Saturday’s encounter saw Notts County face Forest Green in a game which saw both sides come into it in different positions in the league table. Notts were looking to continue to apply pressure on top of the league Gillingham whereas Forest Green looked to add to their points tally of 7. It turned out to be the perfect match for a neutral as Notts County ran out as 4-3 winners, despite a hat trick from veteran striker Troy Deeney.
It was the same lineup as the previous game against Salford City with the exception of Aaron Nemane, serving his one game suspension. Jodi Jones came in to replace him and shifted to his usual left back position. Stone was the goalkeeper with the back three of Cameron, Brindley and Baldwin in front of him. Jones returned to left wingback and Austin moved across to the right hand side. In front of the back three was the reliable partnership of Bostock and Palmer, with McGoldrick and Crowley as the attacking midfielders. This left Macaulay Langstaff leading the line, and looking to increase his goal tally from 4 goals. Although on paper this could have been suggested as a comfortable win for Notts, Forest Green looked to utilise the physical presence of former Watford striker Troy Deeney to threaten the defence of the magpies.
The game started with Notts looking to make a fast start, and attempting to make it a long afternoon for Forest Green. The early spell of pressure presented Langstaff with early opportunities. These chances were not able to be converted but it was an ominous sign of things to come from last season’s National League top scorer. Eventually the spell of pressure was rewarded with a goal from inform Dan Crowley, heading the ball off the post and into the back of the net following a trademark cross from Jodi Jones. Although Notts were now in the lead, they immediately looked to extend the lead and put the game out of sight as early as possible.
The golden opportunity came in the 37th minute with an almost identical goal to the first as David McGoldrick’s cross met the right boot of an unmarked Macaulay Langstaff, who fired home from close range to make it 2-0 to County. It was a fantastic half so far as the scoreline was concerned but Notts needed to stay relentless if they wanted to come away with a convincing victory. Following the yellow card for captain Kyle Cameron, the referee brought the first half to a close, with Notts leading 2-0. It was a good half, but the next goal was incredibly important in how the game was going to end.
Both teams came out into the second half with different mentalities. For Notts, it was to get the next goal in the match and look to play out the remainder of the game comfortably, whereas Forest Green wanted to get themselves back into the game and looked to come back from the deficit. It would be the visitors who executed their half time team talk to perfection, with Deeney being allowed to turn inside the area and see his effort nestle into the bottom corner. This halved the lead and make the rest of the game a nervous watch for the home supporters.
Suddenly 4 minutes later, Forest Green had got back level after a scrappy goal, as Deeney once again was allowed to hook the ball towards goal and hit the back of the net. This applied gigantic pressure on the magpies, who acted immediately by replacing Sam Austin with Tobi Adebayo on the right hand side. 3 minutes after the equaliser saw Adebayo’s first involvement in the game, bursting down to the byline and delivering a cross which was parried out by the goalkeeper. This found the feet of John Bostock who unleashed a powerful strike to turn the scoreline in Notts’ favour once more. County continued to pile on pressure and launched a counter attack in the 68th minute. This gave Jones the opportunity to run with the ball and deliver a perfectly weighted pass into David McGoldrick, who restored the two goal cushion.
All Notts had to do now was not to make any careless mistakes and continue to move the tiring Forest Green defence around the pitch with their high-intensity, possession based game. However, the visitors were awarded a penalty after Rawlinson fouled his man, with Deeney looking to complete his hat trick. He did so, firing his penalty into the back of the net, making it a nervy final period of the game. Despite the goal, Notts continued to mount pressure on the defence, with McGoldrick going close, only to be saved by the goalkeeper. It was due to be a long added time as Deeney once again used his physicality to loop a header against the crossbar. This was a warning sign to Notts, who responded to this well and managed to prevent the visitors from getting back level. Notts came away with the victory winning 4-3.
It was certainly not a pleasant game to watch from a Notts perspective, with games going down to the wire. There were both positives and negatives to take from it as although conceding three is not a good statistic, Notts continue to have the ability to convert clear cut opportunities from wide areas, using the pace and technical ability of the wing backs in order to do so. Overall, a good result but one in which Notts need to improve defensively to cut out errors and continue to be solid. This win however sees Notts return to the top of the table with Gillingham losing but it is a long way to go until the end of the season.
Starting 11: 26 Stone - 15 Baldwin (70’), 2 Brindley, 4 Cameron (yellow card) - 8 Austin (62’), 16 Bostock (70’), 18 Palmer, 10 Jones (90+5) - 7 Crowley, 17 McGoldrick (yellow card), 9 Langstaff
Subs: 21 Adebayo (62’), 5 Rawlinson (70’), 6 O’Brien (70’), 23 Chicksen (90+5)
Not Used: 1 Slocombe, 14 Randall, 27 Morias