Source: FOOTYMAD
Stockport County vs Aldershot Town
The Shots travel up to Edgeley Park this coming Saturday where they face Paul Simpson's Stockport County, kick off 3pm. The Shots tackle the first of two difficult away fixtures on Saturday afternoon when they travel north to Edgeley Park looking to gain the vital three points needed to change their fortunes. While the lack of firepower has been causing frustration both on and off the pitch, players and officials remain resolute that success is within touching distance, but although the defence have been keeping their end of the bargain, the pressure continues to mount on the attacking players to do their part and begin to convert some of their many chances into goals. "You can look at it two ways," defender Ben Herd [pictured above right] told the media this week. "We've only had one defeat, but we've only had one win too. "We have a lot of possession but we need to start putting the ball in the back of the net. We need to work the opposition keeper a lot more than we have been doing, and its not just down to the attacking players, we all need to do our bit too. "I'm sure it will come if we keep on persevering but something will have to give if we don't start winning games. It's not that anyone is playing badly, but we've got a very good squad here so if you're not producing the goods, then your place is going to be under threat - and that goes for everyone including the defence, Aaron [Morris] came in last week and did very well and won the Man of the Match award, so we've all got to keep on our toes." The Shots head into the match in fourteenth place with eight points from seven games while Stockport sit just two places higher in twelfth place with nine points from the same amount of fixtures. Shots team news While the performances are not yet causing The Shots management any concerns, the lack of chances being converted in to goals has been, and as both Kevin Dillon and Gary Owers have expressed their concerns this week following a lack of creativity in the 'final third', Dillon has admitted that he is considering changes ahead of this weekends League Two fixture against Stockport County. "We're not scoring enough goals and it blatantly obvious that we're not," he told The Shots Online on Thursday morning. "The system is good, it's solid and we can change it at the end, but we might change it at the beginning this week, I'm not sure, we'll have a look at things. "Spencie [Damian Spencer] has played in the Reserves this week with Wade Small and they looked very good as a pair and Marvin [Morgan] is not scoring goals. He's working hard, but he seems to be banging his head against a brick wall at the moment so there could be changes for Saturday - it's a game we need to win." Talking about the opposition, he continued: "We had them watched at Oxford and they are a solid team, he [Paul Simpson] seems to have got them well organised defensively and I think that's always the first thing you try to do when you go into a football club, try and get the defence solid as possible and that's something we've managed to achieve so far here. "I think we must have one of the best defensive records in the league, but I think Accrington are probably the best, they've had an amazing run and they're nicking goals as well and that's something that we need to do." Jack Randall is finally off the injury list and was named as an un-used substitute in Tuesday's 2-2 Reserve team draw against Gillingham, but isn't expected to feature as he is someway off match fitness. Darren Jones meanwhile, who missed last weekends draw against Wycombe and Jermaine McGlashan who picked up a knock for the reserves midweek are both expected to be available for selection. Shots from: Jamie Young, Ross Kitteridge, Ben Herd, Anthony Straker, Glen Little, Anthony Charles, Darren Jones, Jamie Vincent, Ben Harding, Luke Guttridge, John Halls, Danny Hylton, Marvin Morgan, Manny Panther, Jermaine McGlashan, Wade Small, Damian Spencer, Marlon Jackson, Jack Randall, Reece Connolly and Clayton Fortune. The opposition Stockports smash-and-grab win at Oxford last weekend goes to show the fine-line between success and failure in League Two this season as the Hatters have been tipped to struggle and although it's still relatively early days, manager Paul Simpson has seen his side pick up seven points from the last nine and has been happy with his sides work ethic. Like The Shots, Simpson has focused on building a solid defence for his side but its fortunes at the opposite end of the pitch that have proved to be the difference. On-loan striker George Donnolly has scored five of the clubs six goals so far and The Shots will have to work hard to keep him quiet, however despite the services of the Plymouth Argyle front-man, Simpson insists that credit is also due to his defence: "Keeping clean sheets and defending well has been a massive part of it," he told the Stockport Express this week. "We kept a clean sheet against Oxford and against Macclesfield and we were very disappointed with the goal we conceded against Bradford. "Matt Glennon has been fantastic in goal since he's come in - he's a talker and instils confidence in the players in front of him. He's very experienced and he's a calming influence on the rest of the players. Paul Turnbull has also done a fantastic job for us in front of the back four. "I expected it to be a bit of a struggle and at times I think it has been. But two more good results from the next two home games would make it a fantastic start to the season. If we do things the right way in those two games, there's no reason we can't." Despite their recent good form, the Hatters are still to win a home game having draw two [0-0 against Wycombe and 1-1 with Bradford as well as losing 0-4 against Shrewsbury] and Saturday is certain to be another tough test. County from: Owain Fon Williams, Matthew Glennon, Mark Lynch, Robbie Williams, Paul Turnbull, Danny Swales, Mansour Assoumani, James Vincent, Greg Tansey, George Donnolly, Adam Griffin, David Poole, Matty Mainwaring, Danny Pilkington, Andy Halls, Daniel Rowe, Tom Fisher, Jordan Rose, Jake Simpson, Craig Roberts, Ian Ormson and Jamie Proctor. You can visit the official Stockport County website here. Taking charge Eddie Ilderton will be taking charge of the match and he will be assisted by Kevin Heywood and Ricky Wootton. Paul Marsden is the fourth official. Weather forecast The BBC Weather forecast for the match is given as being sunny intervals with highs of 14°C. Ticket news Tickets for the match are set at: Adult seats: £16. Senior (Over 65s) seats: £11. Concession (16-22 year olds) seats: £8. Junior (Under 16's) seats: £3. There is no information on Family or Disabled ticket prices, please call Stockport County FC on 0161 429 7392 for details. The match is not all-ticket and supporters can pay on the turnstiles on the day. Other news Coach travel to Torquay United Supporters wishing to travel to the club's League Two fixture against Torquay United on Tuesday 28th September 2010, are reminded that they can book their place online by clicking here. Coach seat prices to the match are just £15 each. BBC Radio Surrey If you're unable to make the match, don't forget that you can listen to live commentary via BBC Radio Surrey on 104.6FM where Gavin Denison and Aldershot Town media manager Steve Gibbs will be bring you kick by kick action in their Midweek Sport Special which gets underway at 7.30pm. Supporters are reminded that there is NO internet coverage of the match.
