Report: Notts County 4-0 Iron

Scunthorpe made two changes from the side that came out victorious against Wealdstone on Saturday. Tom Billson returned to the Iron on a loan spell from Coventry and he replaced the injured Aaron Chapman. Recent signing Liam Thompson came into the side also. He stepped in for Tom Pugh, who was also injured.

Jacob Butterfield got the game underway and immediately United sent a ball forward. Richie Bennett got his head to it and tried to flick it on. Sean Shields was chasing the flick on but Sam Slocombe rushed off his line to get their first.

Within the opening two minutes, the home side had a huge chance to take the lead. Aaron Nemane picked up the ball on the right-hand flank and he drove forward. He managed to beat Jake Leake and drill a cross into the penalty area. The cross was powered along the ground and it was met by an onrushing John Bostock. Bostock took the shot on as soon as the ball came to him. His effort was heading into the back of the net but Reagan Ogle got back quickly, intervened and headed the ball away to safety. This was an early warning sign for United.

In the seventh minute, Notts County took the lead. Nemane found himself with acres of space on the right-hand flank and this allowed him to drive towards the byline. He spotted Ruben Rodrigues making a run towards the penalty area; he chose to play a throughball to the County midfielder. Rodrigues picked up the ball just outside the 18-yard box and he had the time and space to think about taking the shot on. From 18-yards out, he drove the shot towards the bottom-left corner of Billson’s goal. His effort was going wide but Adam Chicksen rushed towards the back post to tap the ball home.

The home side grabbed a second goal a few minutes later. In form striker Macaulay Langstaff broke into the Iron penalty area and had the chance to line up a shot. He chose to put a lot of power on the shot and this affected the direction of the ball. His effort was originally going wide of the target but it got a deflection on the way through and this affected the flight of the ball. The direction change took it straight over the head of Billson and into the back of the net.

The first card of the game went to Butterfield after he went in for a challenge with Slocombe. The Iron midfielder went into the challenge late and the referee deemed the tackle a bookable offence.

United managed to break forward after a prolonged period of defending. Leake was played in down the left flank; he drove down the line before putting a low cross into the box. However, his cross was miss hit and fell straight to a Notts County player to clear.

The home side kept the pressure up on the Iron and they created another great opportunity. Jim O’Brien slotted the ball into Nemane and the County winger produced a neat flick to beat his defender. This opened up space inside the area for a shot. He drilled a shot low but Billson read the situation well and he got down quickly to make an important save.

The Iron goalkeeper was almost called into action again when Rodrigues chose to take a shot from the edge of the area. His strike had power and was heading towards the top corner. However, it lacked direction and it sailed just over the bar.

In the 41st minute, Langstaff had another opportunity. A long ball forward found O’Brien inside the United penalty area. The County midfielder brought the ball down well and laid off Langstaff. The ball was set up nicely for a volley and he chose to go for this technique. However, it didn’t pay off as his effort blazed over the bar and went out for a goal kick.

Just before half-time, Will Smith sent a long ball forward, Butterfield got onto the end and was clean through on goal. However, the assistant’s flag went up as soon as he got on the end of the long ball. He was deemed to be in an offside position.

Jimmy Dean opted to make two changes at halftime. Dean Rance came on for Shields and Cameron Wilson was replaced by Danny Elliott.

Immediately, County had a penalty shout. Nemane rushed through on the flank once again and tried to make his way into the box. Leake had to put in a sliding tackle to stop him getting through and his tackle brought the Notts County man down. There were shouts from the home fans but the referee waved play on.

Another cross was played into the Scunthorpe area. The cross was precise and it managed to find a Notts County head. From six-yards-out, Langstaff tried to head goalwards. He got good power behind his header but his effort was wide of the target.

Crosses kept coming into the area and the United defence dealt with them well. Ben Richards-Everton got on the end of several crosses and cleared the danger for the Iron.

A few minutes later, Fin Shrimpton had to make a last ditch interception to deny the home side a third goal. Rodrigues was once again involved. This time he spotted Matt Palmer darting into the box. He played the pass but Shrimpton slid in to make an extremely important interception. If the interception hadn’t been made then it could have been a third goal for Notts County.

In the 62nd minute, Billson produced an excellent save to prevent the home side grabbing a third goal. Langstaff broke into the iron area and unleashed a shot from 12-yards-out. Billson had to react quickly. He managed to get a fingertip onto the ball and turn it onto his crossbar. It was an excellent reflex save from the loanee.

Ten minutes later, the home side grabbed their third goal. Langstaff got his 38th goal of the season after the ball was chipped across the face of goal and he nodded the ball in at the back post.

Bennett found himself behind the defence after Ogle lifted a long ball forward. He was one-on-one with the goalkeeper but once again he was flagged offside.

The hosts got themselves another goal a few minutes later. The ball was once again flashed across the face of goal and Langstaff was there to tap the ball home.

Langstaff almost grabbed his hat trick in the 82nd minute. Palmer drove into the area and then cut the ball back to the County striker; From six-yards-out, he couldn’t convert the chance and his effort went the wrong side of the post.

Billson was called into action again. Langstaff turned on the edge of the area and got a shot away. His effort was heading towards the bottom corner but Billson got down to his left to make a smart save.

The referee then blew his whistle to conclude the game. United face York City next on Tuesday night.

NOTTS COUNTY: Slocombe (Mair, 17), Cameron, Rawlinson, O’Brien, Langstaff, Nemane (Vincent, 63), Bajrami, Palmer, Rodrigues, Chicksen (Austin, 63), Bostock.

NOTTS COUNTY SUBS NOT USED: Brindley, Mahovo.

IRON: Billson, Ogle, Richard-Everton, Butterfield (Feeney, 65), Wilson (Elliott, 45), Shrimpton, Leake, Thompson, Smith, Shields (Rance, 45), Bennett.

IRON SUBS NOT USED: Boyce, Daniel.

ATTENDANCE: 16,086 (1,750 away).