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Joe Jones
Alan Judge has admitted that he will seek a loan move away from Brentford this month if he's not involved in Saturday's Championship game against Norwich City.
The former Notts County winger had been out of action for nearly two years with a compound leg fracture but made his first-team comeback in the FA Cup third-round defeat against his former club.
However, Judge did not feature in the Bees squad for the subsequent two games against Bolton and Reading, and speaking to the Sunday Times, he expressed his frustrations at being overlooked.
“This is probably the hardest part,” Judge said in an interview reprinted by Get West London. “It’s massively frustrating. You are just there waiting, but the team is doing well, I totally understand that.
“I feel I am good enough to be involved, and I think I have shown that. I need minutes and the only way I can get them is by the manager putting me on the pitch. You don’t want to be told to be patient anymore.
“I’m not one to make a fuss, but if by the end of January I am not playing I will need to go on loan. Hopefully people will remember what I did two years ago and think ‘he’s worth taking a punt on’.”
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Joe Jones
Liam Noble has stressed that Notts County need a reaction in Tuesday night's fixture against Crawley Town following their weekend loss to Exeter City.
The Magpies' proud unbeaten league home record, which stood since April 2017, came to an end on Saturday as goals from Jake Taylor and Jayden Stockley gave the visitors a 2-1 win.
Notts are in action again in midweek, the fixture having been rescheduled due to their FA Cup progress, and Noble says it works out well to have the chance to bounce back straight away.
“We were disappointed to lose the home record the way we did and it would have been a long week if we didn't have this game,” Noble told the official Notts website.
“We need a reaction from everyone and I'm sure we will get it. There are 18 games left and there will be a lot of twists and turns to go along the way.
“You're always going to get two or three weeks where you look at the scores after a defeat and everyone around you has won but there's no point looking at it or worrying until there are a few games left because it will keep changing.
“Teams will continue to take points off one another and plenty of them still have to play each other too. We just need to keep going because we have the squad to bounce back.”
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has described Notts County as "a team in transition" and praised each of the home debutants in Saturday's League Two encounter with Exeter City.
The returning Liam Noble was drafted into the starting XI, as were youngsters Matty Virtue and Noor Husin, in a side which had to be rejigged due to the absence of Richard Duffy and Matt Tootle.
Nolan says he was happy with how the new players performed, and felt towards the end of the match that the Magpies played some of the best football during his reign so far, despite the 2-1 defeat.
"This is a team in transition with different types of players coming in who are finding their feet in the team," Nolan told the Nottingham Post.
"We gave three home debuts today and I thought they all did terrifically well. I'm delighted with that and it's another positive for us.
"We played some wonderful stuff, some of the best under my tenure, but we didn't have the cutting edge at the end."
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Joe Jones
Notts County's superb unbeaten league home run has come to an end as Exeter City ran out 2-1 winners in Saturday's encounter at Meadow Lane.
The high-flying Grecians, who are in the promotion mix, took the lead after just seven minutes through Jake Taylor.
Jayden Stockley then doubled the visitors' lead just before half time as the Magpies struggled to click with several new players in the XI and in the absence of Matt Tootle and Richard Duffy.
Jon Stead pulled a goal back for the hosts with a second-half penalty, won after Shola Ameobi was hauled down in the box, but sadly Notts could not go on to find an equaliser.
Pride of Nottingham was at the game and interviewed a number of County fans prior to kickoff.
Questions asked include how Alan Hardy and Kevin Nolan have done in their first 12 months, whether Matty Virtue will be a good replacement for Ryan Yates and whether they are happy with the transfer business conducted so far.
Check out what the Black and White Army had to say in our latest episode of Meet the Fans!
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Joe Jones
Notts County lost their unbeaten home league record as Exeter City secured a 2-1 victory at Meadow Lane.
First-half goals from Jake Taylor and Jayden Stockley gave the promotion-chasing Grecians a two-goal advantage.
Although Jon Stead scored a penalty, the Magpies could not go on to find an equaliser
The result means that Notts have tasted their first defeat in the league in front of their own fans since Portsmouth won last April.
What was the reaction from the Notts boss, players and fans following the draw? Here is a collection of the best post-match reaction.
Kevin Nolan
“It was a disappointing afternoon and it always is when you lose a game. But I thought the lads’ reaction in the second half was absolutely fantastic.
“I thought we totally outplayed Exeter, and while we created lots of opportunities, the ball just didn’t seem to fall for us or we didn’t work the keeper well enough.
