Friday 19 April 2024 – CHAMPIONS FORTNIGHT!
NEXT HOME GAME: Accrington – Saturday 20 April, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Wrexham – Saturday 27 April, 3pm
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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to CHAMPIONS FORTNIGHT on The Scarf My Father Wore.
It’s not every day Stockport County win a Football League title – in fact, the last time it happened was 57 years ago – so we’re shouting our success from the rooftops, with 14 champion-flavoured articles over 14 days. This is a late one from me tonight, but it’ll give you something to read in bed, either right now or when you wake up in the morning. I’ve had a look back at five games over the course of the season which I feel were pivotal in our title/promotion success. Let me know what games you’d have chosen!
Today’s edition is sponsored by Parkers Solicitors Ltd. A big thank you to Adam and all the team. If you’ve been injured in an accident and would like to discuss the matter further, call 0161 477 9451 or email info@parkers-solicitors.co.uk.
Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.
Total distance so far: 136.36 miles
Total steps so far: 217,174
Total raised so far: £1,666
Total completed streets so far: 271 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)
Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.
Des Junior
County 3 Crawley 3
September 2
Dave Challinor’s men have won 26 games this season, so you might be wondering why I’ve chosen to kick off this article with a draw. I’m sure many readers wouldn’t have included this particular game from the start of September in their own lists, but for me, Tanto’s 89th minute equaliser stands out as an extremely important moment.
Seven days earlier, having twice thrown away the lead in a 3-2 defeat at Mansfield, County finished August in 19th place, after three defeats in the opening five games. With the pressure starting to build amidst the expectation that County would finish in the top three this season, and following a disappointing transfer window, the Crawley game at the beginning of September felt significant.
County started well. Louie Barry’s goal of the season contender gave us the lead, before Antoni Sarcevic made it two with a delightful dink past the keeper. The atmosphere soon turned sour, though, as Crawley scored either side of half-time to make it 2-2. (And don’t forget Crawley were one of the favourites to go down, even though they’ve surprised everyone by occupying a play-off spot with two games to go.)
“Shambolic,” was how Sandy McGregor described the collapse. “Started well. Positive going forward. Untroubled at the back. When we conceded we just went to pieces. The goals were poor. The reaction was equally bad, if not worse. The second substitutions just left everyone baffled. Taking off experienced pros and chucking a couple of kids into a bear pit seemed like madness.”
Those second changes took place in the 62nd minute, with Challinor taking off Akil Wright and Ryan Croasdale and replacing them with youngsters Alfie Pond and Joel Cotterill, both making their debuts. It’s fair to say there were one or two grumbles from the County fans, which got louder three minutes later as Crawley took the lead.
I’m not for one moment suggesting Challinor would have got the sack had we lost to Crawley, but you can see for yourself on social media and message boards that some fans were starting to voice some rather strong opinions. Having been cruising at 2-0, a fourth defeat in six games would have felt disastrous at the time. Fortunately, Tanto’s late strike rescued a point. A week later, County won 2-1 at Wimbledon – the first of 12 consecutive victories in League Two which took us to the top of the division. The rest, as they say, is history!
County 5 Wrexham 0
September 23
County’s record-equalling 12-game winning run started with a couple of hard-fought 2-1 victories on the road at Wimbledon and MK Dons, but back on home soil, this particular win undeniably felt like the moment our Wembley hangover had subsided. I think the majority of the home crowd at Edgeley Park that afternoon heard a great big CLICK, and we headed for the pubs after the game believing this squad could go one better this season, especially with the addition of players such as Louie Barry and Odin Bailey.
Wrexham had won the two previous meetings, denying us a trip to Wembley in the FA Trophy and also preventing us from winning the National League title at their place within the space of five weeks. Paul Mullin’s exquisite lob over Ben Hinchliffe in the semi-final 18 months before this reunion in SK3 had lingered as a bad dream for the 1,250 Hatters in attendance in North Wales that day, but Louie Barry’s stunning solo goal on this September afternoon, cutting through Wrexham’s defence with ease like the proverbial knife through butter, felt like the perfect remedy to finally put those demons to bed.
Barry’s effort made it 3-0 after just 33 minutes. Tanto had already scored twice, before clinching his hat-trick early in the second half. Paddy Madden added a fifth in the last minute. The result lifted County into the top half of the table for the first time, and landed a big early punch on their title rivals.
County 3 Walsall 1
January 13
New Year’s Day couldn’t have been much worse for County. Ethan Pye had to be taken off just eight minutes into the game with Mansfield, before Kyle Knoyle was stretchered off in the second half with a sickening head injury. County stayed top, but a 2-0 win for the Stags cut the gap to just two points, with Nigel Clough’s men having two games in hand. I vividly remember us looking dead on our feet by the end of that Mansfield game, and with the injuries continuing to pile up, promotion felt quite a long way off at that point.
Fortunately, our following game at Gillingham was postponed due to their FA Cup involvement, which gave us nearly a fortnight to rest and recuperate before Walsall came to town. The Saddlers came to SK3 on the back of a 6-1 win at Grimsby, plus impressive Christmas victories over Crewe and Wrexham, but an energetic and exciting second half display from County secured an important 3-1 win. After three games without a victory, a crucial three points.
Gillingham 0 County 0
February 20
Over the course of 44 games (so far) this season, lots of different County fans will have lots of different suggestions as to which five matches should be included in an article like this. One thing I’m sure we’d all agree on, however, is County’s worst game of the season – our 4-0 drubbing at Tranmere. For that reason, I’m including the point and the clean sheet we ground out at Priestfield three days later.
The game in Kent wasn’t a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but after conceding seven goals in two games, it was satisfying to see us look so solid once again, especially with Fraser Horsfall back in the side. A bloody long way to drive for a 0-0 but it felt like a really decent point at the time. And as events have transpired, this turned out to be the first game in an unbeaten run of 12 which has taken us to the League Two title.
I have to mention the 378 County fans as well, who I thought were fantastic. Over 2,000 of us had been in the away end at Tranmere but on big days out like that we always seem to attract a handful of tossers. Connor Jennings got a load of unnecessary stick that afternoon, and even though we were dogshit on the day, some of the anger directed at our own players was over the top as well. The travelling Hatters in Kent really got behind the players from minute one, though, and even though we didn’t win the game, there was a nice moment with Challinor and the players after the final whistle, as they came right over to show their appreciation. The County fans responded with positivity and encouragement, and the players left the pitch knowing we had full belief in them to get the job done. And we’ve not lost a game since.
County 5 MK Dons 0
March 23
“Surreal,” was how Phil Brennan described this one. That might seem like an odd word to attach to a 5-0 victory, but the County fans at Edgeley Park for this wet and windy teatime game will know exactly what he means.
It really was surreal. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Cheadle End concourse so confused at half-time, trying to decipher how we were three goals up at the break, after the visitors had been the better side by far in the opening 30 minutes. It was just one of those days where everything seemed to go right. I left a few minutes before the end at 4-0 to squeeze in a few extra cuddles with my nephews before their bedtime, and by the time I got there County had even added a fifth. A huge, huge, huge three points in the promotion race.
“To be fair it’s about time we had the rub of the green,” added Phil. “We’ve played much better than that this season and not won.”
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One final thing before you go… if you’d like a spring clean for your car, carpets, house, oven or even your windows, get in touch with our brilliant bunch of sponsors!
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