Notts County head coach Martin Paterson was left reeling after watching his side crumble to a 2-0 defeat at Chesterfield on Boxing Day.
The Magpies travelled to Derbyshire in a run of good form, having won seven of their last 10 heading into the fixture. However, a 0-0 draw with leaders Walsall just before Christmas had seen them slip out of the top three.
A trip to fellow promotion contenders Chesterfield represented an opportunity to create a gap on those below them. The Spireites had won back-to-back games ahead of the clash, putting an end to a run of one victory in seven outings. As such, Paul Cook’s team had moved back into the League Two play-off positions.
A cagey first half was perhaps edged by the hosts but the pair entered the break goalless. However, the deadlock was broken in the 65th minute through talisman Lee Bonis before the three points were secured when County goalkeeper Kelle Roos was credited with an own goal 11 minutes later.
Paterson fuming with collapse
The SMH Group Stadium is a tough place to go, with Swindon Town the only team to leave with three points this season. Despite that, the Nottingham-based outfit have been decent on the road and hadn’t lost away from Meadow Lane in the league since September.
It’s fair to say that Paterson’s team didn’t look like extending that run yesterday, with the former Burton Albion boss scathing in his assessment of the performance. Speaking after the game, he said:
“In the first-half I wasn’t worried because I don’t think they really had golden opportunities but I was concerned slightly that that didn’t look like us at all. Then in the second-half we tweaked it a little bit, but basically I don’t want to overtalk, it is the basics and the fundamentals that we didn’t do today and that is a rarity in my time here. We have been really good at pressing, running and competing but I thought we came off that in a ridiculous amount today.”
Martin Paterson gave his assessment at full-time.
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Both of the goals the visitors conceded were avoidable. The first saw goalkeeper Roos parry the ball into the path of Bonis, who neatly tucked home. The second was a comical affair, which saw the shot stopper divert a Liam Mandeville corner into his own net. It was two moments of madness which left the head coach less than impressed:
“For the first one we switched off on the left hand side defensively. The second one is pathetic to concede that goal. I don’t think I need to go through footage of people not running, tackling and people giving the ball away. I thought a few of them came off it at an alarming rate and we can’t accept that.”
Notts County running risk of falling behind
It’s far too early to hit the panic button just yet, but a quick turnaround sees Notts travel to MK Dons on Monday night. The two teams are separated by just a single point, although that gap could increase to four with another defeat.
Paul Warne’s side head into the game on the back of a huge 1-0 win over Swindon on Boxing Day, leaving them on the verge of the automatic promotion places. A similar result would be a hammer blow for the East Midlanders in their quest to earn a place in League One for the first time since 2015.