Notts lose in friendly

Notts County were today beaten 1-0 by their local rivals, Nottingham Forest in a behind closed doors friendly.

Comeback: Strachan is edging towards full match fitness...

The exhibition at the Reds' training complex was arranged to allow fringe players and those lacking match fitness gain some much needed game time.

Despite being defeated by an Arron Davies strike, Notts put in a solid performance against the Forest second string.

Dave Kevan announced his satisfaction in the team's efforts when speaking the club's official website. He said: "We dominated the game in the second half and had some good chances.

"It was frustrating not to take any of them, but the game was really arranged to give the lads 90 minutes so that isn't a concern.

"The lads acquitted themselves well and can take something from the game, which is what we were hoping for.

"The result was irrelevant in all honesty because getting match minutes as fitness was the main objective and it was vital for some of our players in the squad to get those minutes."

Kevin Pilkington, Jason Beardsley, Paul Mayo, Jamie Clapham, Gavin Strachan, Neil Mackenzie, Spencer Weir-Daley, Ben Fairclough and the weekend's last-gasp goal hero, Sean Canham all featured for the Magpies.

Missing from the team was Michael Edwards, who also missed Saturday's clash away at Exeter City.

He is, however, expected to return to training on Thursday and should be available for the crucial encounter with Aldershot Town.