Stockport County 5 (Lowe 20, 24, Bailey 52, Astles 79, 83) Wolves 3 (Edozie 9, Mane 12, Okoduwa 57)
Wolves under-21s began their Vertu Trophy campaign on the wrong end of an eight-goal thriller against Stockport County, falling to defeat at Edgeley Park on Tuesday evening.
Early goals from both Tom Edozie and Mateus Mane put Wolves on the front foot, but a brace from Nathan Lowe saw Stockport draw level heading into the break.
The hosts then took their first lead shortly after half-time through Odin Bailey, only for Wes Okoduwa to restore parity from close range.
Despite Wolves coming close to regaining the lead, Stockport ultimately secured the points as Joe Astles struck twice late in the game.
Wolves started brightly as they found the net inside the opening 10 minutes. Ethan Sutherland catalysed the attack with an inviting through ball for Edozie to latch onto. The forward drove into the penalty area and, after gaining a yard on his marker, tucked the ball past Ben Hinchliffe at the near post.
The hosts came close to an instant response when Lewis Fiorini struck goalwards from the edge of the area. However, Josh Gracey was equal to it, keeping the ball out in his first test of the evening.
Just three minutes after the opener, Wolves doubled their advantage. Mane won possession in the final third, before driving into the opposition’s penalty area and firing a superb strike into the roof of the net, leaving Hinchliffe with no chance.
After growing increasingly confident in the contest, Stockport finally wrestled control and clawed their way back into the game. Fiorini slipped Lowe through on goal, who calmly finished into the bottom-right corner.
Maintaining the fast-paced tempo, Stockport found their second of the evening just four minutes later. Following a loose touch in the Wolves defence, Lowe was in the right place at the right time to finish into an unguarded net and draw his side level.
The momentum shifted again - this time in the visitor’s favour - as they created two chances to restore their advantage soon after being pegged back. First, Edozie’s inswinging corner was met by an unmarked Saheed Olagunju, but his effort flew narrowly wide of the mark.
Moments later, Temple Ojinnaka split Stockport's defence and sent Wes Okoduwa through on goal, but his effort was saved well by Hinchliffe in the hosts’ net.
Those two chances wrapped up an exciting half, though Wolves did have to remain resilient heading into the break as the hosts applied pressure inside the lengthy first-half stoppage time.
The hosts carried their momentum into the second period and fired in front within seven minutes of the restart. Che Gardner reached the by-line down the left flank and played a low cross towards the back post, where Bailey arrived to finish high into the net.
The proceedings remained lively and Wolves were not behind for long. Sutherland registered his second assist of the game, delivering an inviting cross into the penalty area, for Okoduwa to steer home.
After 70 minutes of fast-paced football, the game inevitably began to slow down, but it was reignited 10 minutes from time.
Wolves carved out another opening as Mane had an effort blocked inside the area, before the ball fell kindly to Okoduwa. He did well to guide a shot goalwards, but it crashed against the post, allowing Stockport to clear to safety.
The visitors were immediately punished as Stockport raced up the other end and regained the lead. Fiorini played substitute Astles clean through on goal, who neatly slotted past Gracey.
Moments later, Stockport extended their advantage when Astles netted his second of the evening. Marcus Kouam flicked on a goal-kick into Astles’ path, and the forward composed himself before deftly dinking the ball into the back of the net.
Ten minutes of second-half injury time elapsed, and despite three neat finishes from the Old Gold, Wolves ultimately could not come away with a point.
LINEUPS
Stockport | Hinchliffe, Dodgson (Edwards 46), Olowu, Lowe (Kouam 46), Mothersille (Mee 61), Fiorini, Bailey, Hills, Grogan (Watson 46), Allen, Gardner (Astles 76).
Unused subs | Metcalfe, Lawless.
Wolves | Gracey, Sutherland, Olagunju, Pond, Ojinnaka (Voice 64), Okoduwa, Rawlings, Bradbury (Angel 86), Mane (Ji 86), Edozie (Lopes 70), Holman (Barnett 63).
Unused subs | Dayman, Arnold.
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Written by Callum Greybanks
