I will give credit where credit is due. It was a great team performance against Barnsley. The performance demonstrated that the squad as a whole is improving under the guidance of Head Coach Martin Paterson.

Martin Paterson is going to have a selection headache but I believe that is a good thing.

The positives from last night were some very good performances from players who haven't had a regular spot in the starting eleven, & from players who haven't featured at all.

Will Jarvis came on in the 2nd half & basically changed the game in Notts favour with the help of Nick Tsaroulla.

Jaden Luker & Tyrese Hall were also a revelation last night & both demonstrated that they are both worth an opportunity in the starting eleven, so did Keanan Bennetts.

Harry Griffiths played between the sticks and didn't do anything wrong, & was only beaten by great finishing from the Barnsley striker.

Lucas Ness played a full game in defence & slotted in next to Macari & Bedeau & all three played well as a unit which gives Martin more options.

Academy player Harrison Iwunze came on for Jatta & looked very lively & was very unfortunate to have a goal disallowed.

Martin Paterson was looking for commitment, hard work, & an ability to take an opportunity when given & all of those players looking to impress did so. No wonder Paterson was pleased at his post match presser.

I’ve got to agree with everything you said there @Robbie the fringe players all gave a strong performance and this is great news for Notts, it shows what a strong squad we have with genuine competition for places in the starting 11.

The players just need to keep up the performances consistently, it’ll be interesting to see Martin’s team selection for Saturday.

Ness was impressive. Calm and solid at the back.

Bennets looked excellent, no idea why he vanished. Jarvis doing what he usually does - played well. Jaden Luker also looking very good.

Should see all of these on the bench at a minimum Saturday and pushing to start.

Whilst our starting 11 compared to last season isn’t quite as good, I’d argue overall we’ve got a lot more depth to the squad this season.

I do think we’ve got to try and find a way to get the best out of Jarvis, he’s possibly one of the most naturally gifted players we’ve had in a long time. He’s definitely not a wing-back though, can he work as one of the two attacking midfielder’s if he’s given a bit of freedom to drift out wide?

It is a very good win, no doubt a much stronger squad on paper lost the game and football is never all that predictable. Some interesting points, Murphy Cooper is their usual starting keeper and not Kieren Flavell who is their third choice keeper.

Only three regular starting XI made a start, in Caylan Vickers, Davis Keillor-Dunn and Jonathan Bland.

Murphy Cooper is absent. Tennal Watson, Jack Shepard, Josh Earl, Nathanael Ogbeta, Luca Connell, Adam Phillips, and David McGoldrick. It suggests to me, they were saving legs for league matches.

Jacob Bedeau, Ollie Norburn, Tom Iorpenda and Alassana Jatta are our regulars, with Lewis Macari recently coming into the fold, and I suppose Norburn could be classed as regular although since Scott Robertson's return, but he has been consistently in the team.

It's good to see Maz Kouhyar, Lucas Ness and Keanan Bennetts coming in and doing a solid job

Jayden Luker and Tyrese Hall, looked very comfortable alongside each other, which for youngsters to play that well against a good League One team even if they are weakened says a lot. It was a very good win, in a competition with little importance, but it is a useful tie to try to motivate players for the league. I hope the better performers retain their place in our XI vs. Oldham. Like Tyrese Hall.

On 01/10/2025 at 11:38, Super_Danny_Allsopp said:

Bennets looked excellent, no idea why he vanished.

Inconsistent and poor defensively, he has had fewer opportunities since other players have performed better.

Notts have shown they can play well. It's about keeping control during matches and making sure the performance is strong enough across the full ninety minutes. The win itself isn't hugely important, but it was a good showing. Like me, fans will want to see that kind of effort more often in league games.

When I say the win doesn't mean much, I don't mean it wasn't good. It does matter, just not in terms of points. It's more about the hope that Notts can rise to this level more often in League Two.