Challengers pounce on injury-hit Hatters
LEAGUE leaders Stockport County began 2024 with a disappointing 0-2 defeat to title rivals Mansfield Town at Edgeley Park, as The Hatters’ remarkable injury crisis continued into the New Year.
The visitors scored early in the second half and deep into added time to complete a league double over County and close the gap at the head of the table to two points – while the Hatters’ woe was further accentuated by injury to young Ethan Pye just twenty seconds into proceedings, and a serious head injury in the second half to defender Kyle Knoyle.
Knoyle went down after a sickening collision with teammate Ibou Touray, with the former Doncaster man stretchered off the pitch and taken to hospital with suspected concussion.
Pye, meanwhile, provided a further blow to the Hatters lengthy injury list by going down under a heavy Ollie Clarke challenge inside the first minute, with boss Dave Challinor
later confirming a suspected ankle sprain for the highly-rated defender.
After a battling 0-0 draw at much-improved Bradford City over the festive period, in a clash which ended a largely successful 2023 for The Hatters, the league leaders returned to Edgeley Park to kickstart the New Year in a mouthwatering top of the table clash.Ryan Croasdale and
Kyle Wootton constituted the recalled pair – replacing Tanto Olaofe and Nick Powell, both of whom were named among the substitutes.
The Stags included among the starters Rhys Oates who had plied his trade at EP back in County’s non-league days, making a dozen appearances whilst on loan from Barnsley in 2014.
The very first minute of proceedings saw Pye pick up that injury after a coming together with Ollie Clarke on the halfway-line, and need of treatment before continuing. And within five minutes, the first yellow card had been shown – to Clarke, as it happened, for a late tackle on Fraser Horsfall.
County then went close, when a hooked delivery from Paddy Madden narrowly missed a touch by Odin Bailey and fizzed beyond the left post.
But the next occurrence of note was, sadly, the end of Pye’s participation, after the defender had proved unable to shake off his knock and had to be replaced by Jayden Richardson with only eight minutes on the clock.
The visitors had to endure an early, enforced substitution (and the first of their two in the opening half-hour), after Oates came off worse in a challenge on Ben Hinchliffe and could play no further part. And at the other end, when play resumed, a break by the Hatters saw Ibby Touray – fed by Madden – drill just wide of the far upright with a low shot from the left.
Oates’ replacement, Lucas Akins, had a shot deflected beyond the right post, before Callum Camps tested visiting goalkeeper Christy Pym with a shot from distance, to which Mansfield’s number one held on cleanly.
With two minutes of normal first-half time remaining, Jordan Bowery’s delivery from the right picked out second Stag-replacement Louis Reed, whose first-time shot was tipped by Hinchliffe on to the outside of the far post and behind. And, in the course of eight