“I just thought the response was better all round because in the first half we showed them a little bit too much respect.
“But I did feel that the free-kick which led to the first goal shouldn’t have been given and when a team scores off the back of it shows how big those decisions are.
“I discussed that at the end with the referee because little decisions are just as important.
“It was the same for their second goal. Their lad can’t win the ball without going through Jorge Grant.
“There is a ref and a lineman there and I am bewildered as to why the free-kick wasn’t given.
“But these are the decisions they have to get right even though I thought the referee had a decent game.”
Liam Noble
“I was disappointed to not get something out of the game, but going 2-0 down in the first half wasn’t good enough.
“We showed a good reaction in the second half but we can’t put ourselves in that position.
“We just fell short and we didn’t pick up enough second balls.
“But it was nice to be back out there and it would have been better had we got the result we had wanted.”
Jorge Grant
 
The Black and White Army - PON Forum
Chris:
I have to say, I fell Notts performed very poorly yesterday.
The first half wasn't very good at all, we committed players to far up the field and nobody bar Dan Jones had the pace to track back. Stead shouldn't have been playing on his own up front, though why does he insist on dropping to his knees as soon as he gets the ball? Yes, sometimes there was force and pushing but he never draws the foul to a convincing point for me.
Our midfield seemed very capable but sluggish to drive forward anything remotely creative.
Second half I felt Notts played some great stuff, yet we never looked likely to score and we just have this habit of trying to force the play - we need an Alan Judge type player that isn't afraid to shoot from distance. Go on Kevin, get Noble and some of the others to practice this - even Grant seemed woeful!
The referee didn't help but we should play beyond this, we just seemed to allow his poor handling to be bigger than it should.
Exeter I felt was very poor also, they used school boy diversion tactics and frequently cheated. I noticed several incidents which went unpunished, from a two footed challenge to one of their players hitting out at Virtue (for no reason).
At the end of the day we was poor and, I struggle to suggest we deserved anything from it.
United Pie:
With that loss yesterday my nerves are starting to rattle exester are starting to have a late serge. That loss now puts us in danger of the casing pack closing in on us Accrington are a game in a hand and can now go second with a win we need to hold our nerve and play like we have been doing. Cause loosing games like yesterday day dose not get you promoted.
Liampie:
fans near me kept going on about us missing yates but i think even he would have struggled yesterday.
we started poorly and it became a game of chasing them after the early goal for exeter. i think the better team won tbh, we did not create enough clear chances and for that reason i am disappointed. i think they scored from their first two shots on target! standards are slipping nolan.
ARLukomski:
I feel like we are gonna bottle this if we keep going the way we are. Nolan got it completely wrong yesterday. If it ain’t broken, don’t try and fix it. No idea why we went with 4-2-3-1 when it’s untried, untested and unproven with this team. Why change a formation that’s been working all season. Hunt plays everyone on for the first goal. Second one is a woeful pass by Virtue. Husin was bought off when he was doing well. Noble and Walker looked quality in the centre of midfield yesterday.  Hewitt is not a centre back, we desperately need to sign some cover. Early in the second half, four good balls were put into the box with nobody’s on the end of them, showing again why we so badly need a striker. Alessandra missed a sitter at the back post. Ameobi won the penalty then afterwards didn’t look bothered. The problem is yesterday’s selection was caused by injuries and again we have no strength in depth. Luton can have injuries and replace them players with players who are just as good. Tootle is ill and we replace him with a grandfather clock.
The Black and White Army - Social media
Peter Walker: Still In a better place than last January! Either we play Jonathan Forte or we get a striker in not another midfield player
Steve Brewer: Didn't play bad. Ref had a hand in both of their goals although it was bad defending and the goalie should have stoppe d
Stuart Anderson: 1st half was awful, why the hell we started 1 up top beggers belief!! 2nd started ok but we dominated when we bought a 2nd striker on! We need a pacey striker who knows where the net Is!! I thought Noble was very good today.
Adrian Wheatley: If today dont make them look for defenders then nothing will nothing on the bench for central defence and let the only option leave for free?
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Joe Jones
Notts County's superb unbeaten league home run has come to an end as Exeter City ran out 2-1 winners in Saturday's encounter at Meadow Lane.
The high-flying Grecians, who are in the promotion mix, took the lead after just seven minutes through Jake Taylor.
