RUSK’S ALREADY A HAPPY HATTER
SIMON RUSK celebrated his first game in charge of Stockport County with a comfortable victory over Woking to enhance the Hatters’ reputation as genuine title contenders.
First-half goals from Connor Jennings, John Rooney and Macauley Southam-Hales set County on their way and despite a Moussa Diarra header reducing the arrears early in the second half a further strike from Alex Reid wrapped up victory.
It provided the perfect curtain-raiser for former two-time Conference winner Rusk, overseeing his first senior game in charge since replacing Jim Gannon at the Edgeley Park helm earlier this week.
A match that survived two pitch inspections before getting the go ahead sprung into life as early as the third minute when Stockport took the lead. A low cross from the right from Rooney found Jennings unmarked at the back post for an easy tap-in.
The Hatters continued their bright opening to the half with Ryan Croasdale’s shot saved by the boot of Craig Ross. The Woking keeper was on hand again to parry away a curling shot from Jennings as County continued to dominate proceedings.
Reid should have put County further ahead after finding himself unmarked inside the area and plenty of time to plant a header into the net, but his weak downward header fell into the hands of Ross.
Eventually, on 37 minutes, the Hatters doubled their advantage with a free-flowing move. Mark Kitching’s pin-point low cross found an unmarked Rooney, who drilled his shot into the net for his ninth goal of the season.
A Rooney free-kick was parried away by Ross to maintain the visitors’ control, and that was soon highlighted in first-half stoppage time when the Hatters added a third.
Another cross from Kitching caused havoc in the Woking box, Tyler Reid missed his kick inside the area but Southam-Hales made sure he didn’t and slotted the ball past Ross to give Stockport a comfortable lead at the interval.
Cards boss Alan Dowson brought on Matt Jarvis at the start of the second half and immediately made an instant impact with an in-swinging corner that saw centre-back Diarra plant a header past Ben Hinchliffe.
But any faint hopes that Woking had of getting back into the game were soon extinguished when a free-kick was taken quickly which caught the Cards napping. A poor header away from Diarra fell to Jennings who set up Reid to send a shot underneath the legs of Ross to complete a perfect afternoon for the Hatters, who rose to third in the National League table.
“I thought they were excellent today,” Dowson said of his visitors. “Player for player, very good – they were miles better than us in every department today. We were second best allaround the pitch.
“When you play the top teams you have got to stay in the game, otherwise you will come unstuck.”
STAR MAN: Connor Jennings (Stockport County) ENTERTAINMENT: REFEREE: