Stockport County 3
Stevenage 0
League (League One)

Match report written by Neil Metcalfe, The Comet

Convention says when there's a game on Halloween you write headlines about frights and scares, when it's the Christmas period you talk about presents and joy and when it's April Fools Day, it's all about gags and jokes.

Stevenage's 3-0 loss at Stockport County was no laughing matter though.

They fell behind when Jayden Fevrier's effort deflected off Charlie Goode and wrong-footed Murphy Cooper in the first half and then Kyle Wootton and Jack Diamond finished the job off in the second period.

If you look at the final score then it looks like one of the worst defeats of the season but it truly wasn't.

There were a lot of positives to take from it but sometimes it just isn't your night, no matter what you try.

Dan Phillips, free of his two-match ban and international commitments, was back but only on the bench, replacing Harvey White.

And that was the only change to the match-day squad, the starting line-up the same as the one that began the defeat at Leyton Orient last week.

The first 10 minutes was the polar opposite of that evening at Brisbane Road. In fact if you could level any criticism, it was that Boro were too positive.

Almost everything was played forward, something everyone has been crying for more of. Even when it seemed the better option was to go back, the only thought was to go forward.

Eli King epitomised that while Louis Thompson was trying to drive forward with the ball as well.

There were little flicks from Jamie Reid and Dan Kemp too as the build-up play looked was hugely pleasing on the eye.

Here though there was a genuine criticism. Bar a shot from Louis Thompson driven high over the top, and another low effort blocked inside the box, there wasn't enough.

For all the intricacies, for all the good approach work, taking a gamble, taking a shot was not forthcoming.

And as if to prove what could happen when you do that, Stockport managed two shots all half and just one on target, the latter the one from Fevrier that opened the scoring.

He had the other one too, both times cutting in from the right, but that one flew over the top, although not by that much.

It all meant that there would have been tactical tweaks in the visiting dressing room at half-time but nothing drastic, maybe just a re-emphasising of the importance of shooting and being more dynamic in the final third.

What they couldn't afford to do was allow Stockport to come out flying. The home side had been no better than Boro but the last thing you wanted was a head of steam to open the second period.

Cue a chance inside the first 60 seconds that Stockport really should have scored from.

Kemp and Jordan Roberts got in each other's way and County went forward.

Wootton spun away from Carl Piergianni and his low cross should have been converted by Diamond but he stabbed it over the top from six yards.

County had nothing to worry about as they scored just a few minutes later. This time the low cross reached Wootton at the back post and he managed to bundle it over the line.

Just before that though Dan Butler had shot wide after he scurried round the half-cleared ball to hit it with his left foot.

And in the five minutes after the goal, Boro had three good chances.

Kemp fired the first low to the near post and Corey Addai shoved it behind and from the corner, with it dropping just over Piergianni, it caught Kemp by surprise and he could only head it down and then over.

Moments later though Thompson won another partly-cleared ball on the edge of the box and his driven effort looked to be on target, until it hit Reid's head and flew away from goal and behind.

That bit of bad luck may have been cancelled out shortly after as Tanto Olaofe nodded over from a few yards.

But a third would arrive and this was one Boro perhaps could have done better with.

Diamond was able to run into the box and although he was nudged off balance and stumbled his way forward, he was afforded the time to recover and score from eight yards.

And that was that. There were a couple of almost half-hearted efforts from Stevenage, none of which tested Addai, while Stockport only threatened sporadically.