Match Report


RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS (2) 3 ALTRINCHAM (0) 0

Nationwide Conference National Division
played on Saturday, 9 September 2006, at 3pm.


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    SUMMARY:

    Above: Rushden keeper Eyre tips an Alty corner out of play in the second half.

    Altrincham's poor away form continued at Rushden but not after they had more than matched Rushden for the first half an hour. But things started to go wrong after Bushell had limped off injured (29 mins). Three minutes later, Jackson was crucially judged not to be offside,as he looked to be, and he beat Coburn from close range (32 mins). Fewer than three minutes after that, Scott's clearance cannoned off Chillingworth's hand and body, play continued, and Jackson scored with a low shot from 15 yards (35 mins). Rushden had the better of the second half, all the more so after Owen was mysteriously shown a straight red card for something that most of the crowd did not see (75 mins). On a breakaway, Jackson completed his hat-trick from Berry's low cross from the right (87 mins). And to make things worse, Talbot limped through the closing stages to add to the growing injury list.

    Right: Val Owen is about to be sent off.


    SCORERS

  • 32 mins: Simeon JACKSON (Rushden & Diamonds 1 Altrincham 0)
  • 35 mins: Simeon JACKSON (Rushden & Diamonds 2 Altrincham 0)
  • 87 mins: Simeon JACKSON (Rushden & Diamonds 3 Altrincham 0)

    REFEREE: Mr. Chris Sarginson


    ATTENDANCE: 1,680 (incl. 92 in the Away End)
    BACKGROUND:

    Referee Sarginson is not a good omen for Altrincham - he was the referee last season when Alty arrived later than scheduled at Exeter after their coach had broken down and today Altrincham only arrived 25 minutes before kick-off due to closure of the M6 near Coventry.


    TEAM NEWS

    Alty were again without Peter Band and another defender, Steve Aspinall, was only fit to start on the bench. So, Scott started at right back and Peyton at left back whilst Munroe was Talbot's centre-back partner. Justin Bowler was also unfit so Kieran Lugsden came in on the bench, which included three strikers (Lugsden, Thornley and Hendley). Rushden included Michael Rankine who had not impressed in a trial game for Alty last season.


    LINE-UPS

    RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS (All red): 1. Nicky EYRE, 2. Glenn WILSON, 3. Paul WATSON, 4. Jon ASHTON, 5. Chris HOPE, 6. Wayne HATSWELL, 8. Michael RANKINE, 10. Daniel CHILLINGWORTH, 11. Marcus KELLY, 12. Simeon JACKSON, 18. Tom SHAW. Subs: 7. David SAVAGE, 9. Leo FORTUNE-WEST, 13. Daniel CRANE (gk), 15. Tyrone BERRY, 16. Greg PEARSON.

    ALTRINCHAM (Dark / pale blue shirts, pale blue socks and shorts.): 1. Stuart COBURN, 3. Gary SCOTT, 17. Karl MUNROE, 5. Gary TALBOT, 11. Warren PEYTON; 7. Robbie LAWTON, 14. Lewis CHALMERS, 8. Val OWEN, 6. Steve BUSHELL; 9. Colin LITTLE, 12. Joe O'NEILL. Subs: 2. Steve ASPINALL, 10. Rod THORNLEY, 19. Lee HENDLEY, 20. Stephen ROSE, 21. Kieran LUGSDEN.

    Altrincham substitutes:

  • 29 mins: Lee HENDLEY for Steve BUSHELL
  • 67 mins: Steve ASPINALL for Gary SCOTT
  • 76 mins: Rod THORNLEY for Joe O'NEILL

    REPORT

    In bright sunshine and to good vocal support from their travelling fans, Alty won an early freekick but, although nothing came of this, a foul on Chalmers soon gave them another freekick (5 mins). In the early stages Rushden were looking efficient rather than incisive until Rankine had their first real chance but he headed over after beating Talbot to a cross (9 mins). Munroe was then penalised when he was having his own shirt pulled. But Alty were doing well at this stage and, soon, had a plausible shout for a penalty when Chalmers went down in the box, with Little hitting the loose ball against a defender and lashing the rebound wide (12 mins).

    The referee missed a clear Rushden handball before Alty responded when O'Neill's shot hit a defender. Soon, Rankine again got the benefit of the referee's award of a freekick, despite holding Munroe in the process. The freekick, just outside the box, struck the defensive wall. Rushden's patient build-ups continued but Alty now won a freekick on the front edge of the home box when O'Neill was brought down. However, Peyton curled the freekick over the bar (18 mins). Soon afterwards O'Neill was brought down again, by Hatswell, but Bushell overhit the dead ball. At the other end, a fine Scott tackle saw off Jackson. But after Lawton had won the ball, O'Neill and Chalmers fed Little who tried to beat his man, rather than shoot, and lost possession (25 mins).

