Notts County - 2
Wootton 79', 87'
Torquay Utd - 0
Notts Line Up (4-4-2)
Sam Slocombe
Dion Kelly-Evans
Alex Lacey
Connell Rawlinson
Calvin Miller (YC)
Jake Reeves (YC)
Michael Doyle (C)
Jim O'Brien (Ruben Rodrigues 68')
Enzio Boldewijn
Kyle Wootton
Inih Effiong (Jimmy Knowles 68')
Substitutes not used:
Matty Wolfe
Elisha Sam
Adam Chicksen
It was definitely a case of the late late show on Wednesday night with a Kyle Wootton brace in the closing stages of an otherwise frustrating night enough to earn the Magpies a much needed 3 points.
The visitors failed to capitalise on a couple of good early chances and despite their bright start it didn't take long for them to settle into a very defensive 5-4-1 formation.
Despite another solid defensive display Notts attacking threat was essentially non-existant and it was 62 minutes before they had their first sight of goal.
The inclusion of Knowles and Rodrigues on 68 minutes coupled with the loss of a couple of key players for Solihull seemed to conspire to provide Notts with a spark that had been depressingly missing for a large part of the game.
As the Solihull players began to tire from their "park the bus" tactics Notts took advantage and two bits of magic, firstly from Enzio Boldewijn and then from Ruben Rodrigues following great work from Jimmy Knowles provided Kyle Wootton with the easiest of chances that will hopefully go a long way to getting him back on the goalscoring wagon.
Key match stats:
Progress updated and the 3 points sees Notts back in the play off places and in a similar position as last season after the same number of games.
Results tracker updated. This was Notts' 10th home game so far and looking at the away form probably just as well.
Points needed and the 3 points raises the PPG to 1.680 which would see a return of just over 74 points for 44 games and would potentially be enough for a top 3 finish based on previous seasons.
League segment chart updated. Grey bar shows total points available for that segment. Green bar shows total points gained and yellow bar the PPG for that segment.
Points by time segment. How many points would have been accummulated if games had finished at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 minutes.
From the above chart you can clearly see that Notts are generally on top in games during the middle segment but appear to be vulnerable between 60 and 75 minutes. Additionally there is a clear difference in points gained between home and away matches.
Onto player stats now and remember you can use the search function to see individual players or click on a column heading to sort highest to lowest etc.
Jake Reeves is the first player to pass the 1500 minute mark this season.
Goal contribution table updated.
Goal participation by minute detailing player goal contribution efficiency.
Kyle Wootons goals added to the scatter chart. Essentially it looks like Notts think they have to walk the ball into the net this season with 22 of the 26 goals scored so far converted from inside the penalty area and 6 of those in the 6 yard box.
I'm waiting for the xG data to come in for the Solihull game so will include this in the Weymouth preview and will post on social media.
Neal Ardley's record updated and the win sees a slight increase in his overall numbers.
Another first for Notts this weekend with a trip to the Dorset coast and an encounter with National League South play-off winners Weymouth, who host the Magpies on the back of a commendable 2-0 win away at Aldershot in midweek.
As always thanks for reading and don't forget you can find all these stats and more on the website.
COYP!
Richard