Talking Tactics: Doncaster Rovers vs. Notts County

Notts County secured a comfortable victory against Doncaster on a windy summer afternoon, with Macaulay Langstaff scoring his first English Football League goals and Jodi Jones adding a third. Langstaff scored with a volley and header on either side of half-time, while Jones sealed the win with an excellent finish in front of a packed away end. Doncaster managed to score a late consolation goal, but it did little to dampen the spirits of Notts County as they claimed their second win of the season.

Richard Brindley was recalled to the heart of Notts County's defence, replacing Adam Chicksen, after being left out of Tuesday’s draw at Morecambe as a precaution. Brindley was joined by Kyle Cameron and Aden Baldwin in the back three, while Aidan Stone continued in goal after keeping his first clean sheet on the Lancashire coast. On the right, Sam Austin replaced Aaron Nemane, who was named among the substitutes, while Jones continued on the left.

John Bostock returned to the base of midfield alongside Matt Palmer after having his minutes managed in midweek. Langstaff was supported by Dan Crowley and David McGoldrick. McGoldrick was involved in the game’s first notable incidents, scuffing a long-range shot wide under pressure before being shown a yellow card for shooting after the referee had stopped play.

After Bostock was cautioned for a foul 25 yards out, Notts County took the lead from a set-piece routine. The ball was returned to Bostock in a crossing position, and he produced the perfect delivery for Langstaff to guide home on the volley. Langstaff came close to scoring again moments later but was denied by an excellent defensive header which prevented him from converting Austin’s looping cross - the final goalmouth action of the half.

Doncaster made three changes at half-time, but it did not prevent Notts County from doubling their lead within a minute of the restart as Austin’s cross from deep was headed home by Langstaff. It was 3-0 on 54 minutes when Crowley advanced into space and saw his dangerous cross fumbled by Lawlor, allowing Jones to cut inside and find the bottom corner from eight yards. In the end, Stone was denied consecutive clean sheets as Notts County failed to clear their lines inside their own area and Sotona scored a last-gasp consolation goal.

Was the result fair? Completely fair. Doncaster Rovers were so far out of their depth that, had Notts managed to secure a fourth goal, the game could have easily seen a fifth for the Magpies.

In terms of performance, it took Notts County some time to get into the game. However, they started off well and looked comfortable. Doncaster made it hard early on as they pressed every ball and Notts really had to work to create space. Macaulay Langstaff’s opening goal, after the short free-kick, turned the game on its head and forced the home team to be braver, which in turn opened the game up for Notts.

Doncaster Rovers were incredibly poor. Their fans have made several comments about this themselves, although those tinted glasses of red make them believe we were nothing more than average. Everything wrong with their team we saw in the season in which Notts were relegated in 2018/19. They lacked fight, organisation, and their end product was terrible. It took Notts to switch off for them to score in the final minutes of the game. Otherwise, Doncaster simply wouldn’t have any positives from the game. They looked beneath National League standards. Extremely poor; I had thought they’d show more spirit but just like their fans in attendance, they were lacklustre.

In terms of tactics: spot on. There was a lot of talk about Aaron Nemane being left on the bench. I think Luke Williams’ rotation and tactics, including the preparation in training, were spot on. The fact that Nemane was absent yet we still looked as lively once the game opened up spoke volumes for the manager’s decisions.

The officials: I don’t have any comments on the assistants because they were just what you would expect at this level. Whereas the official, I felt he was extremely poor. He appeared quite biased towards Doncaster, allowing them to go in with aggressive challenges without a warning or card. Their desire to waste time with throw-ins wasn’t identified at all, whilst it seemed that Notts couldn’t get a break from his decisions. Thankfully, it didn’t cost us. However, under the new stricter rules David McGoldrick should’ve been booked for kicking the ball away - yet it’s a bit of a daft rule, especially when Doncaster players achieved the same thing but were unpunished for time-wasting.

Up next for Notts is a home return to Meadow Lane against Tranmere Rovers and a perfect opportunity to get back-to-back wins as Tranmere have had a very disappointing start to their League Two season.

Now, Tranmere Rovers do have a lot of quality in their team, but they are hindered due to their one draw, three defeats and only a single win.

Similar to Notts before Doncaster - it shows that teams are still adjusting to the new season. The prospect of this game when the fixtures were released was one I still fancied our team to do well in; yet with the impressive vocals of our fans’ support and being at home, I feel it gives us a massive edge at Meadow Lane to showcase that we are a very good team especially when it comes to our own fortress.

I would hope Richard Brindley is fine to continue within the middle of the three centre-backs; I would still choose Kyle Cameron and Aidan Baldwin provided he is not out. Continuing to establish a consistent backing will only bolster strength in the long term.

Jodi Jones has shown that dropping him would be hard even if it was due to bring him on for his impact - which we saw a lot of last season - meaning we could make the most of his excellence at a point where Tranmere Rovers are tiring. However, I would keep him in and just bring Aaron Nemane back into the starting line-up.

John Bostock, Matt Palmer, Dan Crowley and Macaulay Langstaff all write themselves into the potential line-up I feel.

Perhaps this game is where we see what difference David McGoldrick can make from off the bench? Allowing someone else to slot in; perhaps Cedwyn Scott or Sam Austin.

Scott could play as a support option to Langstaff while covering a more midfield role and then double up as a shadow striker. Whereas Austin could show more of that urgency to get the ball forward into important areas we can exploit.

In truth, I think it’s unlikely to rest David McGoldrick due to his experience and attributes he brings to Notts, but it’s a tempting thought.

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