County 1 Wrexham 0
Welcome to Stockport… again!
Tuesday 19 November 2024
If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Wrexham supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
County moved up to 4th in League One on Saturday with a surprisingly comfortable victory over Wrexham (it could have been a lot more than 1-0). Dave Philbin and Gaz from Chips for a Quid offer their analysis on the afternoon.
Today’s edition is sponsored by C J Motors Stockport. A big thank you to Connor.
Thanks also to Rough Hands Tap who sponsor our Wrexham 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: 176.31 miles
Total steps so far: 284,130
Total raised so far: £2,027
Total completed streets so far: 399 (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
✍️ Saturday’s match in one word
Dave: Excellent.
Gaz: Typical.
🤔 Pre-match thoughts
Dave: I was fully expecting a win. Wrexham don't travel very well and it felt like we were finding our feet after a blip, so those two factors could only end in a home win! There was a buzz in the air around Stockport knowing EP was going to be packed to the rafters, so I couldn't wait to get there.
Gaz: Nobody seemed confident. Edgeley Park is a big bogey ground for us and we came into this one in patchy form. I was excited for a pie, though.
🧐 Post-match thoughts
Dave: Just brilliant! You can say it's not a rivalry, or you're trying to force a rivalry, but the fact that has to be said by the rivalry deniers means there must be some kind of rivalry! So to get a win was great, to perform the way we did was even better.
Gaz: Well, at least it wasn't 5-0.
🔵 Verdict on County
Dave: Took a few minutes to get settled but once we did, it became a matter of when we’d score rather than if. To a man, we were absolutely fantastic. Played some great football, constantly looked to go forward and had a real purpose about our play. If we had beaten them 5-0 again it wouldn't have been undeserved. We seem to have a settled back line now which really gives us a solid foundation (football cliché). Macca and Rydel give us great options going forward and their movement constantly freed up Barry and Collar to go and make menaces of themselves. Any game will be nervy when it's 1-0 late on, so a special shoutout to Tayo Adaramola who went on a mesmerising run at the end to get us down the other side of the pitch.
Gaz: Very good. Disciplined, well-organised and extremely difficult to break down.
🔴 Verdict on Wrexham
Dave: "I don't see how they are doing so well in the league" has been a well-used sentence over the last couple of days. Clearly they don't play like that every week – but they were poor. Palmer had the quietest game he's probably ever had against us which was a highlight. Their keeper had a stormer and kept the score down. I fully believe if Okonkwo was in then we'd have battered them.
Gaz: Pretty toothless in all honesty. We gave it a bit of a go in the second half but didn't test the keeper anywhere near enough.
🎩 Top Hatter
Dave: Bate, with a special mention for Connolly.
Gaz: Louie Barry - for the goal alone. He's some player.
🏴 Top Red Dragon
Dave: Burton.
Gaz: Our reserve goalkeeper Callum Burton who kept us in the game. Thought we were going to miss Okonkwo badly, but this guy looks capable of deputising no problem.
👂 Atmosphere
Dave: Brilliant atmosphere from the first whistle to 10 minutes after the last – something we're not treated to very often! I hope that’s a catalyst for fans to stay behind at the end of future games to show support to the players.
Gaz: Not quite as stale as the performance on the field, but it was pretty poor compared to previous games.
🙏 Hopes for the rest of the season
Dave: I've changed from hoping to be in with a shout of the play-offs with 10 to go, to play-offs. We’re good enough, and I can sense another Dave Challinor run coming along. I was worried before the Reading game and said I'd have been happy with six points out of the four home games; to come out with nine is brilliant, especially considering we got dicked 5-0 in the second one!
Gaz: This is a tricky patch with our strikers having a particularly tough time of it right now. But we'll still be in amongst it come the end of the season I think. We’ve got the quality for a play-off push.
😀 Best part of the day
Dave: The stewards making a mad dash down the Pop Side, only for one to pull up with what looked like a hamstring injury. The way he sat down on the front row was hilarious. Hopefully he's recovered!
Gaz: The pie. It always is.
😡 Worst part of the day
Dave: Not sure there was one!
Gaz: That whole first half was dire. First time this season I've seen us looking quite so clueless. We've never got much hope going into a game at Edgeley Park, and this one arrived during a period when we’re barely scoring any goals. Recipe for disaster.
The British Library receives a copy of every single book published in the UK. In the same fashion, Des Junior believes a detailed record of every County game should be preserved for the history books. So here’s the full story of our 1-0 victory at home to Wrexham on Saturday 16 November, as told from his County-related WhatsApp groups…
9.15am: I was in the Tesco Express near me earlier getting my paper. Bloke in front paying for petrol had shorts on and a tattoo on the back of his leg. BWFC. Cue a certain tune in my head!
3.25pm: Oh my god what a goal!
4.28pm: This has got last minute equaliser written all over it.
6.07pm: Let’s have today right: they were battered 1-0 there. A little bit of substandard finishing from us, but their second choice keeper has basically kept it respectable for them. Other than the first 10 minutes of the game and about 15 minutes of the second half we have dominated them everywhere on the park today. And I thought their support was pretty poor, except when it was being unintentionally funny. Would have expected a lot more noise given they were still in the game until it finished.
