Despite the disappointment and frustration of the weekend, County will have the opportunity on Tuesday night to extend our lead at the top of League Two as we make the long journey down to Gillingham.
County’s 4-0 loss at Tranmere Rovers on Saturday was our heaviest defeat under manager Dave Challinor, and leaves us with three wins from our last nine games in League Two.
That result opened the door for Mansfield to overtake us at the top of the table, but the Stags lost 2-1 away at Walsall, meaning we retain our one point lead at the top. We’re now three points clear of Wrexham, who have a game in hand, and three clear of Crewe in fourth, who have played a game more.
Only three of the top seven are in action on Tuesday night, with Wrexham travelling to MK Dons elsewhere, meaning a victory on the road would see us open up a gap over both second and fourth place as we look to get back on track in the race for League One.
Opponents Gillingham, meanwhile, will be looking for three points that could take them back into the play-off places. The Gills were beaten 1-0 away at Newport County on Saturday, leaving them in 11th, but only a point off the top seven, with AFC Wimbledon the only other side above them in action.
Streaming:
This midweek fixture will be available for all supporters to stream over on Stockport County Live, featuring live commentary from Jon Keighren and Liam Richardson. Click here to purchase your video match passes today.
Since we last met:
You have to go back all the way to the opening day of the season for the reverse fixture between these two sides, as a late goal from substitute Robbie McKenzie earned a smash and grab victory on the road for the Gills.
The Kent side were amongst the early pace-setters in League Two under manager Neil Harris, winning their first four games of the campaign by a 1-0 scoreline to lead the way in August.
Although four defeats in seven had seen them drop out of the play-off places by October, there was still an element of surprise when the club moved to dismiss former Millwall boss Harris after 20 months in charge. They sat just one point shy of the automatic promotion places at the time.
It was clear to see where the problems lay for the side, however, with just nine goals from their opening 11 league games. To date those issues have yet to be resolved, as despite their promotion ambitions they remain the lowest scorers in League Two with just 31 goals scored in 32 games, and have the lowest goal-difference of any side outside of the bottom five (-8).
The search for Harris’ replacement took just short of a month, during which time the side won two and lost three in the league under interim manager Keith Millen. Eventually, the club moved to bring in former West Brom coach Stephen Clemence for his first managerial role, with former Rochdale boss Robbie Stockdale hired as his assistant.
The 45-year-old former Tottenham and Birmingham City midfielder had a difficult start to life in charge, managing just two wins and five goals in his first seven league games in charge, with a 2-0 defeat at home to Crawley Town on Boxing Day leaving them down in 14th place.
Things have improved somewhat since the turn of the new year though, and they come into this game having lost just twice in their last nine. They followed up that loss to Crawley with three straight wins against Sutton United, Colchester United and Accrington Stanley to put them firmly back in the play-off picture, whilst perhaps their best performance of the season came just a few weeks ago at play-off rivals Notts County, coming from behind to win 3-1 at Meadow Lane.
They have been active in the transfer market too in an attempt to solve their goalscoring issues. Attacking full-back Remeao Hutton has been brought in from Swindon, whilst three forwards have been signed on loan in Josh Walker, Jorge Cabezas Hurtado and Josh Andrews, joining from Burton Albion, Watford and Birmingham City respectively.
Match Stats:
- County will be looking to end a long 13-game winless run against Gillingham, stretching back to the opening day of the 2000/01 season. We have lost seven and drawn six of the encounters since that day.
- Despite that run, we still retain the historical advantage in this fixture – winning 15 of the previous 43 meetings to Gillingham’s 14.
- County have never lost three consecutive games under manager Dave Challinor.