Jayden Stockley then doubled the visitors' lead just before half time as the disjointed Magpies struggled to cope against their opponents.
Jon Stead pulled a goal back for Notts with a second-half penalty, won after Shola Ameobi was hauled down in the box, but sadly the hosts could not go on to find an equaliser.
Should you wish to see them, here are the official Notts YouTube highlights from the game.
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Chris
Notts County's superb unbeaten league home run has come to an end as Exeter City ran out 2-1 winners in Saturday's encounter at Meadow Lane.
The high-flying Grecians, who are in the promotion mix, took the lead after just seven minutes through Jake Taylor.
Jayden Stockley then doubled the visitors' lead just before half time as the Magpies struggled to click with several new players in the XI and in the absence of Matt Tootle and Richard Duffy.
Jon Stead pulled a goal back for the hosts with a second-half penalty, won after Shola Ameobi was hauled down in the box, but sadly Notts could not go on to find an equaliser.
How did the game pan out? Pride of Nottingham's Chris takes a look with this weekend's Tactical Talk.
Was the result fair?
It’s very hard to say it the result was fair or not, I feel a draw may have been deserved but ultimately I do acknowledge that Notts were poor yesterday – likewise I feel Exeter equally unimpressed but we massively lack any real quality on goal.
How did Notts play?
For me we seemed too focused on attacking, rather than retaining the ball – we frequently gave it away very cheaply and the whole way we played made it very difficult to match the speed/creativity which Exeter did process.
In the second half things did change, we held the ball and knocked it around – yet we never drawn Exeter’s player out or made space available. We tended to waste chances by trying to force the play, and only until Shola Ameobi came on did we look like a team able to get through the oppositions defence – simply we played a game of two halves. 
How did Exeter play?
They played okay, at times quite exciting but for some reason they always insisted on doing something which wasn’t really required. I considered them to be a very good team coming into the game, yet I feel their schoolboy tactics and efforts to cheat really became unimpressive. When they focused on playing ‘football’ they looked a useful side but I think they’d have struggled to score if Notts had performed better and had noticed what they were doing.
Did our tactics work out?
Not very well in the first half. In midfield, we had too many new faces, this really meant that Notts had to have a little more creativity on the ball and we never really saw this until the second half. We focused on attacking more than we did retaining the ball or even defending – it was clear a few minutes in that Exeter would push us due to how far we seemed to be playing up the pitch. Second half Notts played better, yet at no point was it really enough – it highlighted exactly why we need a striker and a defender as outlined in my January transfer window article (please link)
How did the referee perform?
I felt he was poor, yet his decisions seemed more ‘blinded’ than negligent – I do feel he favoured Exeter, who’s players seemed to get away with everything but really he’s the standard of your typical League Two referee and I feel Notts should be smarter to this.
Who do we play next?
Crawley Town – another test in terms of the physical side of the game. They won’t be pushed off the ball or bullied and they will pressure us for the ball. We need to be stronger and more creative, as I feel these are points to be claimed.
How should we play them?
Notts need to be focused defensively, we can’t play too far up the field and if Nicky Hunt starts – he needs to be told to only go forward when we can afford his absence.
In midfield I think we need to be calmer, more patient with our build-up play and attempt to draw the opposition out – as against Exeter we seemed to pack the centre of the park and this really limited the space that we could have exploited.
With Crawley being your typical ‘physical’ League Two team, we need to be mindful about giving them any sort of space on the pitch.
Whilst we lack pace at the back, wise positional play would give the magpies advantage and I think any attacks should be phased and risk assessed for being caught out.
I’d like to see us use Jorge Grant and Liam Noble as a way to draw the opposition out, these played apart from each other would give us a means to break the Red Devils down and to allow some ‘creativity’ to get started.
Really, Notts should look to thrive under possession-based football and look to be more dynamic with awareness going forward.
Pressure the opposition defence, use link-up play to support the attacks and just pass the ball into space whereby this may release someone goal side – it’s not exactly difficult but if we give Crawley an inch they will take a mile.
Exeter fan views (from Exeweb)
Billy the Fish: The first half we took the game to them and was as complete a performance from City as I have seen in a long while. The second half County came out entirely differently and looked like promotion candidates, dangerous in attack but strangely vulnerable to our counter attacks. Lee Holmes looked out of sorts and Jordan Tillson is obviously just filling a position until the big boys are back. He works hard and gets his challenges in but today he was like a rabbit in the headlights whenever he found himself with the ball at his feet. All the others impressed, TAH rode his luck at times but otherwise every one them can be proud of themselves. I couldn't see the incident which saw Troy penalised and booked for the penalty but it came from a free kick awarded in front of us and the linesman and for which there was no discernable infringement. One of many strange refereeing decisions which infuriated both sets of fans. Great three points and a great day out.
