Stevenage FC 2 Stockport County 1 ( Football League 1 ) Saturday 14 December 2024

County sank to ignominious defeat at the hands of Stevenage at their Lamex Stadium today .

It cannot be denied that Boro deserved this win, and that County got what was their due from the game- nothing, which was sad because well over 600 had made the long trip to Hertfordshire braving bitter weather to make an outstandingly supportive contribution from the away stand!

In the end it counted for nothing as County , ignoring early warnings, went behind to a goal that should have been prevented. When they equalised through a bit of wintery smash and grab by Callum Camps the writer imagined that would be the start of a blue resurgence, but that never happened ,in fact the reverse did as County`s discipline went AWOL along with any coherent attacking plan as a series of poor fouls put us under the cosh via umpteen free kicks, and then the ultimate shocker as Touray tripped Jordan Roberts in the box ushering in a penalty that Jamie Reid put away with ruthless aplomb.

There was time for County to attempt to turn the situation round from this point, but they never really looked at all likely to do so- Boro not being greatly flattered in the end by their 2-1 winning scoreline!

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It all started so well as the Flyer got us there in time for a drink in the social club attached to the stadium- the pint of Old Speckled Hen as welcome as the warm surroundings.

The game started well enough as well, with County attacking, bringing a very good save from Boro keeper Murphy Cooper to keep a goal bound header from Pye out.

It continued with Collar almost in from a neat knock down from Wootton.

Soon, 6 minutes had gone by, and my impression was that the blues were buzzing!

For a few minutes this happy mindset prevailed for yours truly, but the 14^th minute brought a massive warning County`s way as Elliott List and Jamie Reid `s sharp exchange of passes ripped a great hole in the left side of the County back line. Reid was suddenly clear and his shot true , and only an excellent save by Hinchliffe kept the scoreline blank!

County responded through Barry, but he was blocked just inside the box- he looked for a penalty , but it was not on and not given.

We were less than 20 minutes into the game and already County`s momentum was being seriously compromised by free kicks conceded that transferred that momentum to Alex Revell`s team, and Nathan Thompson was a whisker away from putting the latest Boro free kick home , as he slinked clear unmarked in the box.

The early minutes had seen Stevenage exhibit signs of nervousness, but beyond 20 minutes this was gone- they now offered a real threat to the blues peace of mind!

And , within 5 minutes they capitalised on this as the centre of County`s defence folded in the wake of ex Hatter Carl Piergianni`s ball to Jamie Reid whose flick on to Dan Kemp set him up to drill the ball home to give Boro the lead.

That was a shock , despite the pre-warnings, but the away end took heart as County hit back decisively claiming the equaliser within 5 minutes of the opening goal.

It started from nothing- just a routine claim of a loose ball by Camps. But Camps then headed off goalwards surprising the home keeper ,presumably, with the power of his effort as Cooper made something of a Tommy Walls of his attempt to save – no matter, the ball was in the net and County had their equaliser!

I thought that County might have had a penalty on the half hour, when Collar was fouled on the end of a Bate free kick, but the Referee thought otherwise , and despite my pre-match misgivings expressed in https://thescarfmyfatherwore.substack.com

on Mr Chilowicz -overall County`s demise was largely down to their own actions/ shortcomings in my opinion.

A short period of County pressure followed – Collar going close….Barry making it to the by-line but seeing a shot fly across goal and out.

But the action was not confined to one end- Boro still looked capable on the break to cause us issues- no one more than Piergianni who was just kept from claiming a goal against his former club by decisive action by Ethan Pye.

But the half ended with the blues doing the attacking- not that brilliantly at one point as Camps sent a horribly sliced shot wide from a Bate free kick with 3 minutes left- Barry seeing a shot ushered off the line almost on the half time whistle.

Not a great half, but 1-1 was a position from which County might repair matters nicely- we will see!

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The second half opened with Stevenage on the attack- County defending solidly in response.

County did their share of attacking, but rather forgot basics , namely that you keep the back door shut, and 10 minutes in they were indebted to Hinchliffe whose dash out of his box saved the day with Boro hitting us on the break.

Then it all went pear shaped for the blues as ,with Boro in the blue last third, Jordan Roberts was brought down in the box by Ibby Touray.

The referee wasted no time in pointing to the spot , from where Reid made short work of beating Hinchliffe with a confident spot kick.

A response was surely due from County , but what I was seeing was not greatly edifying- Barry ending a run going to ground expecting a penalty…not getting it unsurprisingly.

And the free kick`s continued to be conceded via fouls….mostly unnecessary…………. Some just plain silly . Bookings followed of course and Bate overdid the verbals to join the growing number of blues approaching enforced rests via upcoming suspensions.

Hinchliffe was a busy lad from these free kicks but somehow the score stayed 2-1 to Boro!

We did get the glimmer of a chance to hit back via a free kick with 25 minutes left, but Bate sent this straight into Cooper`s waiting arms- chance gone!

Southam- Hales followed this up encouragingly with a run down the right – but Piergianni did brilliantly to keep the Welshman`s cross from Collar in front of goal!

If we now looked to perhaps add some additional attacking resources to the fight ,I for one was not inspired as County replaced Connolly with Norwood!

There was no discernible benefit from that change as County were pushed back on the defensive in the wake of it- Hinchliffe perhaps lucky to escape greater redress after he had charged out of the box to stop Elliott List who was rounding on goal-Ben got a yellow !

Piergianni went close from the free kick for Boro, but it stayed 2-1.

I have to say also that whilst I have been critical of County`s discipline today, Boro must be looking at themselves having secured so many free kicks and made so little from them!

With 12 minutes left County sought to get that vital equalising goal – but Wootton`s shot was deflected for a corner following good work by Southam-Hales and Barry.

The corner offered possibilities that went centre stage when Horsfall got to the incoming kick, then disappeared when he headed the ball down into the keeper`s arms.

Tanto and Rydel were brought on for Bate and Touray with 10 minutes left!!

The next 6 or 7 minutes amounted to a procession of free kicks , mainly to Boro.

I despaired for Tanto – destined to exists on scraps – given 10 minutes to save the day -without there apparently being any plan whereby this might be achieved!

The closest thing to a goal in normal time came at the County end , where County were defending a free kick….badly….allowing Nathan Thompson to drift in at the back post(unmarked) to get his head to the incoming ball- he headed it wide – a massive miss -could County capitalise on that slice of good fortune?

Well, they had to attack first and instead Ben was still a busy lad keeping County`s craft afloat, and they were fortunate in this regard next as Kemp had to settle for a corner when played in behind the blue back line smack on 90 minutes.

Camps and Barry were replaced with 2 minutes of added time left, by Bailey and Diamond, but the only action of any note I could see was Tanto`s late/ late run through the middle that was neatly blocked by Nathan Thompson.

County did press in the closing minutes….hoping…..trying for sure , but without success.

That was one of the poorest County performances of the season for me- a big disappointment.

Lots for DC to think about and do!

See you Friday!

Stevenage FC line up:-

Cooper , James- Wilson , Butler , NL Thompson , Piergianni , Kemp ( Freeman 90), Roberts( Simpson 86) , List( Phillips 74) , White , Reid , L Thompson.

Subs not used : Ashby- Hammond , Freestone , Aboth, Young.

Stockport County line up:-

Hinchliffe , Southam- Hales, Connolly( Norwood 68) , Horsfall , Pye, Touray( Rydel 80) , Bate ( Tanto 80), Camps ( Bailey 93) , Collar, Wootton , Barry ( Diamond 93).

Subs not used :- Addai , Mingi.

Attendance : 3530 ( 660)

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