Match Report

SUMMARY:

For the second time this season Altrincham were on the wrong end of some impressive football from a slick York City side who wrapped the game up in the first half. But it could have been different as Alty, again using Peter Band up front, made a good start and the City keeper Porter was fortunate to see his reaction save from a well hit 25 yarder by Peyton come back off the cross bar to safety. But after Donaldson had nodded York ahead from close range at the back stick from a cross from the right (24 mins), York asserted themselves and doubled their lead when Andy Bishop lashed in an excellent goal from wide right (34 mins). Then Aspinall's misheader allowed Donaldson to get behind the defence and curl a superb shot into the top corner to make it 3-0 to the visitors (40 mins). Altrincham kept going till the end but it was the large numbers of York fans who went home the happier as their side consolidated their claim to a play-off place whilst Alty contemplated their seventh game without a win.

SCORERS

REFEREE: Mr. A Hendley

Alty were looking for their first win in seven games, having taken just one point from their previous six matches. And the mood was not helped by the politicking which had seen Alty charged earlier this week with fielding an ineligible player, a consequence of Accrington's failure to get international clearance for James Robisnon, whom Alty signed from the league leaders.

TEAM NEWS

Mark Maddox was suspended, so Ged Murphy returned to the starting line up whilst manager Graham Heathcote again selected Peter Band up front rather than in his customary centre-back position. Karl Munroe moved to centre back with Scott at right back. Alty had five attacking players on the bench as Colin Little took over from Maddox as captain.

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts and red socks): 1. Stuart COBURN, 11. Gary SCOTT, 17. Karl MUNROE, 5. Gary TALBOT, 3. Chris ADAMS, 37. Ged MURPHY, 8. Val OWEN, 2. Steve ASPINALL, 12. Warren PEYTON, 15. Peter BAND, 9. Colin LITTLE. Subs: 7. Colin POTTS, 10. Rod THORNLEY, 18. Blake NORTON, 20. Kieran LUGSDEN, 28. Pat McFADDEN.

ALTY SUBS:

YORK CITY (Dark blue shirts, white shorts and dark blue socks): 1. Chris PORTER, 23. Stephen THOMAS, 5. Dave McGURK, 6. James DUDGEON, 3. Nathan PEAT, 7. Mark CONVERY, 8. Emmanuel PANTHER, 16. Neal BISHOP, 12. Darren DUNNING, 11. Andy BISHOP, 9. Clayton DONALDSON. Subs: 4. Mark HOTTE, 10. Joe O'NEILL, 14. Alex RHODES, 21. Nathan KAMARA, 25. Arran REID.

YORK SUBS:

REPORT

On a cold but dry night Alty kicked off to wards the large numbers of York fans in the 20/20 End, with Peter Band again the strike partner for Colin Little. Alty started well and, from an Adams throw, the ball came via Aspinall, Owen and Scott to Little who had no fewer than three successive shots blocked by a resolute York defence, the last effort gaining his side a corner. Though keeper Porter dropped Aspinall's corner, a defender hooked the ball away (3 mins). But Alty had a scare themselves when Murphy misheaded the ball behind him but then got a second chance to find Coburn with another header but underpowered this one and forced Coburn to rush out to force York's Andy Bishop wide, to the left of goal. From Bishop's resulting corner, Murphy's third header, this time a flying effort, ensured that the ball was cleared. As the game continued in a lively end to end fashion, Donaldson went down in the box under a challenge from Munroe but referee Hendley waved play on (10 mins).

As well as the lively Donaldson and Andy Bishop, midfielder Panther was looking impressive for the Minstermen. But Alty almost took the lead after 13 minutes when Band, Little and Owen got the ball to Peyton and from 25 yards his well-placed rising shot was marginally diverted by Porter's fingertips but the deflection did enough to send the ball against the underside of the bar from where it was hooked clear but a defender. When your luck is out, it is truly out. Graham Heathcote congratulated his team on their good start but York now began to put their game together and Coburn was forced to palm away an aerial ball from Dunning, the ball falling for Andy Bishop who slashed it well wide from the edge of the box. After a huge kick from Coburn had reached his opposite number, Alty attacked again with a fine ball from Scott finding Peyton but the move ended as Owen was dispossessed. As in our 5-0 reverse at KitKat Crescent this season, York were proving themselves one of the most attractive sides in the Conference with their movement and quick passing to feet. But when they went ahead after 24 minutes the goal will have disappointed the Alty defence. After Bishop had had a shot blocked from right of goal, the ball was crossed back from right by Convery to the left where Donaldson was unmarked at the back post and he had a simple task of nodding the ball into the net from a couple of yards out.

