Cheadle Town 1-8 Stockport County

Shortly before the match, the official Cheadle Town FC Twitter account received a mention from a County fan informing us that we would be on the end of a heavy defeat...or that we would be, to use his vernacular, "pied".

He'll be pleased that his team didn't disappoint.

Nine goals shared, albeit the lion's portion - and then some - went the way of our close neighbours from the National League North as their chosen blend of youngsters and First XI fringe players ran riot.

An indication of the size of the task was evident early on. County pinged a shot inches wide of Danny Whiting's post with barely a minute on the clock with Danny then having to claw an awkward cross onto the crossbar moments later.

On the 16th minute they got their first of the evening when a ball across the face of goal wasn't cleared, finding the very useful Bohan Dixon on the edge of the area to drill home.

On the 25th minute they got their second. A "route one" ball was met by both County's Adam Thomas and our Danny Whiting, with the former winning the race, knocking it past Danny and tapping into an empty net.

Mr Thomas got his second of the match - and County's third - five minutes later. He was left unattended on the edge of the box following a corner and he belted home.

Remeece Brown curled a shot just wide on 35 minutes before an action-packed remaining three minutes of the half would see a further three goals.

Dixon got his second for County after he leathered home a cross to make it 0-4 before we got ourselves on the card straight from the restart; great work by Remeece Brown down the left saw him square it for Jake Ambrose who took his time and picked his spot.

From the restart, 1-5 to County. Yet again we left a player unattended on the edge of the box from a corner: Harry Brazel the benefactor this time around, stroking home into the far corner.

We had a great opportunity to reduce arrears in the opening moments of the second half but County's custodian Ian Ormson did well to tip Joe Shaw's header over the bar.

In the 50th minute County stretched their lead when Dixon bagged his hat-trick with a superb first-time finish from a whipped-in ball from the left.

Remeece Brown curled another effort just wide of a post once more and Danny Whiting made an excellent save to tip a fierce drive over the bar before County's substitute Jordan Peach came on and gave us more headaches, being instrumental in County's last two goals thanks to his pace.

His crosses from the right were swept home by Mssrs West and Czubik on 69 and 81 minutes respectively, shifting the scoreline from a heavy defeat to the "pie" canon.

Our chance to get a second came towards the end on a counter-attack. Neat footwork by Adam Gardiner put him in a decent position on the right of the box, with his clever backheel finding Liam Delaney who looked set to score. However, he took one touch too many, giving the County defence the chance to clear. 

Many, many thanks to all of the Stockport County fans who turned up on this chilly November Wednesday evening and boosted the gate to a healthy 410 and all the best for the rest of the season and the Cheshire Senior Cup.

For us, it's a chance to lick the wounds and look forward to league matters once more this weekend as a trip to Whitchurch Alport beckons. 

TEAM: Whiting, Dunn, C Sherrington, Trucca (Russell), Shaw, Harrison, Clarey, Wood, Ambrose (Gardiner), Whyatt, Brown (Delaney). SUBS: Gardiner, Brocklehurst, Russell, Delaney, Piggott (gk).