Town into the Cheshire Cup final
ANDREW CROMPTON STOCKPORT Town have exceeded all expectations by reaching the final of the Cheshire Senior Cup after a 2-1 victory away against North West Counties Premier Division side Winsford United.
Goals from a returning Aaron Dwyer and Town’s topscorer, Ben Halfacre, were enough to see Stockport through to their first ever Cup final. In a game that Winsford had a number of chances to score and possibly win the tie, they could only reply with a single goal from Perry Bircumshaw.
The match got underway with a perfect start for Stockport coming after just seven minutes as Aaron Dwyer put the visitors in front. A swift counter-attack ended with Dwyer coolly rounding Winsford keeper, Matthew Green before slotting into the empty net.
Moments later Winsford were back in the tie as Bircumshaw latched onto a pass from Callum Gardner and fired home past Town’s Kyle Haslam to draw the hosts level.
Haslam was called into action once again as he showed smart reactions to deny Winsford from close range before a counterattack by Stockport led to the first controversial moment of the game.
Halfacre attempted to slide Dwyer through but the pass was crudely handled by Dean Clarke. Dwyer took exception to the foul play and the two players squared up. ‘Handbags’ ensued before the referee dismissed both players. Given the occasion yellow cards may have sufficed.
From this moment onwards it became the Kyle Haslam show. The young stopper, later awarded man of the match, was on a mission to become the most hated man in Winsford. Two outstanding saves late in the first half kept the scores even, firstly denying Bircumshaw’s near post drive, then moments later saving with his feet at point blank range.
The second half saw little change as Haslam was back in action, this time saving a one-on-one when it looked odds on that Winsford would score and take the lead.
The Lions defence, now minus Sezerano who had gone off injured, were being put under severe pressure and in the 70th minute it buckled as Bircumshaw broke through only to be brought down by Haslam. Gardner stepped up to take the resulting penalty kick, but Haslam guessed correctly, parrying the ball low down to his left as Stockport survived another United chance.
Moments later, in a rare Lions attack, the visitors ended up with a corner as Tom Bane stepped up to whip a cross into the box. An excellent delivery saw Halfacre, soon to be the club’s highest ever goalscorer, who rose highest to plant a bullet header into the back of the Winsford net.
Winsford began to pile on the pressure searching for an equaliser to take the tie into extra-time. Haslam stayed solid in goal and frustrations were evident as Winsford’s Scott Taylor made an over-zealous attempt to win a ball in the Stockport area, only to miss time his tackle and receive a second yellow to reduce the home team to nine men.
Winsford continued to chase the game but the Lions saw the game through.
Stockport Town became only the second team from the North West Counties First Division to reach the final, and the first since 2004. Town boss, Jake Davies, just 21 years old, now awaits results from the other matches to see who his side with face in the final, with Staybridge Celtic, Barnton and Nantwich Town still in the competition.