Notts County suffered their first defeat of their pre-season campaign this evening with a 2-0 defeat at home to Premier League outfit Stoke City.

Two first half goals from Stoke striker Mamady Sidibe handed Stoke victory at Meadow Lane as both sides' pre-season preparations gathered pace.

Notts began brightly indeed in the opening stages and were retaining the ball well against their Premier League opponents, with wingers Hamshaw and Weston seeing plenty of the ball and were testing the City rearguard with their pace and trickery.

But on fifteen minutes the Potters took the lead as striker Mamady Sidibe headed home Glenn Whelan's cross from the left from six yards out. The former Gillingham frontman was left unmarked inside the box as the Magpies aimed to play the offside trap, but Sidibe sneaked in around the back and made no mistake with a firm header past Kevin Pilkington.

And the Mali International striker doubled Stoke's lead six minutes later as Pilkington failed to deal with Rory Delap's long throw into the area. The Notts goalkeeper fumbled the ball under pressure inside the six-yard box, and the luck of the bounce saw the ball fall to the feet of Sidibe who drove the ball into the back of the net.

Stoke goalkeeper Steve Simonsen kept City's 2-0 lead intact ten minutes before the interval by turning Michael Johnson's bullet header over the crossbar from point-blank range, and he also smothered Gavin Strachan's long-range drive from the resultant flag-kick as Notts searched for a way back into the game.

Just before the break Magpies defender Johnson was forced off the field with an injury sustained in a collision with City striker Dave Kitson, and he was replaced by last season's Player of the Season Adam Tann.

Stoke almost made it 3-0 ten minutes into the second period after Pilkington sliced his clearance into the path of substitute Vincent Pericard, but the former Juventus striker blasted high over the crossbar to spare Pilkington of any further embarrassment.

Notts striker Weir-Daley was eager to add to his hat-trick against Hucknall last week and he twice came close to registering his fourth goal of pre-season before the hour, but Simonsen turned is header over the crossbar and also blocked his left-foot effort around twelve yards out after Forrester picked him his strike partner's intelligent run in behind the City defence.

As both sides rang the changes in the second period the game seemed to lose its rhythm in the final twenty minutes, and Stoke seemed happy to keep the ball and see out proceedings.

Despite defeat, there's no doubt the workout was just what the Magpies needed. Against a Premiership outfit the way Notts used the ball at times will have pleased McParland; and as he stated in the build-up to this game the result was completely irrelevant.

Instead he wanted a good performance, and in spells he got that. Fine tuning is still required before the new season, but that's what friendly games are for.

With just one friendly game left now, against Nottingham Forest at Meadow Lane on Saturday, there's just one more opportunity left for that fine tuning in a match situation before the big kick-off at Bradford City on August 9.

Notts County: Pilkington, Beardsley, Edwards, Johnson (Tann 45), Mayo, Hamshaw, Butcher, Strachan (Nowland 62), Weston, Weir-Daley, Forrester (Fairclough 62)
Subs Not Used: Sandercombe, MacKenzie, Smith

Stoke City: Simonsen, Griffin, Pugh, Shawceoss, Diao (Dickinson 46), Whelan (Shotton 64), Delap, A Pulis, Kitson (Parkin 46), Sidibe (Pericard 46), Cresswell (De Laet 71)
Subs Not Used: None
Goals: Sidibe (15 & 21)

Attendance: 2,425 (530 Stoke City supporters)

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