Notts not right on it but it’s no reason for gloom
MAGPIES ALWAYS GOING TO LOSE AT SOME STAGE
NOTTS County lost their unbeaten start in the National League as they slipped to defeat away to Altrincham.
Marcus Dinanga’s goal was enough to seal the win for the hosts as he slid in Ryan Colclough’s cross just before the half-hour mark.
Notts huffed and puffed in a bid to find an equaliser before half-time but home keeper Tony Thompson was seldom tested, despite the visitors dominating possession.
The Magpies’ debutant goalkeeper, Anthony Patterson, then produced two good saves to deny Colclough before Ruben Rodrigues wasted a glorious chance to equalise when he shot wide from Aaron Nemane’s cross.
Notts continued to look for an equaliser but could not find a way through a well-marshalled Altrincham defence.
Here are the major talking points from the weekend.
Glass half-full, half-empty?
Football Twitter and social media generally do not do middle ground when it comes to results.
You’re either top of the world or plumbing the depths and some of the reaction to Notts’ defeat was a little extreme.
This was the first defeat of the season and while it wasn’t Notts at their free-flowing best, they were never going to remain unbeaten.
The facts are this is the best start to a season in 16 years and Notts are still in touch with the pacesetters.
Every team experiences a day when they aren’t quite at it but, unlike last weekend against Maidenhead, they couldn’t get the job done.
But it’s no reason to get dramatic. Defeats happen but the most crucial aspect is that teams learn from them.
Recognise what you could have done better and put it right the following week.
A great start, but the problem was clear
Notts have developed a reputation as an entertaining side to watch and that has been proved in some of the thrilling games we have seen so far.
One of the biggest complaints about this season, however, has been that Notts have been slow starters.
They take a while to find any kind of rhythm but their opening 20 to 25 minutes here were arguably the brightest we’ve seen so far in this campaign.
The passing was crisp, it was aggressive but the biggest problem came when Notts got to the final third.
There just seemed to be a lack of decisiveness. There was either one touch too many or one pass extra when there just needed to be a bit more conviction.
They got into numerous good positions, Dion Kelly-evans in particular, but the final ball just wasn’t there.
Unusually for this Notts team, you back them to create opportunities, but the only one really that anybody can say was clear-cut was the chance