Match Discussion: Game 8 - The Shrimps (A)

[Robbie]

Update.

Notts are not at their best so far. Morecambe's tactics are working perfect for them at the moment.

Morecambe 1 Notts 0

42 mins gone

[Robbie]

That first half was the worse from Notts this season. Plenty of work to do in the 2 nd half.

Definitely missing Jones & Jatta.

Notts need some pace so they can get behind the Morecambe lines.

Changes needed by Stuart.

 

I agree wholeheartedly.

 

[Robbie]

Back to it.

 

[Robbie]

Update.

No changes at half time by Stuart.

 

[Robbie]

Update

 

[Robbie]

Update 

Substitutions for Notts.

Should have been done at half time.

 

[Robbie]

Update 

 

[Robbie]

Update 

Substitutions for Notts.

 

[Robbie]

GOOOOOAAAAAL PLATT

 

[Robbie]

Update 

 

Update 

 

[Robbie]

Full time 

Morecambe 1 Notts 1

I will take that. Morecambe a very physical side that played to their strengths.

Notts couldn't cope with it at times, but the substitutions for Notts made a difference.

Notts played poorly, but got the result.

 

[Robbie]

Good summing up here

 

[Morten Johansen]

Very open game of football. Could have gone either way. Morecambe will stay up, they´ve got some good players.

I would like to see more from Grant, he´s been very anonymous lately. Our defence got a really big challenge facing towering striker (6 ft 7) Marcus Dackers, on loan from Salford. Platt was a beast today, also managed to score a goal. MOTM.

[Robbie]

The Platt goal that earned Notts a point.

 

[Robbie]

Up to date League 2 table.

[Dripsey3]

We were lucky to escape with a point. The first half was poor. The second half was a bit better. Jodi and Jatta are massive losses. The pleasing part is that the team didn't let their heads drop. That's a good sign. 

[menzinho]

By the sounds of it Morecambe came with plan to press and disrupt us all game and it worked. Playing direct to McGoldrick isn't his game, that's why Jatta is vital in helping combat teams that do press. He's got both the physicality to compete and a bit of pace to stretch defences too.

We are struggling with injures and that showed in the team, last season I moaned because we didn't play any defenders today we played all the midfielders! All a bit too samey in terms of McGoldrick, Crowley, Grant, Palmer all like to be on the ball and pass it, a lot! We needed the likes of Jatta, Jones and Edwards who naturally make more runs.

I'd like to know if playing inverted wingbacks is helping or hampering. I totally get why Jodi plays on the right, he did it his whole career before joining us and his skill level allows him to. I think it makes it harder for the players not as naturally blessed. Tsaroulla has spent his whole career on the left and likewise LWB is an unfamiliar role for Austin.

But credit to the team, for getting the equaliser and keeping at 1-0 gave us that chance. Still need a touch more concentration when it comes to set-pieces, which brings me nicely to the topic we seemed to just totally avoid in the post match interview their "ghost goal". The Morecambe manager claims some of our players agreed it did go over the line. And if it didn't go over the line would their player really have got so wound up to the state he got himself sent off...

I'll take that draw!

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Well we're just a mere 8 games into the New Season and it appears some Notts Fans are sharpening their knives for Stuart Maynard already. I came across a post in HYS, we have a Squad capable of Promotion, but a Manager who'll get us Relegated.

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man

Notts have just one defeat in 10 matches. That's promotion form as far as I'm concerned.

Ignore the naysayers. Stuart's doing fine. He got the substitutions bang on today. They changed the game 

[Chris]

I don't think it's fair to discredit how Morecambe played; they started brightly and really worked well as a team to get that early goal. There were shouts of offside and handball where I sat, but I couldn't make it out.

The way they played a high game and literally made everything we tried to do early on much harder. It made us start the way we did, which wasn't good at all. I think early on, we needed to switch things but again, Morecambe had a gameplay, and they stuck to it. It made us work much harder, in a very ineffective way.

We played far too wide, which meant it forced Notts into passing the ball around and Morecambe did this, so that they could put all their energy in making it difficult to make space to attack. I wasn't so much that we missed Jatta or Jodi Jones; it was a lack of adapting to Morecambe's game plan.

I am not sure if we should have played three at the back, as this narrowed our chances of building at the back.

Whilst I thought David McGoldrick was superb, he was isolated up top and although Notts tried to combat this with kicking the ball up to him. It came at the cost of being able to move in and behind Morecambe, tactically they wanted to keep the ball in front of them where our attacking players would be forced to overthink things.

