Darryl takes centre stage
Date published: 17 March 2010
COOL HEAD: Striker Pawel Abbott puts Athletic in front from the penalty spot.
Stockport 0, Athletic 1
Keeper in the spotlight again as Latics grind out vital win
THE ADAGE goes that a good goalkeeper is worth 12 points a season.
Pick apart three of Athletic’s last four matches and you can make a good argument for revising the tally upwards.
At Exeter, a last-gasp Dean Brill penalty save earned Dave Penney’s side a crucial draw.
Against Wycombe on Saturday, the same man’s error in letting a weak shot slip under his arms potentially cost Athletic the chance of victory.
And here at Stockport, Brill’s replacement Darryl Flahavan produced two brilliant first-half saves — the second, from a Johnny Mullins header, was as good a reaction stop as you will see all season — to keep bottom-of-the-table Stockport at bay.
Bundle that lot up and you could say that the performance or not of the man in football’s loneliest position has been responsible for six points, for and against, in those games alone.
Athletic huffed and puffed their way to three points on an Edgeley Park pitch that was nine parts sand to one part grass.
It was more suited to donkeys at Blackpool than professional footballers.
Flahavan’s heroics aside, there was precious little in the game to get excited about — except, of course, for another crucial win which gives Athletic a valuable seven-point cushion above the relegation zone.
The match was dog-ugly. Not that Penney will care much about that.
The one moment of excitement for the 971 travelling fans came after Stockport had squandered three excellent early chances.
New signing Lewis Guy, who looked lively and keen to get on the shoulder of the last defender to showcase his pace, anticipated Pawel Abbott’s flick-on from an innocuous-looking ball down the left touchline.
He reacted far quicker than leaden-footed County centre-back Danny Swailes, who clattered into the back of the on-loan Doncaster Rovers striker as he burst into the penalty area.
It was as obvious a red card-penalty, one-two combination as you will ever see.
And Abbott stepped up to squeeze the penalty past the grasp of goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams for the opening goal on 25 minutes.
After that? Well, almost nothing happened.
On a beach of a pitch, Athletic couldn’t get any sort of passing game going and despite the best efforts of the outstanding former Rochdale midfielder David Perkins, 10-man Stockport never really threatened the visitors’ goal.
Virtually all the action was packed into the game’s opening half-hour.
Athletic opened up making five changes in total, one of which was forced due to Dale Stephens picking up a groin injury.
Out went Dean Brill, Joe Jacobson, Danny Whitaker, Keigan Parker and Stephens, with Darryl Flahavan, Paul Black, Dean Furman, new signing Lewis Guy and Alex Marrow all starting at Edgeley Park.
Parker was not included on the bench, where young duo Tom Eaves and Kirk Millar kept their spots.
Stockport’s first glorious chance came on eight minutes. George Donnelly controlled and volleyed a pass which set striker Jabo Ibehre straight through the middle.
The big man entered the area and tried to side-foot the ball home but Flahavan rushed out to make a superb block.
Two minutes later, captain Johnny Mullins rose to meet David Poole’s corner with a powerful header that was cleared off the line by Sean Gregan.
Paul Huntington headed over when unmarked from Poole’s free-kick soon after that and the opening quarter-hour wasn’t up before Flahavan was called into action again.
Paul Turnbull floated a free-kick from deep into the area and Mullins met it with his head, only for Flahavan to instinctively raise an arm to send the ball spiralling into the air before collecting it at the second attempt.
It was a moment of brilliance from the on-loan Crystal Palace ‘keeper.
Then came the red card and Abbott’s penalty, which was almost followed by a second goal for Athletic when Chris Taylor’s lobbed effort with the outside of his right foot was saved by the fingertips of Williams.
Poole had a half-chance to equalise for County six minutes before half-time but he pulled his left-footed shot wide from just inside the area after Turnbull had fired a pass into his feet.
The second half was a turgid non-event.
The first chance for either side came after 73 minutes, Perkins winning a foot-race with Gregan to the byline.
His clever back-heel found lone front man Ibehre, who cut inside and hit a low shot to the near post that was comfortably gathered by Flahavan.
There was no doubt that Athletic were perfectly content to shut up shop and preserve the one-goal lead.
It wasn’t inspiring, but it was at least effective. The visitors’ first real effort on goal of the second half arrived in added time when Deane Smalley side-footed a bouncing ball towards goal, Williams holding on.
Latics’ next game: Saturday, Brighton (H), Coca-Cola League One
