Charlie Wood and Kian Gadsby
If you had to pinpoint a moment in their 2024/25 campaign when Notts County’s promotion push started to derail, then their game at Meadow Lane against Chesterfield is certainly a candidate.
A hard-fought 2-0 victory at Grimsby the previous week had snapped a three-match winless streak and put them on the cusp of the automatic promotion places, and a victory against their rivals would have restored the momentum needed for an assault towards the third tier.
Instead, they crumbled. Will Jarvis’ late strike cancelled out Abirim Pepple’s opener for the Spireites, but Tom Naylor found the back of the net mere minutes later to send the visiting supporters into delirium and snatch all three points for his side. County were unable to establish any rhythm after that game, only winning three of their last nine. That saw them consigned to the playoffs, where two meek defeats to AFC Wimbledon extended their exile from the third tier.
Fast forward almost a year to the day, and County once again welcomed Chesterfield to Meadow Lane. As was the case a year ago, at kick-off Notts were just on the precipice of the automatic promotion places, with Chesterfield on the outside looking in towards the playoffs.
Notts County fans will have been feeling a sense of déjà vu after they went behind in the opening exchanges. Chesterfield were the better side, and Armando Dobra fired in a deserved opening goal. There is never any love lost between these two sides, and his celebration cupping the ears to the Kop riled up the County fans and set the tone for what was to come.
This is a rivalry brimming with recent history, and ever since their National League Promotion Final clash, games between these two have always been chaotic with challenges flying in left, right and centre. The fans on both sides created a brilliant atmosphere, one which will have made an impression on the players.
However, that does not excuse the moment of utter brash stupidity that saw Ollie Norburn, who was already on a yellow card, decide to throw Dobra’s boot away when the Albanian tried to put it back on.
The 32-year-old has a wealth of experience around the EFL and should surely know better than to let the emotion of the contest get the better of him. Instead, he was off the pitch, and suddenly with 70 minutes to go County had a herculean effort to grab all three points.
Anyone who has been watching Notts County over the last couple of seasons probably expected that to be game over. But Martin Paterson’s side have learned to respond to adversity.
Rather than rolling over, they rallied. Jodi Jones, a player who has suffered a plethora of injury troubles but finally looks back to his best, was instrumental and made the first equaliser with a brilliant cross. When Chesterfield went back in front, Notts again responded, with another teasing ball from Jones being bundled in by Matty Platt on the line for 2-2.
Unfortunately for the Magpies Liam Mandeville made it 3-2 to snatch all three points midway through the second half. However, there are plenty of positives for County to take from this game that indicate that this season will not necessarily end the same as last.
Last season’s defeat was a lame one that was the result of a limp performance. This year, down a man for 70 minutes, County produced a much stronger display.
They fought intensely for every ball, the sign of a team who cared about the game and were desperate to get the result that they needed. Tom Iorpenda was announced as man of the match and never stopped running, but truth be told the same could be said for any of the Magpies midfield or even striker Matthew Dennis. Jones absolutely had the beating of his man, and was causing so much commotion down the wing that Paul Cook hooked off his right-back at half-time.
A moment of madness cost them, but apart from that they were solid. It feels unusual to be saying this after a defeat, but this performance could be a springboard in the right direction.
Due to the animosity between the sides, losing to Chesterfield is never a good thing, and the cost of this defeat is high for Patterson. Norburn will be joining Ndlovu in being suspended with their midweek trip to Accrington Stanley, while Matty Platt was forced off injured just before the hour mark. Crucially, with Salford, Bromley, MK Dons and Cambridge all winning, they lost vital ground on their promotion rivals.
They may now be four points adrift in the battle for third, but the valiant effort of the players out there on the pitch was appreciated by the home faithful. While the scenes in the away end at the final whistle were the same as last year, the reaction of the home fans was a smattering of applause rather than boos. They understood that losing this game is not the end of the world in the promotion race.
With three automatic promotion places available, teams have typically required around 80-82 points to escape League Two. Notts need six wins from their remaining 10 games to surpass that figure, a challenging but not insurmountable goal.
Three of their next four are against teams languishing in the bottom half of the table. Instead of this match, it will be those games that determine the ending of County’s season. If they can build from this showing, then they may be destined to make a late run and end their 11-year hiatus from the third tier.
Charlie Wood and Kian Gadsby
Featured image courtesy of Kian Gadsby. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 from @nottscountyfc via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 from @nottscountyfc via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
