Dramatic winner gives Stockport first-leg lead
Stevenage 0 - 1 Stockport County
Ben Osborn's stoppage-time strike handed Stockport County a dramatic victory over Stevenage in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final.
Author | Mark Lee
Stadium | Stevenage FC Stadium
Osborn bundled home with the final touch of the contest after a costly lapse in concentration from Boro defender Carl Piergianni.
Piergianni had earlier squandered two headed opportunities that might have put the hosts in front.
Stockport had struggled to find a breakthrough for long periods but now head into Wednesday's second leg as favourites to reach the final.
Kyle Wootton, County's leading scorer but deployed as an emergency centre-back, nearly made an instant impact from an Ollie Norwood corner in the opening minute, though he could not steer his header on target.
Stockport's first clear opening fell to Adama Sidibeh, who burst forward on the counter-attack but overhit his pass to Louie Barry, denying the forward a clear run on goal.
At the other end, Jordan Roberts produced Stevenage's first effort on target, but his header lacked power and was comfortably gathered by Corey Addai.
Roberts tested Addai again just before half-time with a strike from the edge of the area. From the resulting corner, Roberts turned creator for Piergianni, whose free header drifted off target.
What happened in the second-half?
Dan Kemp threatened for Stevenage shortly after the restart, turning sharply into space before driving forward, but his effort rolled harmlessly wide.
Sidibeh nearly punished another mistake from Piergianni on the hour mark, stretching to meet a loose clearance but hooking his first-time attempt wide.
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Kemp and Roberts then combined well as the former surged clear, only to go down under pressure from Tayo Edun, who had initially surrendered possession. Appeals for a penalty were waved away.
Piergianni wasted another gilt-edged chance after 76 minutes, heading over from Phoenix Patterson's free-kick when left unmarked.
With the game seemingly drifting towards a stalemate, Benony Andresson dispossessed Piergianni but lost his footing at the crucial moment. Osborn reacted quickest to force home the winner and leave Stockport in control of the tie.
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