L1: Notts County 4 Yeovil Town 0

Dismal Day At The County Show - by Cruncher

Following the staunch display against Oldham, my confidence was not even dented by the LDV Vans Trophy defeat to Exeter. Notts County were to be the Hartlepool chance that we fluffed, and while not glib enough to expect a win I hoped we were at least ripe for a decent performance. High hopes indeed, for some cohesion and purpose, and that the words of the day might be pass and move. As it transpired, the two words I heard most were Hooters and crap. Oh and nil, I heard that a lot.

Hearing of Dean Bowditch's unavailability, I checked out the ten outfield players warming up with Darren Way to guess at what might be the formation. Hmm, three centre-halves - most likely going to be Adam Virgo up front, though I did hope for three hoofers holding the fort enabling the full-backs (who by reports had been struggling defensively) to block out the threats from wide, as well as to get forward as is their strength. Unfortunately it was the former, Virgo though put in a shift and I admired his effort. Luke Freeman alongside also tried hard and showed glimpses of class, but the odds were stacked against him and the rest of a mish-mash of a starting eleven.

Luke Ayling (stuck out towards the right rather than on it) proved to be the wrong choice for balance that it appeared it would be, as I saw it. I have sympathy for the manager's overall task, but was despondent he ignored Cameron Stewart on the right, a choice I think that created a disadvantage from the start. It was my pleasure to meet Matt from Wellingborough. He was obviously drawn to Hooters for its well-known intellectual debate, where pre-match he learned from County fans that 'if Yeovil have wingers against our full backs, then they will win.'

We coped well enough for the first quarter. Contrary to murmurs about Stefan Stam's showing and my own suspicion he might be rusty, he and Paul Huntington snuffed out both the skill and cunning of the County attack quite competently in that period, aided by the home side's midfield wasting of the final ball. Yeovil forced some useful corners and did get forward, but it was two sides slugging against each other, certainly not poetry. The most likely scenario was that one side would give the other a way in, and that is what happened with the first goal.

John Sullivan may well have got the ball before Craig Westcarr hooked it over him, if he had continued his initial movement forward, or saved if he had not moved. I could not tell what did or didn't happen between Stam and his keeper, but my thoughts at the time revisited my belief during the warm-up that it would be better to have kept Virgo and Huntington together, to keep their learning curve of each other moving forward, rather than to bust two departments of the pitch in one go. In the context of two blunt teams both looking like relegation fodder, the first goal was a big moment. Both the team and the away support were visibly set back, a reflection on our current fragility. All credit though to the young group who sang themselves hoarse, they were rockin' and kept at it admirably.

Yeovil were on the back foot, and it didn't take long for that to be compounded. It signalled for County's approach play to get better, to coincide with the Yeovil defensive work to fall apart, culminating firstly in an an unchallenged stinger from Ben Davies which Sullivan puzzlingly parried behind himself for the second goal, and then another gift for Davies just seconds before the half-time whistle. That third goal was a terrible blow, County appeared to have no ambition of a forward thrust in those dying seconds before the break, when all of a sudden a gap opened up as if sending a leper into a bus queue.

The Meadow Lane 100 Years celebrations had set the scene for the hosts, and the pre-match procession of over fifty veterans was befitting the occasion. This was County's Show, but at no time could I see either team's display on the day showing them to be contenders to beat the drop. Lee Hughes's volley was well-taken for their fourth. Such basic glaring problems seem to beset this Yeovil side - despite setting out their stall from pre-season to play to a quick enterprising style, they seem unable to create angles either for the pass or or to stretch the opposition. The back four was easily hurried into hoofing the ball away, whereas the County back four could pass it around with time and space, with their midfielders dropping back to collect-and-build.

A disappointed, despondent and demoralised away support on a thoroughly dismal day. Thoughts turned to two situations: what could be done about the here and now, and what was going to happen to our club long-term? For me, I couldn't help but get the two tangled up, trudging back to the station wedged in amongst the merry men of Nottingham (many soon-to-be-merrier Hooter's-bound), wondering how it would all pan out.

At the final whistle, I detected a hint that displeasure was going to erupt. Manager Terry Skiverton strode boldly across with purposeful stride applauding the support, with players summoned to follow. A bighearted response from a bighearted man, there is no doubt, that also served to quell the revolt, at least that's how it seemed. He does seem to have got himself into some dilemmas: soon there will be too many loan players which was opposite to the declared intent, and we have a number of contracted players who don't seem to be anywhere near ready.

These dilemmas arise as a result of trying to make a difficult situation work, and are similar to those that beset Russell Slade. Just a short jog away was the scene of that dream Nottingham night, now we return to the city for a nightmare. It transpired as some suspected that the Wembley push was an overspend year - what is clear since on continuing falling crowds is that, without having got revenue streams in place, we are falling further off the pace as a competitive financial force in League One.

Which is why HHH's post on Achieve by Unity is significant. And as it is his first post in the six months since the forum started, a long-time coming like a Terrell Forbes goal with similar impact.

Dismal is the only word apart from expletives that describes the performance. In 180 minutes of League One football County had scored just once at home prior to yesterday. They were crying out for a soft touch to kick-start their season - the team from Somerset duly obliged.

Cruncher