sport news Hatters confirm return to the Football League after 11-year exile trends now
It was around 4.15pm that Stockport County’s fans could really start to celebrate. That was the moment when Will Collar pounced on a loose ball to put them 2-0 up against Halifax, and on the way to ending an 11-year exile from the Football League.
Stockport had only needed a point from their final match of the season to secure the National League title, but nerves had frayed over the past month. Rivals Wrexham had hit form just as Dave Challinor’s men had stumbled. A run of four defeats in six games, culminating in a 3-0 defeat at the Racecourse Ground a week ago, had seen an 11-point lead shrink.
A midweek win over Torquay had eased the pressure; an early Paddy Madden goal against Halifax was just what was needed to ease some of the final-day jitters, before Collar finished the job.
Manager Dave Challinor lifts the league trophy - it is his sixth promotion as a manager
The Stockport County squad celebrate their promotion back to the Football League after 11 years away
For Challinor, it was a sixth non-league promotion in 12 seasons as a manager, spread across four clubs. This success must have brought immense satisfaction for a man who only took over in November with the club languishing outside the play-off places.
And as it turned out, the final day went just about as smoothly as it possibly could have done for Challinor. Madden, signed from League One Fleetwood last summer, struck in the 10th minute when he took on Collar’s pass and drove his 25th goal of the season low into the net. The home support, boisterous at
