Gr-Eight County
LEAGUE leaders Stockport County ruthlessly dismantled basement club Sutton United in a history-making 8-0 win at Edgeley Park on Saturday, as The Hatters maintained a sixpoint lead atop League Two.
Just four days after what boss Dave Challinor described as his most “embarrassing” night at the club, as The Hatters exited the FA Cup in a 0-1 second round replay defeat to Aldershot Town, County returned to Edgeley Park in style with a clinical and unforgiving display.
Four goals in each half, and a 4-0 lead after just 23 minutes had the hosts in dreamland on a remarkable afternoon, with Irishman Paddy Madden grabbing a hat-trick to become the club’s leading goalscorer of the 21st century.
Madden’s treble added to a Ryan Croasdale brace as well as goals from from Kyle Wootton, Joel Cotterill and former Sutton loanee, Tanto Olaofe to bring up the Hatters’ first competitive eight-goal haul for 67 years, and their biggest winning margin since the record-breaking 13-0 defeat of Halifax just short of nine decades ago.
The result saw Sutton part company with manager Matt Grey on Tuesday.
As seems inevitable at the moment for Challinor and company, another matchday brought another injury blow, as wing-back Macauley Southam-Hales was ruled out for several months with a broken foot prior to kick-off. The Welshman was replaced by Kyle Knoyle on the Hatters right, whilst Neill Byrne came in at the back in place of leading marksman Olaofe, who dropped to the bench.
There was natural intrigue around Edgeley Park over how the league leaders would react to Challinor’s harsh words following that Aldershot defeat on Wednesday, in which the County boss stated that his side “needed a lot of new faces” in the January transfer window.
Any doubts over a negative reaction were dispelled in no time. In the course of the opening couple of minutes, the Hatters earned three corners – with the first of those almost producing a goal – as Odin Bailey’s delivery from the right found Wootton, whose flick was tipped around the near post by visiting goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis.
Shortly afterwards, County took the lead. An out-swinging Bailey freekick to the left of the Sutton box was met by Croasdale, who nodded home from close range for his first goal of the campaign.
Five minutes later, the advantage was doubled through Wootton, who converted his ninth goal of the season in all competitions; Knoyle’s pinpoint cross from the right after the wing-back had run on to an exquisite through-ball from Madden.
After 20 minutes, it was three for County and two for Croasdale – following a burst into the box from the left by fellow central midfielder Callum Camps, who squared for the former Kidderminster Harriers man to unleash a drive through a crowded area and into the net.
The first half’s midpoint came and went, but only for a matter of seconds before the Hatters scored a fourth – with Bailey dragging the ball back from the right by-line for Madden to drill past Bouzanis.
This saw County’s captain, in becoming the leading scorer of the 21st
Century, notch up his half-century of goals as a Hatter.
Madden then, from a tight angle, forced Bouzanis to save in front of the left post, Bailey fired narrowly beyond the same upright, and Wootton – fed by Croasdale – ballooned an effort over, as the Hatters strove to add to their tally ahead of the break.
The visitors, rather piti