Match Report

SUMMARY:

Altrincham went down to their biggest ever home defeat in the Conference despite a first half when such an outcome seemed unlikely. Whilst Dagenham were the better side overall the margin of defeat owed something to the decisions of referee Cummins (the man who sent off a player for tackling a streaker in the Cheshire Senior Cup a couple of seasons ago). After Owen had forced a magnificent save from keeper Roberts, Kandol headed the Daggers ahead after 36 minutes, following a throw on the visitors' left. Five minutes into the second half Mr Cummins gave the visitors a freekick in one of those situations where it is difficult to distinguish between backing in and a defender's foul. The decision went against Talbot and, from the laid-off free-kick, Moore fired home a low shot. But Mr Cummins's most controversial decision came after 57 minutes when Coburn came out of his box to field a mishit back-pass from Band and handled the ball. A freekick was awarded and with a clearly rolling ball, the Daggers quickly took it, leaving Coburn yards out of his goal. Kandol headed home Moore's resulting cross to make it 0-3. The stuffing had now been knocked out of Alty and when Coburn dropped the ball after seeming to be nudged by another player, Leberl made it 0-4 (69 mins). The fifth goal was the best of the day as Mackail-Smith turned past Talbot just inside the Alty half before advancing to fire a good shot past Coburn (81 mins). Alty won four corners in the last five minutes but the score remained 0-5.

SCORERS

REFEREE: Mr. S. Cummins

After losing their opening two games, seventh-placed Alty had gone four matches unbeaten before today and led Dagenham by a point in the league table. The Robins had also not conceded a goal in their last three matches. It was encouraging to see the injured Kieran Lugsden and Gary Scott taking part in the warm-up as they recover their fitness.

The grass had largely grown over the drainage slits at Moss Lane which had been the subject of complaint from a recent visiting team.

TEAM NEWS

Alty were unchanged from the eleven who started at Hereford last week but, on the bench, Chalmers, Melling and Hendley gave way to McKenzie, Munroe and Thornley. Munroe and Thornley had played 45 and 55 minutes respectively the previous night for the Reserves in their win at Barrow.

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts and red socks) : 1. Stuart COBURN, 21. Stephen ROSE, 15. Peter BAND, 5. Gary TALBOT (capt), 3. Chris ADAMS; 7. Colin POTTS, 8. Val OWEN, 12. Steve HAWES, 16, James OLSEN; 19. Gary WILLIAMS, 9. Colin LITTLE. Subs: 13. Richard ACTON (gk), 4. Mark MADDOX, 10. Rod THORNLEY, 17. Karl MUNROE, 25. Nehru McKENZIE.

DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE: (All blue): 1. Tony ROBERTS; 19. Danny FOSTER, 15. Anwar UDDIN, 5. Shane BLACKETT, 12. Scott GRIFFITHS; 10. Craig MACKAIL-SMITH, 4. Lee GOODWIN (capt), 6. Jake LEBERL, 8.Glen SOUTHAM; 9. Trésor KANDOL, 23. Chris MOORE.

REPORT

Swirling, light rain had started to fall as the game kicked off and it persisted for the whole game. Dagenham kicked off towards the Hale (20/20) End. However, as early as the second minute Alty had gone close when Potts whipped in a great ball from the right which found Williams, but his first touch saw the ball go for a goalkick. Then Potts won a freekick, 30 yards out, right-centre, which was taken by Hawes and put out by Goodwin for a corner to Alty. From Olsen's corner, Little’s shot was blocked (4 mins). But soon the visitors settled and enjoyed the better of the next few minutes with Kandol making an early impression which he sustained throughout the game as he played his first game since an absence through injury. He was winning a lot of aerial balls but also flicking them on intelligently and laying the ball off well.

It took a smart interception from Owen to see off the Daggers after they got past Rose and Potts and into the Alty box. But Alty had their own moments and from Adams’s throw, Williams ran intelligently to collect the ball but scuffed his shot from 20 yards well wide (7 mins). Alty went closer after 13 minutes when an interception by Hawes saw Adams find Williams on the left. Via Olsen, Williams got the ball back and his lay off allowed Adams to cross, where he found Olsen who in turn set up Adams for another cross from the left which came off a defender to Owen. Owen lashed a shot from his near pos position which Roberts did magnificently to keep out from close range and the ball was cleared for a corner. Alty now enjoyed some good pressure as the game passed the quarter of an hour stage.

Adams and Olsen soon combined well, again, on the Alty left and Williams too was making his presence felt as he chased down the ball. But referee Cummins now stopped the game to lecture Little, apparently for making a comment. Dagenham got back into the game with a corner (22 mins) but Alty were soon back at the other end forcing some desperate defending from the Daggers inside their own box as manager John Still, in the technical area, went berserk at his team. Dagenham nevertheless looked lively whenever the tall Kandol was near the ball but Alty soon threatened again when Potts's advance up the right ended with a cross which was only marginally too long for Little at the back post (28 mins). As the rain got a bit heavier, many of the travelling fans headed for the cover of the Popular Side and soon they saw a cross from Kandol find Mackail-Smith unmarked at the back post. Although he chested the ball down well, he then sliced his shot badly wide (32 mins).

