It has been 96 days since Notts County’s last competitive league match at home, defeating Boreham Wood in extra time. Saturday sees a return to Meadow Lane for the Magpies as they face Grimsby Town in a crucial fixture.
The last outing between the two sides was nothing short of heartbreaking from a Notts perspective, with Grimsby scoring a 119th minute goal to beat Notts in the Playoff Eliminator on 23rd May 2022. Notts are now looking for revenge at a time where their start to the season performances have been disappointing.
Despite dominating possession of the ball for both competitive fixtures away to Sutton and at home to Lincoln, they have found it tough to break down both defences. In both games, they have had a combined total of 19 shots, with 5 of those being on target. Notts need to be clinical otherwise they will struggle.
On the other hand, Grimsby are a team who are defensively solid. They have also recruited well this season, securing the services of exciting young midfielder Kamil Conteh from Middlesbrough. He will add pace and extra creativity to the Mariners, holding the base of the midfield 4 in a 4-4-2 formation. They have also signed experienced forward Danny Rose from Stevenage who is an established goal scorer at both League 2 and League 1 level. Although yet to score a goal in the league 2 campaign, Grimsby are no team to underestimate so Notts have got to play to their best.
The Magpies will have goalkeeper Aidan Stone available for selection again, who was sent off against Sutton United on his competitive Notts County debut. Unfortunately the club have also announced that Geraldo Bajrami is likely to miss the duration of the season with an injury he sustained in the Carabao Cup fixture against Lincoln. Aden Baldwin will not be able to participate due to a second yellow card in the League Cup fixture. However, Notts will look to utilise the strike force of David McGoldrick, who got on the scoresheet in the first game of the season and Macaulay Langstaff, who was rewarded with a new contract this week, expiring in 2027.
Despite having a poor start to the League 2 campaign, Notts will look to respond in front of their home supporters. A win is incredibly important for the confidence of the players, who are looking to recreate the record-breaking season of last year. The visitors will be backed by a travelling fan base of over 2000 fans, creating what will be a fantastic atmosphere.
Head Coach Luke Williams said in his post match interview against Sutton that “they must show that it was a really bad day” so will he and the Notts faithful see a response from the players?
UPDATE: With over 11,000 fans expected all the necessary match day information including post match road closures can be found here
