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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Josh Holland

Three things we learned from Notts County victory over Altrincham

Notts County moved up to second place in the National League table with a 3-1 victory over Altrincham.

Macaulay Langstaff's brace and an Adam Chicksen strike in the second half lifted Luke Williams' side above Chesterfield, following their 2-1 defeat to Maidenhead United.

It's now six wins in seven games for Notts and the perfect way to prepare for Tuesday night's crunch clash with Wrexham, the new league leaders.

Read more: Jack Grealish makes Notts County promise after old video of Man City star surfaces

Read more: Notts County player ratings vs Altrincham as Langstaff continues brilliant goalscoring run

Despite the victory, Luke Williams told how he was 'disappointed' with his side's display and placed credit to Paul Parkinson's side for their performance in Nottingham.

Upon reflection, here are three things we learnt from the victory.

Squad players taking their chance

With Wrexham coming to town on Tuesday for a mouth-watering clash, Williams made two changes from the side that thrashed York City 4-1 last week with Cedwyn Scott and Tobi Adebayo-Rowling starting in place of Aaron Nemane and Jim O'Brien.

If the game was a chance for them to state their case for more starts, they passed. Adebayo-Rowling was the Magpies' main threat in the game, with most attacks coming from his side. The wing-back did superbly well for the second goal and was unlucky not to add a goal himself.

Scott was also brilliant, linking up well with strike partner Langstaff. He was unlucky not to earn his side a penalty by referee Scott Jackson, but never seemed too frustrated with the lack of action in front of goal.

There were also competent outings by the likes of Sam Austin and Ed Francis when they came on. Ultimately, Williams has a decision to make for his starting XI on Tuesday.

Langstaff is up there as one of the best

There's a fair few of top quality strikers in the National League, with Wrexham duo Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin and Chesterfield's Kabongo Tshimanga, but Langstaff has to be part of that conversation.

Two goals on Saturday afternoon, the sixth time he has scored two or more this season, and further evidence of his poacher's qualities. The 25-year-old was in the right place at the right time and didn't seem to settle for his brace.

He was unlucky not to have the third goal awarded to him, with the club confirming on Twitter that footage showed it was Adam Chicksen's goal. The league's top scorer is bound to have Football League sides sniffing about, but Notts know that comes with having a striker who is bagging goals for fun.

An early fans favourite, Langstaff could be the missing link the club have lacked for years.

Defensive work needs to be done

Whilst Notts did seem a class above their opponents in Nottingham when attacking, they struggled to keep Altrincham quiet at the back. There were many occasions where Marcus Dinanga found himself with acres of space behind County's back three.

The 25-year-old striker was unlucky not to grab a goal in the first half when he smashed the crossbar, but did get himself a goal with a neat finish from close range.

Even at 3-1, Notts showed signs of hesitancy at the back. Whilst lucky that their opponents lacked much quality when required, it'll be a worry for Williams ahead of Wrexham. The Dragons are the league's highest scorers and, as mentioned above, have the likes of Palmer and Mullin who are capable of sniffing out a chance out of nothing.

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