Match Report


ALTRINCHAM (1) 2
FOREST GREEN ROVERS (0) 1

Nationwide Conference National Match
played on Saturday, 20 August, 2005 at 3.15p.m.


SPONSORS:

  • Match: The Patrons' Club 2005
  • Matchball: Perfect Apex
  • Programme: Tintagel Consultancy Ltd

    SUMMARY:

    Without ever playing as fluently as last Tuesday, Altrincham gained their first points of the season with this narrow victory. Alty went ahead after 21 minutes when Searle put through his own goal as he stretched to prevent Little's pass setting Williams free in the goalmouth (21 mins). Alty went two-up when Potts's header from a fine cross by Little from the right was brilliantly saved by Clarke, but he could not hold the ball and Potts bundled the rebound home (48 mins). For much of the second half, FGR were in the Alty half but their only goal came from the penalty spot after Owen was judged to have bundled over a player on the by-line. Wanless converted the spot kick (70 mins). But Alty held on to record their first win of the season. Steve Hawes was named Man of the Match. Alty are now 16th in the table.


    SCORERS

  • 21 mins: Damon SEARLE (own goal) (Altrincham 1 Forest Green Rovers 0)
  • 48 mins: Colin POTTS (Altrincham 2 Forest Green Rovers 0)
  • 70 mins: Paul WANLESS (penalty) (Altrincham 2 Forest Green Rovers 1)


    REFEREE: Mr. R.L. Lewis


    ATTENDANCE: 804
    BACKGROUND:

    Alty, without a goal or a point so far this season, were facing a Forest Green side which had yet to concede a goal after a draw and a win in its two matches. Though only saved for relegation last season by the demise of Northwich Victoria, FGR had gone full-time this season.

    Today's gate of 804 was disappointing after Tuesday's 1,264 but the distance from Nailsworth reduced the away contingent to a little over 60 in the away end plus a few more in the main stand. Segregation applied at the start but was relaxed at half-time.


    TEAM NEWS

    Alty were without the suspended Mark Maddox so Peter Band partnered acting captain Gary Talbot in central defence and Stephen Rose came into the starting line-up. Still missing, injured, were Karl Munroe, Gary Scott and Eddie Hussin but Gary Talbot overcame his injury doubts to lead the team. Rod Thornley was back from England duty but was named on the bench.

    Forest Green defenders Abdou Sall and Jon Beswetherwick both missed the game through suspension whilst strikers Mark Beesley and Ian Foster were out with knee injuries. Matt Gadsby was also missing after receiving a cut head on Tuesday. But manager Gary Owers had Scott Rogers back from injury and on the bench.


    LINE-UPS

    ALTRINCHAM: 1. Stuart COBURN, 12 Steve HAWES, 15. Peter BAND, 5. Gary TALBOT, 3. Chris ADAMS, 7. Colin POTTS, 21. Stephen ROSE, 8. Val OWEN, 14. Lewis CHALMERS, 19. Gary WILLIAMS, 9. Colin LITTLE. Subs: 10. Rod THORNLEY, 13. Richard ACTON (gk), 16. James OLSEN, 20. Kieran LUGSDEN, 25. Nehru McKENZIE.

    FOREST GREEN ROVERS: (White shirts, green shorts & socks): 1.Ryan CLARKE, 2. Sekani SIMPSON, 3. Damon SEARLE, 6. Jon RICHARDSON (capt.), 7. Paul WANLESS, 11. Bruno TEIXEIRA, 14. Adam GARNER, 16. Alex MEECHAN, 17. Luke GRAHAM, 23. Jamie GOSLING, 25. Scott RENDELL. Subs: 8. Scott ROGERS, 9. Zema ABBEY, 15. Darren DAVIES, 20. Ryan HARRISON (gk), 22. Lewis HALDENE.


    REPORT

    After a quarter of an hour's delay to the kick-off caused by congestion on M6, Alty kicked off in bright sunshine, attacking the Golf Road End. The Forest Green team had arrived around 2.30pm but spectators were given the additional time to arrive. Play got off to a fairly low key start with the first corner going to Altrincham through Potts's efforts (4 mins). But there was little goalmouth action in the opening stages as defences held the upper hand. Forest Green had yet to concede a goal and their back line was winning almost all the Alty balls sent forward in the air. At the other end, after a Coburn and Talbot mix up, a Forest Green player attempted to lob Coburn from about 35 yards but the ball cleared the bar (13 mins). Soon afterwards, an error from Talbot, losing the ball to an opponent, led to Forest Green's first corner. Alty manager Graham Heathcote was not pleased with this sloppiness as he watched from the directors' box. Next, Forest Green got in a shot, well wide of goal, as they began to edge the contest. But the Alty fans continued to make their support heard at the Golf Road End.

    A neat Alty moved was then put together which ended with Hawes's cross from the right skimming off Little's head and wide of goal (16 mins). This signalled an improvement for Alty as they went forward again, prompted by a fine, sliding tackle by Rose in central midfield. Then Owen, Rose and Hawes linked to win a corner off Richardson but Potts's low corner was cleared (19 mins). Following a foul on Owen by Richardson, thirty yards out, Potts's freekick found Little whose well judged pass forward for Williams appeared to be setting free the Alty no.19, somewhere just right of the penalty spot. But a stretching defender, Searle, managed to divert the ball to his keeper's right and it trundled just inside the post to give Alty the lead (21 mins). The bad luck which had cost Alty the game on Tuesday was now being repaid.

