Fresh from the biggest victory of the season against Gillingham last time out, Town are on the road this weekend when we travel to Notts County knowing three points could put us within touching distance of the playoff positions.
A game in hand over most of the teams directly above them is still in play for Simon Weaver’s team, so confidence will be high after the second-half display against the Gills.
The Magpies’ return to League Two in 2023–24 marks their first season since their relegation in 2018–19.
County, who had been pushing for playoff spots at the beginning of the season, is starting the game in sixteenth place with 52 points due to a decline in their performance.
They have scored 80 goals, more than any other team in League Two, but they have also given up 79 goals, with their opponents scoring over four goals per game on average.
They have only drawn twice at home this season, winning 10 of their 20 games to earn 32 points, but they have only won once in their previous 10 games overall and are winless in their last seven meetings at Meadow Lane.
Earlier in the season Town triumphed 3-1 at The Envirovent Stadium. First-half goals from George Thomson and Abraham Odoh set them up, before Jodi Jones halved the deficit only for Matty Daly to net a third with twenty minutes remaining.
The teams had already faced each other during the 2019–20 short season. After goals from Kristian Dennis and Enzio Boldewijn gave Notts a 2-0 victory at The Envirovent Stadium, the team enjoyed the early advantage. George Thomson’s early goal gave Town the advantage in the playoff final at Wembley, and Connor Hall’s second goal midway through the half sealed the victory.
Following the interval, Callum Roberts cut the deficit, but Jack Diamond’s goal twenty minutes from time secured Town’s historic promotion.
The two teams then faced off in the postponed FA Trophy semifinal, when Will Smith’s goal gave Town, a league club at the time, a 1-0 victory over their rivals.
The man at the top
Luke Williams left the Magpies to join Swansea City, and Stuart Maynard took over in the dugouts.
Maynard has coached and played at several non-league levels before leading Wealdstone back into the National League.
Of the 14 games he has managed the team so far, Maynard has only won two.
People to keep an eye on
Macaulay Langstaff leads the League Two scoring charts with 24 goals this season, at a pace of 0.60 goals per 90, after scoring 41 goals in their promotion campaign the previous year.
Being the highest scorers in the league, it should come as no surprise that the team has plenty of goal threat, with veteran David McGoldrick contributing 12 goals and Daniel Crowley hitting the mark 14 times.
In addition to his five goals from midfield, midfielder Jodi Jones has an incredible 23 assists, and since signing from Viborg in early February, Alassana Jatta has scored five goals in just four starts.
Past Events
The team was one of the founders of the Football League in 1888, and it is the oldest professional football team in the world, having been founded in 1862. Meadow Lane has been the club’s home field since 1910.
The team finished in the top three twice in the late nineteenth century, and in 1894 they won the FA Cup final. The team played in the second tier for the majority of the 20th century, and it wasn’t until the early 1970s that they were outside the top two divisions due to relegations to the lower tier.
After managing a three-year spell in the top flight following their 1980–1981 comeback, they were relegated back to the third division; nevertheless, Neil Warnock led the team back to the top level.
Simon Weaver will again be without Liam Gibson for Saturday’s encounter and faces late fitness calls on both George Thomson and Matty Daly.
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