Match Report


HISTON (1) 2 ALTRINCHAM (3) 3

Blue Square Bet North Match
played on Saturday, 3 March, 2012, at 3pm


SUMMARY

After a quiet opening, Altrincham went ahead when James Lawrie's speculative cross from the left evaded both keeper Stadelmann and the incoming Reeves and went into the net at the back post after 14 minutes. But a well worked Histon goal by Taaffe, converting a feed from the right, made it 1-1.

Alty, minus four recent regulars, played some patient, passing football and went 2-1 up when Reeves finished off a good move by turning well and shooting past the keeper after 27 minutes. Lawrie made it 3-1 with a superb volley after another good build up (34 mins).

But when Taaffe headed a second goal at the back post, just three minutes into the second half it signalled a difficult second half for Alty. The Robins survived thanks to the framework of the goal to record their first ever win at Histon.


SCORERS:

  • 14 mins: James LAWRIE (Histon 0 ALTRINCHAM 1)
  • 23 mins: Lewis TAAFFE (Histon 1 ALTRINCHAM 1)
  • 27 mins: Damian REEVES (Histon 1 ALTRINCHAM 2)
  • 34 mins: James LAWRIE (Histon 1 ALTRINCHAM 3)
  • 48 mins: Lewis TAAFFE (Histon 2 ALTRINCHAM 3)


    REFEREE: Mr Wayne Porter


    ATTENDANCE: 388 (61 through away turnstiles)


    TEAM NEWS

    Altrincham welcomed back goalkeeper Stuart Coburn, who had missed six games through an elbow injury. And with Jack Redshaw having left for Morecambe, striker Damian Reeves, a former Histon player, was partnered by Michael Twiss.

    Nicky Clee missed this game with bruised ribs and Chris Lynch was unavailable for family reasons (sick child). Alty Youth players Sam Grimshaw and Duncan Watmore were forbidden to play for the first team today by Cheshire FA as they have been selected for the County side, so the Alty bench comprised two semi-fit players (Adam Flynn, Kieran Walmsley), a goalkeeper (Adam Reid) and two players (James Holden and Neil Tolson) who have not yet started a game for the club.

    Simon Richman returned to the starting eleven but in an unaccustomed central midfield position. At the back, Mark Lees returned at right-back.


    BACKGROUND:

    Altrincham beat Histon 3-0 at Moss Lane, back in August, but before today had yet to win a game against the Cambridgeshire team on its own ground. Indeed, Alty had never scored at Histon in four previous visits.

    Just like our opponents of last week, Bishop's Stortford, Histon have had a good run recently, losing just two of their last 12 league games.

    Mike Garnett's statistics tell us that the outcome of previous games has been as follows...

  • At Moss Lane: P5 W2 D0 L3 F6 A7
  • At Histon: P4 W0 D1 L3 F0 A5
  • Overall: P9 W2 D1 L6 F6 A12


    LINE-UPS

    HISTON (Red and black striped shirts, black shorts and socks): 1. Jorg Stadelmann, 2. Grant Roberts, 3. Danny Fitzsimons, 4. Pelayo Gómez-Pico, 5. Remy Clerima, 6. David Livermore, 7. Lewis Taaffe, 8. Jim Stevenson, 9. Dan Holman, 10. Matthew Breeze, 11. Daniel Sparkes (capt). Subs 12. Harri Hawkins, 13. Calum Kitscha (gk), 14. Jay Dowie, 16. Charlie Day, 17. Jack Sessions.

    ALTRINCHAM (Yellow and blue shirts, blue shorts, yellow socks) 1. Stuart COBURN, 2. Mark LEES, 5. Matt FLYNN, 6. Marlon BROOMES, 3. Mark LYNCH; 7.John MILES, 4. Simon RICHMAN 8, Shaun DENSMORE (capt), 11. James LAWRIE; 10. Damian REEVES, 9. Michael TWISS. Subs: 12. Adam FLYNN, 14. James HOLDEN, 15. Kieran WALMSLEY, 16. Neil TOLSON, 18. Adam REID (gk)


    REPORT

    The game kicked off in bright, sunny weather. A quiet start featured a Histon long throw, which was cleared, but little else of note. Alty's first effort was a Weak effort from Lawrie, which Stadelmann saved easily (6 mins). After this, Lawrie sliced a cross from the left out of play for a goalkick, before Taaffe's shot cleared the bar at the Altrincham end.

