Stuart Maynard needs to stick by these two Notts County calls to avoid play-off disappointment: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Stuart Maynard earned his first victory as manager of Notts County on Tuesday evening, with his side producing an excellent display against in-form Newport County at Rodney Parade.

A double from top scorer Macaulay Langstaff along with a first goal in three games for David McGoldrick saw the Magpies move back into the play-off places, just four days after they were pushed out of them by Gillingham.

It signified a huge victory not only for Maynard but the team as well, having picked up just two points since the turn of the year and lost ground on the automatic promotion places.

Their victory in South Wales is one of two trips to the region this week, with Saturday's trip to Wrexham reigniting their recent rivalry once again from their titanic National League title race last season.

An impressive victory for Notts County

The Magpies continued to showcase their attacking riches on Tuesday evening, with Jodi Jones and Langstaff starring once more. Having just broken the assist record in League Two following his short pass for Dan Crowley to open the scoring against Gillingham, the Maltese international added two more to his collection on Tuesday evening, taking his total for the season to a remarkable 20 assists.

First, he dazzled the Newport defence as he beat three players before finding the head of County's top scorer, with the pair combining once more in the second half for Langstaff's sixth brace of the season and 22nd goal of the campaign.

Sandwiched in between was McGoldrick's 12th goal of the season, put on a plate for him by Langstaff to put them ahead by two goals at the break.

Stuart Maynard's big calls paid off for Notts County

After Friday evening's disappointing showing against Gillingham, it was evident that something was not quite clicking and had got Maynard's brain rattling before the trip to Newport.

In his first three games in charge, the former Wealdstone boss opted to inherit and use the same 3-4-2-1 formation instilled into the group by now Swansea City coach Luke Williams, as it was also a formation he had used during his time at Grosvenor Vale.

However, their display against the Gills prompted a change, with Maynard choosing to go with a flat back four away to Newport, bringing in Lewis Macari at right-back for Aaron Nemane and pushing Kyle Cameron to left-back - Aden Baldwin and Norwich City loanee Jaden Warner partnered each other in the middle.

This allowed Jones to operate as a winger and focus more on attacking rather than defending, with Langstaff put out on either flank as a wide forward and McGoldrick operating as a number nine for the Magpies.

All the players mentioned have previously played in that position before coming to Meadow Lane, and Maynard's bravery in swapping a system that has produced so much success over the last 18 months proved to be a roaring success.

More big calls were made in terms of personnel, with Luca Ashby-Hammond given his first start since joining the club in January, replacing Aidan Stone in goal, who has been the preferred number one choice so far this term.

The on-loan Fulham goalkeeper performed well and was only denied a clean sheet late on when a contentious penalty was given, allowing Will Evans to score his 18th goal of the season.

Overall, the changes made by Maynard all performed well and have injected some much-needed confidence into the side ahead of their trip to Wrexham on Saturday, as the race for the play-off places continues to hot up with the Magpies currently holding on to the last place in the top seven.

The two calls of the formation shift and change in personnel has proven that Notts are one of the best teams in the division, especially with the power they have in the forward areas.

Something that Williams was afraid to change was the formation, only switching to a back four occasionally last season, mostly in cup competitions. If Maynard continues to show that bravery and the team produces performances like they did on Tuesday evening, there is no reason why this group of players cannot achieve promotion to League One this season.