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Notts Runner Keeps Going

He’s spent years working with disabled people and raising thousands of pounds for charity. Now, as he prepares for his fifth year of fundraising, Alun Millard is hoping to raise even more. Daniel Angelini had a chat with him.
Since the start of the decade, Nottingham's Alun Millard has raised over £2000 for charities including the Cystic Fibrosis Fund and Mencap.
As a support worker at Mencap, he helps people with learning disabilities to live independently, which can involve anything from helping them cook a meal to organising a holiday. Working a busy schedule of various day and night shifts leaves him exhausted, but luckily he found a few minutes to speak to me from his home in Chilwell and explained that his work was tiring but extremely rewarding: “The best thing about my job is seeing how far someone can progress when they are given the opportunity.
 
"It helps to remind you why you do the job you do.”
 
“People I support have developed skills which they never knew they had because they didn't have those opportunities. When you see that progression, and hear the compliments from families, you know that you've done something right. It helps to remind you why you do the job you do" “It does leave me rather tired, so I enjoy my sleep. A mid-afternoon nap is truly one of life’s pleasures.” Alun has worked at Mencap for over 10 years, and in 2010 he decided to raise money for the charity by shaving his head, in what would be the first of many fundraising campaigns. He reminisces about how it all began: “I was talking to a fellow Notts County fan about hairstyles and how I had never shaved my hair off completely. He joked about donating to charity if I did and that was the start of my fundraiser.” Alun and other Notts County fans were invited by the new Notts County Football Club chairman Ray Trew to hand out Easter eggs in the QMC Children’s Ward. Mr Trew thanked the fans for their help by offering them executive seats at the last game of the season. At the game, Alun saw an opportunity to boost his fundraising efforts. “I spoke with various staff members at Notts County to get money shakers around the ground during that game. I also did my head-shave on the pitch before the match started in front of 9000 fans.” After that, the donations poured in and he raised £1500. Buoyed by this success, Alun went on to raise £600 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust by growing a mullet and running the Nottingham half-marathon in 2011. 'It's not right' In 2013, he ran the half-marathon again, this time raising over £500 for the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Association. His late aunt Elena had suffered from the condition, which is similar to Motor Neurone Disease but less common. “It’s a cause close to my heart. I’d never heard of the condition until my folks told me that my auntie had had it. There’s no treatment, no cure, the average life expectancy is about 7 years, and Aunty Elaine didn’t even get that. It’s not right.”
 
"I wanted to give something back.”
 
Last year, Alun raised money for Nottingham Mencap in memory of his good friend David Emerson. He said: “We got on exceptionally well, sharing a passion for the same football team, and when he passed away, it was a logical choice to fundraise in his memory. Nottingham Mencap was a place that he went to once a week, every week. It was an important part of his life. I wanted to give something back." Alun raised £295 by running the Nottingham half-marathon for a third time, but he almost didn’t make it after getting shin splints a few months before the day of the event. “Shin splints is a bit of a catch-all term for pain and inflammation in the shin area. Early in 2014 I was running to get back into exercising and I was getting discomfort in my right leg. “I've done 3 half-marathons, all in Nottingham. Last year was by far the toughest for me. I thought of David and wanted to make him and his family proud. “Finishing a half-marathon for me has always felt a mixture of exhausting and amazing. I've always struggled to stick at things and see them through, so it felt amazing to have done it when it seemed like it was all over before it started.” Shin splints Now in his fifth year of fundraising, Alun’s focussing on a new campaign to raise money for Cancer Research UK. “My current plan is to attempt the Nottingham Half-Marathon again but the shin splints are always on my mind. “I'm running in memory of Elaine Brooks. I never actually got the opportunity to meet her in the flesh, but she and her son were both well-known on a popular Notts County message-board. Elaine was someone who could get on with everyone and passed away in December 2014.”
 
"I may have cursed, grimaced, limped and hobbled, but I was determined.”
 
With the possibility of shin splints returning and ruining his running, he briefly considers other options. “To be honest, if I am unable to run this year due to shin splints, I will probably have to knock running on the head, continue the fundraising into 2016 with some other activity. Maybe it would be shaving off my beard, which I've had for something like 18 months or so and refuse to shave off, or the 3 Peaks Challenge.” With his thoughts firmly on the future, Alun pauses to look back on the most memorable moment of his fundraising career. “I think walking out onto a pitch, surrounded by 9000 football fans has to be up there. And the free bar afterwards didn't hurt! I was also able to meet Peter Schmeichel, who was a footballing hero of mine back in the day, and hold the League Two trophy. It was a very fun day!” For more information about Alun’s fundraising visit www.alun.be, or donate via www.justgiving.com/anonypie/
Written by Daniel Angelini
@Dangelinii
PON_News

PONcast Episode 3

We are now at Episode 3 with the Pride of Nottingham PONcast and we are delighted with the progress made so far. These early shows have helped us to get to grips with the production, allowing us to work on the principles we set outright when we began Pride of Nottingham many moons ago.
Joe Jones and I have been enjoying discussing Notts, as we have throughout our involvement with doing the Pride of Nottingham website, and we are delighted to bring yet another feature to the Notts County community.
We have an on-demand service for folks to catch up with these features, which can be found on the PONcast website.
You can subscribe to the PONcast show by downloading any of the major Android apps, the likes of ‘Podcast Addict’, ‘Podcast Republic’ or even the ‘Pocket Casts’ app which I highly recommend.
You can also subscribe via Itunes for all IOS devices, including Iphones, Ipads and Mac computers.
In addition, we are on the popular TuneIn Radio app, which is available on multiple platforms including Windows handheld devices.
To-date, we have 3 main shows available, one PONcast Extra and the introduction episode we released at the very beginning.
Below you can read the PONcast Episode 3 Show Notes.
 
