Hatters secure final berth

1:00am Sunday 18th May 2008

Liam Dickinson's moment of early brilliance secured a 1-0 win for Stockport against Wycombe and sent the club into a Coca-Cola League Two play-off final against north-west rivals Rochdale at Wembley.

The 6ft 4in forward registered his 20th goal of the season in the seventh minute after Wycombe skipper Mike Williamson inexplicably allowed the ball to slip under his feet on the halfway line.

Dickinson, 22, showed blistering pace to race clear of the visiting defence and remarkable poise to slip the ball past goalkeeper Frank Fielding with a neat right-foot finish.

That put County 2-1 ahead on aggregate and settled a disappointing encounter in which genuine goalscoring opportunities were scarce.

Stockport will relish a derby clash against near neighbours Rochdale, who beat Darlington 5-4 on penalties earlier in the day, and in Dickinson they have a forward with the pace and skill to unlock the best defences in the division.

Signed from local non-league side Woodley Sports in 2005, the Salford-born striker has this season emerged as one of the most lethal marksmen in the bottom tier of the Football League.

His early goal encouraged hopes among the home support of a repeat of the last meeting between the sides at Edgeley Park in December, when Dickinson was on the scoresheet in a 6-0 home win.

Such a scoreline was never likely though, not with so much at stake and with Paul Lambert's men fighting for every ball as if their lives depended on it.

Last Sunday's first leg at Adams Park was characterised by a niggling undercurrent which saw five Wycombe and two Stockport players booked.

That ill feeling spilled over into this meeting, with both sets of players prepared to mix it, while Lambert exchanged angry words with Stockport counterpart Jim Gannon on the touchline.

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