Flat servings at
COUNTY slipped to an opening day defeat on Saturday for the first time in three years, going down to a 1-0 loss at newly promoted Spennymoor Town at Brewery Field.
Winger David Foley grabbed the match-winner just before the interval, as the energetic hosts punished The Hatters’ sloppiness in their curtain-raising National League North tie – before debutant Matty Warburton missed a late penalty to compound County’s misery.
Warburton was joined by three other new boys in Jim Gannon’s starting line-up, with defender Dan Cowan, attacker Darren Stephenson and forward Jason Oswell all handed starting berths in a 3-4-1-2 formation for Gannon’s promotion hopefuls.
Popular left-sided defender Stephen O’Halloran started for the first competitive fixture of his second spell with the club, alongside Cowan and the returning Michael Clarke at the back. There was no place in the eleven for summer signing Sam Walker, who had to settle for a spot on the bench.
Spennymoor - who’s match-day programme boasted the words “a dream come true” to describe the Moors’ opening day clash with The Hatters - looked bright in the early stages; enabled in no small part by tricky wingers Foley and Ryan Hall.
Hall - a summer signing from Curzon Ashton who will be familiar to County fans after being tentatively linked with a move to Edgeley Park last season should really have opened the scoring early on. County’s three man defence was looking stretched by the Moor’s pace in attack, and Hall was left in acres of room inside the penalty area; only to blaze inexplicably over Ben Hinchliffe’s crossbar.
Jimmy Ball, preferred over Walker in midfield alongside captain Harry Winter, was then next to go close as the tie became an end-to-end affair. Good work by Oswell on the right, with the new Hatters striker looking well-adapted to life in the physical sixth tier, teed up the onrushing Ball who let fly from the edge of the area.
Ball’s curling effort was undoubtedly heading into the top corner with Moors ‘keeper Lowson well beaten, only for defender Tait to head off the goal line.
The young County midfielder then stepped over a free-kick from range, curling at goal and testing Lowson again down by the stopper’s left.
Gannon revealed afterwards that he had perhaps made an error in switching to a back three, and The Hatters looked stretched in defence for the only goal of the game on 42 minutes.
One long ball down the left was enough to catch County cold, with Clarke – having a solid outing at this point – dragged out wide to cover the advancing Foley, who was left in oceans of space on the left wing.
Foley cut inside Clarke and saw his path open up to goal, before the experienced forward was too easily allowed to breeze past the challenge of Ball before drilling past Hinchliffe into the far corner.
Scott Duxbury was replaced at the break after struggling in the first half up against the diminutive Hall, with The Hatters reverting to a back four and – for a time – looking more solid as they sought a route back into the game.
Oswell, embroiled in an ongoing physical battle with Tait and looking well up for the occasion, curled a snapshot just over the bar from a tight angle after a mazy run by Warburton – before County’s comeback trail looked set to burst into life.