‘Very frustrated’ Maynard certain Notts would end wait for win... but dismissal changed course of the game
STUART Maynard was left questioning one of the two yellow cards shown to Scott Robinson after his Notts County side fell to a fifth defeat on the spin.
The visiting Magpies were leading Tuesday’s League Two game at Crawley Town through Sam Austin’s first-half goal when Robertson picked up his second caution and was given his marching orders on 76 minutes.
The 10 men were pegged back just moments later when Klaidi Lolos equalised for Crawley before substitute Ade Adeyemo pounced six minutes from time to snatch victory for the home side.
While having no complaints with his second bookable offence, County boss Maynard was left frustrated by the manner in which Robertson first found himself being written in the referee’s notebook.
The red card, he felt, was a turning point in the fixture.
Maynard said: “I’m very frustrated about the sending off because I thought it changed the game.
“Scott Robertson got a booking for taking a throw-in; OK the second booking was for pulling someone down and fair enough.
“But we always tell our players to get the ball back in play as quickly as you can and Scott was only doing this. He didn’t know whose ball it was.”
Maynard, whose record since replacing Luke Williams in the Magpies hot-seat now reads just one win from nine games, felt certain his side were on the way to picking up a welcome win before Robertson was dismissed.
But he did admit being indebted to goalkeeper Sam Slocombe for “not losing a lot worse” having kept the Red Devils at bay with some vital saves before Adeyemo found a way to settle the contest.
“They are a good side and they took us apart a bit after we went down to 10 men,” Maynard added.
“Up until then, I thought we would win it. We were brave and ambitious with some of our work.
“Jodi Jones caused them all sorts of problems; he’s got some of the finest footwork you will see in any company.”
Maynard’s opposite number, Crawley boss Scott Lindsay, meanwhile, revealed comments made by the manager following County’s 2-0 loss to AFC Wimbledon at the weekend had served his players well.
He said: “We were unbelievable in the second half in the way we attacked them.
“I heard the Notts manager saying after their previous game that they were struggling to defend balls in the box and we used that as a tool.”
Victory saw ninth-placed Crawley, considered by many pre-season to be among the favourites for relegation, move to within two points of the play-off places.
Notts, though, slipped a place in the table to 17th.