Notts County end dreadful season on low note as Carlisle score five and Mark Cooper departs

Notts County's disappointing season has ended on a low note after Carlisle United struck five unanswered goals at Meadow Lane, while the final whistle of the League Two clash saw Mark Cooper walk away from the club.

It took just four minutes for Hallam Hope to set up Newcastle United loanee Alex Gilliead to finish at the near post, setting the tone for what was to come.

Just before the half-hour mark Keith Curle's side doubled their lead as Jabo Ibehre pulled the ball back for Danny Grainger to score from 16 yards.

And five minutes before the break it was pretty much game over when a calamitous error by Haydn Hollis saw Gilliead claim the ball, and, via a passage of play including Jason Kennedy, get it to Ibehre, who stabbed home.

Notts conceded twice more in the second half, Ibehre bundling in Hope's low cross and Charlie Wyke latching onto Hollis' back-pass 10 minutes from time, rounding goalkeeper Roy Carroll and rolling the ball into the empty net.

This being Notts County, things obviously had to go from bad to worse as, shortly after the end of the game, it was confirmed that Cooper - one of the most liked Magpies managers in recent years - had rejected further negotiations to seal a deal, and walked out on the club.

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