[media]http://traffic.libsyn.com/poncast/Pride_of_Nottingham_-_PoNcast_Episode_3.mp3
If your mobile cannot display the media player, please download directly from - Here.
You can listen to the PONcast by clicking play.
Please be sure to share this journey with us here at Pride of Nottingham, subscribe and get in touch with us on our community forum at www.prideofnottingham.co.uk/community/ or on any of our social pages.
 
You Pies!
Chris

Gillingham 3-1 Notts County

It pains me to say this folks, but Notts County have been relegated from League One. Despite a decent enough start to our season that saw us in the playoff places, it's been a freefall towards the bottom of the table, culminating in a 3-1 defeat away at Gillingham that sees us end the season in 21st place.
The Magpies began matchday 46 outside of the relegation zone on goal difference, so a win would see them survive the drop.
Ricardo Moniz's charges set about trying to find an early goal to settle nerves as Balint Bajner forced a corner after just 30 seconds.
The Gills, however, were deft on the counterattack and enjoyed a good spell with the likes of Cody McDonald, John Marquis and Bradley Dack all weighing in with chances.
Notts soon picked themselves up and Garry Thompson, Graham Burke and Haydn Hollis all test the opposition back line.
The first half finished goalless, which would not have been enough for the Magpies to survive as other results were going against them.
This changed for the better when Burke opened the scoring to the rapturous delight of the travelling Notts fans, the on-loan Aston Villa man picking up a Liam Noble pass and rifling past Glenn Morris.
There was genuine belief that the Magpies could hold onto the win and secure League One football for another season, but sadly it would all go pear-shaped in the latter stages of the game.
With two minutes left the Gills levelled the game as Egan powered home Doug Loft’s cross and in stoppage-time, as Notts struggled to clear, Ben Dickenson smashed the ball home to put the hosts ahead.
Dickenson then turned provider moments later, as the Gills burst forward, laying off the ball for Luke Norris to fire home a third and condemn Notts to the bottom tier of the Football League.
Joe Jones

Stat Attack: Gillingham vs. Notts County

Notts County's head-to-head record against Gillingham is historically pretty poor, winning 10 games, drawing seven and losing 15 since our first fixture on 25th October 1930. Fixtures between the two tend to come thick and fast for a certain period of time before ceasing to be for years on end.
Between 1985 and 1989 we played each other nine times, then no meeting for seven years, squaring up again in October 1996.
Since that league meeting (lost 1-0), another five games took place until March 2000, and then, nothing for eight years!
For over 50 years, the record for the fastest hat-trick in the Football League belonged to Jimmy Scarth, who scored three goals in two minutes and 30 seconds against Leyton Orient, on the 1st November 1952.
Sadly in 2004, James Hayter of Bournemouth dispossessed Scarth of said record; he came on as an 84th minute substitute in their game against Wrexham, and scored three times in two minutes and 20 seconds!
Gillingham do however retain one record; having conceded the fewest goals in a 46-match season, when the team conceded only 20 goals during 1995–96.
The Gills could have radically changed the face of English football had they not lost against Manchester City in the 1998/99 Second Division play-off final.
Had they won, City may have never recovered from a second year on the bounce in the third tier, by their own admission. And let's not forget Gillingham were leading 2-0 will less than two minutes left on the clock!
Instead, as things went, City were back up in the top tier within a few years, just in time to catch the eyes of some very wealthy people casually window shopping in the Premiership.
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There are no new injury or suspension problems for Gillingham but Mahlon Romeo will not be involved after he left the club by mutual consent earlier this week.
Notts will once again check on Paddy McCourt as they look for the win to guarantee their League One survival.
McCourt hobbled off injured during the defeat at relegation rivals Crawley on April 18 and the problem has seen the Northern Ireland international winger miss the last two matches.
Defender Mustapha Dumbuya is the other injury doubt for Ricardo Moniz's charges, who go into the final game of the season outside the drop zone on goal difference.
Joe Jones

Notts County 2-1 Doncaster Rovers

So this is it then. It'll go down to the final day. Notts County managed to tear up their formbook as they secured a 2-1 win against Doncaster Rovers that edged the hosts just out of League One's drop zone - on goal difference.
The Magpies were quickest out of the starting blocks as Gary Jones and Balint Bajner saw efforts blocked in the early stages of the game.Donny countered through Nathan Tyson, who drilled wide from 12 yards out, but the Magpies would break the deadlock eight minutes in when Garry Thompson slotted past goalkeeper Marko Marosi after connecting with Graham Burke's cross.
The visitors, who had nothing to play for, got into their groove as the first half minutes ticked away, twice going close through long-range shots from James Coppinger and Kyle Bennett.
It would get even better for Notts after the restart as Burke floated a cross into the area and Noble lost his man, brought down the ball and slotted it past Marosi.
A Donny consolation came deep into injury time when Haydn Hollis was adjudged to have fouled Tyson in the box, allowing the striker to slot home from the spot, but it proved too little too late for the visitors.
Notts moved out of the bottom four as a result of this win after Crawley blew a 3-2 lead to lose 4-3 at Peterborough.
However, Colchester also gave themselves hope of survival with a 3-2 win at Fleetwood and a win for them at Swindon on Tuesday will put the Magpies back into the drop zone.
Joe Jones

