Ian Burchnall delivers frank verdict after Notts County beaten at Chesterfield

Notts County head coach Ian Burchnall admitted his side paid for a lack of bravery in possession as they were beaten at Chesterfield.

The Spireites ended the Magpies' five-game unbeaten run as they came from behind to snatch a 3-1 victory.

Eli Sam had given Notts the lead in the first half with a terrific strike, but Lawrence Maguire levelled after the break by heading in at the back post.

He then tapped in Chesterfield's second following a corner with four minutes remaining before Akwasi Asante sealed the win from the penalty spot in stoppage time.

Speaking afterwards, Burchnall said he had no complaints about the result.

"I am disappointed with the second half," he said.

"In the first, I thought it was quite even. There wasn't much in it really.

"Not a lot happened apart from the goal. But in the second half they were better than us.

"I can't complain about the result. They were better than us on the night.

"Our second-half performance was disappointing.

"They pressed us aggressively. We didn't find the solutions and we were not brave enough.

"At 1-1 there was a period when we started to be braver on the ball and created a few chances through Callum Roberts and Jayden Richardson down the right.

"But we didn't create good enough chances. In the end, it's a couple of set-pieces that let us down. We didn't handle the way they stepped up onto us."