County v Crewe

A huge Cheshire derby coming up tonight, with both sides pushing for promotion

The Scarf My Father Wore

Feb 13, 2024

Tuesday 13 February 2024

NEXT HOME GAME: Crewe – Tonight, 7.45pm

NEXT AWAY GAME: Tranmere – Saturday 17 February, 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, Crewe 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.

The last time County played Crewe, back in October, second half goals from Kyle Wootton and Tanto Olaofe secured a tenth consecutive victory in all competitions for Dave Challinor’s men. The number ten could also feature significantly this evening. If County win tonight’s Cheshire derby, they’ll be at least ten points clear of the team in fourth place. Perhaps not quite time to start booking bed and breakfasts in Burton and Blackpool, but we can certainly start to dust off the League One A-Z…

I’m actually envisaging a tight 0-0 or 1-1 tonight, but if you’re wanting more positivity, Jon Keighren, Ian Brown, Ed Chadwick and Andrew Barlow are all backing the Hatters to do the double over Crewe. Fingers crossed I’m completely wrong, and they’re completely right!

Today’s edition is sponsored by Sitezo and Slimming World Reddish & Bredbury with Shlean. A big thank you to both Tom and Shlean.

Give Tom a call on 07729 225170 or email enquiries@sitezo.co.uk to arrange a free no-obligation consultation if you’ve got a web design project you’d like to discuss.

And if your New Year’s resolution to lose a few pounds in 2024 has already gone out of the window (which it probably has for most of us, let’s be honest) give Shlean a call on 07725 088549 or email shlean@sky.com. She runs a group in Bredbury every Monday, and Reddish every Tuesday.

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: 83.07 miles

Total steps so far: 142,594

Total raised so far: £1,352

Total completed streets so far: 123 (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

County recorded a 10th consecutive victory in all competitions when they last faced Crewe back in October (Photo courtesy of Mike Petch)

Des Junior loves writing about County. But he can never be arsed doing match previews. They’re a bit dull, aren’t they? Paddy Madden’s out for two games with an ingrown toenail…blah blah blah…tomorrow’s referee has handed out more cards than Moonpig…blah blah blah…County haven’t won at Birmingham since 1672.

Fortunately, he has a number of fellow County content creators to call upon. Here’s their thoughts, general chit-chat and score predictions, ahead of a proper six-pointer in the League Two title race.

Jon Keighren, Stockport County

County 2 Crewe 1

What on earth happened to Liam Richardson in the press box at Grimsby on Saturday?!

Liam hyper-extended his knee as he tried to juggle two laptops into the press box. Despite his fall, I am very happy to report that there was no lasting damage to the laptops!

Liam bravely battled on with the co-commentary having been treated by the Mariners’ on-site medic, although it did prove tricky as he was still in a lot of pain and couldn’t really sit properly, but he did a great job.

Crewe are on a great run, but so are we. I’m expecting a really good game and as there has only ever been one goalless draw in the last 60 meetings, I’m going for a 2-1 County win.

Ian Brown, hedgegrower

County 3 Crewe 1

One of my mates said if we win tonight, we’ve got one foot in League One. Do you agree?

Nah, beat Crewe (which I fully expect us to do) and we remain on schedule to finish top of the League Two pile come the season’s end, but that’s all.

In my view, County are the best team in the division – which also seems to be the view of just about every club we’ve played this season – but with 15 games still to be played after tonight there is no room for complacency.

However, whilst Sod’s Law tells us that if it can go wrong it will, I would maintain that pretty much all that could go wrong, more or less, already has. We’ve coped brilliantly well through all the injuries and kept our impressive form intact despite a ridiculous preponderance of them!

So, I remain confident that we can go up a division this time, and as champions, with a confident team that will combine their superb skills with a soupçon of circumspection along the way.

I won’t be singing “We’re top of the league” if we take the lead after five minutes tonight, but I will join in with everyone when “We are the Champions” is belted out in the principality at the appropriate time!

Ed Chadwick, Stockport County Supporters Co-operative

County 2 Crewe 1

What’s Nick Powell been having for breakfast these last few weeks?

I'm good friends with a Crewe fan and a Stoke fan, and when we signed Powell in the summer, they both told me we'd stroll our way to the title if we kept him fit and motivated.

