Stockport boss Dave Challinor cannot wait to get some of his injured players back after their hard-fought 3-1 win against Walsall.
The League Two leaders opened the scoring with Akil Wright’s fine strike in first-half stoppage time. And, though they were pegged back by Douglas James-Taylor’s header moments later, they dominated the second half and won thanks to Isaac Olaofe’s goal and a penalty from Paddy Madden late on.
Having ended their brief blip of three games without a win, Challinor admits he is desperate to see the treatment room start to empty.
“You look at where we are and we’ve lost one in 18 or 19 games,” he said. “So that’s still a really good run and we are where we are and we have to make sure we stay in the top places come the end of the season.
“The big thing we have this year is the experience of last season, what that felt like, and if we look at where we are we’re in a worse position than last year because we’ve got 10 players in the treatment room and we can’t wait to get those players back. Once we get them back we feel we’re in a really strong position.
“We knew it would be tough today and I thought in the first half we were a little bit edgy, a bit safe and we didn’t create a massive amount.
“But I think in the second half, after going through the trauma of scoring then conceding within a minute just before half-time, I thought we started the second half really well.
“We got ourselves in front and that gave us the impetus to go and win the game so it’s a brilliant three points, a big three points for us.”
Walsall head coach Mat Sadler refused to be too downbeat after the loss, insisting that only fine margins proved their undoing against the league leaders.
“Goals change football matches, don’t they?” he said.
“I think we were just on the other side of a couple of key moments in the game. A lot of the time those moments decide a game and I think that was two really good teams in this division.
“There was a spell in the first 20 minutes when we were working out their formation and how to go about affecting them and once we did that we felt really comfortable. Their first goal was against the run of play, and we obviously responded quickly.
“There were times when they showed what good footballers they are. But then we fall the other side of those key moments in the game. It was a fantastic goal for their first one. Those key moments were what won the game so it’s hard to be too disappointed.
“The set-play for their second was one we should do better on, and probably something we didn’t work on was their right back (Wright) putting in a hell of a strike from 25 yards for the first.
“That’s football sometimes, though. I’ve still got belief in the guys, in the group, I thought the supporters reaction shows what they saw in us; we came out on the wrong side today so we look forward to putting that right in the next one.”
Al-Ahli 1-2 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic double keeps Saudi champions perfect
Aleksandar Mitrovic proved to be the difference once again for Al-Hilal as the reigning Saudi Pro League champions beat Al-Ahli 2-1 on Saturday.
Al-Ahil went in front with 12 minutes played when Gabri Veiga was sent through on goal by Franck Kessie, with the Spaniard rounding Yassine Bounou to open the scoring at King Abdullah Sports City.
The hosts went close to doubling their advantage soon after, with Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney going close, before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic saw his effort cleared off the line at the other end.
But parity was restored early in the second half through Al-Hilal's master marksman, as Mitrovic nodded home a trademark header from Renan Lodi's delivery.
Al-Ahil were then awarded a penalty when Rayan Hamed fouled Malcom inside the box, only for Mitrovic to see his effort saved by Abdulrahman Al Sanbi.
However, the Serbian was given the chance to redeem himself after the VAR deemed encroachment had taken place, and he made no mistake at the second time of asking to net his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.
Data Debrief: Mitrovic the main man
Mitrovic has been in fine form since his move to Saudi Arabia, with his latest double taking his tally to 54 goals in as many appearances for Al-Hilal.
This time out, he contributed 1.16 expected goals (xG) tally to the visitors' 2.24 total, while also recording the most touches in the opposition box (six).
Malcom also impressed for Al-Hilal, creating more chances (three) than anyone on the pitch, with his 14 passes into the final third a total only bettered by Ruben Neves (18) and Salem Al Dawsari (15) among his team-mates.
Al-Nassr 3-0 Al-Orubah: Mane double helps hosts close in on leaders
Sadio Mane scored a goal in either half, helping Al-Nassr cruise to a 3-0 win over Al-Orubah and close in on the top two in the Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo had given the hosts the lead from the spot, setting them on their way to a dominant victory.
After a slow start, Jean Seri was penalised for a handball, and Ronaldo made no mistake from the spot. After a stuttering run-up, he coolly slotted his strike into the bottom-left corner.
Mane got his first on the stroke of half-time, latching onto Ronaldo's pull-back before firing his low shot into the far side of the net.
He could have had a hat-trick, having also hit the woodwork and squandered a first-time shot by slicing it wide, but he did get his second in the 71st minute, guiding Nawaf Bu Washi's cross past Gaetan Coucke.
Cristian Tello came closest to a consolation for the visitors, smashing a long-range effort off the crossbar.
Data Debrief: Mane's time to shine
Mane, so far this season, has been providing the spark as a playmaker after registering five assists in Al-Nassr's first five games in the Saudi Pro League.
Today, however, he regained his scoring touch, getting his first two goals of the campaign.
He had the most shots (five), and shots on target (three), as he accumulated 0.97 expected goals (xG), while his seven touches in the box was the most of any player on the field.
Napoli 3-1 Como: Lukaku and McTominay on target to extend hosts' Serie A lead
Romelu Lukaku continued his fine start to life at Napoli as the Belgian notched a goal and two assists in his side's 3-1 win over Como on Friday.
The hosts found themselves ahead with just 26 seconds on the clock when Scott McTominay was picked out by Lukaku, with the Scotland international firing home his first goal for Gli Azzurri off the post.
But Como would draw themselves level two minutes before the break when Gabriel Strefezza's strike from distance rifled into the bottom corner.
However, Antonio Conte's side needed just eight minutes after the interval to restore their advantage when Sergi Roberto brought down Mathias Olivera in the box, with Lukaku stepping up from 12 yards to net his fourth Serie A goal of the season.
Napoli continued to push for a third goal to secure the victory, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia going closest but saw his effort saved by Emil Audero.
But the points were sealed in the 86th minute when Lukaku turned provider once again, holding off his marker before slipping through substitute David Neres who slotted home with a fine finish to extend Napoli's lead at the top of the standings to four points.
Data Debrief: Lukaku continues Conte love story
Lukaku has been a player reborn under Conte's stewardship. The Belgian is the player who has been involved in the most goals in his first five appearances for Napoli in Serie A since the Italian top-flight returned to 20 teams (since 2004/05) with three goals and four assists.
He has also managed to better his assist tally for the whole of last season, managing just three in 32 appearances for Roma last term.
McTominay's goal after 26 seconds is the third-fastest scored by Napoli since the start of a Serie A match in the three points for a win era, after Hirving Lozano's goal against Hellas Verona in 2021 (nine seconds) and Ezequiel Lavezzi's goal against Genoa in 2008 (25 seconds).
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