    Play continued in a fairly even fashion without any clear chances, though Talbot had to be smart to get in the way of a shot from Meechan. Alty replied with a good move on the right which ended with Little's clever, first-time pass to Williams but the former Accrington man's shot from right of goal went comfortably wide as it flashed across goal (30 mins). Forest Green then won a corner. Coburn caught this but Alty were still not keeping possession well. To add to their woes, when Little kicked the ball away after being caught offside, the referee booked him - his first yellow card in an Alty shirt after some 60 games (32 mins). A couple of long throws from Chalmers led to no threat on the FGR goal and passes from both sides continued to go astray. As half time approached Meechan's first-time lob cleared the Alty bar (40 mins). But then a cross from Potts form the right was just taken off Little's head by a defender's header before Val Owen received a lecture for a foul.

    The game stumbled towards half-time, with one minute's added time being announced. In that time Meechan shot over the bar from 22 yards, right of goal, before a stooping header from Garner actually put the ball in the Alty net, following Searle's freekick, but the offside flag ruled out the attempt (45+1 mins). Half-time came with Alty still ahead but with their lead not looking altogether secure.


    Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 1
    FOREST GREEN ROVERS 0

    At the interval, Nehru McKenzie replaced Chalmers on the Alty left (46 mins). Little soon impressed with a skilful gathering of a difficult ball but, after exchanging passes with Potts, he was tackled just as he was in the act of shooting from the edge of the box (47 mins). At the Alty end, Rose got in a fine challenge to win the ball but the resulting move broke down. Indeed, Coburn soon had to be alert to catch a cross from the Forest Green right. But Alty then doubled their lead when, from a freekick, Potts got the ball to Little in the right hand channel. Little broke behind the visitors' back line and was waved on by the linesman as the defenders claimed offside. Little's well struck cross from the right was met cleanly by a stooping header from Potts which keeper Clarke did superbly well to keep out as he scrambled across goal to his right. But he was unable to hold the ball and Potts bundled home the rebound (48 mins). The FGR management berated the officials for ruling Little onside.

    But Alty manager Graham Heathcote was also not a happy man as his team's performance continued to be let down by errors. The visitors now withdrew their Portuguese striker, Teixeira, who was formerly with the Leça club from the outskirts of Oporto. He was replaced by Zema Abbey up front (50 mins). But the game continued in a rather scrappy fashion with Richardson's header, wide, the nearest to goalmouth excitement (55 mins). The home side now found it difficult to clear their lines as Forest Green enjoyed a sustained period camped in the Alty half. But they lacked any incision as the Alty back line stood firm. Alty's best effort in the quarter of an hour or so after taking their 2-0 lead was a lob-shot from wide right, 35 yards out by Hawes, which caused the retreating Clarke some concern as it dipped onto the roof of his net (64 mins).

    Kieran Lugsden was now ready to come on but there was a sudden change of mind as Olsen replaced Rose in central midfield and Lugsden put on his track suit top once more (65 mins). After a Talbot misheader, Searle's cross caused Coburn problems as he got just one hand to the player's cross but Wanless lifted the loose ball over the bar (67 mins). At this point, Haldene replaced Gosling for FGR. Immediately, the new player was set free but Band made an excellent challenge on Haldene at the cost of a corner. With the visitors continuing to play most of the game in the Alty half, Owen went up with Haldene for a ball near the by-line to the right of Coburn's goal. The FGR player went down and the well placed referee awarded a penalty. He also booked Owen but made it clear with signals that he was doing so for a cumulative total of fouls and not this incident alone. So, Alty keeper Stuart Coburn faced his fourth penalty kick of the season, after the two awarded, (one retaken), at Stevenage last Saturday. This time he was sent the wrong way by Wanless's low shot to his left (70 mins).

    A minute after the re-start, Owen found Potts who was tripped on the edge of the opposition penalty "D". Potts's well directed free kick was curling into the keeper's top right corner, till Clarke bundled it over the bar for a corner. Clarke then punched Potts's corner away and play switched back to Coburn's goalmouth where he was glad to gather the ball after Abbey's first touch had let him down when he had got behind the Alty defence (74 mins). Then Hawes fed Williams at the 20/20 End but the latter's shot was well wide from 20 yards. Forest Green continued to have plenty of the ball, without seriously threatening a goal, before Lugsden replaced Williams up front for Alty (78 mins). Lugsden had been on the pitch for only a few seconds when a perceptive ball from Owen almost set him free but it ran to Clarke. Band continued to play well at the back for Alty and as the game entered its scheduled last ten minutes, Alty were nervously maintaining their lead. The home supporters' nerves were fully tested a minute later when FGR put the ball in the net after a neat move, but offide ruled out the goal- the fourth offside goal to be ruled out against Alty in matches so far this season.

    After a brief stoppage for Alty's stand-in physio to treat Kieran Lugsden's head, play continued and the young Alty striker was soon put into a promising position by Adams but his attenpted pass, to the right, for Little was cut out (84 mins). With Owen now at right back and Hawes in central midfield, Alty went forward and Lugsden won his team a corner on the left. Indeed, Alty had now seen off the threat of Forest Green and took control of the final minutes of the game, running the clock down with passing on the flanks rather than attempting to cross the ball and risk losing possession. As Steve Hawes was named a worthy Man of the Match, for which award Peter Band must also have been a contestant, the referee found a surprisingly long four minutes of added time.

    In added time, Talbot made an important tackle to stop Abbey but Alty got to the final whistle with their three points intact. Indeed, Alty now have three more points than they did at this stage when last in the Conference. One disappointing aspect was the gate; down by 49 on the last corresponding fixture, in December, 1999. Today's game was not a classic, as last Tuesday's match had been, but Alty will need to grind out results like this to cement their place in the Conference National. Now that they have a win under their belt, they will hopefully play with more confidence and assurance in future weeks.


    Full-Time: ALTRINCHAM 2
    FOREST GREEN ROVERS 1