A PINT PLEASE!
Williams doesn’t want two halves from Magpies
LUKE WILLIAMS admitted Notts County’s Jekyll-andhyde performance veered from “breathtaking” to “falling off a cliff” in the Meadow Lane madhouse.
Four goals up at the break, County slipped into autopilot and nearly paid a heavy price as Bradford squandered a hatful of chances.
The Magpies boss said: “First half, as good as we were, our performance was equally as poor in the second.
“I thoroughly enjoyed myself for 45 minutes – that was football as I want us to play and we were breathtaking at times.
“But they made life very difficult for us after the break.
“I believe we still need a period of time to adapt to this division because 45 minutes is not a game of football and you can’t let your level fall off a cliff.”
County, bruised by defeats against promotion rivals Mansfield, Wrexham and Crewe, had left Williams facing “the toughest period of my time at the club so far.”
And the last time the Magpies had beaten Bradford, in 2014, a baby-faced winger on loan from Aston Villa had scored the winner. Whatever happened to Jack Grealish?
But a first-half blitz blew away the cobwebs and sent 2,300 travelling Bantams fans into open revolt.
David Mcgoldrick’s eighth goal of the season started the rout after Aaron Nemane had given City’s statues the slip.
Although Andy Cook was twice close to an equaliser, Bradford fell apart like a cheap suit as County plundered three goals in 10 minutes before the break.
Macaulay Langstaff applied the final touch from John Bostock’s goalbound shot to make it 2-0 before darting between two defenders to sweep Dan Crowley’s pass into the bottom corner.
And by the time Crowley curled a sublime finish into the top corner, after Langstaff’s nimble footwork, dozens of fed-up Bradford fans were already streaming out of Meadow Lane and heading for the pub, bellowing “You’re not fit to wear the shirt.”
Better late than never, the visitors summoned the energy for a fightback.
And Alex Gilliead’s shot, deflected in by Magpies defender Richard Brindley, reduced the arrears.
County nerves were jangling when Jamie Walker’s fierce angled drive brought the Bantams within range of an incredible comeback, and if Cook had buried a free header from six yards it would have been closer still.
Bradford boss Graham Alexander, who has only been in charge for a fortnight, said: “I’ve learned a lot and when you analyse that game you can understand why we are where we are in the league.”