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Stoke City kid Lewis Macari marks league debut with rocket winner
Lewis Macari has come all the way through the ranks at Stoke City and is on loan at Notts County in League Two
Notts County boss Luke Williams showered Lewis Macari with praise after the Stoke City youngster marked his EFL league debut with a stunning strike to earn his side a 2-1 win at Gillingham.
The 21-year-old grandson of Lou Macari fired home from 20 yards with 12 minutes to play after Scott Malone had cancelled out Macaulay Langstaff’s opener for County. Macari has previously enjoyed loan spells at Market Drayton and Dundalk – and made his Stoke debut in the FA Cup in January – but this
was his first taste of English league action, and Magpies boss Williams was delighted with his display.
He said: “He’s done himself proud. He performed brilliantly. I have to make sure I reward people for their hard work in training. He’s really enthusiastic so I wanted to be brave and give him a chance. This was a display of his personality. He did the job he was asked to do efficiently, but then he expressed himself as an individual.
He had a big decision to make when the ball was out in front of him and he took it on. He showed us a new side to his game.”
County made a strong start to their 5,000th league game and Langstaff met Tobi Adebayo-Rowling’s low cross to deservedly put the visitors in front in the 38th minute.
Malone’s solo effort restored parity for the managerless Gills but Macari’s strike ensured County celebrated a perfect response to last weekend’s 4-1 derby defeat by Mansfield.
