Match Report

REFEREE: Mr M Salisbury

ATTENDANCE: 1,290

Nicky Clee was back from injury but Marlon Broomes remained sidelined. Alty opted to play Clee at the back, so specialist left-back Smart was moved to the bench and Shaun Densmore reverted to right-midfield. Up front, Michael Twiss replaced Leighton McGivern.

BACKGROUND:

Altrincham had lost the reverse fixture very early this season, going down 2-1 at Ewen Fields.

Mike Garnett's record show the following statistics relating to previous games between Alty and Hyde:

Today's game was played before Altrincham's biggest gate of the season, with the game representing a possibly final chance for Alty to keep on track for the play-offs and with Hyde seeking to maintain the gap between them and the chasing pack, led by Guiseley.

LINE-UPS:

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks) 1. Stuart Coburn, 2. Kieran Walmsley 3. Nicky Clee, 4. Simon Richman, 5. Matt Flynn, 6. Chris Lynch, 7. Shaun Densmore (c), 8. Scott Phelan, 9. Michael Twiss, 10. Damian Reeves, 11. James Lawrie, Subs: 12. Andrew Smart, 14. John Miles, 15. Leighton McGivern, 16. Duncan Watmore, 18. Adam Reid (gk),

HYDE FC (Navy shirts and socks, white shorts) 1. David Carnell, 2. Josh Brizell, 3. Adam Griffin, 4. Andrew Pearson, 5. Gianluca Havern, 6. Dave Birch, 7. Chris Worsley, 8. Reece Gray, 9. Danny Broadbent, 10.Scott Spencer, 11. Ryan Crowther. Subs: 12. Tunji Moses, 14. Danny Hall, 15. David Poole, 16. Godwin Abadaki, 17. Shelton Payne

On a dull afternoon, Alty kicked off and inside two minutes the referee was recording Brizell's name in the book for a strong challenge which left Richman in a heap just off the pitch to the left of goal. The tackle looked to be firm but fair but Mr Salisbury saw it otherwise.

Alty started the better and when goalkeeper Carnell miskicked a clearance against a team-mate, Hyde looked to be off their game (3 mins). After a quickly taken Clee throw, from the left, Densmore was taken down by Gray as he advanced inside the box and a penalty was the clear outcome. Damian Reeves smacked it home for his 41st goal of the campaign, with the clock just ticking over into the ninth minute of play.

When Altrincham gained a freekick nearly 30 yards out, Phelan's ball went to the goalkeeper (10 mins). Next, a wild shot got a fortunate deflection to give Hyde a corner on their right. After Densmore had cleared, a miscue from Birch went closer to striking the corner flag rather than the back of the net.

When Gray was pulled back by Phelan, the Alty midfielder found himself being booked (14 mins). Hyde continued to misfire after this, when Crowther's shot went very wide of goal. Altrincham were working hard to close down Hyde, with Michael Twiss evident in this respect.

After a Clee foul on Broadbent had yielded Hyde a freekick from 35 yards, Broadbent seemed to be held in the box but to Hyde's annoyance, no penalty was given. The Tigers did get a freekick soon afterwards when Richman committed a foul, 25 yards from his own goal. Once again Hyde's shooting was wayward as a resulting shot went miles wide.

Soon Hyde were appealing again for a penalty, against Phelan, but to no avail. But the visitors were now applying some sustained pressure and, next, it needed a great block by Flynn before Spencer headed a cross well wide. Coburn then just managed to gather a cross after Broadbent had got free on the Hyde left.

At the other end, Reeves smartly dispossessed former Alty defender, Pearson, but Twiss could not control his team mate's pass. After Lynch had held Spencer, the resulting freekick, from 35 yards, was smothered by Coburn at the second attempt. But the pressure continued as Lynch cleared Birch's cross (26 mins).

