Loss won’t derail Lions plans for campaign
STOCKPORT Town suffered their first defeat of pre-season with a 2-1 home loss against Curzon Ashton on Saturday afternoon with boss Dave Wild gracious in defeat.
Strikes from Justin Pickering and a trialist for Curzon won the day, despite substitute Ben Halfacre replying late on for the Lions.
The Lions boss said: “We’ve made some big changes at the club this summer both on and off the pitch, with a new academy being set up for the coming year that will only help the club flourish in future years and help us develop local talent.
“Coupled with that I have worked hard across the summer to attract the calibre of player we feel will help push us forward.
“In terms of preparation for the season we are happy so far but we have to continue to work non-stop to ensure that everyone is working together and pulling towards the clubs goals.”
The Stockport boss, who will be taking on his first full season in charge of the club was also pleased to see a rise in attendance.
He said: “The crowds have been really pleasing to see and we hope that the positivity surrounding the club and our way of playing will continue to bring people in to watch us play! We appreciate everyone that comes to support us and will always try and put an attacking display on for them.”
Stockport continue their preseason campaign with another home fixture against North West Counties Premier Division side West Didsbury & Charlton next Saturday, kick-off 3pm.
“We have another huge test as to where we stand going forward on Saturday against West Didsbury & Chorlton.
“I wanted this friendly because in my opinion they will be right up there challenging for the title next season so it’s a chance for us to test ourselves against a big team from the level above.
“As always with preseason the main aim for the game is to get minutes in the tank for as many lads as possible and not worry about the result, but I expect my players to be competitive and show their worth to cement a place in the team for the season opening game.”