Notts County
FA Cup 4th Round
Saturday 28th January 2012
The Lamex Stadium, Stevenage
Kick Off: 3pm
Weather Forecast: Fog, 7°c
Referee: N Swarbrick (Lancashire)
Gary Smith's reign as Stevenage manager begins in earnest this weekend as Boro host Notts County in the FA Cup, hoping not just to avenge their defeat against the Magpies earlier this season but also make it into the fifth round of the competition for the first time in their history.
After an encouraging start to the season which saw them reach 3rd in the league in mid-October, Martin Allen's men have slipped down to 13th following a run of just one victory in their last 14 league games. They have however found respite in the FA Cup with victories over Accrington (4-1), Sutton United (2-0) and Doncaster Rovers (2-0) to set up this fourth round meeting.
Last time we met:
Notts County left The Lamex with all three points back in September after a 2-0 victory. It could have been so much different for the hosts had Craig Reid not seen a first half penalty saved by Stuart Nelson after a Krystian Pearce foul. Lee Hughes then prodded home from close range in first half injury time to give the visitors the lead after Boro failed to clear a corner. Shortly after the break it was 2-0 as Ben Burgess was given the freedom of the penalty area to power a free header past Chris Day. Boro pushed forward in vain but failed to force Nelson into any notable saves and were left to contemplate on a disappointing performance.
Boro: Day; Henry, Ashton, Roberts, Laird (Beardsley); Wilson, Bostwick, Byrom (Walker), Long; Reid (Harrison), Charles
Subs not used: Julian, Edwards
Team News
New Stevenage boss Gary Smith is likely to name a similar side to that which beat MK Dons impressively on Tuesday night. Chuks Aneke, Phil Edwards, Stacy Long, Robin Shroot and Don Cowan are available should he wish to make changes but John Mousinho and Rob Sinclair are injured.
Notts County could recall both Lee Hughes and Ben Burgess after both strikers scored in the Magpies' win at The Lamex earlier in the season. Krystian Pearce and Hamza Bencherif could also earn recalls after being unused subs in Tuesday's draw with Preston. Julian Kelly (calf), Sam Sodje (hamstring) and Rob Burch (knee) are all injured.
The Notts County Scout Report
Recent Form
Notts County are in 13th position in League One after recording nine wins, seven draws and 11 defeats from 27 games. Whilst they have no wins in their last eight league games, boss Martin Allen has been keen to stress in recent days how well his side have been performing against some of the league's better sides over the past few weeks. Their last five games have seen draws against MK Dons (1-1), Huddersfield (2-2) and most recently Preston (0-0) with narrow defeats to Oldham (2-3) and Bournemouth (1-2).
Whilst County have the 6th best home record in League One this season they have just the 17th best record away from home with only three wins from 14 games. They have, however, seen two FA Cup victories on their travels whilst also drawing 3-3 with neighbours Nottingham Forest in the Carling Cup, only to lose 4-3 on penalties.
As Boro were busy seeing off Hartlepool, Stourbridge and Reading to reach this round, the Magpies have seen FA Cup wins against Accrington Stanley (4-1), Sutton United (2-0) and most recently Championship side Doncaster Rovers (2-0) to set up this fixture.
Possible Notts County line-up for Saturday (4-1-3-2 formation)
Stuart Nelson; Kieron Freeman, Liam Chilvers, Damion Stewart, Alan Sheean; Gavin Mahon; Neal Bishop, Alan Judge, Jeff Hughes; Ben Burgess, Lee Hughes
Subs from: Ishmael Demontagnac, Liam Mitchell, Krystian Pearce, Hamza Bencherif, Jon Harley, Karl Hawley
Men to watch:
If Boro want to secure another clean sheet in this game and ensure safe passage to the next round of the FA Cup then they'll have to watch anyone with Hughes on the back of their shirt very closely.
Between them Jeff and Lee Hughes have scored 21 goals for Notts County so far this season with perhaps the biggest surprise being that the midfielder (13) has more than the veteran striker (9). 26-year old Jeff joined County last summer having spent the previous three years at Bristol Rovers where he made over 120 appearances and scored 29 times. Prior to that the 26-year old played for Crystal Palace and Lincoln City. He's also the only County player to find the back of the net in the FA Cup since Alan Sheehan scored in Round One in November, having scored both goals in subsequent wins over Sutton and Doncaster.
Meanwhile former West Brom front man Lee has scored 58 times for the Magpies since arriving in 2009. Despite his advancing years he remains a big threat up top and should he score again then watch out for his trademark comedy dance, the 'Hughesy'.
PREVIEW BY DAVE TOYN
