Stockport County immediately bounced back from their defeat on Tuesday night by dismantling rivals Bolton Wanderers at Edgeley Park to move back into the League One playoff places.
County were lethal in taking apart their Greater Manchester rivals to put Tuesday’s 5-0 home defeat out of their minds.
The Louie Barry Show
In a tight and tense first half, it took until the half-hour mark for the breakthrough to come. The impressive Louie Barry carried the ball down the left before cutting back and rolling the ball to Will Collar who fired home left-footed from eight yards out.
It was two just after halftime. Barry again crossed from the left, this time with his right foot, to the back post where it was met by defender Fraser Horsfall whose effort was saved by Bolton keeper Nathan Baxter. The keeper pushed the ball out but it was met with force by striker Kyle Wootton who rifled it into the roof of the net.
The game was all but over less than ten minutes later when Horsfall met a corner from the left with a powerful header and made no mistake from a few yards out. Seven minutes later it was the turn of Barry to get on the scoresheet after some questionable playing out from the back by the visitors.
Barry pounced on a piece of loose control and slotted the ball past the on-rushing Baxter for his tenth goal of the season. Stockport’s dominant second-half performance was rounded off by substitute Odin Bailey in the 90th minute.
The hosts had been playing the ball around with the confidence of a side 4-0 up as the crowd greeted every pass with an ‘Ole’. As the ball was played into Baily, the 24-year-old injected a little more pace into the move by jinking past his man and driving towards goal.
He took aim and fired his left-footed effort low and across Baxter into the far corner of the net, completing the rout and sending the majority of the 10,342 in attendance home happy.
Writer’s View
Bolton boss Ian Evatt spoke before this match about how he expected a reaction from Stockport and he got exactly that! This was a huge victory for The Hatters and it could prove a vital win as both sides are likely to be playoff hopefuls come May.
A primary school teacher turned writer, Tom has been part of The Real EFL for two years. He focuses on predictions, deep dives, and insightful content.
