Meadow Lane: Notts County 0-1 Macclesfield Town

Saturday, 17 November 2007

Notts County 0-1 Macclesfield Town

Aerial shot of Meadow Lane (Bing Maps)

Ratings

Overall Ground Quality : 6/10

Ease of getting there : 9/10

Atmosphere : 2/10

Programme : 7/10

View of Action : 9/10

Quality of the game : 4/10

The "football" feeling : 6/10

Chances of coming here for a random game : 10/10

Legroom : 3/10

Surrounding area : 2/10

Overall : 58/100

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Notts County 1 0 Harrogate Town

Nottingham football is on the up and while Nottingham Forest are currently enjoying themselves in the Premier League, people may not realise that Nottingham’s other team, Notts County are also doing quite nicely in League Two where they are currently third. Despite several injury problems including Crowley and Jones, County thrashed Harrogate Town yet only won 1-0. They clearly have a process and stick to it and fans I guess have to be patient. From the first minute they controlled the game and in the first half the visitors hardly got themselves over the half way line such was the dominance. Despite this though Town keeper James Belshaw didn’t have to make a save as efforts from the head of Jatta and shots from, McGoldrick, Martin and former Crawley man Tsarouilla went just wide. The second half continued in similar vein, Notts in complete control, they finally took the lead in the 58th minute. Tsarouilla, a two footed player, controlled with his right foot, crossed with his left, from the right and Alassana Jatta, seized on the ball showing a good touch before shooting past the keeper, his 7th goal of the season. Belshaw then had to show his true worth, making good saves to deny Macari, Jatta and Brown. His opposite number Alex Bass looked on and had only the odd pass back to contemplate until really the last 10 minutes. It was then that Harrogate showed a little more ambition and twice Marty Daly came close, shooting just wide and then straight at Bass. An equaliser would have been a travesty but this is always the possibility when you don’t kill the game off. County really should have done so. Nevertheless a thoroughly deserved win albeit with a somewhat narrow scoreline. FT 1-0 Meadow Lane was completely rebuilt during the 1990’s thanks to some excellent business in the transfer market selling Craig Short, Tommy Johnson and Mark Draper. Previously it had been a ground that had fell into disrepair and despite short term improvements it still appeared rather dated. Nowadays the rebuild makes it one of the best stadiums in the lower divisions and well worth a visit.

Notts County 1-3 Preston North End

As we enter the final stage of the season, Notts County before the match were in the relegation zone of League 1 whilst their opponents, Preston North End, were hoping to keep 2^nd place behind champions Bristol City in the League 1 promotion race. Notts County supporters know only too well how vital a win at home could be in yet another relegation fight which has become a familiar scenario since their decline in the mid-1990’s. As for Preston North End, success has also been a rarity with the last promotion achieved was back in 1999-2000 when they were Division 2 (League 1) champions under manager David Moyes.

I (Ross) left work slightly earlier making my way towards Nottingham and arriving there at 5pm. I met Adrian at my grandparent’s house (Adrian’s parents) where we ate our dinner.

After our dinner, we made the short journey in the car going over Trent Bridge and parking on a nearby road called Crocus Street. From there, we walked across the busy London Road reaching Meadow Lane in a matter of minutes.

As we had plenty of time and it was still light, we decided to take some photos from outside the ground before going to the ticket office to get our tickets for the game.

During the 1970s and 80s, Meadow Lane became increasingly dilapidated. The Meadow Lane End was demolished in 1978 and replaced by a building which housed new dressing rooms, a social club and a variety of other facilities designed to generate more income. There was no stand at this end for several years and Meadow Lane was reduced to a three sided ground. Eventually a small terrace was installed on this side. The Bradford City stadium fire and Hillsborough disaster brought the safety of football stadia into the public gaze and eventually the Taylor Report required that football clubs modernise their grounds. Meadow Lane was subsequently redeveloped during the early 1990s, although the work was planned before the report was issued. The Meadow Lane End, County Road Stand and Spion Kop were all demolished in the 1992 close season and replaced with the Family Stand, the Jimmy Sirrel Stand and the Spion Kop Stand respectively. The Main Stand was replaced during the close season of 1994 by the Derek Pavis Stand. In June 2002, as part of a sponsorship deal, the ground was briefly renamed the "Aaron Scargill Stadium". However, the ground reverted to its original name when the deal later fell through.

Onto the match and it was Preston’s Jermaine Beckford that put the visitors ahead with a flick and cool finish. League One's top goal scorer Joe Garner netted his 22nd of the season to give Preston a two-nil lead at half-time. After the break, County's Jimmy Spencer lashed in but it was Beckford who smashed home his second to give Preston all three vital points. The Lilywhites will seal promotion with wins in their final two games. As for Notts County, they have now failed to win in 11 games and sit two points from safety with just six points left to play for.

After the match we made a quick dash out the Spion Kop, across London Road before reaching the car and back at my grandparent’s house (Adrian’s parents) for 9:45pm. A mug of tea and a few biscuits later, I was back on the road going back towards North West Leicestershire getting home for 11pm.

A poor Notts County performance and result which could see them drop out of League 1 into League 2 if they don’t get points from their final two matches. As for Preston, they could also see themselves leaving League 1 but via promotion to the Championship. With Bristol City already promoted as champions, second place is a two horse race between Preston North End and MK Dons.

Notts County 0-1 Macclesfield Town

Meadow Lane is home to Notts County (The Magpies). Notts County is the oldest league club in Britain. I (Ross) caught a local Arriva bus (99) from Coalville to Nottingham and went to see Notts County play Macclesfield Town who were both fighting to avoid the drop to Conference and Notts played very badly and Macclesfield deserved the win. The one goal of the game came from Nottingham born, Francis Green in the 63rd minute. The Silkmen had a few more chances but it stood at 0-1 till the Full Time whistle. Meadow Lane has been re-developed in the 1990's as they were in Division 1 (Premier League). The Meadow Lane End, County Road Stand and Spion Kop were all demolished in the 1992 close season and replaced with the Family Stand, the Jimmy Sirrel Stand (which now houses Away supporters) and the Spion Kop Stand. The Main Stand was replaced during the close season of 1994 by the Derek Pavis Stand.