Captain Paddy Madden was, for the second time in the month, a hat-trick hero, as the already-promoted Hatters secured the League Two title on a dramatic night of goals galore at Notts County.
The assignment in Nottingham – rescheduled for a Tuesday night following its postponement, due to a frozen pitch, just under three months previously – saw Madden net three times in 13 first-half minutes, only 10 days after scoring thrice at Sutton prior to the break.
Antoni Sarcevic then bagged a further goal shortly following the resumption, but two Notts strikes in as many minutes, and a missed penalty by the Hatters, made for a generally nervy second half, until Ethan Pye made the game safe late on – ensuring that his side could win ‘the battle of the Countys’, and, moreover, claim a first Football League divisional trophy in 57 years.
With the Hatters sitting seven points clear at the top of the table, and two games of the season’s schedule left to play, they cannot be caught by fellow promoted sides, Mansfield and Wrexham. The victory at Meadow Lane – the Hatters’ first there in 16 years – also gave them their eighth ‘double’ of the campaign, as well as extending their winning and unbeaten runs to seven and twelve games, respectively.
Earlier, (Stockport) County had taken to the field on a clear spring evening, and showing two changes from the Edgeley Park starting line-up against Morecambe three days earlier. Connor Lemonheigh Evans – who had turned out five times for Notts, whilst on loan from the Hatters, in the second half of 2023 – and Nick Powell were the recalled duo, replacing Odin Bailey, whose name appeared among the substitutes, and the injured Tanto Olaofe.
The mid-table hosts, for their part, fielded an ex-Hatter in Fulham loanee-goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond, who had spent the latter stages of the National League title-winning campaign of 2021/22 at EP – also while loaned out from Craven Cottage.
The Hatters earned the first corner of the evening with four minutes played – following which Ethan Bristow’s low delivery from the right found Powell, who skewed his shot beyond the near post.
Just under five minutes later, the hosts looked to have created a bigger chance, after Aaron Nemane cut in from the right and squared to Macaulay Langstaff on the edge of the six-yard box, and with the goal at his mercy – but the current leading scorer in League Two fired wide.
Recently-declared divisional Player of the Season, Jodi Jones, then fired an effort from the left past the far upright. And, at the other end, Bristow dispossessed Nemane on the left, before sending across a delivery that Aden Baldwin, at the near post, turned behind.
From the resulting corner – taken by Sarcevic on the right – Fraser Horsfall, who, earlier in the week, had been among the players named in L2’s Team of the Season, headed against the Notts crossbar.
The end-to-end fare continued, as a Nemane shot was deflected off Bristow and into the arms of Ben Hinchliffe, before the Hatters, a few minutes after the first half’s mid-point, made a breakthrough to get their noses in front.
Kyle Wootton – like Lemonheigh Evans, a one-time Magpie, albeit with three seasons of service in NG2 to his name – seized upon a slip by Baldwin 25 yards out, and proceeded to tee up Madden, who calmly slid the ball past Ashby-Hammond for his 20th goal of the campaign in all competitions.
The Hatters strove initially to build on their advantage through Powell and Wootton, whose respective headers were nodded behind by Baldwin and caught by Ashby-Hammond. And then, half a dozen minutes after first troubling the scorers, they succeeded in doubling the scoreline, after a Sarcevic shot struck Dan Crowley’s arm, Referee Chilowicz pointed to the spot, and Madden stepped up to blast home the penalty.
With six minutes of the half remaining, Madden and the Hatters bagged a third, after Sarcevic teed up the skipper, whose shot from the right took a deflection off Baldwin to loop over Ashby-Hammond and complete the hat-trick.
The hosts mustered one further shot ahead of the interval – courtesy of David McGoldrick, whose effort was comfortably held by Hinchliffe – and earned a couple of corners as four minutes of added time were played out.
HALF-TIME: Notts County 0, County 3 (Madden, 26, 32 (penalty) and 39).
Nottsfashioned theinaugural opportunity of the new half, when a minute or two in, Langstaff broke through on goal – forcing Hinchliffe to parry away the shot.
But, a couple of minutes later, the Hatters scored again. Pye’s exquisite chip down the left found Sarcevic, who cut in and rifled home to make it four.
A triple-substitution was made by the hosts ahead of the hour – and one of the new arrivals, Jim O’Brien, fired an effort over, before Langstaff, five minutes following the changes, reduced the arrears by picking up substitute Scott Robertson’s through-ball, advancing from the ‘D’ and firing past Hinchliffe.
Two minutes later, the hosts had a second, as Dan Crowley curled a shot in from the edge of the area. And further drama followed, as the Hatters were awarded a second penalty – consequent upon home captain Kyle Cameron’s foul on Lemonheigh Evans – only for recently-introduced substitute Louie Barry to strike the left post with his spot-kick.
Hinchliffe held on cleanly to a free-kick and, three minutes later, a shot from Jones – before, with seven minutes left for nerves to fray, Pye chose the perfect moment to score for the first time as a Hatter, heading in Barry’s cross from the right to restore, with no little relief, a three-goal advantage.
Added time saw the hosts press, and Horsfall block two well-struck shots, before the final whistle gave rise to roars from nigh-on 2,000 travelling Hatters, hailing the champions – our champions – on their first FL title-winning season since topping the Fourth Division of 1966/67.
FULL-TIME: Notts County 2 (Langstaff, 61; Crowley, 63), County 5 (Madden, 26, 32 (penalty) and 39; Sarcevic, 49; Pye, 83).
Team (3-5-2): Hinchliffe; Knoyle, Horsfall, Pye; Lemonheigh Evans, Powell (Barry, 65), Camps (Hippolyte, 85), Sarcevic (Bailey, 90 + 1), Bristow; Wootton, Madden (Capt.) (Croasdale, 65).
Unused Subs: Smith, Byrne, Richards.
Booked: Bristow, Sarcevic.
Attendance: 11,656 (1,984 away).
Reporter: Gareth Evans.
Photographer: Mike Petch.
