Richard Dryden says Aldershot emotions ‘high and low’ after Stockport draw

Posted Monday, December 04, 2023 by PA

Aldershot assistant manager Richard Dryden felt his side could have beaten Stockport as they held the League Two leaders 2-2 in the FA Cup second round.

A pulsating tie at the EBB Stadium means both teams will meet again at Edgeley Park to decide who will face West Brom in the third round.

With manager Tommy Widdrington prohibited from post-game media interviews due to a touchline ban, Dryden admitted the outcome left him both pleased and drained.

He said: “We’ve had every emotion you could possibly have. We played some great stuff at times.

“We could have won it, we could have lost it, so that’s where we are. We’ve got another game in the replay.

“You can’t expect a side of the quality of Stockport to roll over and have their tummies tickled.

“They showed the quality they’ve got and their manager changed a few things and got around us a little bit. So our emotions are high and low at the moment.”

Aldershot looked to cause another shock for a League Two side after their first-round demolition of Swindon, and took a 10-thminute lead when a Josh Stokes shot deflected into the net.

Sky Bet League Two leaders Stockport hit back two minutes later when Neill Byrne made his way past the home defence from the half-way line, and delivered an excellent strike from 25 yards.

The visitors came out strongly in the second half and took the lead a minute after the restart – Paddy Madden finishing off a move involving Macauley Southam-Hales and Nick Powell.

The hosts remained in the tie though, and responded in fine style after 67 minutes when Stokes finished off a devastating counter-attack from a Lorent Tolaj pass.

Stockport were almost victorious in injury time, when a Fraser Horsfall header hit the post, but both sides must play again in a game where a tie was a fair result.

County manager Dave Challinor felt the game was a classic case of a two-halved contest, but was content that his side remain in the draw.

He said: “We were disappointed with our first half. We were fortunate to be level at the break.

“In the second half, I’m much happier with the performance as it showed that when we take care – especially in the attacking half of the pitch – we should win the game with the chances we’ve created.

“That’s not taking anything away from Aldershot, they would have felt based on their first half performance they could have had more.

“We’ve not settled for the replay, but if you asked me before the game if I would rather be in the competition or out of it, I’m obviously going to say I want to be in.”