Tuesday 16 May 2023
For the first time in nearly three months, we’re reflecting on a County defeat today, as Andy Thurston and Simon Lomas share their thoughts following the first leg of the play-off semi-final at Moor Lane on Saturday night.
Today’s edition is sponsored by The Butcher’s Block. With a number of special Sundays coming up (another Bank Holiday weekend, Father’s Day, County at Wembley…) you might be planning on putting together a scrumptious Sunday Roast. If you are, you should definitely place an order with The Butcher’s Block. They offer something new, from "Farmer's Gate to Table Plate", providing the finest produce with an innovative twist on tradition at a competitive price, all of which can be delivered to your door free of charge within a 16-mile radius from Poynton.
Enjoy today’s issue.
Des Junior
Saturday’s match in one word:
Andy - Tense.
Simon - Cagey.
Pre-match thoughts:
Andy - When we reduced the away allocation, I had us down to edge it. If we’d given you the whole end behind the goal, I think you might have won.
Simon - I’d heard Collar and Madden were injured on Friday night - 12 injuries in total - so naturally feared the worst against the most in-form team we could have got. Salford are the team I least wanted for a multitude of reasons: the Sky Sports love-in with them, a paltry away allocation, and the team I thought had players to hurt us the most.
Post-match thoughts:
Andy - We were easily the better team in the first half. You came into the game more after the break as we sat back and became more defensive, making sure we kept that clean sheet going into the second leg.
Simon - It was a bit dispiriting that we couldn't cause them more problems but on reflection they'll probably see it as a bit of a missed opportunity to put the tie to bed when we were so depleted by injury. The game hinged on Croasdale hitting the bar with a sitter then Smith bundling home straight down the other end, even though it looked a blatant foul having seen it back. Fine margins.
Verdict on Salford:
Andy - After we got the goal we became more defensive, especially in the second half. I think that was quite risky on our part as we struggle to keep hold of a lead. Just look at our last few games of the season. We’ve had to score a lot of late goals to win games after having comfortable leads.
Simon - They have plenty of pace and tricky, diminutive players in their squad, though at times it's a bit style over substance, proved by the fact they were only able to muster the one dubious goal. But across League Two very few sides look the completed article. They’ll be content with the result, although as alluded to earlier, they couldn't really finish us off when we there to be had.
Verdict on County:
Andy - In the first half, you gave us far too much time and space in the middle of the park. I can only assume that was to create space behind our midfield as we pushed forward, in order to expose our centre-halves. I still think County are a decent side, however, and I’d back whoever wins on Saturday to go on and win promotion at Wembley.
Simon - Very average, but we were manly enough and never gave up when lesser sides with our well documented injury problems could have wilted and lost three or four nil (cough, cough, Sheffield Wednesday). We lacked a ball carrier in midfield to connect with the frontline in the absence of Wootton and no target man to call upon. We need that type of player otherwise teams just have to sit deep in their shape, stopping us playing through and forcing us to go long.
Top Ammie:
Andy - Elliot Watt has been superb for us all season and he didn’t disappoint on Saturday.
Simon - I thought Ibou Touray looked composed on the ball and a very calming presence in their side. No wonder he made League Two’s team of the year. I remember the league game at our place changed when Touray replaced McLoughlin, after Knoyle had been tearing him a new one all game. Touray kept Knoyle quiet when he came on.
Top Hatter:
Andy - I couldn’t pick anyone who stood out for County to be honest.
Simon - Tough one, nobody really stood out. We looked more of a threat when Olaofe came on and Stretton worked hard in the face of a thankless task in a role he’s not really suited to. I’d probably have to go with Hinchliffe for closing down the angle early on before making a big save low to his left in the second half to keep us within touching distance.
Atmosphere:
Andy - I was in the East Stand and absolutely loved it. I’d say it was the best atmosphere we’ve had all season, especially having the County fans right next to us.
Simon - Decent prior to the game and OK to begin with, although it stagnated a bit as the game went on, as did our performance when it became evident we were just looking to limit the damage without really creating anything.