The game's first goal came out of unlikely circumstances. An overhit pass aimed for Rose on the Alty right gave Dagenham a throw-in on their left, some 25 yards out. Alty failed to close down their opponents at the throw-in and allowed a cross from Southam to come in to the box from the left. Kandol rose, unmarked, to head the ball skillfully into the far corner of the net and give the visitors the lead (36 mins). Manager Heathcote was annoyed at his side for allowing the cross to come over. Dagenham now enjoyed supremacy as Alty appeared rocked by the goal. The Daggers won a corner soon afterwards as Alty started to make errors. However, half-time arrived with Alty trailing by the single goal having been unfortunate not to have scored themselves in the first period.

Alty started the second half in motion but were soon caught offside. Coburn then saw some early action as he punched the ball clear and it went to Leberl, but he screwed his shot very wide (46 mins). Another Alty attack ended in Williams being given offside, at which point Karl Munroe, injured in Alty's first game of the season, made his reappearance, replacing Rose at right-back (49 mins). Within seconds Talbot was penalised for a challenge on the front edge of the Alty box as he tried to contend with an attacker backing in on him. Manager Heathcote was not pleased with the award of a freekick and there was then a long delay as referee Cummins insisted on a full ten yards retreat by the wall. The freekick was eventually laid off to Moore, whose low shot beat Coburn to his left to make it 0-2 to the visitors (50 mins).

Alty's next effort came when Potts spotted an opening but his shot from 25 yards on the right was so wide that it just went out for a throw-in near the corner flag on the Dagger's left. Soon Potts was left hobbling when he emerged from making a challenge and appeared to damage his right leg, on or above the ankle. Though he hobbled on, he was clearly not OK. But things got worse for Alty as Band mishit a back pass to Coburn and forced the keeper to come out of his area, to the right of his goal. The keeper handled the ball outside the box and the home crowd anxiously waited to see if he would be dismissed. However, before any action could be taken, Dagenham took a quick free kick from left of goal with a clearly rolling ball and with Coburn some 15 yards out of goal. The ball came into the goalmouth from Moore and Kandol had an easy task of heading it into an unguarded net to the annoyance of the home side. The referee then showed Coburn a yellow card, presumably for the handball rather than for any subsequent complaint at the goal. Whilst Alty could not argue at the away side seeking to take a quick free kick after an offence by the keeper, there was no doubt that the ball had not been stationary when the freekick was taken. So, feeling that they had been on the wrong end of two refereeing decisions in seven minutes, each of which had cost them a goal, Alty went through a lacklustre spell. Hawes fouled Kandol from behind and was booked (58 mins), but although, moments later, Kandol put the ball into the net well after an offside whistle, he escaped censure. Potts now hobbled off to be replaced by McKenzie on the Alty right (61 mins). Munroe was having a difficult time on the Alty right and from a foul that he conceded, Dagenham won a corner. However, Alty replied by winning a corner themselves soon after, from McKenzie's header (63 mins). Olsen aimed the corner to the near post where Band met the ball only to see Griffiths clear it off the line, winding himself in the process as Band’s shot struck his stomach (64 mins).

After 67 minutes Olsen was withdrawn in favour of Thornley as Alty attempted to retrieve something from the game. But, instead, they conceded a fourth soon afterwards when Moore's cross seemed to be safely in Coburn's hands until he collided with another player, either Talbot or an opponent, and dropped the ball, allowing Leberl to score a simple goal (69 mins). Alty kept going and a neat move took them to the other end only for Little's final cross to be overhit from the right. With Thornley now adding to Little and Williams’s efforts up front, Alty went forward but could not create an opening against an organised Daggers' defence. And the home side conceded a fifth goal when a ball up the middle saw Mackail-Smith turn smartly past Talbot just inside the Alty half and advance up the middle before blasting a fine shot past Coburn from right-centre from the edge of the box (81 mins). After the goal, the visitors won another corner , followed by a second, a few minutes later (85 mins). When, soon afterwards, Kandol threatened to emulate Mackail Smith and get up the middle past Talbot, the centre half flicked his leg back to trip the advancing Kandol. Talbot became the third Alty man to be cautioned and could not complain (86 mins). As Steve Hawes was named home Man of the Match and Kandol was adjudged the winner of the away players' award, Thornley fed Little, whose shot from right of goal was well saved (89 mins). Indeed, Alty finished strongly and won four corners in the last minute of normal time and the three added minutes. But the score remained 0-5 - Alty's heaviest defeat at home in a Conference match.

For much of the first half Alty had played well and a thrashing had not seemed on the cards. But the two goals at the start of the second half, both down to questionable refereeing decisions, were their undoing. Alty has been performing above expectations in recent weeks, taking on and beating full-time sides with their part-time, injury-hit squad. Today they were well beaten by a well organised side in which Kandol was outstanding but they must now put this reverse behind them and regroup for the visit to York next Saturday. Before then, there is a Cheshire Senior Cup match at Woodley which gives them a chance to restore their confidence though the opposition will not be a pushover and the challenge of playing on an artificial pitch may present a challenge in itself.