Shaun Maloney delivers verdict on goalless draw against Stockport County with first half frustrations

Sam Tickle celebrated his latest England Under-21s call-up with his sixth consecutive clean sheet, having to be at his best in the second half to deny Louie Barry.

In a game of two halves, first-team manager Shaun Maloney admits it was the first 45 that left him feeling frustrated, with his side unable to convert their possession into chances.

Thelo Aasgaard had the ball in the back of the net in the closing exchanges of the first half, only to see his effort disallowed due to a handball decision.

Meanwhile, having scored twice in the midweek win over Peterborough United, Dale Taylor saw his strong effort blocked by Stockport’s Corey Addai earlier in the game.

“Frustrated with the first half, and then probably just pleased with the way we defended our box in the second,” Maloney said.

“The first half, we were definitely more dominant in certain areas.

“We had a lot of possession in the middle of the pitch without getting more chances in the final third.

“And then in the second half, they changed their back three. We definitely had to defend the longer ball more, set plays again. The lads defensively have been fantastic.

“I just need the mentality to be a bit more aggressive when we are on top in games like this.”

In an ‘incredibly difficult’ schedule since the September international break, the Latics boss admitted he is pleased by his side’s form and their defensive efforts in recent weeks – with another break ahead for the league competition.

“I would have liked to have won today, same as Exeter. I think against Stevenage, we probably didn’t quite do enough to win,” Maloney continued.

“I’m very happy defensively. There’s definitely some games where we could have done more in terms of our attacking play.

“I can’t criticise the players too much. The schedule is incredibly difficult, we change the team almost every week. It doesn’t matter who we put in, the level of performance has been good.”