Rumours about his weekly wage and the fact we went through last season playing a system that didn't really suit him left me feeling a bit numb about the signing. I still maintain you don't need someone of his quality to get you out of League Two.

However, with each of those outside-of-the-foot passes we've seen him play, my scepticism has waned. His ball for Lemonheigh-Evans on Saturday showed the technique and speed of thought you rarely see at this level. I think the big change for him is that other players have started to operate on his wavelength and the other factors like fitness and motivation have fallen into place. Credit to Challinor for finding a way to get him involved.

As it's Shrove Tuesday, and Powell's from Crewe, I'm going to wager he’s had a Staffordshire Oatcake for his breakfast today. If you're not familiar, they're a sort of tasteless, flabby Potteries Pancake which are also popular across South Cheshire and into Derbyshire, normally served with cheese and bacon. Let’s hope he isn't giving up his hobby of taking the piss out of defenders for Lent.

We were part way through our incredible run when we went to Crewe in October and we were simply too good for them that night. I don't think this evening will be quite as straightforward. Crewe have developed into one of the best sides in this league under Lee Bell. They don't score as many as they did back then but they're very decent at getting their backs to the wall if they go ahead so the first goal will be the key.

Andrew Barlow, Hatters Matters

County 2 Crewe 1

We lost 2-0 the last time one of our title rivals came to SK3 (Mansfield). What do we need to do differently tonight?

The obvious answer here is to score more goals than our opponents…

I think a good start has been the key to our success both at home and on the road and that’s something we didn’t get against Mansfield on New Year’s Day. The first half was pretty much a non-event as both sides seemed more concerned about not conceding any ground to a promotion rival, but I’m confident that had we scored first against the Stags we wouldn’t have lost. I think in recent months the only time we haven’t scored early and won was the game against Walsall, but other than that the early goals against Sutton, Notts County, Doncaster and Grimsby have certainly set us on our way to three points.

The crowd has to be up for it this evening as well as I can’t recall many times this season where Edgeley Park has been absolutely rocking. Against Mansfield I recall a lot of praise being aimed at the travelling fans for the noise they made but I thought the home atmosphere was quite flat (nervous energy perhaps) despite us needing a goal in that second half. With the game against Crewe being a night match the atmosphere will hopefully be ramped up a bit, as playing under the lights at Edgeley Park usually adds a little something extra to an occasion.

As for the result, I am confident that County can make home advantage and squad depth count and secure another three points as we move closer to our desired points tally to gain promotion. I’m going to go for a 2-1 win!

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Today’s sponsor: Sitezo

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It can be quite daunting starting out on your weight loss journey, but with Slimming World there’s so much at your fingertips.

It’s usually around this time of year when New Year’s Resolutions start slipping to the back of the mind and a bit of extra motivation is needed.

Luckily, at Slimming World Reddish & Bredbury, you'll get all the tools you need to help you focus on your weight loss goals – no matter where you are on your journey.

Shlean runs groups in Bredbury and Reddish 52 weeks of the year and she’d love to see you there!

Mondays: Bredbury St Marks Cricket Club. 5pm and 7pm.

Tuesdays: Houldsworth Working Men’s Club. 9.30am, 11am, 5pm and 7pm.

Give Shlean a call today on 07725 088549 to get yourself booked in.

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Photo of the day

Hot Water Comedy Club, Liverpool

Your editor last night. A dream come true. I honestly can’t put into words how incredible that felt!

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Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Three films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Migration (U) at 3pm, Priscilla (15) at 6pm, and All Of Us Strangers (15) at 8.30pm. Click here for tickets.

🥞 Food and drink

It’s Pancake Day at Bask (SK1)! Toppings include lemon and sugar, Biscoff and crumb, golden syrup, chocolate syrup (vegan), strawberry syrup, honey and Nutella!

The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have a great range of offers throughout the week, including £4.50 for drinks off the Doubles Bar, a comprehensive range of shots for £2, and 3 for £6 on Jägerbombs.

Are you going to be in Stockport before tonight’s Cheshire derby. Pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a pre-match pint. Open from 3pm.

Enjoy a delicious meal at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). You’ll also receive 20% off your bill. Just mention the discount at the till when paying!