Match Report | Cards sliced apart by impressive Magpies

Notts County 3-0 Woking
Vanarama National League
15th April 2023

Darren Sarll made several changes to the side held by Southend on Easter Monday, with James Daly, Kacper Lopata and Kyran Lofthouse returning to the starting eleven, which meant Charlie O’Connell, Marcus Dackers and Billy Sass-Davies dropped to the bench.

A cagey opening saw the home side have much of the ball, and ten minutes in, good work between Sam Austin and Ruben Rodrigues saw the ball break for top scorer Macaulay Langstaff, but his shot was well blocked away.

The Cards managed to steal the ball with 20 minutes on the clock, and Lofthouse forced Slocombe to tip the ball over his own crossbar. Woking’s number two then turned inside the box, before firing harmlessly over, after working a good opportunity.

As Woking continued to frustrate the hosts with their pressure and work rate, a corner was met by Lopata, but he couldn’t quite divert his header on target.

A good move from Notts resulted in Rodrigues twisting and turning before getting a shot away, but there was Lopata to make an excellent block, with the Polish defender putting his body on the line on several occasions for the Cards.

Half time arrived, with the hosts, as expected, dominating the ball, but resolute Woking defending kept the contest level.

Half-time: Notts County 0-0 Woking

Nine minutes into the second half, Notts took the lead. A free-flowing move down the right hand side saw the ball squared to Austin, who found the top corner with a composed finish.

With their tails up, the Magpies charged forwards through Langstaff, but an expertly timed challenge from Scott Cuthbert kept him at bay. Up the other end, another corner from Josh Casey met the head of Padraig Amond, but he couldn’t keep his free header down.

Notts made their pressure count on 71 minutes, when Austin beautifully whipped a cross in, and after an initial block, Aaron Nemane forced the ball home.

It was three on 76 minutes, as the home side once again sliced the Cards apart, with Austin applying the finishing touch. This effectively killed the game as a contest, and the Magpies began strutting their stuff in front of a buoyant home crowd.

Shots from Junior Morias and Matt Palmer forced Will Jaaskelainen into some good saves as the game ticked over into added time, with the Cards simply overwhelmed by a side a couple of places above them. Next up is a tricky home game against Gateshead on Saturday at the Laithwaite.


Woking: 22 Will Jaaskelainen, 2 Kyran Lofthouse, 3 Josh Casey, 4 Scott Cuthbert (5 McNerney 87’), 8 James Daly, 10 Padraig Amond, 12 Dan Moss (15 O’Connell 53’), 14 Rhys Browne, 17 Jim Kellermann (20 Dackers 72’), 18 Kacper Lopata, 24 Rohan Ince

Unused subs: Craig Ross, Joe McNerney, Billy Sass-Davies

Goals:

Bookings: Kellermann 33’


Notts County: Sam Slocombe, Kyle Cameron, Aden Baldwin, Connell Rawlinson, Adam Chicksen, Jodi Jones (Nemane 67’), John Bostock, Matt Palmer, Sam Austin, Ruben Rodrigues (Morias 72’), Macaulay Langstaff (Scott 72’)

Unused subs: Frank Vincent, Jim O’Brien, Cedwyn Scott, Junior Morias

Goals: Austin 55', 76', Nemane 71'

Bookings:

Referee: Scott Jackson
Attendance: 8520 (436 Woking fans)
Man of the Match:. Kacper Lopata