A great win on the road for Notts at such a a tough place to go & get a result. Credit has to go to the players for the 2nd half display.

A touch of class from Jatta helping to st up Notts's winning goal was just the reason why Notts have missed him for 5 games.

For your PON Man of the Match I have selected the starting 11 plus three substitutes for you to make your choice.

Those players are,

Starting eleven.

Roos, McDonald, Bedeau, Aljofree, Cotter, Norburn Palmer, Tsaroulla, Iorpenda, Jones, Dennis.

Subs.

Jatta, Grant, Gordon.

I think it's time to give a lot more credit to Rod McDonald. I chose him again. His reading of the game was excellent, he got himself in the right spots to intercept or clear time after time.

He was so far behind Platt and Bedeau last season, so who would've thought he'd be in the early running for Player of the Year.

Also a word for Kellan Gordon. I hope his winner today gives him the confidence to contribute more. I'd say he's a much better all-round wing-back than Cotter, who's more of a full-back.

Judging from the comments by Mark Stallard on the radio, I’ve gone for Matt Palmer.

Rod McDonald for his solidity at the back. Countered the aerial threat of a "long ball" Tranmere side

Palmer back to his best but it has to go to McDonald

I voted for Palmer, but having watched back the full match replay, it could easily have been McDonald.

I think we can safely say that McDonald's last 4 or 5 games were much better than Platt's form at the start of the season. That takes some getting your head around because of last season. Centre is definitely his best position. Last season we saw him most often in his worst of the 3 positions across the line.

I’ve gone for Matt Palmer. He was in control from start to finish and kept things ticking nicely. His passing helped set the pace and got us moving forward with purpose.

He also worked hard off the ball. I noticed him winning it back plenty of times and doing his bit defensively. He looked sharp in both directions. I watched the full match back on video, so my vote’s based on that. I wasn’t there in person, but Palmer stood out clearly.

I heard a few people shouting for Matt Palmer to be subbed during the first half and even into the second. One fan said Jodi Jones was the best player and Palmer should be the one to go off. I don’t know if that fan was just being awkward or saw something different, but I thought Palmer was brilliant.

He played really well and stayed steady all game. Tranmere tried to push our players around, but Palmer didn’t back down. He gave a bit back to their fans too, which made me smile. That’s what you want from your captain.

rod mcdonald for me, he was very good at the back and played some nice balls out from defence which could have paid off better, but he looks like he has always been playing in his role. when he looks like he has never missed a game, it shows how matty platt needs to improve. both are great defenders at our level but mcdonald is taking his minutes right now.

thats great to see!

I voted Gordon for scoring the winning goal, really didn't expect to get anything there. COYP

Good thread - McDonald and Palmer were the two stand-out performers. It's a far cry from last season when neither were anywhere near the pace for player of the year. Different story this year though, both are doing great. Hopefully others can get up to their level soon - Tsaroulla, Jones, Bedeau Jatta etc. Dennis of course is already there

Notts were on top until Tranmere scored, and the left side looked strong. I did think we should’ve used Barry Cotter more, though. He looked sharp when he got the ball and had a few good chances. I gave my vote to Matt Palmer, but I was close to picking Rod McDonald instead.

4 minutes ago, theAnticlough said:

Hopefully others can get up to their level soon - Tsaroulla, Jones, Bedeau Jatta etc. Dennis of course is already there

Nick Tsaroulla had a solid first half and looked better than Jacob Bedeau. Tom Iorpenda carried the ball well but gave it away too often with soft passes. He linked up nicely with Tsaroulla, but I think Tranmere’s height and rough play made it harder for him. Still, I thought he had a decent game.

Sonny Aljofree deserves some credit. I thought he was brilliant and handled himself well under pressure. Rod McDonald was superb. He dealt with the danger calmly and made some key blocks when things got messy.

In all the panic and chaos, those two really stood out. They gave the team some much-needed stability.

