Turn five-star show into statement win
DAVE Challinor has challenged his Stockport County squad to ensure Saturday’s 5-0 demolition of MK Dons is looked back on as a statement win – by backing it up with more victories.
After a closely contested opening 20 minutes, the Hatters ran riot at Edgeley Park in the televised clash against the Dons. They scored three times in the first half through Callum Camps, Paddy Madden and Tanto Olaofe. Connor Evans struck home from long-range early in the second half before Neill Byrne netted a fifth in time added on.
With League Two leaders Mansfield having been held by Colchester earlier in the day, the result moved second-placed County to within two points of the Stags with a game in hand, meaning the destiny of the title is back in their hands.
However, Challinor insisted the only way the 5-0 triumph could be described as a ‘statement win’ would be if the Hatters follow it up with similar results.
“This will only be a statement win if we go and win the next four games. Is it a statement win if you lose the next two? No it’s not, it’s a win,” he said. “You have to go and make it a statement win and after 46 games reflect and say ‘yeah, that was a win that really gave us the kick and the boost we needed at the right point in time’.
“You’ve got to go and back that up now with four or five more feelings like that because if you can do that four or five more times, then you get the ultimate feeling of achieving something that we’ve worked so hard for over the course of the season.
“All we’ve done is increase the gap over MK Dons and put us in a stronger position, and probably put a little bit more pressure on them in terms of the results they’ve got to get in their last six.
“But from our perspective, it still remains the same – we’ve got games to win.”
County’s quest continues on Good Friday with the trip to the division’s basement club, Forest Green Rovers, before East Monday’s home game against AFC Wimbledon.
“Easter, notoriously, is a a big weekend in football and we go into it in a good place, hoping to go away and win and come back here and win,” said Challinor.
“Without doubt our our performances and our games here will be pivotal. We have three games left here (at Edgeley Park) against Wimbledon, Morecambe and Accrington, three games that we need to win and we’ve started that last four off with a brilliant out-of-possession performance but most importantly a brilliant result.
“People will suggest Forest Green is going to be an easy three points, but don’t think we’re in any way thinking that’s going to be the case.
“I listened to to Nigel (Clough) speaking earlier after the Mansfield game and this league is what it is, the bottom teams can beat the top teams and that’s what it what it looks like.
“We’ve got to play three teams away who will all be scrapping for their lives (Forest Green, Sutton United and Colchester United) but we’re scrapping for a prize that, from our perspective, is our lives as well.
“So three tough away games against those three teams with it all to play for. We have huge objectives in front of us just as they have in front of them.
“We’ve just got to make sure we perform and Saturday should give us comfort in the fact that, if we’re good off the ball and good out of possession, regardless of who we play against, we can create chances. We did that on Saturday and we were really efficient.
“If you look at our last five games – a win and four draws – our expected goals for versus our expected goals against was the highest it’s been all season across those five games.
“So we’ve not taken our chances and put teams away when we’ve had the opportunity to and we conceded some bad goals at the other end. That’s not a good recipe for winning football.
“Thankfully on Saturday our expected goals was just over two and we’ve scored five.
“If we can continue to do that for the rest of the season then I’m sure we’ll be in a really good place.”