Long way to go for Neal Ardley at Notts County despite Tranmere triumph

Sky Bet League Two

Notts County 3 Tranmere 2
Stead 33, 76 (pen) Smith 38
Hemmings 44 Jennings 58

The story of the match
This was a game played in freezing conditions that turned extremely wet in the second half yet somehow produced a five-goal thriller from just 16 shots and a draw would have been the fairest result.

County did not do enough to justify their win, although the points will have come in handy for the Sky Bet League Two strugglers in their first home game under the stewardship of manager Neal Ardley.

Not much happened in the first half with Connor Jennings and Nathan Thomas having one chance apiece but the game came to life on 33 minutes when County dangerman Kane Hemmings fed overlapping left-back Dan Jones to deliver a perfect cross for veteran forward Jon Stead to tap in.

Stead turned provider on the stroke of half-time with Hemmings on target but before that Jonathan Smith had equalised for Tranmere thanks to a fine solo dribbling effort.

Rovers were level just before the hour with Jennings afforded the freedom of Meadow Lane to nod home and at that stage Tranmere looked the more likely with Smith forcing a save from Ross Fitzsimons.

However, it was County who grabbed the winner with Thomas foolishly fouled inside the area, allowing Stead to strike from the spot, and substitute Kristian Dennis nearly extended their lead with his first touch, bringing a decent stop from Scott Davies.

'We are staying up!' was the chant from the home end at the full-time whistle as County, still 23rd, narrowed the gap on those above with only three points separating them from 19th-placed Yeovil.

Tactics
Ardley went 4-1-2-3 until Dennis's arrival saw him partner Stead in a 4-4-2 and you could tell it's early days for the new manager as the former AFC Wimbledon boss was having to do plenty of coaching from the sidelines.

County were not overly direct but it made sense to play up to Stead where possible while Keston Davies plays an important role in front of the defence.

• Sky Bet League Two standings

Strengths
County have scored the most goals (25) in the bottom eight and Ardley may find – at least until new faces can be signed in January –that attack is the best form of defence.

Skipper Stead is influential to their play and Ardley could not have asked for much more than two goals and an assist, but the real threat came from the wider positions.

Thomas produced flashes of danger but Hemmings could quite easily have been named as man of the match instead of Stead. The former Mansfield man scored and was involved in just about everything County did well in the final third.

Weaknesses
Ardley wrote in his first programme notes: "It's clear that we concede too many goals as a team, particularly from crosses into the box and rectifying that is one of our utmost priorities."

Tranmere's second goal, therefore, will have been a dagger for the new boss. It was absolutely astonishing how much time and space Jennings was given in the opposition penalty box with nobody in a Notts shirt even close to clearing the cross.

After conceding 45 goals under three different managers, following the earlier sackings of Kevin Nolan and Harry Kewell, they need to find a defensive solution. Jamie Turley looked particularly nervous alongside Elliott Ward at centre-back.

Goalscorer notebook
Jones is the one at bigger odds as he is involved in free kicks, while Hemmings and Thomas are both encouraged to come off the flanks to run beyond Stead so keep them onside.

View from the camp
Ardley said: "We know we are not going to be the best defensive team in the league overnight. There are things we need to work on and we will look at that in the video analysis.

"But we had a really good threat going forward. We had some really good chances before the goals came and it was great to see the strikers score."

Prospects
Notts are not worth backing at 9-4 to go down – cases could be made for the likes of Cambridge and Yeovil at far juicier odds in a congested table – but the matches either side of Christmas against Grimsby and rock-bottom Macclesfield are massive.

Having quality forwards gives them a reasonable chance of survival and they could be worth following in the both teams to score market.

Opposition
This possibly was not a great day to judge Tranmere given manager Micky Mellon rested a few players for the FA Cup tie at Southport 48 hours later (they won 2-0), although on this evidence Rovers looked like a mid-table League Two outfit.

More will be needed to sneak into the playoffs, although prolific striker James Norwood has excellent movement and they did not deserve to lose.

Teams
Notts County 4-1-2-3: Fitzsimons; Hewitt, Turley, Ward, Jones; Davies; Vaughan (Evina 77), Milsom; Thomas, Stead, Hemmings (Dennis 81).

Tranmere 4-2-3-1: Davies; Caprice, Ellis, Sutton, Bakayogo; McCulloch, Harris (Mullin 79); Smith, Cole (Gilmour 75), Jennings; Norwood.

Next three fixtures
Notts County Grimsby (a), Macclesfield (h), Bury (h).
Tranmere Bury (a), Morecambe (h), Yeovil (h).

Read every day for no-nonsense previews and expert sports betting tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport