Mediocre show
COUNTY were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw with Bradford Park Avenue, on a fraught afternoon at Edgeley Park last Saturday.
With Jim Gannon’s men once again enjoying plenty of possession, The Hatters failed to make the decisive breakthrough – leading to Gannon blasting his side’s “lack of quality” in the final third.
And, in truth, it could have been even worse for County, as Mark Bower’s visitors were denied by a number of superb Ben Hinchliffe saves – before spurning a number of glorious late opportunities by failing to hit the target, as County piled forward in search of the win.
Gannon, who was expected to ring the changes following last Monday’s 3-1 defeat at Tamworth, instead went with just two. captain Harry Winter and leading goalscorer Jason Oswell both returned from injury to replace Scott Duxbury and Darren Stephenson, in what appeared to be an attacking 4-3-3 formation. Midfielder Gary Stopforth was also finally granted his international clearance following his return to the club after a spell in Australia, and was named among the substitutes.
Sam Minihan, who began on the right side of the three man attack, went close after just two minutes when he picked up a Matty Warburton centre to volley at Steve Drench’s goal – with the experienced Avenue stopper equal to the strike.
County had again started brightly, as they did in the loss at Tamworth through Minihan’s first of the season – but on this occasion, The Hatters found no such breakthrough for their early vibrance.
Drench also saved Jimmy Ball’s low drive from outside the area, before former County skipper Mark Ross did well to deflect behind an Oswell shot - Chris Smalley headed over the resulting corner.
But the visitors grew into proceedings and went on to miss two giltedged chances before the break. First, striker Adam Boyes skipped past Michael Clarke on the right before squaring to another ex-Hatter, Oli Johnson, who, with the goal at his mercy, scuffed a shot wide of the far upright.
Then, Ben Hinchliffe had to be at his best on two occasions – tipping behind Nicky Clee’s 18-yard piledriver, and, two minutes ahead of half-time, catching a close-range header from Boyes.
The second half followed a pattern broadly similar to much of the first, whereby the Hatters were to enjoy a good share of possession – albeit without executing a cutting edge in the final third.
And when the visitors broke, they continued to test Hinchliffe in a busy afternoon for The Hatters’ best performer on the day. Captain Nicky Wroe and Johnson drilled shots beyond, respectively, the left and right posts – before Javan Vidal, who had also once plied his trade at EP, went close with a fierce volley.
Gary Stopforth reemerged for his second debut as a County player with just over 20 minutes left on the clock, with the former Salford midfielder literally bouncing on the sidelines as he waited to make his return – but whilst the 29 year-old added energy late on, both Stopforth and Gannon acknowledged that the Burnley-born midfielder is lacking in match fitness, which became evident late on as County struggled to break down their resolute visitors. ●●Matty Warburton weaves his way towards the Bradford PA penalty area
County did go onto create their best chances of the half, with substitute Darren Stephenson the fall guy again after his shocking miss against Gainsborough last weekend. The summer signing