Wrexham 2 (C)ounty 1

After a run of eight consecutive victories, the already-crowned-champions run out of steam in North Wales on the final day

Apr 30, 2024

Tuesday 30 April 2024 – CHAMPIONS FORTNIGHT!

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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Wrexham supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to CHAMPIONS FORTNIGHT on The Scarf My Father Wore.

It’s not every day Stockport County win a Football League title – in fact, the last time it happened was 57 years ago – so we’re shouting our success from the rooftops, with 14 champion-flavoured articles over 14 days. Gaz (from Chips for a Quid) and Dave Philbin join us today as we take a look back at County’s final game of the season at Wrexham on Saturday.

Today’s edition is sponsored by Colourtone. As always, a big thank you to Paul.

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

Gaz: Retribution.

Dave: Decent!

🤔 Pre-match thoughts

Gaz: We expected goals and a good game – and we definitely got both. Two great teams who deserve to be playing in the higher division.

Dave: I was looking forward to a great atmosphere in the whole stadium. Wasn’t really bothered if we won, lost or drew. Then we got our half arsed guard of honour and I wanted to win! I expected a high scoring game with both teams going hell for leather for the most eagerly anticipated dead rubber I've ever looked forward to.

🧐 Post-match thoughts

Gaz: I think you were probably right on Twitter – a draw would have been a fair result. But between the plane banner (come on lads, these must be costing you a fortune… spend it on a striker instead) and the admittedly superb “You’ve only come to see the Champions” Ryan and Rob flag, it felt good to beat you. Let’s hope The Racecourse remains your bogey ground for the foreseeable future!

Dave: Thought the game was good, spoiled by one of the most inconsistent refereeing performances I've ever seen. If you don't give shirt pulls and niggly fouls, great, let the game flow. Just do the same for both sides. He wasn't the reason we lost though. If we'd have taken our chances in the first half the game would've been dead and buried. Not that it mattered a jot. “Champions again olé olé.”

🔴 Verdict on Wrexham

Gaz: First half we were outplayed I thought, but much better in the second period. That’s happened a lot this year.

Dave: Did the dirty side of the game well. They weren't getting punished for it so did it even more. They're a very good side, especially at home, so I expected them to dominate the second half and they did.

🔵 Verdict on (C)ounty

Gaz: Top team. One of the strongest, tidiest, classiest sides we’ve seen all season – especially in that first half. If Sarcevic had scored that big chance, you’d have probably run away with it. We did well to get back into the game.

Dave: Great in the first half; some of the football we played was up there with the best of the season. Second half, maybe a week full of beer for the players caught up with them and we let them back in with two lots of questionable defending. Had to be Ollie Palmer who scored.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Top Red Dragon

Gaz: It was a team display on Saturday, but I’d probably give it to Andy Cannon for his winner and indeed his performances all year long. What a player.

Dave: The ref.

🎩 Top Hatter

Gaz: A few good performances I thought. Sarcevic caused problems and Powell linked up well in the midfield on a few occasions. Nice finish from Evans, I hate to admit.

Dave: Camps.

👂 Atmosphere

Gaz: Both sets of fans really went for it. A proper feel-good atmosphere with plenty of back and forth. Cracking way to sign off for the season.

Dave: It was great. I was in the upper tier and we didn't stop singing all game. It showed that the drum is not always necessary at away games. Wrexham made some good noise as well. I like going to The Racecourse, being so close to the home fans.

🙏 Hopes for next season

Gaz: Happy with anything above the drop zone in all honesty! Top half would be superb.

Dave: Head says mid-table consolidation, heart says let's make a charge for the play-offs. I'm sure Stott, Wilson and Challinor will be aiming for the latter as well. What do we do on Saturdays for the next three months now?

😀 Best part of the day

Gaz: Evans marking his goal by glaring into the Tech End – despite the County fans being stood yards away begging for him to turn around and join in with their celebrations – touched a nerve. But then Ollie returned the favour in superb style. It had to be him, didn’t it?

Dave: Ollie Palmer celebrating in front of the County fans trying to piss us off, and we all just cheered back in his face. Bet the rat hated that.

😡 Worst part of the day

Gaz: The final whistle – because it’s all over for a while now isn’t it? Pre-season always seems to drag on for an eternity. But plenty to look forward to when summer is done. Having County v Wrexham as the League One opener would be a barnstormer. But for now, I think we’ve both earned a good break. See you in August!

Dave: The final score. Although I didn't care about the result, I don't like losing and thought we should've won. Still a brilliant day though. Just to add, I thought the bus parade on Sunday was absolutely fantastic. It was so nice to see the streets absolutely full of blue and white, and with people who don't support County but were proud of the town, club and its achievements. Also special that I got to take my two-year-old to EP for the first time and he absolutely loved it!

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 2-1 defeat at Wrexham on Saturday 27 April 2024, as told from his County-related WhatsApp groups…

8.32am: Nuneaton was five years ago today!

8.33am: After going to sleep at 5am at Bredbury Hall.

8.34am: I’m amazed I even made that train.

8.35am: We dropped you off with your fanzine at the station!

3.29pm: LEMON!

3.57pm: Been really unimpressed with Wrexham so far today. They'll need a big overhaul of players (and probably a new manager) to succeed in League One.

4.00pm: Beware… Wrexham have a nasty habit of late goals.

4.06pm: 1-1. Hoof to Palmer.

4.07pm: Truly awful defending. Something went horribly wrong at the back there.

4.47pm. FFS. Cannon.

4.48pm: That’s marginally irritating. But who cares!

6.26pm: Just bumped into John Barnes (almost literally!) queuing to get on the train I'd just got off, in Crewe.

6.27pm: Did you mention his tax dodging?

6.28pm: At the time I was more concerned about his people-dodging (or lack thereof).

6.35pm: Just home. Slightly annoying to lose that (and that second goal was well worked but a bit of a shocker by Ben) but it was mostly good fun in there today. Cannon scoring was nailed on because so many of ours insisted on booing him for reasons that escape me. Unless I've missed something, his only crime is to be ex-County.

11.09pm: Being a maths teacher I can confirm that 92 points beats 88, fuck you Wrexham!

1.25am: Terribly pissed.

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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.

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The final day of the season

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Photo of the day

Edgeley Park, Stockport

Absolutely no words needed.

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Today in SK

🍟 Food and drink

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.

If you’re in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a couple of pints.

Pie Meal Deal at The Friary (SK3). Any pie or pudding and chips with peas, curry or gravy. Plus tea or coffee. £7.95. (Greenhalgh’s Pies £1 extra.)

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100 random grounds that County have played at

#4 – Maine Road, Man Citeh

Last visit: A 2-2 draw in October 2001, during our fifth and final season in Division One. Took the lead twice through Glynn Hurst and Shefki Kuqi but were pegged back each time by Benarbia and Goater. We’ve not yet been to the Emptyhad, where Citeh have played since the 2003-04 season.

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