Notts County slump to flaccid Bristol Rovers defeat

Notts County have slumped to a new low by putting in a diabolical second-half performance in their League Two clash against Bristol Rovers and end up on the receiving end of a 2-0 defeat.

Just one minute of the Meadow Lane clash had elapsed when Gas man Liam Lawrence suffered an injury and had to be replaced by former Magpies loanee Cristian Montano.

The first concrete chance of the game fell to Jason Banton, who cut inside onto his right foot and curled a shot just past the far post.

Notts came close again in the 24th minute when Banton managed to beat his man and send a low cross into the six-yard box, where Atkinson came within inches of getting to the ball in a perfect position.

Jamie Fullarton's charges continued to dig deep and just after the half-hour mark Jon Stead's ball into the six-yard was just too fast for the in-sliding Izale McLeod.

The Pirates, however, would end the first half in front because, just a minute before half time, Montano skinned Atkinson before firing the ball past Scott Loach.

Lee Brown then doubled Rovers’ lead soon after the restart by collecting Chris Lines’ corner kick on the edge of the area before planting a left-foot shot past Loach from 20 yards out

Notts fans had seen enough, and a number of individuals in the Kop soon unfurled a 'Fullarton Out' banner and raised a chorus of "get out of our club".

On the pitch, McLeod headed a good chance wide from an Adam Campbell cross before the pair were replaced by Fullarton in a bid to claw a way back into the game.

At the other end, meanwhile, Loach palmed a Jermaine Easter effort away before coming out on top in a one-on-one, while full-back Blair Adams also cleared another attempt off the goal-line.

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