If Carlsberg did complete performances, then yesterday was certainly one of those from Notts County.
On Shrove Tuesday, the Magpies put on a flipping brilliant display and tossed aside the National League's toughest defence with relative ease.
But as we enter in the season of Lent, Luke Williams' side showed no sign of giving up their advantage at the top of the standings as we edge ever closer to their Easter showdown with Wrexham.
READ MORE: 'Delighted' Sam Austin on opening league account and the value of Notts County squad
Here are the key talking points from the seventh consecutive win in the National League.
Endless versatility
While the performance of the team will be the main talking point, how they did with the personnel available was even more impressive.
With Williams confirming after the win that the four players missing from the win over Southend would be back soon, the Notts chief was forced into changing the way his side set up with two of his players yet to make five appearances this season in Joel Taylor, and a first league call-up with Norwich loanee, Archie Mair.
With no Aaron Nemane or Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, Jodi Jones was named at right-wing back after he did so well in that position during the win over Barnet eight days ago, with the on-loan Oxford man putting on an excellent display against the dangerous Jack Bridge, whom he kept quiet for the entirety of the time he was on the pitch.
But with those changes before kick-off, the Notts chief had one eye on this weekend's fixture with Dagenham and Redbridge, taking off Macaulay Langstaff with around 20 minutes to go along with Jones and Adam Chicksen. With the National League's top scorer just one shy of completing consecutive hat-tricks, his substitution did present the visitors with a few chances going forward, with Ruben Rodrigues adopting the role of centre-forward in almost a false nine role.
His influence on the game was evident, coming short to receive passes but also bringing others into the picture, with his involvement in Notts' final goal of the evening the start of a quite brilliant move that ended up with Sam Austin firing in his second goal of the night.
But the two-goal man was also forced to play a different position for the final minutes of the game following Jim O'Brien's introduction, operating in the right-wing back role which is a position not strange to the 26-year-old having played there during his time at Kidderminster Harriers, and it showed as he continued to impress and drive forward up until the final whistle despite yet another busy showing before the switch.
While Williams was enforced to change his squad yesterday, the Notts boss believes that rotation is key having named the same starting line-up in consecutive matches this season just four times, further proof that the endless versatility within his squad quite simply does not make them weaker, no matter who you put out on the pitch.
Complete performance
To score four goals against a side that had conceded just 26 all season before kick-off just proves how good this current group of players really are.
With concerns of a potential drop off in recent performances, Williams' men responded to that claim in some style, putting on a composed yet ruthless display in front of their home fans to preserve their unbeaten home form this season and continue their remarkable 25-match unbeaten streak in the National League.
The indications were evident from the first whistle that Notts were purring in confidence, and it seemed a matter of not if, but when the first goal would go in. Macaulay Langstaff continued to write his name into club folklore, taking his tally to 31 for the season as we head into March.
And the opener seemingly created gaps between Kevin Maher's usually reliable defensive shape, with John Bostock, allowed time on the edge of the area to float a quite brilliant ball into the area for Austin to nod home his first league goal of the season to put the Magpies in cruise control.
For all of Notts' attacking excellence, the whole team was performing to a level leagues above the fifth tier, with the back three, wing-backs, and midfield working in complete unison to compel Southend to a two-goal deficit at the break for the first time this season.
The midfield partnership of Matty Palmer and Bostock continued to dispel the myth that the pair could not play alongside each other in midfield, complementing each other perfectly in a passing exhibition at Meadow Lane.
Two further goals from Langstaff and Austin rounded off the complete performance for Williams' side, arguably their best performance to date, with many regarding the win over the Shrimpers even better than their 1-0 win over Wrexham back in October.
Finally off the mark
I don't think you could find a more popular goalscorer for Notts County than Sam Austin last night as he stooped low to head home Bostock's pinpoint cross.
It's been a frustrating season in front of goal for the midfielder, with the 26-year-old finally breaking his National League scoring duck after being unable to transfer his goal-scoring exploits from the Magpies' cup exploits in the FA Trophy and the FA Cup.
That does not deter the pivotal role he has played in recent weeks however, taking his assist tally to 11 in the win over Yeovil, deputising in that attacking midfield role to devastating effect in the absence of Cedwyn Scott - averaging 0.67 assists per 90, the best in the division.
There is no denying the endless quality Austin possesses at his feet, but this last run of fixtures has proved the impact he has on this team every time he plays. Even when introduced from the bench, you rarely see him put a foot wrong every time he steps on that pitch. It's almost a luxury to have a player of this calibre in reserve rather than out on the pitch.
But his performances from the start continue to catch the eye, showcasing his versatility for the final few minutes at wing-back, further highlighting yet another iteration of Williams' side and further adding to the many different ways the Notts boss can utilise his squad amid injuries to key players.
Clean sheet importance
With mistakes in recent weeks preventing Sam Slocombe from furthering his advantage at the top of the clean sheet standings, but the Notts number one managed his 13th of the season, a first in five matches. Slocombe was rarely a passenger in the encounter, producing one save of note to easily grasp Gus Scott-Morriss' cross into the area.
It was an accomplished performance by the entire defence, with the influence of Aden Baldwin following his return to the side highlighted again with his composure in possession and his runs out of defence that relieved the pressure from the few Southend attacks.
Despite the result and the comfortableness of it, the Notts chief was quick to highlight the threat posed by the opposition but insisted that his side was deserving of shutting them out on the evening.
"I think Sam deserves that, the team deserves that but Sam deserves that the most.
"One or two decent openings were there for the opposition, but I need to stress how good they are.
"They have so many good players, such a good spirit and they were just non-stop, the game never felt comfortable - but, we deserved the clean sheet."
A look at the numbers
The past three games were earmarked as difficult fixtures during a pivotal point in the campaign, but this Notts County team has quite simply blown each of them out of the water.
While performances against Barnet and Yeovil were not truly reflective of the score-line, a good performance with the score-line to match was largely overdue, with Southend the unfortunate recipient.
But the numbers from the past three games are even more impressive, scoring four goals in three consecutive games is remarkable, but to do it against the teams that are regarded as the toughest in the league is something that needs to be spoken about.
The win over Dean Brennan's side eight days ago saw the Magpies end Barnet's 11-game unbeaten run and had conceded five goals during that time, beating a Yeovil side who had not lost at Huish Park since October and conceded eight goals in their last 12 outings, while also scoring four against a side with the division's best defensive record.
This remarkable season can potentially see Williams' men break all kinds of National League records, eight to be exact, including most league wins (31), longest unbeaten run (30), most points (105), and fewest defeats (3), just to name a few.
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