Stat Attack: Notts County vs. Doncaster Rovers

Notts County have met Doncaster Rovers 53 times over the years, with the first fixture coming on the 13th December 1930. On that occasion, an FA Cup tie, the Magpies triumphed 1-0. Rovers have the upper edge head-to-head, but only just. They have 23 wins against Notts and 22 defeats, with eight draws.
We've played them twice this season already - we beat them in a JPT tie in December, before a goalless draw in the league the following month.
The club was founded in 1879 and turned professional in 1885. They have spent the majority of their playing history between the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system and are one of four clubs to win the Division 3/League Two title three times, the last being in 2004. Football League rules state that any team who wins a trophy three times can keep it.
However, when Rovers tried to retain ownership of the actual Third Division trophy, the Football League claimed that Rovers could not keep the trophy because the league names had changed from Fourth to Third Division, and so they had not won that particular league three times.
The team's mascot is a brown dog known as Donny Dog, who wears the red and white Rovers jersey.
Before a scheduled appearance during the game against Huddersfield Town at the Galpharm Stadium on 4 March 2006, police prevented Andrew Liney from entering the stadium in costume, citing unspecified "police intelligence", and refused him permission to wear any part of the costume within 50 metres of the stadium.
Mr Liney later received a full written apology for these unfounded allegations from the head of West Yorkshire Police.
The mascot was next portrayed by Tracy Chandler and in June 2011, she was relieved from the position after she posed in her underwear for a Sunday newspaper. Later in the same week she was reinstated back as the clubs mascot.
Arguably the club's most famous fan is One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson. The 23-year-old had agreed to play in a charity game at the Keepmoat to raise money for the Bluebell Wood Charity and was offered a deal by Donny to join the club on non-contract terms after impressing in the game.
Tomlinson also put himself forward to take over the club alongside John Ryan, but the deal fell through in July last year.
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Paddy McCourt is a major doubt after limping off in the defeat by Crawley, while Jamal Campbell-Ryce is not expected to feature.
Doncaster boss Paul Dickov has no new injury or suspension concerns.
Rovers' season is effectively over as they have nothing to play for - they are unable to reach the League One play-offs.
Notts, meanwhile, are two points adrift of safety and without a win in 11 games.
Joe Jones

Introducing Art of Football

The folks who brought you the brilliant Great Escape imagery that spurred Notts County to safety last season are back with a fantastic new set of designs featuring some of the greatest Magpies to sport the legendary black and white stripes!
The Art Of Football have created artwork of such Notts greats as Les Bradd, Sir Charlie Palmer, Tommy Lawton, Phil Turner and Tommy Johnson, which you can get in both t-shirt and print form!
With the launch of new designs the Art of Football has kindly provided us Notts fans with two t-shirts which we will be giving away as prizes, keep tuned for news regarding these two contests tomorrow!
View the Full Collection

 
To view their range of designs and to find out more, visit art-of-football.com now or follow them on Twitter or Facebook.
Chris

Notts County 1-3 Preston North End

Two games to go. That's all Notts have left if they are to salvage their League One status after succumbing to a 3-1 defeat at home to seemingly Championship-bound Preston North End.
The Lilywhites broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute when Jermaine Beckford produced a thundering finish from Joe Garner's setup.
Garner then got on the scoresheet himself just after the half-hour mark when he fired in from inside the six-yard box after some poor Magpies defending.
Notts set about trying to reduce the deficit and saw Graham Burke twice force goalkeeper Sam Johnstone into saves.
The hosts' persistence paid off with just under 20 minutes left when Jimmy Spencer scored his first goal of the season after holding off a defender before turning and firing home.
Meadow Lane roared their boys on and were rewarded with some great attacking play as they searched for an equaliser.
Garry Thompson spurned a massive chance to draw level when put through by Liam Noble, but he could only fire at Johnstone's legs.
And it proved costly as Beckford bagged his second five minutes from time when he raced through to drive past Roy Carroll and kill the game off.
Joe Jones

Stat Attack: Notts County vs. Preston North End

Notts County and Preston North End are two of the oldest football clubs in the country (and by extension, the world), whose history goes back over 125 years. The first fixture between the two took place in November 1888, when North End defeated the Magpies 7-0 in the first ever season of the Football League.
The 1888-89 season saw Preston remain unbeaten throughout, and would go on to become English football's first "Invincibles".
This feat which remained unbroken until 2003-04 when Arsenal also went a whole top-flight season without losing - so really, Notts being thumped so heartily wasn't quite as bad a result as it seems!
Aside from Preston going the whole season unbeaten, they were also the first EVER winners of the Football League. Oh, and they won the FA Cup that year too!
The two clubs have met a total of 89 times, and sadly (for us Notts fans) the Lilywhites have the upper hand by quite a significant margin. They're won 42 times, while the Magpies have won 23 games. 24 draws have taken place.
The two teams that have played the most games overall in the Football League are, in fact, Notts County and Preston North End!
Meanwhile, Preston are ranked as the fourth most-successful English football club of all time domestically.
Over the years, there have been some varied scorelines. We've talked about the 7-0 back in 1888, but we've also had 6-2, 6-1, 6-0, 4-3 and 4-2.
Recently, meetings have been tamer (from a goal-scoring perspective). Since the turn of the millennium, only ten goals have been scored in the ten games we’ve played.
We've played them twice this season, first in the league, a 1-1 draw away in August, and then a 1-0 defeat at Meadow Lane in the JPT.
The National Football Museum was originally situated in Deepdale, Preston, but was moved to Manchester in 2012.
Deepdale was used as the venue for the England U21s when they played Iceland in March 2011. Deepdale was used again at the end of the 2011-2012 season to host three U19s Elite Round matches with England, Slovenia and Switzerland all taking to the famous pitch. The three games were held at the end of May over six days.
Preston have made the play-offs in a record eight seasons, spanning all three league divisions, but have not yet been promoted via this route.
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Paddy McCourt is an injury concern for Notts as he hobbled off after 33 minutes of the 2-0 defeat at Crawley on Saturday.
Midfielder Liam Noble trained on Sunday and he could come back into the Magpies' squad after missing the last three games, while winger Jamal Campbell-Ryce will miss the remaining three matches with a knee injury.
For Preston, Scott Laird, Jermaine Beckford and Paul Huntington all overcame problems to start at Port Vale last Friday as North End stretched their unbeaten run to 16 League One games, but three successive draws have seen MK Dons breathing down their necks in the bid for automatic promotion.
Joe Jones

