Monday 16 January 2023
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Monday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore. Cheadle End regular Simon Lomas and Northampton Chronicle reporter James Heneghan share their thoughts from Saturday’s game, with County picking up an impressive three points against the Cobblers in the push for the play-offs, and maybe even automatic promotion, depending on how full your cup is.
There’s not long to go until ‘A Curry with Colin Woodthorpe’ - our first live event of 2023. It’s taking place at Last Monsoon in Stockport on Monday 30 January at 7.30pm. Come and join us for an entertaining evening with one of Gary Megson’s first County signings ahead of our first season in Division One in 1997-98. Colin’s an absolutely lovely bloke, and having made 171 appearances for County, he’s got some fantastic stories from his five years at Edgeley Park.
You’ll also get poppadoms, mixed starters, curry, rice and naan breads. As well as a full colour souvenir programme. All for just £20. Fancy it? Send me a text or give me a call on 07816 111150, or you can email desmondhinks@hotmail.co.uk
Finally, today’s edition is sponsored by A E Thomas & Co. Big thank you to Scott, and if you need your windows cleaning, there’s further details below.
Des Junior
Saturday’s match in one word:
Simon - Pivotal.
James - Frustrating.
Pre-match thoughts:
Simon - Hoping we'd eradicated illness from the camp and could get back to something like ourselves, with a statement win to press on again.
James - I was sceptical of Northampton's chances due to County’s form and the fact several key players were missing. My confidence didn't exactly grow when it was revealed that captain and defensive mainstay Jon Guthrie pulled out on the morning of the game due to illness. He's such an important figure and had played every minute of every game this season. But even so, Northampton tend to raise their game for the big occasion so I felt it was always likely to be a tight encounter defined by small margins - and so it proved!
Post-match thoughts:
Simon - Massive win and a bit of a 'moving day' with results being pretty positive for us elsewhere in the division. Nice to get our 2023 up and running and take some confidence into the Cheshire derby on Saturday. A word on Rebecca Welch as referee who once again showed she is far and away the best referee in this league and put her male counterparts to shame; ignored any antics and theatrics and took a common sense view to reffing the game.
James - Frustrating from Northampton's perspective. Thought they actually played reasonably well for about 60 minutes but it all hinged on scoring the first goal. Had Sam Hoskins taken any of his three big chances, I think they would have come away with at least a point. But credit to Hinchliffe, he made a couple of excellent saves and County were clinical when it mattered. Ultimately it was a tight battle between two decent teams, both of whom should be in the promotion shake-up come the end of the season.
Verdict on County:
Simon - Wasn't convinced by the team selection and reverting to a back four it felt we shoehorned players like Collar and Wright out of position just to avoid putting Knoyle straight in which seemed the lower risk option so as not to unsettle things. The flatter midfield allowed Northampton too much space to play through and we rode our luck a little bit at times. Looked more controlled once Knoyle came on and gave us that balance, and the second half, bar the first five minutes, was a lot more comfortable and controlled and we were just about worthy winners in the end. Didn't think we were at our best but it’s a huge result in the context of the season and a good game to win after a mini blip.
James - To be honest I thought County would be more dominant and take the game to Northampton straight from kick-off. It didn't really work out that way, if anything Northampton were the better team before the first goal. But County managed it well after going ahead and always looked capable of scoring a second and even a third. Clearly have some talented players and wouldn't be at all surprised if they ended up in the top seven, if not higher.
Verdict on Northampton:
Simon - Quite a big physical side with threats in Hoskins and a few other decent players but as I thought earlier in the season, I see them as distinctly average and we contrived to lose at their place when we were playing cack and I’d back us to creep above them before the season’s end. They seemed to give up the ghost after the second and didn't show spirit and character to get back in the game; neither did a lot of their fans to be honest, walking out at 2-0 with 25 minutes to go, which I found a bit poor and bizarre to be honest for a team third in the league.
