VNL#40 - Stockport County 1 Daggers 1
''We've not seen anyone come here and do this to Simon Rusk's team all season'' - this was one of the many quotes from Stockport's impressive commentary team paying homage to our brilliant display tonight, which encapsulates exactly why there is so much pride within our fanbase. Though the two dropped points here, coupled with results elsewhere predictably going against us, make the play-offs a virtually impossible aspiration, there are foundations for next season. It has been an outstanding few weeks, albeit tinged somewhat by the frustration of us leaving it so late. Too late, as will ultimately transpire. However, when you consider the state of the club and it's performances as recently as a couple of months ago, our transformation since has been nothing short of incredible. The standards on the pitch are reminiscent of when McMahon first took over, generating hope that he has finally got it right. Lessons need to be learned from this campaign, which began in unforgivably poor fashion, and we will quite rightfully be made to pay for it now. You can't play well for one third of an eight-month calendar and expect to get away with it. However, performances like tonight leave hope that we can develop into a force at this level. That we've been hailed as the best side to visit Edgeley Park all season highlights the beginning of that process. To visit high-flying, in-form Stockport County and leave disappointed to have only accumulated a point really underlines how far we have come. Their form prior to the clash was outstanding for a sustained period but we went at them on the front foot and for large parts of the contest had them pinned in their own area. Had the referee been as diligent as our players were, we'd have been awarded at least one penalty. Add to that the Robinson crossbar chance and Saunders' agonising last-minute opportunity - there's a real case to be made that we could, possibly should, have won that game. It was a brilliant response to the claim that our form was deceptive and superficial because we played struggling teams. Though that is true, it became apparent tonight that we didn't win six in a row because our opponents weren't good, we won them because we are.
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May 2024
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