Neal Ardley proud of struggling Notts County after draw with leaders Lincoln

Posted Sunday, February 03, 2019 by PA

Neal Ardley said he was proud of his struggling Notts County side as they ground out a 1-1 draw with League Two leaders Lincoln in the week the club were put up for sale.

Last week County chairman Alan Hardy “very reluctantly” put the club up for sale – the same day he accidentally posted an inappropriate picture of his anatomy on social media – but claimed the two were not connected.

To Hardy’s credit, he backed his manager in the closing days of the transfer window as they bid to pull off the great escape.

With County rooted to the bottom of League Two and starring at relegation out of the Football League, the club were badly in need of some good news.

And on the pitch it came as early as the second minute when Jon Stead fired them ahead from the penalty spot.

But they were unable to hang on for maximum points as Bruno Andrade brought Lincoln level on the stroke of half-time and then John Akinde missed a late penalty for the visitors.

But County boss Ardley was pleased with what he saw on the pitch.

He said: “I was very proud of my team’s performance.

“When Lincoln got the penalty late on, I really felt for the players because I thought they didn’t deserve that. But thankfully the luck went our way and they missed the penalty.

“We went toe-to-toe with Lincoln and I had told the players what I wanted to see before the game.

“They are the best team in the league and I said ‘just go for it’ because we have got to win games of football.”

The result leaves County seven points adrift of safety and Ardley knows his side have to start turning draws into wins sooner rather than later.

He added: “It’s a point and if we are going to achieve what we want to achieve, then we are going to have to win a certain amount of games and draw a certain amount too.

“That’s one of the draws chalked off in a tough run of fixtures.”

Top of the table Lincoln are two points clear of second-placed Mansfield with a game in hand and manager Danny Cowley thought it was a good point earned.

He said: “It was everything we expected it to be. We got off to a really poor start which gave them a leg up.

“The penalty looked very innocuous and the referee has had a crazy afternoon. I thought he was dangerous for both teams, if I am honest. He didn’t affect the outcome but he created a crazy game.

“You have to give some credit to the opposition. People who just look at league tables will see this as points dropped for us.

“They (Notts) fought really hard. They were full of energy and full of intensity.

“If you take the league positions out of it, this was a really tough game and is actually a good point, but when you get a penalty in the dying moments, you hope you’re going to score it.”