Notts County face stark reality over title dream amid fierce debate on what they are missing

Notts County rescued a point to avoid suffering back to back defeats as Alex Lacey's stoppage-time goal snatched a 1-1 draw against Yeovil.

Alex Bradley had given the visitors the lead when he struck into an unguarded net after a poor backpass from Ed Francis had caused panic in the defence.

The Magpies did have chances to score in the first half as Ruben Rodrigues and Kyle Wootton went close, but that was as good as it got for head coach Ian Burchnall's side.

Notts attempted to launch a response late on and finally found the breakthrough when Lacey headed in Matt Palmer's free-kick in stoppage time.

Prior to Tuesday's game against Chesterfield, there had been talk that Notts could still force themselves into title contention given they were 12 points behind leaders Stockport with two games in hand.

But a 3-1 defeat on Tuesday night delivered a significant blow to those hopes while a draw here against Yeovil offered little evidence that Notts will be involved in the reckoning come May.

Stockport's win at Aldershot increased the gap to 14 points which only reinforced the view that Dave Challinor's side appears to be champions in waiting.

Notts would love to be part of that conversation, but even with a game in hand and the Hatters still to play, Burchnall's side are going to have to be foot perfect to get anywhere near the summit.

The realists will admit that the best Notts can really hope for is to finish second or third, which is certainly not beyond them, but this month will be crucial given the tough fixtures that lie in wait.

A trip to Neal Ardley's Solihull Moors on Tuesday is followed by one of the biggest games of the season at Stockport with a much-anticipated FA Trophy quarter-final against Wrexham sandwiched in