Sunday 24 March 2024
NEXT HOME GAME: Wimbledon – Monday 1 April, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Forest Green – Friday 29 March, 3pm
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, MK 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.
I’m still not entirely sure how we won 5-0 yesterday so I’ve delegated match report duty to Phil Brennan. “Surreal,” was Phil’s first word that landed in my inbox this morning. It really was. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Cheadle End concourse so confused at half-time before, trying to decipher how we were three goals up at the break. 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.
Toby Lock joins us for the first time for the visitors’ view, having been at Edgeley Park reporting on the game for the MK Citizen.
Our first live event of 2024 is taking place next month. ‘Flynny at the Finger’ – an evening with County legend Mike Flynn – is at The Fingerpost on Wednesday 17 April. Start time 7.30pm. Over 60% of the tickets have now been sold. If you’d like to join us, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com. Tickets are £10 (or £5 for paid subscribers plus anyone who’s written an article for The Scarf My Father Wore). That includes a full colour souvenir programme, and even a little bit of stand-up comedy!
Today’s edition is sponsored by Step Into Fun Events. A big thank you to Rachel and the team. They’ve kindly provided The Scarf My Father Wore readers with a 10% discount, so if you’re planning any sort of party or event at the moment, it’s well worth giving them a call.
Also, a big thank you to Three Counties Spirits Co, who sponsor our MK Dons content on the website. If you need to stock up your drinks cabinet at the moment, you can get a 10% discount off all orders on their website. Simply enter the code SCARF10 at checkout.
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
✍️ Saturday’s match in one word
Phil: Surreal.
Toby: Catastrophic.
🤔 Pre-match thoughts
Phil: I’d take a point.
Toby: Given the way Dons have performed against other teams at the sharper end of the table, I was expecting a much better performance than what we saw. I fancied them to cause problems, play good football and for it to be an entertaining but close-fought encounter.
🧐 Post-match thoughts
Phil: I’ll take the three points thank you very much! To be fair it’s about time we had the rub of the green. We’ve played much better than that this season and not won.
Toby: It was a capitulation of epic proportions. After a really good opening half-hour, where Dons were the better of the two teams and forced the issue on more than one occasion, it was one mistake from the keeper which then caused the rest of the team to fall apart. I think, from here, it puts paid to Dons' automatic promotion chances.
🔵 Verdict on County
Phil: Did everything right in front of goal. Still gave too many chances to the opposition but as stated above, it was nice to ride our luck.
Toby: I think for 15 minutes, with the wind in their sails, it showed exactly why they are where they are this season. Clinical in front of goal, going in 3-0 up at the break had the game wrapped up in a nice little package early on, and meant they could cruise through the second half while keeping Dons at arms length.
⚪️ Verdict on MK
Phil: They were as I expected, a good footballing side, but they looked shellshocked going off at half-time, probably not understanding how they were 3-0 down. Good early second half goal meant that they were just going through the motions after that.
Toby: Disastrous. Away from home this year, they have been distinctly poor, and while there have been a couple of promising results (Mansfield away for example) more often than not, they have let themselves down too often. It has to change but there are not many games left to do it this term.
🎩 Top Hatter
Phil: Camps was brilliant, Powell and Evans kept us ticking whilst we were chasing shadows early on and a mention for Touray who grew in confidence as the game went on.
Toby: I really liked watching Tanto Olaofe. I think he has a little bit of sparkle and flair, he took his goal really well and always looked to cause problems. I was pretty relieved when he came off, but that said, the game was dead by that point.
⚪️ Top Don
Phil: The two little ‘uns in the middle of the park are decent as is their number 8.
Toby: I've just struggled to write my player ratings for the game but I've opted for Joe Tomlinson. He had a couple of decent efforts and was a threat for most of the first half. Really should have put away his one-on-one just a minute after Camps' opener, but fired it straight at the keeper. It was downhill for the team from there.
👂 Atmosphere
Phil: I’m one of the soft arses that deserted their seats in LT1 in the hailstone attack. Having said that it was 0-0 when me and Dave (Schofield) moved to UT1 and the atmosphere became superb after that.
Toby: It was hard to tell as I had the radio headphones on, but Edgeley Park usually has a good atmosphere from previous visits. I thought it was a little quiet at times though, even though it was a pretty dominant performance from County and with the magnitude of the game.
🙏 Hopes for the rest of the season
Phil: I’m a longstanding County fan, what do you think? My hopes are always weighed down by an eternal feeling of what will be will be. Secretly I will be happy with promotion in any of the three spots available, although I hope that we finish as champions.
Toby: I think now it will be to secure as good a play-off spot as possible. A decent run in the final six games might force the teams above to look over their shoulders a bit but a strong finish going into the play-offs would be ideal.
😀 Best part of the day
Phil: Getting the opportunity to bring Cam Toman back to EP after his recent serious illness. The fact that we won 5-0 definitely made his day. He’ll probably be asleep all day today reliving the five goals over and over again.
