STORM Katie might have left the North West relatively untouched while she battered the country further down in an Easter Monday show of strength – but it nevertheless rained goals in the relatively clear blue skies over Edgeley Park.
Unfortunately, County’s net was the one subject to deluge – and four times in all against high-flying Fylde, to leave the Hatters on the wrong end of their heaviest home loss since a 1-5 League Two defeat to Gillingham over five years previously.
It also came hot on the heels of the reverse at North Ferriby two days earlier – effectively putting an end to any hopes that County might have entertained of sneaking into the play-offs by the season’s end.
Jim Gannon announced three changes to the team that had taken to the field in East Yorkshire on Easter Saturday – with returning loanee-goalkeeper, Dean Henderson, donning the gloves in Ian Ormson’s stead, and Brandon Wilson and Obi Anoruo replacing Danny Morton and Kay Odejayi.
Whilst Odejayi was named among County’s substitutes, he had neither Ormson – who was ill – nor Morton – still feeling the effects of concussion, 48 hours on – for company on a bench that was occupied primarily by players of tender years.
Fylde’s starters included a former Hatter in leading scorer, Danny Rowe. But another player once of the SK3 parish, Richie Baker, was serving out a suspension that had to be carried forward after torrential Saturday afternoon rain at Kellamergh Park caused the abandonment of the Coasters‘ earlier Easter fixture against Bradford Park Avenue.
The visitors, sporting a luminous shade of classic Dutch orange, appeared inspired to play their own brand of ‘total football’ from the outset – dominating possession in the early stages, as well as passing the ball around quickly and neatly without letting it cross the line into their half.
Sam Finley fired a cross from the right over County’s goal, before clearing the crossbar again after James Hardy’s shot was blocked. And, with seven minutes gone, Brad Barnes tried his luck – unleashing an effort that took a deflection behind to give Fylde what was already a second corner of the afternoon (and one of seven for the visitors before half-time).
This corner, floated from the right, saw the Coasters take the lead as their captain, Tom Hannigan, met the delivery to bundle it over the line by the far post.
The onslaught continued – with Barnes shooting over, and Rowe squaring from the right for Finley to send a low drive wide of the far upright – while the Hatters strove to find ways of venturing across the halfway-line.
At the first quarter-hour mark, they managed it – and, in doing so, carved out a half-chance, as John Marsden sent a volley fizzing just wide of the right post.
But it proved a temporary respite from Fylde’s pressure. Rowe let rip with a shot from the left that the diving Henderson did well to parry. And Finley picked out Dion Charles on the right, who side-footed narrowly beyond the near upright.
County’s further occasional forays forward yielded little reward. A Marsden header, following Wilson’s cross from the right, was on target – only to be comfortably held by visiting ‘keeper, Ben Hinchliffe. And Tom Field’s free kick looped wide of the right post from 30 yards out.
HALF-TIME: County 0, Fylde 1 (Hannigan, 7).
The Hatters could, in truth, consider themselves rather fortunate to be only one goal down as they re-emerged for the second half. But such aspirations as they nurtured about getting themselves back into contention were blown away within nine minutes of the re-start, by which time Fylde had trebled the lead courtesy of a Charles brace.
The midfielder scored his first, and his team’s second, with a ferocious left-footed thunderbolt from just inside County’s box that flew into the top corner.
And, just three minutes later, he struck again – after a Paul Connolly back-pass was chased down by Rowe, whose close-range shot past Henderson and against the right post rebounded for Charles to side-foot home into an empty net.
It was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the cards, as two players from each side – including Connolly and Ryan Ellison for County – saw yellow over a short spate of incidents spanning the period between 60 and 68 minutes.
But just over a quarter of an hour later, the Coasters were well and truly coasting as they scored their fourth. An impressive solo effort it was by Rowe, too, as he waltzed into the box – jinking past two defenders in the process – before directing a shot past Henderson’s left to register his 32nd goal of the season in all competitions.
County had created nothing of great consequence since the break, and were destined not to make any inroads into the deficit – although, in the closing stages, Marcus Poscha cut in from the right to have an effort blocked by Hinchliffe at the near post, before Wilson shot wide of the same upright from just outside the area.
And so ended for the Hatters a second successive Easter without so much as a point to show for it.
Which, if nothing else, merits a shout of “Bah, Humbunny!”…
Teams:
Stockport County: Henderson (GK), Poscha, Roberts, Ellison, O’Hanlon (c), Connolly (Todd 78′), Wilson, Field (West 55′), Brodie (Odejayi 73′), Marsden, Anoruo.
Booked: Ellison (61′), Connolly (68′)
AFC Fylde: Hinchcliffe (GK), C Hughes, Sumner, Langley, Hannigan (c), Barnes, Charles (Lloyd 73′), Finley, Rowe, M Hughes (Dudley 83′), Hardy.
Booked: Barnes (61′), Charles (62′)
Referee: David Richardson (West Yorkshire)
Attendance: 3,399 (129 away)
By Gareth Evans at Edgeley Park
@GarethE77815055
Recent Comments