Stockport Sports Village, home of Stockport Town who play in the North West Counties League Division One South. 16th December 2019 and it’s the visit of Wythenshawe Town who were looking to end their 4 games without a win here tonight. The Merry Miller, toyed with the idea of going to this match the week before, to tick a new ground off the list and to possibly get a glimpse of the old Premier League regular Robbie Savage, who was signed by Stockport Town in late November.
It was the beginning of my last week of work before the Christmas break and I had just finished the first day, I returned home and got the call from the Merry Miller to say “We’re going to Stockport”. I made my way to the train station and off I went. A 15 minute walk from Bredbury station and I had arrived at the ground. The ground had a gym on the top floor which overlooked the 3G pitch which this game was going to take place, not bad! With 15 minutes to kick off, the Merry Miller had arrived and was accompanied by one of his fellow Rotherham United supporters whose name was Pete.
£5 to get through the turnstiles for this one, Thank You very much! The players walked out onto the field but unfortunately no sign of Robbie Savage… oh well we’ve got a match to look forward to, it’s not all bad! The match kicked off, Stockport in red and white and Wythenshawe in Blue. Wythenshawe came flying out of the blocks and began to dominate the match straight away. I said to Jack and Pete “It’s always vital to score whilst you’re on top”, I think the Wythenshawe players heard me, after 14 minutes a cross from Wythenshawe found Will Shawcross who was unmarked, he took a touch and then on the half volley… Get in! 0-1 and fully deserved for the visitors.
Around 5 minutes later, Stockport had the ball in the Wythenshawe half and the ball was crossed in and the ball was brought down by Jerome Wright of the Wythenshawe defence, it came off his hand said the Referee and he pointed to the spot. Just like that, Stockport had a guilt edge chance to equalise. Aaron Knight stepped up for Stockport and he made no mistake. 1-1 the score. You just can’t raise your arm that high as a defender or else you will be punished!
This did little to break this spirited Wythenshawe side who continued to dominate the first half. At 35 minutes, Dale Jennings won the ball back from Wythenshawe in his own box and given with a chance to clear the ball, he instead tried to play out from the back, this would prove to be a mistake as the misplaced pass went to Wythenshawe’s Matty Bryan!! It’s 1-2 to Wythenshawe. If only the ball was just cleared that would not have happened, as a qualified coach myself I am not a fan of playing out from the back for reasons such as that goal! Wythenshawe continued to dominate but would not find a third goal before half time and the score remained 1-2 at the break.
The second half began a lot slower than the first, with little to shout about for both teams. 10 minutes in to the first half, a shot from Stockport’s goal scorer Knight went just wide, close for Stockport. 63 minutes on the clock, Wythenshawe’s Jordan Burton found himself with the ball on the edge of the box and went for glory… and the ball was a coat of paint over the crossbar, so close! Stockport then started to ask more questions of Wythenshawe as the game continued and with a minute to go, a chance for Stockport went just wide and had the Stockport fans with their heads in their hands, Wythenshawe would hold on for the win!
FT: Stockport Town 1-2 Wythenshawe Town
Ratings
- Atmosphere: 1/10 – Didn’t hear any singing from any sets of fans it really was like football in a library at times unfortunately.
- The Ground: 7/10 – A very nice facility that they have here and was very modern and not run down in places.
- Expense: 10/10 – £5 is a price that I would always be willing to pay at any turnstiles and when the game doesn’t finish 0-0, the value for it will only increase!
- Overall Experience: 6/10 – It was a good game for the price and I enjoyed the football but with the non-existent atmosphere I wouldn’t give any higher than a 6.
24/40