Notts. County 0 Rushden & Diamonds 0

Last updated : 24 September 2005 By Footymad Previewer
League Two high-fliers Notts County were simply not good enough to break down struggling Rushden & Diamonds as they continue their good record between the sides at Meadow Lane.

This was the fifth league meeting in three seasons between the two clubs and it left Notts still looking for their first win.

Credit to Rushden who deserved their point, and they could have had all three if referee Carl Boyison had heeded their penalty claims in second half injury time.

Striker Chris O'Grady, a handful all through the game, was sandwiched between two Notts defenders and went down in the box, but no award was forthcoming.

Moments earlier Notts claimed that visiting defender Peter Hawkins had handled a hard low drive from Notts midfielder David Pipe, but once again, the referee was not to be persuaded.

So much excitement from the closing stages belied the dire quality of what had gone before.

The first half was entirely forgettable with County's Kevin Pilkington the only goalkeeper required to make a decent save when he dived to hold a drive from Drewe Broughton.

The quality improved somewhat in the second half in which Notts made two substitutions early on. Having started with experienced strike pair Gavin Gordon and Glynn Hurst, manager Gudjon Thordarson took them both off on 54 and 61 minutes respectively.

Their replacements were on-loan players David McGoldrick, from Southampton and Tyrone Berry from Crystal Palace.

McGoldrick - who left Notts for the Saints last season - came closest to winning it with an effort which Rushden goalkeeper Jamie Young saved off his legs.

Both the on-loan players looked promising but Rushden were always strong at the back, superbly marshalled by Phil Gulliver.

Another bright feature for Notts was the debut performance of 19-year-old local boy Jake Sheridan who made a number of dangerous darting runs down the left flank while never quite providing the same danger as David Pipe on the other wing.