SPENNYMOOR UNITED 3, STOCKPORT COUNTY 0
Ask Stockport County fans to reveal a favourite player of recent years, who has never turned out for the club, and Glen Taylor’s name is likely to crop up more than many.
Even diehard Hatters will probably need only one hand to count the number of times they have seen him ply his trade – he played in each of the four National League meetings between County and Taylor’s Spennymoor between 2017 and 2019, but he holds a place in hearts in and around SK3, thanks to his Easter Monday goal six years ago, scored some 135 miles away from Edgeley Park.
Taylor’s late strike for the Moors at their Brewery Field that afternoon consigned the Hatters’ NLN championship-chasing rivals Chorley to a single-goal defeat enabling County to leapfrog the Magpies in the table before securing the title with victory at Nuneaton in the campaign’s next and final round of games five days later. The rest, as one might say, is history.
For his own club, which he captains, Taylor is a true Spennymoor legend. Over two spells at The Brewery Field, he has broken the club’s all-time record goal-scoring record; is fast approaching 400 appearances; has helped the Moors win promotion through two Norther Premier League divisions to become an established part of non-league’s second tier and, at the end of last season, led them out at Wembley for the FA Trophy Final.
A more-than-deserving subject for a testimonial, and rather fitting, too, that a young County side provided the friendly opposition backed by a healthy turnout of travelling Hatters who enjoyed the opportunity to support and thank Taylor in spite of an eventual three-goal triumph for the hosts.
Applause rang out around the unsegregated ground for the home skipper as both teams formed his guard of honour on a wet afternoon in County Durham with County naming a line-up that featured a mix of players from the club’s academy and trialists.
The first chance of the game fell to Taylor himself when, with eight minutes played, he latched on to Corey McKeown’s chip over the County defence and chested the ball down to shoot only to skew his effort wide of the right post from six yards out.
Ten minutes later, Taylor went close again meeting Junior Mondal’s cut-back from the right and seeing his shot deflected behind off a County trialist.
Shortly afterwards, his third attempt of the afternoon saw him head Matty Dolan’s right-sided cross past the near upright before a Mondal shot was parried at point-blank range by Max Metcalfe who had served a stint between the sticks with the hosts, on loan from Middlesbrough during 2022/23.
Metcalfe denied Mondal for a second time, tipping the effort around his left post, six minutes ahead of the break. And the County goalkeeper was also on hand to stop Rob Ramshaw’s subsequent shot on the turn, before the teams went in at half-time with the deadlock unbroken.
The rain continued to pour with the Moors beginning the second half as they had spent much of the first, creating the game’s chances of note. Substitute Cam Salkeld stung Metcalfe’s hands from distance and Ramshaw unleashed an even-longer-range effort that flew over the County crossbar.
The Hatters began to introduce a number of academy substitutes after the hour and one of them, Jacob Maher, soon executed a venomous shot that home keeper Brad James did well to stop.
But, with just under 20 minutes to go, the hosts finally got their noses in front as substitute Alfie Doherty cut in from the left before drilling a low shot into the far-bottom corner of County’s net.
Taylor, in the event, did not mark the occasion with a goal although received two further big hands on his big day after first being announced as player of the match and then, eight minutes from time, being replaced by Kingston Butler.
He was, however, able to witness from the home bench two further successes in the closing five minutes as new signing Mackenzie Heaney doubled the lead before Chima Okoligan fouled Butler who converted the consequential penalty.
But never mind the result, nor, indeed, the biblical weather, it was an afternoon to savour for all in attendance. And Taylor nicely rounded things off after the final whistle by thanking the end holding most of the travelling fans while wearing a County shirt.
Goals: Doherty (71), Heaney (85) and Butler (88 pen) for Spennymoor.
Stockport County (3-4-3): Metcalfe; Davis (Okoligan, 61), Trialist, Lawless; Trialist (Maylett, 78), S. Gardner (Rae, 65), Trialist (Maher, 65), Trialist; Trialist (Astles, 78), Allen (Kouam, 61), Trialist. Sub (unused): O’Shea.
Attendance: 757.
Report: Gareth Taylor.