League One leaders Stockport County got their Bristol Street Motors Trophy campaign up and running with a comfortable 1-4 win over League Two side Accrington Stanley at the Wham Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Despite trailing early on to a tidy Ash Hunter finish, a quickfire double from the returning Jack Stretton set Dave Challinor’s side on their way to all three points in Group A of the Trophy, before a late Callum Camps header and a Louie Barry cracker sealed the victory.
With County’s next fixture now not coming until Saturday 14th September against Crawley Town in league action, boss Challinor went strong for the short journey to Lancashire, opting for six changes from the starting line-up in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Mansfield Town.
Ben Hinchliffe started in goal, whilst Jack Diamond, Odin Bailey and Tanto Olaofe all earned starting spots. Nick Powell returned for the first time this season, whilst Stretton featured for the first time in competitive action since the League Two play-off final at Wembley in May 2023.
The hosts, winless so far in the early days of their own campaign, took the lead inside the opening ten minutes, with forward Ash Hunter finding space on the County right to cut inside Tyler Onyango and clip smartly past a helpless Hinchliffe.
The game ebbed and flowed from there as The Hatters sought a response, which eventually came in quickfire fashion thanks to striker Stretton, who put County into a first-half lead inside a remarkable eighty-second spell.
Firstly, the former Derby County man lashed a stunning volley into the bottom corner of Billy Crellin’s goal from the edge of the area after a deflected Jack Diamond strike had landed kindly at his feet.
Then, just eighteen seconds after the restart, Odin Bailey snatched possession in the final third and squared for the same man to tap into the empty net and put the visitors in front.
The Hatters, having wrestled the lead, took the opportunity to make changes for the resumption of proceedings, with returning duo Powell and Stretton replaced by Callum Camps and in-form Kyle Wootton.
The second half largely passed without incident, with Will Collar also introduced on the hour mark as Challinor looked to top up minutes in the legs of his squad ahead of the trip to Crawley in eleven days’ time.
Camps drilled a half-volley over the crossbar as County sought a third goal to seal the points, before Will Collar’s square ball was intercepted to prevent a Kyle Wootton tap-in amid the away side’s best spell of the second half.
Despite the home side enjoying a fair amount of possession after the break, Ben Hinchliffe was rarely tested, and County soon had the points secured.
Aston Villa loanee Louie Barry was introduced in place of the busy Jayden Fevrier for the final ten minutes – and youngster Barry made an instant impact, racing down the left, chopping in onto his right and firing toward the far corner.
While that effort was parried by Stanley stopper Crellin, midfielder Camps was on hand to stoop and head into the empty net for a County third to ensure the group stage victory.
Things got better still for the visitors when that man Barry added a fourth with a trademark finish, curling into the far corner from the County left to give the travelling fans one last moment of celebration.
FULL TIME: Accrington Stanley 1-4 Stockport County
Goals: Stretton (33, 34), Camps (82), Barry (90+1).
County line-up (3-4-3): Hinchliffe; Onyango, Horsfall, Pye; Fevrier (Barry, 79), Powell (Camps, 46), Norwood, Diamond; Stretton (Wootton, 46), Olaofe (Collar, 60), Bailey.
Attendance: 791 (with 276 County fans).
Photographer: Mike Petch
