On 3 August 2025 it all began.
On 24 May 2026 it will end.
Stockport kicked off their 2025-26 campaign with a 2-0 win at home against Bolton Wanderers.
And the same fixture brings the curtain down on each club’s campaigns as they contest the League One play-off final, with both vying for a spot in the Championship having had near misses with promotions in recent seasons.
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Bolton set up their place in that final by beating Bradford over two legs, but they have not overcome Stockport this season.
Following their opening day defeat at Edgeley Park, they were held to a 2-2 draw by Dave Challinor’s side at home last month, with the Hatters taking this season’s bragging rights into the trip to Wembley.
“Every time we’ve played them it’s close and always tight. They’ve got some good players but we’re looking forward to it,” Bolton boss Steven Schumacher told BBC Radio Manchester.
“We know what’s at stake and we have to be prepared as best we possibly can.”
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Xavier Simons, who scored the goal that clinched the second leg for Bolton on Thursday at Valley Parade, is less diplomatic about their prospects.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “We know when we’re at it, we are a very dangerous team, a team that can win games and that’s what we’re going to do.”
In 2019 Bolton were not just relegated out of the Championship, but their very existence looked in doubt.
A takeover went through later that summer but the damage of an interrupted season had already taken hold and a second successive relegation in a Covid-interrupted campaign followed.
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And then came the rebuild.
Ian Evatt led them back to the third tier and a pathway to the second could have followed in 2024, having narrowly missed out on automatic promotion to the Championship.
The League One play-off final beckoned and, off the back of an impressive campaign, perhaps they were destined to return to the second tier just five years after it had all gone wrong.
Bolton were, after all, a prolific play-off side, having twice won promotion to the Premier League via the nail biting end-of-season competition.
That day at Wembley two years ago felt like a step too far, however with a jaded Bolton looking off the pace. Opponents Oxford might not have been fancied before kick-off, but they controlled the game, scored twice, and earned their place in the Championship.
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Fast forward two years and Oxford are down and face a return to League One, but could Bolton pull off a reverse in fortunes and take their place? Simons’ finish at Valley Parade means that dream moves a step closer.
“I couldn’t think of anyone better to score the goal to take us to Wembley. It’s been tough in the second half of the season for Xav,” Schumacher added.
“He’s found himself sometimes out of starting XIs or matchday squads but he’s a model pro, he’s done absolutely everything properly all the time, every single day.
“For him to come on and score the goal and take us to Wembley, I’m delighted for him.”
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As for Simons, in his fledgling career, the 23-year-old has scored five goals in senior football.
But none more pressing than the one that sealed his side’s place under the Wembley arch.
“This is definitely up there as one of the most important goals so far,” Simons added.
“I’ve been unfortunate to miss out on quite a bit of game time. But i’ve stuck at it and stayed true to myself and trained properly every day.
“I’m here for the team, for this football club and not for myself. We set out a goal at the start of the season and we’re well on track.
“Nothing’s been given to me in football terms and I’ve had to work hard for everything. It’s nice for the rewards to pay off but the job’s not done yet.”
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