Luke Williams sends Macaulay Langstaff message after…

Luke Williams sends Macaulay Langstaff message after 'perfect' Notts County debut

Notts County boss Luke Williams has applauded Macaulay Langstaff's "outstanding" debut as the striker scored a brace to help the Magpies to a 3-0 opening day victory over Maidenhead United.

Langstaff, who joined the club from Gateshead in the summer, scored two impressive goals in the opening 45 minutes to set Williams' men on their way to their first win of the season. Joel Taylor's spectacular strike from 25-yards out sealed the victory in the second half to hand the new Magpies boss a winning start.

Williams handed debuts to Aden Baldwin and Sam Austin, alongside Langstaff, and was rewarded for his trust in his new recruits. After the striker’s double in front of over 6,000 spectators, Williams praised his number nine for his first outing in black and white.

"It was fantastic," Williams said on Langstaff's performance. "I was waiting for him to score the hat-trick, he slid in with one that went across the box and he had the opportunity that he took a fraction too long with."

"I was wanting him to score the hat-trick. He made a great performance and scored two goals.

"Last season he was too good for the level that he played and now he's picked up exactly where he left off. I don't see any reason why we don't expect big things."

The striker pulled off two different finishes at Meadow Lane and was one of the standout performances for County against a very lacklustre Maidenhead United. The first goal was carved out from Ruben Rodrigues and a brilliant first touch, before the 25-year-old demonstrated his own ball-playing ability to open up the space to double his tally.

"The touch, people don't realise how difficult the first touch was that he made for the first goal," Williams continued.

"It's perfect and then the moment that he has a touch like that, the goalkeeper has a massive problem because he's composed, he's staring down the barrel and he's not stumbling over the ball. Outstanding."

Despite impressive outings from his debutants and the excellent all-round performance, Williams hinted as further reinforcements to his squad. Asked if there was still work to be done in the market, he said: "Yeah absolutely because the performance wasn't top.

"There were top performances from within it, but as a team, it wasn't exactly where we should be. Of course, the players were anxious. There's some new guys there, it's a brilliant arena for them to play in, so it could be intimidating for the first game.

"I take that into consideration, but we have to improve and if we find players out there that are going to take us to another level, then of course, we have to act on that."

READ NEXT:

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here