Luke Williams' men made it seven games unbeaten in the league with a win away at Salford City on Friday night. As we will see from the match stats this wasn't a typical Notts performance where ball possession and deep circulation are the stand out metrics. This was a performance where pressing intensity and wing play were king and whilst Notts are very much a team that like to attack from wide areas it was the direct running and pace of the wing play that really set the teams apart.
This is clearly illustrated in the match action radar and despite just edging it in all areas it was clearly the pressing and wing play that set the tone, and for context we should note that Notts recorded circa 70% of both of those actions.
Another side to Notts game we are seeing is a more direct approach, and this is something that the players, especially those who were at the club last season, have had to adapt to in League Two against a more physical opposition. We need to mention Aidan Stone here as it is him who is playing a leading role in dictating the build up from the back, understanding when to play out from the back and when to go long. We will take a closer look at this later in the report.
The xG analysis provides us with confirmation of how the game played out. The first half was very much about the press and challenge intensity from Notts and on another day the Magpies could have gone in 3 or 4 goals to the good with McGoldrick, Langstaff and Nemane all spurning good chances. This is further confirmed by Salford pretty much flatlining for a large part of the first half and going 41 minutes between chances.
However, it was that 57th minute chance for Salford that saw them suddenly find a foothold in the match, taking the game to Notts with Smith and Mariappa both having big chances, but these were dissected by Crowley's goal, which coming against the run of play took the wind out of Salford's resolve and couldn't have come at a better time for Notts. And this is the thing about this current group of players, there is quality in every position and that is something that is really setting Luke Williams' players apart from the opposition right now.
Based on the xG Notts come out on top with 1.83 xPTS and a 53.16% likelihood of the win.
Earlier we mentioned Aidan Stone and the role he plays in the build up. It's important not to underestimate the importance of this and how it can impact different phases in play.
Last season, mainly with Sam Slocombe between the posts, we very much saw a team that was extremely regimented in its intention to play out from the back, and the only long ball coming from the keeper would be a clearance more than an intentional tactic.
With Stone and arguably facing better opposition this tactic has evolved somewhat, with both short and long balls being utilised in the build up, providing Notts with an affective more direct option.
Looking at the data from the Salford game below we can see how Stone employed a very even number of both short and long balls. However, unlike many cases where long balls are hoofed aimlessly towards the front line in the hope of finding a team mate Stone's long balls are very much with a tactical play in mind.
We can see from the heat map that Stone spent a good part of the game outside of his area and when you compare this to his passing map you can see that the majority of his long balls were also played from this position. With David McGoldrick occupying that space just to the left of Langstaff he is a natural outlet for Stone, but not only that, it is a play that would have been explored in training with Austin, Bostock and Palmer all taking up positions with the intention of picking up the first or second ball.
Stone's distribution not only adds another dimension to Notts build up play but is also accurate with over 76% of his passes finding a team mate. Having this in his arsenal means he can actually dictate both the way Notts look to build but also the tempo of the build up.
It wouldn't be a stretch to assume that Stone's involvement in games has a huge impact on the way games play out, it's a responsibility he appears to relish and it can only evolve further both for him as a player and for how Notts approach games in general.