Stockport County: Bolton Wanderers turning point should never be forgotten - View | OneFootball

It represented a landmark moment in the Mark Stott era at Edgeley Park

Stockport County beating Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup in 2021 has already gone down in folklore at Edgeley Park.

But now, with the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that those two games represent a landmark moment in the club’s recent history.

Not just for the result, and the manner of the result, but for what beating opposition like Bolton meant, the players that were in to do it and the man in the dugout.

It was the start of a new era at Edgeley Park and those involved meant business.

With the two clubs meeting in the same division just a few years later, the memory of Stockport travelling to Bolton in search of a giant killing seems odd, but that is exactly how it was.

After a turbulent spell under former boss Simon Rusk, a new man was in the dugout — Dave Challinor — and it was some introduction for the new manager.

He spoke about the need to give the fans something to get behind, and he did that in abundance.

With the game at 2-2 heading into the break, a determined fight from the Hatters was required to take the game to a replay at Edgeley Park.

That is where real history was made.

Two down with just six minutes on the clock, it looked like a long night ahead for the Hatters, but nobody expected that would be thanks to extra-time.

Things didn’t look any brighter with half an hour gone, with Bolton 3-1 up, but that’s when the fightback began.

Goals from Scott Quigley and Ash Palmer gave the Hatters another half an hour and, remarkably, Quigley along with Ollie Crankshaw completed the comeback.

National League County had defeated League One Bolton in the most spectacular fashion, setting Challinor off on the best possible start.

Attracting top talent to Stockport

Also, key to the story around this time was the transfer of Antoni Sarcevic.

His transfer hailed a new dawn for Stockport County. They had attracted strong talent since Stott’s investment, but taking a League One captain — of Bolton, no less — while still in his 20s, into the National League, was a new level.

It was the sort of transfer that made Hatters wonder what might be possible with this new structure and investment in place.

The transfer itself made the victory over Bolton all the sweeter, with many Wanderers fans questioning his move before the tie.

Sarcevic was one of the first moves under Stott that made it clear County now operated in different markets.

Stockport's belief that they could better quality opposition

The result also instilled belief in County fans that they were, as a club, once again able to beat some of the biggest clubs in the English pyramid; clubs that were former Premier League sides.

In the years of facing Brackley Towns and Bradford Park Avenues, the Boltons of the world seemed an age away, all until that November night, under the floodlights at Edgeley Park.

The Hatters’ victory over Bolton in the FA Cup was a true coming-of-age moment for the Stott era. It will never be forgotten by the County fans who witnessed it.