Westcarr inspires County rout

Craig Westcarr grabbed a hat-trick and Luke Rodgers struck twice as Notts County beat nine-man Hereford 5-0.

County hammer Hereford in Cotterill's first match in charge

New Notts County manager Steve Cotterill was handed a dream start after Craig Westcarr grabbed a hat-trick and Luke Rodgers struck twice to see off nine-man Hereford 5-0. Westcarr took advantage of an unfortunate slip by Sam Gwynne after 34 minutes to break the deadlock and he doubled the Magpies lead by finishing off a breakaway move just after the interval before completing his treble from the spot. Despite welcoming their fourth boss of the campaign County produced a disjointed first half and could have fallen behind when Paul Downing's glancing header forced Kasper Schmeichel into a full-length save, while Gavin McCallum also blazed over. County hit their stride, though, after going ahead through Westcarr's fortuitous opener, before he then claimed his eighth of the season after being teed up by Karl Hawley. And matters got worse for Hereford when goalkeeper Chris Adamson saw red for fouling Rodgers, with Westcarr converting the penalty. Downing also saw red late on after stopping Matt Hamshaw's drive on the line and it was Rodgers' turn to score from the spot, before converting John Thompson's cross at the death to hand hapless Hereford their seventh consecutive away defeat.