Stockport County 1 Boreham Wood 2 ( Vanarama National League) Saturday 30 April 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

( Words by hedgegrower, images by hedgegrower and Andrew Machin , poem ( `Bump`) by Spike Milligan

 

Things that go bump in the night,

Should not really give us a fright,

It`s the hole in each ear

That lets in the fear,

That, and the absence of light.

 

 

And there`s suddenly some of that commodity ( fear)  beginning to seep into our thinking as County`s promotion push nears the final few games and we see the team beginning to falter.

Today saw County sustain their first defeat at Edgeley Park since October at the hands of Boreham Wood.

“ They  can defend , but don’t score” we were told by the sages before the game, but they did so twice and might have nicked another with a modicum of luck.

 

 Some of the 44 ( Andrew Machin )

 

 

 

But, as well as their superb supporters ( 44 of them getting rained on seated on the Railway End) thought that the Wood played, it was really as much down to our approach to the game as anything else.

 Rare start by Newby ( ndrew Machin).

 

 

 

 

 

DC shuffled his pack a touch bringing Hippolyte, Newby and CJ in for Cannon, Quigley and the suspended Collar.

 

 CJ `s goals earned him this start.

 

 

 

 

Whilst I thought all 3 showed up well, our tactics again left much to be desired as, perhaps prompted by the actions of sundry referees of late that have decimated our midfield, we too frequently relied on supplying long /high balls from the back that by passed midfield-  and I really did rate it a mistake not to start with Quigley against this back line.

Faced with another clutch of beanpole central defenders in Evans, Stephens and Fyfield ( a veritable midget at 6 foot 1) it made little sense and got nowhere- we had learnt nothing from Yeovil!

Newby did pull one back deep into added time, and that goal just might prove vital in the final shake up but combating the fear factor we should perhaps be telling ourselves that it is still in our own hands- win our remaining 4 games and we are champions- in fact win 3 out of the four and we still take the title!

And maybe we should take in the fact that it was ever thus…ask your dad or mam….a County scarf should come with a quantity of Lisinopril 10mg tablets- it could all change for the better at Chesterfield with our travelling support behind them!

………………………..

Back to ….err……5.20 !!!!!!!! and things looked considerably brighter. There were over 8000 inside the stadium including County super hero Kevin Francis who was fresh from helping the Supporters Cooperative raise over £2000 for the Danny Bergara Statue Appeal on Friday, and the Cheadle End was in good voice.

 

 ....and so was Yellow Block !

 

 

 

 

County looked to have appreciated that an early goal was of the essence, going quickly onto the attack, but Madden half hit effort, from Minihan`s cross missed out.

 

 Hippolyte - provider !

 

 

There was no let-up either as Hippolyte fed Rydel whose cross fizzed goalward where Stephens was in position to head clear.

 Rydel getting back to where he was....

 

 

County were camped in the Wood last third and Hippolyte looked in especially good nick, but his appeals for a penalty were ignored by Referee Tom Parsons after he went down under pressure from Comley.

 County press without reward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A fair amount of action then had been packed into the first 3 minutes, and it continued afterwards with Minihan`s determined runs earning his side a couple of corners, but any angst on the Wood`s part was sorted as  keeper Nathan Ashmore held onto an effort by Rydel.

 

 Minihan- offside apparently ( Andrew Machin )

 

 

 

That was 8 minutes gone, the ninth saw me give the BP Pill bottle a shake as the Danny side liner ridiculously flagged Minihan offside from CJ`s pass with half the Wood defenders playing him on!

 

much needed  fire from Hippolyte !

 

 

 

Hippolyte`s obvious fire offered consolation but his pass to Johnson saw him put his cross on Stephens` head- Evans seeing off Newby`s follow up not long after in similar style.

 

 Cross coming from Johnson.

 

 

 

 

A period of pressure followed from the visitors – ended on 14 minutes by a pacy run from deep by Hogan. Minihan won a corner from this, but when Hippolyte fed Madden his header cleared the bar.

 Run coming from Hogan ( Andrew Machin )

 

 

 

 

 

Three minutes on from this there was a collective shaking of the BP pills as Newby was hacked down by the none too fussy Stephens. The Cheadle End…Danny Stand and Pop Side joined me in  raging impotently as Mr Parsons contented himself with a  chat, yellow card and County free kick which of course was cleared by the men in white.