Crawley Town 2-0 Notts County

Well folks, it's looking grim now. Notts have three games to save their season after succumbing to a 2-0 defeat away at Crawley, compounding a run of 11 games without a win which puts us two points from safety.
The opening goal at the Broadfield Stadium came on 15 minutes as defender Kelly Youga converted Anthony Wordsworth's corner with a spectacular overhead kick to leave Roy Carroll stranded.
Notts were right up against it just two minutes later when Wordsworth's free kick was nodded home by Darren Ward.
The visitors set about trying to reduce the deficit and went on to threaten as Blair Adams’ cross found the head of Jimmy Spencer, who forced Brian Jensen to tip the ball over the bar.
Jensen then made another fine stop minutes later, diving to save Garry Thompson’s header, before coming up trumps later on when he kept out Gary Jones's volley.
Youga had the sheer audacity to try out another overhead kick in the latter stages of the first half, but this time it sailed over the crossbar.
Notts came out with intent after the restart, but failed to provide much of a threat as Izale McLeod’s header dropped wide on 57 minutes, before the same player forced Carroll into a stop just after the hour.
With ten minutes to play, Crawley squandered a huge chance when Jordan Williams miscontrolled the ball and McLeod raced through.
The striker was denied one-on-one by Carroll and, from the rebound, substitute Dean Morgan missed an open goal.
Notts weren't able to muster up anything special in the last few minutes as Crawley sealed all three points and came out of the drop zone.
Meanwhile the Magpies' descent into League Two creeps ever closer, unless Ricardo Moniz's boys are able to rip up their current form book and conjure up another Great Escape.
Joe Jones

Stat Attack: Crawley Town vs. Notts County

Notts County have only ever played Crawley Town five times in their history. The first ever fixture between the two was two and a half years ago, on November 10th 2012. This milestone first meeting between the two, played at Meadow Lane, finished 1-1.
Meanwhile the return fixture, played away on the 9th March 2013, ended as a goalless draw.The last meeting was an exhilarating 5-3 win for the Magpies back in November, as Garry Thompson's hat-trick helped his side up into the playoffs.
Crawley Town have been a non-league side for the majority of their history – 11 years ago, while Notts were struggling to survive in the old Second Division, Crawley had just been promoted from the Southern Football League!
Crawley have won plenty of silverware in their history, though the majority of it is amateur-based. This changed when they won the Conference National title in 2011 and the League Two title just a year later.
2010-11 was a record-breaking season not just for Crawley, but also for the Conference. The West Sussex club broke the points total in one season (105) and tie with other teams for most wins in one season (31), fewest defeats (3), and highest goal difference (+63).
Because of this season, alongside the funds they had to buy players and an unlikable manager (Steve Evans), they were known as “the Manchester United of non-league football”.
Crawley have the smallest stadium in League One; the Broadfield Stadium holds a meagre 5,996 people. You could fit just over three and a half Broadfields inside Meadow Lane!
The town of Crawley is known for being close - just three miles in fact - to Gatwick Airport, the world's busiest single-runway international airport.
Famous people who have links to Crawley include Australian footballer Kevin Muscat (born in Crawley), Gareth Southgate (attended the town's Hazelwick School), English rock band The Cure (formed in Crawley, several of its members attended St Wilfrid's RC School) and Gorillaz lead singer 2D (a fictional character, his back story claims he grew up in the town).
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Crawley defender Darren Ward is back fit after a heel injury, while midfielder Josh Simpson could feature for the first time since November.
Marvin Elliott will be assessed after an infection, but Dean Leacock and Conor Henderson are ruled out.
Notts County midfielder Curtis Thompson is fit again and Balint Bajner's late equaliser against Barnsley has him pushing for a starting place.
Both sides are in the relegation places with 47 points each. Leyton Orient, who are one place above the League One drop zone, are also on 47 points, but Crawley have played one more game than Notts and Orient.
Joe Jones

Stat Attack: Notts County vs. Barnsley

Notts County have faced Barnsley a total of 65 times in their history, with the first meeting going back over a hundred years, on November 29, 1913. The result? A 3-1 win for the Magpies.
Prior to this season, the two sides hadn't faced off for a decade, what with different leagues separating them both. The last game before this season, a Division 2 league match at Meadow Lane on January 21, 2004, ended in a 1-1 draw.Earlier in the season Notts beat Barnsley 3-2 away, thanks in part to Michael Petrasso's brace. That win saw us climb to fifth in the league...
Barnsley FC was established in 1887 by a clergyman, Tiverton Preedy, under the name Barnsley St Peter’s, and played in the Sheffield and District League from 1890 and then in the Midland League from 1895.
They joined the Football League in 1898, and struggled in Division Two for the first ten years, due in part to ongoing financial difficulties.
In 1910 the club reached the FA Cup final, where they lost out to Newcastle United in a replay match. However, they would then reach the 1912 FA Cup Final where they would defeat West Bromwich Albion 1–0 in a replay to win the trophy for the first and only time in their history.
Their sole season in the top flight came in 1997-98, where they were there for one year before going straight back down.
The Tykes have played at Oakwell, a 29,003-seater stadium, since 1888.
 
