Notts County thoroughly deserve their second chance against Premiership opposition after holding Manchester City 1-1 in the FA Cup. Notts County came within ten minutes of a major upset at Meadow Lane as they made a mockery of 59 places separating the two sides.
City made changes to their line-up but for a team with Champions League aspirations they struggled against their League One opposition and in the end were grateful to a first goal from recent signing Edin Dzeko
The first half was fairly even with County not overawed in the slightest against an under par City.
Then just after the hour a major upset looked on the cards as Neal Bishop's glancing header from Alan Gow's corner gave County the lead.
But the Premier League side rallied and ten minutes from time Micah Richards crossed and Dzeko from close range finished emphatically to save City's blushes.
The home side then hung on for four minutes of added time to fight again at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Referee: Chris Foy
Venue: Meadow Lane Attendance: 16,587
Notts County scorers: Bishop 59 Man City scorers: Dzeko 80
NOTTS COUNTY 17 Nelson 02 Darby 04 Edwards (yellow card) 12 Pearce 26 Harley 08 Ravenhill 10 Bishop (yellow card) 21 Martin 09 Hughes 19 Gow (Hawley 70) 20 Westcarr
Substitutes 01 Burch, 05 Lee, 06 Thompson, 16 Gobern, 25 Spicer, 15 Hawley, 27 Burgess
MAN CITY 25 Hart 02 Richards (Kompany 88) 05 Zabaleta (Kolarov 77) 17 Boateng 19 Lescott 07 Milner (yellow card) 18 Barry 24 Vieira 42 Y Toure 10 Dzeko 27 Jo (Silva 62)
Substitutes 01 Given, 04 Kompany, 13 Kolarov, 28 K Toure, 21 Silva, 34 De Jong, 60 Guidetti
