Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.
Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.
“I think every three points is massive now,” said the Magpies boss. “As the games start running away, the points are so vital.
“But we’re very process-driven. It’s all about the performance, and our performance levels have been excellent in probably the last five or six games.
“We haven’t quite got the points we probably deserved as a group, but we’re starting to see now, when you get clean sheets, it breeds confidence, and then all of a sudden, we’re getting the results.
“[McGoldrick’s] quality is unbelievable, and Will Jarvis is starting to show glimpses of what he will be for us in the coming years,” said Maynard.
The hosts could have had more, with a dominant performance seeing McGoldrick and Charlie Whitaker go close to opening the scoring before half-time.
“When you perform to a level that we have tonight, when you’re intense and you press at the top level of the pitch, I think it breeds confidence in the group,” said Maynard.
“We’ve been confident all year. Even when we’ve gone through bad spells, we believe in what we do and they believe in each other. We’re seeing that on the pitch.”
By contrast, the visitors slumped to a second successive loss and have now conceded three goals in back-to-back games.
“It’s a really tough place to come, and they’re a team that are at the top end of the table for a reason,” said Dons caretaker manager Ben Gladwin.
“I thought the boys were brilliant in the first half. We were there for each other and I thought there was a lot of positive stuff to build on.”
Goalkeeper Connal Trueman stopped McGoldrick from opening the scoring, while Connor Lemonheigh-Evans had the Dons’ best chance when he fired narrowly wide.
“But then, we were just nowhere near it in the second half. I think all three of the goals [were] so preventable,” Gladwin added.
“What the mind will do to the body is sometimes hard to understand, but being out there, when you’re not in a good place, you decide to turn down.
“You hit it and it gets blocked, or goes in Row Z, so next time, you turn it down – psychology really does have a huge part to play.
“Currently, the boys aren’t in the best place and that is the reality, so we have to try and help them.”
David Moyes believes James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid a red card for his reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister as Everton were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal, which Moyes claimed should have been ruled out for offside, gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were...
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Kieran McKenna was not getting too giddy dreaming of a miracle escape from relegation after Ipswich beat Bournemouth 2-1 to pick up their first Premier League win of 2025.Goals from Nathan Broadhead and top-scorer Liam Delap did the damage as Ipswich put a further dent in Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.McKenna, whose side are still nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves who t...
Liverpool re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with Diogo Jota’s strike against Everton settling a second controversial Merseyside derby of the season.Jota’s first league goal since mid-January was potentially one of his most important of the campaign as the 1-0 victory kept second-placed Arsenal at more than arm’s length.It also ended Everton manag...
Ewan Otoo poured cold water on Livingston’s title ambitions in the Scottish Championship by netting the winner in struggling Dunfermline’s 1-0 win.Three points for the visitors would have been enough to lift them above Ayr United and within five of pace-setters Falkirk, but they were unable to take the chance.After back-to-back wins they were brought back to earth at East End Park, whe...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender