NOTTS County conceded a penalty in first-half injury time to trail Crewe Alexandra 1-0 at half-time at Meadow Lane today.
The Magpies' rookie goalkeeper Fabian Spiess made two super saves in the opening stages to deny the visitors, but he was beaten from the spot by Crewe captain Luke Murphy.
Manchester United's John Cofie made his debut as a lone striker just a day after joining the Magpies on loan, as caretaker boss Chris Kiwomya dropped Yoann Arquin and Francois Zoko.
Kiwomya also ditched a three-man defence, bringing Julian Kelly back into the team at right-back in a back-four, alongside Dean Leacock, Gary Liddle and Alan Sheehan.
Andre Boucaud, Gavin Mahon, Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Jeff Hughes and Alan Judge were named in the Magpies' midfield.
Spiess made two great saves to deny Crewe in the opening minutes, parrying away a close-range header from defender Mark Ellis on five minutes and then tipping a long-range shot from midfielder Bradden Inman onto the foot of his left-hand post on eight minutes.
He made another good save on 17 minutes, leaping to his left and clutching a curling shot from Crewe striker Chuks Aneke.
Notts hit back on 25 minutes, Judge whipping a cross into the box from the right wing for Hughes, but he fouled the visitors' goalkeeper Steve Phillips as they challenged for the ball in the air and ref Andy Woolmer blew his whistle as it fell to Cofie and he prodded it into the net from a couple of yards out.
Murphy then blazed over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area on 30 minutes and Hughes headed wide of Phillips' right-hand post a minute later, after Sheehan swung a cross into the box.
Hughes then tried to find Cofie inside the box with a low cross on 37 minutes, but Kelvin Mellor cut it out and the visitors replied on 42 minutes, Murphy crossing into the box and Abdul Osman directing a looping header on the roof of Spiess' net.
Notts went 1-0 down in injury time at the end of the first half as Crewe scored from the penalty spot.
Mahon brought down striker Ajay Leitch-Smith inside the box and Murphy buried the spot kick into the top-right corner of the net, sending Spiess the wrong way.
NOTTS: Spiess, Kelly, Leacock, Liddle, Sheehan, Boucaud, Mahon, Campbell-Ryce, Hughes, Judge, Cofie. Subs: Mitchell, Smith, Bencherif, Tempest, Zoko, Arquin, Showunmi.
CREWE: Phillips, Mellor, Ellis, Dugdale, Tootle, Moore, Osman, Murphy, Inman, Aneke, Leitch-Smith. Subs: Martin, Clayton, Pogba, Turton, Robertson, Ray, Colclough.