EFL League Two: How Stockport saw off Stevenage’s struggles to claim fourth consecutive win – tactical analysis

If you have seen the EFL League Two table lately, you’ll know how close the race for the playoffs and automatic promotion is (apart from Leyton Orient who are 13 points clear atop of the league). In a league where anybody can beat anybody on any given day, there really is little room for teams to slip up, yet we still see it.

With the season climax drawing ever closer, now is the time when promotion hopefuls are really praying they can string a sequence of wins together to boost their chances, which is exactly what sixth-placed Stockport County have done. In their last fixture, Dave Challinor’s men beat second-place Stevenage in a 2-0 win to chalk up their fourth consecutive victory. Meanwhile, this result means that Stevenage are now without a win in four games.

In this tactical analysis, we will take a look at how Stockports tactics allowed them to collect three points and a clean sheet, taking advantage of an out-of-form side, with an analysis of their build-up in wide areas. This also features a brief analysis of Myles Hippolytes contributions to the game  the travelled winger came through the ranks at now-Premier League side Brentford but is enjoying life at Stockport. Finally, there will be an analysis of Stevenages struggle in attack as they failed to land a glove on the hosts.

Lineups

Hosts Stockport (who are marked red on the lineup visual, but actually wore blue in the game, by the way!) lined up in their regular 3-5-2, with an identical lineup to their previous fixture – a 2-1 win over Crawley Town. Kyle Wootton scored both goals in that tie and partnered with Isaac Olaofe in the attack. Will Collar, who netted the opening goal against Stevenage in the first half, operated on the left side of a midfield three, with Ryan Croasdale and Callum Camps joining him in the engine room.

County used their substitutes to good effect this time around, introducing Ryan Johnson and Ryan Rydel, with the latter scoring the second deep into injury time in the second half to kill any hope of a Stevenage equaliser.

Stevenage boss and former EFL Championship manager Steve Evans, who last month extended his contract until 2025, lined his side up in a 3-5-2, which often operated as a 5-3-2 out of possession, with a number of changes to the starting eleven from their 2-2 draw last time out against Newport County.  One of those changes came between the sticks, with Accrington Stanley loanee Toby Savin coming straight into the side, making his debut to replace injured first-choice keeper Jokull Andresson. Veteran Michael Bostwick returned to central defence after featuring in midfield previously – the midfield in this tie now consisted of Alex Gilby, Jake Caskey, and Jordan Roberts. Jamie Reid also came into the side, replacing Max Clark at left wing-back. In attack, Danny Rose joined Luke Norris, replacing recent signing Josh March.

How Stockport Utilised higher possession

Stockport registered a sizable 59% possession against Stevenage, but they aren’t always so dominant in that respect, with their game usually a lot closer when it comes to possession. While Stevenage are no strangers to surrendering the higher portion of ball time, it may have come as a surprise to County to have as much time as they did, as they seemed to be struggling for fresh ideas at times, particularly in the first half as that is when they had more possession. However, the times they were successful and provided a spark on the ball, it looked like it was executed under tactical instruction.