Neal Ardley thrilled with Notts County approach after draw with Bury - 7M sport

Neal Ardley thrilled with Notts County approach after draw with Bury



Posted Sunday, December 30, 2018 by PA

Neal Ardley thrilled with Notts County approach after draw with Bury

Neal Ardley thanked his Notts County players for buying into new ideas following a morale-boosting 0-0 draw against promotion-chasing Bury.

The Magpies, bottom of League Two, suffered a 2-1 defeat to relegation rivals Macclesfield on Boxing Day and the mood was dark heading into Saturday’s match.

But Ardley changed their tactics and it worked, with County dominating the game and creating numerous chances.

The only thing lacking was a cutting edge up front, with Jon Stead’s second-half penalty miss particularly costly, but Ardley was still beaming at full time.

“It was a better display, the boys gave it all and I can’t ask for more,” he said.

“We worked on a game plan to tackle Bury, we changed our shape and we talked through why we were doing it and we worked hard on it.

“I told the boys to trust us and focus on the changes. The energy was brilliant. The fans wanted to see a performance and the boys run for the shirt and we did that all game.

“We have had injury problems ahead of the game but the boys were fantastic. We looked like we were going to score more and Bury offered little for a team so good going forward, we should have won the game.

“We had the moment with the penalty but unfortunately we have not taken that chance.

“Jon Stead will be forgiven by the fans for what he has done for this club.”

For Bury, it’s an underwhelming point and they had goalkeeper Joe Muphy to thank for a string of fine saves, including a late diving effort to deny Matt Tootle.

However, they remain in the play-off places and manager Ryan Lowe was satisfied with a point – if not the performance.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, coming to the bottom of the league when everyone expects us to win,” he said.

“Notts County are fighting for their survival and you saw that during the first half. We showed a gutsy second half after they were on top in the first half.

“We spoke at half-time about responding and getting ourselves into the game and getting some possession.

“We were better in the second half and created chances, we were much more in the game after the break.

“The players know their responsibilities, nothing’s ever easy and they know that. We have to keep working hard and battling.

“After the second half we came off disappointed that we didn’t win the game, but also relieved that we came away with a point.

“Joe Murphy was excellent for us today and made some great saves to keep us in the match. Today we weren’t at it.”

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