THE question mark still hangs over Meadow Lane, just like the fog did last night.
Notts County threw away victory against Bournemouth in League One not once, but twice. Leading 2-0 and 3-2, they drew 3-3, somehow.
Jeff Hughes fired them ahead midway through the first half and French striker Yoann Arquin doubled their lead on 32 minutes.
They looked to be cruising to three points, but the Cherries netted twice in nine minutes early in the second half, through Josh McQuoid and a penalty from Harry Arter, to make it 2-2.
Winger Jamal Campbell-Ryce also netted from the spot to put Notts back in front on 83 minutes, but Bournemouth hit back again two minutes later, making it 3-3 through sub Matt Tubbs.
It means the Magpies' struggles at Meadow Lane continue and their home form could still undermine their promotion challenge in League One.
The Magpies faced Bournemouth three days after beating Coventry City 2-1 to extend their unbeaten away run in League One to a record 14 games and they were entirely unchanged from that victory.
Alan Judge, their star midfielder, was still conspicuously not in their squad, so captain Neal Bishop, Jeff Hughes and Andre Boucaud started in midfield and Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Francois Zoko and Arquin were named in a three-man attack.
On-loan defender Ashley Eastham made his home debut alongside Dean Leacock at the heart of the Magpies' back-four, Gary Liddle was again switched to right-back, Jordan Stewart was at left-back and No.1 Bartosz Bialkowski began in goal.
Former England goalkeeper David James started for the Cherries and he quickly showed he is not past it at 42 by making a good save to deny Arquin on six minutes.
Bialkowski launched a long goal-kick forward, Jeff Hughes flicked it on and Arquin audaciously attempted to beat James with a volley from 35 yards, but he parried the ball away.
Notts threatened again soon after.
Campbell-Ryce seized onto the ball just inside the visitors' half on eight minutes and swept past midfielder Shaun MacDonald in the blink of an eye, but hit a shot well over the bar from 25 yards.
Jeff Hughes then spurned a good chance to give the Magpies a 1-0 lead a minute later.
Stewart swung a free-kick into the penalty area with his left foot and the Northern Ireland international rose brilliantly to meet it, but directed a header past James' left-hand post from ten yards.
Bournemouth hit back quickly and went close to scoring three times at the Kop end in a mad two minutes.
First, Bialkowski made a great save to deny McQuoid on 19 minutes, after he smashed a shot at goal from 25 yards that was soaring into the top-left corner of the net.
Bournemouth defender Simon Francis then crashed a shot against the foot of Bialkowski's right-hand post from the edge of the penalty area, after Marc Pugh cut the ball back to him from the subsequent corner.
And Bishop then presented striker Lee Barnard with a chance with a badly misplaced pass and Bialkowski was forced into another good save to stop his old Southampton team-mate scoring.
The Magpies could easily have been rocked by those three scary moments, but they went straight up the other end after Bialkowski parried away Barnard's powerful shot and scored to take a 1-0 lead.
Jeff Hughes scored it to make amends for his earlier miss, pouncing on a rebound inside the box, after James had saved at the feet of Arquin, and stroking the ball into the net from 12 yards.
It soon got even better for Notts as they doubled their lead on 32 minutes.
It was a gift from Bournemouth as Francis badly under hit a back-pass straight to Arquin and the young French striker gladly accepted it, striding forward unchallenged into the box and coolly sliding the ball low under the onrushing James.
The Magpies were suddenly in complete control of the game and they looked in no mood to surrender their two-goal lead, Bishop bravely blocking a bullet shot from Barnard inside the box on 39 minutes and Bialkowski denying Pugh moments later.
The Pole thwarted the Bournemouth midfielder for a second time at the start of the second half too, parrying away his low shot from close range on 48 minutes.
But Bialkowski was finally beaten by McQuoid on 51 minutes.
Cherries' winger Donal McDermott sent his team-mate racing into the Magpies' box with a great back-heel and he had all the time in the world to curl a low shot beyond Bialkowski and inside his right-hand post
It put the game back on a knife-edge, although Bishop almost eased the tension inside the stadium with a good strike from inside the box on 54 minutes, but it was deflected onto the underside of the bar.
Bournemouth then made it 2-2 from the penalty spot on 60 minutes, after Bishop tripped Pugh just inside the box as he tried to jink past him.
Arter stepped up to take the spot-kick and sent Bialkowski the wrong way as he smashed it inside his left-hand post.
Having thrown away a 2-0 lead so quickly, Notts came out fighting and Boucaud forced James into a good save with a powerful strike on 62 minutes.
They then threw on their talisman Lee Hughes for Zoko on 69 minutes, hoping he would once again be a super sub, but it was Campbell-Ryce that put them back in front from the spot on 83 minutes.
Having given away a penalty, Bishop was upended in the box by MacDonald inside the penalty area and Campbell-Ryce was the coolest person inside Meadow Lane, striking the spot-kick into the bottom-right corner of the net.
James dived the right way, but the ball still squirmed underneath him.
The Magpies' joy was short-lived, however, as the Cherries equalised again just two minutes later as Notts went to sleep.
Tubbs capitalised, seizing onto a cross into the box and driving the ball low under Bialkowski from an acute angle.
It left Notts feeling acute frustration.
Notts: Bialkowski, Liddle, Leacock, Eastham, Stewart, Bishop, Boucaud, J Hughes, Campbell-Ryce, Zoko (L Hughes, 69), Arquin. Subs: Pilkington, Sheehan, Bencherif, Mahon, Showunmi, Nangle.
Bournemouth: James, Francis, Elphick, Addison, Cook, Pugh, MacDonald, Arter, McDermott (Tubbs, 67), McQuoid, Barnard (Fletcher, 81). Subs: Jalal, Zubar, Partington, Fogden, O'Kane.
Attendance: 4,584 (208 away).
