Stockport County 4 Wigan Athletic 2 ( Football League 1 ) Saturday 21 February 2026

 

 

 

 

There was early excitement at Edgeley Park today where Gary Caldwell`s Wigan Athletic side started like the proverbial express train going one up inside 2 minutes.County equalised through Brad Hills fairly quickly, before again going behind inside the first 10 minutes.

There was no 2 ways about it, County were finding Wigan a tough bunch to handle , but they persevered long enough for Adama Sidibeh to level the scores close to half time.

It was clear that County would have to produce something special after the break to see off the Lancastrian side, and that something was the excellent Kyle Wootton who crowned another bravura performance with 2 more nerve-less finishes to secure all the points for the blues.

If Wigan`s second half indiscipline contributed to their downfall( reducing them eventually to 9 men)County deserve credit for eventually working their route to victory out- and that man Wootton ……I must say I have never seen a player put so much so consistently often into games for his team- an outstanding example to all those who share a playing surface with him !

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Another big crowd were inside Edgeley Park- the Railway End bulging with Lancastrians as the game got underway, and in no time at all things went pear shaped for the blues as , with barely a minute on the clock, a calamitous error by County captain Lewis Bate pulled the proverbial rug from under his team , as he passed the ball straight to Joe Taylor who made short work of beating Hinchliffe giving his side the lead.

That was a horrendous start and did not augur very well for the rest of the afternoon.

That said, Bate kept at it taking the ball towards the edge of the box where he was upended by the retreating Wigan defender.

The free kick was decently placed, and Norwood made sure he took full advantage, lifting the ball to the back of the box where Brad Hills was on hand to head it home!

Wow, some start that, but any euphoria at the equaliser did not last long….6 minutes to be precise , before our midfield switched off again allowing Fraser Murray to get his cross over, and it was inch perfect ,picking out Joe Taylor who headed Wigan into a 2-1 lead from close in.

That was not good from a County viewpoint, and the blues looked shellshocked and unable to muster a coherent response  as Wigan buzzed about the County half   with annoying persistence.

We were struggling, and a foul by Stokes on Murray increased the pressure on the blues from the free kick .

Osborn headed that out – Mr Corlett , the Referee ,and his miopic Danny Stand liner causing annoyance by deciding to give a throw in rather than a County free kick as Murray opted for retribution on Stokes!

But I was far more concerned at the way County were proving unable  to snuff out the increasingly regular sorties up the park by Wigan.

And our discipline could be better also – Pye increasing the County angst with a foul on Saydee. The free kick was  centrally placed  and quite definitely scoreable , but we breathed easily again when Fox put his kick comfortably over the bar.

If County were struggling generally, Adama Sidibeh was  doing his level best to inject some life into the proceedings- always ready to ruffle keeper Sam Tickle`s non-existent feathers- the eighteenth minute saw the duo come together prompting a plea for a penalty from County supporters` but we did not get one!

We almost got caught out again though within seconds of the last action as absolutely nobody in blue stirred as Matt Smith was allowed free reign down our right flank. A cross followed and it was another belter and County were fortunate to watch as the recipient, Joe Taylor, lifted the ball over the bar!

County were still in a tangle a minute later- Taylor much closer on this occasion to adding a third for Wigan – missing out narrowly from close in.

It went on in much the same alarming vein – County pushed back on the defensive by slack work in the middle of the park- but not punished as Smith`s first time effort just missed out, as did another from Taylor a couple of minutes later that was kept out by Hinchliffe .

It was not looking good for County at this stage, and we made hard work of clearing the corner that followed- Brad Hills having to save the day for the blues by keeping Callum Wright out at the last gasp!

We went beyond the half hour mark with it still 2-1 to Wigan.

County were beginning to show up now- Sidibeh was still pecking away at Wigan`s perceived soft underbelly without luck or success, and Wootton was in the mix putting some pressure on the visitors ,but with the same lack of good fortune as Sidibeh had.

Wootton looked just about to show us what he could do , with 8 minutes to half time, when he was summarily hauled down as he surged clear onto the ball.

This ushered in a chance from the free kick, but Bate opted for a short one and that fell flat , being cleared fairly easily by Wigan .

I was still pondering that disappointment when matters took on a decidedly upward turn as Jack Diamond slinked clear down the right to lift a neat cross towards goal where it was met by Adama Sidibeh who forced the ball into the net from close in!

That was excellent and arguably better than County deserved but it mattered not- we needed the points and that meant we needed for County to up their game a tad now!

But further consideration of that would have to wait- it was half time and the teams were level at 2-2.

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Bailey was on for Bate  when County took the field again for the second half, which opened  with a cross by Diamond almost sneaking in at Tickles far post.

