Oldham Athletic 5 - 1 Notts County

On an evening that began promising so much, it all crumbled to bits and finished with Notts County having to be put out of their misery. Humiliated, insulted and injured. Oldham Athletic, a team which hasn't exactly been setting the League alight, ended up playing us off the park in tonight's Johnston's Paint Trophy quarter-final and smashed five goals past us, all but annulling what should have been a joyous occasion for Ronan Murray, who bagged his second in two games.

Shaun Derry's second game in charge saw Fabian Speiss resume JPT duties in goal after his stellar display against Wolves in the previous round, while Manny Smith began at centre-back and young Murray was slotted into attack.

The game started with Oldham on the front foot, Danny Philliskirk getting two shots in the first ten minutes, the first a curler which hit the post, the second going wide. Meanwhile, Jonson Clarke-Harris fired another shot towards Speiss, which was deflected courtesy of a great one-handed save.

The signs were there for a Notts attack, though, with a Gary Liddle attempt early on, which was blocked, and a Sheehan free kick claimed by Paul Rachubka.

Then came the breakthrough, as young Murray beat his marker and latched on to a pass from Joss Labadie before driving it under and past Rachubka for the first goal of the match. Thirteen minutes gone and it was 1-0 Notts.

It really should have been 2-0 but for the unmarked Liddle's missed header from up close. Labadie was next to threaten the goal but his low shot from 25 yards was caught. This after the Notts front pack had been causing trouble in the Oldham area.

Sadly, this was to be the last time Notts would be in the lead this game, as James Tarkowski made up for his earlier lapse by finishing a move started by Korey Smith's cross on the half hour mark.

Arquin did very nearly surprise the home team and crowd with a long range volley, but sadly it dipped too soon and was saved. However, the same player was responsible for a rash tackle in the Notts box that led to a penalty kick being awarded to Oldham, which Philliskirk made absolutely sure to convert.

And so, Notts would go back into the dressing rooms 2-1 down.

Things were to get much, much worse, however. First came the red card for Dean Leacock for an off-the-ball incident with Clarke-Harris.

The same player then fell in the Notts box under pressure from Manny Smith, but despite a rabid home crowd baying for Magpie blood, the referee denied Oldham the opportunity of a second penalty.

James Dayton then scored goal number three after being played into space on 67 minutes and slotting the ball past Speiss.

If that wasn't game over, then Philliskirk made sure it would definitely be with goal number four, as he controlled a low cross into the penalty area from the right-hand side and fired a shot past the shellshocked Speiss into the top-left corner of the goal.

Jordan Bove's horrendous tackle on Notts old boy turned debutant Kieron Freeman - who's played for each of the big three Nottinghamshire clubs plus Derby County, and is only 22 years old - resulted in the home player being sent off, restoring the balance from a numerical perspective.

However, there was no balance when it came to the quality of football and, crucially, the scoreline, particularly when goal number five came, the lone siege repeller Speiss doing well to block Philliskirk's shot but unable to do anything about Clarke-Harris' rebound.

Out of the FA Cup. Out of the Johnston's Paint Trophy. Eleven goals conceded in the last three games alone. Rock bottom of the table...

All is not good at Meadow Lane.