County 4 Newport 0
An Easter Monday treat at Edgeley Park, as the Hatters move into the automatic promotion places for the first time this season
Thursday 13 April 2023
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any Newport supporters joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Thursday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
The County fans from South Wales might not enjoy taking a look back at Monday’s game today (although even if they lost all of their remaining games they should already be safe from relegation on 47 points) but the County fans from Cheshire certainly will, as the 4-0 scoreline took us into the top three. There’s still a long way to go, as Stevenage and Bradford can both go above us with their games in hand, and we’ve got three tricky away games at Gillingham, Carlisle and Orient to come, but a third promotion in five years (still can’t believe I’m saying that) is certainly on the cards. Sandy McGregor and Ed Bridges reflect on the action from Easter Monday.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to Paul and all the team at Colourtone for sponsoring today’s edition. See below for further details on what they have to offer.
Des Junior
Monday’s match in one word:
Sandy - Excellent.
Ed - Humbling.
Pre-match thoughts:
Sandy - I was positive. I am surprised how anxious people are. We were in as good form, if not better form, than anyone else.
Ed - We were on a high after thumping Northampton (but Monday underlined that we’re woefully inconsistent).
Post-match thoughts:
Sandy - Thought it's the best performance since Crewe at home. Excited about the rest of the season.
Ed - We got done by a very talented and focused side who should be in the promotion hunt - although you had a bit of help from some woeful officiating too.
Verdict on County:
Sandy - Thought we had good performances all over the pitch. We were positive in the final third, something we’ve been missing recently.
Ed - Very good. Only Carlisle come near to impressing me as much as you have in the two games we’ve played.
Verdict on Newport:
Sandy - It looked like a game too far for them. They were on a decent run themselves, had a cracking win over Northampton on Friday but they never put us under real pressure. Goal on half-time was a crippler for them.
Ed - Naive.
Top Hatter:
Sandy - Rydel. Heavily involved in three goals. His delivery is second to none in our team. Honourable mentions for Wootton and Croasdale.
Ed - I do like Hippolyte, he knows his job and can stick a cross on a sixpence. His work for your opener was great.
Top Exile:
Sandy - Couldn’t pick anyone.
Ed - Erm… the unused subs‽
Atmosphere:
Sandy - Yellow Block was in good form. Plenty of singing. Lost a few day trippers who moved to quieter surroundings. Not much banter with the away fans who were a bit subdued. Not sure if the "Here for the County!" chant is the right one when we’re playing Newport.
Ed - We didn’t have much to cheer; it was one of those days where three hundred people all taking the piss out of the linesman is as good as it gets. I will add that the away experience at Stockport is garbage. I’d really looked forward to visiting Edgeley Park but right from leaving the station we had the impression that neither the club nor your local police force wanted us there. Can’t say I’ll be queuing to come back any time soon.
Hopes for the rest of the season:
Sandy - Automatic is still there as a real possibility. Bookies seem to prefer Stevenage and Northampton but if we keep winning I am sure we can catch at least one of them. It’s going to be nerve shredding.
Ed - Ha! Stay in 18th where we’ve basically been since the clocks went back in October‽
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 4-0 victory at home to Newport County on Monday 13 April 2023, as told from his three County-related WhatsApp groups…
2.59pm: Newport with a shit away kit. Reminiscent of Pacers.
3.02pm: They look like a tube of toothpaste. Crossed with a greengrocer.
3.10pm: 1-0. Fucking awesome. Wootton header from Hippo cross on right after a lovely bit of play with Croasdale.
3.49pm: 2-0. Wootton again. Down the left this time. Low in from Rydel, Wootton took a touch and finished on the turn.
3.50pm: Get in. Actually learned our lesson from the past few weeks it seems.
4.06pm: So glad Wootton’s got a couple. Puts a shift in every week, gets kicked all over and gets no help from refs.
4.26pm: 3-0 Stretton. Rydel on the left, cross went through the box, touch and finished.
4.50pm: 4-0 Knoyle. More quality. Rydel, Madden, Knoyle. Boom.
4.53pm: Tell you what, if Knoyle had been here all season, he’d be a Player of the Year contender. Been absolute quality since he came in - what Donny were doing letting him go I’ve no idea.
5.17pm: Absolutely brilliant, County. We've finally clicked after weeks of inconsistencies. We created chances and scored goals with clinical finishing. We didn't give much away and I wasn't worried when watching us defend. Newport fans may say that 4-0 was harsh. Neutrals and critics might say they were poor. Neither matters because we were better across the park, from back to front, throughout the game. If that doesn't give us a kick start to promotion, I don't know what will. Let's do this, let's go to League One!
Give your car a lick of paint
Granted, Stockport used to be a little rough around the edges. But the town’s getting a good old lick of paint these days, with fancy new offices, apartments, bars and restaurants springing up. You can’t be driving up and down the A6 in a tatty car with chipped paintwork, so give your car a nice lick of paint too. Colourtone is your go-to company for that. They’ve been servicing the automotive and industrial markets in Cheshire and Greater Manchester for decades, and carry an extensive range of car paint and industrial paints.
Visit colourtone.com for further details.
Photo of the day
Somewhere in Stockport (probably Quaffers)
This handsome chap picks up his Player of the Year and Top Scorer awards for the 1991-92 season.
Never mind Google or Yell.com, we’ve got you covered
STOP! That got your attention, didn’t it? Just a quick one… I’d hazard a guess that at some point in April, all of our readers will use Google or Yell.com at some point looking for a particular product or service. But before you do, please have a quick look at our own directory to see if we have what you’re looking for. A number of great businesses support The Scarf My Father Wore, allowing us to publish fresh content every day, so let’s send a few enquiries their way in return.
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