By Chris
A rollercoaster August on the pitch for Notts County has ended on a somewhat sour note as the Magpies were held to a 2-2 draw by Accrington Stanley.
In Friday night's League Two fixture at Meadow Lane, rescheduled due to a fixture clash with the neighbours over the Trent, the Magpies edged into a 1-0 half time lead thanks to Jon Stead's penalty.
Things got even better for Kevin Nolan's charges as they doubled their lead in the 54th minute through Jorge Grant, but for the second consecutive game, this was to be wasted.
First, Mark Hughes looped home a volley, then in injury time, after a player from each side had been sent off, Mallik Wilks struck the equaliser.
Here is Pride of Nottingham's review and analysis of the match.
Was the result fair?
It’s harder this week, as on one hand Notts didn’t deserve to lose their 2-0 goal lead but on the other we didn’t finish our chances which ultimately lead to Accrington coming back into it. Putting aside tactics, changes, and the woeful decisions by the officials, I actually feel the final score doesn’t reflect well on the game at all.
How did Notts play?
First half we passed the ball around well, defended efficiently but that same old problem of rushing when in the final third appeared. Until the Jon Stead penalty, I honestly couldn’t see Notts scoring and that decision lifted the confidence of the players. My gripes against Accrington is that we simply weren’t fluid enough when it came to truly finishing the game off – yet several players did perform well and as a team we did okay.
How did Accrington Stanley play?
They passed the ball well, made good movements and actually looked sharper when they focused on playing football (not pulling shirts or diving) – yet they didn’t defend very well and heavily relied upon their goalkeeper. When it came to scoring opportunities they didn’t really threaten as much as I felt they should have, I’d describe them as the typical ‘League Two’ team.
Did our tactics work out?
In a way, yes, the tactics set out by Kevin Nolan worked. It allowed Notts to play with a level of confidence but there were visible signs that needed adjusting at half time – whilst the substitutions actually balanced the game in Accrington Stanley’s favour. Reverting to one up front in the second half really had a negative impact on the game.
How did the referee perform?
Possibly one of the worst referees I will see this season, he gave fouls for literally nothing – most of the time he seemed to favour Accrington. Whilst they as an opposition side focused on shirt pulling, physically restraining players and pushing – very few of these decisions were noticed. I feel the penalty decision was quite soft, and a call which he felt probably would balance up his poor decisions – yet he was card/whistle happy and I just wanted to see him assert his authority a lot more without being daft.
Who do we play next?
Port Vale – a team which will give us more of a football match, and Notts will need to show their determination towards achieving a respectable league finish by ensuring we leave with a good result.
How should we play them?
It’s obvious to suggest, yet I have been calling for it for a while now – start Jonathan Forte in place of Jon Stead. Also, bring back Lewis Alessandra, allow Jorge Grant to play a more direct role just behind the forwards when in procession and allow someone like Rob Milsom to be the forward thinker in midfield. Without completely changing the balance, there’s not a lot Kevin Nolan can do but I feel this would give us favour over Vale and how they may possible set themselves up.
Defensively we need to be accountable, only commit when there’s a good chance of winning the ball – so Richard Duffy go back and access your defending against Coventry City and Stanley.
Stanley fans view (courtesy of Accringtonweb):
Phil Whalley: Terrific spirit from the Stanley boys, Wilkes a superb finish after a Sykes nod on for an unlikely point. Once it went 10 vs 10 we were all over them. Chappers MOM by a country mile, let's get behind this lad, he needs to keep building his confidence. McLeod terribly unlucky to be sent off, he was rightly fuming. A really good point against one of the better Notts teams of recent years.
Alvin the Chipmunk: Best goalkeeping performance by any Accy stopper in many a year. Not a vintage performance but sheer bloody mindedness salvaged a point.
Lord Stiffupperlip: Another stonewall penalty denied, which could have won us the game. But how & why were they given theirs? Must be the softest penalty award ever!
Monkey Hanger: Still a penalty as one of our lads charged into the back of one of theirs in the box. Soft maybe but did Kayden go down too easy with the push. Penalty for me anyway as contact was there. just going off the highlights which was not the ref's view.
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