Match Report

SUMMARY:

Despite being on the back foot, Alty kept in the game till just before the interval when Adams conceded a corner, as he attempted to clear when facing his own goal. From Twiss's corner from the right, Bentley headed home at the back post, though Alty claimed there had been a push in the process (44 mins). Morecambe dominated the second half and again scored from a corner, when Carlton converted a low ball at the near post (62 mins). Alty never looked likely to get back into the game despite sending, first, Band and then Talbot up front.

SCORERS

REFEREE: Mr. I. NOLAN

Alty had never won at Christie Park in the Conference in three previous attempts, but they had won the fixture against Morecambe this season at Moss Lane.

TEAM NEWS

Chris Adams and Mark Maddox returned after injury and suspension but Val Owen remained sidelined by injury and Stephen Rose was also unfit to play. Alty adopted a new 4-1-4-1 formation, deploying Band in front of the back four and giving teenager Pat McFadden his first start, employed as a lone striker. Colin Little was out of the starting line-up for the first time this season after reporting a leg problem before the game.

MORECAMBE (Red shirts, white shorts and black socks): 30. Steven DRENCH, 5. Jim BENTLEY, 14. Chris BLACKBURN, 25. Ged BRANNAN, 4. Michael HOWARD, 11. Garry THOMPSON, 7. Michael TWISS, 28. Fraser McLACHLAN, 17. Garry HUNTER, 9. Wayne CURTIS, 15. Danny CARLTON.

SUBS: 1. Ryan ROBINSON, 3. Dave PERKINS, 10. Adriano RIGOGLIOSO, 12. Darran KEMPSON, 19. Stuart BARLOW.

MORECAMBE SUBS:

ALTRINCHAM (Pale blue shirts and socks, dark blue shorts) 1. Stuart COBURN, 11. Gary SCOTT, 4. Mark MADDOX, 5. Gary TALBOT, 3. Chris ADAMS; 15. Peter BAND; 7. Colin POTTS, 37. Ged MURPHY, 2. Steve ASPINALL, 12. Warren PEYTON; 28. Pat McFADDEN. Subs: 9. Colin LITTLE, 10. Rod THORNLEY, 14. Lewis CHALMERS, 17. Karl MUNROE, 18. Blake NORTON.

ALTY SUBS:

REPORT

Alty kicked off but seconds later Scott conceded the game's first freekick. Morecambe settled the better with Thompson looking dangerous on the Shrimps' right. Following a throw, in the right corner, the ball was flicked on to Hunter, who lifted the ball over the bar from just inside the box (7 mins). Then Scott had to head over his own bar to concede a corner. From this corner, Thompson volleyed over the bar (8 mins). Next, Coburn's goalkick was headed back, from inside the Morecambe half, setting Thompson free but his low cross from the right was well cut out by Maddox.

Up front for Alty, McFadden was a willing runner but had a thankless task against a solid home defence, however he soon won a freekick which Potts sent to the keeper. Adams then passed the ball back, straight to Brannan, and this led to Hunter's raking pass for Curtis but he was given offside. Morecambe nearly went ahead in bizarre fashion as Aspinall, facing his own goal, stretched to head a cross inches wide of Coburn's right post. Coburn caught the resulting corner, low down, at the second attempt (19 mins).

McFadden, Murphy and Peyton then got the ball to Adams but his cross was overhit. McFadden was soon fouled by Brannan to earn a freekick which Peyton curled across goal for a goalkick. But Morecambe were soon back and Talbot did well to head the ball out for a corner (22 mins). At the back post, Thompson nodded the corner-ball to Coburn. The home crowd briefly went quiet as Alty continued to frustrate the home side as the game passed the half-hour mark. Murphy was then booked after scything down McLachlan in the centre circle (33 mins). But Morecambe continued to be caught by the Alty offside trap as it looked as if the visitors might get to the interval on level terms, especially when Carlton fired well over from Brannan's pass (39 mins). Carlton then got free but blasted over from the edge of the box - but he was given offside anyway. With a minute left in the first half, Adams conceded an unnecessary corner as he faced his own goal. From the right, Twiss's corner was headed in by Bentley at the back post, as Alty's strong protests about a push went unheeded (44 mins). In added time, Morecambe won a corner but Twiss overhit this and half-time arrived with Alty trailing 0-1.

Morecambe kicked off the second half in bright sunshine. After 50 minutes a speculative effort from Aspinall, 22 yards out, wide right, just cleared the bar as Drench back-pedalled; this was Alty's best effort of the game so far (50 mins). After Maddox had sliced a clearance to Brannan, Adams tackled well, to clear the ball, but was penalised by a freekick. This let to a corner which Alty eventually cleared after the ball had pinged around their penalty area (52 mins). McFadden continued to chase long balls forward and did well to win a throw-in but this was cleared. It was not long before Mark Maddox picked up his ninth yellow card of the season for a foul, the referee returning to book him after he had allowed Morecambe an advantage until play had been halted by a foul by Adams. From the freekick, Alty caught Morecambe offside once more and then won a freekick themselves. But it was not long before Curtis went down under a challenge from Maddox just outside the box. The freekick, from a central position, went out off the wall for a corner. This was taken towards the near post, from where the ball was relayed with force across goal, Coburn making a superb reaction save to push the ball out of play for a Morecambe throw on the right. From this a Morecambe corner followed, won off Gary Talbot. And for the second time in the game, a corner proved costly as the ball came low to the near post where Carlton turned it past Coburn to make it 2-0 (62 mins). As the players went back to the centre to kick off, Coburn and Peyton had a prolonged exchange of views about the goal.

A couple of minutes later Lewis Chalmers came on for Aspinall, with Peyton now moving to centre-midfield as Chalmers occupied the left flank (65 mins). Peter Band was now pushed up front to assist McFadden. Soon Twiss went down under a Chalmers challenge in the Alty box but no penalty resulted as Alty continued to labour against a strong Morecambe side. Chalmers had a couple of long throws which came to nothing before Band aimed a shot at Drench, the first meaningful action for the Morecambe keeper for quite some time (70 mins). After Maddox had sliced a clearance up into the air, a Morecambe player hooked the ball towards the Alty goal but Scott did well to clear it off the line for a corner . At this point, Colin Little replaced McFadden up front (71 mins).

Thompson then accelerated past Talbot but fired well over the bar and moments later, a lay off by Carlton set up a shot for McLachlan which hit an Alty player and went out for a corner as the one-way traffic continued. From the corner, the ball was cleared to Curtis whose shot struck Maddox to win another corner. At this point Munroe came on for Adams at left-back (73 mins). Now Gary Talbot was playing up front with Little but Morecambe continued to press, only to get caught offside yet again. But they soon won another corner, which Chalmers cleared. At the other end a Chalmers throw came via Little and Murphy to Potts on the right but he struck a poor side-footed cross-cum-shot at the keeper (80 mins). Morecambe themselves also continued to be wasteful in front of goal as Thompson shot over the bar. A freekick from Potts was then met by a good leap by Chalmers but the ball was cleared. Morecambe were comfortably in control and eventually made their first change as Carlton was replaced by Stuart Barlow (88 mins). As the ninety minutes ended, Morecambe made a double change as Perkins and Rigoglioso replaced Howard and Twiss (90 mins). With three minutes of added time announced, McLachlan was announced as Man of the Match. There was time for Thompson to fire a 30-yarder narrowly over the bar before the final whistle came to leave Alty with just five points out of their last eleven games and still anxiously looking over their shoulders for Conference survival.

Alty was comfortably beaten today by a better side. At the final whistle it seemed longer than six days since the euphoric win at Dagenham.