Notts get season off to winning start against Stevenage

Notts County got their League Two campaign to a near-perfect start with a 2-0 win away at a tricky and feisty Stevenage side in a game marred only by the late sending-off of Mawouna Amevor.

The visitors had the edge in the opening quarter of an hour, though opposition forward Dipo Akinyemi came close with a goal-bound shot which deflected over.

From the same period of pressure, the teenager was unmarked two yards out and somehow missed, while just after the half-hour mark Brett Williams fired straight at Roy Carroll.

This proved the catalyst for a deadly counter-attack that saw Liam Noble maraud down Boro's exposed left side before passing to Jon Stead.

The ex-Bradford man then cut the ball back across the box, where Curtis Thompson was on hand to slice home at the far post and send the visiting fans barmy.

Notts looked the most likely to notch up another goal as Chris Day was forced to save at his near post from Julian Jenner shortly after the restart.

Kyle De Silva also went close with a stinging volley which drew another excellent save from the opposition keeper, before Stead curled a shot just wide of the far post on the spin.

Stevenage twice went close through Tom Hitchcock, while Williams also threatened, but Notts could have doubled their lead on 75 minutes when Thierry Audel’s powerful header was kept out by Day.

It felt at times like Notts were riding their luck but luckily they killed the game off in the final few minutes of normal time as a long-range shot from Stead was stopped low by Day, before Amevor tucked in the rebound.

In injury-time, a scuffle between Hitchcock and Amevor saw red cards for both, while Mark Hughes struck the bar with a 20-yard shot moments later, but the move was declared offside as Notts saw the game out and celebrated all three points.

The result sees the Magpies end their first matchday in sixth place - it's a great start from Ricardo Moniz's charges, who put in a great display and were rewarded with three points and a clean sheet.

(Credit to Dan Westwell for the article image)