Match Report

REFEREE: Mr. J. COLLIN

Alty were again without the injured Gareth Whalley and Stephen Rose, and Val Owen was added to the absentee list after picking up a knock last Saturday. Jake Sedgemore replaced Owen in central midfield whilst Carlos Logan came into the starting line up at the expense of Pat McFadden on the left flank. Goalkeeper Stuart Coburn joined the bench as he recovered from injury.

Burton were without wingman Keith Gilroy but Andy Corbett was back in the sider. Captain Darren Stride come in for the suspended Mark Greaves and David Farrell replaced Gilroy. Up front Ryan Taylor returned, replacing Jake Edwards.

BACKGROUND:

Burton arrived looking to extend their 12-game unbeaten run and were, as yet, undefeated away from home. For their part Alty had won two of their previous three games but remained in the relegation zone.

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, 6. Jake SEDGEMORE, 11. Warren PEYTON, 22. Carlos LOGAN; 9. Colin LITTLE, 19. Chris SENIOR. Subs: 4. Karl MUNROE, 1 Stuart COBURN, 12. Joe O'NEILL, 17. Colin POTTS, 18. Pat McFADDEN.

Alty Subs:

BURTON ALBION (Pale blue & white shirts, pale blue shorts, white socks): 1. Kevin POOLE; 2. Andy CORBETT, 17. John BRAYFORD, 7. Darren STRIDE (capt), 3. Aaron WEBSTER; 8. Marc GOODFELLOW, 21. Andy GOODING, 6. John McGRATH, 18. Dave FARRELL; 23. Ryan TAYLOR, 10. Daryl CLARE. Subs: 5. Tony JAMES, 9. Jake EDWARDS, 14. Shaun HARRAD, 15. Ryan AUSTIN, 22. Sam AISTON.

Burton, who had brought a good following with them, kicked off towards the Golf Road End and they soon displayed some fast attacking play to keep Alty's defence on its toes. Altrincham did not help themselves in the early stages with a number of wayward passes which gifted possession to the Brewers. A short shower before kick off was now followed by more significant rain which worsened as the game wore on, leaving the away fans bedraggled at the Carole Nash (Hale) end of the ground until they were able to move under cover at half-time.

The Altrincham back four were soon working hard and effectively, with young Shotton again showing a maturity beyond his teenage years. The first real goal effort arrived after 12 minutes when Farrell fed Clare whose shot from the edge of the box went narrowly wide of Acton's right upright. But after soaking up the early pressure, it was Altrincham who won the first corner when a well judged ball forward from Shotton found Logan in the left corner and he won the flag-kick as the rain now poured down (13 mins). Tinson got a flick on Sedgemore's corner, at the near post, but the ball was cleared by Albion. Logan was causing serious problems to Corbett, who was playing with a bandaged head after a recent injury, and he was lucky to escape with a lecture after tripping the flying winger. Sedgemore's resulting freekick was caught by Poole and Burton went straight to the other end to win their first corner of the match. Both sets of fans were giving their teams good support but the home side's tendency to give the ball away continued beyond the quarter of an hour mark of the game.

Tinson made another good clearance before Lane’s cross was met by a well hit shot from Logan which struck a defender (21 mins). Burton were conceding quite a few freekicks, the next coming when Clare caught Scott late on the halfway line. Logan then got past Corbett again on the Alty left and, as he cut in, he shot at goal but his effort was well over the bar (25 mins). However, this chance conformed Alty's improvement and as the half went on they came more and more into the game. Corbett finally went into Mr Collin's book when he again fouled Logan who had threatened to get free from Shotton's pass (27 mins). For Alty, Lawton was much involved in the first half on the right but it was soon Logan, on the left, who was clattered again to give Alty another freekick. From 25 yards out on the left, Sedgemore's freekick was superbly struck but just went wide (30 mins).

