JON STAYS STEADY TO LIFT COUNTY
NOTTS County boss Kevin Nolan insists speculation over Jon Stead’s future has been put to bed after the striker inspired his side to a crucial win over Cheltenham.
The former Huddersfield forward was offered the chance to play in America during the January window but Notts refused to let their top scorer leave.
It proved a wise decision as Stead grabbed his 11th goal of the season with a thumping finish before Richard Duffy added a second.
Manny Onariase scored a consolation right at the death, but Notts held on and Nolan was full of praise for his leading marksman.
“We were fantastic in the first half,” he said.
“We got 2-0 in front and it was all about our mentality. I thought they were brilliant to a man.
“The first goal is something we worked on in training and how we want the players to get in behind defences.
“It was a fantastic finish from Steady and I’ve got to give him a special mention.
“There was lots of talk of him leaving and going over to America, but we finally put that to bed earlier this week.
“It looks like he has a new lease of life. He has been fantastic since I came in so I’m delighted for him.”
It was the Magpies who started the brighter with Mark Yeates’ long-range drive hitting the bar.
But they took the lead in the 24th minute as Michael O’Connor picked out the run of Stead who smashed before Scott Brown. It was two when Duffy headed in Yeates corner.
That prompted Robins boss Gary Johnson into a switch, opting for a 44-2 formation and Onariase eventually grabbed a consolation.
Notts’ victory put them level on points with Cheltenham who saw their three-match unbeaten run come to end.
Such was his desire to keep that run going, Johnson was involved in a wrestling match with members of Notts’ staff over a matchball during stoppage time. But he said his side’s first half was to blame for the defeat.
“They were hiding footballs from us at the end, there were all sorts of shenanigans going on,” he said.
“The ball boys stopped being ball boys and that’s what happens when there are only four or five minutes to go but that’s not why we lost. We lost because Notts County played very well in the first half. “You could see they were eager to get going, we had to compete with them, there was a big crowd in too. “It just showed the importance of a partisan support because they were screaming every free-kick which is what you expected. “The second half we did give it a go and while I don’t go home totally devastated, I am obviously very disappointed.”