Crawley v County

After a fortnight without a league game, Dave Challinor’s men head to West Sussex where three points would almost certainly put them top of the table by 5pm

Sep 14, 2024

Saturday 14 September 2024

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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Crawley supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Saturday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

Your editor is currently en route to Crawley on the Fingerpost Flyer, looking out of the window at the delightful views the M6 Toll has to offer. If you don’t believe him, here he is!

Whether you’re in bed, at work, or heading down south yourself, Ian Brown and Nick Lee are providing today’s reading material for you.

Today’s edition is sponsored by Malbern Solar. My thanks to Wayne and Vicki. If you’d like to save money on your energy bills, make sure you book your FREE survey, worth £150. Full details below.

Thanks also to The New Moon who sponsor our Crawley Town 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: £2,001

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

Ian Brown, All Things Stockport County

Crawley 1 County 3

We’ve only played them four times but what are your best and worst memories from previous games against Crawley?

Well like you say Des there’s not a lot to go at, but here goes…

For the worst experience I plump for a truly dismal County performance in September 2022 that saw us lose 3-2 on the wettest of Tuesday evenings at the Broadfield Stadium.

Almost 400 County fans made the trip, hoping for Dave Challinor’s men to make the long journey worthwhile, and for a time the yellow-shirted Hatters looked like doing so – Ollie Crankshaw denied twice early on by Corey Addai twixt the sticks for Town.

But we flattered to deceive, going behind (albeit via a lucky deflection) to James Tilley’s speculative effort from outside the area.

I took heart when Crankshaw netted the equaliser with a neat finish, only for my confidence to be shattered as a horrendous mix-up by County at the back gifted our hosts a 2-1 half-time lead.

We equalised early in the second half through Chris Hussey’s fine free-kick, only for Nick Tsaroulla to plunder the winner for Town just four minutes later as County’s back line stood off and paid the penalty.

I turn to County’s 2-1 win at Edgeley Park a few months later for my best experience, but it was no County classic! Indeed, we had to claw our way back into the game from being 1-0 down to a Town side that surprised us by coming to attack a bit. The visitors had the lead after just eight minutes through a cracking free-kick from Jack Powell.

I suppose it helped them that they had the excellent Corey Addai in goal and he did make a number of top saves, but then so did Ben Hinchliffe for us, and in the end the key issue for me was how well we defended.

County pulled themselves together and were level within four minutes as a neat bit of work by Tanto set Kyle Wootton up for the equaliser. Wootton also scored the winner six minutes into the second half, winning a thrilling one-on-one in the air with Addai.

As for today I see County winning this one, not without a bit of a tussle but we’re well rested, so I’ll say 3-1.

Ian follows County home and away, producing detailed match reports every week, along with lots of other great content. Head over to hedgegrower.blogspot.com.

Nick Lee, SK3 TV

Crawley 1 County 3

County haven’t been in league action for a couple of weeks. What’s the most exotic place you’ve visited during the international break?

I'm not really an “exotic places” sort of guy so it's a really tricky question to answer. I did stumble upon the bit of the tip where all the staff go to vape, so that was quite a thrill. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd get to go behind the curtain in such a manner.

Aside from that, my time has mostly been spent taking periodical walks past the site of the new drive-thru Greggs in Cheadle Heath. It's not even open yet, I just thought it would be good for me to check on their progress given how important the place is going to become in my life. As things stand, I'm expecting it to be open in the next couple of weeks which is all tremendously exciting. It's just a shame I can't drive really, innit?

Nick’s one of the co-hosts of SK3 TV, a new podcast for the 2024-25 season, with live episodes every Monday at 8pm. Click here for links.

Today’s other predictions

County Supporters Co-operative: Crawley 0 County 2

Hatters Matters: Crawley 0 County 2

The County Away Day Show: Crawley 1 County 2

The Scarf Bergara Wore: Crawley 0 County 3

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5 questions with Amar from The New Moon

What was the best moment at the pub in August?

We had a Disney afternoon for families. The whole pub was packed with parents and kids having a great time singing along to The Jungle Book, Aladdin and all the other classic songs. When Frozen came on all the drunk adults started singing and swaying with the kids stood there looking confused!

What’s your plans for the pub this month?

We’ve had a few back-to-school events so the locals and visitors can let their hair down. Coming up we’ve got our Sports Day, which includes golf, pool, bowling and darts.

Why should County fans pop in this afternoon?

There’s fun for all – let’s get the chants going! Amazing food, great drink and an atmosphere to die for.

Oasis have been all over the news recently. Who’s your favourite band of all time?

Bob Marley and the Wailers.

With County heading down to Crawley today, which creepy-crawly your are you most afraid of?

No insects, just a local ghost that pops in every now and again. See you this afternoon…

Visit newmooncrawley.co.uk for further details.

Photo of the day

The front cover on the latest edition of Leyton Orient’s fanzine. Only team in League One without a point so far. They’re at Reading today, before coming up to Stockport next Saturday.

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. The Critic (15) at 3.15pm, followed by Lee (15) at 5.30pm. Click here for tickets.

At 8pm there’s a screening of the National Theatre production of Prima Facie, starting Jodie Comer.

💿 DJ

Stockport’s biggest party at the weekend is at Bask (SK1), with DJ Gareth Brooks playing till 3am. Last entry 1.30am.

🍺 Food and drink

All pints £2.50 at The Cross Keys (SK8) from 6pm till 9pm.

If you’re simply in the mood for a couple of pints today, pop along to one of our featured venues such as AMP (SK1), The Crown (SK2), The Armoury (SK3), The Steelworks (SK6) or The Three Tunnes (SK7).

🎵 Karaoke

The Nelson Tavern (SK1) with Lee. From 8pm.

🎸 Live music

Pete Maclaine and the Clan at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). 8.30pm.

Corporal Gomez at The Crown Inn (SK6). 9pm.

Random photos of County players at other clubs

#5 – Keith Briggs, Kidderminster

After coming through County’s academy, Keith Briggs played for the Hatters over the course of eight different seasons, spread across two spells. He left EP halfway through our 2007-08 promotion season and went on to play for a number of different clubs, including Kidderminster.