The striker was forced off in the Magpies defeat to Crewe Alexandra last month
This Saturday afternoon, Notts County will play their first League Two match of the season when they host AFC Wimbledon at Meadow Lane.
The Magpies enter the match fresh off three straight losses, their most recent coming against relegation-threatened Sutton United. Last week, they had to postpone their game against Bradford City because of a flooded pitch, only a few hours before it was scheduled to take place.
Though David McGoldrick, who hasn’t played since a 3-1 loss to Crewe Alexandra last month, is back, Stuart Maynard and his team have a chance to win at Meadow Lane this year and go back into the running for a spot in the play-offs.
The manager of the Magpies was able to provide an update on McGoldrick, an accomplished striker who has been playing well since rejoining his childhood team last summer.
The 36-year-old has had some outstanding performances this season since returning to Meadow Lane, where he was a graduate of the junior team. He has scored some crucial goals in the early going for Notts.
Just four minutes into the second half of the Magpies’ 3-1 loss to Crewe last month, he was forced to leave the game due to an injury that Maynard described as a dead leg, which prevented him from playing in the unexpected loss to Sutton.
Prior to the match against Wimbledon, Maynard was able to give an update on his team while speaking with BBC Radio Nottingham. McGoldrick was anticipated to miss the journey to Yorkshire.
“There are still a few that are on the training ground with us at the minute but are getting closer, but not totally in contention for the squad.”The fact that they are present and have been training with us is excellent.
One of Notts’ more seasoned and offensive threats will be available for the visit from Johnnie Jackson’s team, which could prove to be one of the few benefits of the postponement last weekend. Additionally, the extra time on the training pitch will allow them to improve on some aspects of their recent performances, which have seen them drop to 14th in the standings.
The extra week helped both new arrival Alassana Jatta, who arrived from Viborg in the January transfer window and has impressed on the bench, acclimatise to life in England, and Cedwyn Scott, the hero of last season’s play-off final, who is getting close to playing again.
Rearranged Bradford City fixture far from ideal for Notts County
The away game at Valley Parade was rescheduled after the postponement, and the club confirmed the new date on Tuesday afternoon.
March’s packed schedule begins with the match against Wimbledon, which consists of five games in 14 days, three of which are away from home.
Their journey to Bradford is slated for midweek rather than the weekend, and the matchup with the Bantams is wedged between travels to Accrington Stanley and Crawley Town, two more teams that are in the running for the play-offs.
Naturally, this will have an impact on the number of supporters who travel up from the East Midlands, as many of them have work obligations and are unable to support their club during a crucial moment given their recent performance.
It appears like this month will be crucial to Notts’ season and their hopes of winning back-to-back promotions this year. Maynard and his team are hoping to start the hectic stretch this weekend with a much-needed victory over a play-off opponent.
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