The first match of the season that was eagerly awaited ends in a 1:1 draw.

Now it's time to choose your Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match. I've chosen the starting 11 plus Oliver Norburn.

The starting 11 were,

Roos, Bedeau, Platt, Aljofree, Palmer, Iorpenda, Gordon, Cotter, Grant, Jones, Dennis

I went Bedeau - as good as he was for the whole of last season

Dennis and Platt were his competition and some subs played to a good level

An encouraging performance by Notts today. With more luck they could easily have won that match.

My shortlist for man of the match are Platt, Cotter, Dennis, Norburn & Jones.

I think all five were above the rest although I think it was an encouraging team performance.

My pick of the five has to be Dennis who work very well up front for me & got the penalty awarded. So he gets this week's gong from me.

I’m going for Matt Palmer his contribution is too often overlooked but he was excellent today.

For me Matt Palmer gave a very good performance and never stopped. He made himself available all the time, his distribution was positive and work ethics second to none.

Jacob Beddau impressed also with his attitude, running and willingness to retrieve the ball all over the pitch.

Good point for the Pies.

I would say on the whole most of the team played well, but no-one really had a "wow" performance. I agree about Palmer, he was very tidy on the ball and dominated the midfield, especially with Iorpenda beside him first half. So Iorpenda is my MotM, I thought he did really well, a little less effective when he was pushed into the No10 role but prior he was making good runs, getting on the ball, dribbling forward and was probably a touch unlucky not to score.

There were elements in the first half which stood out for me, and I think that performance was some of the best attacking football I have seen. Some might say, "It's only Newport," along with how poor they are, but they stepped their act up in the second half. They executed a well-taken goal and further caused us to start making mistakes. Nerves really did creep their way in as we attacked the other end.

Jacob Bedeau, Matt Palmer, and Matthew Dennis stood out for their effort.

My vote went to Jodi Jones because I thought he urged us on from the moment the ball was first kicked. His powerful low shots and relentless movement created significant problems for Newport. I believe he performed admirably alongside Conor Grant and Barry Cotter. I wasn't that sure about Kellan Gordon, but I thought he did okay.

My vote is based on memory; if I watched the full game again (and sooner), I think I might have voted differently.

I went for Iorpenda as for a young guy coming in I thought he gave energy to the team and set a good tempo.

I think our press will improve having that sort of dynamic player who will likely win the ball high up and set us up for quick attacks.

Iorpenda for his first half performance alone

Matt Palmer looked like he had springs in his boots. He was quick across the pitch and showed real determination throughout the game. It felt like he was trying to prove he’s got what it takes to be captain, and he backed it up with a strong performance.

I’m leaning towards Matt Palmer for Man of the Match. He was steady all game and gave a strong performance from start to finish. I only noticed one pass go astray, but apart from that he kept things ticking and helped drive us forward as we chased the equaliser.

I’ve gone for Jacob Bedeau. I thought he looked right back to his best against Newport. It was great to see him carrying the ball forward with confidence, and he was really solid at the back too.

The one who stood out most for me was Cotter, but don’t think anybody had a poor game. Couple of more games and think we will be up to full speed as players get to learn each others strengths etc

matt palmer is where my vote went, it was nice to see him covering so much of the pitch and i thought his corners were a lot better. its just a shame we are a bit static at attacking arial balls but i think jatta would have made the most of them.

I thought Matt Palmer played really well and looked back to his best.

His movement from defence into attack often goes unnoticed, especially after the injury he had last season. I thought he covered a lot of ground, played more directly, and made some excellent forward passes.

2 hours ago, Sir Magpie said:

I thought Matt Palmer played really well and looked back to his best.

His movement from defence into attack often goes unnoticed, especially after the injury he had last season. I thought he covered a lot of ground, played more directly, and made some excellent forward passes.

Yeah, noticeably better than his typical game last season. Let's hope it sets the tone and he maintains this more positive way of playing. Last season was about him recovering from major injury, but also about the toothless style SM created. Paterson's a different kettle of fish and the team will play with more purpose.

I didn’t go to the match, but I watched it on TV. I thought Jacob Bedeau was brilliant for us. He stood out and made a real difference in the team. He was a big asset and looked confident throughout. I think he had a very good game.

It’s a pity we didn’t get all three points, but the squad gave it everything. I agree there are a few strong choices for Man of the Match.

The Poll has now closed. Thanks to all the 53 PON members that voted.This week we had four popular choices vying for the number one position, Matt Palmer, Jodi Jones, Jacob Bedeau & Tom Iorpenda.

I'm pleased to announce that Matt Palmer came out on top with 21 votes , so he is the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against Newport. Well done Matt!

Fair play to everyone who voted. It’s always interesting to see how the poll shapes up and to read the different opinions people share. I’m really pleased for Matt Palmer. In my view, he deserves this, and clearly most voters agree.

I hope he can keep playing at this level. It’ll only help show how important he is to the team.