Ten minutes of pressure followed from County , with Wootton to the fore , Stokes was beginning to show also and his run down the left made a significant contribution to the way the game went, as he was pulled back by Sessegnon who earned himself a second yellow and a red card, reducing his team to 10 men.

Wigan made a raft of substitutions next , but the damage was done- would County take full advantage and punish their opponents though?

Wootton was certainly giving it a go- exceedingly close to adding a finish to Norwood`s free kick( 67 minutes)…inches from a Norwood cross ( 68 minutes) .

Sidibeh was in there battling also- unlucky to see a shot on the turn deflected for a corner a minute later.

 Not one but two corners followed – Wootton somehow kept from Diamond`s cross in the box by Kerr with 20 minutes of normal   time left.

If Wigan were under pressure , they did find the opportunity to hit back ,and Diamond did well for County getting a decent defensive tackle in to halt a raid by the visitors on 72 minutes.

Shortly after, M.O.M Adama Sidibeh was substituted , being replaced by Tanto Olaofe.

Two or three minutes of concerted attacking play followed ,but it was Wigan who were forcing the pace- buoyed by free kicks  that wracked up the County angst- Pye producing his best work of the day to head clear at one point as Wigan piled bodies forward and pinged crosses over that just lacked someone on the end of them for County`s day to be spoiled.

We were looking for a response by County- it came via Osborn ,but his cross was headed over the bar by Tanto with 14 minutes left.

County kept pressing, but without being able to pierce the visitors back line – Bailey thwarted in that respect by good work by Sam Tickle.

With 8 of the 90 minutes left, Bailey continued to work hard- making it to the by-line before reaching Wootton with a cross , but it was delivered to the back post which was somewhat crowded ,and Woots could not beat Tickle with his header.

County were showing us a glimpse of something approaching what was required to retrieve the situation , and I was encouraged seeing Stokes play the ball wide to Osborn and dash forward to receive the return only for his effort to clear the bar.

On it went…County pressing…me and others thinking County had a penalty as Chapman appeared to have a `hand to ball` moment in the box with just 2 minutes of normal time remaining to be played- Mr Corlett was oblivious to our claims – no penalty, and adding insult to injury ,Wigan defended the corner we got in lieu  of a penalty well and it stayed 2-2.

On it went- County continuing to attack- Tanto heading over the top from a Diamond cross.

Almost on 90 minutes , DC brought Dodgson and Mothersille on for Osborn and Stokes, but we went into added time ( 9 minutes of it) with the score still 2-2.

The first minute of added time was spent with County defending a free kick which they did well…very well as it happened, as Diamond was able to slink clear down the right to dink a nicely weighted ball to the back post where the waiting Wootton planted his header home!

That was terrific work , albeit against 10 men , and County supporters present were singing Woots` praises loud and long thereafter.

But…not before a terrible tackle from Asamoah  had laid Diamond out giving the Referee little choice other than to wave a red card in the miscreants direction (94 minutes).

We were now facing 9 men , but I remembered that County had played once with 7 and done rather well …so…..

Mothersille and Dodgson were looking lively down the left – the former thwarted on a run by Fox a minute later …….the latter causing mayhem in the visitors` box with a ball whipped over at pace that Woots went so so close to applying a finish to, another minute on.

We were probably over 99 minutes when the home crowd almost got their wish ,and the ball came to Tanto a few yards out. It was no shoo in ,and Tanto got his shot off well only for Tickle to beat the ball out with a dive to his left !

On it went ….the minutes ticking on ……100…as Tanto played the ball to Mothersille who made it into the box before getting his shot off . It was a decent effort but the ball hit Tickle  before being diverted to Wootton whose instant reflex action saw the ball over the line for his second and County fourth goal.

Wigan kept battling in the small amount of time that remained to play before the Referee blew his whistle to end the game.

The points were County`s …..the blues had made hard work of getting them ,but  when DC gets done ironing out the glitches ( hopefully in time for Burton on Tuesday) maybe we`ll see the best of their work rather than what we saw for a big part of today`s game.

I am not betting against that happening anyway- come on County!

Stockport County line up :-

 Hinchliffe, Dacres-Cogley, Hills, Pye, Diamond, Bate (Bailey,46), Norwood, Osborn (Dodgson 88), Stokes (Mothersille 88), Sidibeh (Olaofe 73), Wootton.

Unused Subs: Addai, Olowu, C. Gardner.

 

Wigan Athletic line up ;-

Tickle , Sessegnon , Kerr , Smith ( Vickers 79), Fox , Weir , Wright , Hungbo ( Chapman 66) , Murray , Saydee ( Costelloe 53), Taylor ( Asamoah 66).

Unused Subs : Savin , Mc Manaman, Bettoni.

Attendance: 9,938 (1,161

hedgegrower

 

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