Macaulay Langstaff and Jodi Jones lead Notts County to victory against Doncaster

Notts County secured a comfortable victory against Doncaster on a windy summer afternoon, with Macaulay Langstaff scoring his first English Football League goals and Jodi Jones adding a third. 

Langstaff scored with a volley and header on either side of half-time, while Jones sealed the win with an excellent finish in front of a packed away end. Doncaster managed to score a late consolation goal, but it did little to dampen the spirits of Notts County as they claimed their second win of the season.

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

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

Langstaff appeared to have been pulled back in the build-up to that incident, and frustrations continued moments later when Jones was booked for arguing against a foul given against him. Tyler Roberts should have done better to punish a mix-up between Austin and Baldwin on 20 minutes but got his shot all wrong in front of a packed away end.

After Bostock was cautioned for a foul 25 yards out, Notts County took the lead from a set-piece routine. The ball was returned to Bostock in a crossing position, and he produced the perfect delivery for Langstaff to guide home on the volley.

Langstaff came close to scoring again moments later but was denied by an excellent defensive header which prevented him from converting Austin’s looping cross - the final goalmouth action of the half. Doncaster made three changes at half-time, but it did not prevent Notts County from doubling their lead within a minute of the restart as Austin’s cross from deep was headed home by Langstaff.

It was 3-0 on 54 minutes when Crowley advanced into space and saw his dangerous cross fumbled by Lawlor, allowing Jones to cut inside and find the bottom corner from eight yards. Langstaff came close to completing his hat-trick shortly after the hour mark but could not convert McGoldrick’s cross.

Notts County's number nine came close again on 69 minutes when he controlled Cameron’s pass before volleying against the outside of the post from a tight angle. As the clock ticked over to 75 minutes, Doncaster had not managed a shot on target but then had two in quick succession as Deji Sotona drew a save from Stone before Joe Ironside failed to loop the ball over the keeper.

Cedwyn Scott, who came on for McGoldrick, delivered an impressive response for Notts County with a tremendous shot that forced Lawlor into making an excellent reaction save. Stone still had work to do to preserve his clean sheet, making an excellent save down to his right before comfortably denying Ironside.

In the end, Stone was denied consecutive clean sheets as Notts County failed to clear their lines inside their own area and Sotona scored a last-gasp consolation goal.

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