8.27pm: Frain and Ward. Bennett and Marsden. Norwood and Bate.
8.29pm: Potentially.
Make sure you get your car serviced before your next trip
Not everyone travels abroad these days for a holiday. Whether you’re taking your caravan to Cornwall, your motorhome to Margate, or simply packing up your Skoda for a few days in Skegness, make sure you’re on top of your servicing. Don’t be that family stuck on the hard shoulder with their hazard lights on!
Before you go away, get your vehicle booked in for a service with Connor at CJ Motors (opposite The Peel Centre) to avoid any additional stress on your holiday.
Visit cjmotorsuk.com for further details.
A visit from the Welsh
Pop into Rough Hands Tap for a pint this week
Any Wrexham fans (or indeed any of our other readers from North Wales) joining us today? Enjoy a pint or two at Rough Hands Tap this week, Wrexham’s newest craft beer bar.
Located at Chapter Court on Queens Street, everyone’s welcome for good chat and cracking craft beer or bangin' coffee.
Visit roughhands.co.uk for further details.
Photo of the day
Mazuma Mobile Stadium, Morecambe
Morecambe away last season. A late equaliser from Kyle Wootton in Lancashire sparked bonkers scenes in the away end.
Today in SK
🎬 Cinema
Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Juror #2 (12A) at 5.45pm, followed by Gladiator II (15) at 8.15pm. Click here for tickets.
🥪 Food and drink
Happy Hour at Covent Garden Café (SK1) between 1.30pm and 2.30pm. If you spend £20 or more you get to roll the dice, and if you roll a 6 your bill is half price!
Try the new house cask ale at The Nelson Tavern (SK1) this month: Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. £2.20 for a half or £4.10 for a pint.
Enjoy a coffee and a cake for only £6 at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). 12pm - 4pm.
Pop in for a pint at Heaton Hops (SK4), CAMRA Pub of the Year for Stockport and South Manchester. Open from 4pm.
Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8). Plus, discounts on certain lagers between 12pm and 6pm.
If you’re simply in the mood for a couple of pints today, get yourself down to one of our featured venues such as The Crown (SK2), The Alexandra (SK3), The Crown Inn (SK6) or The Three Tunnes (SK7).
⁉️ Quiz night
The Steelworks (SK6). 7.30pm.
Random photos of County players at other clubs
#50 – Kevin Francis, Birmingham
Now this lad knew where the back of the net was. After scoring 117 goals for County, Big Kev secured a move to his hometown club during the 1994-95 season, going on to win the Second Division title and the Auto Windscreens Shield.
Need any of these products or services this November? Support the businesses that support The Scarf My Father Wore
🪟 Blinds & Shutters: Bauhaus Blinds and Shutters
📚 Bookkeeping: Eleven Accounts Services
👷♂️ Builder: C E Building Services Ltd
🧱 Builders Merchant: MKM Manchester South
🧽 Car Valeting: Rub A Dubz Detailing Ltd
🧼 Carpet Cleaning: A Star Clean Ltd
🏠 Carpets & Flooring: Kingsway Carpets & Rugs Ltd
🐈 Cat Flaps: That Cat Flap Company Ltd
👶 Child Health: The Sleep Nanny
🧹 Cleaning: Beespoke Cleaning
🚙 Coatings: Colourtone Ltd
🐶 Dog Trainer: Forever Home Dog Training
🐕🦺 Dog Walker: Luna Care
🚘 Driving School: CFN School of Motoring
💡 Electrician: The Electrics Guy
🏠 Estate Agent: The Agency UK
💧 Exterior Cleaning: Impact Pro Clean Ltd
💷 Financial Services: The Mortgage Mill
💐 Florist: The Flower House
🍦 Ice Cream Van Hire: Stevie’s Ices
💻 IT Services: Bridge Computer Services
🪚 Joinery: SAW Contracts Ltd
🔌 Kitchen Appliances: SW Appliances
🍳 Kitchens: Kitchenwise
🌳 Landscaping: Dylan’s Developments
📮 Leaflet Distribution: Wolf Distribution
🔑 Locksmith: APL Locksmiths Ltd
💪 Male Weight Loss: MAN v FAT
🖌 Painter & Decorator: BGM Decorators
🚑 Personal Injury: Parkers Solicitors Ltd
📸 Photographer: Adam Edwards Photo
🧱 Plastering: DT Plastering Services and Damp Proofing Specialists
🛖 Roofing: Pate & Lever Roofing Ltd
☀️ Solar Panels: Malbern Solar Ltd
👨💼 Solicitors: B.J. McKenna & Co
🍹 Spirits: Guerrilla Chicken Spirits
💆♂️ Sports Massage: RobMcRunning
🪨 Stonemason: LM Stone Creative
🚕 Taxi Hire: Lynx Taxis
☀️ Travel Agent: PTF Travel Ltd
👩🏫 Tutor: Conexus Tuition
📺 TV Aerials: SDS Aerials
🧰 Vehicle Repairs: C J Motors Stockport
⚖️ Weight Loss: Slimming World Reddish & Bredbury with Shlean