Red Bill: Just watched the goals, what a great goal the second was. Fantastic ball from Harley and a great finish from Stockley. I feel making the most of Harley, who i hope has done a lot to silence his critics with some terrific peformances lately, could be key to a serious promotion push.
Andrew P Long: We went too defensive after going two up. Instead of trying to prevent them scoring we should've gone for their throat. If we had done that we'd have won more easily and comprehensively, say 1-4, and RHK was cheated out of more than a grand etc.
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Chris
Notts County's impressive unbeaten league home run in League Two has unfortunately come to an end at the hands of Exeter City.
The visitors raced into the lead at Meadow Lane after just eight minutes through Jake Taylor's tap-in.
Jayden Stockley, the Grecians' top scorer, then struck the decisive second just before half-time.
Jon Stead scored a second-half penalty after Shola Ameobi was hauled down in the box but the Magpies couldn't find an equaliser and so it ended 2-1.
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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ARLukomski
Notts County's superb unbeaten league home run has come to an end as Exeter City ran out 2-1 winners in Saturday's encounter at Meadow Lane.
The high-flying Grecians, who are in the promotion mix, took the lead after just seven minutes through Jake Taylor.
Jayden Stockley then doubled the visitors' lead just before half time as the Magpies struggled to click with several new players in the XI and in the absence of Matt Tootle and Richard Duffy.
Jon Stead pulled a goal back for the hosts with a second-half penalty, won after Shola Ameobi was hauled down in the box, but sadly Notts could not go on to find an equaliser.
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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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has bemoaned Notts County's 2-1 defeat to Exeter City and rued a number of key refereeing decisions which he felt cost his side dear.
The visitors raced into the lead after just eight minutes through Jake Taylor's tap-in before Stockley struck the decisive second just before half-time.
Jon Stead scored a second-half penalty after Shola Ameobi was hauled down in the box but the Magpies couldn't find an equaliser and so lost their unbeaten home record which stretched back to April 2017.
“It was a disappointing afternoon and it always is when you lose a game,” Nolan told the Nottingham Post. “But I thought the lads’ reaction in the second half was absolutely fantastic.
“I thought we totally outplayed Exeter, and while we created lots of opportunities, the ball just didn’t seem to fall for us or we didn’t work the keeper well enough.
“I just thought the response was better all round because in the first half we showed them a little bit too much respect.
“But I did feel that the free-kick which led to the first goal shouldn’t have been given and when a team scores off the back of it shows how big those decisions are.
“I discussed that at the end with the referee because little decisions are just as important.
“It was the same for their second goal. Their lad can’t win the ball without going through Jorge Grant.
“There is a ref and a lineman there and I am bewildered as to why the free-kick wasn’t given.
“But these are the decisions they have to get right even though I thought the referee had a decent game.”
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Joe Jones
Notts County have lost their superb unbeaten home record in League Two after fellow promotion chasers Exeter City claimed a 2-1 win at Meadow Lane on Saturday.
Boss Kevin Nolan fielded a different-look side to their usual XI, with Richard Duffy and Matt Tootle both sidelined, and a much-changed midfield including Matty Virtue, Noor Husin and the returning Liam Noble.
The Magpies fell behind after just eight minutes as a contentious free kick whipped in by Lee Holmes was met by Dean Moxey, who struck the post before the rebound was converted by Jake Taylor.
Notts mustered a couple of half-chances as a Jon Stead header from Dan Jones's delivery bounced tamely to Christy Pym and Lewis Alessandra also failing to beat the Exeter keeper with a shot from the corner of the box.
However, Pym was largely untroubled in the first half, while the visitors were more dangerous and doubled their lead on 42 minutes through Stockley.
The Grecians top scorer latched on to a long ball forward, got the better of Shaun Brisley and found the bottom corner from the edge of the area to leave the Notts contingent reeling at the break.
The second half saw Notts grow into the game, but not before several more dangerous attempts from Stockley, one denied by Elliott Hewitt's goalline clearance and the other cannoning off the woodwork.
However, the deficit was halved on 73 minutes when Troy Archibald-Henville hauled substitute Shola Ameobi down in the box, prompting the referee to point to the spot.
