UNDER THE HAMMER
DAWSON’S LATE HEADER SINKS STOCKPORT
CRAIG DAWSON is no stranger to nights like this. He started his career at non- League Radcliffe Borough and scored his last FA Cup goal more than a decade ago for Rochdale.
So when West Ham needed someone to break Stockport County’s resistance in the cloying mud and driving rain at Edgeley Park, who better than the veteran centre-back to deliver the decisive goal in the 83rd minute?
County were within sight of extra-time when substitute Jarrod Bowen took a short corner and got the ball back. He swung it to the edge of the six-yard box where Dawson emerged from the gloom and rose above Stockport captain Liam Hogan to direct a header into the bottom corner.
It felt harsh on the non-Leaguers who were hoping to join Chorley in the fourth round where a home tie against Doncaster Rovers awaited — as well as the attraction of facing Manchester United or Liverpool in the fifth round.
The conditions no doubt played intonto their hands, the gap narrowing rp between Premier League and National League with every minute that the downpour refused to subside.
It rained so hard that there were the areas of the pitch where the ball would hardly roll through the surface water and the players struggled to keep their feet.
In the conditions, how someone managed ignite to the fireworks display behind the West Ham goal that briefly held up this game in the first half is anyone’s guess.
By the time Dawson, on loan at West Ham from Watford, stepped up to the plate the game had descended into a bit of a slog.
‘It was tough tonight,’ said the 30-year-old defender. ‘It’s been a while since I’ve played in conditions like that, but it was great to get a goal at the end.
‘It was something we worked on in training. The lads put in a shift and it was a great clean sheet.
‘Stockport are doing great in their league and it’s not easy coming to these grounds. It was difficult for both sides but we stuck to our task and did very well in the end.’
The Hammers will be mightily relieved to have avoided another upset at Edgeley Park, 25 years after losing a League Cup replay when Stockport boss Jim Gannon was a player here.
That was a little different though. County were a club on the up, heading for the semifinals that season and a place in the second tier.
The future is a lot brighter now but they have been out of the Football League for a decade and 86 places separated the two teams at kick-off.
It looked like it as well. The excellent Declan Rice dictated early play and sent over the cross that ended with Said Benrahma clipping the outside of the post.
At that stage it looked like it might be a rather long night for a Stockport side that included Lois Maynard, the cousin of Marcus Rashford, and Wayne Rooney’s younger brother John, but the balance began to shift.
It was Rooney’s corner that brought a poor punch from West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph and County’s first sniff of goal in the deteriorating conditions.
Andriy Yarmolenko, in particular, looked miserable after sliding down the touchline on his back and discarded his sodden gloves shortly afterwards.
For all their possession, the Hammers lacked penetration. Michail Antonio seemed almost surprised to be played through on goal shortly before half-time and Mark Kitching sharply poked the ball off his foot as he shaped to shoot.
If Stockport had been reticent to attack — or simply unable to — in the first half, they were more purposeful after the break.
They broke forward whenever possible and West Ham’s defending became increasingly desperate in the conditions, not least when Dawson threw his body at Connor Jennings’s shot after he exchanged passes with Sam Minihan.
But there was also a lucky escape when goalkeeper Ben Hinchliffe made his first error of the night, miscuing a clearance straight to Benrahma. The Hammers No 9 tried to lift the ball over the only defender on the line and placed his effort wide.
It looked like we were heading for extra- time until Dawson intervened. Amazingly, his three FA Cup goals have all come in different decades.
So no upset for Gannon this time but he will now focus his efforts on taking County back into the Football League.
‘It was always a stretch for us but the performance showed we are a cut above this (National League) level,’ he said.
‘The players are disappointed but I think is that not a testimony to how they played?
‘The club is going the right way. It’s been tough year for everyone this year — but we want go one better than last year and go for the play- offs and hopefully promotion.’