Fixture Details:

Notts County vs Barnet FC

Saturday 10th October, 15:00

Meadow Lane

Vanarama National League – Matchday 3

THE MAGPIES:

Form: LW

Last Match: Notts County 3-1 Altrincham 

Manager: Neal Ardley 

Club Captain: Michael Doyle

This weekend’s hosts recovered from opening day defeat to Dover Athletic with a home victory over Altrincham on Wednesday evening. Last season’s beaten play-off finalists will be hoping to go one step better this time around and return to the Football League at the second time of asking. The Bees will have to be wary of Notts striker Kyle Wooton who struck two goals in their victory on Wednesday and will be hoping to be the man who leads the Pies to promotion. Elsewhere they have further threats in attack through Cal Roberts and Enzio Boldewijn, whilst the experienced heads of Michael Doyle and Jim O’Brien steady the ship in the middle of the park. 

Neal Ardley’s side will be feeling the expectation of getting themselves back into the Football League in their second season in the National League. The Pies have once again invested heavily over the summer with nine new faces coming through the door, including Portuguese attacking midfielder Ruben Rodrigues. However, this weekend’s opponents have also had 17 players leave giving the Pies a more compact squad. 

After getting past the Bees in last season’s play-off semi-final, Ardley’s side lost out to Harrogate Town in the Wembley final. The now League Two side became the Pies kryptonite again in the FA Trophy as they edged out Notts 1-0 in the semi final that was played just a few weeks ago. After a rocky opening day, this weekend’s opponents will want to try and build momentum in this crucial early part of the season. 

THE BEES: 

Beadle’s side will have their tails up following Tuesday night’s dramatic comeback victory over Dagenham and Redbridge. Late goals from JJ Hooper and Eliot Richards cancelled out Angelo Balanta’s first-half opener for the Daggers. The victory Tuesday evening will come as a mental boost for the Bees players after they showed a response following our humbling at home to Eastleigh on the opening day of the season.

 

Getting ready for another big away day @Official_NCFC #BarnetFC pic.twitter.com/QvHadHf6nj

— Barnet FC (@BarnetFC) October 9, 2020

The boys have looked bright in training this week and for some of the lads, they will want to seek revenge for last season’s playoff defeat at Meadow Lane. The Bees could be boosted with the return of Josh Walker to the matchday squad after he missed the opening two matches with an injury. However, the boss confirmed that Michael Petrasso will not be available for the Bees until at least Tuesday’s match with Weymouth following his arrival from Canada this week. 

WHAT’S BEEN SAID:

Peter Beadle:

LAST LEAGUE MEETING: Notts County 1-2 Barnet FC

WHERE TO FOLLOW THE ACTION:

Notts County will be streaming the match via their channels, at a cost of £12. The stream will be multi-camera and include live commentary from BBC Radio Nottingham.

You can read more about Notts’ streaming service which includes a useful Q&A for registering etc. by CLICKING HERE

You can purchase your match pass from Notts by CLICKING HERE 

Alternatively, we will be on hand with minute by minute updates of the action via our Twitter account, with some behind the scenes content via our Instagram page. Check out the Match Pack after the match for the full report and all the reaction from Meadow Lane. 

For audio commentary, the match is being broadcast live on BBC Radio Nottingham. 

COME ON YOU BEES!