10 minutes ago, NottsTastic said:

Sonny Aljofree deserves some credit. I thought he was brilliant and handled himself well under pressure.

Yeah, he's followed games in which he messed up with a strong performance twice now - and that shows resilience. Same with Iorpenda, after his mistake on Saturday the next thing he did was cross for the equaliser.

From the post-match, MP understands very well that young players will make mistakes while they're learning their trade in the men's game. The good thing about our young loanees so far is the bouncebackability. Great sign for them and for us.

I was impressed with Palmer, who seems to have got his mojo back, Dennis who has become a revelation leading the Notts line. Jatta, Gordon & Grant made a difference when they came on, McDonald did well in defence. I thought McDonald, Palmer & Dennis were the standouts. But my M of the M is McDonald on this occasion. Notts were under pressure during the last 20 minutes but the defence stayed strong with McDonald featuring.

Tranmere did a lot of pushing, and most of it went unnoticed by the officials. That’s why I’m even more pleased with the win. Teams like that try to wind players up and break their focus, but we didn’t let it happen.

I thought Jodi Jones had a poor game, especially for someone of his usual standard. He could’ve come off at half-time and it wouldn’t have been a surprise. Everyone else did their job well, but the three who really stood out were Matthew Dennis, Matt Palmer and Rod McDonald.

If you watch the extended highlights, you can see how well Matt Palmer moved the ball and kept calm under pressure. He didn’t let Tranmere rattle him, and that’s why I think he deserved Man of the Match. During the game, I thought Matt handled himself really well. He stayed focused and kept things ticking over in midfield.

There were two rough tackles on him, and one of them looked quite nasty. I was worried he might be hurt, but thankfully he got straight back up and carried on playing.

I voted for Rod McDonald. He’s played well in the last two games and has looked solid since stepping in for Matty Platt. He’s fitted into the back three without fuss and has helped steady things at the back.

At Tranmere, I thought he was excellent. He defended with confidence and looked like the most experienced player in that part of the pitch. He led by example and didn’t shy away from the challenge.

Matt Palmer for me. We know on the ball how tidy he is and he had that about him but what really stood out was how he got to the ball first more often than not, he was winning tackles and shrugging players off when on the ball. It was a really great performance from him.

It’s great to have choices again. More than three players caught my eye, but two really stood out and deserved to be in the mix for this. I went with Matt Palmer in the end. He’s been excellent lately, and it’s good to see him keep improving and pushing on with his game.

Matthew Dennis had another strong game. He’s been one of the standout players over the last few matches, and I think he kept that going against Tranmere Rovers. Even though his one-on-one chance was saved, he still got us back on level terms early in the second half. For me, that kind of impact makes him a clear pick for Man of the Match.

Re-watching the full game, I don't think Jodi Jones was terrible. I left thinking he was quite poor, but in hindsight I think that's because he was doing all the stuff we take for granted. He tried to get us into position where we could create chances, though I wouldn't put him in the running for this. I was also a bit critical of Rod McDonald and Jacob Bedeau for being out of position during Tranmere Rovers breaks in the first half.

I believe Rod McDonald edges out Matt Palmer. Those two were brilliant.

I was also encouraged by Matthew Dennis and Alassana Jatta, as they looked like a flourishing partnership.

I cast my vote for Matt Palmer. I thought he did everything we wanted and put in a very spirited performance. From start to finish, he didn't just pass the ball or look for the easiest pass, he looked for where there was space and pushed us forward at every chance.

Thank you to all 67 members who took the time to vote!

Runner-up, Rod McDonald, earned 15 of them, but the winner had an impressive 36 votes! Congratulations to Matt Palmer! He has earned the Pride of Nottingham Man of the Match award for his performance against Tranmere Rovers this past Saturday.

Well done to Matt Palmer. It’s great to see fans voting for different players, and I think the winner was spot on. He’s earned it.