Also, they’ve spend more time in the second tier of English football than any other club in Football League history.
Barnsley were one of a quartet of teams that made the 2007-08 FA Cup so special, as they beat Liverpool and Chelsea to join West Brom, Cardiff City and Portsmouth in the semi-finals.
The following season, the Tykes fielded the youngest ever player in the history of the Football League at Ipswich Town when Reuben Noble-Lazarus came on aged 15 years and 45 days.
Famous Barnsley fans include cricket umpire Dickie Bird, cricketer Darren Gough, and legendary chat show host Michael Parkinson.
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Jamal Campbell-Ryce is unlikely to feature on Tuesday night as he is nursing a knee injury sustained against Yeovil Town at the weekend. Notts are awaiting the results of a scan.
Lee Johnson will assess his Barnsley squad after a couple of unnamed players missed training on Monday.
The Tykes boss admitted that some of his players had picked up niggles during Saturday's 1-1 draw with Chesterfield and they will be checked before the trip down the M1.
Jean Yves Mvoto remains doubtful with a groin injury, so Peter Ramage looks set to keep his place in defence.
Joe Jones

Yeovil Town 1-1 Notts County

A strange game in which to welcome two new managers to a football club, six games before the end of the season, saw Yeovil Town relegated from League One as Notts County held them to a 1-1 draw at Huish Park this afternoon.
Ricardo Moniz secured his first point as Magpies boss, while Paul Sturrock's immediate project with the Glovers is to see out the season then rebuild for life in League Two.Notts were quickest off the starting blocks as Garry Thompson was denied by a Stephen Arthurworrey last-ditch challenge.
The hosts then countered in the 10th minute through a Sam Foley free-kick and, with Byron Webster pressuring Haydn Hollis, the defender headed into his own net to give Yeovil the lead.
The visitors tried to regroup and looked dangerous going forward, but the Yeovil defence managed to hold back their opponents.
Hollis then nearly made his second major mistake of the match when he misjudged a back pass to Roy Carroll. The goalkeeper had to sprint from his box to beat the onrushing James Hayter to the ball.
The Northern Irishman rescued the Magpies from conceding further with two great saves to deny Stephen Kingsley and then Chigozie Ugeu from close range.
There was a warning moment for the hosts on the stroke of half time as Jimmy Spencer set up a good opportunity for himself just outside the box, but his left-footed effort went just wide of Artur Krysiak's post.
Yeovil came out all guns blazing in the second half as Hayter had a shot saved easily by Carroll, before Ugwu showed his pace to beat Mullins but sliced his effort wide.
Notts continued to push hard for an equaliser but found Krysiak in good form with the big Pole pulled off a stunning save to deny substitute Graham Burke.
The Magpies eventually succeeded in pulling level with just 11 minutes remaining when Campbell-Ryce whipped a fine cross into the box for Garry Thompson to head in from a few yards out.
Sensing all three points were now a realistic prospect, Moniz's charges pushed forward and, after a fine pass from Thompson, it took a brilliant diving block from Liam Shephard to thwart Burke's shot on goal.
Yeovil then nearly grabbed an unexpected winner when Seth Twumasi sent a ball forward to Kieffer Moore and, after bringing the ball under control, his shot went just wide.
Moore and Twumasi combined once more in added time, although this time it was the striker who was the provider and the latter's shot was well saved by Carroll.
The final whistle ultimately blew on the game as both sides were left feeling distinctly glum. Yeovil's relegation to the bottom tier of the Football League was confirmed, while Notts continue to sit in the bottom four, though a mere point separates them from safety.
Joe Jones

Stat Attack: Yeovil Town vs. Notts County

Saturday is just the 11th time that Notts County have faced Yeovil Town. The first meeting between the two came back in 1961, with the Magpies winning this FA Cup tie 4-2, but a whole 43 years passed until the second meeting, which came in 2004!
Back in November the Glovers beat Notts 2-1 at Meadow Lane, thanks to two goals in the last six minutes by Jordan Clarke. Yeovil Football Club was founded in 1890, and shared their ground with the local rugby club for many years.
Five years later they were renamed Yeovil Casuals and started playing home games at the Pen Mill Athletic Ground.
 
In 1907 the name Yeovil Town was adopted, which on amalgamation with Petters United became Yeovil and Petters United. The name reverted to Yeovil Town prior to the 1946–47 season.
The Somerset outfit have spent most of their existence in the lower leagues, though they briefly made a name for themselves in the 1948-49 season when they beat Sunderland 2-1 in the FA Cup fourth round.
 
In the 1980s, Yeovil were founder members of the Football Conference, where they remained for the next two decades, save for a few relegations to the Isthmian League which usually resulted in an instant return to the above tier.
Yeovil Town earned promotion to the Football League in the 2002-03 season, by winning the Football Conference by a record 17 points margin, accumulating 95 points and scoring 100 goals, remaining unbeaten at Huish Park.
 
In their second ever season in the Football League, the Glovers went one better by achieving promotion to the third tier as champions of League Two, and in the following years even reached the League One playoffs, beating Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals in 2006-07 before losing to Blackpool in the final at Wembley.
Six years later, however, Yeovil achieved what had been deemed unthinkable a decade earlier - they reached the second tier of English football after beating Brentford in the 2013 League One play-off final.
Their stay in the Championship was brief, however, and after being relegated at the end of the season, they've found themselves struggling back in the third tier, currently sitting at the foot of the table.
 
Yeovil is a pretty small town, home to just 40,000 people - two Meadow Lanes could comfortably take in the entire population!
In the 21st century, Yeovil became the first town in Britain to institute a system of biometric fingerprint scanning in nightclubs, and the first English council to ban the children's craze Heelys (those trainers with wheels that popped out from the heels)
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Saturday's game will see both sides with new managers in charge, somewhat of a rarity this late on in the season.
Paul Sturrock, appointed as the Glovers' new boss on Thursday, will most likely miss captain Joe Edwards as he continues to struggle with an ankle problem.
The likes of Nathan Smith, James Berrett and Kieffer Moore will all hope to feature at Huish Park.
Six defeats in a row have left Yeovil 13 points adrift at the bottom of League One and defeat to County would see them relegated to the fourth tier.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Moniz will also take charge of Notts County for the first time.
Ronan Murray, Curtis Thompson and Taylor McKenzie remain unavailable to the Dutchman through injury.
Blair Adams and Jordan Williams are defensive options for Moniz should he wish to make any changes to the starting line-up, while midfielder Liam Noble and forwards Leroy Lita and Balint Bajner provide alternatives in attack.
Joe Jones

Shaun Derry: 'Proud to have managed Notts'

Shaun Derry will always have a place in the hearts of Notts County fans after his miraculous work in keeping the Magpies up during the 2013-14 season. Born in Nottingham, he began his career at Meadow Lane before making a name for himself at a host of clubs including Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers, proving a popular figure in every team he graced.
In November Derry was appointed Notts manager, where six wins in his last nine games and a draw on the final day of the season kept the Magpies up despite having been eight points from safety just a few weeks earlier.
After a bright start this season, results ended up tailing off and Derry was dismissed in March, but nobody will ever forget the exhilarating “Great Escape” of 2013-14.
Derry appeared on talkSPORT this week to discuss his time at Notts as well as his general career across the many clubs he’s played for.
 
Are you enjoying being out of management after the intense period you’ve had at Notts?
I was disappointed when the news came my way on Monday, but I am an optimistic person whose mindset is “don’t get too down and disillusioned”. I’m enjoying being back in London, spending more time with my kids and wife. I’m not going to lie, I am disappointed with what happened, but I’m looking forward.
 
How did you find that transition from player to manager?
It was very strange and it happened so quickly. As a player I always respected managers who told me the truth. I can’t say that I had a strategy of what I was doing because I’d come from being a player. I had an experienced assistant in Greg Abbott, and when I spoke to him I said, “I’m going to try and be honest with all the players”, and that’s what I was.
 
When you got the job did you ask for advice from fellow managers, or look to do things your way?
I made a claim to do it my way and I wanted to have a go at it. Older players have a strong opinion, and the opinions of confident older players can sometimes get in the way. When I was playing at QPR and Millwall I wanted to have a go at management. I was given the opportunity at Notts to state my own ethos and I wanted to be me.
 
How far are you in terms of doing the coaching badges?
I’m not yet on my pro licence, I’m just on the A licence at the minute. I think there’s a huge scope of improvement on the badges, if I’m honest. The badges give you a platform to build on the experience you gain, but I don’t think any badges could have got me ready for the past 17 months I’ve had.
 
How do you feel about having managed Notts?
Notts County is a club that will always be close to my heart. Nottingham is the place where I was born, I played my first game for Notts on my tenth birthday, so to go ahead and manage them was a dream come true and I thoroughly enjoyed my 17 months there.
 
Why did things turn so bad towards the end of your spell at Notts?
Ultimately as a football manager you get judged on results. When Greg and I walked into the club, it was very low on confidence. The structure wasn’t there, and we managed to put that structure ready for the next person to take control and I think in time it will be a very good football club to manage. At this moment in time, the reason I got sacked was because the results weren’t good enough; it’s as simple as that.
 
Derry also talked about Jimmy Spencer:
Jimmy is a talisman they’ve missed all season. He’s a thorough-back. He was our main signing and we were waiting for him to recover from his injury. Now he’s back, it will be down to him if Notts are to stay up. He’s your old-fashioned number nine. He gets the ball, holds it, heads it and brings players in. With JCR on the right wing, if they can get the right service to Jimmy, he will cause so many problems for opposition defenders. He’s also shown very strong character to recover from his cruciate ligament injury in the space of seven months, which is why I reckon Notts have a good chance of staying up this year.
Joe Jones

Notts County 0-0 Coventry City

Notts County remain in the bottom four following a third draw in a row, a goalless stalemate against Coventry City at Meadow Lane. After a cagey start from both sides, Alan Smith played Hayden Mullins in, the latter letting rip from 25 yards and forcing a diving save from goalkeeper Lee Burge.
Garry Thompson was then brought down moments later to gift the Magpies a free kick, but Gary Jones' dead-ball effort cannoned into the wall, with the rebound drilled wide.
The Sky Blues had a decent spell towards the end of the first half, winning several corners that put pressure on the hosts, but as it was, there was no breakthrough come the half-time whistle.
Coventry continued to look bright after the restart, with Adam Barton latching onto a cross at the back post but firing wide.
Paul Hart's charges countered with a series of attacks, one of which saw Burge spill the ball the way of Nicky Wroe.
The 29-year-old headed towards goal but the Coventry defence was able to frantically clear.
Just after the hour there was more reason for Notts fans to raise their voice as Thompson smacked a header against the post.
Both sides went hell for leather in the latter stages of the game, as Coventry saw Jordan Willis force a save from Roy Carroll with a flukey cross that seemed goalbound, while Liam Noble combined well with Mullins and Balint Bajner to curl an effort just wide.
The Sky Blues nearly sealed all three points at the death through a goalbound Barton header, but the veteran Notts stopper pulled off a marvellous save to secure a point for his beleaguered side.
Notts will visit relegation-bound Yeovil Town at the weekend in what will be an incredibly nervy and edgy game, because time is running out on our stay in the third tier as things stand.
Joe Jones

Stat Attack: Notts County vs. Coventry City

There haven’t been many fixtures between Notts County and Coventry City, in all fairness: just 37 in the last 95 years. The first took place on the 6th November 1920, the Meadow Lane match ending in a 1-1 draw.
There have plenty of high-scoring games between the two, with several 5-1s, 3-0s and 4-2s over the years. Notts County have the upper hand in the head-to-heads – 19 victories over the Sky Blues, 11 defeats and 7 draws.In 2001, Coventry were relegated from the Premier League after 34 years in the first tier. At the time, only Liverpool, Everton and Arsenal could boast longer tenures in the top flight.
In 2012, Coventry were relegated to the third tier in English Football for the first time in 48 years.
Coventry’s new stadium, the 32,609-capacity Ricoh Arena, was opened in August 2005, but following a rent dispute with the ground's owners the club opted to play their home games at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium starting in the 2013–14 season, a move which didn’t prove popular with Sky Blues fans.
 