Toby: The hospitality from the people at Edgeley Park was great. Covering MK Dons, we can catch a lot of flack, but the trip to Stockport was a warm welcome and it's a ground I'd love to go back to again soon. I have a lot of fond memories from my university days and going to watch Stockport vs Dons was always one of my favourite away trips.
😡 Worst part of the day
Phil: No such thing as a bad part of the day when County win!
Toby: The scoreboard at the end! The weather wasn't much fun either; I’ve got a lot of respect for the fans who stuck about in the uncovered end during that monsoon early in the game.
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 5-0 victory at home to Milton Keynes Dons on Saturday 23 March 2024, as told from his County-related WhatsApp groups…
5.47pm: Camps makes it 1-0 to the football club. Capitalises on a catastrophe from the keeper.
5.52pm: Madden 2-0. Camps is having a cracker, laid it on a plate for Paddy.
6.02pm: Tanto! 3-0 to the good guys.
6.25pm: 4-0. Great finish from Evans.
7.09pm: Five! Byrne.
3.41am: Sitting on a beach lost in Lanzarote with my County top on. What a result!
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Sticking five past the Franchise
Photo of the day
After our 5-0 win yesterday, my mate asked ChatGPT to draw a picture of a Franchise fan crying…
Today in SK
🎬 Cinema
Three films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Bob Marley: One Love (12A) at 1.45pm, Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande (12A) at 4pm, and Poor Things (18) at 6pm. Click here for tickets.
🍺 Food and drink
If you’re in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a pint or two. Open till 9pm.
There’s a new craft stout at The Dog & Partridge (SK2) this month. Euphoria is a 4.5% ABV dark, easy drinking kegged stout with a subtle punch of coffee, chocolate and a deep, rich malt flavour.
🎶 Free jukebox
The Nelson Tavern (SK1). 3pm - 6pm.
Random County fan of the day #79 – Jamie McNally!
One final thing before you go… if you’re in need of any of these products or services this month, get in touch with our brilliant bunch of sponsors!
🎨 Art & Gifts: Kate O’Brien Art
🪟 Blinds & Shutters: Bauhaus Blinds & Shutters
📚 Bookkeeping: Eleven Accounts Services Ltd
🧱 Builders Merchant: MKM Manchester South
🍰 Cake Maker: Claire Green Bespoke Cakes and Catering
🧽 Car Valeting: Rub A Dubz Detailing Ltd
🏠 Carpets & Flooring: Kingsway Carpets & Rugs Ltd
🐈⬛ Cat Sitting: The Crazy Cat Ladies Cheshire
👶 Child Health: The Sleep Nanny
🤹♀️ Children’s Entertainment: Stockport Hero Hire
🧹 Cleaning: Beespoke Cleaning
🚙 Coatings: Colourtone Ltd
🗣 Counselling: Time and Space Counselling
🦮 Dog Training: Paws High Peak Dog Training
🚘 Driving School: CFN School of Motoring
💷 Financial Services: The Mortgage Mill
🔥 Fire Protection: Radial Fire And Security Limited
🍸 Gin: Hatters Gin
🛁 Grout Refresh & Recolour: GroutGleam Stockport
💇♀️ Hairdressing: C West Hairstylist
🛠 Home Improvements: Menzies Develop & Build
💻 IT Services: Bridge Computer Services
🪚 Joinery: SAW Contracts Ltd
👨🍳 Kitchen Appliances: SW Appliances
🔑 Locksmith: APL Locksmiths Ltd
🚐 Minibus Hire: Westfield Minibuses
🧤 Oven Cleaning: That Oven Girl
🖌 Painter & Decorator: BGM Decorators
🎈 Party Supplies: Step Into Fun Events
🚑 Personal Injury: Parkers Solicitors Ltd
📸 Photography: Holly Dwyer Photography
🎹 Piano Tutor: Sophie Grace Piano and Keyboard Tuition
🚰 Plumber: GTG Gary the Gasman
🦶 Podiatry: SK Podiatry
📕 Publishing: Victor Publishing
🛖 Roofing: ADM Roofing Services Ltd
☀️ Solar Panels: Malbern Solar Ltd
👨💼 Solicitors: B.J. McKenna & Co
⚽️ Sports Coaching: UK Sports Coaching Ltd
🪨 Stonemason: LM Stone Creative
🖊 Tattooist: Heatons Tattoo Club
🪵 Timber Supplies: Portwood Timber Division of Illingworth Ingham (Manchester) Ltd
☀️ Travel Agent: PTF Travel Ltd
👨💻 Web Design: SITEZO
⚖️ Weight Loss: Slimming World Reddish & Bredbury with Shlean
🪟 Window Cleaner: R ‘N’ B Window Cleaning
🏋️♀️ Women’s Fitness: Sophie Pavey Fitness
🧘♀️ Yoga: Greenshoots Yoga