NOTTS COUNTY 3-2 SHREWSBURY
ZOKO '57 RICHARDS (P) '61
J HUGHES '64 GRANDISON '62
L HUGHES '87
Despite a solid start to the season prior to Saturday's clash with Shrewsbury, there was certainly the sense that the Magpies had a point to prove going into the match having been beaten 1-0 in their previous home encounter with Walsall. On that day, Notts dominated possession and chances created but struggled without Francois Zoko and Yoann Arquin's game changing ability before Andy Butler's late goal sealed the points for Walsall - but with the French duo back and Enoch Showunmi also returning to fitness and taking his place on the bench, there was more optimism about Notts' goalscoring chances ahead of the match with Graham Turner's Shrews. An unchanged side from their draw at Stevenage was chosen by Turner, with Rob Purdie continuing in an unfamiliar left back role and Terry Gornell partnering Marvin Morgan in attack.
It was Notts who were on the front foot almost from the first whistle, with André Boucaud pulling the strings in midfield and Notts' front four rotating positions to cause trouble for the visiting defence. A succession of corners was created early on after Alan Judge slammed a low shot goalwards that was deflected away. Despite Gary Liddle and Dean Leacock causing problems for the Shrewsbury defence, Notts were unable to force the ball goalwards however and Turner's side survived the first onslaught. Goalkeeper Chris Weale was forced into his first serious save of the afternoon by the impressive Boucaud, who skipped easily away from Shrewsbury captain Matt Richards before curling a dipping shot towards goal that was palmed over the bar by the former Leicester City 'keeper. However, Notts' early pressure began to subside and the visitors came into the game a little bit more - Marvin Morgan just failing to turn Paul Parry's free kick past Bartosz Bialkowski, who was stranded in no man's land. One sour note for Notts did come in the first half, with Alan Sheehan pulling up with a hamstring injury and having to be replaced by Carl Regan, who spent last season with the Shrews.
After the break, things finally burst into life with a mental seven minute spell that saw four goals scored - two for each side. Firstly, some Notts pressure seemed to have passed by when the otherwise impressive Richards badly underhit a backpass to Weale under pressure from Yoann Arquin and it fell to Jeff Hughes, who showed great composure in holding the ball and squaring to Francois Zoko, who slid the ball home from two yards via a deflection off Reuben Hazell's arm. Notts' lead lasted barely three minutes though, as an utterly baffling decision from the referee gave Shrewsbury the chance to level. The ball was hooked forward towards Morgan, but Leacock seemed to have the situation under control when the referee stunned the entire crowd, not to mention Morgan and Leacock themselves, by pointing to the spot. There was the slightest pull of the shirt by the Notts man, but nowhere near enough to impede Morgan and certainly no more than the Shrewsbury forward had been dishing out himself all afternoon. Not that this put Richards off, who atoned for his error by calmly sending Bialkowski the wrong way from the spot.
If the visitors' equaliser was farcical, then the goal that put them ahead was little shirt of the sublime. Right back Jermaine Grandison pounced on a loose Regan pass and rampaged forward, away from Zoko, past the challenge of Boucaud and then past centre half duo Liddle and Leacock before sliding a neat finish past the wrong-footed Polish goalie. The quality of Grandison's surging run was superb, but Notts will definitely be frustrated by the weak challenges offered up by their midfield and defence. The disappointment was soon forgotten though, as last season's leading scorer Jeff Hughes pulled Notts level. Shrewsbury winger Mark Wright leapt highest to head clear at the far post, but unfortunately could only direct his header back across goal and into the path of Hughes, who looped his header back over Weale to level things up.
The goals dried up for a little while, with both sides making a mess over promising looking bursts forward, before Keith Curle gave Lee Hughes seven minutes to go and win the game for Notts. He delivered, too, but much of the praise has to go to enigmatic Frenchman Arquin, who had switched to the left wing with the introduction of Hughes. As a Shrewsbury attack broke down, Arquin did superbly to flick the ball past Hazell and leave the experienced centre back for dead with a burst of pace before squaring for Hughes, who found the ball slightly behind him but swivelled brilliantly before slotting the ball past Weale. Notts held on comfortably to secure a deserved win, having dominated possession and territory against a spirited and useful Shrewsbury side, who look to have enough to comfortably stave off the threat of relegation this year. Hughes' winner was also vindication for Curle, who resisted the temptation to panic and revert to the 4-4-2 formation that contributed so heavily to Notts' disappointing final half an hour and defeat to Walsall. At this stage of the season, going top of the league is just a welcome bonus for a side who are searching for a club record when they travel to Oldham next weekend.