Chester 2 County 3

Des Junior was at the Deva yesterday for County’s first friendly

Jul 07, 2024

Sunday 7 July 2024

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STOCKPORT COUNTY PREDICTION GAME 2024-25: Predict County’s top scorer, final league position, cup performances etc. £10 to enter. 40% of the pot to the winner, 30% to second, 20% to third, and 10% to Mentell. If you’d like to enter, drop us a message or an email.

Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Chester supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Sunday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

A few hours before England’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over Switzerland yesterday, County were back in action with a 3-2 win at Chester in their first pre-season friendly. I’ve cobbled a few words together from the match, along with a handful of photos from the away end.

Today’s edition is sponsored by LM Stone Creative. A big thank you to Chris, who’s put together an exciting competition for us this month. Be sure to enter, if you can find the sign…!

Thanks also to Beckers Mechanical, who sponsor our Chester content on the website.

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: 158.42 miles

Total steps so far: 254,782

Total raised so far: £1,909

Total completed streets so far: 347 (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

What’s your thoughts on Branston pickle? That was one of the main topics of conversation during the second half at the Deva Stadium yesterday afternoon amongst a few of us in the away end. For the record, your editor loves a generous dollop of Branston on a cheese sandwich. Also for the record, the second half at Chester yesterday was pretty dull, which you’ve already probably deciphered for yourself as I’ve started this article talking about Branston bloody pickle.

County made nine changes at the break, with the second half feeling very much like your stereotypical first outing of the summer – a glorified training session, essentially. Academy scholar Harry Johnson didn’t even have a number on the back of his shirt when he came on for Callum Camps.

If you’re looking for a detailed write-up of the second half, I’m afraid you may have to look elsewhere. Looking back at my notes, Cody Johnson had a decent effort which landed on the roof of the net, Camps did a naughty little nutmeg on a Chester player, and the attendance was 1,265. That’s all I’ve got. (Cracking turnout from County, by the way, with the steward saying there were around 800 of us.)

There were a couple of special moments for the travelling Blue & White Army, however. It was lovely to see Jordan Keane in a County shirt once again (he’s looking for a new club at the moment so Challinor offered him a runout), and also Jack Stretton, back on the pitch after a lengthy absence through injury.

In contrast, the first half didn’t feel like a friendly at all. Considering it was our first game for 70 days, County looked extremely fresh, sharp and hungry. Four of our summer signings started the match, with Callum Connolly, Jack Diamond and Lewis Bate all impressing, along with a clean sheet for Corey Addai (thanks to an offside flag going up on the one occasion Chester had the ball in the back of the net).

The opening goal came on 27 minutes. Bate, who’d been busy and energetic throughout, picked up the ball in midfield and threaded a lovely ball through to Che Gardner, who slotted home past the oncoming keeper.

Twelve minutes later, Gardner turned provider, delivering a great cross from the right, which Kyle Wootton converted from close range.

The goal of the game, from County’s man of the match in the first half, came just before half-time, as Bate struck a beautiful shot from 25 yards which flew into the top corner.

A few days before the game, County’s Twitter account uploaded a photo from a team meeting, with a slide showing the message: “We want to be a high intensity, front foot team with purposeful possession.” After just 45 minutes in Cheshire on Saturday, we’d already had a clear glimpse of this approach. Bate was constantly looking to collect the ball from defence, before quickly bringing others into play. Diamond was also involved throughout, instantly looking to drive forward, and beating players with ease. It was great to see Ibby Touray with a spring in his step too, getting past his man and delivering crosses and winning corners.

Having opened with the second half, this report has been a bit all over the place. I’ve not even mentioned the taxi driver who dropped me off at the Deva Stadium, who said he was a big football fan but asked me which Premier League team I support and whether or not County’s players actually get paid. Or my mate Kingy missing the first 25 minutes of the game waiting for a hot dog, as Chester’s catering team had only anticipated about 12 County fans turning up. Or a group of Japanese tourists in a pub in Chester later that evening wearing ‘The Wrexham Experience’ scarves.

Nobody’s too concerned about County’s second half being a bit disjointed, so I should get away with my first match report of the season being the same. If friendlies are arranged simply for footballers to get minutes under their belt ahead of the new season, it’s also an opportunity for writers to get, erm, words under their notepads too.

And with that awful final line, I’m signing off. I’ll see you at Oldham next Saturday. Or it might be one of the Trialist brothers if my writing doesn’t improve.

Competition time!

How do you fancy winning a custom 300mm by 400mm by 30mm thick Quartz chopping board, courtesy of LM Stone Creative?

It’s easy to enter. All you have to do is find the LM Stone Creative sign, which has recently been placed somewhere in Stockport. Once you locate the sign, take a selfie in front of it while wearing a Stockport County or Stockport Town hat, shirt, or both. And don’t forget to wear a smile!

The competition will run throughout July, and depending on the number of entries received, there may be multiple winners of these beautiful Quartz chopping boards.

After taking your selfie, make sure you tag both The Scarf My Father Wore and LM Stone Creative on social media, and you’ll need to follow both to win!

Good luck to all participants, and we look forward to seeing your smiling faces in front of the brand new LM Stone Creative sign!

Make sure you follow LM Stone Creative LTD on Facebook and lm_stone_creative_ltd on Instagram.

Not your average garage…

Beckers Mechanical, based in Chester, are not your average garage. Established in 2017 by Peter McDaid and Scott Dewar, they combine skills, knowledge and experience rarely found in an independent garage. Their customers come to quickly rely on their diagnostic skills and the speed with which work is completed getting their cars back on the road in the shortest time possible. All parts and labour are covered by the Servicesure National Warranty Scheme and they also offer Servicesure’s “Brakes for Life” scheme.

Visit beckersmechanical.com for further details.

Photo of the day

Edgeley Park, Stockport

April 1986. The Port Vale keeper tips the ball over the bar, as the visitors take all three points with a 2-1 victory in SK3.

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

One film at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 (15) at 2.30pm and 6pm. Click here for tickets.

🍺 Food and drink

If you’re simply in the mood for a couple of pints today, pop along to one of our featured venues such as AMP (SK1), Bask (SK1), The Nelson Tavern (SK1), The Petersgate Tap (SK1), Thread (SK1), The Crown (SK2), The Dog & Partridge (SK2), The Armoury (SK3), Reddish Working Men’s Club (SK5), The Crown Inn (SK6), The Marple Tavern (SK6), The Railway (SK6), The Shady Oak (SK7), The Three Tunnes (SK7), The Cross Keys (SK8), The Railway (SK9), Flute & Firkin (SK12) or The Friendship (SK13).

🎤 Live music

Jack Broughton at The Steelworks (SK6). 3pm.

100 random grounds that County have played at

#58 – Meadowbank, Dorking

Last visit: County have only been there once, a few weeks before the first Covid lockdown. Adam Thomas scored our goal in a 1-1 draw in the second round of the FA Trophy. Dorking went on to win 4-0 at Edgeley Park in the replay.