Match Report: Alan Hardy era begins with Notts County drawing against Mansfield Town

Notts County finally stopped the rot and avoided an 11th consecutive League Two defeat after holding local rivals Mansfield Town to a goalless draw in Saturday's early kickoff at Meadow Lane.

The biggest crowd of the season - 7,843 Notts fans from a total of 11,328 - packed into the Lane for the derby, the first game of new owner Alan Hardy's tenure and also the first match for new boss Kevin Nolan.

It proved a tense, heated derby, with the Stags eager to inflict more pain on the Magpies, who in turn were galvanised from the change of ownership and management.

The only concrete chance of the first half came just after the half-hour mark, when Ben Whiteman charged into the Notts box and rattled an effort off a defender which looped into the air and looked to go in before Adam Collin clawed it away.

From the corner, Rhys Bennett headed wide, while at the other end, there were claims for a penalty as Jon Stead was hauled off the ball by Malvind Benning, but nothing was given.

Magpies captain Michael O'Connor saw a rifled shot charged down by a Mansfield defender after the restart, but in the 51st minute the hosts came within a whisker of conceding, only for former Magpie Yoann Arquin to sidefoot wide at the far post when it seemed easier to score.

That proved to be the best chance of the game, with both sides ultimately cancelling each other out and playing out a scoreless draw, which was incredibly well received by the Notts faithful, even if it did mean that the side slipped into the League Two drop zone after the 3pm kickoffs were played.

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