Notts County need to handle one Doncaster Rovers man well to keep promotion hope alive - it still might not be enough | OneFootball

The Magpies must shut down Luke Molyneux on Saturday if they are to keep their faint hopes of automatic promotion alive.

Notts County must handle Doncaster Rovers star Luke Molyneux effectively if they are to keep their dream of automatic promotion alive on Saturday afternoon.

The Magpies still have an outside chance of finishing in League Two’s top three, but must defeat Doncaster at Meadow Lane and hope the results concerning both Bradford City and Walsall fall in their favour.

Having secured their place in League One last weekend thanks to a victory over Bradford, the visitors will arrive in NG2 with the aim of becoming champions. Grant McCann’s side are blessed with quality throughout their ranks, but are spearheaded by Molyneux, who has enjoyed a hugely productive season.

The winger has been Doncaster’s biggest threat all year and Notts must shut him down if they are to hold up their end of the bargain at the weekend.

Notts County still have an outside chance of promotion on final day of League Two season

League Two’s promotion race has been nothing short of remarkable this season.

For weeks now, teams have switched positions on an incredibly frequent basis, with the vast majority of sides struggling to string together a good run of form when it mattered most.

The prime example of that are Mat Sadler’s Walsall, who have blown a 13-point lead at the top of the table and now could even find themselves missing out on automatic promotion altogether, which seemed inconceivable at the turn of the year.

Similarly, Bradford, who also seemed a shoo-in for promotion as recently as the start of March, have won just two of their last 10 games and now find themselves in a position where they still have work to do on the final day of the season.

Somewhat unbelievably, Stuart Maynard’s Magpies are still in with a slim chance. Despite their defeat to Cheltenham on Easter Monday feeling like the final nail in the coffin as far as their automatic promotion hopes were concerned, they have been handed a lifeline.

Admittedly, they need absolutely everything to fall in their favour on Saturday afternoon, but a chance remains, nonetheless.

Providing they can see off Doncaster at Meadow Lane (a task which could potentially have been made easier by the fact the visitors are now already promoted), a defeat for Bradford at home to Fleetwood, combined with Walsall dropping points at Crewe, would be enough to see the Magpies promoted to League One.

It is undoubtedly a hugely faint hope, but League Two has proven time and again this season that nothing is ever truly off the table until it is confirmed.

Notts must hope that Doncaster come out in the relaxed fashion of a side who have already secured their goal, rather than one desperate to win the title. As far as results elsewhere are concerned, Bradford will be huge favourites but could easily feel the pressure of what will surely be a massive crowd if they don’t start the game well.

Meanwhile, Walsall are winless in their last 13 games and seem devoid of confidence.

Notts County's ability to nullify Luke Molyneux will be crucial on Saturday afternoon

In preparation for Saturday’s clash, Maynard will surely be keen to instil the idea that his team need to take care of their own business first and foremost, knowing that they have no control over what happens in the other games.

If Notts are to down a Doncaster side who have very much peaked at the right time of late, then they simply must deal with Molyneux effectively.

The former Sunderland and Hartlepool man has been exceptional for McCann’s men this season and, with 16 goals and 12 assists to his name from the wing, can perhaps count himself a touch unfortunate to have not won the division’s Player of the Season award.

It has been a hugely impressive campaign for the wideman, who has been able to add the regular goals and assists that his general play has always threatened.

Molyneux has caused defences problems for years now with his trickery and direct running, but only in the last two seasons have we started to see his true level of potential.

As far as Saturday’s game is concerned, the responsibility of dealing with the left-sided winger will likely fall on Kellan Gordon. The recent news that Nick Tsaroulla will require surgery on his appendix has left Maynard with less room for manoeuvre than he would have liked in his wing-back positions.

While he could also opt to play Jodi Jones on the right flank and attempt to keep Molyneux quiet by forcing him back towards his own goal at every opportunity, with Jones only recently having come back into the side after an injury lay-off, that is likely a match-up that Maynard wouldn’t want at this moment in time.

It is no exaggeration of the 27-year-old’s quality to say that Notts’ ability to shut him down could hold the key to them winning the game on Saturday.

Handle Molyneux effectively, and it could end up deciding the game in the Magpies’ favour, which would then leave the door ajar for their fate to be decided by results elsewhere.