On 21 August 2014, it was announced an agreement had been reached allowing the club to return to the Ricoh Arena for the next two years with the option of another two years.
The club’s proudest moment was undoubtedly the 1987 FA Cup final at Wembley, which was won by the Sky Blues thanks to an enthralling 3-2 win after two hours of football.
Following Tottenham Hotspur player Gary Mabbutt’s own goal in extra time, which set Coventry on the way to their win, a fanzine was created called GMK – Gary Mabbutt’s Knee!
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Notts County have no new injury problems for Monday's game.
Ronan Murray, Curtis Thompson and Taylor McKenzie all remain sidelined for the hosts while Alan Smith and Liam Noble could be in line for a recall.
Nick Proschwitz may return for Coventry with Dominic Samuel returning to parent club Reading and Marcus Tudgay injured.
Reda Johnson is unlikely to be risked but James Maddison may be on the bench after three months out.
Joe Jones

Walsall 0-0 Notts County

Notts have made it two games unbeaten as they performed admirably against a tough Walsall side at the Banks's Stadium and secure a point in a 0-0 draw.
The hosts had the first sniff of goal just two minutes in when Haydn Hollis's mistake allowed Jordan Cook to surge into the area, but despite the one-on-one opportunity, he clipped the ball wide of the post.Notts then threatened as Sean Newton sent a cross the way of Jimmy Spencer, who failed to get his head over the ball to trouble goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell.
Walsall enjoyed the bulk of possession in the first half without truly testing Roy Carroll, and seven minutes before the break the Magpies could have taken the lead through Graham Burke's rocket from 25 yards, only for O'Donnell to tip the ball over.
The Saddlers continued to push on after the restart and saw Cook head against the post before firing against the woodwork in a frantic two-minute spell.
Cook thought he had scored when he saw a header clip the bar and drop onto the line before it was hacked clear, before he was denied again by a superb save by Carroll.
Substitute Liam Noble proved a livewire for the visitors as he shot wide of the post shortly after coming on before testing O'Donnell with a low drive.
During the attack, Garry Thompson appeared to have been held back by Adam Chambers, prompting penalty calls which were not answered.
With the ball still in play, Jordan Williams then let rip with an effort towards goal that took a deflection and went out for a corner.
In the final stages of the game, Gary Jones was sent clean through from a Noble pass and tried to beat O'Donnell at his near post, but the Walsall keeper pulled off a smart save to ultimately see the game end goalless.
Joe Jones

Stat Attack: Walsall vs. Notts County

Notts and Walsall’s fixture history dates back to the 1890s, but there haven’t been that many fixtures despite over a century of head-to-heads. The first game took place on the 20th January 1894 and resulted in a 2-0 win for the Magpies.
In total, there have been 63 fixtures between the two sides, and this time, Notts hold the upper edge with 26 wins. The Saddlers have won 21 times, and 16 draws have taken place, with the last game back in November 2014 being won by them 2-1 at Meadow Lane.
Walsall were formed as Walsall Town Swifts in 1888 when two local teams, Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. merged. The newly formed team’s first match was against Aston Villa, and resulted in a draw
Two players from this early era received England caps while at the club: Alf Jones and Albert Aldridge. They remain the only Walsall players to be so honoured.
 
In 1896, the Swifts changed their name to Walsall FC, the name that lives on today. The club's nickname, The Saddlers, reflects Walsall's status as a traditional centre for saddle manufacture.
Walsall had Arsenal and England legend Paul Merson on their books a decade ago, as player and player-manager.
Sky Sports' Soccer AM have given Walsall the nickname "Warsaw" due to the similarity when pronouncing Walsall and Warsaw. The presenters of Soccer AM often refer to Walsall as "our friends from Poland".
In the film Fever Pitch, the day Arsenal were beaten by Walsall in the League Cup Fourth Round in 1984 is mentioned by Mark Strong as Steve during a game of pool with Colin Firth as Paul.
Rob Halford from Judas Priest grew in in Walsall, while drum and bass musician and actor Goldie was born in the city.
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Tom Bradshaw is out as he is struggling with a hamstring problem.
Romaine Sawyers is back, though, after being on international duty with St Kitts and Nevis last week.
Rico Henry has returned to full training after a dislocated shoulder which had left him sidelined since February.
Roy Carroll and Paddy McCourt return to the Notts squad following international duty with Northern Ireland.
Paul Hart and Mick Halsall drew their first game in charge against Scunthorpe last weekend and may keep an unchanged side.
Ronan Murray, Curtis Thompson and Taylor McKenzie are all set to miss out with injury for relegation-threatened Notts.
Joe Jones

Notts County 2-2 Scunthorpe United

Notts stopped the rot today but will rue the missed opportunity of securing a priceless three points as they held Scunthorpe United to a 2-2 draw at Meadow Lane.
The visitors began in outstanding fashion as they won two successive corners in the first minute.
From the second of these, Paddy Madden’s header was tipped on to the bar by Kevin Pilkington, before Theo Robinson pounced to nod in the rebound.
Notts quickly came back as a fingertip save by Luke Daniels from a Garry Thompson strike stopped the hosts from pulling level.
Gary Jones then let fly from distance but Daniels just managed to hold on to the ball. A few minutes later, however, he smashed an effort into the net from 25 yards which left Daniels helpless.
The home side continued to fashion the better of the chances as Daniels rushed out quickly to deny former Iron loanee Jimmy Spencer as he raced clear.
Scunthorpe then came close to retaking the lead on the half hour mark as Isaiah Osbourne was fouled on the edge of the box and Gary McSheffrey's free kick was deflected narrowly wide.
The Iron started the second half strongly as a weighted pass from Liam O’Neil found Robinson who then released McSheffrey, but Kevin Pilkington was quick to smother his effort.
Notts replied quickly as they won a free kick 25 yards out and Sean Newton’s effort clipped the top of the bar before going over.
They then took the lead with 15 minutes to go as a ball into the box fell to the feet of Balint Bajner, who lashed home from 12 yards out.
Scunthorpe fought their way back into the match, though, and four minutes from time a McSheffrey free kick found Niall Canavan in the box, heading home via the post.
Joe Jones

League One Preview

In this weeks PoN's preview to the League One games played on the 28th - 29th of march, several key games have been identified – None more important than the MK Dons against Doncaster game, which several teams within League One will be looking out for.
With both teams chasing a play off place, both teams will be hoping to get the three points this weekend while a win for MK Dons and results favouring them elsewhere could see them close the gap on 2nd place.
 
