10-man Notts dispose of Lincoln

Last updated : 04 April 2005 By Rob Davies
It took a penalty from the immense Julien Baudet to seal the win for a very workmanlike Notts, who were good value for their 1-0 victory.

After turning the league on its head in midweek with a stunning win over table-topping Yeovil, The Magpies continued their new-found impetus yesterday afternoon with a win over The Imps' that saw them move to 49 points - a target that is unlikely to be breached by either of the league's current basement boys, Kidderminster Harriers and Cambridge Utd.

Baudet: Penalty
The win also meant that Notts have now done the double over Lincoln this season, while The Magpies have now defeated the entire top 7 in League Two this season, with the exception of Southend Utd.

While yesterday's derby may have been short in actual goalmouth chances, it certainly wasn't short in excitement and entertainment - a rarity at Meadow Lane this season.

Baudet slotted the games' sole effort in the 30th minute after Glynn Hurst was felled, while The Magpies' had to play the entire last 35 minutes with 10-men after Oakes - the hero in midweek - was, somewhat harshly, given his marching orders for two yellow cards.

Notts manager Ian Richardson kept an unchanged line-up from the side that won at Yeovil, meaning the returning David Pipe had to settle for a place on the bench.

Richardson's men looked to get at the well-supported visitors from the off, however, with the numerous gigantic players The Imps' possessed, football was definetly the exception and not the rule. Keith Alexander's side are certainly the worst possible example of Third Division football, and certainly not a team designed for the purist.

After long-range off-target efforts from Oakes and Ruben Zadkovich, Notts' first chance of the game fell to Paul Bolland. The 25-year-old impressed with a sterling display at right-back, but was kicking himself for heading over from an Oakes corner.

However, despite Notts' midfield quartet imposing themselves in the early stages, it was the visitors who started to take a stranglehold and enjoy their best spell of the half by some distance, with Magpies' keeper Saul Deeney forced to make two outstanding saves within 5 minutes.

Pipe: Only a substitute
First, the young Irishman expertly clawed a Gary Taylor-Fletcher effort from under his crossbar when it looked to be heading goalwards, before producing an even better save at the feet of Imps' top scorer Simon Yeo.

Yeo - a summer transfer target for Notts - looked to be yards offside when the ball broke, though the linesman's flag stayed down - leaving the 20-goal hitman clean through on goal.

Despite looking odds-on to score, Deeney managed to produce a fine save at the striker's feet, denying Lincoln the lead.

One interesting feature of the early period had been Notts' decision to place either striker Glynn Hurst or partner Mark Stallard on visiting goalkeeper Alan Marriot when the keeper was clearing the ball.

This, even more strangely, saw Stallard booked in the 28th minute for 'unsporting behaviour'. This angered the crowd, as it was unclear as to exactly what rule the forward had broken.

The erratic referee further blotted his copybook with the home faithful, when denying The Magpies a penalty after Hurst stumbled in the box. The incompetent official then made another terrible decision, penalising Baudet for a perfectly good tackle on Butcher.

Chris Palmer, moved to the right wing as opposed to his usual left, was causing problems for the visitors, and fired a shot over the bar after beating two Lincoln defenders.

The referee then finally made a correct decision, that being the award of a Notts penalty in the 39th minute. A long throw from Matt Gill had caused problems, and Hurst was clearly pushed by visiting skipper Paul Morgan.

It was something of a surprise that stand-in skipper Baudet took the ball off the willing Stallard for the penalty, but the Frenchman cooly converted the spot-kick, sending Marriot the wrong-way.

Half time: Notts County 1-0 Lincoln City

Oakes: Sent off
The second half began with the visitors' bringing on former Mansfield livewire Derek Asamoah for Francis Green. The change nerved the Magpies supporters, and possibly the players, with the diminutive Asamoah running riot in both of the side's meetings with the Stags this season.

Almost immediately, the pacey forward was crudely - if not amusingly - felled by Oakes, which earned the former Leicester midfielder a booking.

With just eight minutes of the second half played, Richardson was forced into his first substitution. Left back Rob Ullathorne was struggling with a long-standing groin problem and had to be replaced with Pipe.

Two minutes later, though, and Notts - already under pressure for much of the second half - were left with an uphill struggle.

Oakes went into a 50/50 with visiting midfielder Taylor-Fletcher and was guilty of catching the Imps' man late. Whether the offence was worthy of a second yellow - a final warning may have sufficed - was extremely debateable, but the official was predictably quick to brandish the cards and leave Notts playing the final 35 minutes with 10 men.

Palmer: Lively
Taylor-Fletcher had also done his fellow professional no favours, with his extremely over-the-top reaction to the challenge, that was quite typical of Lincoln's conduct throughout the afternoon.

This signalled a big change in the game, with Hurst playing almost as a left winger and Stallard often as a lone frontman, though credit must go to the entire Notts team for some sterling defensive work - not least by captain Baudet.

Deeney then made his third excellent save of the afternoon, from a free-kick from Kevin Sandwith.

After some excellent play by Zadkovich, holding the ball in the corner flag for over an entire minute, Stallard had an excellent chance to put the game beyond doubt with 15 minutes left.

The ball broke kindly to the on-loan frontman, leaving him in the clear. However, the 30-year-old's first-time finish was expertly saved by former F*rest keeper Marriot.

Tiring 18-year-old Zadkovich - the Sponsors' man of the match - was then subsituted with just over 10 minutes remaining, being replaced by Tony Scully.

Scoffham: Interesting cameo
The change signalled some changes within the Magpies' line-up, with Pipe moving to partner Gill in centre midfield and Palmer moving to left back.

Five minutes later and Richardson made his final change, bringing off the hard-working Stallard for Steve Scoffham.

Scoffham might not have had much of a goalmouth impact in his eight minute cameo, but his pushing, unsettling and harrying off the away defence certainly had an impact. He also provided an extremely amusing moment when, in stoppage time, he politely told a supporter to throw the ball to the back of the stand in an attempt to run down the clock.

Despite all the visitors pressure, and more lively forays from Asamoah, Lincoln were unable to create any real chances in the final moments and Notts held-on to complete the double over the neighbours.

Full time: Notts County 1-0 Lincoln City

A very hard-working and well deserved three points from The Magpies. Why they continue to beat the better teams in this league, but struggle against the mediocre and poor sides though, is still a cause of worry.

Many more home displays like this though will be just the tonic for directors praying that fans' will renew their season tickets in-spite of a dreadful campaign.

Match Ratings and Reaction to follow.