Match Report


BLYTH SPARTANS (0) 1 ALTRINCHAM (0) 1

Blue Square Bet North Match
played on Tuesday, 24 January, 2012, at 7.45pm


SUMMARY

With the departure of Jack Redshaw to Morecambe hours before kick-off, the illness of Simon Richman and injuries to Stuart Coburn and Marlon Broomes, Alty boss Lee Sinnott was again forced to adapt his starting line-up.

A spirited Blyth performance found a below par Altrincham wanting and the hosts almost won with a 57th minute goal from Glen Taylor. But a penalty, in the fourth added minute at the end of the ninety, saved Alty. It was converted by Reeves, when Lawrie was fouled.


SCORERS:

  • 57 mins: Glen TAYLOR (Blyth Spartans 1 ALTRINCHAM 0)
  • 90(+4) mins: Damian REEVES (penalty) (Blyth Spartans 1 ALTRINCHAM 1)


    REFEREE: Mr Andrew Miller


    ATTENDANCE: 356


    TEAM NEWS

    Altrincham goalkeeper Stuart Coburn and defenders Marlon Broomes and Matt Flynn had missed last Saturday's game, whilst another defender, Adam Flynn, was only fit enough for the bench. Nicky Clee continued in the left-back role he adopted a couple of games ago, but Kieran Walmsley moved forward to right midfield as loanee Matt Flynn returned at right-back. Michael Twiss started his first game after injury, illness, and a spell on the bench, which collectively had seen him out of the starting eleven for the last eight games. In goal, 17 year-old Adam Reid continued in place of the in jured Stuart Coburn.

    Blyth's Jamie Mole was promoted from the bench to replace Graeme Armstrong up front.


    BACKGROUND:

    This match had been postponed from 17 December, due to a frozen pitch and, so, Alty faced an almost 350-mile midweek January round trip to Northumberland.

    Mike Garnett's statistics reveal the following about previous games between these two sides...

  • At Moss Lane: P6-W4-D1-L1-F12-A6
  • At Blyth: P8-W2-D4-L2-F12-A10
  • All games: P14-W6-D-5-L3-F24-A18

    Altrincham last met Blyth in 2010-11 season, when the Robins lost 2-1 in an FA Trophy game. Alty started this game in seventh position in the BSBN whilst Spartans lay 21st, having shown an upturn in form since a change of managership had left Tommy Cassidy in charge.

    Having travelled through swirling rain and thick mist across the Pennines, Altrincham found Blyth itself was dry for this match, which was Alty's third away game in a sequence of four away trips in five successive fixtures. It was also Alty's fourth match in ten days.


    LINE-UPS

    BLYTH SPARTANS (Green and white striped shirts, black shorts, white socks) 1. Robert BIRDSALL; 2. Richie SLAUGHTER, 5. Wayne BUCHANAN, 6. Jordan MELLISH, 3. Phil CAVE; 7. Lee MASON, 8. Neal HOOKS (capt), 4. Max HARROP, 11. Wayne PHILLIPS; 9. Jamie MOLE, 10. Glen TAYLOR. Subs: 12. Shaun UTTERSON, 14. Tom RICHARDSON,15. Graeme ARMSTRONG, 16. Sam HODGSON, 17. Matthew HUNTER (gk),

    ALTRINCHAM (Yellow & blue shirts, blue shorts, yellow socks): 1. Adam REID, 2. Matt FLYNN, 5.Adrian HAWES, 6. Mark LEES, 3. Nicky CLEE; 7. Kieran WALMSLEY, 8. Shaun DENSMORE (capt), 4. Chris LYNCH, 11. James LAWRIE; 9. Michael TWISS, 10. Damian REEVES, Subs: 12. Adam FLYNN, 14. James HOLDEN, 15. Brian SUMMERSKILL, 16. Neil TOLSON, (4 subs only).


    REPORT

    Blyth kicked off, with the visiting Altrincham "choir" giving them good support, despite the length of journey involved on a cold Tuesday night. Adam Reid, playing his first away game in a league match, got an early touch as he efficiently smothered a through ball (2 mins).

    After a half-opening for Reeves, engineered by the skill of Nicky Clee, ended with his shot being blocked, a neat Altrincham move then broke down as the ball ran to the Blyth keeper, Birdsall. The first corner of the game arrived after eight minutes and it was won by Blyth's Mason but it was poorly taken and the follow up was an overhit cross.

    Lees then cleared a Blyth attack before Altrincham wasted a freekick in a good position just outside the Blyth box, awarded for handball. Alty tried to take it short and quickly but lost possession instead.

    Chris Lynch fired in a 30-yard effort which Birdsall saved fairly comfortably as Altrincham now began to look the better side (13 mins). Not surprisingly for the time of year and given the recent weather, the pitch was bobbly in places and not conducive to flowing football.

    It was Blyth who next threatened, however, as Phillips embarked on a good run before shooting wide (15 mins). Just after this, Alty briefly had two players laid out, Reeves and Walmsley, from almost simultaneous challenges by Blyth players.

    The referee then interpreted a back pass as inadvertent and allowed Blyth to escape unpunished when Birdsall picked the ball up. Next, a promising Alty move saw Reeves and Walmsley interchange passes before the Alty striker mishit his return to his team-mate and held his head in his hands (19 mins).

    A Lawrie corner, won by Reeves, came and went for Alty before a blow to the head led to treatment and a need for the blood shirt for Lynch. The home crowd had certainly not given up on their lowly placed team and throughout the game gave the Spartans admirably strong support but they also regularly directed strong words at both the match officials and the opposition, every time a decision went against their team. One such instance now arose as Lawrie went down just inside the box and Alty appealed for a penalty.

