Username
Password
County draw makes it 5 in a row
By Nathan Jackson
August 5 2006
Ignoring the playoff game against Grimsby, City have now drawn the last 5 home games 1-1 after a Jeff Hughes own goal. Adie Moses had given the Imps the lead but several golden chances went begging for the Imps and Notts County eventually equalised with their only realistic shot on target.

County kicked off but City started very brightly and could have easily taken an early lead when Lee Frecklington raced into space before passing the ball and an unmarked Amoo but the midfielder’s shot went well wide and was a waste of an excellent chance to put City into the lead. Beevers was the next to try his luck but his close range shot also went wide of the mark. It was a quiet 10 minutes but Danny Bacon suffered a facial injury and was forced to spend several minutes off the pitch receiving treatment. Whilst he was gone, Amoo wasted another good chance when he headed a simple chance over.

Somner fouled Hughes and gave City a free kick which was tipped over by Pilkington for a corner. Hughes put in the set piece and it looked to be going straight in before McCann but the ball trickled in from of the net and Adie Moses popped up to score on his debut for the Imps. Notts County were proving just like every other Steve Thompson side and were effectively trying to beat up their opponents and Jason Lee was the first player to be booked before Danny Bacon returned to the action over 10 minutes after leaving.

Kerr was the next to be hacked by a County player as Somner sent a double footed tackle straight at Kerr’s knee and it was several minutes before the match continued. The returning Bacon’s first action since returning to the play resumed was to give the ball to Hughes who sent a ball deep into the box. Pilkington dropped the ball but Beevers could only shoot over in front of an open goal. Moses almost scored his second when his flick from Kerr’s free kick went just wide of the net

City were passing the ball around well and running rings around the County players but couldn’t find a 2nd goal and the only other noteworthy incident was Forrester trying to gain a penalty despite obviously diving. The half ended with City well on top but it didn’t stay that way for long.

Stallard finally did something when he shot low but Pilkington easily saved and then a few minutes later, Jamie Forrester couldn’t find the target with a lob. Notts County’s first decent chance came when Edwards headed over from close range. Semple came on for City and Mendes for the visitors and those substitutions changed the game. Within a minute, County had a free kick, Ian Ross swung it up and Jeff Hughes headed it into his own net and yet again, City conceded to the opponent’s first effort on target.

A sign of things to come came when Semple over-hit a pass to Amoo and the latter struggled to get a cross on and it went straight to Pilkington. This combination was to prove very ineffective as with Semple’s lack of knowing where his team-mates where and Amoo’s seeming lack of interest were to prove frustrating as City failed to get another shot on target in the game.

County almost scored a very controversial second when a clash between several players, saw Marriott fall to his floor clutching his head but the referee didn’t stop play and despite having an advantage of 4 on 2, County couldn’t get the ball into the net. Colin Cryan then replaced his former Scarborough team-mate Scott Kerr.

Good work down the right from Pipe and Silk saw a cross coming in but Mendes’ header went well wide of the target. Mayo then replaced Forrester who had seemed invisible throughout the game. Stallard then held the ball up well before sending Semple through one on one but the midfielder’s first touch went way to far and went straight into Pilkington’s arms. Frecklington sent a 25 yard shot well wide but the game went very quiet with both sides failing to get an chances on goal. The final action of the game was a Notts County striker heading the ball wide and it meant that for the 5th home game in a row (ignoring the playoff game), City were held to a 1-1 draw.

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with: