Over the past few years scoring five goals once in a season would've seemed like some kind of miracle, yet on Saturday the Magpies achieved that feat for the third time this campaign with a crushing win over an abject Hereford United side at Meadow Lane. John Trewick's men had been on a dire run of form and the Bulls manager made wholesale changes to his backline in an attempt to stem the flow of goals that had been flying past 'keeper Adam Bartlett. So wholesale in fact that he opted to drop one of United's best players in favour of goalkeeping coach Chris Adamson, who hadn't played league football in three years. He also dropped dependable full backs Ryan Valentine and Ryan Green in a move that can only put down to a desperate manager somehow trying to keep hold of his job.
For a while it seemed like it might work too as Notts failed to make an impression on the game without leading scorer Lee Hughes, banned for abusing the match officials who somehow contrived to send him off against Grimsby. Kasper Schmeichel was the first of the 'keepers to be called into action, throwing himself across goal to palm away a glancing header from Preston after a dangerous delivery by Matty Done, while Gavin McCallum wasted the Bulls' best chance as he blazed over the bar after jinking past John Thompson. The Magpies did have the ball in the net after their first meaningful attack as Luke Rodgers volleyed the ball past Adamson, but he was adjudged to be offside when Karl Hawley flicked the ball on. The Hereford 'keeper was starting to be more involved and he had to be alert to save a vicious Craig Westcarr effort with his fingertips, but he could do nothing about the Notts winger's next effort. A clever dummy from defender Sam Gwynne seemed to have got him out of trouble, but he inexplicably slipped when attempting to clear and presented the ball to Westcarr, who calmly slotted it past Adamson and into the corner to put the Magpies infront.
They were unable to make Adamson do any further work before the break though, in fact his next meaningful contribution was to pick the ball out of the net again. The hoo-hah of a Hereford fan being in the Kop seemed to liven everyone up and Westcarr responded to the atmosphere, ghosting past Gwynne and slamming the ball into the roof of the net after a sweeping team move involving Ben Davies, Rodgers and Hawley. Any chance the visitors had of getting back into it was soon extinguished as substitute Delroy Facey flicked the ball on to Rodgers, who lifted it over Adamson before being clattered by the United 'keeper, who was promptly given his marching orders. Westcarr stepped up to slam the penalty home and seal his hat-trick, before being withdrawn to a repturous reception from the home fans. Things could only get worse for Hereford and, although Rodgers let them off the hook by missing a one-on-one, Downing was the next to be sent off after handling a Matt Hamshaw shot on the line. Rodgers slammed this penalty past Bartlett before adding a fifth moments later, tapping in after a teasing John Thompson cross. Jamie Clapham also had the ball in the net with a fine volley, but it was ruled out due to a foul by Facey, not that it had any effect on the result for Notts, who had managed to play nowhere near their best and win 5-0.
Notts Co - Schmeichel, Thompson, Lee, Hunt, Clapham, Westcarr (Hamshaw), Ravenhill, Bishop (Edwards), Davies, Hawley (Facey), Rodgers
Notts County 5 (Westcarr '34, '56, pen '73, Rodgers pen 89, 90)
Hereford United 0
Attendance - 6,036 (269 Bulls)