Bumper crowd expected at Meadow Lane for Notts County against Grimsby in National League eliminator

Notts County entertain Grimsby Town on Monday evening in the National League Quarter-Finals with both sides looking to face Wrexham in the semi-finals.

With Notts finishing fifth and Grimsby sixth over the campaign, there has not been awful lot between the two sides to this point.

In the head to head games, both sides have enjoyed equal spoils in dramatic fashion. Notts grabbed an injury time winner at Grimsby through Ruben Rodrigues back in late October to seal a 1-0 win.

The Mariners duplicated that win at Meadow Lane as Luke Waterfall’s stoppage time header confirmed a 2-1 win in early February. Notts arguably have an edge in front of goal, boasting a superior goal difference with Kyle Wooton, Rodrigues and Callum Roberts scoring 54 goals between them.

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Grimsby will be buoyed to have Adam Crookes and Arjan Raikhy back in contention after prolonged time on the treatment table. Aston Villa loanee midfielder, Raikhy has been out for the past three months and is expected that the game may have come too quickly for him at this stage but could still be involved.

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Notts striker Wootton is certainly the danger man for The Magpies with 19 goals in 43 appearances this season. The 6ft 4in target man has drawn suitors from the divisions above with his performances and ability to find the net.
With Wootton out of contract in the summer, the playoffs may well be the last fans may see of him with the likes of Portsmouth amongst other League One clubs showing an interest.

John McAtee with 14 goals to his name in 36 appearances is another player attracting interest and the visitors will be looking to him to make an impact in the eliminating tie. The club have just opened contract talks with the former Scunthorpe United man.

‘He’s done well and we can’t hide away from that fact, we are very pleased about that. He is a big part of the reason we have had a very good season.

‘We have to be sensible as a football club and decisions won’t be made on a whim. We won’t risk thinking we need to panic; it has to be balanced and structured.

‘We are in talks. John knows his value here and knows what we think of him. He also knows where we feel is best for him. He is fully aware of that, and those talks will continue. But for now, that is being parked until whenever our season is concluded, whenever that may be.’

Another Notts man rumoured to attracting interest is manager Ian Burchnall with Forest Green Rovers looking for a replacement for the departing Rob Edwards. Burchnall’s focus is only on one thing and that is getting Notts promoted after narrowly missing out in the previous two seasons.

‘It was a strange season last year with no fans, and then we were just getting them in the for the play-offs. It feels bigger this year. We need to take this first step, the route to London is tough.’

There is expected to be a bumper crowd in at Meadow Lane with over 10,000 tickets sold. The Mariners are also expected to bring strong numbers also with 2,000 supporters making the trip up from the Humber coast.

Grimsby boss, Hurst is aware of the opportunity the game presents in trying to restore his side’s League One status at the first attempt and being away home, could fall into their favour.

‘It’s a pressure game for both teams. You have to deal with that. Sometimes the home crowd, it’s a big crowd and if it’s not going your way, they can get edgy.’

Burchnall dismissed his counterparts comments and is very much looking forwards to playing in front of home support.

‘I think really if you ask them (Grimsby) if they could play home or away, they are going to want to play at home
‘But if they’re away they will look for what the positives are in that and I get it. But, at the same time, I don’t really see our crowd being too anxious in all the big games.

‘When you look across the board at the teams we’ve played against the tope end of the table, we’ve beaten Wrexham, Stockport, Solihull and Grimsby. We have shown our capabilities to get results against the good teams as well.’