Dave Challinor sees Stockport’s point from Crawley contest as ‘fortunate’

Posted Sunday, September 03, 2023 by PA

Stockport boss Dave Challinor admitted his side were ‘fortunate’ to earn a point following a 3-3 thriller against Crawley.

Isaac Olaofe rescued a share of the spoils for the hosts with his 89th minute leveller in this Sky Bet League Two contest.

“It’s really disappointing after the game was going so well,” said Challinor.

“When you get yourselves two up I would always fancy us to go and get the job done.

“They got a goal before half-time, though, and then in the second half it all went a bit flat.

“It’s up to us to go out there and rally the supporters but at times I was concerned about the body language.

“Some of the lads went into their shells a little bit, and that’s frustrating for a manager, but in the end we’ve got ourselves a fortunate point.”

Challinor later revealed that he remains firmly committed to Stockport, at the end of a week when he had been approached and then heavily linked with the vacant manager’s job at Charlton.

“I’ve nothing really to say,” added Challinor. “I’m the manager of Stockport County and I love my job.

“I’m well backed here, there’s an unbelievable infrastructure, and unless I’m told otherwise my sole focus all of this week coming will be on the Wimbledon game next Saturday.”

It was a cracking opening 45 minutes at sun-drenched Edgeley Park.

A long-range finish from Louie Barry and a sublime chip from early sub Antoni Sarcevic handed the hosts a 2-0 advantage.

Adam Campbell volleyed home to halve Crawley’s deficit before the interval.

By the 66-minute mark Crawley were 3-2 up thanks to strikes from Laurence Maguire and Danilo Orsi, but the last word went to Olaofe, whose late finish denied the visitors what would have been a hugely impressive win.

Crawley boss Scott Lindsey said: “It’s just disappointing that we didn’t see the game through to a victory.

“I was really pleased with the reaction from the lads.

“To come from two down and then go 3-2 up shows real character, but I trust the lads to do something like that.

“As I say, we’ve just got to see games like that through until the end, because their third was a killer blow.

“I can see my players digging in and determined to go that extra mile for the team.

“They’ve shown a great attitude, but they’ve got to show that throughout the season. We put all that hard work in, and then we’ve given it away at the end.

“We made it too easy for Stockport at times, and that’s disappointing.

“Having said all that, though, it’s important that we underline how proud we all are of how well we’ve done here.

“Stockport are a really strong side here – we all know that. It’s a good point, but it could have been three.”