Stockport ended Wrexham’s seven game unbeaten streak, Tranmere’s new manager bounce began with their second win of the season, and Grant McCann claimed his first ‘Manager of the Week’ accolade with a win over Gillingham. Round nine generated headlines few saw coming, which typifies the League Two 23-24 campaign so far, although Notts County are consistently (and quietly) smashing out wins as they continue their domination going into the milestone week ten. Ten games is often the notional barometer for establishing form, and starting to make more evidence-based predictions about final positions. That said, with Grant McCann’s Doncaster Rovers turning a corner this weekend with their win, we may yet see some significant reversals of fortunes as we head towards the quarter-point of the season.
‘Stick that in your documentary’
Former automatic promotion rivals Wrexham and Stockport County met at Edgeley Park for the first time since the Autumn of 2021, where The Hatters won 2-1, going on to finish as National League champions, with Wrexham’s play-off campaign ending against Grimsby Town in the semi-final. Talks of whether Stockport and Wrexham considered themselves to have a rivalry were frequent in the run-up to the game, and both Greater Manchester Police and North Wales Police were anticipating a busy afternoon. The atmosphere inside the historic Edgeley Park was electric, with Wrexham’s 800 travelling fans in good voice, and the Wrexham team starting strongly with a commanding first twenty-minutes before Stockport’s first goal from striker Tanto Olaofe scored against the run of play.
What followed has been described as ‘humbling’, with manager Phil Parkinson describing it to the BBC as “as bad a first half of football I can remember us playing“. He failed to make substitutions until late in the second half, when Oli Palmer and Steven Fletcher joined, and although Wrexham made a valiant push with ten-minutes to go, Stockport Club Captain Paddy Madden scored in the 90th-minute to make it 5-0, and goalkeeper of the week Ben Hinchliffe earned a well-deserved clean sheet.
From Zero to Hero
Meanwhile at Doncaster Rovers, manager Grant McCann’s future at the club has looked at risk since the beginning of the season, despite only taking charge at the end of last season, replacing Danny Schofield. He has been vocal in his frustrations about the team’s losses, and has asked for patience on more than one occasion. What McCann undoubtedly needed was time, both to stamp his presence on the club, and to allow Doncaster’s new signings to gel, and the tide started to turn with their first win of the season against Forest Green Rovers last weekend.
Gillingham were arguably not at their best, but clearly underestimated their opposition, and Ben Close in particular whose first goal took Donny ahead 12-minutes in, and his second securing the win in the last few minutes of regular time, after Conor Masterson equalised for Gillingham just before half time. Louis Jones, Doncaster’s keeper, was another notable performance, keeping Doncaster in the game. Grant McCann’s persistence has clearly paid off, with the result winning him the SkyBet League Two Manager of the Week accolade, joined by Ben Close in midfield. For game ten, Doncaster travel to Barrow on Saturday, who will be looking to get back to winning form after their 1-0 defeat to Mansfield this week.
The Tide Turns for Tranmere
With Nigel Adkins second run out as interim manager for Tranmere Rovers, and with one defeat to Crawley Town under his belt, Tranmere turned their fortunes around with a 2-0 win over Accrington Stanley to take them to six points, two clear of bottom placed Sutton United. Tranmere’s first goal came within the first fifteen minutes courtesy of a Josh Hawkes penalty awarded for Longelo’s 12th-minute handball. Stanley’s Baghuelou was sent off just before half time for a poor challenge on goalscorer Hawkes, who went on to score his second within five-minutes of the restart.
With rumours abound of incoming free agents to bolster Tranmere’s ranks, it’s clear that Nigel Adkins is committed to the challenge he’s been set. Regardless of how long he remains in charge, the work he’s undertaking is evidently reaping rewards, and will be looking to add to their tally away at AFC Wimbledon this weekend.