NOTTS CO 1
Supersub Lewis scores with first touch to make it a Vale of tears
County sub Lewis Alessandra grabbed the winner with his first touch after coming in the 66th minute to push the home side to their fourth straight defeat.
Vale are now just goal difference away from propping up the League Two table and manager Brown was booed at the end with fans chanting: “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
But Brown refuses to cave into the pressure, insisting: “We are five games into the season and have brought in 19 new players. It will take time.
“We are here because we want to do the job. We’re not here for the money. We are here to improve the club and do it for our own pride.
“You can understand the fans’ frustration. I understand it better than most. I don’t know how we lost that game. Look at it another way and we are five points off the play-offs.”
Magpies boss Kevin Nolan offered his support for Brown and appealed for supporters to be patient.
He said: “He’ll be the one to get them out of it. It’s about time and patience. The fans have got to get behind him.” Nolan was delighted with his game-changing substitution: “We’ve got goals all over the pitch and have players like Alessandra to come on and make an impact.
“Then we were able to see it out when we went down to 10 men at the end.”
Vale enjoyed the better of the exchanges during a lacklustre first half and came closest to scoring in the 24th minute.
Dave Worrall had only keeper Possession 52% 48% Shots On Target 0 1 Shots Off Target 7 3 Blocked Shots 3 4 Corners 10 1 Fouls Conceded 13 10 Offsides 4 2 Yellow Cards 1 1 Red Cards 0 0 Adam Collin to beat from the edge of the box but fired against the outside of a post.
County defender Dan Jones twice came to his side’s rescue in the second half – first with a perfectly timed tackle to rob Tom Pope as the striker burst into the box and then with a headed clearance off the line to keep out Gavin Gunning’s goal-bound header.
Alessandra had been on the pitch less than a minute when he secured the three points with a far- post header from Jorge Grant’s cross.
County held out despite having to play the final 10 minutes with 10 men after defender Shaun Brisley went off with a head injury and they are now three points off top spot.