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Faces of PON: Notts County 1-1 Swansea City, Saturday 27 January 2018

Notts County have earned a place in the hat for the fifth round of the FA Cup after holding Premier League side Swansea City to a 1-1 draw in Saturday's fourth-round match at Meadow Lane.
The Magpies began brightly but their opponents soon stepped up a gear and had the hosts under the coash before finding the net on the stroke of half time through Luciano Narsingh.
Kevin Nolan's charges were much improved in the second half, however, as Jorge Grant spurned three gilt-edged chances in quick succession.
Eventually, County's pressure was rewarded as veteran striker Jon Stead turned home on the hour to draw the Magpies level and ultimately clinch a replay at the Liberty Stadium.
Pride of Nottingham was at the Lane to watch the action unfold and took plenty of photos of the Notts fans.
Have a look through our gallery in this week's Faces of PON, published on our Facebook page, and don't forget to tag yourself and your loved ones!

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Chris

Tactical Talk: Notts County 1-1 Swansea City, Saturday 27 January 2018

Jon Stead kept up his record of scoring in every round of the FA Cup as his equaliser earned Notts County a deserved replay in a 1-1 draw with Swansea City in the fourth round.
Luciano Narsingh's strike on the stroke of half-time put the Premier League's bottom club ahead at Meadow Lane but the Magpies went up a gear after the restart, with Jorge Grant coming close on three occasions in quick succession.
Stead, who famously put in a superb performance for Bradford City in their fourth-round upset of Chelsea several years ago, then fired home on the hour mark to guarantee a place in the hat for round five and a replay at the Liberty Stadium next month.
How did the game pan out? Pride of Nottingham's Chris takes a look with this weekend's Tactical Talk.
Was the result fair?
Both Notts and Swansea really went head-to-head yesterday.
Swansea obviously looked full of energy and naturally looked very creative, as any Premier League team should.
Notts struggled to match them at times in the first half – however over the course of the 90 minutes, the magpies’ actually improved and grew in confidence.
A draw is very fair, some fans feel we should have won but honestly both teams could have done this.
How did Notts play?
First half we naturally did a lot of chasing, yet there wasn’t much wrong in terms of heart or performance.
Notts just naturally struggled at times due to Swansea making it different through their play.
One note for me is the lack of pressing at times and I feel defensively we should have shaken off the nerves sooner.
In the second half, Notts really took the game to the Swans and the game became very open as a result.
There was a lot of character, passion and desire in this game from a Notts perspective and reverting back to 4-4-2 really showed why we had done well in previous games before the formation switch.
How did Swansea play?
They played well, credit where credit is due.
However, going 1-0 up there was a lot of time-wasting – in fact, I recall times even before they scored but this is quite normal in football.
Swansea looked creative, very direct and they played neat overlays, which put Notts often on the back foot.
The Swans were a joy to watch at times, and I feel if their strike-force had played better – the outcome might have been vastly different but this doesn’t take anything away from their performance as they did well.
Did our tactics work out?
Reverting to 4-4-2 must have taken some swallowing of Nolan’s pride, it was clear that 4-5-1 isn’t a formation which would work for Notts – could you imagine how many limited chances we would have had against Swansea if we hadn’t have reverted?
I felt the line-up was pretty spot on, it was nice to see Terry Hawkridge starting and I felt we had a lot of width about our play – something that has been lacking even before we went to five midfielders in previous League Two games.
It was clear that Kevin Nolan had told the players to go out and enjoy themselves. Notts played organised but almost with a certain level of freedom.
Attacks were carefully played out, although at times passes did stray or certainly became rushed – this for me was down to nerves and, I feel the tactics were spot on.
How did the referee perform?
There were periods of the game that I felt he liked breaking the action up, solely just to sound his whistle but overall by the end of the game I actually felt he did alright.
Second half he noticeably improved, and as a result allowed the game to flow better.
It was nice to see him standing his ground when players attempted to sway his decisions, something which most recent officials haven’t done well but this referee did okay. No real complaints as such from me.
Who do we play next?
Focusing on the FA Cup here, it’s obvious that the fourth round replay will be against Swansea – yet it will be interesting to see who we might possibly get in the 5th round, provided we make it that far.
I actually feel we stand a greater chance of upsetting them away from home.
How should we play them?
I sent out a tweet before the game against Swansea City echoing my thoughts on how Notts should be balanced and, defensively aware.
I felt breaking out on the counter would serve us well, especially if we didn’t commit too many players forward.
This would ring true playing them in our 4th round replay, it’s important that we don’t get a rush of blood and go all attacking on them.
We need to build carefully, pressing them into wider positions as a way to open the game up.
Jorge Grant did really well with taking a lot of the play forward, with the likes of Elliot Hewitt running himself into the ground.
These will be things we must repeat when fancy Swansea next.
I would like to see our two strikers stay further up the field, however if we can find a way to get the best out of Liam Noble – I feel his energy being found could give us two players to unlock any opening which may present themselves.
It’s important we go and, in the process ask questions – ensuring that Swansea City’s defence doesn’t have it easy.
If we pressure them in the right way, I feel a cup shock could very well be on the cards – as winning a team at their home ground often happens against the big boys as it lifts the opposition players.
Swansea City fan views (from The Fans Network)
Londonlisa2001: I thought we were absolutely woeful. We were a little better in the first half than the second, but we didn't give a crap. Not giving a crap and playing at half speed when you saunter out a 2 goal victory is one thing, doing it and not being able to beat a team that together quite possibly gets paid less than Bony is on is a disgrace. I didn't see it as a chance to walk around and build patterns, I saw it as a chance to give it our all (at least until safe), and score some goals in an attempt to create some confidence and put some zip and spark into our lacklustre forward line.
Cockneyswan: After watching that abject performance, I think Carlos message must have been "ok if you can win it without too much effort do it, however if we lose don’t worry, we got bigger fish to fry." Unfortunately Notts co delighted with another pay day.
Jackrabbit: I only saw the second half but it was obvious that County wanted it more. I sincerely hope Bony is unfit and lacking match practice because he was dreadful - slow, ponderous, clumsy and indolent. Both he and Abraham were AWOL in the goal area. A centre forward needs to be pressurising the goalkeeper, be on hand for crosses in front of the goalkeeper and be available to tuck away rebounds - neither of them were ever there when they needed to be. Abraham was our only touch of class at the start of the season. What has happened to him? Ki made mistakes but he looked classy - he passed the ball well and tried to slide balls inside the fullback for Narsingh to run on to. He doesn't deserve the special bile he gets on here. At least he looks like a footballer. Ayew must have been as underwhelmed as we were by the Swans performance because when he came on he decided he would beat County on his own. All in all Swans looked like a team that were saving themselves for a big game on Tuesday night. I thought County were terrific.
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Chris

