Match Discussion: Game 29 - The Blues (H)

[menzinho]

That was a really poor and strange performance from us, from the off we just looked so off the pace and nothing really changed through-out the entirety of the match. Even our goal kind of came out of nothing, it wasn’t like we were putting Carlisle under any real pressure, if anything they were the better team for the first 20 minutes. The goal did give us a bit of lift and we did start to take the ball off them high up a few times but we still got caught out too easily. Platt had no answer to Hugill’s pace, he probably should’ve been able to do more with the freedom he got a times.

Second half was just really flat, we continued to be off the pace and just ponderous and directionless on the ball. We just struggled to move the ball forward, apart from a couple of fleeting moments, it was disjointed and far too slow. I thought our wingbacks were far too deep, JJ did more defending than attacking, McGoldrick for all his effort was poor on the ball, Grant was pretty ineffective and too anonymous Abbott even though playing behind him did more to cause them problems. No-one was able to/wanted to get on the ball and drive us forward. It screamed of a team missing Crowley.

By the 70 minutes we were crying out for subs and fresh legs, but they somehow made us worse. Playing 5-4-1 (although it felt like 5-4-0) and hanging on against a team second bottom doesn’t fill you with confidence that we are League 1 bound. It was just so far off the high standards we’ve set, can only hope that was a one-off and we perform much better at the weekend.

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

 

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

This wasn't the best performance by Notts but they got the job done.

Notts have played brilliantly in games and have either lost or drawn those game.

Let's look at the positives. Three points gained & another clean sheet making eleven clean sheets for the season.

It was pure quality too that won the game for Notts with a magnificent cross from Abbott finding the head of Jatta, who absolutely buried it in the corner of the net.

Notts are definitely missing the influence of Palmer & Ness at the back in my opinion. Jodi is not yet up to full speed, & I also think we are missing a playmaker/creator in midfield.

That being said, there is still time to get three more players in that could make a difference. Notts just need to ensure they keep hold of Jatta too.

Hoping for positive news on the transfer in front by the end of the week, however it's great to get the win and find ourselves in 2nd place in league 2. CMON U PIES.

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

Highlights of the match tonight.

Notts County 1-0 Carlisle | Football News | Sky Sports

WWW.SKYSPORTS.COM

---

Alassana Jattas first-half header was enough to give League Two promotion...

 

[Fan of Big Tone 𝕏 @mainstandpie]

9 hours ago, Robbie said:

Let's look at the positives. Three points gained & another clean sheet making eleven clean sheets for the season.

Indeed, it wasn’t our best game but as you say @Robbie there are positives to take from the game, the players battled their way to three points and a clean sheet, we now sit second in the league, let’s put it down to a bad day at the office and move on, we can and will play better. I’d rather play poorly and win than have a great game and lose or draw. Points are all that matter at this stage of the season.

[liampie]

i am just happy we dug deep enough to seal the win and keep a clean sheet, what @menzinho has wrote is a very fair reflection and i know fans want to see the team consistently play well but football is not always pretty. carlisle did not really cause us any trouble, it was similar to the game at their ground but that is down to how they play as a team. i would be more disappointed as one of their fans because of how notts did not play to their usual game or ability.

its points gained for us, it helps morale and is a boost for chasing promotion. its a massive missed opportunity for them, so take the pluses.

[menzinho]

I am happy about the result, I realise I did focus a lot on the negatives (but there was more bad than good in my eyes!)

We are a lot more organised and defensively sound and I get this isn’t to be scoffed at, but my frustration came from when we won the ball, we struggled to get at Carlisle and in the second half at times there was a ton of space for us to potentially exploit. That game, for me, didn’t need to become so edgy during the last 15 minutes.

We did restrict Carlisle but their style of play was like a poor version of ours, they were comfortable on the ball but when they got into the final third they didn’t have a lot of creativity or incision and McDonald, Platt, Bedeau and then Johnson did defend our box very well. Luckily we have the quality and that ultimately won us the game.

[Dripsey3]

Not the best performance but 3 points in the bag. We are in a good place right now. We need to hold onto AJ.