By Chris
Notts County saw their six-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt with a 3-1 defeat at local rivals Mansfield Town.
The in-form Danny Rose grabbed a second-half brace before a Richard Duffy own goal killed off the game for the Magpies.
Carl Dickinson, meanwhile, grabbed a consolation for County two minutes into added time with a superb 25-yard free-kick.
Here is Chris's analysis of the game at the One Call Stadium.
Was the result fair?
I can’t disagree, though I think the score line is flattering because I don’t think either side played really well at all – but Mansfield were clearly the better side of the two competing at Field Mill yesterday.
How did Notts play?
Notts played like a side that wasn’t aware of how to play, they looked unfamiliar with each other and they failed to get grip of the game. It’s difficult, as I did think we played alright in spells in the first half. Second was just awful, and I’d have made changes before it had even kicked off. The fault for me was at the back, there was little to no organisation and we failed to deal promptly with the Stags.
How did Mansfield Town play?
They played well, with some good football being expressed by their players but I honestly wasn’t very impressed overall – I don’t think this was due to Notts being extremely poor, its more related to their negative tactics and repeated efforts to fool what was a very poor referee.
Did our tactics work out?
No, not at all. It was Coventry City all over again but on a worse level this time a round.
Before the match the line-up looked as if Kevin Nolan was spot on with his selection, with many fans saying ‘he’s going for it isn’t he’ and it would have appeared to be the case. However, Carl Dickinson was a weak link at the back and Richard Duffy I felt was extremely poor.
I would have risked playing Shola Ameobi from the start, and I hate to say it perhaps against Mansfield we shouldn’t have tried to force the passing football so much.
But from the back, we were very ineffective – the midfield did try but seemed sluggish and unprepared. Our striker force stood no chance at all for these reasons.
How did the referee perform?
I didn’t rate him, I felt he gave an unfair home advantage and missed several blatant dives. He also tended to award every little issue that Mansfield players complained about, which sort of ruined the flow of the game.
He wasn’t very quick to award anything to Notts at all, and there were times where he clearly missed incidents – but I doubt a better referee would have changed much.
Who do we play next?
Forest Green Rovers! Pardon the pun but we literally have to slaughter these. I fully expect Notts to be able to bounce back, but we have to go into the game being more prepared and more able to compete if things don’t go our way.
How should we play them?
We have to be cautious at the back, I would hate for us to play poorly against these and totally underestimate them.
It’s clear on paper that Forest Green can leak goals, they have a decent midfield but they haven’t strengthened wisely for life within League Two. Notts must play higher up, we need to force them back in my opinion.
This would allow more ground to be found within the middle of their pitch, and would allow us to play a better passing game.
We missed pace against Mansfield, so for me Dan Jones needs to return if he is fit after suffering a hamstring injury against Lincoln City. I’d like to see Lewis Alessandra and Terry Hawkridge occupy the flanks and Robert Milsom and Ryan Yates in the centre.
Mansfield fan comments (from Stagsnet)
Yaxhamstag: Cracking atmosphere, match day experience is so much better than it has been in the past, so congratulations to all concerned at the club. Danny Rose was awesome, I thought the defence was solid, my one disappointment was our midfield (MacDonald excepted) as I thought given our purchases they would show a bit more quality on the ball....hopefully that will come. As for Hemmings, I thought he worked really hard and is just unlucky at the moment. He could/should have been credited with the second goal and would have had a tap-in if the third hadn't been an OG. Pleased he got a good reception when he came off and we should continue to back him. Once he gets one, he'll be fine. I also thought the one minute's applause was brilliant and moving. Top stuff all round.
Chip63: Absolutely a great result today. Well done all you have made my day. Don't take the pish too much on the way out. Top of the league your having a laugh.
Woodclanger1: Great result without even having to move up a gear by bringing Mellis on. They looked well drilled but very ordinary and limited to hoof it. We were no great shakes especially the first half in midfield but Butcher certainly stepped it up in the second half. Mirfin and Pearce solid again and the hard running of Rose and Sterling up front made them look very cumbersome at the back. Great day to be a Stags fan.
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now