Train tickets bought for Saturday. ✔️

Ticket prices at Edgeley Park are £18 and I’m waiting to hear back from Stockport County if we can pay on the day. ❓

Had a response. Not pay on the day then.

I’ll be going into Manchester to meet up with Preston Shot 🍺 for some pre-match refreshments. These are essential when you’ve been on a train for the best part of five hours.

WHAT WILL THE WEATHER BE LIKE?

According to BBC Weather for the area, it’s looking mild for the time of year with cloud and light winds the order of the day.

So what will our chances be this time. I’m writing this before our match at Dover tomorrow evening. I find Dover a ridiculous place to reach from the south west coastline. But even if you lived in Brighton and train was your only option, you’d still have to go via London. 🤔

Not sure we’ll have the 226 turnout at Edgeley Park like we did for the 2-1 win but around 150 would be nice.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

In the football league there were two meetings in the 2010/11 season with Shots gaining a point in a 2-2 draw at Edgeley Park in September 2010 and winning 1-0 at home in mid-March 2011.

FULL-TIME: County 1 (Piggott, 75), Aldershot 2 (Panayiotou, 29; Santos, 33).
Attendance: 4,279 (226 away).

MORE RECENTLY…

The Hatters’ first home match on a Saturday afternoon in three weeks saw their four-match winning run in SK3 ended by the ‘Shots’ of Aldershot Town, whose two goals within four first-half minutes earned the points – rendering on-loan Joe Piggott’s sweet strike 15 minutes from time a mere consolation. The defeat was a second consecutive one for the Hatters, who, having also lost against Chorley seven days earlier, drop down a couple of places within the play-off positions into seventh. The first chance of note fell to the visitors – albeit by way of a header, rather than a ‘Shot’ – as a Connor Shields cross from the right, with just under five minutes played, was nodded downwards by Alex Fletcher and comfortably caught on the bounce by Ben Hinchliffe. As the half progressed, the Shots were the livelier side. And, just ahead of the half-hour mark, they took the lead, as Shields’ cross from the right was chested down by Harrison Panayiotou, whose right-footed half-volley on the turn flew past Hinchliffe and into the far corner. Four minutes later, the advantage was doubled, and the Hatters were left with a mountain to climb, after Alefe Santos fired home an unstoppable thunderbolt of a shot from distance. It could have been three, four, or even five, ahead of the break, but for Hinchliffe, who tipped over a well-struck effort by Ethan Chislett, before catching Kodi Lyons-Foster’s powerful header, and then parrying Palmer’s deflected header from a Santos shot – with County’s woodwork also then coming to the rescue, as Panayiotou struck the right post on the rebound. After resuming brightly, County suffered a further setback just ahead of the hour-mark, when captain Paul Turnbull limped off with a knee injury – to be replaced by Jackson. Piggott also entered the fray, and, within minutes of his introduction, went close to reducing the arrears with a long-range shot that Walker did well to parry around the right post. That effort by the substitute proved a taster of what as to follow, as Piggott latched on to Osborne’s pass from the left, before unleashing a curling shot from outside the area and into the top-right corner to give County a potential lifeline with a quarter of an hour left on the clock.

I found this online which I found amusing – very informative – on something called Soccer Punter. 🤣

Yes, Aldershot is in poor form alright, as was seen on Saturday in the water polo contest at the Rec.

But I believe in these players and the new management team and can only imagine that, though it may prove to be a slow burner, our side will improve to the possible dizzy heights of mid-table in what we know is a topsy-turvy league.

Our bench is showing new names of course though there are some who have returned like goalkeeper Callum Coulter so we should wish him well and hope that he gets the chance sometime to enhance his future on the pitch with some gametime.

We are desperately in need of a marksman of course and it pains me that we can’t get a Tshimanga or an Effiong in. I’m not swayed that even if we had the 💲for a Madden or a Mullin that that’s guaranteeing anything.

Anyway, for Saturday and to learn about what Stockport was, is and what places of interest there ARE, let’s revisit that video from Freda. 👍

EDGELEY PARK

Visiting supporters are situated on the railway end where up to 1,560 fans can be accommodated. This stand is open to the elements so remember your coat when you leave home. If a large following is expected or the weather is particularly bad then a further 800 seats can be made available in the popular side. The views are unobstructed from the railway end but the popular side has a number of supporting pillars which will almost certainly block your view of one of the goals.

Stadium Layout
Edgeley Park seating plan:

So which drinking establishments are the best for some beers before the game? I didn’t know if these are okay for away fans but I do know they come highly recommended because I’ve whisked these away from an article called The Stockport Pub Crawl which was in the Manchester Evening News. And I’ve hand-picked six of them out of curiosity.

THE HOPE

Home of Stockport’s award-winning Fool Hardy Ales, The Hope serves 11 cask ales as well as 12 draught Belgian beers, American ales, lagers and ciders. It also boasts the largest range of continental bottles of any pub in Stockport.

THE MAGNET

This friendly freehouse is everything a good boozer should be, with a superb selection of cask ales sourced from micro-breweries far and wide (including its own, Watt’s Brewing), an ever-changing keg beer selection and fridges stocked with bottles from all over the world – all well-kept, reasonably priced and served with a smile.

THE SIR ROBERT PEEL

This can be a busy pub on match days when Stockport County FC are at home. Large house that is popular with the lunchtime trade. A vault area complete with pool table and dart board is to the left as you enter. A central wall in the middle of the building divides the former two-room layout with the bar being over to the right wall of the main room. Wood flooring abounds and modern lighting is in place. 

THE CROWN

Tucked beneath the town’s famous viaduct, this 150-year-old freehouse is now the brewery tap for Stockport Brewing Company, launched by landlord Steve Alexander and colleague Andrew Leslie in 2014.

The bar boasts 13 handpumps featuring its own ales, including permanent fixture Stockporter, along with a changing array of guest beers. There are also regular live music nights and football on the telly.

THE RAILWAY

Across town, this Portwood pub is worth the walk, especially for cider fans, with a changing selection of scrumpy and perry alongside ales from the likes of Thornbridge, Outstanding, Pictish and Rossendale. There’s a wide selection of European bottled beers to choose from too.

BAKERS VAULTS

Another Robinson’s gem, this popular pub was reopened and revamped by former Coronation Street star Rupert Hill in 2014, along with business partners Jonny Booth and Jamie Langrish – who also operate Northern Quarter venues Gullivers and The Castle, the Eagle Inn in Salford and the Parlour in Chorlton together.

After a trendy but traditional makeover, it’s now thriving again with 10 real ales, gourmet hot dogs and burgers, a belting jukebox and regular live music pulling in the crowds.

So that’s it for now. Whoever is going and however you’re getting there have a safe journey and let’s hope the team can put on a positive display and that we will be travelling home reasonably happy.

COME ON YOU SHOTS! 🔴🔵