Match Discussion: Game 7 - The Dons (A)

[gtownjohnno]

Today is the day for Notts to take care of the ball!!!!... My old manager always used to say..... 'make the ball do all the work'.... 

[Chris]

I'm watching the game here at mine with @super_ram, our stream is buffering every 5 seconds. I hope it's not the same for everyone else, although I have tried everything to make the connection stable - Ethernet is connected, really should be fine. Now I see flashing numbers in various locations, as if someone is testing something.

It's a bit jarring but Notts seems to be doing okay.

MK Dons' attacking prowess is truly impressive as well. Just lacking in the final third. 0-0, so far.

[cheeky~k8]

Technical issues but its working. We need a goal.

[Chris]

Great goal by the Skipper, I don't mean Lewis. I mean KYLE CAMERON!!!

1-1

MK Dons are doing everything in their power to slow the game down, including violent conduct where for no reason - I believe it was Aden Baldwin who was grabbed. Just their way of trying to regroup but from what I saw and in the reply, he should have been sent off (or at least a yellow).

It looked like he hit out.

[Dripsey3]

The Pies deserved at least a draw. The response to going a goal down was fantastic. The Pies deserved all 3 points I reckon but we'll take a point against a decent side. 

[Fan of Big Tone]

My stream was excellent, I enjoyed the match and thought we should have won. Their goal was very sloppy defending, you don’t very often see attacking players given free rein to run at goal without any closing down or a challenge.

However on the positive side Notts reacted to the set back really well and they were putting crosses into the box and really pressurising the MK defence it was no surprise when we went level and what a goal from Cameron of all people.

Then we really could have won from the Langstaff header had the goalie not stuck a leg out, in fairness it was a brilliant save and Macca must have been gutted it didn’t go in, he did everything right.

[DonnyNotts]

I'd say it was a good point but I feel with all the possession we had we should have done better, guess I'm just getting greedy.

[liampie]

we gave them all the space and time in the world for their goal, they looked threatening but nothing special on goal. i wished connell rawlinson had gone with the player who scored as he left so much space open, its hard to just blame him as we needed someone else to take his place but we need to be more organised in this situation. defensively i thought notts were the better team. attacking wise too, but both teams midfields put in a good shift.

i felt frustrated by the amount of challenges the referee ignored.

there was times when even they had a clear free kick and playing on made no sense, it happened more to us but i felt it spoilt the game. as did mk dons time wasting antics. they wanted the game to be slower so they could reorganise and just took to clear wasting time. some of the fouls also, how they went unpunished i do not know. i thought notts were class in the second half, we certainly had them on the rope after we scored but we could not find a way through their defence.

i am very happy with the point, i do feel we could have won but mk dons are awful with wasting time.

[super_ram]

A very enjoyable but frustrating game.,once the technical problem was sorted.I thought Notts just edged the first half.The second half  was mostly Notts apart from some sloppy defending. Spot on  @Fan of Big Tone and @liampieGet the defending sorted and Pie fans won't be chewing their finger nails so much..Agree @Dripsey3,Notts deserved all 3 pts  and you're not being greedy  @DonnyNotts

[cheeky~k8]

Was a good match... Good timing on saying we need a goal, cameron scored a few mins later.

[menzinho]

The first half was a bit of a case of both teams not wanting to over-commit, I thought we looked comfortable without creating much. Macca has the one huge chance to put us one up, did Nemane need to cross it as hard as he did or 9 times out of 10 does Macca score that?

Not the start we wanted to the second half, we lost the ball with Nemane high up the pitch but someone usually fills in when the wing-backs bomb on. For me Rawlinson has to go and close the ball carrier down, tell Brinds to mark his man, then Cameron marks the spare man (Leko). Easy to fix in hindsight but surely the immediate danger was the man on the ball charging at the goal!? I can only assume he thinks Nemane's going to get back, even though he’s 10 yards behind him...

Hey-ho, it spurred us on anyway and we more than deserved a point, great strike from Cameron, that heavy first touch actually benefitted him there! We probably could’ve gone on and won it. I thought Adebayo-Rowling put in some great crosses just needed more runners to get on the end of them.

Can’t argue with another point away against a team who were in League 1 last season.

Edited September 9, 2023 by menzinho

[theMagpies]

MK Dons looked vulnerable in the second half, and Notts did plenty to win the game. They had a few chances that could have turned the tables on us, but overall, I don’t think anyone can complain about the draw without acknowledging that it was a fair result. I don’t think either team did enough to win despite Notts performing better overall in the 90 minutes. We should accept the draw and then hopefully go back to winning.

[CliftonMagpie]

I believe Notts performed well in the first half, but we struggled to capitalise on our play in the final third. MK Dons also had a strong first half and managed to trouble Aiden Stone on several occasions. Seeing the ball flash past Stone made my heart race, but I have faith in his abilities and he made some impressive saves. In the second half, Notts were exceptional and MK Dons were simply trying to hold on. I agree that the cynical challenges they made should have resulted in cards being issued. Their game quickly became about disrupting our play, and if Macaulay Langstaff had found the back of the net, it would have been even sweeter. However, a draw seems like a fair result to me.

[OoooooTommy]

It was a well-played match, with both sides having opportunities but failing to capitalise on all of them. The game seemed destined for a draw, and it was unfortunate that the team did not continue to test the opposition’s defence in the second half after scoring. While MK Dons did engage in some unfair gamesmanship, the team still had control but lacked clear chances.