Jon Stead then subsequently despatched the penalty, sending Pym the wrong way, but despite a late flurry of attacks, they couldn't find an equaliser to prolong their unbeaten home record.
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Joe Jones
Alan Hardy has revealed that Notts County are quarter of a million pounds inside their budget at present.
Since taking over the club, Hardy has overseen a change in fortunes both in the pitch and off the pitch, with the Magpies near the top of League Two and in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Speaking about the round four fixture, which sees Notts host Premier League strugglers Swansea City, the club owner spoke about how a giant-killing would potentially be even better for the club's finances.
"If we can go on to cause a shock, it would certainly help with the financial side of the football club," Hardy told the Nottingham Post in his weekly column.
"On Wednesday we had a six-hour budget meeting with the group financial director to run through our half-year results. We are £250,000 inside the budget.
"That means our losses are a quarter of a million less, which has been helped by the TV coverage of the Oxford City game and the fact we are regularly selling more tickets and hospitality.
"We are delighted to be £250,000 inside where we thought we were going to be and, while it looks unlikely we’ll meet our overall target of £500,000 by the end of the season, we might get halfway there.
"If we do manage to beat Swansea, however, I would expect we’d be likely to have another TV game as the odds are enhanced for us to draw one of the big boys.
"That would be amazing but, first and foremost, I’m looking forward to what will be a special day next weekend, as well as a big league game against Exeter City this Saturday."
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Joe Jones
Head to head
Notts County and Exeter City have met a total of 45 times over their history.
The first meeting came at St James’ Park in Division Three (South) on 1 November 1930, and it finished as a 3-3 draw.
The Magpies have an excellent record against the Grecians; from 45 competitive encounters, Notts have won 18 and drawn 19.
Our last meeting was on September 26 at St James' Park, where Notts outlined their promotion credentials with a 3-0 win over their fellow high-flyers.
Notts are unbeaten in their last three League Two matches against the Grecians (W2 D1), keeping clean sheets in two of those matches.
However, Exeter have avoided defeat in each of their last two visits to Meadow Lane in League Two (W1 D1), including a 4-1 away win in this exact fixture in the 2015/16 campaign.
Stats
Along with Brentford, The Magpies are currently enjoying the longest home unbeaten run in the 2017/18 campaign only of all the sides in the English Football League (13 games - W10 D3), last losing at home in the league back in April 2017.
Exeter on the other hand, have lost each of their last five league games on the road, failing to score more than one goal in any of those matches. They last lost more away games on the bounce when they were defeated in nine such consecutive games between February and April 2012.
Jorge Grant has scored three goals in his two league appearances for Notts County against Exeter despite starting neither of those games, averaging a goal every 22 minutes on the field against the Grecians.
History
Exeter was formed in 1901 as St. Sidwell's United and played in the Southern League from 1908 until 1920, when that league's top division was absorbed into The Football League as its new Division Three.
The club was the first ever team to play the Brazilian national team in 1914, a match which was commemorated in a 2014 friendly game against Fluminense.
City took 60 years to achieve their first ever promotion, finishing fourth in Division Four in the 1963–64 season.
Since then, the club have mostly yo-yoed between the third and fourth divisions, spending five years in the Conference between 2003 and 2008; having been promoted a further four times (in 1976–77, 1989–90, 2007–08 and 2008–09) and relegated five times (in 1965–66,1983–84, 1993–94, 2002–03 and 2011–12).
Famous fans include Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Adrian Edmondson, Mark Nicol and Noel Edmonds.
Singer Joss Stone signed up as a member of the Supporters' Trust, being introduced to fans on the pitch as a new member during a League Cup match against Liverpool.
In 2002 pop singer Michael Jackson was made honorary director of Exeter City. He visited St James Park with celebrity friend Uri Geller, who was also a director.
The crew of the HMS Defender also adopted Exeter City as their home team and use their strip if playing games whilst on tour.
Team news
Shola Ameobi returned from a four-match injury absence as a second-half substitute in last weekend's draw at Lincoln City and is expected to feature against Exeter.
Should Magpies manager Kevin Nolan opt to restore Ameobi to his starting line up, Lewis Alessandra could be the player to make way.
Nolan was this week boosted by the news that Nottingham Forest will let Jorge Grant remain on loan at Meadow Lane for the remainder of the season.