ARLukomski's Match Vlog: Notts County 1-1 Swansea City, Saturday 27 January 2018

Notts County have earned a place in the hat for the fifth round of the FA Cup after holding Premier League side Swansea City to a 1-1 draw in Saturday's fourth-round match at Meadow Lane.
The Magpies began brightly but their opponents soon stepped up a gear and had the hosts under the coash before finding the net on the stroke of half time through Luciano Narsingh.
Kevin Nolan's charges were much improved in the second half, however, as Jorge Grant spurned three gilt-edged chances in quick succession.
Eventually, County's pressure was rewarded as veteran striker Jon Stead turned home on the hour to draw the Magpies level and ultimately clinch a replay at the Liberty Stadium.
Notts vlogger and Pride of Nottingham contributor ARLukomski discussed the fixture ahead of kickoff, gave his thoughts as the game went on, and talked about the performance and result after the final whistle.
Follow ARLukomski on his YouTube channel by clicking here.
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ARLukomski

Kevin Nolan delighted with Notts County performance against Swansea City in FA Cup

Kevin Nolan has lauded Notts County's "magnificent" performance in their 1-1 draw with Swansea City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The Magpies began brightly at Meadow Lane on Saturday but their opponents soon stepped up a gear and found the net on the stroke of half time through Luciano Narsingh.
Notts were much better in the second half as Jorge Grant spurned several chances before veteran striker Jon Stead turned home on the hour to clinch a replay at the Liberty Stadium.
"I'm absolutely delighted," Nolan told BBC Sport. "I thought the boys were fantastic, and we were unfortunate not to go in the break level, but the reaction in the second half was brilliant.
"The lads' work-rate was brilliant, and the togetherness, and the communication - we were magnificent.
"I think we showed them a bit too much respect in the first half, but we rattled them early doors in the second half, which was magnificent. And we got the goal in the second half, but we couldn't quite keep it going.
"It's [Stead's] vision in and around the box that does so much for us, and it's his nous that allows him to get in the right areas to score goals, let's hope he continues doing it for us."
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Joe Jones

Match Report: Notts County in FA Cup fifth-round draw after holding Premier League Swansea City

Notts County's FA Cup adventure is still alive as the Magpies held Premier League side Swansea City to a 1-1 draw in Saturday's fourth-round encounter at Meadow Lane.
The hosts began brightly as Jorge Grant and Jon Stead combined to get the ball into the box and Elliott Hewitt came within a whisker of turning home at the far post.
Swansea took a while to get into gear, with Mike van der Hoorn and Tammy Abraham failing to trouble Adam Collin, whose return to fitness coincided nicely following Ross Fitzsimons's suspension.
Around the half-hour mark the visitors began to provide more of a threat as Van der Hoorn and Wilfried Bony both mustered more significant chances.
Notts, however, resisted and looked like going back in the dressing rooms all square but on the stroke of half time Carlos Carvalhal's charges took the lead.
The Magpies' defence was cut open as Ki Sung-yeung, on for the injured Renato Sanches, rolled the ball into the path of the overlapping Luciano Narsingh down the right side of the penalty area.
The Dutch forward made no mistake, beating Collin with a low shot into the far corner of the net to edge the swans ahead just at the right time.
Notts were much improved after the restart, however, and Jorge Grant had three chances to equalise as he went close with a free kick, then rifling over the bar, then nodding a header just wide.
Grant made amends by turning provided as a rejuvenated County side launched another attack in the opposition third, his low ball across the face of goal turned home at the far post by Jon Stead.
Swansea, desperate not to add another fixture to their schedule given their Premier League strugglers, pushed forward in a bid to restore their lead.
Ki's dangerous 80th-minute strike was parried down low by Collin while Bony sent a header just wide of goal as Kevin Nolan's side held firm en route to a famous draw and a replay at the Liberty Stadium.
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Joe Jones

