EASY DOES IT FOR JON
<M<IP B@:B# <M<IP >F8C# <M<IP >8D<# Tap-in leaves veteran hitman in good Stead
JON STEAD admits he’s more Easy Street than Quality Street these days.
The hitman’s 62nd-minute equaliser was such a gimme it would have been hard to miss – and that’s just how he likes it.
Stead, 34, reckons the simplest of tap-ins gives him just as much pleasure as his stunners these days.
The man who seems to thrive on cup sensations got the Magpies back into a game they could well have won.
His sixth goal in six games ensured the striker kept up his record of scoring in every round so far.
Stead, one-time slayer of Chelsea in his days at Bradford, said: “It’s nice to just get a tap-in to be honest – right place, right time.
“That’s something I’ve been trying to do over the years really. That pleases me just as much as bending one in from 20 yards.
“Just scoring is great and I need to score more from close range. That was an important one.
“It was tough – my legs are telling me that right now.
“We had to work hard for it but I felt we gave as good as we got.
Blazed
“We created some decent chances and if we’d won the game I don’t think anyone could have argued too much about it.” They certainly couldn’t have. Kevin Nolan’s League Two side were magnificent after suffering the setback of conceding a Luciano Narsingh goal on the stroke of half-time.
With 50 league places between the two sides, Nolan’s men could have been forgiven for wilting. But they blazed their way back. Stead came to the rescue, bundling in a simple chance after great work by Jorge Grant.
It was thoroughly deserved with the Premier League strugglers clinging to the ropes at times.
That didn’t stop Wilfried Bony squandering a couple of great headed chances that should have ensured they didn’t need a replay.
It’s just one defeat in seven since Carlos Carvalhal took charge and he admits he’s delighted just to be in tonight’s fifth-round draw, despite their battle to get off the bottom of the Premier League.
“We are still breathing,” said Carvalhal. “When we are breathing people look to us that we are still alive and like to be part of it.
“This result is very positive – not negative. A negative would be if we were out of the competition.”
He’s scrapping to get reinforcements in before the transfer window shuts on Wednesday and said: “We want quality players and we are fighting for them.
“For quality players to come to a team in our position is not easy because not all the players want to be involved in this battle.
“But we still believe we will bring in some good players.” NOTTS COUNTY (4-4-2): Collin 7; Hunt 7, Duffy 8, Brisley 7, Dickinson 7; GRANT 8, Husin 7 (Smith 90), Hewitt 7, Hawkridge 7; Ameobi 7 (Alessandra 84), Stead 8. Subs: Pindroch, Forte, Noble, Walker, Jones. UP NEXT: Crewe (h), League Two, Saturday. SWANSEA (4-3-3): Nordfelt 6; Van der Hoorn 6, Bartley 6, Mawson 6, Roberts 6; Fer 6 (Clucas 63, 5), Carroll 6, Sanches 5 (Ki 32, 7); NARSINGH 7, Bony 5, Abraham 6 (Ayew 70, 5). Subs: Mulder, Routledge, Rangel, McBurnie. UP NEXT: Arsenal (h), Premier League, tomorrow. Referee: Michael Jones 7. YOUR TURN: Who was the last man to score a hat-trick in a Swansea v Notts County match, when City won 4-0 at home in League Two in December 2004?