The sacrifice Dave Challinor must make at Stockport County; Man Utd player could be the answer
A host of defensive injuries since the turn of the new year could mean the County boss has a tough decision to make
Stockport County suffered a 3-1 defeat against Crewe Alexandra, highlighting defensive vulnerabilities.
Deploying full-backs as makeshift center-backs proved ineffective against Crewe’s set pieces.
Injury crisis in the backline requires a new defensive strategy, potentially switching to a back four or utilizing traditional defenders.
Stockport County fell to a 3-1 home defeat against Crewe Alexandra in their midweek League Two bout, in a game that saw full-backs deployed in central defensive areas to account for an injury crisis in the Hatters’ backline.
Edgeley Park will not be going into panic mode just yet, having retained their place at the summit of England’s fourth tier, still looking like promotion favourites this season and this being their first loss since a 2-0 defeat against Mansfield Town at home.
However, it was a bruising defeat for the Hatters, allowing third-placed Crewe to close the gap to just three points, with others around the top of the table also drawing closer to Dave Challinor’s side.
A cross and the failure to clear two set-pieces were the eventual undoing of the Hatters on the night, leading to some speculation that the path to greater defensive security lies on the County bench.
Improvised centre-backs were the undoing of County
Sticking to his favoured three-at-the-back formation, with wing-backs on either flank, Challinor had full-backs Lewis Cass and Ibou Touray on either side of traditional centre-back Fraser Horsfall, with Ethan Bristow and Connor Lemonheigh Evans dropping back for extra defensive cover out of possession, and bombing forward once it had been regained.
Though this is not the first time Challinor has deployed him in such a role, Touray in particular looks out of sorts when asked to carry out relentless defensive work as was required against the Railwaymen.
The 29-year-old won just three of his six aerial duels (50%), registering no headed clearances, compared to Horsfall who won 18 of his 22 aerial duels (82%) and registered eight headed clearances. Cass, who has played a mixture of centre-back and full-back under Challinor previously at Hartlepool United, had similar trouble to Touray, winning just two of his nine aerial battles (22%) and recording two headed clearances.
In a game that saw Crewe net three times, twice from County’s failure to clear adequately from set-pieces and once from a header on the end of the cross, it stands to reason that a more traditional defender may be better versed in the capabilities that were required on the night.