Alan Hardy hoping to see Notts County in the headlines after Swansea City FA Cup game

Alan Hardy has expressed his hopes of seeing Notts County repeat the heroics against Brentford in knocking Swansea City out of the FA Cup at the fourth-round stage.
The Magpies have done superbly in the competition, seeing off two higher-league teams in the Bees and Bristol Rovers, plus a banana skin in non-league Oxford City, to find themselves up against the Premier League side.
Hardy has described the third-round win over Brentford as the greatest day of his reign as chairman so far and is hopeful to become "the centre of the headline-writers’ attentions across the world".
"When I bought the club just over a year ago, never did I envisage Notts County playing a Premier League team in the FA Cup fourth round at Meadow Lane," Hardy wrote in his weekly Nottingham Post column.
"But it has now become a reality and we are hoping that, come 5pm, we will have become the centre of the headline-writers’ attentions across the world.
"I accept that nobody will give us a chance of winning, but earlier this month there were plenty who dismissed our hopes of getting a result at Championship side Brentford.
"In the end we produced a quite magnificent performance to win 1-0, in which determination was matched with inspiration as Jon Stead’s wonderful goal sealed a memorable victory.
"I said afterwards that it was the greatest day of my reign as chairman so far. I was so overcome with emotion I felt as if I couldn’t breathe.
"Should we do the unthinkable against a Premier League team blessed with so much talent, I’m sure it will eclipse that fabulous afternoon we experienced in West London.
"I know the players are absolutely buzzing with excitement because games like this do not come around very often.
"Equally, the fans I have spoken to cannot wait for kick-off because they know our home record is extremely impressive regardless of the last couple of results.
"Like our manager, Kevin Nolan, said in the build-up, he fancies us against any side at Meadow Lane so why can’t we beat Swansea?
"We hope to have more than 10,000 fans inside the ground, generating an excellent atmosphere to give the players further inspiration.
"And with our home record, combined with determination, quality, and incredible backing from the stands, we would give ourselves a fantastic chance of causing a real upset."
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Joe Jones

Stat Attack: Notts County vs. Swansea City, Saturday 27 January 2018

Head to head
Notts County have met Swansea City/Town 70 times over the years - the Magpies have 24 wins, the Swans have 30 wins, and 16 games have been drawn.
The first meeting came on 23 October 1926 in Division Two, Swansea Town winning 3-1 at Meadow Lane.
The last time both sides met was in League Two on 5 March 2005, a 1-0 win for the Magpies thanks to Mark Stallard's 50th-minute goal.
The last meeting between these two sides in the FA Cup came in January 1934, with the Swans winning 1-0 at home.
Stats
Notts County have reached the fifth round on just one occasion this century, beating Wigan Athletic 2-0 in a fourth-round replay in 2009-10.
The last time Swansea reached the fourth round was in 2014-15, losing to Championship side Blackburn 3-1 at Ewood Park.
In fact, the Swans have been eliminated from two of their last three ties against lower league opponents.
After being eliminated in eight successive FA Cup ties against top-flight opposition, the Magpies have progressed in two of the last four - beating Wigan in 2010 and Sunderland in 2011.
Swansea City have won just eight competitive games all season so far - three of which have come against lower-league opposition in domestic cup competitions.
History
Swansea City began life in 1912 as Swansea Town Athletic Football Club.
Following the lead of many other South Wales sides, the club joined the Second Division of the Southern League for the following season.
J. W. Thorpe was the club's first chairman.
A site owned by Swansea Gaslight Co., called Vetch Field due to the vegetables that grew there, was rented to be the club's ground.
The club's first professional match was a 1–1 draw at the Vetch Field against Cardiff City on 7 September 1912.
During that first season the Welsh Cup was won for the first time. The Swans beat reigning English champions Blackburn Rovers 1–0 in the first round of the 1914–15 FA Cup, Swansea's goal coming from Ben Beynon.
Following the First World War the Southern League dropped its Second Division, and with many clubs dropping out due to financial difficulties, the Swans were placed in the First Division.
After four seasons in the Southern League, Swansea became founder members of the new Third Division of The Football League in 1920 and then Division Three (South) the following season.
The club changed their name in 1969, when they adopted the name Swansea City to reflect Swansea's new status as a city.
Swansea moved to the new Liberty Stadium during the summer of 2005. The first competitive game was a 1–0 victory against Tranmere Rovers in August 2005.
Team news
Notts County goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons and defender Matty Virtue are both banned for Notts County after being sent off against Crawley Town.
Matt Tootle has missed the last two games through illness and remains out for Saturday's FA Cup encounter with the Swans.
Swansea, meanwhile, have no injury concerns - striker Tammy Abraham, defender Angel Rangel and Bayern Munich loanee Renato Sanches have all trained and could feature at Meadow Lane.
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Joe Jones

