Notts start season disasterously

A match which travelling Magpie fans hope they’d be able to remember, quickly turned into day they’d sooner forget – thanks to Bristol City striker Lee Peacock.

Lee Peacock got City off to a flyer

Although the scheduled kick-off time was delayed due to crowd congestion – it did not stunt the progress of a Bristol City side who were clearly itching to get their season underway against a not only mentally, but physically ineptly prepared Notts side.

And Robin’s fans did not have to wait too long for their season to officially begin – as early as 12^th minute to be precise, when Lee Peacock burst into the area following a slick through-ball from Mickey Bell, leaving Peacock coolly slotting the ball home to the right of a hapless Stuart Garden.

Notts continued the half showing very little individual or collective flair which inevitably lead to Notts creating very few chances for themselves – the best of which saw Steve Jenkins hit a rasping drive that connoned off the crossbar.

City added to their lead on the 37^th minute mark from a Luke Wilkshire corner that saw Lee Peacock pop up again in the area to squeeze a shot goal bound, which was followed by a bizarre and amateurish piece of defending between Paul Bolland and ‘keeper Stuart Garden which saw Paul Bolland chest the ball past a stranded Garden.

HALF TIME: Bristol City 2-0 NOTTS COUNTY

If Notts hoped to salvage a shred of dignity from the game then they would have had a work against the unbearable heat and then overcome a squad that would have given many Division 1 sides a run for their money let alone a Notts side who were clearly unprepared for the task in front of them.

Soon after the break the Robins picked up from where they left off on 48 minutes when £300,000 signing from Falkirk, Lee Miller, fired a right-foot volley home to mark his league debut with a goal.

Before long Stallard found himself with a chance to return the favour but the last season’s 25-goal striker could only manage a soft shot down the throat of Steve Phillips. Either side of that chance saw Bristol have ruled out 2 goals due to off-sides.

Notts were denied a penalty when Ian Richardson was bundled over in the area, but the somewhat controversial referee, notably Joe Ross, saw no wrong in the incident.

Lee Matthews came on and scored twice

The 69^th minute saw Bristol clinch a fourth, from the man who had been introduced to the game no less than two minutes ago – Lee Matthews quickly pounced on the ball to bulge the net from point blank range after an shoddy piece of goalkeeping from Stuart Garden.

Begrudgingly, it would be pretty safe to say that the game was dead and buried so, Billy Dearden introduced the fresh looking strike partnership of Tony Hackworth and Paul Heffernan to the fray, who replaced the flagging pairing of Notts' best player,Platt and Stallard.

An indirect free-kick was handed to Notts late on, and from a rolling lay-off, Kevin Nicholson stepped to rifle a shot past the wall which scraped the top of the City crossbar.

The Robins finally rounded off their onslaught 3 minutes from time which again saw Lee Matthews pounce on a spilt cross from the flapping-Scotsman, Stuart Garden.

FULL TIME: Bristol City 5-0 NOTTS COUNTY