SV Austria Salzburg 1-2 Notts County
Wuhrer (55); Lee (12), Rodgers (46)
Notts County picked up a deserved win over SV Austria Salzburg this afternoon thanks to goals from Graeme Lee and Luke Rodgers. Lubomir Neubaur pulled one back for the hosts shortly after Notts' second but it didn't prove to be enough.
Manager Craig Short had opted to send out a line-up similar to the one that ended the previous campaign. Only new recruits Ben Burgess and Rob Burch came into the team:
Starting line-up: Burch, Thompson, Lee, Edwards, Hunt, Westcarr, Bishop, Ravenhill, Davies, Burgess, Hughes.
Subs from: Stuart Nelson, David Grof, Krystian Pearce, Mani Assoumani, John Spicer, Jeremiah Ani, Luke Rodgers, Karl Hawley, Kevin Smith.
The hosts opened brightly, but Notts soon took hold of the game and it didn't take long to nudge in front. A teasing corner from Ben Davies was perfectly met by Lee's run and the goalkeeper could only watch as the ball crashed into the back of the net off the towering defender's head.
Last season's top-scorer Lee Hughes could have doubled the advantage. Racing onto a long ball through the middle, which wasn't dealt with by the Salzburg centre-backs, he rounded the 'keeper and slotted towards goal, only for Peter Urbanek to remove the danger with a superb sliding clearance on the line.
Burgess also came close as Notts carved out another good opportunity. Davies' centred free-kick wasn't dealt with, allowing the striker to fire across the face of goal, narrowly wide of the bottom-left corner.
Short decided to mix things up as half-time approached, introducing a new strike force in Rodgers and Karl Hawley. Stuart Nelson also replaced Burch between the sticks.
Although Burch was never tested, Nelson was almost called into action in a rare Salzburg breakthrough. Breaking down the left flank, a tidy passing move resulted in Florian Hirsch bending the ball inches wide of the top corner.
More changes followed after the break. John Spicer stepped in for Neal Bishop in the centre of midfield, and trialists Krystian Pearce and Mansour Assoumani came in as the two new centre-backs.
Things couldn't have started any better after the break for Notts, as Rodgers found the back of the net after only 27 seconds. Stefan Huber, Salzburg's replacement stopper, rushed off his line and failed to claim a curling Craig Westcarr through pass, enabling Rodgers to prod home from close-range.
Neubaur pulled one back for the home team shortly after, getting the rewards for his determination. Pearce had headed back to Nelson but in an attempt to keep the ball in play, the stopper spilled, and despite his attempts to clear with his feet, Neubaur nipped in and placed the ball into the vacant goal.
Westcarr thought he'd re-established the deficit, following a sharp one-two with the newly introduced Jeremiah Ani. Beating the offside trap, he targeted the bottom corner but Huber spread himself well to push away.
Another striker on trial, Kevin Smith, looked lively and thought he'd added his name to the scoresheet. The linesman's flag cut his celebrations short, following a tidy overhead kick.
Notts may have drawn the match if it wasn't for the third goalkeeper of the afternoon, David Grof. Lukas Wuhrer found space in the box and unleashed a stunning half volley, which Grof was equal to with a fine reaction save.
The final chance of the afternoon fell to John Spicer, who scurried clear of the defensive line with the use of an inventive flick. He seemed almost certain to score but his header was denied by the woodwork.
Overall it was an encouraging display by the Magpies, though there is still a long way to go yet. Another pre-season friendly awaits on Tuesday against Cluj.
Keep checking back to Magpie Player for the latest reaction and highlights from the game.