Curtis Thompson moves on loan to Wycombe Wanderers

Notts County have announced the departure of Curtis Thompson on loan to Wycombe Wanderers until the end of the season.
The 24-year-old has been restricted to just four appearances in cup fixtures this season, reaching a total of 100 appearances for the club he joined as a scholar in 2009.
Thompson, who will wear number 29 at fellow League Two side Wycombe, will not be eligible to play when the Chairboys visit Meadow Lane on Friday 30 March.
“Curtis is someone who impressed me when he’s played against us and I’ve kept tabs on him ever since, so I’m really pleased to be able to bring him here and work with him to help unlock his potential," Gareth Ainsworth told the official Wycombe site.
“He’s a tenacious midfielder – someone who can win the ball and give us extra strength in the midfield. We’re in a great position in the league and need competition for places all over the park to make sure we can consistently pick up the results we need to have a successful end to the season.
“I know Curtis is looking forward to getting some minutes under his belt and we may need to be patient with him while he recaptures some match sharpness, but I think there’s plenty of talent there and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do for us.”
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Joe Jones

Joe Jones: Ross Fitzsimons will come back a wiser, better player after his moment of madness against Crawley Town

Much like in politics, a week - or to be precise in this case, two - is a long time in football.
When Notts County learned of their FA Cup fourth-round opponents, quite a lot of fans would have been happier to be up against Swansea City than against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
After all, one is a team top of the Championship with momentum, players way too good for the division and shedloads of cash, while the other is a down-and-out team with morale the same as their position in the Premier League table - ie rock bottom - and couldn't score in a brothel.
Notts, meanwhile, had enjoyed a decent enough festive period, began the year with victory over Port Vale to entrench their place in the top three of League Two, and had put in a superb performance to beat Championship Brentford on their own turn in the FA Cup third round.
Then, over the following two weeks since the fourth-round draw, Swansea City have drawn against Newcastle and beaten Liverpool in the league, as well as overcoming Wolves in the cup, while Notts have drawn one and lost two in the league to put their automatic promotion hopes in jeopardy.
Another transformation is that of Ross Fitzsimons. When he came along at the FA Cup fourth-round draw event at Meadow Lane, he could do no wrong. After Adam Collin suffered his long-term injury, a lot of people were worried about just how good the back-up keepers at Notts were.
Fitzsimons was drafted in, a big ask for a 23-year-old who had virtually no experience of senior league football, but over the coming months put in impressive performance after impressive performance to leave fans wondering whether Collin was going to simply reclaim his first-team place.
And then, came the moment when he went from "hero" to "zero" in the eyes of a lot of fans - Crawley Town, Meadow Lane, Tuesday 22 January 2018.
Notts were level with their opponents in injury time but had just been reduced to 10 men and were hanging on, but they had possession as Fitzsimons claimed the ball from a corner and set himself up to lump it upfield while the outfield players made their respective ways forward up the pitch.
And then came the glitch in the matrix - Fitzsimons, still in possession of the ball, kicked out at Mark Connolly, who then made the most ridiculous fall since the ref that was nudged by Paolo di Canio all those years ago, and by the rules of the game, red card and penalty.
I admit I described the ending to the game as "shambolic", and it certainly was. You can understand to a degree how a footballer can get so riled up that they lash out at another, and you have to wonder whether Connolly had said something to Fitzsimons prior that made him lash out.
But at the same time, as football mistakes go, it's pretty big - I'd compare it to an own goal scored by a player who decided to pull off some inexplicable stunt and, predictably, it backfires - Lee Dixon's own goal in Arsenal v Coventry is a prime example of it. Not deliberate, but so daft that it feels like it may as well have been.
Predictably, heads were lost among the Black and White Army, many of whom wanted to see Fitzy dropped from the first team entirely or sacked outright for the incident. It all felt like a pitchfork-wielding mob.
Yes, it was a bad mistake. Yes, it cost Notts a point and deprived them of yet another goalkeeper at a time when things are wobbly and ahead of a crucial cup tie against PL opposition.
But Fitzsimons will know this. He will be absolutely mortified to have succumbed to his red mist and his confidence will undoubtedly have taken a hit, especially how he will now be powerless in the stands watching his team in action when they need him the most.
And he will learn from it. Kevin Nolan has had his fair share of brain farts over the years as a player and, even though he probably gave Fitzsimons a rollocking behind closed doors, he's come out in support of his player and will be good guidance to helping him overcome this blip.
In the meantime, there's a chance Collin could return to contention and, if not, Branislav Pindroch will be given his own chance to try and make the number 1 spot his own.
So in conclusion, the best thing to do is to keep faith in Nolan and in the club, and I'm sure when Fitzsimons returns from his ban, he will be a much better, wiser player.
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Joe Jones

Carlos Carvalhal ahead of Notts County FA Cup tie: 'Premier League the priority for Swansea City'

