Notts 3-2 Fleetwood Town

Notts County made it to the second round of the League Cup for the first time in three years with a nervy 3-2 win against Fleetwood Town. The Lancashire side took the lead and were on top in the first 25 minutes, but the Magpies equalised with a superb Enoch Showunmi header. They added two more superb goals in the second half, but David Ball's last-minute goal made for a tense finish. Another sour point was the sending off of Manny Smith, who will now miss the Peterborough game. Chris Kiwomya began the game with a 4-4-2 formation, Smith replacing the suspended Gary Liddle, and Greg Tempest and debutant Callum McGregor also in the starting eleven.

Notts enjoyed a bright start, winning a corner within the first two minutes, and just four minutes later, nearly scored, but for an awkward bounce taking the ball too far away from Enoch Showunmi.

At the other end, Tempest bravely blocked a goalbound shot, before bombing down at the other end and forcing another corner, courtesy of a deflected cross. Two corners in the first seven minutes were promising signs, and attempts from Danny Haynes and Showunmi in the following few minutes further emphasised Notts' intent to win this game.

One of the main talking points about this game was the return of ex-Notts midfielder Hughes to Meadow Lane, and he made his presence felt with a good one-two before heading towards the box, but Smith charged him down.

Sadly, Notts' early pressure couldn't stop Fleetwood from drawing first blood. On sixteen minutes, Gareth Evans coolly and skilfully chipped the ball over Bartosz Bialkowski after beating Smith.

Notts, for the second time in two games deflated after quarter of an hour, pushed on for an equaliser, Joss Labadie's ambitious free-kick sailing over the bar, but the visitors piled on the pressure for a good ten minutes as they had their eyes on consolidating their lead.

Much like a pendulum, however, the momentum then suddenly swung Notts County's way. On 25 minutes, Haynes headed wide after Showunmi's flick from Mustapha Dumbuya's throw. Just two minutes later, the provider then attempted a header of his own. Again, wide. However, the third headed chance in quick succession finally yielded that crucial equaliser for Notts, as new kid McGregor's brilliant ball was stunningly converted by Showunmi.

The provider and scorer combined again to great effect as, on 33 minutes, the Celtic loanee's pass to Showunmi was crossed into the Fleetwood half and very nearly led to an own goal, courtesy of Mark Roberts.

Just a minute later, the same man very nearly succeeded in lobbing the Fleetwood keeper, much to the surprise of Notts fans who hadn't been used to this much confidence and pomp from the Nigerian international in the previous season. He even showed off some showboating skills!

Soon after, Haynes managed to steal some of Showunmi's thunder by powering in a second goal, a classic poacher's goal and his first for the Magpies, after Mark Fotheringham's cross and Labadie's post-rebounding effort.

Fleetwood threatened first in the second half, Antoni Sarcevic's shot going wide of the left-hand post, but Notts countered with the excellent Tempest nearly combining with Labadie for a potential chance.

The pendulum would swing towards Fleetwood again, a half chance coming on 52 minutes, before Bart's great save from a Matty Blair shot just a few minutes later, going down low to thwart the opposition player.

On 56 minutes, an unfair challenge by Smith on Sarcevic led to his booking, the second Magpies yellow of the game (first came to Labadie for a tackle on the old boy in the first half) but his free kick was blocked and cleared.

Notts eventually got a third to ease pressure on the Magpies players and fans, the superb debutant McGregor curling a fantastic left-footed effort into the net. One assist and one goal for the Celtic loanee, you can't ask for much more on your debut!

The final ten minutes were nerve-wracking for Notts, however. Smith's challenge on David Ball was deemed worthy of a second yellow by the referee, and so Liddle's replacement walked. A second Notts defender to be sent off in the space of two games.

In the 88th minute, the comfortable 3-1 scoreline was suddenly made a lot more precarious by David Ball's right-footed shot from inside the box, which pierced the Notts net. 3-2 with injury time beckoning.

Fleetwood, invigorated by the goal and sensing an opportunity to equalise against a Notts side now increasingly beset by nerves, pushed on, and very nearly scored on a number of occasions, but Bart, showing how indispensable he is to the club, came out on top, saving from Ryan Crowther's dead-cert shot. Tempest and Dean Leacock also contributed with great clearances and blocks, before, to the delight of the Notts fans, the final whistle blew, and Notts County were in the second round of the League Cup for the first time in three years!