STOCKPORT COUNTY 3, CREWE ALEXANDRA 1
Stockport County’s Carabao Cup adventure got under way with a deserved victory at Edgeley Park against Crewe Alexandra.
In what was a third tie involving the Cheshire sides in the 65-year-old competition’s history, but their first meeting since 1967.
Kyle Wootton, with his third goal in three games, and Nathan Lowe, with his first for the Hatters, put County in the driving seat with early second-half headers. Lewis Fiorini then opened his scoring account with a third, before the League Two visitors netted a consolation late on.
The SK3 air was warm and humid as County took to the field for a slightly early Tuesday night kick-off at 7.30pm, showing five changes from the initial League One line-up at Wycombe three days earlier. Danny Andrew and Lowe were handed their first starts while Odin Bailey, Fiorini and Ben Hinchliffe also featured from the outset, replacing Corey Addai, Callum Camps and Jack Diamond, all of whom were named among the nine substitutes permitted for the Cup, as well as Owen Moxon and Joseph Olowu.
The team was led out by Hinchliffe, whose selection saw him don the gloves to play not only his first match of the campaign, but also his 400th competitive game as a Hatter, becoming the sixth in County’s history and the first goalkeeper to reach this appearance-milestone at the club.
The Alex, who, like County, could boast a 100 per-cent record after two games of their new league campaign, fashioned the evening’s first chance of note, when, five minutes in, Republic of Ireland Under-21 striker Adrien Thibaut’s shot cleared the Railway End crossbar.
Eleven minutes later, Callum Connolly’s right-sided cross found Wootton, whose header, by way of a first attempt for County, was tipped over by Sam Waller who was making his competitive Crewe debut on loan from Burnley.
The end-to-end fare continued as Stan Dancey blasted high and wide before Bailey, teed up on the right by Lowe, saw a shot deflected past the right post courtesy of Waller’s outstretched leg, and Connolly headed past the opposite upright from the resulting corner by skipper Ollie Norwood.
As the half-hour approached, Owen Dodgson fired over following a frenetic spell of pinball in the Crewe area and, seven minutes before the break, Bailey turned provider on the right to Lowe, who glanced his header narrowly shy of the far post.
Lowe went close again in the final minute of normal time, when his shot towards goal took a deflection off Charlie Finney and was turned around the right post by Waller.
Having finished the first half strongly, the Hatters converted their inaugural opportunity after the resumption to take a merited lead. Corey O’Keeffe’s cross from the right towards the far post was headed back across goal by Dodgson for Wootton to head home from close range.
And County’s advantage was then promptly doubled with another headed effort as Lowe rose to nod in Dodgson’s second assist in as many minutes.
Both teams made quadruple-substitutions around the hour-mark with County’s replacements including Jayden Fevrier, who was taking a slightly belated, but nonetheless welcome, seasonal bow following his recovery from injury.
Midway through the second half, Hinchliffe was called into meaningful action for the first time narrowing the angle successfully to put behind Emre Tezgel’s shot from the left. And a couple of minutes later, the County keeper dived to smother a low drive by substitute Tommi O’Reilly.
But the next attempt, more decisively, fell to County. After good work by Che Gardner on the left, Fiorini connected with the teenage substitute’s delivery and finished with aplomb as his shot flew in off the near post into the top corner to make it three.
Gardner featured equally admirably at the County end shortly afterwards to clear an O’Reilly shot off the line, although Hinchliffe’s landmark celebration was not to be blessed with a clean sheet as Tezgel headed past him with four minutes remaining after Lewis Billington had crossed from the left.
Waller’s hands were stung twice in quick succession by Jid Okeke and Fiorini, but the scorers were not troubled further during the closing stages leaving County, for the first time in three years, to progress to the second round.
Goals: Wootton (49), Lowe (51), Fiorini (76) for Stockport. Tezgel (86) for Crewe.
Stockport: Hinchliffe; Connolly, Pye, Andrew; O’Keeffe (Okeke 60), Fiorini, Norwood (Fevrier 60), Bailey, Dodgson (C Gardner, 60); Lowe (Allen 75), Wootton (Diamond 60). Subs (unused): Addai, Camps, Mee, Grogan.
Attendance: 4,945 (908 visitors).
Report: Gareth Evans.