Swansea City manager Carlos Carvalhal has claimed that he "will not take risks" in Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Notts County and admitted the priority is the Premier League.
The Swans sit bottom of the table but have picked up form in recent weeks, including a shock 1-0 win over Liverpool on Monday night, to give themselves a better chance of survival.
Since Carvalhal’s arrival in South Wales, the Swans have tasted defeat just once in seven games, but despite the morale-boosting win over the Reds, he says it will be a "totally different game" at the Lane.
"When I said Liverpool were like a Formula One car, I also meant because of their style of play. They are very fast in the offensive transition," Carvalhal told the official Swansea site.
“Against Notts County it will be different. Of course we are the bigger side, but we will respect Notts County. We will pick a team that can win the game.
“Especially in England, opponents will always ask you questions, so we must give the correct answers. Even the smaller teams are very organised and difficult to play against.
“And as we have seen in the cup competitions, such as the Carabao Cup, there can be surprises. We have to be ready and focused. If we do that, we will have a big advantage.
“We will prepare the team as well as we can to progress in this competition... our priority, of course, is staying in the Premier League, so we will not take risks in this game. But we will respect the competition and will respect Notts County."
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Joe Jones

Pride of Nottingham's PONcast: Episode 38

Hello and welcome to episode 38 of the Pride of Nottingham PONcast, presented as always by the inimitable Chris and JJ.
In this week's episode we discuss Notts County's League Two defeats by Exeter City and Crawley Town, looking at what went wrong and if there is serious cause for concern in terms of our automatic promotion hopes or whether we should just keep calm and carry on.
We also look ahead to the FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Swansea City this weekend and see whether the Magpies have a good chance of progressing, given their upturn in form which included a shock win over Liverpool in the Premier League.
In addition we discuss Ross Fitzsimons' red card in the Crawley game, addressing whether he can be forgiven for his actions or whether he should be taken out of the first team for good, as well as looking at what further reinforcements should be made this month.
All this and more only in episode 38 of the Pride of Nottingham PONcast!
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Joe Jones

Kevin Nolan tells Notts County players to enjoy FA Cup meeting with Swansea City

Kevin Nolan has given his Notts County players one simple message ahead of their FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Swansea City - "enjoy it".
The Magpies have seen off Bristol Rovers, Oxford City and Brentford to reach round four, where they have been drawn with the Premier League strugglers.
Although Swansea have picked up form in recent weeks, including a shock win over Liverpool, Nolan is eager for the players to just make the most of the occasion.
“Enjoy it,” Nolan said at his press conference, as quoted by the Nottingham Post.
“When I was playing, and because the priority was the league, I was always left out of the squad.
“But these are the games that, when I look back, I would have loved to played in.
“These games don’t often come along. It’s once a year and it’s how far you can get in the competition.
“I want my lads to enjoy it from now until 5pm on Saturday. And whether we win, or lose, I know they will have given me everything to make sure they get into the next round.”
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Joe Jones

League Two news roundup: 18-25 January 2018

What's been happening in League Two over the last week?
Here is Pride of Nottingham's round-up of the biggest League Two news from the last seven days.
- Exeter City have signed forward Ryan Loft on loan from Tottenham Hotspur until the end of the season.
- Crewe Alexandra will be without leading scorers Chris Porter and Chris Dagnall for several weeks because of injury.
- The Railwaymen have also completed the loan signing of Carlisle United striker Shaun Miller on a deal until the end of the season.
- Mansfield Town leading goalscorer Danny Rose has signed a new deal which keeps him tied to the One Call Stadium outfit until the end of the 2019-20 season.
- Yeovil Town midfielder Otis Khan has been banned for five games for shoving the referee in Saturday's defeat to Chesterfield and will miss Friday's FA Cup tie against Manchester United.
- Colchester United have signed Millwall defender Paul Rooney on a deal until the end of the 2018-19 season for an undisclosed fee.
- Forest Green Rovers have signed West Bromwich Albion striker Tahvon Campbell on loan until the end of the season.
(Sources: BBC Sport and Sky Sports News)
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Joe Jones

Kevin Nolan sticks up for Ross Fitzsimons following red card against Crawley

Notts County manager Kevin Nolan has stuck up for goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons following his red card in the 2-1 defeat to Crawley Town on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old was sent off in injury time for kicking out at Mark Connolly after claiming a corner, also giving away a penalty which Josh Payne converted.
“What I’ve said to Ross stays with us,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post.
“Ross has been absolutely fantastic for me since he joined the club, but he knows he has done wrong.
“I am not going to protect him, but what we will do is rally round him and make sure he learns from this mistake.
“He’s still a young boy and this is his first major run in a team in the league ever.
“He’s let a silly push rattle him and it’s cost him. He’s probably going to miss three games and it cost us a point.”
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Joe Jones

