For Crystal Palace supporters of a certain vintage, any meeting with Stockport is bound to bring back fond memories of Dougie Freedman’s heroics in 2001. More than two decades on from his late goal that ensured Palace avoided relegation to the third tier on the final day of the season and having spent most of the intervening period travelling in different directions, only an early strike from Eberechi Eze could separate Dave Challinor’s side from their Premier League opponents.
Oliver Glasner was grateful that Palace’s stand-in goalkeeper Matt Turner – who stepped in after a sickness bug ruled out Dean Henderson – stood firm in the second half as Stockport sniffed the opportunity of an upset but could not take their chances.
“We had our moments but conceding an early goal was the worst thing that could have happened to us,” said Challinor, who was nonetheless proud of his side’s efforts. “If our players weren’t inspired by an occasion like this then I’d be worried.”
Freedman’s position as the current sporting director at Palace means there remains a strong connection to the famous victory at Edgeley Park nearly 25 years ago that proved to be a sliding doors moment for both clubs. While Palace have gone on to establish themselves as Premier League regulars since then, Stockport were relegated the following season after five years in the second tier and have had to work their way back from the depths of National League North.
Challinor has been a key part of their renaissance, with the former defender who once held the world record for the longest throw in football having guided them to two promotions since being appointed in 2021. He has made no secret of Stockport’s ambition to return to the Championship within three seasons and, with his side still handily placed just outside the playoff positions in League One despite four games without a win, may fancy their chances of achieving this sooner than that on the evidence of this display.
Glasner has said that he sees the Cup competitions as a real opportunity for a club of Palace’s stature and once again named a strong side, although Eddie Nketiah failed to impress up front in place of Jean-Philippe Mateta, who was one of several Palace players to have been affected by illness this week. Glasner later revealed that the absence of Trevoh Chalobah - who the Palace manager said beforehand would start - from the match day squad entirely was down to a “contractual issue”, with Chelsea thought to weighing up whether to recall the defender from his loan spell as they continue to be linked with a move for Palace captain, Marc Guéhi.
He said: “I know he wants and we want [him to stay]. But we still have 19 days in the transfer window so anything can happen. But I want him to stay and I know Marc wants to stay.”
Such was the demand for this game that Stockport had to request 500 more tickets for their travelling supporters, who were determined to make it a party atmosphere in spite of the cold weather. Not even Eze’s clever finish in the fourth minute could dampen their spirits, although Odin Bailey will not want to see a replay of his attempted clearance after he intercepted Daichi Kamada’s pass. The departure of Louie Barry – who scored 16 goals on loan from Aston Villa before returning last month due to injury – has been a major factor in Stockport’s loss of form but they came close to equalising when Isaac Olaofe picked out the captain Kyle Wootton but Guéhi did just enough to put him off. Palace struggled to break down an organised five-man defence after that despite enjoying almost 80% possession in the first half and had to wait until just before the break to come close to doubling their lead when an Eze cross almost set up Daniel Muñoz.
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Chris Richards, Guéhi and Nketiah missed chances with headers that would have given Palace some breathing space, before the England defender almost gifted Olaofe an equaliser with a loose pass and Turner had to come to his rescue. The Stockport striker felt hard done by when he went down in the area under pressure from Guéhi but the referee, Stuart Attwell, waved away his protests.
There was still a moment for the travelling fans to enjoy when Jefferson Lerma somehow missed an open goal late on. But their narrow win means Palace move into the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time since reaching the semi-finals in 2022.
