Match Discussion: Game 43 - Red Dragons (A)

[CliftonMagpie]

I believe my comment about resting Ruben Rodrigues shown today, Ruben was not at his best and it was evident that he was struggling. Even though he tried, he wasn't able to provide the spark that we needed. However, I don't think that we can attribute his poor performance solely to him being rested in the previous game. The Wrexham team made it difficult for us, and that was a significant factor.

I think that Jodi Jones should have started the game, as he provided more dynamism and energy to our team when he came on. Sam Austin was also quite skillful and wasn't afraid to take on the Wrexham players. The first half was lacking in directness and was only influenced by Jim O'Brien. John Bostock's free-kick was exceptional and deserves recognition.

I believe that there was little cohesion between Kyle Cameron, Connell Rawlinson, and Geraldo Bajrami. While they did play well independently at times, they didn't perform well as a defensive unit. I'm not trying to be overly negative, but I think that had they played more cohesively, some of the mistakes that we saw could have been avoided. Credit should also be given to Wrexham for making it a challenging game.

Adam Chicksen and Aaron Nemane didn't perform at their best either, and Nemane didn't do enough defensively. While some fans had previously criticised Cal Roberts for not defending, Nemane's lack of defensive contribution leaves us vulnerable in games where we don't have control. On the other hand, Jodi Jones marked Wrexham players closely and tried to get forward when he had the chance.

Overall, I thought that we gave a good account of ourselves in a difficult game. The pressure clearly got to everyone, including the Wrexham players. The our equaliser was a brilliant moment, and Kyle Cameron seems to be better in attack. Cadwyn Scott was unfortunate to face Ben Foster for the penalty, and any other keeper might have conceded. While I wished that we could have cut out some of the obvious aspects of our play, football is unpredictable. We've had an incredible season, and we should remember it for the positive aspects.

[menzinho]

Pfft… Don’t know what to say after that, just gutted and missing that penalty at the end, that hurt. I’m not going to criticise Scott for the miss, he had to courage to step up in an incredibly pressurised moment but it wasn’t to be.

Let’s not forget Wrexham are some team at this level, but that was the one game when we couldn’t afford any defensive mis-haps. I know we play a high line but the pace of the likes of Brindley and Baldwin is crucial to that, especially against the runs in behind and movement of Mullin (a great player who tarnish's his rep with the diving). I think we missed them today.

That was the automatic spot game in all honesty, it’ll be some monumental collapse if Wrexham don’t finish top now. This season can still end in promotion for us though. We’ve played in a massive game today, with a lot of pressure and eyes on it. There probably won’t be as much media coverage for the Play-off final. If we get there, maybe in a funny sort of way this game will have helped.

[AmericanPie]

From what I saw in the highlights, Notts County's defense looked disconnected and made very poor mistakes that led to all three goals for Wrexham. It didn't seem like Wrexham was a better team, they just handled the occasion better. The most disappointing thing from my perspective is that Notts County threw away a perfectly good lead due to mistakes that could have been avoided. Notts scored two good goals, but Wrexham made them work hard for those goals. Wrexham made the mistake of handling the ball near the end, but they didn't get punished for it. However, Notts County's poor defending only punished themselves.

[Dripsey3]

After watching the Wrexham goals again, Notts have to improve defensively. Those sort of defensive gaps would be fatal on a big pitch like Wembley. 

[Alex]

Probably it was one of the best game in none-league history. Unfortunately the result was one of the worst in Notts non-league league time. 

[DangerousSausage]

It was a bit like a cup game, Wrexham are just on a completely different level to the other teams in this league. Rodders and Langstaff struggled to get any time on the ball, and the home team had players with the nous to anticipate the little through-balls we play outside the box that otherwise result in chances.

We often live dangerously by faffing around at the back and this time we were made to pay. What was Bajrami thinking with the backheel for their second? But despite all that, the second half was pretty wild and the Welshmen were lucky we let them off the hook with the tame penalty. They're a quality side, but with a bit more cleverness on our part they'd have been beatable. 

[4everapie]

They only won because as per usual through poor defending, Bajrami isn't a defender. Ruben shouldn't have started he obviously still wasn't well. When we get promoted we'll need better defenders.

[liampie]

1 hour ago, 4everapie said:

They only won because as per usual through poor defending, Bajrami isn't a defender. Ruben shouldn't have started he obviously still wasn't well. When we get promoted we'll need better defenders.

its not just bajrami, the back 3 had no awareness together. cameron plays to far up, the wing back did not protect them enough. bajrami was bad, but so was rawlinson. i dont think those 3 work together, baldwin has more pace and is more switched one.

very disconnected at the back, but its things to learn from isn't it?

now is the time to work on those in order to improve in time for the playoffs.

[4everapie]

15 minutes ago, liampie said:

its not just bajrami, the back 3 had no awareness together. cameron plays to far up, the wing back did not protect them enough. bajrami was bad, but so was rawlinson. i dont think those 3 work together, baldwin has more pace and is more switched one.

very disconnected at the back, but its things to learn from isn't it?

now is the time to work on those in order to improve in time for the playoffs.

Indeed

[Dry Nelson Ray]

Whoa, Notts really gave us a run for our money with that opening goal. I had to do a double-take to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. But seriously, Notts put up a good fight in a tough game. It wasn’t easy for us, especially with the way you guys played. And if Bostock had smashed that net in the second half instead of the first? Game over, man. But hey, don’t get too down, County fans. You’ve still got a shot at promotion this season. Best of luck!