Match Reaction: Notts County 1-2 Crawley Town, Tuesday 23 January 2018

Notts County have fallen to a second League Two home defeat in a row after Crawley Town won 2-1 at Meadow Lane on Tuesday night.
Jimmy Smith scored in the 25th minute to give the Red Devils the lead but Jon Stead levelled from the penalty spot 13 minutes in the second half.
It looked as though the Magpies would claim a point but late drama saw Matty Virtue sent off before Ross Fitzsimons also saw red - and conceded a penalty - for kicking out at an opposition player.
Josh Payne went on to convert his stoppage-time spot kick for their first ever win at Meadow Lane and leave Notts at risk of slipping out of the automatic promotion places.
How did the Notts boss, players and fans react to the game's events? Here is a round-up of the post-match reaction.
Kevin Nolan on the result
"It's disappointing to lose the game but it's the first time we've lost successive games in the league this season, which shows how far we have come.
"It could have been a different game for us if we had put our chances away in the first 10-15 minutes. Over the last two games I think we have created more chances than I can remember here but not put them away.
"We've been hit with sucker punches and I have told the lads we need to manage the game in both ways and we haven't done that in the last two games as well as we have done in the past.
"To lose a goal from a throw-in, which was so basic from our point of view, is disappointing.
"I'm proud of these lads to be where they are at at this stage of the season. Nobody envisaged it. What I want the players to do is go back to what they were doing and be true to themselves - they'll be ok."
Kevin Nolan on Ross Fitzsimons
"Ross has been fantastic for me since he joined the club but he knows he has done wrong tonight.
"I'm not going to defend or condone what he did but what we will do is rally around him and ensure he learns from this.
"This is his first major run in a league team and he has been doing really well but tonight he has let a silly push rattle him and it has cost him a three-game suspension."
The Black and White Army
Chris: Well, that all went out the window. FA Cup seems a potential downer now, if we win Notts must re-focus! Otherwise the cup could be a distraction to the current mission, we didn't go top by being lucky. So, lets get things back to how they was and sign two players (ST/CB).
Kevin Hopcroft: We need to be realistic. Where we are in the league is still amazing. We are still second. We are still over achieving. Every team has a dip in form at some point. You cant win every game. I agree we need a new centre half as we are conceding too easy. We also need a young hungry forward who can feed off either stead or ameobi. But come on look where we have been for the last 4-5 years and get behind the team. Let us be the twelth man instead off slating the players, manager and whoever else. COYP!!!!!
David Skelding: If we want to win promotion we're going to need to find some composure from somewhere. What's the point in entering the pitch all hyped up if you're just going to gift a poor opposing team two ridiculously preventable goals and have two men sent off?
James Odell: We are just getting far too predictable and easy to play against. Meant to be 433 but its obviously 451 with stead left isolated. Huge gap between strikers and midfield, never around to picking up 2nd balls on the edge of the box. Squad has over achieved all season sadly getting found out now.
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Joe Jones

ARLukomski: Why have Notts County changed formation?

Why have we changed formation?
If someone could tell me why, it would be great.
But why? Why have we done this?
In the last two recent games, Kevin Nolan has experimented a bit and changed to a new formation, switching from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1 with three central midfielders including Noor Husin, Matty Virtue and Liam Noble. This means Jon Stead is up front on his own with Jorge Grant and Lewis Alessandra on the wings.
However, this recent change hasn’t worked as shown by successive 2-1 losses at home to Exeter and Crawley. Notts’ amazing home record has been worsened by this change in formation and the results that have followed.
By all means, this formation can work if you have the right players but this Notts team doesn’t.
First you need to have a pacey striker up front - Aguero for Man City for example and Conor Chaplin at Portsmouth.
Notts cannot play this formation with Jon Stead up front. He is too slow and too isolated. We have next to no threat up top when we play one striker. Defenders are quick to get the ball off him before he ever has a chance to bring the wingers into play.
Next, you need to have a good attacking midfielder to play behind the striker. Someone like Luke Berry. Notts have this in Liam Noble but refuse him to play instead placing Matty Virtue into the role of the No.10 when we can clearly see that he has the same properties of Ryan Yates.
We have rushed three new midfielders into the side who have not played with each other before and if we continue to play this formation, they will have to have time to gel. You can’t take that risk in a promotion race especially when Notts have only taken 26 points from their last 19 games. Notts have dropped so many points, that the gap to 4th is now minimal.
In both games, when we reverted back to 4-4-2, we immediately looked more of a threat going forward. Virtue showed in the short time he had in the 4-4-2 formation against Crawley and his performance at Lincoln, that he can easily slot into Yates’ role. Just because of Yates’ recall, doesn’t mean we have to introduce a whole new system. It really isn’t needed. You have got to play Hewitt alongside him in midfield because he is the legs of the team. Even when Notts are out on their feet, Hewitt is still running around causing the opposition problems. He doesn’t stop running. These two in a 4-4-2 formation would be fine.
Noor Husin looked a lot better suited to our normal formation at the weekend. He became the man pulling the strings when we went 4-4-2 against Exeter, only for him to be replaced. I would like to see Liam Walker start a few games because every time he has come off the bench, he has been quality.
We have abandoned tactics that have worked so well for us all season. Why abandon them now? It makes no sense whatsoever.
4-4-2 gave us structure and stability. It gave us a Notts side that scored goals and gave us a Notts side that stood in second place. A striker, a centre back and a backup winger was all that was  (and still is) needed and Notts would have been fine. But no, this is Notts and we love to bottle every good opportunity that comes our way.
I salute Charlie Slater for his questioning of Nolan’s tactics last night on the radio. I love Nolan for what he has done for this football club so far but we’ve got to go back to basics otherwise we won’t even finish in the play-offs, never mind the automatic promotion places.
I am begging that Nolan returns to the formation and the tactics that bought us so much success all season. Look at Brentford. We played 4-4-2 and beat a Championship team. A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM.
Seriously, we have got to go back to 4-4-2 otherwise we can kiss goodbye to promotion.
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ARLukomski

