Notts County manager Craig Short will have been pleased with what he saw tonight as his side's first pre-season friendly on home soil this campaign saw them attain a creditable 0-0 draw against Premier League side Stoke City. A pleasant evening at Meadow Lane saw Tony Pulis name a strong Potters side, with Turkish international Tuncay Sanli starting upfront and Ryan Shawcross, who has received a call-up to the England squad in the not-so distant past, marshalling the defence. For Notts, the same starting line-up that finished the season was on show with two changes, Rob Burch starting in goal and Scottish trialist Kevin Smith being a chance to impress alongside Lee Hughes upfront.
Grasping his chance with both hands, Smith was the highlights of the first half from a Notts perspective as Notts started brighter than their opponents. A decent temp developed and Hughes found the first chance falling to him as he headed a menacing, inswinging free kick by Ben Davies wide of the far post when he really should've hit the back of the net. He did just that within five minutes, but unfortunately his emphatic finish from a Davies through ball was disallowed for offside. Notts weren't deterred though and continued to take the game to Stoke, with Craig Westcarr seeing a well struck shot deflected wide by a sprawling Danny Collins. Smith was the shining light for Notts upfront, holding the ball up well and finding space in amongst an experienced Premiership defence. He was the first Notts man to test Asmir Begovic, neatly turning to fire a left footed shot that was saved down at his far post by the Bosnian 'keeper.
Whilst Stoke hadn't started the game like a Premiership side, they were showing glimpses of quality, one of which saw Tuncay head narrowly wide. Matt Etherington skipped away from John Thompson on the left flank and crossed to the near post, where Tuncay got across his marker but flicked a header wide of the far post. Stoke's left hand side was causing some problems for Notts and, with the wingers having swapped round, Liam Lawrence created another chance soon after that should've seen the visitors take the lead. His delightful chip into the box evaded Rob Burch and the Notts defence, but Malian international Mama Sidibe inexplicably headed over the bar from inside the six yard box. Smith forced another save from Begovic with a flancing header at the other end, before Tuncay came as close as anyone in the first half, cutting inside Graeme Lee and firing against the crossbar. The final chance of the opening period fell to Stephen Hunt after a delightful move that saw Smith skip away from two challenges before playing a neat one-two with Davies and chipping the ball to Hunt, who's low volley was beaten away by Begovic.
Half time saw a number of changes from Craig Short, with Stuart Nelson coming on in goal and Rhema Obed, Jon Harley, Ben Burgess and John Spicer also being given a chance to shine. Stoke also made a number of changes, including the introduction of Ricardo Fuller and James Beattie upfront and it was Beattie who came close after a turgid spell, forcing a wonderful save from Nelson after being played in by Fuller. Beattie fired into the side netting for Stoke as Notts' new strike force of Burgess and Karl Hawley struggled to get into the game and eventually it petered out into a 0-0 draw. It was certainly a good test for the Magpies who defended stoutly and in an entertaining first half created enough chances to get on the scoresheet themselves, before the game fizzled out into a dour closing period. Next up for Short's men are Cardiff City, who visit Meadow Lane on Saturday.
Notts County 0
Stoke City 0
Notts Co - Burch (Nelson), Thompson (Obed), Lee, Edwards, Hunt (Marshall), Westcarr (Gillespie), Bishop, Ravenhill (Spicer), Davies (Harley), Hughes (Burgess), Smith (Hawley)
Stoke City - Begovic (Sorensen), Collins, Huth, Shawcross, Higginbotham (Wilkinson), Lawrence (Pugh), Whelan, Delap (Whitehead), Etherington (Tonge), Sidibe (Fuller), Tuncay (Beattie)