An uncertain future, the threat of furlough and a 50 year old on the bench appeared to galvanise an energetic King's Lynn Town who can consider themselves unlucky not to walk out of Meadow Lane with 3 points well and truly in the kit bag.
Notts County - 2
Wootton (38', 43')
King's Lynn Town - 2
Carey (1'), Mitchell (90+3')
Notts Line Up (4-4-2)
Sam Slocombe
Dion Kelly-Evans
Alex Lacey
Connell Rawlinson
Jordan Barnett
Jake Reeves
Michael Doyle (C)
Ruben Rodrigues (Matty Wolfe 89')
Enzio Boldewijn (Jim O'Brien 81')
Kyle Wootton
Jimmy Knowles (Inih Effiong 81')
Substitutes not used:
Calvin Miller
Elisha Sam
A bad day at the office for Notts yet they were still in with a chance of securing the win until a last gasp equaliser from the Linnets gave them a share of the spoils. A set piece proving to be Notts' undoing once more.
Key match stats and it's fair to say they paint Notts in a slightly better light than their performance did.
Progress updated and the draw sees Notts drop to 6th with the average position starting to level out just above 7th.
Results tracker updated:
Points needed and if we are to remain positive, based on current PPG a top 3 finish is still projected compared to historical data targets.
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.
5 Points from a possible 12 in this segment means the PPG is lower than normal at 1.25.
Points by time segment. How many points would have been accumulated if games had finished at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 minutes.
Looking at this Notts continue to show a trend of getting themselves into their highest points by the 60th minute but then there is also a trend of dropping points again before pulling them back in the final 15 mins.
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.
A landmark moment for club captain Michael Doyle who becomes the first player this season to play more than 2000 minutes.
Goal contribution table updated.
Goal participation by minute detailing player goal contribution efficiency.
Goals scatter chart updated and two more goals in the box means just over 84% of Notts goals this season have been converted from inside the oppositions penalty area.
Goals by time segment updated and there is now a trend of Notts conceding goals in the latter stages of games, although there hasn't been that many conceded in general.
Neal Ardley's record updated:
Whilst I might spend much of my time compiling and sharing stats on Notts County it's important to understand that first and foremost I'm a fan, a fan of a club I have been supporting since the 1970's and so it's at times like this I really struggle to present a match report with the level of objectiveness and impartiality it demands.
Football is an emotive sport and I'm as guilty as the next person when it comes to expressing their frustrations when things don't go the way you would like them to during a game.
That said on the face of it the numbers actually offer some encouragement. Notts are currently 7 points and 5 places better off than at this stage last season. We are still comfortably in the top 4 on PPG with a rate that would under normal circumstances see a top 3 finish and still have games in hand on most, Sutton being the exception.
Notts still have the best defence by far and despite the poor return in the "goals for" column that defensive record provides a platform to build the second half of the season on.
We have more away games to play than home games, however Notts currently sit top of the last 6 away games form table.
With the news just out that Saturday's game against Aldershot has been postponed I breathed a sigh of relief. The performance against King's Lynn on Tuesday night was quite possibly one of the worst I have witnessed in recent times but you couldn't say it hasn't been coming.
The break on Saturday gives Neal Ardley and his team a chance to regroup, get some fitness back in the legs of those struggling and hopefully find time to assess just what needs to be done to resolve some of the issues currently faced. On paper Notts are actually still in a very good position with half of the season still to play and despite the recent run of poor performances results have probably been kinder to the Magpies than they deserved.
I'm cautious in my assessment because the lack of creativity in front of goal is still a big concerned, however, as a fan, I like many will just have to remain positive that Neal and the players will put right the wrongs as we look forward to what could be a very interesting second half of the season.
Until then . . .
COYP!
Richard