ARLukomski's Match Vlog: Notts County 1-2 Crawley Town, Tuesday 23 January 2018

Notts County have fallen to a second League Two home defeat in a row after Crawley Town won 2-1 at Meadow Lane on Tuesday night.
Jimmy Smith scored in the 25th minute to give the Red Devils the lead but Jon Stead levelled from the penalty spot 13 minutes in the second half.
It looked as though the Magpies would claim a point but late drama saw Matty Virtue sent off before Ross Fitzsimons also saw red - and conceded a penalty - for kicking out at an opposition player.
Josh Payne went on to convert his stoppage-time spot kick for their first ever win at Meadow Lane.
Notts vlogger and Pride of Nottingham contributor ARLukomski discussed the fixture ahead of kickoff, gave his thoughts as the game went on, and talked about the performance and result after the final whistle.
Follow ARLukomski on his YouTube channel by clicking here.
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ARLukomski

Kevin Nolan: 'Referee in Notts v Crawley game simply wasn't good enough'

Kevin Nolan has criticised referee Scott Oldham for his officiating in Notts County's 2-1 defeat to Crawley Town, insisting "he simply wasn't good enough".
Tuesday's rescheduled League Two game proved another forgettable evening for the Magpies as they ended the game pointless and down to nine men.
Matty Virtue was sent off for a second yellow card before Ross Fitzsimons lashed out at a Crawley player for a red card and a penalty which was converted by Harry Kewell's side.
“I was angry for all the wrong reasons,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post after the game.
“I was very disappointed to lose the game and when you look back, it’s the little decisions that referees get wrong are costing us at the minute.
“One of those was Matty Virtue’s yellow card. It’s not a yellow – everybody can see it.
“The lad has won the ball cleanly. Then for the second red, it’s a goal kick and not a corner.
“But listen I am not going to try to look after Ross Fitzsimons in this because we all take accountability for our own actions.
“It has cost us a point, but if it’s a goal kick then it doesn’t happen.
“But I’ve said to the lads that to suffer back to back defeats for the first time this season shows how far we have come.
“I am delighted with that. I don’t want to keep harping on about referees but he simply wasn’t good enough to referee this game.”
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Joe Jones

Match Report: Notts County crumble in late defeat to Crawley Town

Notts County have suffered a second League Two home defeat in the space of three days as Crawley Town emerged 2-1 winners at Meadow Lane on Tuesday night.
The Magpies' unbeaten league home run came to an end at the weekend as Exeter City won 2-1 and the Red Devils won by the same scoreline in a game which ended in rambunctious circumstances.
Kevin Nolan's side began brightly, forcing five corners in the first ten minutes, and nearly took the lead when Matty Virtue's shot was hacked off the line by Josh Lelan.
Lewis Alessandra then came just as close when Liam Noble's header came off an opposition defender and fell to the winger but his shot on the turn clipped the top of the bar on its way over.
The pendulum soon swung the other way, however, and Crawley enjoyed a bright spell before taking the lead on 25 minutes.
Lelan’s throw on the right was flicked on by Thomas Verheydt towards Jimmy Smith, who made the most of the space at his disposal to volley beyond Ross Fitzsimons and inside the right-hand post.
The first half ended with Notts on the back foot, save for Virtue heading a yard wide in stoppage time from Dan Jones’s cross.
The restart saw the hosts push forward in a bid to chase an equaliser and enjoyed several good chances as Grant volleyed wide of the post before Stead curled wide of the upright.
Eventually the equaliser came when Lelan was adjudged to have handled inside the area for a Notts penalty, which Stead dispatched low to the keeper's right.
Unfortunately, County's hopes of hanging on to a point were dashed in stoppage time when Virtue was shown a second yellow card before Fitzsimons, looking to send a claimed corner upfield, was blocked by Mark Connolly.
The Notts keeper lashed out and kicked the Crawley man, prompting the ref to not only send him off, but to award the visitors a penalty, which Josh Payne slotted home.
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Joe Jones