* Important Game – ** Key Game
Saturday 28th March
Bradford v Oldham – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-0)
*Bristol City v Barnsley – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-1)
Chesterfield v Walsall – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-0)
Crawley v Gillingham – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (0-0)
Leyton Orient v Port Vale – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-1)
**MK Dons v Doncaster – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-1)
Notts County v Scunthorpe – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-0)
*Peterborough v Coventry – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-0)
Rochdale v Yeovil – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-1)
Sheffield United v Crewe – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-0)
 
Sunday 29th March
Fleetwood v Preston – Kick Off 2:15pm – Score Prediction (1-3)
 
My Stand-out Games
MK Dons v Doncaster
Bristol City v Barnsley
Peterborough v Coventry
 
MK Dons will be hoping to continue to try push for an automatic promotion spot with three points, while Doncaster will be hoping to close the gap back on the play off spots, after recent results have seen them drop down the table. Current results show MK Dons as slight favourites winning two of the last three matches while Doncaster have only won one of the last three matches.
Bristol City will be hoping to continue their good form as they try to stay ten points clear of Preston in the race for the league title. Barnsley on the other hand will be hoping to re enter the play off places after drawing their last two games against Leyton Orient and Preston saw them over taken by Peterborough.
Bristol City are overwhelming favourites not losing in their last seven matches, while Barnsley have stalled in their last two matches drawing both.
Peterborough will be hoping a win could keep them in the play-offs after Barnsley drew last week against Preston. Coventry will be hoping to get back to winning ways after Doncaster ended a two game winning run. Wins against Chesterfield and Fleetwood defeat again along with results elsewhere going against them could see them drop into the bottom four. Current results show Peterborough strong favourites losing once in their last five matches and Coventry only winning two in their last five.
 
Thoughts on Notts County vs. Scunthorpe United
This weeks match sees Notts County against Scunthorpe. Notts County struggling to pick points up and Scunthorpe also struggling Notts County fans will be hoping for a new manager syndrome to kick in and improve our results.
The current results between the two teams show Notts County as strong favourites winning four of the last seven meetings, Scunthorpe winning none and three draws.
Scunthorpe have never beat Notts County at Meadow lane.
The overall head to head record shows Notts County as favourites winning 14, Scunthorpe 4 and 4 draws.
Notts County have picked up 11 out of 15 points from the last five meetings in the league.
Notts County will be hoping to improve on recent results after the sacking of Shaun Derry while the change of manager normally sees a change in results, this is still a tough game to call though I've picked Notts County to just edge it.
william1984

Stat Attack: Notts County vs. Scunthorpe United

Notts County against Scunthorpe United is a relatively new fixture in English football - the first time these two faced off was on the 4th January 1969 in the old Division Four.
On that day, goals by George Kerr and Nigel Cassidy gave the Iron a 2-1 victory (Richie Barker netted the consolation for the Magpies).
Since then, the two sides have played 26 games, Notts winning 18, losing five and drawing three.
The last meeting was on October 25 last year, where Zeli Ismail's last-minute goal gave the Magpies a 1-0 win at Glanford Park.
Scunthorpe United was formed in 1899. In 1910 they merged with local rivals Lindsey United to become Scunthorpe & Lindsey United, and joined the Midland Football League in 1912.
In 1950 was accepted into the Football League, ahead of Workington and Wigan Athletic when the league structure was expanded, with the "Lindsey" part of the name being dropped shortly after.
Ever since the club entered the league their nickname has been ‘The Iron’, a metal which has long played a role in the team’s nomenclature. Before 1950s Scunthorpe United were known as the Knuts.
The origin is uncertain but it is generally accepted as being when they won one of the local charity cups. The vicar of Frodingham, the Rev Cryspant Rust, said “that indeed Scunthorpe and Lindsey United were a tough (k)nut to beat”.
For a small club, the Iron have an impressive roll call of former players and managers. The most notable is Kevin Keegan, one of England's greatest ever footballers, who played for Scunny between 1966 and 1971.
Other alumni, either in a playing or managing capacity, include Ray Clemence, cricketer Ian Botham, Ian Storey-Moore, Neil Warnock, Jermaine Beckford, Billy Sharp, Andy Keogh, and current Leicester City manager Nigel Adkins, who used to be the club's physiotherapist.
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Caretaker boss Paul Hart has Liam Noble available for his first game in charge - the midfielder has missed the last three games through suspension.
County's 4-1 defeat at MK Dons last time out signalled the end of Shaun Derry's reign as boss with the club only outside the relegation zone on goal difference.
New loan signings Graham Burke and Jordan Williams are set to be thrown straight into the starting line-up.
Meanwhile Scunthorpe's new loan signing Theo Robinson could make his debut for the club after arriving from Doncaster Rovers on Thursday.
The Iron will be without defender Miguel Llera, who sits out a one-game ban following his dismissal for two yellow cards in the midweek defeat at Sheffield United.
On-loan Everton midfielder John Lundstram made his debut in midweek as boss Mark Robins made five changes.
Forward Gary McSheffrey, midfielder Liam O'Neil and winger Hakeeb Adelakun will also be hoping to retain their places.
Joe Jones

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