Stead but their best efforts were thwarted by goalkeeping veteran Chris Day.
A smash and grab then occurred around the hour mark with 2 goals in as many minutes from King and Godden to kill the contest and make it a comfortable last half hour for the hosts, with Godden’s cool finish marking his 20th goal of the season for Stevenage.
“Notts’ unbeaten run was testament to the work that Nolan has done since being appointed as manager, even winning away 1-0 at a high flying Plymouth side.”
Kevin Nolan was keen to rid the game out of memory and remained hopeful that there will be no hangover from the defeat going forward: ‘We were unbeaten in five games before today and the lads have been fantastic during that time so now we need to go on another run like that’.
County’s unbeaten run was testament to the work that Nolan has done since being appointed as manager, even winning away 1-0 at a high flying Plymouth side. Next up for County is a visit from Hartlepool this Saturday, who find themselves one place above Notts County in 21st position, with one point more.
Both teams know this is a massive six pointer, and Notts County know that they can’t afford anything less than to take all 3 points. Nolan must get the team galvanised again in the same vain as was prevalent in the Plymouth and Leyton Orient games; this a massive chance for The Mags to leapfrog their relegation rivals and take a huge step to remaining as the world’s oldest football league club.
Liam Kenny
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