County will be going in search of a fifth straight win on Tuesday at Colchester United, on a night that could see the Hatters secure automatic promotion to League One.
Paddy Madden’s first-half hat-trick at Sutton United on Saturday has put County on the brink of promotion, with a maximum of four points now required to secure a top-three finish in League Two.
A win at the Jobserve Community Stadium, coupled with defeat for Mansfield Town at home to Forest Green Rovers, would be enough, and see County up with four games to spare. In that scenario, both Mansfield and MK Dons would need to win all of their remaining games to overhaul County’s points tally of 83 – a feat that would not be possible, given the two are set to play each other on Saturday.
In truth, a win for County would all but secure a place in League Two regardless of the Mansfield result, barring an unlikely goal difference swing of 25 with MK Dons over the remaining four games of the campaign.
Dave Challinor’s side will also have one eye on securing the League Two title over the coming weeks, holding a four point lead at the top with a game in hand. A maximum of nine points from our remaining four games are required to secure a third league title in five years.
It won’t be easy for the Hatters on Tuesday night, however, as we come up against another side fighting for their life at the opposite end of the table. Colchester come into the game having pushed Wrexham all the way on Saturday before succumbing to a late defeat, just a third loss in 14 games under manager Danny Cowley. The Us are currently in the bottom two, one point adrift of Sutton but with three games in hand.
Other key games on Tuesday night:
- Mansfield Town v Forest Green Rovers
- Wrexham v Crawley Town
Streaming:
This midweek fixture will be available for all supporters to watch over on Stockport County Live, featuring live match audio commentary from Jon Keighren and Liam Richardson. Click here to purchase your video match passes today.
Since we last met:
League Two strugglers Colchester were already on their second manager of the season when coming to Edgeley Park back in November, with Matty Etherington having just been appointed on a permanent basis following an interim spell in charge.
Etherington had inherited a side sat in the relegation zone after nine defeats from their opening 13 games under former Swindon and Charlton boss Ben Garner, but three wins and a draw in his first four games had seen them climb away from the danger zone, earning him the job on a full-time basis.
A 2-0 defeat at Edgeley Park, however, was the beginning of a dismal run of eight losses from nine for the Us that saw Etherington also dismissed by New Year’s Day, leaving them one place and five points above the drop zone.
In a bid to avoid dropping into non-league for the first time since 1992, the club went for a high-profile appointment in former Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley. The 45-year-old first gained headlines when guiding Lincoln City to both the National League title and the Quarter-Final of the Emirates FA Cup, before going on to spells at Huddersfield Town in the Championship and Portsmouth in League One.
He has certainly made the Us more difficult to beat since going in to the JobServe Community Stadium, with Saturday just his third defeat from 14 games in charge.
The problem, however, is that he has only won two of the other 11, away at Morecambe and at home to Newport County, with a remarkable nine draws already – seven of them finishing 1-1. For context, prior to his appointment the side had drawn just twice all season.
They have shown plenty of resolve along the way too, coming from behind in six of those draws, whilst they recently claimed a deserved point away at Mansfield Town before pushing Wrexham all the way at the weekend.
Those points had looked to be dragging them slowly towards safety, but a recent resurgence from both Forest Green and Sutton has pulled them back into danger, with their EFL status now under real threat. Whilst they will take comfort from their games in hand still to play, they will know that wins will surely be required over the final few weeks to make sure of their place in League Two next season.
Match Stats:
- Only Notts County have scored more goals than County’s 82 in League Two this season. We also boast the best defensive record in the division, conceding just 41 times.
- With five games remaining, this is already County’s best goalscoring season in the EFL since our promotion-winning season under Danny Bergara in 1990/91 (84).
- County are just five points shy of our record points tally in the EFL, having picked up 85 during the 1993/94 season under Danny Bergara – finishing fourth in League One.
- After his hat-trick on Saturday, Paddy Madden pulled level with Alun Armstrong on 61 goals for the club. He is just four goals away from breaking into the top ten all-time County goalscorers.
