@TheSkipper Fraser Hornby ...sign him up, absolutely superb

Be under no illusions, Notts could and maybe should have lost 6-1. The gulf in class in the first half was embarassing

16 minutes ago, Piethagoram said:

Be under no illusions, Notts could and maybe should have lost 6-1. The gulf in class in the first half was embarassing

trialists and not the full xi, i get what you are saying but without our strongest squad its hard to see anything negative. i know you are not, but my point is that we looked stronger with some of the changes. i hope it does give us more to think about, as it sounds like we should have been more alert in the first half. their second goal looks questionable for offside.

As others have said the result isn’t important, although MP was disappointed we lost he’s realistic that the German team were a higher level plus I think someone said they were two weeks ahead of us in pre season training in which case 2-1 is a good result.

Great turnout from Notts! Very surreal but cool to see so much black and white in my adopted home.

Make no mistake, Darmstadt absolutely murdered us to death in the first half. They just played through us. They looked like a proper team who were ready for the season, we looked like a pub team. They looked like scoring every time they came forward, which was often, and we couldn't handle Hornby at all. But then of course the team we fielded in the first half was essentially a second eleven with some trialists thrown in, plus we're earlier in our pre-season preparations than Darmstadt so they'll naturally look sharper.

We were a lot more competitive in the second half, limited the home side to a couple of chances and had one or two ourselves. Reynolds had some good moments.

@True Magpie, I think Matt Hall was the goalkeeper in the first half. I don't think either goalkeeper embarrassed himself, but we need an experienced man between the sticks.

Overall, a great evening out and a useful workout for the team, but there's clearly some way still to go before we're really ready.

By the way, Darmstadt have one of Germany's most cheesy stadium hymns...

Page one of three turned on our German adventure. Looked like a good workout for us and I'm sure Martin will take alot from this performance, especially the interchange of personel and differences made. Time to move on and look forward to the next outing. COYP.

And a view from the Notts block...

I am not trying to single out Mai Traore, I just wondered how he did? There were some good glimpses, I felt, from him against Alfreton, but I don't think the issue is English football. I'm wondering if it's nerves and confidence; I know it's easy to say "he's a professional footballer," but if he remains unsettled and not himself, it will naturally reflect on his football. If he looked the same as previously against a German team, then I would be inclined to think he will need longer to find his place on our team. I have nothing against him; I just feel he's not always the best option to be played, but at times I can acknowledge that for him to improve, he does need that support.

I have seen glimpses of highlights; I think it did take Notts time to settle in and grow in confidence. Darmstadt 98 presents itself as a highly organised and cohesive team. I think when you play good teams, you learn far more in football if you can put those pieces of adjustment needed to further improve your own play.

Defensively, we looked to have struggled, but this might not be fair given what I have seen. Not just the back three, but the midfield failing to pick up the danger as it grew.

Nothing but knowledge and lessons to be learned from it, I am sure it has provided valuable insights.

👍🏻 Notts County head coach Martin Paterson has his say on the game against Darmstadt 98. Be sure to leave your own thoughts and check out this article.

I thought they’d be loads better than us, since they’re like a Championship team compared to us. But only letting in 2 goals isn’t that bad, and that’s something to feel good about. If we want to play in a tougher league one day, games like this can help the players learn and get braver. It’s nice that Martin Paterson really wants to help the squad get stronger.

Testing stuff in friendlies doesn’t make us lose any points. So it’s alright to try new ideas. It’s also good that Paterson switched things up. It helps him learn more about the team and how they play.

Pre-season is all about helping players get fit again, letting new ones settle in, and letting things go a bit wild so they’re ready to deal with proper matches later. Playing against teams like us helps the lads know what to expect when the real games start. I’m really starting to like Martin Paterson. He seems sharp, says all the right things, and you can tell he wants Notts to go for it, no matter who we’re up against or how big the gap is. That attitude’s what we need.

The score might make us look better than we were, but it’s only a friendly so that’s alright. We must’ve shown a bit of fight out there, which is good to see. With the goal we scored, and Paterson saying the squad was getting tired, it’s nice to know we can still put a tidy move together like we did. Conor Grant’s rebound tap-in was a lovely moment. Shows we can play some proper football, even when the legs are going.

1 hour ago, Ash said:

But only letting in 2 goals isn’t that bad, and that’s something to feel good about

We were incredibly fortunate to only let in two goals in the first half, we got an absolute hiding. Five would have been a more accurate reflection. We were leaving gaps all over the place which they were running into, they had the freedom of the flanks and we couldn't handle their forwards. We were in a blind panic for the first half an hour or so.

That's not meant as a criticism, it's just how it was. We had an experimental lineup in the first half while they played most of their first team, so it was always going to be a struggle. And let's not forget that several of their players were playing Bayern and co in the Bundesliga a little more than a year ago, so there was a gulf in class too.

We stabilised a bit in the second half (especially after Platt, Bedeau and the rest came on), we closed the gaps and made them work harder for their chances so there's that.

3 hours ago, Chris said:

I am not trying to single out Mai Traore, I just wondered how he did?

It's not really fair to judge the forwards based on that as they saw so little of the ball, I don't think we had a shoton oroff target in the first half. He did have a very heavy touch a couple of times early on and generally struggled to hold up the ball, but he wasn't the only one.

9 hours ago, Piethagoram said:

This one contains an interview with Florian Kohfeldt, Darmstadt's manager. He said it was the first proper match they'd had in terms of intensity and tackling, which is a good thing (except Hinchey's tackle early on, which he felt was OTT). And he said Notts are about the level of a third division team in Germany, so a good test.