Dave Challinor talks up Stockport hat-trick hero Isaac Olaofe

Posted Sunday, September 24, 2023 by PA

Stockport boss Dave Challinor showered praise on hat-trick hero Isaac Olaofe after his side comprehensively thumped Wrexham 5-0.

Olaofe, signed from Millwall in January, bagged his first English Football League treble in front of a sold-out Edgeley Park.

Challinor said: “Tanto is still young to the Football League, and he took himself out of his comfort zone down south to join us in January.

“But he’s been great ever since. He’s worked hard, backed himself, and he’s got a really bright future in the game.

“He maybe still needs to sharpen up a little bit, but he’s got all the raw attributes and the pace and power you need to be a successful striker at this level and above.

“He was brilliant today, and this will give him the self-belief you need as a striker.

“I’m really pleased for him, because he’s a really nice kid who looks after his family, and he’s a popular member of the squad.”

County soared to their third straight win in breathtaking style.

Challinor added: “I’m most pleased that we’ve been able to back up our last two wins with a performance like this.

“It’s a bit of a statement win, and one we thoroughly deserved.

“Even at half-time I didn’t necessarily feel comfortable because situations can change in a milli-second, but we kept asking questions in the second half and we got our rewards.”

Two from Olaofe and Louie Barry’s sixth goal in six matches had the hosts in cruise control by half-time.

Olaofe headed home his third shortly after the restart, before substitute Paddy Madden wrapped up a huge win for the hosts.

Wrexham crashed spectacularly to a first away defeat of the season, and a first loss since the opening day.

Boss Phil Parkinson appeared unsurprisingly perplexed.

He said: “So many times we’ve given the ball away far too cheaply, and that’s very frustrating for us. We put ourselves under too much pressure too often, and Stockport have capitalised.

“The players have got to learn not to give the ball away in areas which the opposition can hurt us. We were sloppy throughout, and we’ve got to take our medicine tonight.

“It’s a bit baffling because we’ve done OK on the road so far this season, but credit to Stockport – they were a yard quicker and a yard sharper than us.

“Too many of our individual performances were well below par. We got ourselves into some good situations, but again, too often our decision-making wasn’t good enough.

“We broke into the final third often enough, but some of our delivery just wasn’t good enough, and this is the result. We’ve got to shake this off quickly, and go again.”