Match Report

Before kick-off referee Joyce made a point of obliging Altrincham's Dale Johnson to roll up his white arm-warmers, presumably on the grounds that, although Alty's shirts are red and white stripes, his showing white arms would conflict with the red shirt sleeves.

After a delay whilst Rushden engaged in a bonding huddle, play got under way on a dank and foggy afternoon, with Alty attacking the Golf Road end. The early exchanges included quite a bit of head tennis but Alty left-back Matt Doughty soon impressed but, as he advanced up the wing, he found no support and the move broke down. From a Burgess effort Rushden made an appeal for a penalty, alleging a push in the box, but nothing was given. Next Little did well to beat his man but his right -foot shot ran, underpowered, to Roberts in the Rushden goal. However, a Doughty cross soon yielded the game's first corner on the Alty left (11 mins).

At the other end, Brown sent in a weak shot which Ralph fielded comfortably (12 mins). Play was fairly even and it was the visitors who gained the next corner, off Greg Young; a second Diamonds' corner followed. But then Alty put together their best move to date as Little's expert flick set up Johnson for a shot which the advancing Roberts did well to save with his legs at the cost of a corner (18 mins). It looked as if we would be in for a well-contested game but then Mr Joyce changed all that. Densmore came in late on Bolasie on the Rushden left, towards half-way. There was no disputing that it was a foul and a caution. But, to most people's amazement, the referee brandished a red card and off went the Alty right-sided midfielder (21 mins). Alty went briefly to a 4-4-1 formation before turning to 3-4-2 and soon won another corner.

Another defining moment of the game arrived in the 25th minute when Bolasie wreaked revenge for Densmore's foul on him by clattering Robbie Lawton with a very high challenge. The Alty captain was left needing prolonged treatment by physio Sean Riley for a neck injury. The inconsistent Mr Joyce decided that this crude offence only warranted a yellow card. Lawton played on but was not to emerge for the second half. Bolasie then went close with a rising short over the bar from 22 yards (28 mins). But Mr Joyce's influence on the outcome of the game continued two minutes later.

After a foul had been awarded against Young on Rankine, Corcoran got the ball into the Alty box where Ralph punched the ball away but was felled by Rankine's challenge as he did so. With no whistle coming from Mr Joyce the ball came out to Burgess, just outside the box. He drilled an excellent low shot into the unguarded bottom right-hand corner of the net to make it 2-0 (30 mins). Three refereeing decisions inside ten minutes - the sending-off of Densmore, the non-sending-off of Bolasie and allowing the goal to stand - had determined the afternoon's outcome.

Rushden now had the upper hand as they capitalised on their extra man but Mr Joyce continued to annoy the home support as a clear push on Johnson, not six feet from the official, brought no whistle. Ralph then did well to come out and half-block Brown's effort from right of goal but, with the ball running towards the goal line from the Rushden player's shot, the covering Young cleared the ball off the line for a corner (40 mins). But any hopes of Alty getting to the break just a goal adrift were shattered in the 41st minute when the Robins disappointingly stood off Tomlin and allowed him to fire past a motionless Ralph into the bottom corner of the net (41 mins).

Rushden continued to dominate as the game went through three added minutes before half-time but, in the last of these, a fine 25-yard effort from Danylyk forced Roberts to tip the ball round his right upright for a corner. But as this corner came across from Doughty, Mr Joyce awarded a freekick to the visitors before walking off with a stewards' escort to the dressing rooms to the sound of as united and loud a chorus of boos as had been heard at Moss Lane in a long time. What, for 20 minutes, had promised to be a fairly even contest had been turned into largely one-way traffic by the sending off and Alty's inability to respond effectively to the challenge of being a man down.

Both sides made a change at the break, with Warren Peyton replacing the injured Robbie Lawton in Altrincham's midfield and Marcus Kelly coming on for Rushden's Bolasie who was only withdrawn because he had been booked and Garry Hill did not want to see his loanee pick up a second caution.

Alty started the second half better than they had played in the second period of the first half and they almost got back into the game. But the crucial turning point arrived in the 49th minute after Johnson had been fouled as he got into the right of the box. Mr Joyce awarded a freekick inches outside the penalty area. Senior smartly laid off the freekick to his left where Little drove the ball against the inside of the post, from where it rebounded to safety for Rushden - it was clearly not going to be Altrincham's day (49 mins). However, an Alty corner soon followed. With Alty playing 4-3-2, play was fairly even for a few more minutes before Rankine fed Brown for a shot which cleared the bar. The visitors then began to get on top again, winning two more corners as the game passed the hour mark.

In the 62nd minute Daryl Clare, wearing black gloves with his all yellow kit which is apparently an acceptable dress code, came on for Brown. A foul by Osanu on Johnson gave Alty a freekick 20 yards out which Little hit very wide of the target (64 mins). Rushden then won a corner on their left and Osanu was allowed to score, unchallenged at the near post, to seal the game at 3-0 (65 mins). Three minutes later Rushden brought on Boden for Wolleaston and Alty made a double change as Meechan and Elam came on for Little and Senior (68 mins). Having forced Johnson to roll up his white sleeve-extensions at the start of the first-half on the grounds that their white colour clashed with the Alty red and white striped kit, Mr Joyce now took no action whatsoever when Elam took to the field in precisely the same attire as Johnson had.

Boden almost made an immediate impact but fired over (70 mins) as the fog began to thicken, making identification of the players difficult on the far side of the pitch. To add to Alty's woes, Johnson was now limping as two Rushden corners came and went. The atmosphere was now totally flat as the game drifted towards its inevitable conclusion. But, before the end, the Alty defence allowed the impressive Burgess to jink past a couple of half-hearted challenges and plant the ball past Ralph to make it 4-0 to the visitors.

Rushden won a late corner but, soon afterwards, the final whistle went on a comfortable win for the Northants side. Alty did not play well after Densmore's dismissal but, given a level playing field, it would have been a completely different story.

Mr Joyce left the pitch to a further barrage of booing.