Dave Challinor hopes win at AFC Wimbledon starts Stockport’s season

Posted Sunday, September 10, 2023 by PA

Stockport manager Dave Challinor hopes his side’s comeback victory at AFC Wimbledon will help cure any lingering hangover from losing last season’s Sky Bet League Two play-off final.

The Hatters arrived at Plough Lane having won only one of their first six league games of the campaign and were forced to name two goalkeepers on their bench due to a long list of absentees.

Another setback looked to be on the way as they trailed at half-time to Josh Davison’s opener, but goals from Louie Barry and Will Collar in the second half gave them a much-needed boost and ended the Dons’ unbeaten start.

Challinor said: “We needed that as a group to get ourselves kickstarted.

“You keep taking shots below the belt in terms of mistakes, and things like that, and they can affect what happens, but they’ve shown an awful lot of character in the second half from what happened in the first half to go and get a massive three points.

“We have to use that as a bit of a springboard and hopefully we will do.

“You have to go to them lengths to win games of football.

“It was always going to be tough, there were always going to be frustrations and you’ve got a group there that are absolutely empty in terms going to the lengths they went to at the back end to see the game out.”

Wimbledon went ahead after 32 minutes when Davison managed to get free of his marker to turn in James Tilley’s corner.

But Stockport hit back five minutes into the second half when Isaac Olaofe drove into the Dons’ half before setting up Barry, who whipped a good finish into the bottom corner.

The comeback was complete in the 62nd minute when Barry got in behind down the left and his cut-back was thumped in first-time by Collar.

The win was almost snatched away from the Hatters in the ninth minute of stoppage time, however, when Tilley shot a big opportunity into the side netting.

Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson said: “I don’t think we were at our best today.

“My biggest frustration was that we probably weren’t brave enough with the ball today – we were too predictable, didn’t cause them enough problems.

“They’re a tough team to play against but I don’t think Stockport necessarily had to be at their best and they haven’t seen Wimbledon in the best light, so that’s the frustration.

“I thought it was good in the first half.

“They had a lot of the ball, but I don’t think they hurt us because our shape was really good and we had some really good moments where we countered, although we probably didn’t make the most of some of those.”