Notts County travel to Holker Street on Saturday to play 10th placed Barrow. The last time these two sides faced each other was the 19/20 season, where Barrow won 3-0 at Meadow Lane in the National League. The Magpies won at their place though, goals from Tom Crawford and Cal Roberts securing a win.
Notts will be looking to build on their thrilling first 45 minutes against Swindon midweek, whereas Barrow will be wanting to get a win after losing to fellow mid-table side Grimsby. Goals from David McGoldrick, Macaulay Langstaff and Dan Crowley gave the side an impressive 3-0 scoreline going into the break, the Robins did get one back early into the second half through a Tyrese Shade header, but it wasn’t enough for the away side and the Magpies finished the day three points clear at the top with a 3-1 win. On the other hand, Barrow lost 2-1 away from home against Grimsby, after two marking errors led to two goals for the Mariners. Danny Rose managed to get in between two defenders who weren’t watching him and tap the ball in from close range, and Donovan Wilson ran behind one of the Barrow defenders to pick up a ball going down the left and slotted it home with a first-time effort underneath the keeper. Barrow got one back not too long after that, with experienced midfielder Sam Foley running onto a through ball in the middle of the defence and giving the Bluebirds hope of a comeback going into the final 10 minutes of the game.
One player who has recently started getting minutes for the club and could be a key player on Saturday is experienced centre-back James Chester. The former Welsh international, with 35 caps for the Dragons, has started the last two games and came off the bench in the two league fixtures before that, as well as a Carabao Cup appearance 12 days prior. With over 350 appearances for Aston Villa, Stoke City and Hull City, the 34-year-old adds Premier League and Championship experience to the League Two Barrow backline, and is a great addition for the club after signing on deadline day. With Barrow only conceding 11 goals in their first ten games, and Chester gradually getting integrated into the squad, we could see an even better defence for this Saturday’s fixture, and he could be great for the club in ensuring that the rare defensive mistakes which happened on Tuesday don’t happen again and they bounce back from that.
After his great start to life in Nottingham, filling in the void left by fan-favourite Ruben Rodrigues perfectly, Dan Crowley will be hoping to take his great creative performances from recent and break down the opposition’s tight defence. The former Arsenal man has been a very consistent performer for the Magpies this season, five goals and two assists in 12 matches shows his quality, but one thing that really impresses with him is his keen eye to bring the play forward instead of backwards. He is constantly looking forward to play a cross into the box to Langstaff or McGoldrick, or playing short passes with Nemane on the right, someone who he has made a great relationship with in creating chances for the team. He can constantly get into space and past his man when we need him to and give Notts the best chance of getting a goal – he will, as he has been for a while, a key player for us on Saturday.