Stockport County 2-1 AFC Fylde

Attendance: 3912 (100)

Stockport County withheld heavy second half pressure to record a 2-1 win against AFC Fylde at Edgeley Park on Tuesday night.

Despite dominating large parts of the game, AFC Fylde’s couldn’t find a way back from a five minute spell which saw County net in quick succession.

The game began with Fylde in control, Jordan Williams continuing through the middle after his brace at Bromley at the weekend.

With the opening exchanges looking promising for the travelling Coasters, Mark Yeates did well to find Danny Rowe in the box – however his volley was a tame one, and held easily by Hinchcliffe.

After a stoppage in play seemed to momentarily kill the momentum Fylde had built, Stockport took the lead with their first attempt of the night.

Jackson cut in from the left wing all too easily, and fired a low effort from the edge of the box which, picking up a deflection along the way, found its way into the bottom corner.

This spurred Stockport on, and in what seemed to be their next attack, they had doubled their lead, thanks to a massive slice of bad luck from Fylde’s perspective.

Nyal Bell had done well to win the ball from Jameson and look to play in his teammate Osbourne – however in desperation tracking back, AFC Fylde’s James Craigen couldn’t get himself out of the way, and ended up turning it past his own keeper.

Fylde, a little shellshocked from the quick-fire double from the hosts, looked to get back in control, and could have pulled one back on the half-hour mark, when Danny Rowe was found in space in the box.

Rowe couldn’t seem to react quick enough however, and his strike was quickly blocked by the covering Ash Palmer.

Mark Yeates, who was being afforded plenty of time on the ball, was trying his best to get hold of the game, and could have found himself on the score sheet before half time, but he too was stopped in his tracks before he could pull the trigger.

Second half

With the healthy two goal cushion, Stockport were happy to shut up shop in the second half and look to see out the game.

This was an invitation for Fylde to attack, and attack they did, with Danny Rowe nearly scoring just 23 seconds after the restart.

After a spell of possession for Fylde, Stockport fans were celebrating what they thought was a third goal, as Nyan Bell struck from just wide of the 6 yard box.

The ball, however, was turned behind for a corner, which Neill Byrne did well to rise above and clear.

The next big chance went the way of the Coasters however, and it fell to the in-form man Jordan Williams.

Yeates’ perfectly weighted through ball found Jordan Williams in plenty of space on the left of the penalty box, and the forward was only too happy to lash the ball beyond Hinchcliffe, and give the Coasters a lifeline.

Nick Haughton and Kurt Willoughby were soon introduced to try and get at the Stockport defence, however, this proved to be a tough task.

Chance after chance went Fylde’s way, with Haughton, Rowe and Kosylo all trying their best to restore parity.

It was former Stockport County man Scott Duxbury who went closest to levelling it, when he was found unmarked in the box – however his left footed effort was whiskers away from the post.

Try as they might, the Coasters couldn’t find that crucial goal, and in the 90th minute, a free-kick on the edge of the box was awarded Fylde’s way.

However, in what was almost celebrated like a goal by the home fans, Rowe’s free-kick was fired straight into the wall, and Stockport were able to see out an unlikely win.

Reaction

“I can’t stand here and say we didn’t deserve anything from the game. We did. We should have won the game,” said Dave Challinor.

“What you can’t do, though, is concede the goals in the manner we have. We conceded two really poor goals, and you come away having lost against a team that have actually had one effort on target all night.”

“I can’t back people up, our decision making at the back needs to get better – but it seems like every attempt on target ends up in the back of our net.”

A”re we defending poorly as a team? No, we’re not. It’s individual errors, and that’s something we need to look at.”

Teams

Stockport County: Hinchcliffe, Minihan, Palmer (C), Keane, Thomas, Walker, Osborne, Bell, Arthur, Jackson.

Subs: Ormson, Mulhern, Curran, Dimaio, Downing.

AFC Fylde: Montgomery, Duxbury, Byrne, Jameson, Craigen, Kosylo, Croasdale, Rowe, Philliskirk, Williams, Yeates.

Subs: Whitmore, Willoughby, Ngwatala, Lavercombe, Haughton