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Match Report: Alassana Jatta’s Early Goal Not Enough as Doncaster Equalise


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Notts County took to the pitch at the Eco-Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon, facing Doncaster Rovers in a match that saw both teams battle hard but ultimately share the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

Coming into the game, the Magpies hoped to maintain momentum from their recent performances. While they showed flashes of attacking prowess, Doncaster’s resilience ensured honours were even.

Play began energetically, with Notts County aiming to make their mark early on. In the 13th minute, their intent paid off when Alassana Jatta opened the scoring. Rising above the defence, Jatta powered a header into the high centre of the goal, leaving Doncaster’s keeper with no chance.

Providing the assist, Jacob Bedeau delivered a pinpoint cross that found Jatta at just the right moment. Notts County fans celebrated, hoping their side would build on the lead.

Despite going behind, Doncaster responded with determination. They quickly applied pressure, and their efforts led to several chances.

Patrick Kelly had an opportunity early on, only to see his shot go high and wide, and a series of blocked attempts from both Luke Molyneux and Owen Bailey in the first half underscored Doncaster’s persistence.

Statistically, Notts County controlled the tempo of the game, enjoying 59.2% of possession. However, Doncaster was efficient with their opportunities, managing 6 shots on target compared to Notts County’s 4.

The home side’s nine corners, compared to Notts’ three, highlighted their attacking pressure, particularly in the latter stages of each half. Both teams traded fouls throughout the game, with Notts County committing 11 fouls and receiving three yellow cards, while Doncaster had 13 fouls without any bookings.

As the game wore on, Notts County struggled to capitalise on their possession advantage. Doncaster grew into the game and began to create more meaningful opportunities. In the 73rd minute, their persistence paid off.

Jamie Sterry floated a cross into the box, and Joe Ironside made no mistake, heading the ball into the bottom right corner to level the score. It was a well-taken goal, giving the home fans something to cheer about and setting up a tense final quarter of the game.

In the last 20 minutes, both teams continued to push forward, with Doncaster’s Luke Molyneux looking particularly dangerous. He came close in the 89th minute, with one attempt saved and another narrowly missing the target.

Notts County also had their moments, notably through Matt Palmer, whose long-range effort went just wide in the 78th minute.

As the clock ticked down, the physical nature of the game intensified. Jevani Brown was shown a yellow card in the 90+3’ minute for a foul, adding to the earlier bookings for Jacob Bedeau and Nick Tsaroulla.

While Notts County pressed hard in the closing minutes, they could not find a breakthrough, and the referee’s final whistle confirmed a 1-1 draw.

This match highlighted both the resilience and areas for improvement for Notts County. While they managed to control possession and score first, converting this dominance into a decisive lead proved challenging.

Their defensive discipline also came under pressure, with Doncaster’s relentless attack forcing the Magpies into crucial saves and blocks. Ultimately, the draw leaves Notts County with mixed feelings – a point earned, but an opportunity missed to secure a win.

With this result, Notts County will now turn their attention to the next fixture, hoping to convert their solid possession play into more clinical finishing in front of goal.

Cast your vote for Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match from today's 1-1 draw with Doncaster Rovers!

Join the conversation and share your thoughts on our match discussion for the same game over on Pride of Nottingham!



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I listened on the radio, it sounded like a great game and a fantastic advert for league two football, two good teams slugging it out. A point is a good result from Doncaster and it sounded like a fair result.

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good point, i dont think doncaster deserved a point and in truth a stronger bench i think we would have won it. thought we did very well in spells and maybe should have tried less to push for a second. we got punished for it and although they did well, they really did not trouble us enough.

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This was a match of two halves today. Notts were brilliant in the first half, especially in the first twenty five minutes. 

Some of the best football that Notts have played under Stuart Maynard. The side that Stuart has put together is playing as one all over the field.

The move that lead to Jatta heading his tenth goal of the season was pure class at this level, & will rightly be a contender for Notts goal of the season.

Doncaster, came back into it in the 2nd half and Notts had some serious defending to do, but apart from conceding the one goal, Notts looked solid enough & were well worth a point in the end.

Stuart is rightly satisfied with a point & another difficult match has been ticked off with Notts remaining unbeaten away.

Another tough match follows next week at Crewe, but I'm confident that Notts will give a good account of themselves there too.

We are getting closer to the new year, when hopefully, Edwards, Jones & Grant will return to strengthen the squad.

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Good result, I feel. I think Notts needed a second goal to see it out, and I think we tried to do that. Some fans kept calling for changes, but why risk Dan Crowley and still draw? There were not a lot of options to change things, and I think if David McGoldrick had been fit enough for selection, this game would have been something where he would have made a huge difference. The 70th minute mark was crying out for someone like him in the team, although I thought Jevani Brown did well. Unfortunately, I have no idea how he got a yellow for controlling the ball when a foul had been made on him.

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We currently have a fair amount of injuries, so I think a draw isn't all that bad. We could have won the game, but going defensive could have seen us concede more than one goal. Notts played well in spells. I am not exactly sure how Doncaster avoided a single yellow card, but the referee did seem to favour them. Doncaster played okay, but not enough from them, and their fans made very little noise.

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The game should have ended in our favour. Without Alex Bass, this might not have been the case, and I think defensively we hung on at times. I thought Doncaster looked far more organised this time around, but they didn't really play all that well. Notts did in spells, but failed to see out the game after a very good first half. Alassana Jatta's strike was brilliant. It's a shame we didn't create more chances, but we played well, just lacked at the crucial end, but it wasn't due to effort.

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A point dropped, but also a point saved. I don't understand why some fans focus solely on the negatives. We have several key injuries, and the only real option we had on the bench was Josh Martin. I wouldn't have put Dan Crowley on, considering how Doncaster were approaching the game, as it could have caused further complications for him. The game was pretty even by the end, despite Doncaster looking like a team we could have beaten.

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There is a lot of criticism towards Stuart Maynard by his fan club, which I don't get. We have several injuries and the players gave their all in the game. We could have scored a second goal if things had worked out, and the opening goal was a thing of beauty. Jatta guided an excellent cross beyond the Doncaster keeper's reach. It was a brilliant goal. We should be taking the positives and encouraging the players. It was a good point on the road, and we are still undefeated away from home.

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I thought Notts played very well in the first half. Doncaster had their moments, but we controlled the game overall. 

When they made changes, things got better for them, and at times, Notts had to adapt. However, in the end, a draw is a fair result.

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It was a good performance. In hindsight, I might have started with some of the players on the bench and used the saved legs to freshen things up. However, I understand that Stuart Maynard wanted to start with what he felt was the strongest squad. We had the chances to seal the points.

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It was a good football match between two decent teams. Doncaster played well, but at times they looked like a team we could have easily beaten if we had a full squad available. They made changes and fielded what seems to be their strongest team, but I didn’t see much to suggest they are better than us. It’s all about collecting points, and for both teams, this is a good result. We need to aim for all three points against Crewe, keep up the pressure, and make sure we stay firmly in the automatic promotion race.

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