“Back to grass roots football” was Rose’s comment as Notts shared a changing room with 6 other teams at Melbourne Park! First game of the season and Notts were away to the new outfit Middleton Villa. Everyone was keen to get the season off to a winning start against some league new boys.
Villa were better than expected and passed the ball well. They also had a couple of handy ball players who ran well with the ball. Villa were rewarded for some sustained pressure when a ball over the top was finished. Notts had a set piece goal disallowed, Gajree at the back post netted from a header but Wilkes was deemed to have pushed a defender.
The second half was brighter for Notts as marking was tighter in the middle and back and it appeared that Villa has run them selves into the ground. In addition, Rose went up front as Notts shifted to a 3-4-3 formation in search of an equaliser. It looked like Notts should score but chances didn’t come off.
The eventual equaliser came in rather fortunate circumstances. A villa defender thought he heard the whistle blow and picked the ball up on his 6 yard line! The referee had no choice but to ACTUALLY blow and award a penalty for Notts, tidily dispatched by Mott. A get out of jail for Notts!
Errington went close with a lob over the keeper and Greensmith sent a one on one effort just wide of the far post. Notts could have won it in the end but might not have been in that position without some excellent saves from keeper Pownall. The game finished 1-1, about right for the game as a whole.
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