Dave Challinor warns in-form Stockport ‘there’s still a quarter of the season to go’

Posted Wednesday, February 22, 2023 by PA

Stockport boss Dave Challinor insisted there is still a lot of work to do in his side’s push for promotion after a 2-1 win at Rochdale.

Will Collar’s second-half double proved enough to win this Greater Manchester derby, with Toby Mullarkey’s late header setting up a nervy finish for the visitors.

The result moved the in-form Hatters to within a point of the automatic promotion places, but Challinor insists no one at the club is getting carried away.

“I was happy with large aspects of the performance,” he said. “We’ve got ourselves into a good place, but there’s still a quarter of the season to go.

“We’re on a run now where you potentially look at it and think ‘I wish it was the last fives games of the season’ because perhaps then there’s not time for others to catch up.

“We’re on a good run, we know there will be a amount of points that we need that potentially allows us to finish in certain positions and if it’s less than that then everyone’s a winner. But the more wins we can get, if we can keep chalking them off, then it’s one less towards our target.

“We need to keep putting pressure on the teams around us, there will be games when we face them head on but other games like tonight where it’s a chance to take advantage and we’ve done that, which is brilliant.”

Both sides hit the woodwork during the first half, Callum Camps striking a post with an 11th-minute effort and Devante Rodney smashing a shot against the crossbar for Dale.

The game turned in the 55th minute when Jimmy Keohane felled Myles Hippolyte in the penalty area and Collar stroked home the resulting spot-kick.

Collar was on target again three minutes later, latching onto Kyle Wootton’s flick and slamming a shot beneath Jake Eastwood.

Danny Lloyd crashed a shot against a post for the home side while his 85th-minute effort was well-saved by Ben Hinchliffe. From the resulting corner, Lloyd’s delivery was headed home by Mullarkey.

Dale boss Jim Bentley said: “I’m gutted. There wasn’t much in it in the first half and we were well in the game at half-time.

“The whole game hinges on one moment with the penalty – it might be a penalty, it might not.

“I believe the second goal was offside and these are the things that go against you. We’re not getting the rub of the green.

“We asked the players to come out and push and fight and battle and they did that and had a right go. On another night we might have got something from the game, but that seems to be the tale of our season.”