It may have taken some time, but Neal Ardley is a man fastly becoming a hero to many Notts County fans and rightly so. A humble well-spoken articulate man, Ardley has masterminded some impressive performances since the turn of the year and his most recent, is arguably the best of the lot.

Having watched Barnet ride their luck in beating Yeovil last weekend to reach the semi-final of the National League Playoffs before a trip to Meadow Lane on Saturday, Ardley was set with the unenviable task of picking eleven players up for the challenge of representing Notts County in what would not only be their first competitive match in four months, but their biggest perhaps in years as they aim to bounce back to the Football League at the first attempt.

Ardley had big decisions to make, in goal, at centre back, in central midfield and up front, but his biggest for me was the genius of asking Jim O’Brien to play left wing in a role largely unsuited to the former Eire U21 international.

Obvious calls were for the talented Enzio Boldewijn to start but Ardley’s conservative looking approach was one that looked pre-game over cautious, but was one that played perfectly the way the Coaching Staff would have wanted.

These days O’Brien is often fancied more as a combative midfielder in the centre of the park, his legs perhaps not what they used to be with fans often criticising his partnership with Michael Doyle as not ‘dynamic’ enough… But anyone that seen the Scottish born Irishman’s performance as a left winger in the rain on Saturday, would certainly have quashed their opinion as O’Brien was brilliant in doing exactly what Ardley asked him to do.

With young Cardiff loanee Joel Bagan up against the speedy right winger Vilhette for Barnet, O’Brien often doubled up as cover in the left back berth putting a real shift in up and down the wing.

Ardley’s tactic clear, knowing the Bees main threat could be thwarted by Bagan and O’Brien together, especially as Boldewijn who he might have picked instead is not known too well for his defensive contributions, which might have exposed his 18 year old left back too much.

O’Brien worked tirelessly and gave a performance of a player far younger than his 32 years, and seven minutes before half time, he raced down the wing and produced a curling brilliant cross for Kristian Dennis to head home and put Notts 1-0 up.

Dennis himself was another player repaying his selection having been picked by Ardley to partner Kyle Wootton after form prior to lockdown perhaps gave him the edge on Wes Thomas. Dennis had scored 3 in his previous 2 whilst Thomas had not scored since the first week of 2020, a decision that paid off as quickly as the first goal went in.

Ardley had other huge decisions to make having not seen his side play a competitive game since early March. Sam Slocombe was given the nod in goal ahead of Joe McDonnell despite some impressive performances by the latter (including away at league leaders Barrow) after replacing the Notts No1 following injury at Yeovil in the FA Trophy last February.

Ben Turner, another given the nod (over Connell Rawlinson who was fabulous pre lockdown) following an injury lay off himself, was chosen to partner Alex Lacey in the heart of defence. Neither centre half missed a trick as they dealt with everything Barnet thrown at them in good old fashioned dominant style.

But the star of the show was Notts very own Wizard of the dribble, Cal Roberts a signing from Blyth Spartans in December, a player that looks like he has a very bright future in the game. A player that danced his way through the Bees defence to cement Notts place at Wembley with a goal that will no doubt be long remembered by Notts supporters, such a shame they could not be at Meadow Lane to see it live.

If technically Roberts was the star on the day, tactically, Ardley himself got everything right even down to using Enzio and Thomas off the bench to prove the Notts squad depth is as good as any in the division, player for player, the work rate and commitment was second to none, the best team no doubt was the team that worked hardest which was testament to how Ardley and his staff had set up their side following four weeks of preparation.

A masterclass by Ardley who is getting better and better in the way he not only sets up his teams but how he deals with others, a man who’s stock is rising and a man who is proving that it was the right decision to stick by him during much darker times. A man to lead Notts back to the promised land? Whether it be this season or next, I certainly think so.

*Article provided by Daniel Peacock (Editor).

*Main image @Official_NCFC Neal Ardley is becoming a real inspiration to Notts.