Match Report

REFEREE: Mr. M Brown

For the first time this season Altrincham fielded an unchanged side; indeed the bench was also unaltered from the win at Crawley last weekend. So Pat McFadden got his first ever home start at this level, on the left flank. Alty were still without the injured Stuart Coburn, Gareth Whalley and Steve Aspinall. Rushden had Nicholls in goal in place of the experienced Bastock, whilst former Alty trialist Michael Rankine started up front for the Diamonds. Alty came into the game on the back of two successive wins whilst Rushden had drawn six of their previous seven games.

BACKGROUND:

On an overcast afternoon, the attendance was disappointing but Manchester United had been at home five miles up the road at lunchtime and there was a live Rugby World Cup involving England on the television to clash with this fixture at Moss Lane. Diamonds' boss Garry Hill was on the touchline for the last time for a while after being given a 5-match ban for headbutting the Salisbury assistant manager recently.

LINE-UPS

ALTRINCHAM (red & white striped shirts, black shorts and red socks): 13. Richard ACTON; 15. Chris LANE, 5. Darren TINSON (capt), 16. Ryan SHOTTON, 3. Gary SCOTT; 7. Robbie LAWTON, 8. Val OWEN, 11. Warren PEYTON, 18. Pat McFADDEN; 9. Colin LITTLE, 19. Chris SENIOR. Subs: 4. Karl MUNROE, 6. Jake SEDGEMORE, 12. Joe O'NEILL, 17. Colin POTTS, 22. Carlos LOGAN.

Altrincham substitutes:

RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS (All yellow): 12. Paul NICHOLLS; 2. Curtis OSANO, 5. Chris HOPE (capt), 6. Wayne HATSWELL, 24. Dean HOWELL; 11. Andy BURGESS, 7. Jon CHALLINOR, 17. Martin FOSTER, 18. Marcus KELLY; 14. Michael RANKINE, 10. Simeon JACKSON. Subs: 1. Paul BASTOCK (gk), 4. Phil GULLIVER, 15. Lee TOMLIN, 16. Tom SHAW

Before kick-off there was a minute's silence for Bill Brocklehurst, a 91 year-old Altrincham supporter who until recently attended our games. When play started Altrincham kicked off towards the Golf Road with a group of youngsters from the 6th Altrincham Beavers cheering them on as guests of the Club. Inside 20 seconds of play Altrincham came within a whisker of taking the lead when Lawton did well on the right wing and his low cross went across the goalmouth, just out of reach of the incoming Pat McFadden in the centre of the pitch. Rushden and Altrincham then exchanged a number of probes of each other's defence which produced no clear openings for either side. But the home side were more than holding their own against their full-time opponents even if they were not creating any real threat of scoring. The defences continued to dominate until, following a freekick, a Tinson shot was deflected out for the game's first corner, taken on the right by McFadden. Though this was whipped in quickly it ended in the arms of keeper Nicholls (15 mins). For Rushden, the tall left-footed ex-Oxford man Burgess was looking dangerous. After Peyton had done well to head clear, Lawton won a freekick on the Alty right. But Peyton's deadball kick was overhit (17 mins).

Alty continued to do well as Little got past his man but he was blatantly fouled. However the freekick came to nothing. Shotton and Tinson were doing well to keep Rankine and Jackson under control, though at the other end a number of pushes on Senior went unnoticed by the referee. Kelly now got past Peyton but his shot from 20 yards deflected off Shotton for a corner, which was cleared (22 mins). Rushden now began to press more but the game was a little lacking in quality as it drifted towards the half hour mark. Burgess then cut in from the left but his dipping shot cleared the bar (32 mins). Scott was getting in some good tackles at left-back but Altrincham's next chance at the other end arrived after 34 minutes when a good, flicked header from Senior set up Little for a first-time shot which forced Nicholls to make a full-length save.

But it was the Diamonds who took the lead two minutes later when Jackson found Kelly and, via several passes, Rushden were allowed to advance up the left of the pitch via Foster, Howell, Kelly, and Challinor. The ball was then deflected across the goalmouth towards the net where Gary Scott seemed as if he would have time to clear the ball as it bounced towards the line. But, somehow, Rankine managed to poke the ball past him into the net for a goal that was disappointing from the point of view of the Alty defence (36 mins). Soon afterwards, Lane's cross from the right produced a weak punch from Nicholls but Owen's follow-up, from just outisde the box, cleared the roof at the Golf Road end (38 mins).

