Notts County v Wycombe Wanderers match ratings

Last updated : 26 November 2008 By Dane Vincent

Drop him: Fans want Pilkington to be given a chance according to NCM's latest poll.
Russell Hoult 5 - Ian McParland once again showed faith in the giant stopper, despite calls for his removal from the starting line-up. 81 percent of the 101 fans that voted in the site's most recent poll thought that Kevin Pilkington should be given another chance. This number may have increased, as it appeared that he should have done better with the second goal. Saying this, it is difficult to judge whether his vision was impaired by those in front of him.

Jamie Clapham 5 - Despite limited off the ball movement by his team mates, his distribution was quite impressive. At times - despite showing competence with his right foot - you could tell that he was performing on his weaker side. A late burst forward highlighted this, where his cross was delivered behind those rushing into the box. He may have dealt better with Lewis Spence for the opener, having failed to prevent the centre.

Michael Edwards 5 - Coped with the towering figure of Matt Harrold proficiently after looking troubled by his presence early on. Although never really looking overly stretched, the late run of goal-scorer into the box could have been monitored better. His distribution was a little erratic, shown by his choice to opt for a long pass, rather than spreading play across the back four.

John Thompson 6 - Like Edwards he seemed a little off the pace to begin with and grew in stature as the match progressed, imposing a collection of powerful headers to clear the danger. He did flirt dangerously with the Chairboys' attackers, demonstrating some nice footwork to play his way out of defence, rather than give it the typical hoof.

Paul Mayo 5 - Dealt well with the in-form Chris Zebroski down his side, being beaten rarely. In possession he was not so impressive and plumped for the long ball far too often, which was also substandard for the majority. In fairness, the lack of service from the static midfield did not help.

Richard Butcher 4 - Failed to make an impact in both aspects of his game. You would do well to remember a challenge or an effective forward pass by the club's top-scorer. A trademark late run into the penalty area did see him in one good goal-scoring position, only to have it taken away from him by

Backwards: Strachan's passing needed to be more direct on this occasion.
Facey.

Gavin Strachan 5 - As usual, he played the simple ball well but on this occasion, far too frequently. At several points throughout, he twisted to make a pass towards his defence when a more direct option was available. It is good to see him back in the team, but you cannot help but think that he is more suited to a 4-4-2 formation, where he can spread the ball more effectively.

Lewis Neal 5 - Looked very useful at times, particularly down the left flank where he made a couple of promising runs. Disappointingly, he faded out of the game in the second period, meaning that Notts' attacks became even rarer. If Weston is out for the weekend's FA Cup tie, it would be nice to see him perform on the wing.

Jamie Forrester 5 - The returning forward should not be too disheartened by his contribution that saw him pop up in a number of interesting positions. It was a shame that an inconsistency in his passing game let him down, because he worked very hard in a role that saw him operate on the right wing for large spells. He could also count himself unlucky to have his early diving header scrambled off the goal-line.

Jonathan Forte 4 - Partly at fault for the opener by misplacing an inward pass that allowed Wycombe to counter. He had a decent effort either side of the break but will be disappointed by his display which, besides the odd attacking dribble, was very limited.

Delroy Facey 4 - Frustratingly for the big man, the Wanderers' centre-halves managed to dominate him aerially. Although he held up play effectively at times, this was not frequent enough. More often than not, the headers he did win ended up in the opposition's possession.

Subs:

Spencer Weir-Daley 5 - Did not do anything majorly wrong when he replaced Forrester in the dying stages, linking up play to a greater extent than many that played the full 90 minutes.