Notts County restore some dignity despite loss

IT was about more than points for Notts County last night.

After the 6-1 horror show at Dagenham just four days ago it was also about pride.

And while the Magpies failed to add to their points tally in League Two and even fell further down the table to 17th with defeat to the league leaders they did restore some dignity.

Boss Ian McParland wanted better from his players and he got it.

Notts were still far from being at their best. They never attacked with the same kind of flair and fluency that had fans on the edge of their seats earlier in the season. The absence of wingers Myles Weston and Matt Hamshaw through injury makes that almost impossible.

There is also, it has to be said, clearly less confidence throughout the side right now, which is hardly surprising given they have now lost five of their last six league games.

But, for all of that, it was better. It was an improvement. It was encouraging. Even in defeat.

McParland made only two changes to the side that lost at Victoria Road on Saturday, with Gavin Strachan and Jamie Forrester returning and Jason Beardsley, who has not looked the same player since returning from a thigh injury, and Adam Nowland dropped.

He also switched to a 4-3-3 formation with Jonathan Forte, Delroy Facey and Forrester forming a three-pronged attack.

The Magpies certainly matched Wycombe in a tight first half. In the face of the lively threat of Angelo Balanta and Chris Zebroski in particular the defence stood firm, and keeper Russell Hoult never needed to make a single memorable save.

Twice, Balanta was denied by timely blocks first by Jamie Clapham from close-range when the ball fell to him inside the penalty area and then by John Thompson when he unleashed a powerful effort from the edge of the box.

If anything, Notts crafted the better chances in the first half.

On-loan striker Forte lifted an early effort over the crossbar after latching on to a quick through ball from Strachan inside the penalty area.

Forrester also tested the visitors' keeper Scott Shearer with a diving header from Lewis Neal's corner. Neal enjoyed greater influence in the side than in previous games and came to the fore with his pinpoint passing and energy in the heart of the midfield.

Captain Mike Edwards, too, headed straight at Shearer from close-range after rising above his marker to meet Neal's flag-kick. He should perhaps have done better given his aerial ability.

The two sides might be a world apart in League Two, with Wycombe top of the table and boasting the only unbeaten league record in English Football and Notts below mid-table. But there was nothing separating them at half-time.

By the end, of course, it was very different. Two goals different.

The first was stoppable. The second was unstoppable. That it took just two minutes of the second half for the leaders to break the deadlock was deeply disappointing. That it came from the Magpies giving the ball away cheaply, even more so.

Clapham also went to ground in an attempt to tackle Balanta inside the box, allowing the winger to go past him easily and cut a cross back for Matt Harrold to fire past Hoult from point-blank range.

Then came Lewis Spence's thunderbolt as the visitors played a short free-kick to tee him up 25 yards out. There was nothing Hoult could do to stop it flying into the top corner. It was a wonderful strike.

What was disappointing is that Notts never stirred after falling behind. They never put the Chairboys under any sustained pressure. Instead, their heads dropped.

As soon as they went 1-0 down they gave up. Against a side that has only conceded two goals away from home all season, they had a mountain to climb to get back on level terms, of course they did. But the players didn't believe they could do it.

So many times this season they have staged memorable fight-backs; they have triumphed in adversity.

Anyone remember when Sean Canham netted an injury-time equaliser at Exeter? How about when Michael Johnson and Richard Butcher inspired victory against Aldershot, after falling behind?

And then there were the heroics at Gillingham when Butcher and Facey both scored in a 2-2 draw, after the Magpies had been 2-0 down; dead and buried.

They have done it before. They need to believe they can do it again when they need to.

How McParland will hope the likes of Michael Johnson, who carries the greatest influence of any player in the squad, and Hamshaw and Weston, who carry the chief attacking threat, will make swift returns from injury.

Johnson has been out for six weeks now with his toe injury and it is no coincidence the Magpies have continued to struggle to keep clean-sheets in his absence. He is an organiser, a leader.

The two wingers have only missed the last two games but their absence too has been so keenly felt.

Weston could be fit to face Kettering in the FA Cup second round at Meadow Lane on Sunday.

Everyone will be keeping their fingers-crossed that he is – and that Notts can return to winning ways.

It might be a cup-tie. But victory could just spark their league season back into life.

How it needs resuscitating.