Hopes for the rest of the play-offs:
Andy - It’s a slender lead but I’m confident we can get to Wembley on Saturday.
Simon - An early goal to level the tie would be brilliant to open the game up. We’d then have home support and momentum on our side. If we concede first, I feel it’s game over to be honest. The Bradford v Carlisle game was only marginally higher in its quality so I wouldn’t fear playing either of them if we can squeeze through to the final and get a few of our walking wounded back.
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 1-0 defeat at Salford City on Saturday 13 May 2023, as told from his three County-related WhatsApp groups…
6.55pm: I think a draw tonight might not be enough for us. Their home record is poor but away they’re decent. And our home form has not been great either.
6.56pm: Looking at our starting XI I’d be happy to take what we can get.
7.09pm: Just been out the back of the stand to use the facilities. Fair to say a few of ours have been enjoying the opportunity afforded by warm weather and a Saturday evening kick-off...
7.45pm: Listening to Sky fawning over Salford, I just want to smash these. Absolute fake club.
7.46pm: I was beginning to think there was only one team playing.
7.49pm: Are Sky stopping at Giggs’ house tonight? Could they be any more obvious with their support?
7.56pm: Salford’s fans are completely embarrassing but their team is pretty good to be fair.
7.59pm: I miss BT Sport coverage.
8.00pm: That Giggs is a cardboard cut-out. The real Giggs is off shagging someone’s wife.
8.01pm: This is one of the few times where I’m not frustrated with us playing keep ball across the defence, if it helps us calm down the game for the first part of it.
8.02pm: How is that not a foul on Horsfall? Fuck off.
8.03pm: I’m muting this chat. You’re ahead of the TV.
8.04pm: Replay from the other side shows Smith wrestling Horsfall to the ground. Joke decision.
8.30pm: Sky think Matt Smith is like Olivier Giroud, because his mum is French. FFS.
9.08pm: Tanto and Rydel on for Croasdale and Hippo. Surprised by Croasdale going off.
9.09pm: Always concerned when Croasdale comes off. Would’ve taken Camps off myself.
9.17pm: Great save from Ben to keep us in it.
9.58pm: Having our three top scorers out really showed. But, we only need one goal without conceding in the second leg. We're still in this tie and I'm not giving up on it despite the weight of that crap display tonight.
11.46pm: Hope everyone got back OK. I lost most of you as we came out of the ground. Got a bus to town, had one in The Ape and Apple, then got a bus home. Just got in. Fingers crossed for Saturday.
12.04am: We had a couple in The Waldorf, just in a cab back to God’s own now.
12.41am: Just left The Wellington.
1.08am: I’m still in The Wellington, which is where I started the day about 12 hours ago. And by my calculations I’ve only had 13 pints!
1.37am: Result aside, a great night.
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A mash-up between Bob Marley and a Stockport-based butcher… yeah, that definitely hasn’t been done before. And looking at the song lyric above, you can probably see why. Des Junior singing Bob Marley classics on an acoustic guitar is probably one thing you won’t be having at your next BBQ. But a BBQ pack from The Butcher’s Block… that should definitely be making an appearance in your garden.
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Photo of the day
With County’s injury crisis at the moment, can we not bring in an emergency loan signing ahead of the Salford game? My vote goes to this guy. I reckon he looks like he knows how to score an important winning goal in the second leg of the play-offs…
Today in SK
☕️ How do you fancy a nice iced cappuccino this afternoon? Head down to Coffee Block (SK1) for their CUBO espresso over ice, filled with shaken milk and topped with chocolate! Open till 5.30pm.
🍹 The Armoury (SK3) have just launched their new cocktail menu. Mark Stott definitely wouldn’t mind a Red Wine Cobbler, and Lee Todd’s going to be getting stuck into a Lounge Lizard or two. There’s eight cocktails to try in total; head down today to see which one tickles your tastebuds!
🍺 Fancy a few midweek drinks tonight? 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.
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 May, 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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