Twenty minutes in, and we got a major fright as Lewis surged through deep into the County territory. This looked distinctly iffy and more so as Lewis was now barely a yard out and about to shoot. Enter Ash Palmer with a beautifully timed last ditcher and…at one bound…we were free. Well not quite as there was a corner to defend but that was rank bad and the danger was gone!

 Mixed fortunes for Ash in coming minutes...

 

 

 

 

There was time for County to reply, but after good work from Rydel and Hippolyte, Madden headed over the bar again, and it was time for Wood to punish us!

It came from nothing in particular….. Wood were in County`s half but County had the ball, and then they didn`t as Palmer sent what I assume was an intended back pass to Hinchliffe , straight to Lewis  who gave the County keeper no chance at all with a lethal looking finish!

 

 Lewis opens the scoring for the Wood ( Andrew Machin )

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty four minutes gone….1-0 down, still there was time enough to sort it!  

 

 shot from Hippolyte .....

 

 ...with help from CJ !

 

 and Ashmore`s save ( Andrew Machin )

 

 

Indeed Hippolyte continued to look the man in blue most likely to…..however Ashmore kept his shot out saving superbly with his legs , following a neat pass from CJ.

Again, a period of pressure on County followed for 3 or 4 minutes and when Madden looked to lift the siege, he was flagged offside by the plainly myopic Danny side liner.

We were into the last 15 minutes of the half now and I was looking for something different…. special maybe from County to rectify matters,  but instead after Johnson and Rydel won County a corner, from it the ball found its way back to Hinchliffe from whence it would head back by the aerial route and invariably come back at us via the head of one of the bean pole central defenders. 

 

 

 We were giving free kicks away as well now – Palmer was in position, on 42 minutes, to head the latest incomer out, but we needed to adopt a different approach or we would lose out.

Into added time and Ashmore did well saving from Croasdale.

By this point dear reader you might have perhaps noted a certain disdain of the officials…suitably hidden I hope…but there nonetheless and the next action demonstrated ( for my satisfaction anyway) that the disdain was justified. 

 

 Whack coming for Croasdale ! ( Andrew Machin )

 

 

 

 

We were deep into added time now and Croasdale had just taken a fearful whack from Evans…..who not only was still on the pitch ( amazing in itself) but did not appear to have been booked either. Anyway, we did have a free kick but this was headed out by Evans .

 Evans heads out.....

 

 

 

 A veritable maelstrom   of attacking followed from County and maximum panic from Wood`s back line as in short order both Hogan and Palmer were chewing grit having been felled by sundry defenders in the box- with nothing given in response by the Referee. He did give a free kick when the ball reached Hippolyte and he was fouled just outside the box and it was nicely central, but Rydel`s follow up to this missed out by a whisker, the half ending with Boreham Wood still 1-0 up.

…………………………………….

 

It was great to see and hear Bader -al- Akkad at half time after his traumatic recent history , and so so excellent to greet again albeit from a distance one of County`s all time greats- Kevin Francis who again turned up trumps doing the half-time draw honours whilst simultaneously giving our sagging confidence a boost!

 Kevin Francis returns to heroes reception ( Andrew Machin )

 

 

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Back to business then and County spent the second half`s early minutes probing for an opening without great success- Rydel – fed on a Minihan cross but lifted his shot over the top and then shot wide with Ashmore looking challenged for once.

It was not long though before DC rang the personnel changes, but there was no Quigley coming on instead we saw Crankshaw and Cannon replace CJ and Palmer. 

 

 CJ subbed but not for Quigley ( Andrew Machin )

 

 

 

 

The Palmer move surprised me greatly as we now had a conspicuous lack of numbers at the back when we really didn`t need to leak another goal.

 

 Crankshaw - a welcome sight!

 

 

 

I was happy to see Crankshaw get some minutes but his path to goal was blocked well by Mendy not long after he came on. With Crankshaw and Rydel providing width we perhaps had a chance to get back into this, but the 55^th minute saw Rydel`s shot thud into the keeper`s chest disappointingly.

 

 Rydel- provider of width....

 

 

 

Hippolyte was still working his socks off ,but his luck was no better – his shot drifting wide just before the hour mark.

It went on with County trying for sure via Minihan and Crankshaw , but when Croasdale joined in his final ball was just too strong for Newby.

Then we received another warning shot across our bows via Jacob Mendy who shredded the right side of County`s defences with a deceptively languid run. On reaching the by-line it got worse for the blues as Mendy plonked a neat ball on Boden`s head on the line at the back post- a goal for sure but somehow the forward put the ball wide of the target- a massive let off for County!

