Stockport County 1 - 1 Birmingham City
A potentially important point for Stockport County?
Macauley Southam-Hales scored a dramatic 78th-minute equaliser to secure Stockport a 1-1 draw against Birmingham.
The visitors had taken an early lead when Alfie May curled in a stunning effort just five minutes into the game. Willum Willumsson set up the move, threading Taylor Gardner-Hickman through on goal. Though Ben Hinchcliffe made an initial save, the ball fell to May, who expertly found the bottom corner.
Birmingham had chances to extend their lead, particularly before half-time when a slip from Ethan Pye allowed Willumsson to lead a counter-attack. He played May through, but this time the forward fired straight at the Stockport goalkeeper.
The home side struggled to create clear-cut opportunities, especially in the first half, and it seemed they were heading for a New Year’s Day defeat. Jack Diamond squandered two chances early in the second half as County’s frustrations mounted.
However, the Hatters finally broke through with 12 minutes remaining. Ryan Rydel whipped in a cross to the back post, where Southam-Hales rose above the defence to nod home the equaliser.
Stockport came agonisingly close to a late winner. Southam-Hales saw a first-time strike crash off the post, and Kyle Wootton was denied in stoppage time. After intercepting a poor backpass and rounding goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, his goal-bound effort was brilliantly blocked by Christoph Klarer to rescue a point for Birmingham.
Despite their slow start, Stockport’s persistence paid off as they ended the match on a high, showing plenty of fight against the League One leaders.
Best reaction
Listen to the thoughts of the Stockport County manager in the video below. The footage is from Stockport’s YouTube account.
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