    Blyth now made a change as Utterson came on for Mason, presumably because the latter was injured though, if so, it was not obvious (22 mins).

    The home fans' ire was at fever pitch again soon afterwards, when a late challenge from Twiss brought a deserved first booking of the season for Alty's striker (29 mins). The crowd had also been "on the case" of Matt Flynn, who twice stole yards at throw-ins. Nicky Clee tried to diffuse that particular gripe when, at another throw-in, he jokingly made a mark on the pitch side to show exactly where the ball had gone out of play and took the throw accordingly!

    Another questionable refereeing decision then had the visiting fans, this time, complaining about the referee as he overturned his assistant's flag for what looked a definite foul on Mark Lees. The controversy continued as Alty won a freekick in the right corner of the pitch at the Blyth end, for handball (31 mins).

    In the 33rd minute it took a fine save from Adam Reid, diving to his left, to divert a strong shot from Utterson out for a corner, after the Blyth sub had got behind Clee on the Altrincham right. Alty responded as Reeves won a corner at the other end before Reid was in action again, smothering a Spartans’ cross.

    Shortly before the interval, Chris Lynch suffered his second head injury, which predictably brought cat calls from a section of the main stand who thought he was simulating injury. Next, the best shot of the game was delivered from outside the box by Twiss but it was too close to Birdsall to cause him too much difficulty (44 mins).

    The referee was again the subject of home derision as he awarded, and allowed, just one minute of added time despite several lengthy stoppages for injuries and he left the field to a chorus of booing from the Croft Park faithful.

    It had been an eventful first half albeit one lacking in flowing football, in which Altrincham had looked marginally the better side but in which the home side's commitment could not be questioned.


    Half-Time: BLYTH SPARTANS 0 ALTRINCHAM 0

    After a couple of early Altrincham attacks had foundered, Blyth won two successive corners as they came out of the blocks in determined fashion. They were closing down Alty's midfield and attack with determination and kept Alty on the back foot for the first ten minutes of the second half.

    And just after Michael Twiss had not made the most of a shooting opportunity, Blyth were allowed to counter attack. As Flynn stood off, a Spartans' player got towards the by-line, left of goal. His cross cum shot seemed to deflect off the post across the goalmouth, evading Reid in the process, and fell for Taylor who had a simple conversion job at the back post from very close range. So, it was 1-0 to Spartans, and their second half play had deserved it (57 mins).

    Around the hour mark, Mellish was booked for a late lunge at Twiss before Densmore overhit the resulting freekick. Blyth continued to show determination as Alty struggled to get back into the game. Indeed, it took a great piece of covering from Clee to stop another Blyth attack, Alty's left-back having to race from left to right to make a vital tackle (66 mins).

    Chris Lynch found himself needing treatment for the third time in the match when he went into a 50-50 challenge with Mole and both players went down. Lynch appeared to be on the end of a late challenge but Mr. Miller saw it differently and booked the Alty man and awarded a freekick against him (69 mins). Moments later, substitute and Alty assistant manager Neil Tolson jogged along the touchline and had a strong word in the adjacent linesman's ear, which again set the home crowd off.

    With all the peripheral activity going on it was good to see some proper football as Alty carved out a half chance but, for once, the normally lethal Damian Reeves miskicked badly and sliced his effort well wide (72 mins). His partner Michael Twiss did the same, soon afterwards, as Alty misfired (74 mins). Next, a Hawes header ran comfortably to Birdsall.

    Altrincham were now pressing as Blyth tried to protect their lead. The home crowd then erupted again, having apparently spotted some off the ball misdemeanour but, after consulting his assistant, Mr. Miller played on. But it was another nail in his coffin so far as the home side's fans were concerned.

    Blyth made another change as Richardson replaced the goalscorer, Taylor (84 mins). A Densmore shot went narrowly wide from 25 yards as Alty showed no intention of using any subs tonight.

    The home fans did not take kindly to a booking for Phillips, for a clear foul, and when Mr. Miller signalled five added minutes of play, they showed their displeasure. It was a curious decision in the light of the single minute of added time found for the first half which had been punctuated by at least two long stoppages and a substitution.

    Alty now sent centre-back Hawes forward but Blyth kept Alty at bay quite comfortably. Indeed, they should have made it 2-0 when the Alty defence allowed Mole and Utterson to exchange passes before the former lifted a shot miles over the bar with a clear sight of goal before him (90+1 mins)

    The Spartans prepared Hodgson as a further substitute only for the visitors to win a penalty, deep into added time. Walmsley had sent across an up and under from the right which went to the far left of goal before being played inside for Lawrie. As Lawrie drifted from the left, he was clearly pushed over inside the box by Slaughter and it took place right in front of Mr. Miller, who rightly pointed to the spot. Cue further cat-calls at the referee from the home fans as Damian Reeves fiercely hit the spot kick into the net to give Alty what had seemed an unlikely point just moments earlier.

    This was not a game for the purist but it was incident-packed and, given the weakened nature of Alty's side and the long distance travelled, it was a creditable outcome. Blyth will curse the outcome but their passionate supporters will certainly not let them go down without a fight. After the final whistle, Mr. Miller and his assistant walked towards a torrent of abuse from the main stand with the players' tunnel being struck fiercely by some supporters as the officials walked down it.


    Full-Time: BLYTH SPARTANS 1 ALTRINCHAM 1