Conor Grant got a lot of stick, especially early on but again, Morecambe made everything much harder.

We were missing speed, direct runs, and players creating space while utilising the channels. We would move forward, pass back, pass to a defender, then they would either pass to another defender or try to hit the ball up field. The idea wasn't bad to try to keep on the ground, but when it hit the air, it played into their hands.

McGoldrick did wonders with trying to hold up the ball, but with how we were set up, and the formation meant that the midfield had to do a lot of unnecessary running. When the running became useful to making a good attack, due to the high amount of running it meant we made poor passes, ended up running into danger or just over ran until it was easy to pick the ball up.

I thought defensively, we improved, but the passing didn't. The performance wasn't good in the first half, but credit must go to Morecambe who had a team game focus and wanted to make things more complicated.

In the first half, I would like to have seen us try to push up and switch to four at the back. Make the wing backs retain their wide positions but get the defence to push up in support and encourage the midfield to make runs/movement in the centre of the park. The second half, I felt changes needed to be made in order for Notts to adapt to how Morecambe played.

The changes Stuart Maynard made did help to influence the game; I do feel they were made later than I think they should have done. Jevani Brown infused the much-needed speed into our game. I think he should have started. I thought it was a shame Kellan Gordon didn't start, unsure why he didn't, but I thought he would have helped. Morecambe early tactics would see them start to lose ground, which they did and some of their players looked to be struggling fitness wise.

The final 20–25 minutes could have seen Notts win, before we had an excellent one-on-one where Morecambe did well. I don't think the finish was the best and Morecambe still continued to cause us trouble at times, the disallowed goal was a bit of nightmare for the first minute or so, it did look like they may have scored a second.

It wasn't a good performance, but it's a point I feel we should respect. The officials were disappointing, but tactically we could have changed to bring us more involved much earlier on.

I thought Morecambe's defence looked quite weak, by the time they realised we had grown into the game they did start to put players behind the ball more/park the bus. Also, their antics with time-wasting, the officials should have clamped down on. It was a difficult game, Jatta would have had the same issue McGoldrick had. If we had Jodi Jones, he might have been able to shake things up, but the biggest issue in my eyes is the lack of space we created when in passing phases.

Instead of working as a team to move forward, Notts allowed Morecambe to make it more difficult to play. A point is a fair result, it does feel like we should have got all three points, but then we left it late.

[Piethagoram]

 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Looking at the Highlights, Notts got away with that one. From what I saw at the angle their second goal should have been allowed the Ball had crossed the Line, but then again Sam Austin's goal against Gillingham should have been allowed last week. It's a Funny Old Game.

[NottsGeezerCal]

A point was good result all things considered yesterday. 

Alot of players had an off day/didn't click. Is that down to a lot of our play being through JJ? Maybe. 

Thought George Abbott ran his socks off and fought well for the cause, for me he was Notts MOTM.

Thought we got hold of midfielder once Enforcer Scott Robertson came on. 

Josh Martin looks a coup from that first appearance, I'm sure he'll grow into this Notts team in the coming weeks. 

Jevani Brown is slowly starting to look like a different option off the bench he does have some nice link up play, once he scores once I think we'll see a different player there - clearly a confidence player who's lost alot of confidence.

I was frustrated by the reluctancy to shoot when opportunities presented themselves. At times it was like we was trying to walk it in, have a pop and if it doesn't go in a tap in may present itself. 

Mcgoldrick needs someone next to him felt he was very isolated. 

Austin once he went on the right was a game changer too.

The ref was equally as bad for both teams, think they could've been down to 10 in the first half on Tsaroulla. The lack of a booking for Tutonda. Constant time wasting. Did the ball cross the line for them? Honestly I don't know and quite frankly don't care at this stage.

 

It's a marathon not a sprint, it's where we are come May that counts. 

[Robbie]

Another view of the Notts equaliser.

 

[CliftonMagpie]

We knew it would be a tough game. Their first goal looked difficult, and nobody is really at fault. It was a fluke, but I’m not sure if he handled the ball or not leading to the goal. It doesn’t really matter. A point is what both teams deserved, and officials at our level will always be questionable.

I think the draw showed we can avoid defeat. As for fans moaning, Maynard made some good decisions, and he’s trying to balance the squad ahead of Tuesday’s fixture. I’m happy to take a point here, regardless of whether we should have won or lost.