Notts County boss Luke Williams admitted he felt like he was manager of the Magpies once again following their comfortable 3-0 League Two win over Doncaster.
County had suffered three-consecutive defeats for the first time in the 43-year-old’s tenure, however he explained the heights he was demanding from his side, following their promotion from the National League in May.
“Last week I felt like Notts County manager again,” Williams said. “No one has anything to apologise for – this is in incredible group that have made the step up and we’re asking them to be a top side and challenge for automatic promotion.
“We have not shied away from that demand, but now they have put two performances back-to-back that represent the group, how they want to be and how they appear in front of the fans – and I am proud of them for that.”
Goals from Dan Crowley, Macaulay Langstaff and Aaron Nemane saw County move up to fifth with the victory as forward David McGoldrick shone at the ripe age 36.
Williams added: “He was brilliant. It’s nice to see these guys combining and it was a really quick action.
“David (McGoldrick) takes the ball so smoothly and doesn’t lose the momentum and he did cross it, otherwise he will have a pop at me if I say it was a shot.
“He handed the baton over to him and the young guy will be looking to follow in his footsteps.
“Didzy was magnificent and we was brilliant to watch – he had the action before like he was in the playground and we all love to see that he still has that enjoyment for football.”
Doncaster boss Grant McCann was happy with his side’s first-half display, but insisted that Joe Ironside’s missed penalty in the opening period was the turning point in the contest, which saw Rovers drop closer to the relegation zone.
“I thought we started the game really bright,” said McCann. “It is just something that is creeping into our game at the moment. I have told them to shoot low and we carry on shooting over.
“It’s a different game if we go 1-0 up and we just get undone by crosses in our box and it has been a problem for us and we need to work on it – we need to defend better.
“You are hoping it doesn’t affect you, but it looked like it did.
“The penalty miss felt like it was a turning point in the game.
“We knew they were going to keep the ball, they are a good footballing side, but I thought we set the traps well on them for the first 25 minutes.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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