Exeter captain Jordan Moore-Taylor is rated a 50/50 chance to be fit in time for Saturday's game - the 23-year-old has not played since December 30 due to injury.
Fellow defenders Troy Brown and Luke Croll, who have been absent even longer than Moore-Taylor are also back in training but are not yet ready for first team action.
Midfielder Hiram Boateng will be hoping for a place in the starting line-up after coming off the bench against Coventry last week.
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Chris
Notts County will take on fellow promotion chasers Exeter City in Saturday's League Two meeting at Meadow Lane.
How have the Grecians done in recent weeks? Who are their key players? What style of football do they play?
Find out with Pride of Nottingham's latest Scouting Report.
Head to head
Notts are unbeaten in their last three league matches against the Grecians, boasting two wins and a draw, and keeping clean sheets in two of those matches.
However, Exeter have avoided defeat in each of their last two visits to Meadow Lane in League Two, including a 4-1 away win in this exact fixture in the 2015/16 campaign.
Notts and Exeter have met 45 times in competitive actions, with 18 Magpie wins, 19 draws and just 8 losses.
Run-down of their last six features
Saturday 9th December – Colchester United 3 Exeter City 1
Saturday 16th December – Exeter City 2 Stevenage 1
Saturday 23rd December – Yeovil Town 3 Exeter City 1
Saturday 30th December – Exeter City 2 Barnet 1
Monday 1st January – Newport County 2 Exeter City 1
Saturday 13th January – Exeter City 1 Coventry City 0
The Players – Fact Sheet
Highest Goal Scorers; Jayden Stockley 13, Pierce Sweeney 5, Jake Taylor 4 and Liam McAlinden 4.
Persistent Foulers; Lloyd James 8 yellow cards, Jordan Tillson 5 yellow cards and 1 red card, Jake Taylor 5 yellow cards and Kane Wilson 1 yellow card and a single red card.
The Key Players
Striker Jayden Stockley has come into his element this season, on goal he possesses the calm finishing required to be a top scorer in the leagues above and is currently playing with a lot of confidence.
Jake Taylor has been a pivotal piece within Exeter City’s midfield, having created chances through his creativity and also chipping in with his own goal – his creativity and energy is hard to suppress and he enjoys taking on opposition players.
In goal Christy Pym is a very capable League Two keeper, who’s shot-stopping ability makes him very difficult to beat.
Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses
Exeter express themselves very well, creatively they are very forward-thinking and like dominate heavily with spells of possession.
They can break well using a very narrow formation; however, this tends to leave space to exploit at the back.
On the ball they are calm, yet can be pressured when well-marked – mistakes don’t frequently occur and they usually make good use of the ball.
Their ability to overthink play can mean chances do become limited, whilst they resemble a typical side that becomes frustrated by a lack of clear opportunity on goal.
Defensively they’re organised, yet don’t rely on staying deep – this again in turn leaves opposition teams space to attempt to break them down.
They struggle to defend during breaks and pace is an area where they usually start to see individual mistakes at the back.
Overall they’re a good team but can easily be pressed, their inconsistency to perform does allow good sides to find a way to break them down, and even in cases where they do struggle sides can punish them by pushing for a goal during an heavy attack.
The key for Notts will be limit their time on the ball, whilst ensuring that any chances that do fall Exeter City’s way ultimately end up being half chances.
I expect frustration to build up if we do keep them quiet, so again set pieces may play a vital part for us during the game.
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Chris
Alan Hardy has revealed that Notts County currently have a three-man shortlist of players they are looking to sign before the January transfer window closes.
So far this month, the Magpies have brought in the midfield trio of Matty Virtue, Noor Husin and Liam Noble, who was registered after linking up with the club last year.
The general consensus among fans is the need for a new centre-back and forward and, although Hardy has not spoken of positions, he believes each of the three players being looked at will help "push us over the line".
“We are still looking for that special player and there are three on the list,” he told the Nottingham Post.
"But, as (Kevin Nolan) said all along, whoever comes in needs to go straight into the first team.
“It has to be a player who can make a difference and help push us over the line.
“We are still in the hunt for all three but it is unlikely we are going to hear anything until the closing week of the window.
“That’s because a lot of players wait it out to see which other moves might become available.
“But what it does mean is that it all builds to an exciting finish in the window.”
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Pride of Nottingham is an independent fansite devoted to Notts County, the world’s oldest professional football club. Created in 2013, it has served as a source of Magpie news, features, match previews, reports, analysis and interviews for more than three years.

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