    After advancing on the left, Jackson got the better of Talbot but shot badly wide as the game continued under a warm sun. But Alty were now forced to make a change as Bushell limped off and Lee Hendley came on, prompting a reorganization as O'Neill dropped deeper and the teenager went up front with Little (29 mins). Alty immediately won a corner as Little's shot was blocked but Peyton overhit the flag-kick (30 mins). When Ashton fired narrowly over the bar, Jackson tried to con the referee by claiming that Coburn had tipped the ball over when he had clearly let it go. This caused the visiting fans to taunt the striker but he was to have the last laugh moments later when Rankine was involved in feeding Jackson and, as the Altrincham defence hesitated, expecting the whistle for what looked to be offside, the striker put the ball past an exposed Coburn (32 mins). Unlike Warren Peyton, booked recently for celebrating in front of his own fans, Jackson escaped any censure for rubbing in his goal in front of the Alty fans.

    If Alty felt hard done by the goal, it got worse a little more than two minutes later as Scott's clearance cannoned off Chillingworth, with a strong suspicion that his hands may have been involved as well as his body. But Alty lost concentration and allowed the ball to come to the unmarked Jackson who drove a low shot into the net from 15 yards (35 mins). So, from looking quite comfortable for the first half hour, Alty were now in a deep hole.

    Jackson annoyed Alty again as he went down easily under a challenge and then Ashton went down off the ball for treatment. Next, after Rankine had jumped at Munroe and come off worse, the referee surprisingly re-started the game with a bounce-up. Ashton now hobbled off, to be replaced by Savage (44 mins). Three minutes of added time did not affect the scoreline.


    Half-Time: RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS 2 ALTRINCHAM 0

    The second half began bizarrely as Chalmers made a long throw from the left across the front of his own penalty box, putting Scott under pressure but, though Jackson got free, he shot over the bar (46 mins). Some neat Alty play now saw Little and Hendley feed O'Neill, but he shot over the bar (48 mins). After Savage had shot very wide from 25 yards (50 mins), Rankine won Diamonds a corner. This was cleared but, soon, Jackson put in a low cross, across the face of goal (54 mins).

    When Hatswell passed back to Eyre, the keeper caught the ball near his goal-line but suffered no sanction. Another strange decision followed as Rankine barged Munroe into the advertising hoardings but play continued without interruption, leaving Munroe to have treatment off the pitch. But Alty were still making a fist of it as they won two successive corners. After these, Mr Sarginson again perplexed the crowd by, first, blowing his whistle for treatment to Scott, who lay injured in midfield and then restarting play with a Rushden corner which had been won after he had blown his whistle (64 mins).

    Gary Talbot became the first player to be booked in the game for a trip on Jackson (65 mins). Aspinall now came on for Scott, who had presumably not recovered from his earlier knock (67 mins). Soon, Little pulled a right foot shot wide but Rushden then won a corner after Coburn was jostled into losing the ball. Munroe was booked for protesting (70 mins). Next Berry replaced Chillingworth for Rushden (71 mins). As Rushden now applied some pressure, Owen challenged for a ball on the left touchline and to the surprise of most spectators referee Sarginson blew his whistle and produced a red card for Owen. Quite what Owen had done was unclear; no one had gone down injured (75 mins). Mr Sarginson was the man who dismissed Mark Maddox at Exeter last season.

    Thornley immediately came on for O'Neill (76 mins), following which Lawton fired just over the bar. But the lively Savage then went close at the other end. Fortune-West now replaced Rankine for Diamonds (79 mins). Diamonds now dominated the closing stages, switching the ball from wing to wing. Alty had to thank Fortune-West for wasting a chance after he had got behind Munroe (84 mins). Then Coburn had to make a great save to tip the ball over from Kelly's volley at the cost of a corner. But Alty then went to the other end and Aspinall, in a good position on the right edge of the box, was judged to have handled the ball when it ricocheted back at him off a defender’s challenge. Another Alty push forward saw Chalmers’s cross from the right fall easily to the keeper. However, Alty’s ten men had pushed so far forward and to the right that when Eyre cleared the ball to Wilson on the Rushden right, his side had plenty of space into which to advance. The full back set the pacey Berry running up the wing and his low cross was turned into the net in front of goal by Jackson, to record his hat-trick (87 mins). Again Alty were thankful to Fortune-West’s failings when Munroe dived in and missed the ball, but it fortunately ran to Coburn off the giant striker. Referee Sarginson proved unpredictable to the end, waving play on as Hendley was pushed two-handed to the ground in the final minute of normal time. Alty won a corner as the game entered the three minutes of added time but Little’s corner from the right was poor and curled into Eyre’s arms. Rushden also won a late corner but the score remained 3-0 as the final whistle sounded.

    Altrincham had more than matched Rushden for the first half hour in which the hosts had looked a very ordinary side. But buoyed by two goals in three minutes, Rushden improved and Alty created few chances to get back into the game. Whilst referee Sarginson produced a wide range of baffling decisions, it was defensive lapses which ultimately set the seal on defeat today, as well as a failure to get the better of a solid Rushden defence. And with the injury list growing by the day – Alty lost Bushell and Scott today and Talbot also limped off at the end – the team to face Halifax on Tuesday could show several new faces in the starting line-up.


    Full-Time: RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS 3 ALTRINCHAM 0