    Mark Lynch had a shaky start but, after an error by him, Lees cleared the danger (9 mins). Both teams were trying to pass the ball, with Lee Sinnott repeatedly advising his team with the instruction, "Patience!" But moves by both sides kept breaking down. However, John Miles was proving influential with his good ball control although a freekick, which he had won, came to nothing (12 mins).

    Next, Twiss did well, which led to a cross from wide left by Lawrie. As Reeves arrived to try and connect with it, Stadelmann remained rooted to his line but the ball drifted on, past him and into the net at the back post, to give Alty the lead and their first ever goal at Histon in their fifth match there (14 mins). A foul by Marlon Broomes now brought him a booking (17 mins).

    After 19 minutes, the lively Daniel Sparkes got clear of Lynch on the Histon right but the Alty left-back recovered well to block his advance. Alty's patient build ups continued but Histon levelled the score when a flowing move ended with a pass inside, from the right, to Taaffe, who kept calm before picking his spot with the outside of his foot (23 mins).

    However, Altrincham soon regained the lead. A foul by Breeze on Miles near half-way gave the Alty man a freekick, which Reeves, with his back to goal, gathered well. Using his strength to hold off a challenge, Alty's leading scorer turned and drove the ball past Histon's Austrian keeper to make it 2-1 (27 mins).

    Soon afterwards, Lawrie won a corner, which was followed by a second on the other side of the pitch, to the right of goal, from which a Matt Flynn mis-header went wide. Next came an uncharacteristically poor shot from Reeves, which came after he had resisted a challenge very well (31 mins).

    Histon now won a freekick, for foot-up, by Densmore, 35 yards out but, shortly after that, Alty made it 3-1 with an excellent volleyed finish from the edge of the box by Lawrie (34 mins). The goal came after a third successive throw-in on the left by Mark Lynch had led to a nine-pass move, which broke down. But Alty came straight back and a six-pass move saw the ball with Reeves, who fed Lawrie for his strike.

    Next, after Altrincham had cleared a freekick, conceded by Broomes, Stadelmann saved a Reeves header.

    Reeves was soon threatening again but when he seemed to be baulked inside the box, the referee saw no offence. Altrincham were now playing really well and it needed Stadelmann to save well from Miles at the end of another good Alty move.

    Miles and Richman continued to do well before Histon's Gómez-Pico was booked for a foul on Twiss. Half-time arrived with Alty seemingly in full control of the match.

    Half-Time: HISTON 1 ALTRINCHAM 3

    At the break Dowie came on for Gómez-Pico for the 'Stutes, who started the half as if they had benefited from a good talking-to at the interval. Indeed, they soon got back into the game as Alty allowed Breeze to advance on the right and, from his cross, Taaffe headed home at the back post to make it 2-3 (48 mins).

    Now, Histon's Holman blasted over as Alty found themselves on the back foot. However, they did get to the other end when Densmore shot just wide (52 mins). Alty's fragility at the back was underlined when a Histon up-and-under caused chaos in the Alty defence but a goalkick resulted

    Histon were now taking the game to Alty and, after a good move, Fitzsimons fired over the bar. Alty then had a scare of a different kind as Reeves stayed down for treatment after a block tackle from a defender when he was advancing towards the box (57 mins). Soon after Reeves had recovered, Coburn collected the ball, left of his goal, and was judged to have handled outside his area. For his pains, the Altincham keeper was booked (62 mins).

    From the resulting freekick, from right of goal, a ferocious Histon shot came back off the inside of the back post and rebounded to the grateful Coburn's arms (63 mins). After this escape, an Alty freekick ended up with Lawrie putting his shot over the bar. Alty had hit the woodwork themselves three times last week but the post again came to their own rescue here at Histon as substitute Dowie saw his shot come back off the inside of Coburn's left stick and rebound across the face of goal (70 mins). Alty's luck was in today.

    Alty held on nervously as another Histon shot, from Holman, was stopped rather unconventionally by Coburn's legs. After this, Taaffe fired narrowly over the bar as Alty just about held on to their narrow 3-2 lead. However, the visitors began to get forward a bit more as the last ten minutes began. But Alty cleared a Histon corner but both sides were continuing to give the ball away cheaply before Taaffe shot well wide.

    Nevertheless, Altrincham saw out three added minutes at the end of the ninety to consolidate their seventh position in the table but this was a match which they should have sewn up much earlier, having got themselves into a 3-1 half-time lead with some good football. But this was still a good win for a side showing so many changes from the previous game and keeps Altrincham in touch with the play-off positions.


    Full-Time: HISTON 2 ALTRINCHAM 3