Match Report

REFEREE: Mr P Davidson

ATTENDANCE: 773

Altrincham were hit by injuries to goalkeeper Stuart Coburn and defenders Marlon Broomes and Matt Flynn, whilst another defender, Adam Flynn, was only fit enough for the bench. So, youth team keeper Adam Reid made his league debut for Alty and there were two "new" faces on the bench, where James Holden, who had figured briefly for Alty Reserves as a teenager, and assistant manager Neil Tolson, made their first appearances in an Altrincham league squad. With Liam Tomsett having finished his loan from Blackpool, Shaun Densmore returned to the starting line-up as captain. 30 players have so far been named on an Alty squad list this season for league games, underlining the transitional nature of this campaign.

Pre-match speculation about Jack Redshaw, who had spent a couple of days on trial at Morecambe before today's game, came to nothing as he again lined up for Altrincham.

Familiar faces on Town's payroll include ex-Alty wingers Lee Elam and Alex Meechan and the ex-Northwich duo of Paul Brayson and Jonny Allan.

BACKGROUND:

Before kick-off, Mike Garnett's statistics revealed the following about previous games between these two sides... At Moss Lane: P3-W1-D1-L1-F3-A4

Altrincham last met Harrogate on the opening day of this season when the Robins lost 3-2, with Adam Flynn being sent off on his debut. On the eve of this match, Alty signed midfielder James Holden from FC United of Manchester.

LINE-UPS

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks): 1. Adam REID, 2. Kieran WALMSLEY, 5.Adrian HAWES, 6. Mark LEES, 3. Nicky CLEE, 7. Simon RICHMAN, 8. Shaun DENSMORE (capt), 4. Chris LYNCH, 11. James LAWRIE, 9. Jack REDSHAW, 10. Damian REEVES. Subs: 12. Brian SUMMERSKILL, 14. James HOLDEN, 15. Michael TWISS, 16. Neil TOLSON, 17. Adam FLYNN

HARROGATE TOWN (White, with yellow and black trim): 1. Mark COOK, 2. Peter BORE, 3. Paul HECKINGBOTTOM, 4. Michael BROUGH (capt), 5. Patrice LIBURD, 6.Alan WHITE, 7. Rob YOUHILL, 8. Paul BOLLAND, 9. Paul BRAYSON, 10. Jonny ALLAN, 11. Craig RADCLIFFE. Subs: 14. Richard PELL, 15. Lee ELAM, 16. Stephen TURNBULL, 17. Jake PICTON, 18. Will TURL.

REPORT

Groundsman Neil Brown had done well to get the game on after plenty of midweek rain. On a day of strong, gusty winds, Alty won the toss and elected to change ends and defend the Golf Road end leaving the visitors to face the worse of the elements in the opening 45 minutes.

Both sides were deploying 4-4-2 formations and, after kicking off, Town conceded a freekick inside 30 seconds. After five fairly quiet minutes, Reeves brought the ball down well to feed Lawrie, who appeared to be brought down on the edge of the box but referee Davidson showed no interest in a freekick. The referee was to have an excellent game today.

Harrogate then threatened, when a long ball found Brayson, who got a sight of goal before Walmsley cleared (7 mins). Next, a prodigious kick by goalkeeper Reid, with the aid of the wind, caused his opposite number some concern as it bounced narrowly over the bar onto the top of the Harrogate net (7 mins).

Indeed, Altrincham were making good use of the wind as Densmore hammered a 25-yard freekick low at goal but Cook did well to push it away for a corner (9 mins). With Alty now getting the upper hand, Lawrie got in an excellent cross which Cook cleared away, but only to Hawes. However, the Alty centre-back could only hook the chance over the Town bar (12 mins).

Next, Reeves fed Redshaw, who put his shot only narrowly wide from a move which started with Hawes's throw in deep in his own half. But Altrincham did not have long to wait to take the lead. Densmore, who did not look as if he had not started a game since before Christmas, fed Richman, on the right. Richman's cross found Reeves who hit the cross first-time into the net for his 28th goal of the league season (14 mins).

With the floodlights now needing to be on, the home side's dominance continued as the Yorkshiremen conceded a foul against Redshaw on the edge of their penalty area. Redshaw himself hit the freekick, low, but it was well saved at the cost of a corner (16 mins). From this, Densmore collided with the hoardings as he attempted to hook the ball leftwards towards goal. But Alty's captain soon recovered.

Rain was now falling in the squally conditions and, from a Clee cross, Lawrie did well to get in a header, which Cook saved (19 mins). Redshaw soon won another corner for Altrincham as Harrogate failed to trouble Adam Reid at the other end.

Altrincham finally got a deserved second goal in the 25th minute. This arrived after Redshaw had won another corner. Lawrie's kick from the corner was flapped away by the keeper, under pressure from Adie Hawes. The ball fell to Reeves, who scored his own and his team's second goal almost instinctively (25 mins).

