Luke Williams demands more from Notts County after victory at Doncaster

Posted Sunday, August 20, 2023 by PA

Notts County ran out comfortable winners in a 3-1 League Two victory over Doncaster but demanding manager Luke Williams was not fully convinced by their efforts.

A brace from Macauley Langstaff and a Jodi Jones strike had County in total control on their way to a first away win back in the EFL, before Deji Sotona grabbed an added-time consolation for the hosts.

Williams did not believe the scoreline was reflective of the game and said there was much better to come from the Magpies.

“We need to improve our focus and concentration at the end because one or two sloppy things meant that we conceded a goal on a day that our keeper deserved a clean sheet,” he said.

“The first half was also a bit cagey and there wasn’t much in the game but we took our chances.

“Otherwise, Doncaster made it difficult for us to build up to the final third. The goals changed the game, though, and the second straight after half-time took the sting out of it a bit.

“I’m delighted with the scoreline, even though I’m not sure it was a true reflection of the game.”

Langstaff – who scored 42 goals en route to National League promotion last season – got off the mark for the campaign.

Williams said: “He came close to a hat-trick and deserved the goals for the workrate he’s been putting in for us this season.

“He’ll be looking to get another brace now because he likes his goal-a-game ratio and is playing catch-up.”

Doncaster boss Grant McCann was bitterly disappointed with a lack of fight shown by his side, who continue to chase their first league win of the season.

McCann labelled the performance unacceptable and said the issues must be addressed quickly as he looks to correct a poor start to the season.

He said: “When you watch the first goal back, we don’t sprint, we don’t close it down quick enough and we let (John) Bostock just cross the ball. This is something we have to improve on.

“What I see at the minute is teams with more energy and more aggression than us out of possession and that is something I can’t live with. I can live with getting beat when a team is head and shoulders better than us. At times Notts County were.

“But I can’t live with people not running and working – that’s on us.

“We concede from a cross into the box and we leave someone who scored 40-odd goals last season completely free and then we do the exact same at the start of the second half in the middle of the box to give ourselves a mountain to climb in the game.”