Latics in huge trouble
Reporter: Matthew Chambers
Date published: 23 January 2013
Photo: Pictures: Alan Howarth
Reece Wabara shows his Notts County rival a clean pair of heels.
Notts C 1 Athletic 0
ON A night when League Two’s Bradford showed football’s capacity to induce moments of magic, this seventh defeat in eight games for Athletic showed its polar opposite.
There were no conjuring tricks from beleaguered Paul Dickov’s men. No goals, either, and for half of the contest, despite a shaking of the starting line-up, little cohesion.
Athletic will again count themselves unfortunate not to have gained a point.
Matt Smith’s looping header was foiled by a brilliant acrobatic clearance from Notts County defender Gary Liddle.
That came in an improving second-half show: admittedly, it couldn’t have got much wrose than their performance in the first.
Athletic were awful and lucky to be only one goal down.
Teen duo Dan Taylor and Chris Sutherland were handed first starts for the club, with a brief to feed off Smith. It didn’t happen.
Athletic were stretched, disorganised and gave away possession regularly.
The only goal of the game came thanks to a mis-hit Campbell-Ryce shot which tall Showunmi was able to convert for his first league goal of the season.
A half-time rocket from the manger saw Athletic up the tempo after the interval.
Grounds headed over the bar when off-balance from a Jose Baxter free-kick delivery and as the game turned niggly, peppered by several bookings, Smith saw his best effort from a driven Youssouf Mchangama cross heading towards goal only for Liddle to intervene.
A triple substitution, brought Lee Croft, Carl Winchester and Robbie Simpson and more purpose from the team.
Simpson saw his well-struck 20-yard drive deflect a couple of yards wide and Croft’s cross was flicked away from Baxter’s head in the nick of time.
Athletic, for all their effort — and there was no shortage of that — are way short of being a good side at the moment.
For that to happen, experienced new players — a striker and a winger, at least — are surely needed.
No magic wand can be waved to solve the problem. Athletic are in big trouble.