Indeed, Reeves almost netted a third with a header around the half hour mark but then Harrogate got an unlikely toehold in a game in which, to date, they had posed virtually no attacking threat. Their goal came after good work on the right from Youhill. Reid came out for a ball and seemed to slip into Lees, but the danger appeared to have been cleared only for Lees, seconds later, to be judged guilty of a foul near the by-line to the right of the goal. A spot-kick was awarded and, after having to replace the ball after it blew off the penalty spot, Brayson drove it down the middle past Reid to make it 2-1 (35 mins).

Alty now wobbled, defensively, and it took a smart clearance off the line by Walmsley to preserve their lead (37 mins). Reid then had to save a header from a Harrogate freekick before another incursion along the Harrogate right wing yielded a corner for the visitors (41 mins).

Altrincham got to half-time with their lead intact but they had allowed the visitors back into a game they should have killed off. And with the prospect of playing into the strong wind in the second half, the contest now looked far from over.

Neither team made any change at the interval. A push by Lawrie gave Harrogate an early freekick whilst a fine cross from Walmsley found Redshaw in a promising position, but he lost possession.

Both sides were making early errors in this half before Harrogate captain Brough went down, and had to be replaced by Turnbull, after 50 minutes. Moments later Altrincham gifted Harrogate an equalizer as Hawes seemed to shape for a potentially routine clearance, only for the ball to roll through his legs, leaving Brayson completely free and running at goal up the centre. The ex-Northwich man dinked the ball over the advancing Reid, who had no chance of stopping it going into the net (51 mins).

Soon afterwards, an error by Walmsley led to a fine save by Reid from Allan at the foot of his post to keep the score at 2-2 (53 mins). At the other end, a good cross from Clee was met by the unmarked Lynch, beyond the back post, but his header was poor and did not trouble the keeper.

Alty's defensive jitters continued as Brayson got behind Hawes but Reid did enough to stop him scoring (55 mins). Alty's nerves were settled soon afterwards when a well taken freekick from the left by Clee was whipped across the goalmouth. First Richman, and then Reeves, narrowly failed to get on the end of it but Redshaw, dashing in at the back post, struck it cleanly into the net to restore Altrincham's lead (58 mins).

Altrincham then allowed Brayson to cut in from the left and fire in a shot but, fortunately, it cleared the bar. The match was effectively settled when Lawrie battled well for the ball, just inside his own half on the left, and got it forward where, near the edge of the box, Reeves met it first time with a superb strike into the net off the lower part of Cook's right post. It was a goal to grace any match at any level and suitably marked Reeves's momentous achievement of 30 league goals in the season, so far (61 mins).

Picton now replaced Liburd for Harrogate (62 mins). Next, an Alty corner came and went but the next decent opening saw Richman lose his footing as he threatened to get in a telling cross from right of goal.

At the other end, Heckingbottom was allowed to advance unchallenged but he fired over the bar. With Alty now resting a little on their laurels, Harrogate won themselves a corner (71 mins) and then Picton had an effort which went narrowly wide from 25 yards (73 mins).

A good Alty move involving Redshaw, Reeves, Densmore and Richman, ended with Reeves almost apologetically tapping in Alty's fifth, and his own fourth, at the near post from Richman's feed from right of goal. So, it was now 5-2 (74 mins).

Each side now made a change as Michael Twiss came on for Richman and Harrogate's Heckingbottom was replaced by former Alty winger, Lee Elam (75 mins). But there were still some worrying signs at the back for Alty as Brayson, once again, got behind the defence, this time in the shape of Lees. But the ex-Vics' striker's attempted chip was well held by the falling and advancing Adam Reid (78 mins).

After 81 minutes, midfielder James Holden, signed 24 hours earlier from FCUM, came on to replace Lawrie. Soon, Reid had to be alert once more to save smartly from Brayson's shot, at the cost of a corner. But, once again, Town wasted a corner by putting the ball straight behind the goal.

Nicky Clee nearly wrapped up the afternoon with a fine goal when he dribbled up the left before seeing his well struck shot just pass outside the far post (86 mins). But Alty again left their back door open as Youhill was found by a team-mate in acres of space on the right wing but he hit his shot wide (87mins). Altrincham now brought on Summerskill for his first league appearance since 8 October, replacing Densmore (88 mins).

Lees had to make two good clearances in the closing stages, during which Harrogate also won a corner. The visitors' Radcliffe did head the ball into the net in the 89th minute but the effort was ruled out immediately for a push. And so, Alty gained some revenge for their narrow defeat in the reverse fixture back in August and with three wins on the trot now, they have consolidated their position on the fringes of the play-offs.

A difficult Tuesday night trip to Blyth Spartans this week will be a further examination of their promotion credentials. Damian Reeves was a wholly deserving Man of the Match today and he has now netted 31 times in 25 league matches. Today's goals make Altrincham the division's leading scorers, with 62, and they also remain top of the Fair Play league for all non-League divisions.