[JIMBO]

Defensively, at least for their goal, we were very poor. Yes, Connell Rawlinson should have gone with the ball, but who was covering otherwise? Aaron Nemane can’t be blamed, although perhaps he should have gotten back into a defensive position more quickly. I thought MK Dons did well to close the space behind the ball; we almost invited it and tempted fate on more than one occasion. Don’t misquote me; I think we played well, but the talking point of this game must be improving our focus on defending plays.

[Joshua]

I am pleased that we demonstrated the determination to equalise. We played some good football, and I thought our build-up play was a thousand times better than MK Dons. Their goal left me feeling disappointed because we failed to close what was a direct route to the goal. It certainly feels like we handed them the goal, but I am pleased to secure the point. Ideally, we would have closed the space and protected Aidan Stone, meaning our goal would have won the game, but it is what it is.

MK Dons had no chance of saving that shot from Kyle Cameron.

On 06/09/2023 at 19:13, Chris said:

When defending, MK Dons will adopt a compact and organized strategy. This creates an opportunity for us to exploit the gaps in their defence through clever passes or powerful shots from outside the penalty area.

Teams like Doncaster had their better chances from distance, with Craig MacGillivray not looking particularly good from these types of strikes

I must say, @Chris called it spot on. Their keeper seems like a good shot-stopper but poor from a distance. Yes, Kyle’s effort was difficult to save, but we had a few chances which went wide that I felt they had no hope of saving had the ball been on target.

[Chris]

@Joshua: I do wish we had a few more tries but managed to hit the target, whilst he may save ones straight to him. Higher up, or into the corners of the goal, he would have struggled a lot more. He's not a keeper I would hope to see between our sticks, yes he can save close up shots and is fairly okay in the air. Distance is a weakness, I know some don't think Sam Slocombe is good with corners, but those are areas you should expect better from your defenders.

[lambleypie]

It was a decent match, especially if you weren’t rooting for either side. I reckon both sets of supporters will be left wondering why they didn’t clinch the victory. After the 66th minute, MK Dons seemed a bit timid. Kyle Cameron’s effort was a splendid finish. It was nice to see him have his moment in the spotlight. It ought to do wonders for his confidence.

[DangerousSausage]

We shouldn't be too unhappy with the draw really, I think that's one of the tougher trips we'll have. All the same, it's a bit of a shame we switched into game management mode after equalising when we seemed to have them on the ropes. Maybe I'm still spoilt from last season!

Langstaff was unlucky not to score, the first time he had a leg stuck out looking for contact, but it was a hard cross and spun over. But apart from those we struggled to bring him into the game as much as in previous weeks. In the first half in particular we seemed to miss McGoldrick and struggled to keep the ball in their third for any length of time. All the same, I think we just about shaded the first half and were certainly the better side in the second, but the hosts had their moments too. We can't really quibble.

Lovely finish from Cameron, a poor first touch took him into a perfect shooting position and you just knew it was heading in straight away.

It was an odd one to watch on the stream - the Notts fans were all tucked away in the top tier and fans were only sprinkled around elsewhere. It looked like we were playing in an empty stadium, there were shades of the Reynolds Arena in Darlington. To those of you who were there, do you think the Franchise really had 5300 there? As a Notts fan I know what a three-quarters empty stadium looks like, and it doesn't look like that.

[Nay123]

The draw was a good result in that temp. Rawlinson could not go with the forward because he knows he doesn't have any pace every team we play knows that notts defence down the right is very  poor 

[liampie]

@super_ram i think we have made heaps of improvements and further time will see it continue, but we need to be more focused on how teams attack. rather than just the way we do it ourselves. a lot of the mistakes have been here for awhile and wont improve until we acknowledge the positioning issues, threats from the air etc. its nothing major though, just more intense work.

[NCRichie]

The draw was satisfactory, with no cause for disappointment. Rather than dwelling on the goal they scored, I prefer to concentrate on our missed opportunities. It wasn’t our day, but we certainly made it challenging for MK Dons.

[TheSkipper]

Notts adopted a more effective strategy in the MK Dons match. Their goal was expertly executed, and they brought an element of threat to their game. It seemed to materialise out of the blue, as I felt Notts were gradually finding their footing in the game until then. In the second half, Notts executed some impressive moves, and their ball control made MK Dons hesitant to push forward. Despite numerous opportunities, nothing really materialised for us in terms of goals. Kyle Cameron's goal was truly exceptional. It effortlessly soared into the net, and the subsequent opportunities were promising, but their goalkeeper did well to prevent us from clinching the win.

[Blake]

The weather was uncomfortably warm, even when standing in the shade. Despite this, the stadium and game were enjoyable. I can see why both teams did not put their all into the match, as the heat was too much to handle. However, the second half of the game was undoubtedly more entertaining.

I was particularly impressed by the captain, Kyle Cameron, whose spectacular goal was a highlight of the match. It was a great moment of skill that drew cheers from the crowd. Overall, despite the oppressive heat, it was a memorable match that showcased some impressive football.

[NottsCountyKev]

The outcome seemed fair; a draw appeared to be the appropriate result. I believe either team could have emerged victorious, with Notts having slightly better opportunities on goal, but that’s just how it goes. There’s no room for complaints as we could have been defeated, and earning a point against MK Dons seems quite a strong performance for us.