Down in League Two, Spurs loanee George Abbott and his Notts County side were in action at home to strugglers Tranmere Rovers on Saturday afternoon, as they looked to bounce back from a disappointing two previous games, where they only picked up one point out of six.
As always, Abbott was named in the starting XI by manager Stuart Maynard – his 25th League Two start of the season, and 27th league appearance overall. Next to him was the skipper and usual partner – Matt Palmer.
How things went for George Abbott and his Notts County side down in League Two
After a surprisingly balanced game, where things could have gone either way – Notts finally scored the opening goal of the game after 80 minutes. Three minutes later, they doubled their lead. Not long later, with four minutes remaining, Abbott was substituted.
Only two minutes after the midfielder’s withdrawal, the visitors got one back – making it three goals within an eight minute period, after none for 80 minutes of the game. Despite that goal making it a tense ending at Meadow Lane, they were able to hold on for a really big three points.
As for the young Spurs midfielder himself, during his 86 minutes on the pitch, he recorded; 64 touches, one shot blocked, two clearances, two blocked shots, four interceptions, and one tackle.
He has now totalled 2290 minutes in the league this season, and 2470 minutes across all competitions. Josh Keeley’s 2610 minutes on loan at Leyton Orient this season makes him the only Spurs loanee to have totalled more minutes across all competitions this season – with Abbott having the most league minutes of anyone.
In terms of what this means for Notts as a collective – they now sit in fourth place in the League Two table, with 57 points from 32 games – below third placed AFC Wimbledon on goal difference (narrowly, +23 to +19), and one point below second placed Doncaster Rovers, with a game in hand – and superior goal difference.
Next up for Abbott and the Magpies is a trip to the North West Coast, as they face Fleetwood Town on Saturday, for a 15:00 GMT kick off.
One more thing to mention quickly. On the 22nd March, Notts’ fixture at home to Crewe Alexandra has been moved to a 12:30 kick off, and will be shown live on Sky Sports (not red button, actual Sky Sports) during international weekend break, for those that may be looking for a club football fix that weekend.