Little then won Alty a corner but the same player took it short and far too hastily and Rushden gained easy possession. They immediately went to the other end where Jackson forced a good save from Acton, low down (40 mins). McFadden then fired over from the left at the other end before a mis-pass from Lane put Tinson under pressure but he just managed to clear the ball. But the Alty defence was beginning to look a bit jittery. Indeed Alty had a close escape after 45 minutes when Kelly's long ball was only half cleared and Jackson missed the target badly. Moments later Acton had to make a fine save from Jackson but as the game went into one added minute of time, Alty's defence wavered again as Owen lost possession and this time they were not so lucky. Kelly was allowed to find Jackson. The striker, in turn, was permitted to weave into the box to the left of goal, without a serious challenge, and he drove the ball across Acton to give Rushden a two-goal lead (45+1 mins). Altrincham had matched their opponents for half an hour but had paid a full price for weak defending in the final period of the first half.

Rushden kicked off towards the Dawn Abbott stand at the Golf Road End and started the stronger of the two sides. Burgess fired narrowly wide from 30 yards out on the right (46 mins) as Graham Heathcote encouraged his team to "Show a sense of urgency". But Rushden still came forward as Howell shot wide (49 mins). Altrincham now brought on Logan for McFadden on the left (51 mins). But with the game drifting along Alty got back into it out of the blue. Some 35 yards from goal on the Alty right, Little battled for the ball and as he fell managed to poke it forward for Senior who had got behind the defence. The striker took the ball on, rounded the keeper and scored to make it 2-1 (54 mins).

Logan was seeing little of the ball after his introduction to the match but overall the goal helped to lift Altrincham as the hour mark passed. At last Logan did then get some possession and drew a foul from his marker. The freekick was cleared out to Lane who fired in a tremendous effort from 30 yards but the keeper held it well (61 mins). Soon Senior threatened again from a Little feed but the keeper made a very good save, deflecting the shot out for a corner on the Alty right (62 mins). After a Rushden corner at the other end, Acton fumbled the ball twice but he saved the resulting shot from 25 yards. A foul by Owen kept the pressure on Alty and soon afterwards Acton had to save well from Kelly as the visitors looked fairly comfortable with their narrow lead.

After 69 minutes each side made a change; Tomlin replaced Kelly - who nevertheless was awarded the Rushden Man of the Match award at the end of the game - and Potts came on for Alty's Peyton. Lawton moved into central midfield to accommodate this change. Jackson was then left in too much space and won a corner, from which Acton held a Rushden header well (70 mins). A few minutes later, Rushden brought on the former Kettering man, Malcolm, for Rankine (75 mins). And then Alty brought on O'Neill for Little, up front (78 mins). Alty continued to battle but created no more openings in the next few minutes, during which Owen was booked for a foul (80 mins). As three hot-air balloons floated across the sky at the Hale End, Logan was brought down to earth to give Alty a freekick. This was half cleared but Shotton then played an excllent chip forward into the box where Senior had got into the box, with only Nicholls to beat but his first touch was too strong and the keeper got the ball (83 mins).

After Owen had lost possession, Tomlin fed Jackson but he fired wide of Acton's right post. Alty continued to press but without opening up the defence. Four minutes of added time were announced and in the first of these, Jackson was replaced by Shaw for Rushden. Lawton was then booked, apparently for dissent (90+2 mins). Potts then did well on the right by-line and won a corner for Altrincham when his cross was headed out by a defender. But Potts's corner, from the left was caught by Nicholls. Alty had a late freekick 35 yards out on the left but any threat ended with Owen's shot wide of goal, although Senior almost got to it at the back post (90+3 mins). But the final whistle soon signalled Alty's sixth home defeat in seven games this season and left them in 21st place. Ryan Shotton, the on-loan Alty defender, was a deserved winner of the Man of the Match award for Altrincham..