3rd tier* League fixture
*Then known as Division Three

Wolverhampton W 0     Notts County 0
 

Attendance :- 10,870
Referee:- David Elleray (Middlesex)
Corners:- Wolves 10 Notts 7
Shots on target:- Wolves 4 Notts 3
Shots off target:- Wolves 9 Notts 7
 

Wolverhampton W
Colours:- Gold shirts, Black shorts, Gold socks
League Position:- before match 6th/24, after match 7th/24
Manager:- Graham Turner

1.   Mark Kendall
2.   Gary Bellamy
3.   Andy Thompson
4.   Floyd Streete *
5.   Alistair Robertson
6.   Phil Robinson
7.   Nigel Vaughan
8.   Phil Chard
9.   Steve Bull
10. Andy Mutch
11. Robbie Dennison

Sub: Mark Venus *74
Sub not used: Jackie Gallagher
 

Notts County
Colours:- Black & white striped shirts, White shorts, Black socks
League Position:- before match 18th/24, after match 17th/24
Manager:- John Barnwell

1.   Mick Leonard
2.   David Norton
3.   Chris Withe
4.   Don O’Riordan
5.   Dean Yates
6.   Nicky Law
7.   Gary Mills
8.   Ian McParland
9.   Garry Birtles
10. Geoff Pike
11. Mark Draper *

Sub: Willie McStay *84
Sub not used: Gary Lund

Video of the match:- A 45 second report was produced for 'Central News' in the West Midlands which showed; Leonard turning over Dennison's corner / Birtles shooting wide / 2nd half; Bull heading over from a corner / Bull's disallowed over-head kick / Leonard saving from Mutch. (Notts' late efforts at goal, arguably the closest anybody came to scoring, were all ignored)
 

Nottingham Evening Post Reports

LATE SHOW NOT ENOUGH
NOTTS RUN OUT OF TIME
By David Stapleton

JOHN BARNWELL'S satisfactory return to Molineux might have been more rewarding had Notts County found their attacking rhythm and belief at an earlier stage of the game. Wolves, in contrast to what had gone before, were made to hang on in the last 10 minutes for Saturday's goal less home draw. They had two frights, in particular, when Garry Birtles' power-packed header was brilliantly turned over the bar by Mark Kendall and Geoff Pike's 20-yard shot was deflected just wide with the goalkeeper stranded. A bit more available time and Notts would have looked a sound bet to redress the balance after losing at home to Northampton in their previous match. But former Wolves boss Barnwell still watched his players halt their opponent's run of seven successive home wins. The signs weren't good early on as Northern Ireland winger Robbie Dennison stretched the Notts defence with teasing crosses and corners.

PRESSURE
Mick Leonard foiled Steve Bull with a fine, low reflex save, and last season's 52-goal man snatched at his shot when a Nicky Law mistake gave him an opening. Yet for all the pressure exerted by Wolves, particularly in the first half, they were allowed little room to manoeuvre in the box. And before County stirred themselves late on, Wolves had run out of ideas trying to penetrate an excellent defence which has conceded only one goal to date in four League games.
Dean Yates, having made his England u-21 debut earlier in the week, oozed command in the middle of defence and both Bull and Andy Mutch, another prolific scorer in Wolves' Division Four title win, were pictures of abject misery. Bull, confined to two goals in the Littlewoods Cup this season, momentarily showed his flair with an instant overhead kick into the net (64 mins), but the striker had fouled Leonard and the effort was disallowed.

NIMBLE
Leonard also made a splendid double save from Phil Chard after Wolves' unavailing hustle and bustle had caused running repairs to be carried out to a hole in his net. Not far behind Yates in the defensive role of honour was Chris Withe, who made a number of nimble interceptions when the pressure was at its greatest. David Norton, back in his home town, made a solid contribution and Law improved following his earlier uncertainties. Pick of the midfield was Gary Mills who, when he skilfully came infield, did most to undermine Wolves before the late nourish. He created a good opening for himself in the first half but, with the ball on his left foot, failed to get his shot on target. Seventeen-year-old Mark Draper, making his League debut for the injured Adrian Thorpe, showed some promising touches before his late' substitution, while Pike and Don O'Riordan revealed their pedigree in their use of the ball.
 

THORPE BOOST
THRUSTING winger Adrian Thorpe has put himself in contention for a return to Notts County's side at Huddersfield tomorrow night - with a good training stint at Meadow Lane yesterday. Thorpe missed Saturday's satisfying goalless draw at Wolves because of a small blood clot at the top of his thigh. A week earlier against Northampton the problem caused him to limp out of the action. Said manager John Barnwell today; "Adrian trained yesterday and showed us that he has definitely improved. He has put his name forward for Huddersfield and it all hinges on whether there is any reaction now." Thorpe's availability would provide a boost to a side that has scored only once in four League matches so far. But Long Eaton teenager Mark Draper who replaced Thorpe on Saturday won praise for the way he acquitted himself on his debut.

INTENSE
Said player-coach Part Hart: “I thought Mark did remarkably well. He's only 17 but has got a good football brain. Hart praised the performance at Molineux and felt that County richly deserved their point. “Wolves had a couple or spells or quite intense pressure, but we defended well and eventually got a hold of the game. In the end we felt the longer the game went we were going to win. It provided a good pointer after losing at home to Northampton in our previous game." Hart - like Wolves manager and fellow former centre half Graham Turner - felt that England under 21 newcomer Dean Yates was particularly impressive in the Notts defence.

WORTHY
Turner watched his prolific strike pair Steve Bull and Andy Mutch (more than 80 goals between them last season) mastered by Yates and Nicky Law. He said: "I thought Yates played ever so well. He looked a very good centre half and on this form well worthy of his England call- up. Notts, in fact, were extremely well organised at the back. Where we used to out-power Fourth Division teams on our way to the title last season, better Division Three sides like Notts showed us that we have got to be a bit more subtle in our approach."
Notts select from the following squad for tonight's Midland Youth Cup game against Walsall at Meadow Lane (7.30pm): Hearn, Howes, Walker, Cox, Draper, Telford, Brown, Rush, Machin, Johnson, Thompson, Wells, Walls, Aldridge, Finch.
 

Up the Maggies footnote:
Molineux was a very peculiar ground to visit at the time as Wolves had run into financial difficulty during the process of re-building the stadium. The new look ground was to be a significant distance to the East of the original, and so the one new completed  'John Ireland stand' seemed to be miles away from the action - even though the pitch had been moved a little way towards that stand already. The North and West stands were now closed and so most of the 11,000 crowd (Notts fans included) were accommodated on the massive South stand terraces. The moving of the pitch meant that the away section of the South stand was now directly behind the goal, whilst the home fans were now facing an empty green space (they must have suffered neck-ache having to look across to their right for 90 minutes every other Saturday.) Wolves had ended our Wembley dreams the previous season by beating us in the Southern Area final of the Associate Members cup (Notts lost 3-0 here at Molineux in the 2nd leg after a bruising 1-1 draw at Meadow Lane), they were in the old 4th Division at the time but were then promoted as champions and so this eagerly anticipated fixture was a chance for revenge. Notts did OK on the day but generally made a very disappointing start to the season which ultimately cost John Barnwell his job. Wolves meanwhile went on to celebrate an impressive double promotion, again going up as champions. This match turned out to be most notable for a future Magpies star making his debut, Mark Draper. There was also a future Notts wembley hero in the Wolves line-up, Phil Robinson.
 

Notts County Season 1988/89
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