Notts County‘s playoff woes have worsened after news broke that David McGoldrick will play no further part in this campaign.
The Irish striker has been a major source of goals and inspiration for The Magpies, with 17 goals and 3 assists to his name in League Two this season. The 37-year-old is out of contract this summer, meaning the loss to AFC Wimbledon in the first leg may be his final contribution for the club.
McGoldrick Out, Tactics Shift
Speaking to BBC East Midlands ahead of their second leg tie at Plough Lane, which County trail 1-0, Stuart Maynard confirmed that ‘Didzy’ will miss the remainder of the playoff campaign through injury. He said:
“He has been excellent for us all season. He has just got magic. He has more quality than the level, he has top-end quality and we have seen that with his goals all season.
“If you take Didzy out of any team up and down the country, I think they are going to miss him. It’s down to us now, someone else comes in and gets an opportunity and I think we still have magic within our group and the top end of the pitch.”
“I still think he has a key part to play off the pitch now around the lads,” Maynard said. “His presence, being about the place, is excellent.”
This blow, combined with Alassana Jatta’s sending off for a reckless challenge in the first leg, means that County are without their two main strikers. The Gambian’s ban has not been confirmed as of yet due to the subsequent confrontation after his dismissal.
Writers’ View
After he limped off in added time of the first leg, Notts County fans will have feared this news would come. With David McGoldrick and Alassana Jatta out, The Magpies are now without the scorers of 36 out of 68 of their League Two goals this season. Stuart Maynard implied that there would be a tactical change as a result of these blows, so it will be interesting to see who leads the line at Plough Lane. Mai Traore has been given limited game time and Junior Morias has been out on loan for much of the season, so perhaps a player like Will Jarvis may be shifted up front for this crucial tie.
