MATCHWATCH : Stockport County (h)

[Ark Royal]

Great win and had the same elated feeling leaving the stadium that I did after the 2-0 win against Wrexham last season - another game settled by a Wing thunderbastard.

Was sat in the Eamon Dolan right in line with Wing's shot and I cannot recall seeing a ball hit so hard - and it was moving all over the place. It seemed to explode in the net beyond the keeper and bounce back out while he was still in mid-dive. Thankfully he did not get a touch, otherwise he may have lost a couple of digits. Astonishing.

Praise also for the subs - Williams, Wifi, Fraser - who came on and did a great job in sealing the result. Was never worried, despite the eight additional minutes.

[6ft Kerplunk]

Yeah, agreed. It does feel like Wing enjoys his time at the club and the area but he'll be 31 at the end of the season and so far probably having his best season with us right now, he's probably at the point where he needs to have another crack at Championship level.

Not sure he'll get offers. Not saying he couldn't play in the Championship but clubs will look at his age and how he faired in his time at Middlesbrough and think he's not worth the gamble that you'd take with someone in their mid-20s.

[Hound]

That goal looks even better on the telly, hitting it like that from a virtual standing position with hardly any run up was phenomenal.
Wingy is sure to get interest during this window but it would be insane to listen to offers.
A pure and utter Reading football club legend during difficult times that are hopefully behind us now.

And a word for Liam Fraser, we look a much better outfit with him out there, not afraid to put his foot in, it can`t be a coincidence that we upped our game and pushed forward after he came on. play Savage further forward and let Fraser and Wing do the heavy lifting.

Not looking to diminish the impact of Fraser but the Stockport fans reckon they sat back and stopped attacking the moment they subbed Mothersille off.

Don’t agree they sat back- they were still getting forward fairly well

Difference was we actually had forwards on who were winning the ball and could hold it up

[tidus_mi2]

That goal looks even better on the telly, hitting it like that from a virtual standing position with hardly any run up was phenomenal.
Wingy is sure to get interest during this window but it would be insane to listen to offers.
A pure and utter Reading football club legend during difficult times that are hopefully behind us now.

And a word for Liam Fraser, we look a much better outfit with him out there, not afraid to put his foot in, it can`t be a coincidence that we upped our game and pushed forward after he came on. play Savage further forward and let Fraser and Wing do the heavy lifting.

Not looking to diminish the impact of Fraser but the Stockport fans reckon they sat back and stopped attacking the moment they subbed Mothersille off.

Don’t agree they sat back- they were still getting forward fairly well

Difference was we actually had forwards on who were winning the ball and could hold it up

They were definitely good when hitting us on the break, seemed less effective when they were doing their own build up.

[From Despair To Where?]

Not looking to diminish the impact of Fraser but the Stockport fans reckon they sat back and stopped attacking the moment they subbed Mothersille off.

Don’t agree they sat back- they were still getting forward fairly well

Difference was we actually had forwards on who were winning the ball and could hold it up

They were definitely good when hitting us on the break, seemed less effective when they were doing their own build up.

Yeah, I think their point was they lost their main outlet so were less direct and less effective going forward.

[Snowflake Royal]

I would have agreed that his performances are down and it feels like he's scored fewer bangers but ...

in league

42 - 10 - goal every 4.2 games
46 - 9 - goal every 5.1 games
24 - 8 - goal every 3 games

which is the exact opposite order to how I'd rate his seasons.

He played that first season further forward. and the second season transitioned to his current deeper role. That took him quite a while to get used to and he had a relatively barren run where up til February he scored about 6 in 36 (including 2 in one game against Cambridge), then he smashed in 5 in 14, which he's basically carried forward to this season.

I've said a few times I think people underestimate how much better it is for him on his wonder strikes to be ghosting deeper beyond the press so he can step up with a bit of space and smash in those loose or squared balls around the box, rather than being in the press and marked. Penalties have also helped him obviously... but then we didn't win any of those to score when Smith was here pissing off the referee.

[Brogue]

Reading vs Stockport — Post-Match Analysis

A deep dive into our performance against Stockport, breaking down:

Attacking Threat
Game Control & Match Shift
Defensive Resilience

Pretty competitive match, not much separating each side, let's analyse

Midfield battle for control

The 2nd-highest pass count of our season shows how evenly this one was played.

Vs Home Avg:

Passes +26.9% (+86)

Shots & SoT in line

Stockport +5 shots vs our home opp avg, but SoT control stayed contested.



Attacking Performance Overview

Stockport produced +34.5% more attacking output, but we were +47.4% more efficient.

Biggest gaps

Shot Accuracy +87.5%
Touches in Opp Box -71.4% (10 fewer touches)





Match Dominance: 52%
1H: 53% | 2H: 52%

Team Pressing: Mid
1H: Mid | 2H: Mid

Slightly more dominant but Stockport having a slightly higher share of Final-Third Passes kept this game even and back and forth.



Defensive Insight

Efficiency: 0.42 actions per opp attack

Stockport Threat: 0.37 box touches per final-⅓ pass

DRI: 1.13

Our defence showed resilience rather than dominance — absorbed pressure well and managed Stockport’s threat.

Key Takeaways

Control — Even Contest
Midfield battle throughout. Neither side fully imposed.

Attack — Efficiency > Volume
Stockport had +34.5% output, but we were +47.4% more efficient.

Defence — Resilient, Not Dominant
But absorbed pressure well