Match Preview – Notts County (A)

Tomorrow afternoon sees Crewe Alexandra travel to Meadow Lane to face Notts County with former Alex loanee Scott Robertson on the hosts’ playing staff – Charlie Colkett joined them in the January transfer window on loan (not sure if he’s eligible to play in the game or not).

This Season:

This season sees the Magpies sitting in 10th place in the league having beaten Grimsby Town, Doncaster Rovers twice, Tranmere Rovers, Accrington Stanley, Salford City, Forest Green Rovers, Swindon Town, Gillingham, Newport County twice, Bradford City, Crawley Town and Morecambe, they have drawn with Morecambe, MK Dons, Barrow twice and Grimsby Town while they have lost against Sutton United, Colchester United, Mansfield Town twice, Wrexham, us, AFC Wimbledon, Walsall, Harrogate Town, Stockport County, Tranmere, Gillingham and Wrexham.

They lost against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup 2nd Round (after beating Crawley) and lost to Lincoln City in the 1st Round of the Carabao Cup. They lost all 3 games in their EFL Trophy group games against Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Under-21s, Derby County and Lincoln City.

Transfers:

Since the last meeting, they have completed the permanent signings of defender Lewis Macari (who was on loan for the first half of the season), midfielder Robertson and forward Alassana Jatta as well as loaning in goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond, defender Jaden Warner and midfielder Colkett.

Leaving the club permanently was Dan Gosling while goalkeeper Tiernan Brooks left on a loan deal.

Head-to-Head:

Alex Wins: 16
Notts Wins: 23
Draws: 9

Biggest Alex Win: 5-1 at Gresty Road in October 1895
Biggest Notts Win: 6-0 at Meadow Lane in April 1986

Last Meeting

Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Notts County, 11th November 2023

Courtney Baker-Richardson scored the only goal of the game in second-half stoppage time for the Alex.

Crewe: Davies; Offord, O’Riordan, Demetriou; Cooney, Thomas (Billington 84), White, Adebisi; Tracey (Colkett 76), Baker-Richardson, Rowe (Finney 76)

Booked – Offord 14, Cooney 90

Notts: Slocombe; Macari, Baldwin, Cameron; Nemane (Randall 75), O’Brien, Austin (Gosling 80), Jones; Crowley; McGoldrick, Langstaff

Booked – Cameron 45, Baldwin 50, O’Brien 70, Jones 88, Randall 89

Played for Both:

The following players have been contracted to both teams:

Goalkeepers: Jason Kearton, Brian Parkin, Tom Poskett

Defenders: Thierry Audel, Zoumana Bakayago, Julien Baudet, Paul Boertien, Mark Ellis, Dean Howell, Nicky Hunt, Alan Sheehan, James Stothert, Sam Stubbs, George Swift, Matt Tootle

Midfielders: Charlie Colkett, Jim Gannon, Regan Griffiths, Stefan Oakes, Michael O’Connor, Scott Robertson, Geoff Thomas, David Vaughan, Thomas Wainwright

Forwards: Dele Adebola, Febian Brandy, Frank Broome, David Brown, Colin Cramb, Len Featherby, Marcus Haber, Terry Harkin, Danny Haynes, Horace Henshall, Harry Lowatt, Jim Mackey, Allan Mansley, Lee Matthews, Vadaine Oliver, Luke Rodgers, Callum Saunders, Jim Sullivan, Barry Tait, Andy White

Officials:

The EFL have announced that Ross Joyce is tomorrow’s referee with Johnathon Bickerdike and Ryan Head assisting him and Richard Wigglesworth the fourth official. Joyce has refereed the following Crewe games in the last 5 years:

• Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Port Vale (2nd November 2019)
• Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Macclesfield Town (22nd February 2020) – Porter, Walker
• Crewe Alexandra 1-1 Ipswich Town (30th January 2021) – Kirk
• Fleetwood Town 0-2 Crewe Alexandra (20th April 2021) – Dale, Porter
• Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Burton Albion (18th September 2021) – Bennett (2)
• Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Doncaster Rovers (1st December 2021, EFL Trophy) – Knight, Finney
• MK Dons 2-1 Crewe Alexandra (5th April 2022) – Sambou
• Carlisle United 0-0 Crewe Alexandra (1st October 2022)
• Doncaster Rovers 0-2 Crewe Alexandra (1st April 2023) – Baker-Richardson, O’Riordan
• Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Tranmere Rovers (14th October 2023) – Demetriou, Long