Wigan Athletic 2 Stockport County 0 ( EFL Trophy Round 2) Wednesday 6 December 2023

County exited the EFL Trophy going down 2-0 away to Wigan Athletic last night. The first half was a harrowing affair played out against the backdrop of arctic conditions that turned the 25000-seater stadium into a veritable torture chamber for the relatively small number of brave souls who made it to Lancashire to cheer their team on. For County the first half was an uphill battle as they struggled for cohesion, largely deprived of attacking opportunities and overrun in midfield , the half punctuated by goals from J Smith and Morrisson that were enough to see the home side looking relatively safe at the break 2-0 up. The second half was a different story as County used their available substitutes and stepped on the gas a touch dominating possession for long periods. Crucially however despite limiting Athletic to just two chances of note in the second half and very little in the way of attacking opportunity, County could not muster the goal their effort, work rate and domi