Soon afterwards, Taylor, who had been limping, was withdrawn by Nigel Clough, and Shaun Harrad returning from injury, came on as his replacement up front, alongside Clare (32 mins). Altrincham were now enjoying some dominance and put together a fine move which ended with Lawton’s cross from the right and Little's excellent low shot which Poole did well to hold as the ball came through a forest of legs in the box (34 mins). Soon Logan threatened again for Alty on the left but after evading three challenges his final ball went disappointingly behind the Alty players in the box. Alty continued to play some good football as half time approached. Play stopped when Little deliberately put the ball out to allow treatment to Farrell, who had gone down off the ball. After treatment Farrell limped off. As the 45 minutes ended, he was substituted by James (45 mins). Despite the two Burton injuries, the referee found only one minute of added time before the half-time whistle sounded on a very entertaining first half in which, after a slow start, Altrincham had risen to the occasion and more than matched their high-flying full-time visitors in the latter period of the half.

The second half was a slightly lower-key affair than the first 45 minutes. After a quiet few minutes, Scott conceded a corner but this was overhit beyond everyone in the box. Logan continued to suffer at the hands of the Burton defence as, now, he was crudely pushed over to give Alty a freekick, left of goal. Sedgemore's curling kick was punched out by Poole to Peyton, whose well struck shot from outside the box hit a defender and gave Alty a corner but Alty wasted this (54 mins).

Little was then given offside, one of a series of such decisions against him and Senior in the second half, some of which prompted the wrath of Alty supporters against the red and yellow-flagged linesman. When Gooding chopped down Little to concede another freekick, the Burton man became the night’s second booking by Mr Collin. But Sedgemore struck the freekick, from just outside the box, well over the bar (58 mins). Burton did then get in a 20-yarder at Acton but the keeper saved comfortably and on the hour mark, Harrad shot wide from right of goal with a hurried shot. Burton went close again when a cross from the right was flicked wide of goal by the uncharacteristically wasteful Clare. Senior was then flagged offside twice in as many minutes and it was more than manager Graham Heathcote could take. His protests led to a lecture from the referee (62 mins). After Peyton had made a good interception he fed the ball forward for Senior and, despite there being several defenders in front of him the home crowd sarcastically suggested to the linesman that he should give the Alty man offside.

Acton fielded a long range effort from Clare (66 mins) before Little shot well wide at the other end. After their slowish start to the second half, Burton now raised their game to apply some pressure. There was a strange incident after 73 minutes when Shotton's misheader led Tinson hastily to play back-pass to Acton. The pass was hit quite firmly and was heading towards goal. Acton moved sideways to kick the ball clear but it sliced off his shin and went out for a corner when it might easily have spun into the net. Goalmouth chances were few and far between at this stage and Alty finally decided to make a change eleven minutes from the end when Logan gave way to Potts. Surprisingly, Potts adopted Logan's left-wing position rather than occupying his more normal right-sided slot. Three minutes later, Joe O’Neill came on up front for Chris Senior for Alty.

After this, Clare rushed a shot and it went wide (84 mins). Alty then endured a jittery final few minutes as Potts lost possession which led, via a throw-in, to a rasping, low shot from Corbett which Acton saved superbly, pushing the ball one-handed away for a corner. Then, in the three minutes of added time, a bad mix-up between Potts and Peyton, 25 yards from goal on the Alty left, allowed Burton an opening but again Clare rushed his shot and fired over the bar (90+1 mins). Altrincham's nervy ending to the game continued when a 35-yard shot from the Brewers was fumbled round the foot of the post by Acton, diving to his right, to concede a corner. From the corner, on the Burton left, Albion got a free header but out it wide (90+3 mins). However, despite living dangerously at the end, Altrincham deserved their point for a battling team performance which saw them cause the Brewers problems, particularly either side of the interval.

Results elsewhere meant that Alty remained 21st and the gap between them and the non-relegation spot of 20th widened to five points. But the point helped to put a little more distance between them and Droylsden, Stafford and Northwich, who all lost again.