Notts County 4-1 Bury (22/2/13)

Notts County 4-1 Bury
NPower League One
Friday 22nd February


J.Kelly, 58                                                                                                   Schumacher, 24
F.Zoko, 61, 65
J.Campbell-Ryce 74' (pen)


Meadow Lane
Referee: Geoff Eltringham

Match Report:

In a match that was chosen by the Football League to be played in front of the TV Cameras on Sky Sports, it was the "Magpies" Notts County who prevailed in a lively encounter with relegation threatened Bury at Meadow Lane.
Caretaker Manager Chris Kiwomya made just two changes to the side that drew with Walsall six days prior to this match, with midfielder Jeff Hughes and young Leicester City loanee Jacob Blyth making way for Left Back Julian Kelly and Frenchman Yoann Arquin, as the Notts Manager decided to revert to a traditional 4-4-2 formation for this particular encounter.
Julian Kelly was involved in the first opening that Notts created in the 14th minute, when Jamaican winger Jamal Campbell-Ryce, fed him in with an accurate through pass down the right channel. The former Reading full back then produced a terrific cross into the penalty box which was just a little too high for Yoann Arquin, who looked destined to score.  The game then went into a tight midfield battle that resulted in hardly any attempts on goal for either side, but, that all changed in the 24th minute, when Bury took the lead through skipper Steven Schumacher. The former Bradford midfielder intercepted a poor pass from Julian Kelly out of defence, & then he carried the ball into space and refiled in an unstoppable volley past Notts Goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski and his right-hand post. Two minutes after the opener, Notts had a chance to level matters, when Yoann Arquin had a shot from the edge of the Penalty Box which Bury Goalkeeper Trevor Carson nervously spilled behind for a corner. The "Magpies" continued to press for an equaliser in the first half, and created more chances, with Jamal Campbell-Ryce, who was causing problems on the left flank, firing in a dangerous looking cross which on-loan Manchester United striker John Cofie did well to get a head onto, but he couldn't direct his header on target with Trevor Carson beaten in goal. Campbell-Ryce went close himself before the end of the first half with a blistering shot that was hit straight at the Goalkeeper. The half time whistle came, and the Meadow Lane faithful made their frustrations clear at the break, following another quiet first half, with the norm of conceding avoidable goals, and a lack of clear-cut chances in front of the opposition goal.
Notts Caretaker Manager Chris Kiwomya new that changes were drastically needed to give his side a more attacking goal threat, and it resulted in Frenchman Yoann Arquin being replaced by Ivorian Francois Zoko. It proved to be a master stroke of genius by Kiwomya, as the former Carlisle winger was a constant thorn in the "Shakers" side every time he got near the ball in the 2nd half. The "Magpies" managed to successfully get themselves back on level terms on 58 minutes, when John Cofie provided an incisive pass which Julian Kelly did well to latch onto. The Left Back made up for his costly mistake earlier in the First Half, when he went past his marker and applied a slide finish that deflected into the net off opposition defender Joe Skarz. The "Magpies" gained confidence from the equaliser, and it wasn't long till they turned the game round and took the lead. Three minutes after equalising, "The Enforcer" Andre Boucaud, produced a hopeful chipped pass from the away back-line, which 2nd half substitute Francois Zoko did superbly well to collect. The Ivorian wrestled past his marker and placed accurately across goal into the bottom left-hand corner. It did not take long for Notts to extend their goal advantage to 3, as another long Andre Boucaud pass on 65 minutes, penetrated the Bury back-line and found Francois Zoko yet again. The "Target-man" managed to get past his marker, who was in fact former Notts County loanee Ashley Eastham, prod the ball in between opposition keeper Trevor Carson's legs and slot the ball home to give the rejuvenated home side a deserved two goal cushion and Zoko his second goal of the evening. Notts dominated the 2nd half proceedings, and on 68 minutes, the "Magpies" were unfortunate not to get a forth goal, when defender Gary Liddle's stunning 30 yard volley was unfortunate to go inches wide of the left hand post with "Shakers" keeper Trevor Carson completely beaten. The home side were not to be denied a forth goal however in the end, when Ashley Eastham upended the "Irish Messi" Alan Judge inside the penalty box. Up stepped regular penalty taker Jamal Campbell-Ryce, who made no mistake from the spot, by placing the ball down the centre to make it 4-1 to the home side and make the points safe. Francois Zoko almost managed to grab his hat-trick at the very end, but a smart near-post save by Trevor Carson made sure that wasn't going to happen. However, in the end, it was the three points that mattered the most, as the "Magpies" managed to give caretaker Manager Chris Kiwomya his first win under his tenure and rejuvenate their push for the top six and promotion to the NPower Championship.

My Man of the Match: Francois Zoko. Scored two vital goals and was a constant thorn in the Bury defence when he was introduced for the second half.

Notts County: Bialkowski, Kelly, Liddle, Leacock (Hollis' 85), Sheehan, Campbell-Ryce, Boucaud (Hughes' 76), Bishop, Judge, Arquin (Zoko' 46), Cofie

Bury: Carson, Skarz, Eastham, Regan, Zubar (Soares' 46), Ebanks-Landell, Worrall, Schumacher, Thompson (Carrington' 86), Bishop, Ajose (Fagan' 80)

Attendance: 5,795 (Including 297 away supporters)

NPower League One Positions:

Notts County: P: 23, W: 12, D: 12, L: 9, Pts = 48 (10th Position)
Bury: P: 23, W: 5, D: 12, L: 16, Pts = 27 (22nd Position)

Chris Kiwomya (Notts County Caretaker Manager) - “It was much better in the second half, as in the first half it was flat and disappointing again, but the boys reacted again so I can’t be too fussy. In the second half, we asked a lot more questions of them, had a lot more purpose and we played at a higher tempo. We played higher up the pitch and there weren’t too many square passes as well, so I was very pleased with the second half performance. (On his substitution of Francois Zoko for Yoann Arquin at the half time interval) - “It was a tactical decision on my behalf, Zoko had trained well all week and I thought he’d give something to us in the game. He did that and he was the difference in the second half. He uses his body very well and he’s a strong boy, so you know when he gets into those positions he can lean into people and manipulate the ball. That’s what he did in the second half and I thought he was excellent.”