Another ninety minutes, another blank. That was the situation facing Paul Ince last night after Notts were once again beaten 1-0, this time by league leaders Brighton at the Withdean Stadium. Whilst the Magpies but in a creditable, battling performance against a side beaten on home turf, it takes Notts' recent record to five defeats from six, with just the one goal in that period. Which was only down to a fairly dubious Alan Gow penalty at Sheffield Wednesday.
Ince opted to revert to 4-5-1 for the trip south, with Lee Hughes starting on his own upfront with Dave Martin and Alan Gow providing width. For the visitors, prolific forward Ashley Barnes was ruled out but they did feature West Brom loanee Chris Wood, who was able to play before jetting off for international duty with New Zealand. It was the strong forward who was providing most of the early problems for Notts too as he twice direct dangerous balls into the box off target.
Glenn Murray fired over the bar for the dominant Seagulls, whilst highly rated winger Elliott Bennett became the first man to test Nelson with a well struck long range effort. Notts struggled to threaten Brighton for much of the first half but came close to nicking the lead on the stroke of half time, with Martin teasing his way down the left wing and forcing a smart save out of Casper Ankergren, before Mike Edwards headed the resulting corner wide.
Notts seemed to come out with greater attacking intentions after the break but struggled to create anything of note before the Seagulls, who have ditched Gus Poyet's favoured passing style for a more robust approach in recent weeks, hit Notts with a sucker punch. Substitute Craig Noone sent in a cross from the left which Stuart Nelson disastrously failed to deal with, allowing right back Inigo Calderon to steal in ahead of Jon Harley and give the hosts the lead.
The match continued to meander on as a midfield battle until Ince finally changed things round, throwing on Demba-Nyren and Craig Westcarr for a final push at the home goal. Gow and Demba both tested Ankergren, but failed to really threaten a leveller, before Nelson had to be alert to keep out Fran Sandaza. Dave Martin fired wide before Notts' final chance, but the Magpies were left to rue yet another 1-0 defeat and impotent display. With a trip to second place Huddersfield looming about as large as the chasing pack in the relegation zone, Ince will have to inspire his troops to create far more in the closing stages of the season.