Scouting Report: Notts County vs. Crawley Town, Tuesday 23 January 2018

Notts County have the opportunity to put their 2-1 defeat to Exeter City behind them with tonight's League Two home game against Crawley Town.
How have the Red Devils been doing in the league? Who are their key players? And how are they expected to play?
Pride of Nottingham's Chris takes a look in our latest Scouting Report.
Head to head
Notts County have played Crawley Town 11 times in their history.
The first fixture between the two was on 10 November 2012 at Meadow Lane, a League One meeting which finished 1-1.
Meanwhile the return fixture, played away on 9 March 2013, ended as a goalless draw.
The record stands at seven Notts wins, two Crawley wins, and two draws - all games took place either in League One or League Two.
Notts have won their last five games in a row agains Crawley, and seven of the last eight.
Run-down of their last six features
Saturday 23rd December – Accrington Stanley 2 Crawley Town 3
Tuesday 26th December – Crawley Town 0 Colchester United 2
Saturday 30th December – Crawley Town 1 Stevenage 0
Monday 1st January – Yeovil Town 1 Crawley 2
Saturday 13th January – Crawley Town 2 Barnet 0
Friday 19th January – Newport County 2 Crawley Town 1
The Players – Fact Sheet
Highest Goal Scorers: Jordan Roberts 7, Enzio Boldewijn 6, Jimmy Smith 5 and Ibrahim Meite 3.
Persistent Foulers: Jordan Roberts 7 yellow cards and 1 red card, Josh Yorwerth 5 yellow cards and 1 red card, Mark Randall 6 yellow cards and Jimmy Smith 3 yellow card and 1 card.
The Key Players
In midfield, Lewis Young is a versatile player who offers a lot of pace – the younger brother of Manchester United star Ashley Young will be a player which will be required to be marked tightly by the magpies defence.
Also, Jordan Roberts is a tall posing player who has added goals to his tally this season. The creative spark within Crawley’s midfield – he has the ability to switch from an out-wide area to convert nicely within the centre park.
Enzio Boldewijn is a threat up top and, on his day can really cause havoc in the oppositions defence.
Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses
Crawley Town are a physical but slow building team that focuses on creating chances from out wide, and hitting the opposition when space opens up.
They tend to sit back in an effort to absorb the pressure, this allows them to get a good feel for the game, and ultimately understand their counterparts better.
Due to this, the Red Devils can largely but put on the back foot from good play and as a direct result it puts them in danger – defensively they roll the dice a fair bit and rely on luck to survive conceding.
On the ball, they like ot press deep and use aerial balls as a way to cause havoc – where pace can exploit their opposition they do show no signs of fearing taking a team on, and if losing being a goal or two down doesn’t deter them either.
They’re a decent League Two team, who have the foundations to cause any side within this league problems.
However, due to their style of play and inconsistent performances – they do make it an uphill task for themselves not only to remain in competition for any points but also when creating their own chances on goal.
It’s clear that Notts will have to think more about how to hold the ball, whilst protecting their creative players.
Frustration will also be something that Notts will have to keep in check, so it’s important that little niggles don’t become a larger concern as the game progresses – as both sides will be naturally guilty of making silly mistakes.
I would like to see Notts use the flanks, as a way to gain ground but also switch to the centre of the park using timed overlaps as a way to directly cut in behind the opposition.
More chances should naturally fall for both teams, however if Notts focus more on the ground and use their feet well – this will unlock the Crawley Town defence in my opinion.
Set pieces and free kicks from an heading position may be an area whereby Notts could exploit.
However, they shouldn’t be scared to have a shot from distance.
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Chris

Kevin Nolan: 'Managers should be given chance to make use of VAR'

Kevin Nolan has claimed that managers should be given power to use video assisted refereeing (VAR) to challenge major decisions.
At present, either the referee or the video assistant can make use of the system when there is a "clear and obvious error" involving goals, penalty awards, red cards, or mistaken identity.
Nolan, meanwhile, is proposing a system similar to tennis or cricket, and thinks both managers should be allowed one unsuccessful challenge per match.
"You won't have as many stops, possibly only two. Once you've got it wrong, as a manager you have to say 'right, keep schtum and trust the referee', the Notts County boss told BBC Sport.
"Give managers a flag to say we want something reviewing. That stops the game right away.
"What it [the review] will do is tell the referee that he got something that he's seen spot on and that will give him a confidence boost, or they will go 'fair enough you have seen something different, so let's have a look at it'.
"What VAR does is give us the opportunity to go to the screen if we need to.
"Say I think it is a penalty and the referee hasn't given it, I can put the flag up and say I want to look at the penalty.
Then if we go to the VAR and give the penalty, I keep my flag. If it's not, I lose it and then we have the discussion afterwards. That is the best way."
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Joe Jones

Kevin Nolan: 'No team has deserved to beat Notts County at home since Portsmouth last April'

Kevin Nolan has claimed that no team has deserved to beat Notts County at home in the league since Portsmouth last April.
The South Coast side won at Meadow Lane at the tail end of last season to secure promotion and, since then, the Magpies had remained unbeaten on their own turf in League Two.
However, Exeter City have now ended County's superb unbeaten league home record, winning 2-1 on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday night's meeting with Crawley Town, Nolan says his side will look to bounce back, and couldn't help but feel bemused about losing the record.
“We are just looking for a reaction,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post.
“When we lost to Swindon, we followed that up with a really good performance against Port Vale just a couple of days later.
“For me, it does not matter we lost at home. It was a fantastic record that we held and hats off to the lads because we had some really good teams come here this year.
“Exeter were the team who ended the run, but I don’t think they deserved to win. In fact, I don’t think anybody has deserved to since we played Portsmouth last April.
“But I felt we did more than enough to get something out of the game at the weekend, and the only thing I didn’t think we didn’t do, is work the keeper enough. That’s what we have been working on over the last 48 hours or so.”
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Joe Jones

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