 What a miss by Boden ( Andrew Machin )

 

 

 

 

 

But……we could not clear our lines following that action and it took less than a minute for us to pay the price of that . Jamal Fyfield got two bites of this particular cherry -surging through seeing his first effort come back to him off one of  a clutch of County defenders. He had the ball again and made no mistake with his second shot which he lifted over Hinchliffe`s head to bring obvious joy to the 44 sodden Wood supporters on the Railway End.

 Fyfield make it 2-0 to the Wood !

 

 

 

 

County fans remained in supportive mode hoping for a County salvage operation in what remained of the game , and there  was just short of 30 minutes left now.

It had been noticeable how Boreham Wood had largely kept the ball on the ground when mounting an attack – Tyrone Marsh doing just that 3 minutes later. County repelled the assault but made nothing of their reply – Crankshaw missing out.

 

 no luck for Crankshaw !

 

 

 

The 66^th minute saw Quigley on for Croasdale as County continued to press for that vital first goal that would get them back in the game- but their luck was still out as a Newby cross flashed across the box unclaimed, and Crankshaw`s shot flew harmlessly wide with just 15 minutes left.

Just 2 minutes later we saw a glimmer of hope as Newby latched onto a loose ball to send a decent effort goalward. It was a belter but so was Ashmore`s response – a terrific save that had the 44 cheering wildly behind him again!

 top save by Ashmore !

 

 and Andrew Machin`s view of that Ashmore save !

 

 

 

But County were not done and there were signs of panic surfacing in the Wood back line as Evans sliced an intended clearance high into the Railway End. County circled the box in numbers as a pack of lions would yer wildebeest , only for Mr Parsons to `see something` and come to the Woods aid with a free kick.

County were having the lions share of possession but anxiety was beginning to show now as efforts by Rydel and Newby went narrowly wide.

 Just wide from Rydel.....

 

 

 

 

 

 We were not helping ourselves in other ways too- Hogan climbing all over his man when getting his head to a clearance from the visitors, this and a foul by Johnson a short while after served to impede any momentum the blues were building, and they were running out of time fast now.

Cannon`s run with 3 minutes left was blocked by Mafuta.

 Madden`s shot on 88 minutes was deflected for a corner  but Minihan`s shot flew wide from this.

 Madden foiled !

 

 

 

 

There was still no change in the score line as 5 minutes added time was announced.

We did get a mindless pitch encroachment from one individual whom we most earnestly hope will be encouraged by all possible means not to darken our doors ever again!

Back to the real business , and things were getting a tad desperate now at the sharp end for County- but suddenly ….with 4 of the 5 minutes gone there was a glimmer of hope as Hippolyte`s shot came back out off a clutch of defenders to be lifted into the box again where Newby leathered it home! 

 

 County press....

 County pull one back.

 

 

 

It was 2-1 and time was surely too short, but County kept at it …once…twice …Hinchliffe lifted it long deep into the visitors last third -and for a second or so we wondered if Hippolyte had squared the circle at the game`s last gasp but instead his excellent effort smacked into a post…ran along the line…and came out.

There was time for Hogan to ping it high and long again and for a foul on Minihan to usher in surely the last chance for County via the free kick, but it was not to be, Borehamwood could celebrate an unexpected win.

For County there is Chesterfield on Monday to contemplate and prepare for, and I know those lucky to be there will back them wholeheartedly!

It is still in our own hands to do this but we all need to dig deep and make this happen!

And to cheer you up perhaps a shot of some Canada Geese over the stadium from Andrew Machin :-

 

 

 

 

Stockport County line up :-

Hinchliffe, Hogan, Palmer (Cannon 53), Johnson, Minihan, Croasdale ( Quigley 66), Newby, Hippolyte, Madden, C Jennings ( Crankshaw 53), Rydel.

Subs not used : L.Ashby- Hammond, Keane.

 

Boreham Wood line up:-

Ashmore, Evans, Stephens, Fyfield, Mafuta, Marsh, Mendy, Lewis, Boden ( Clifton 85), Comley, K.Smith.

Subs not used:T.Ashby- Hammond, C Smith, Joyce, Orsi.

 

Attendance : 8778 ( 44)

 

hedgegrower

 

And finally some further shots from Andrew Machin added as an Additional Gallery:-