Swindon Town 0-0 Notts County

Notts County once again had Bartosz Bialkowski to thank for earning his side a point at freezing Swindon, the Polish keeper proving he is a cut above with several outstanding saves as the Magpies battled their way to a 0-0 draw against the promotion-chasing Robins. Chris Kiwomya lined up his team in a 4-5-1 formation, handing the young Greg Tempest his full league debut on the left wing. Enoch Showunmi was the lone striker. At the back, Haydn Hollis was swapped for Julian Kelly, while Gary Liddle lined up alongside Dean Leacock.

Liddle took a knock in the second minute as he went up for an aerial challenge, which caused the game to be halted for a few minutes as he received treatment, but luckily he was able to continue.

The home team, in good form, threatened early on, and in the tenth minute got their first chance in after Notts failed to clear, Gary Roberts volleying his shot into the stands.

Liddle proved he was definitely still with it as he denied Andy Williams with a great block. The rebound, by Simon Ferry, was wide.

It was all Swindon in the opening stages, as Williams got a head on Alan McCormack's cross which was desperately scrambled clear.

The first semblance of a chance for the Magpies came from a set piece, as Neal Bishop was fouled. Alan Sheehan blasted well wide, however.

Not long after, a cross from Sheehan caused panic in the Robins box, but Bishop couldn't finish, and received a hit to the chest for his troubles.

On 34 minutes, Nathan Thompson had a shot on goal, but Bart responded greatly. Just three minutes later, Tommy Miller's free kick was also stopped by the Pole.

The half-time whistle finally blew, much to Notts' relief, as they were being over-run by the Robins.

In the second half, Liddle was lucky not to concede a penalty after he clashed with Williams, while Bart saved from Ferry's header on 50 minutes.

Swindon showed why they were near the top of the league with some great football, and kept getting shots in. Alan Navarro and substitute Louis Thompson were next to try their luck.

Just before the hour, Tempest was replaced by Yoann Arquin, Kiwomya switching to 4-4-2 as the Frenchman lined up in attack alongside Showunmi.

The switch proved beneficial, as Notts started to push forward and threaten the Robins. First a Sheehan free kick was helped on by Showunmi and hit by Bishop, a chance thwarted by Darren Ward's block, then Alan Judge tried a twenty-yard howitzer which was only just parried over by Wes Foderingham.

The resulting corner saw more chances come Notts' way, as Showunmi was very unlucky not to score with a powerful header, but this was deflected, and Arquin couldn't finish from the rebounds.

The final quarter of an hour of the game saw the balance of play shift to the home side, as Adam Rooney, McCormack and Collins all tried their luck. Bialkowski, however, delighted the Notts fans and frustrated the Robins faithful with some more world-class saves.

As the full-time whistle loomed, Notts had the chance to sucker-punch Swindon and steal all three points, but incredibly Hamza Bencherif, on for Showunmi, didn't go for goal, choosing instead to pass back to provider Arquin. And so the opportunity was lost.

The whistle finally went on an exciting and tense game which saw Notts ride their luck for most of the game then not make the most of a crucial chance in the dying stages.

Notts remain in 11th place, seven points off the play-offs.