Late blow so hard to take

Dean Furman tries to break clear

Notts County 1, Athletic 0
A SIXTH defeat in an eight-game stretch was a harsh judgement on Athletic.

Alan Sheehan’s rocket-shot in the 89th minute kept the fire of Notts County’s play-off ambitions burning, but the home side were generally outplayed in another contest that ended with an over-riding feeling of frustration for Paul Dickov and his men.

It was nigh-on impossible to tell apart the side with top-six ambitions from the team seeking merely to finish in the top half of npower League One.

With captain Dean Furman and link-man Robbie Simpson restored to the team after injury, Dickov’s side were much-improved from the off.

Passing the ball neatly when in possession and moving into space intelligently, there was also an added bite to their pressing game which betrayed the fact that there was an extra spice to this particular contest.

Athletic were clearly out to prove a point following their chairman Simon Corney’s stinging midweek criticism of the effort levels in the Leyton Orient defeat last Tuesday.

At Meadow Lane, the commitment of the players was unquestionable.

The quality in the final third, though, does mean this team remains open to conjecture over its attacking instincts.

Despite having Simpson and Filipe Morais back, playing Oumare Tounkara from the start against County, obtaining Harry Bunn on loan and seeing Shefki Kuqi’s goal drought end at Rochdale, Athletic have not found the net in the last three-and-three-quarter hours of football.

Defining moments in games – be they refereeing decisions that go against Athletic, such as what appeared to be a clear foul on Morais prior to ex-Boundary Park loan left-back Sheehan’s goal – are not going the way of Dickov right now.

Had Chris Taylor’s first-half shot from 25 yards been a fraction more accurate, it would have ended up in the net rather than bouncing back off a post to safety.

Similarly, Kuqi was unlucky to see his cleanly-struck effort arrow inches wide of the upright before Sheehan’s moment of class claimed the points for his side.

It was impossible to work out which laws of physics were in play to force Kuqi's shot off-target.

Dickov made five changes to the side which had limped to the

low-key defeat against Orient.

Out went injured goalkeeper Alex Cisak, James Tarkowski, Youssouf Mchangama, Bunn and Reid; in came Dean Bouzanis, for a full debut in goal, Reece Brown, Furman, Simpson and Tounkara.

Taylor patrolled the left flank and Simpson the right, though the latter player in particular often came infield in order to help set up attacks.

It was a formation that caught the eye immediately.

The full version of this story is in tonight’s Chronicle and in the eChron and iChron electronic editions.