Colin Little soon fired in a shot at the other end which hit a defender and prompted appeals for handball which went unanswered.. Peter Band continued to work hard both up front and tracking back as he used his height to good effect. But when Aspinall's delayed clearance was charged down, the Alty midfielder was thankful to see the resulting York shot clear the bar. After Little had been caught offside, when in the clear, York continued to enjoy the better of the game and at one point it took four Alty players to close off Andy Bishop's advance to the right of goal. But the respite was brief, for Convery advanced and found the York striker on the right edge of the penalty area. From a seemingly unpromising position, Bishop unleashed a superb shot across Coburn and into the far corner of the net to make it 2-0 (34 mins).

Following the restart, Little and Scott combined to find Band but his hooked effort from inside the box drifted wide of the keeper’s right post (35 mins). Alty kept battling but York were in impressive form and they made it 3-0 in spectacular fashion a few minutes later. Aspinall misheaded the ball and it went back towards the Alty goal, allowing Donaldson to gain a yard on the defence. From outside the box, the York striker curled a superb shot into the top corner to Coburn's left. Despite the depression of going three-down, Alty fans could not fail to admit that it was a brilliant finish and they continued to support the home side throughout the 90 minutes. At least our fate in this match was being determined, fairly, on the pitch and not, as our season as a whole may be, by off-field machinations.

York continued to impress with their one-touch football on a surface made soft by the incessant rain of recent weeks. But Alty almost grabbed a goal in the two minutes of added time when Peyton’s freekick from the right found an Alty head, possibly Adams's, in a ruck of players in the York box but the ball was scrambled off the goal line as Alty's luck steadfastly refused to turn for the better.

No changes were made by either side at half-time and with York comfortably ahead, the second half was not to reach the heights of the first period. But it was to be a test of Alty's resolution as, potentially, a second five-goal defeat this season by York could have been the outcome. This time the Robins fought back well to restrict the score to three and pressed hard to get a goal or more for themselves. As early as the 51st minute a good cross from the right by Scott was headed off the line by Thomas as Peyton closed in to try and repeat the manner of York's first goal, with a header at the back post. Thomas conceded a corner to Alty in the process but saved a certain goal. A rare unsavoury moment in the evening came when Neal Bishop clearly dived when an Alty challenge made no contact at all and referee Hendley was not fooled but took no action. Soon Alty made a change, with Murphy giving way to Colin Potts on the Alty right (53 mins).

York keeper Porter then had to rush smartly out of the box to clear a through ball which Little was chasing. But York soon won a corner when Adams headed the ball out, not knowing that he could have turned and cleared the ball. York then survived appeals for handball from a backpass as Altrincham continued to work hard to get something out of the game. Play was allowed to continue after the ball had seemingly gone out of play and Alty were thankful to see the move end with Bishop shooting into Coburn's midriff. Alty now brought on teenage striker Pat McFadden in place of left-back Adams, so Warren Peyton moved to occupy Adams's defensive position (63 mins). Two minutes later O’Neill replaced Neal Bishop for York. But York again went close when a cross from the right by O'Neill, from the byline, found Donaldson at the back post but, whereas he had converted a similar chance for his side’s first goal, this time he headed narrowly wide (67 mins).

McFadden then won Alty a corner but Peyton's kick went to the keeper. Little was now playing on the left as Band and McFadden played further forward. Alty made their final change after 71 minutes when Kieran Lugsden came on for centre-back Gary Talbot and Peter Band reverted to his customary defensive role. Alty soon won a corner from Little's shot from a Scott feed. Scott, returning after injury, was getting back into his stride after a quiet game last Saturday on his return to the side. But then out of nothing, Scott was cautioned, presumably for a verbal offence (73 mins). York now won a corner and the young substitute Rhodes appeared in place of Convery (75 mins). The distinctive Rhodes appears to model his hairstyle on Diego Forlán, his dyed blond locks similarly held in place by a hair band.

York made their final change after 77 minutes when Kamara replaced Dunning. Potts and Lugsden now combined to win an Alty corner, which Porter caught from Aspinall's kick. Alty continued to keep going as Little and Peyton had successive shots blocked in the box by defenders (81 mins). Then, with Lugsden in a promising position on the edge of the box, the referee hauled play back for an Alty freekick and booked O'Neill in the process (84 mins). Porter punched Peyton's freekick clear when he could have caught the ball. As Donaldson and Little were announced as Men of the Match, (though Band would have been many people's choice), Alty won two late corners. The first came after lengthy treatment for Donaldson and the second came in the first of four added minutes when Peyton and Lugsden fed Little, who got past two defenders before forcing a good save from Porter (90+1 mins). The game ended on a low note as Rhodes advanced up the right and was pushed over by Band who was booked (90+3 mins). Following the freekick York won a corner which led to a York player nodding over the bar.

So Alty's winless run continued but against perhaps the most entertaining side in the Conference, defeat was far from a disgrace tonight. Hopefully Alty can regroup to gather the handful of points needed to secure Conference survival on the pitch, irrespective of the fate which ultimately awaits us in the wake of Accrington's failure to get international clearance for James Robinson.