Notts County 2-0 Eastleigh (National League) 19.02.22

Notts County recorded their third straight victory this past Saturday, as the Magpies defeated a struggling Eastleigh by two goals to nil.

The home side started the far better of the two sides and were rewarded with a flurry of opportunities on goal. Of all the chances, the best fell to Ed Francis. A scramble in the Eastleigh penalty area saw the ball roll kindly for the midfielder to fire towards goal, but his effort was well blocked by a body in blue and the visitors cleared to safety.

Notts had another chance to take the lead shortly after the opening opportunity. The in-form Cal Roberts’ driven run towards the Eastleigh back-line resulted in the winger playing a delightful through ball into the path of Elisha Sam. Despite evading the offside trap perfectly, the Belgian could not bring the ball down to the deck and the ball made its way into the grateful grasp of former Magpies shot-stopper Joe McDonnell.

Just beyond the half-hour mark, Notts County took the lead. Cal Roberts’ curled cross looked as if it was going to be put away by Kyle Wootton. The cross evaded the out-stretched leg of the attacker however made its way beyond McDonnell and into the far bottom corner of the goal. The cross turned shot turned eventual goal was marked down as Roberts’ eleventh goal of the season so far.

A well-deserved lead was extended just six minutes later. A moment of madness from the returning Joe McDonnell resulted in the goalkeeper’s attempted run being stopped effortlessly by Kyle Wootton. A clean tackle meant the forward was left with the simple task of firing into an empty net, which he did with complete ease to send the hosts into the break with a comfortable two-goal advantage.

The second half began just as the first half concluded with the Magpies continuing to dominate. Matty Palmer’s deep delivery into the Eastleigh penalty area was met by a late arriving Kyle Cameron. However, the club captain’s powerful, side-footed effort sailed over the bar from the edge of the six-yard-box, leading to heavy sighs of relief from the players in blue.

Jayden Richardson was next to try his luck. The full-back surged forward with another impressive, over-lapping run but his shot was deflected high and wide of the Spitfires’ goal.

As the clocked ticked over the seventieth minute, Notts County rattled the crossbar. Kyle Cameron kept the ball alive brilliantly just as the attacked looked to have fizzled out and because of keeping the ball within the boundaries, the defender floated the ball over to the back post where Kyle Wootton’s bullet header saw the ball crash off the woodwork and over for a goal kick.

Eastleigh did pose some form of threat just five minutes from time. Michael Kelly stood over the ball for a free kick in a dangerous position, but the positioning of the ball turned out to be the most threatening part of the move for the Magpies defence as Kelly’s ball into the box was smothered with ease by Vitezslav Jaros.

That was as good as it got from the Spitfires’ as they recorded another disappointing defeat as the ruthless Magpies saw the game out comfortably. The game resulted Notts County 2-0 Eastleigh.

Notts County: Jaros, Chicksen, Cameron, Brindley, Richardson, Palmer, Francis, Rodrigues, Roberts (Nemane 85), Sam (Mitchell 71), Wootton.

Eastleigh: McDonnell, Boyce, Kelly, Miley, Broadbent, De Barr, Harper, Pritchard (Whitehall 65), Hill, Hesketh, Pitman (Hollands 65).

Venue: Meadow Lane (5,682)

*Article provided by K-Ci Rennicks (Notts County Correspondent).

*Main image @Official_NCFC Cal Roberts and Kyle Wootton celebrate the games first goal.