Chorley 0-1 Stockport: Match Review
- 71st minute Danny Lloyd finish gives Stockport County their first win against Chorley since 1899.
Chorley, placed third in the league were looking ahead to their third win on the bounce. Whilst the visiting Stockport were coming off the back of a three-game winning streak, with two of the three victories coming against Manchester rivals Salford City.
Chances were few and far between in the opening quarter of an hour as both sides were looking to get settled. Chorley looked threatening down the right-hand side with full-back Matt Challoner looking to offer support to his frontmen. Chorley striker Sefton Gonzalez looked handy dropping short to receive the ball to feet but was deprived of support.
The lack of attacking options from midfield could be put down to Chorley's wariness of Stockport's countering capability. Especially the pace of Danny Lloyd down the left-hand side who managed to beat his man on a couple occasions before delivering a number of teasing crosses, unfortunately for Stockport no one was in the box to capitalise.
Despite the number of counters Stockport created, the stand-out chance of the first half fell to Chorley when a speculative low-driven shot was flicked narrowly over the crossbar by defender Scott Leather – right place, wrong man.
Early into the second half, Stockport aimed to make the most of the relative success they were having down the left-hand side by looking to get Lloyd isolated with the Chorley defenders. Getting in behind early on, the winger produced a low cross to Amis who struggled to get the ball out of his feet before firing over.
Much of the second half was bogged down in the midfield with neither team conjuring up any certain chances. With half an hour to go it felt as though the 2,464 in attendance at Victory Park were desperate for a goal to break the deadlock.
Chorley’s most promising pieces of football again came down the right-hand side with Challoner linking up well with Jason Walker. The Magpies failed to fill the box on a number of occasions, leaving Gonzalez on his own battling for loose balls against a robust Stockport centre-back pairing.
Similar to the first-half, Stockport looked a constant threat on the counter-attack and on the 71st minute they went ahead through Danny Lloyd. The winger, who notched a brace last time out against Bishop Auckland, latched onto a clearance from goalkeeper Hinchcliffe before shrugging off the chasing defender and slotting the ball past the onrushing Chorley stopper. A deserved goal for Lloyd who had been excellent down the left-hand side for the majority of the match.
Despite conceding, Chorley pressed on for an equaliser and almost found one late on when substitute Roscoe had his header clawed over the cross-bar by Ben Hinchcliffe. A couple of late corners would follow but would ultimately lead to nothing as Stockport held on for their first win against Chorley for 117 years – leaving the 892 travelling Hatters ecstatic.