That was a shocker. Saturday's 5-0 win over AFC Wimbledon had lifted the mood around Hillsborough. Tuesday night at Meadow Lane undid most of that. Notts County came into this with one league win all season. They hadn't beaten Wednesday on home soil since 1991. They won comfortably, and Wednesday did not manage a single shot on target all night.
Bernard injured, Slattery suspended
It started cagily, and for the opening spell Wednesday moved the ball with some confidence without creating anything. The game turned on 14 minutes. Di'Shon Bernard threw himself into a block, got up holding his knee and eventually walked gingerly to the touchline, looking dejected. After everything he has been through over the past two years, it was horrible to watch. The one crumb of comfort is that it's not the knee that kept him out for so long, so there's a chance it is only a knock from the impact.
Gabriel Otegbayo replaced him. A minute later Callum Slattery was booked for a challenge on the edge of our box. It was his fifth of the season, so he misses Saturday's trip to Doncaster.
Kanu punishes a clumsy challenge
From there County were the better side, and the hungrier one. Rory Finneran flashed a free kick over from distance. Then former Owl Conor Grant ran onto a lovely ball from Nicholas Tsaroulla and lifted his shot wide when he should have scored. Wednesday were losing their duels, playing at nothing like Saturday's tempo, and being picked off on the break.
With seven minutes of the half left, Otegbayo clumsily brought down Daniel Kanu in the box. Kanu sent Ashley Maynard-Brewer the wrong way from the spot. The game got niggly after that, and Grant was booked for a late one on Jamal Lowe. Harry Gray cut inside and dragged a shot wide, which was about as close as we came all night. Liam Cooper then had to charge down Scott Robertson's effort, and we were lucky to go in only one behind. The boos from the away end at half-time were deserved.
Lowe sees red
Pedersen took Slattery off at the interval for Ali Al-Hamadi. With Slattery already on a yellow in a game that was getting heated, it was the right call. The second half started even worse. Tsaroulla was left completely unmarked after a quick County break and only a poor finish let us off.
Then, five minutes in, Jamal Lowe took a heavy touch, dived in to win it back and caught Jacob Bedeau late. Referee Stephen Parkinson had no option but to send him off, and Lowe hurt himself in the challenge too. Lowe is our top scorer, and he now misses the next three games for a rash tackle. That is hard to forgive from an experienced player.
No way back with ten men
Max Lowe and Billy Mitchell came on for Reece James and Barry Bannan, with Max taking the armband. With ten men we needed composure, and we had none. Touches went astray, passes went to nobody, and we never put County under any real pressure. Kanu, who had given our defence problems all night, forced a good save from Maynard-Brewer at his near post.
Kieran Morrison replaced Otegbayo with 12 minutes left as a final throw of the dice. Three minutes later County substitute Darius Lipsiuc was left completely unmarked to finish off Finneran's pass. Maynard-Brewer had no chance with it, and the game was over.
Second best from start to finish
The numbers are grim. County had 19 shots to our six. They had 2.41 expected goals to our 0.3. They won four corners and we won none. Maynard-Brewer and Cooper were the only two Wednesday players to come out of this with any credit. Cooper in particular was outstanding again, throwing himself in front of everything. Everyone else was well below the level they had shown on Saturday. This was not a smash-and-grab or a case of bad luck. We were second best from start to finish against the side second from bottom.
This was the first time all season Pedersen had named an unchanged eleven, in the hope of building on Wimbledon. Instead the unbeaten run is over. Wednesday head to Doncaster on Saturday without Slattery and Jamal Lowe, with doubts over Bernard, and needing a response.
Match details
Notts County: Kanu 38' (pen), Lipsiuc 81'
Sent off: J. Lowe 50' (Wednesday)
Wednesday subs: Otegbayo for Bernard 14', Al-Hamadi for Slattery 45', Mitchell for Bannan 56', M. Lowe for James 56', Morrison for Otegbayo 78'
Referee: Stephen Parkinson
Image credit : SWFC Official