James - Decent for an hour, poor thereafter. Worked some good positions in the first half and created one big chance which Hoskins blazed over. Could and should have had at least one goal. For so long under Jon Brady they have been a team known for being clinical in attack and resolute at the back but both qualities were absent on this occasion. Gave away two poor goals and were then decimated by injury and illness for the final half-hour.
Top Hatter:
Simon - Hinchliffe for me. Some big saves in big moments. The one at the start of the second half stopped them getting a huge momentum shift. He’s different class and rarely lets us down.
James - Thought Myles Hippolyte was really good and Kyle Wootton led the line well. Paddy Madden is a class act too and obviously Antoni Sarcevic's contribution was decisive.
Top Cobbler:
Simon - I like the look of Mitch Pinnock, a decent ball carrier and a good size and athletic to go with it. The ball he lifted over for Hoskins for the aforementioned save by Hinchliffe at start of the second half was first class.
James - Tough one. Probably Louis Appéré or Ben Fox.
Atmosphere:
Simon - I sit in lower tier one of the Cheadle End and I thought the atmosphere was a bit flat in the first half, as was our performance. The two do go hand in hand sometimes. Once Northampton missed that big chance in the second half I thought that jolted our fans into action and we were excellent after that. It galvanised us, which filtered down to the pitch, and the players responded accordingly.
James - It was my first trip to the ground and I enjoyed myself. The atmosphere was really good and there was a positive feel about the place, which is unsurprising given the club's recent rise. I hope I return in League One next season!
Hopes for the rest of the season:
Simon - Top three. Why not be ambitious? We’ve played a lot of the top teams away from home now, so our toughest assignments left are mainly at Edgeley Park, barring Orient in the penultimate game of the season. Let’s hope they are on their jollies by then. You only have to look at our bench to see the wealth of options we have to cause problems or grab a goal, whilst maintaining the intensity of our performance. I’d still expect another one or two additions to come in, but if not I think we've enough quality already in the building to have a real go at it.
James - It's three defeats in four for Northampton now so they desperately need to arrest their current form and turn things around. The fixture list has been brutal of late and it doesn't get much easier with Mansfield, Barrow and Walsall next up. If they can get some key players back and maybe bring in one or two before the end of the month, I still think they can finish top three. But it's getting tight up there.
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 2-0 victory at home to Northampton Town on Saturday 14 January 2023, as told from his three County-related WhatsApp groups…
8.54am: Is the Armoury open yet?
8.55am: Unfortunately not!
3.27pm: Quiet game then?
3.28pm: End to end. Plenty of goals in this one. Top class save from Hinchliffe just then. They're a good League Two side. We're a better footballing side but we look like a team with a new defence and a new formation.
3.35pm: 1-0 Sarcevic.
3.38pm: We stepped up the pressure in midfield in the build-up to that. Need to keep winning those battles and we'll be fine. We're a much better footballing side than them.
4.30pm: 2-0. Johnson header from corner.
5.03pm: Really good game that. Wobbled for first 15 minutes or so after the break but that was a quality performance overall. Pick your Man of the Match from three or four players and no-one had a bad game.
5.40pm: Big result, which keeps open a realistic possibility of a top three spot if we win our games in hand. Northampton came out strongly in the second half - having been out of the tunnel for the kick-off a little before County - but we held them at bay and Ben added a second fine save to the one from the first half. He was one of several who could have been a deserving winner of Man of the Match along with Croasdale, Collar, Wootton and Wright (who won it). After we got into the game it became a more even one, much like the first half, until our second goal knocked the stuffing out of them. Pleased with the performance, very pleased with the result. Let's smash Crewe, please.
Give those windows of yours a clean
There’s exciting things happening in Stockport at the moment isn’t there? County pushing for League One, parties at Bask every weekend, millions being spent on the town centre redevelopment. You want to be able to (metaphorically) see all these things clearly out of your windows don’t you? Step forward, A E Thomas & Co, one of the leading independent window cleaning companies covering Stockport and the north-west. Take a look at your windows right now. Are they a bit grubby? Get in touch with Scott and he’ll have them looking shinier than the National League trophy.