Now Lawrie got booked; he gave the ball away and then jumped in late on an opponent (26 mins). A couple of minutes later, Lawrie did much better as his excellent cross just evaded Richman's head, but a corner resulted for Alty.

Next, it took a brilliant save from former Curzon Ashton keeper, Carnell, to tip Reeves's looping header over the bar from Flynn's nod on. After an Alty corner taken by Lawrie, a resulting, second, Alty corner was seen off. But then Hyde were awarded a penalty when the sturdy Broadbent seemed to take a swing at the ball, but not make contact, and as he went down under a challenge from Densmore, he was judged to have been fouled. Spencer emulated Reeves by beating Coburn from the spot to make it 1-1 (32 mins).

After this, Twiss was fouled on the front edge of the box but Phelan's freekick went into the wall. After Andrew Pearson and his bench had a frank exchange of views, Hyde went ahead. An aerial ball from Hyde's right saw Flynn and Walmsley go towards the ball, which resulted in Flynn misheading the ball behind him where Hyde gained possession wide on the left. Altrincham then failed to defend the cross and Broadbent scored from close range (38 mins).

After a Lawrie run ended with a poor shot, wide, the same Altrincham player was seemingly tripped by Pearson as he broke towards the box but Mr Salisbury waved away Alty's appeals. At the other end, Broadbent beat Clee but his cross was cleared.

Following a foul apiece from Broadbent and Twiss, Richman found himself in the book for a trip on an opponent (43 mins). Hyde remained on top as the game went through a couple of added minutes before the half-time whistle sounded. After an entertaining half, Altrincham could not complain that the visitors held the lead as the Robins had created few chances after going ahead from the penalty spot.

Hyde kicked off the second half playing towards Golf Road and the visitors survived an early Alty penalty appeal for hands in their box from a Richman cross. Hyde's indifferent shooting continued with Worsley's badly sliced shot.

A good Clee run ended when Densmore tried to flick the ball forward and possession was lost. Hyde counter-attacked and, after Lynch had lost out 30 yards from goal, Spencer won a penalty under a challenge from Flynn. Hyde's top scorer again converted the spot kick convincingly to make it 3-1 after 49 minutes.

Alty had yet another strong penalty appeal soon afterwards but only were awarded a corner. Following this, a poor cross from Walmsley undid a decent move (53 mins). Clee was looking Alty's main threat going forward and a fine run by him was only let down by a shot which was pulled wide of the net (55 mins).

Altrincham then allowed Broadbent time to get in a shot, which Coburn blocked. When Gray felled Richman, Alty's freekick again failed to trouble the Hyde defence. Indeed, it then took a great Lynch tackle, after Spencer had got behind Flynn.

After 63 minutes, Watmore replaced Walmsley, with Densmore moving to right-back to accommodate the young forward on the right wing. From an Alty corner by Lawrie, the ball evaded everyone before a Clee cross went to Carnell.

For Hyde, an effort by the influential Gray went just wide after a good flick on by Spencer (69 mins). Hyde continued to look solid at the back whilst further forward their shooting was again badly off target as, now, Crowther wasted a good build up from his team-mates.

Altrincham got a rare sight of goal as a Reeves-Watmore one-two ended with Carnell saving Reeves's sidefooted effort (72 mins). After Gray tripped Watmore, the Hyde midfielder joined Mr Salisbury's list of offenders. Substitute Moses now replaced Hyde captain Birch (73 mins).

Next, Densmore's freekick produced an Alty corner, taken from the right by Lawrie, from which Reeves saw his header saved. Another promising Alty moved when Richman, inside the box, saw his back-heel backfire as it went to an opponent.

Hyde continued to pass the ball well before Reeves's excellent header forced a finger-tip save from Carnell. Hyde brought on Poole for Crowther (78 mins), followed a minute later by McGivern's replacement of Phelan for Altrincham (79 mins).

McGivern soon impressed with a fine pass for Reeves but the league's leading scorer was seen off. Another substitution by Hyde saw Hall replace Worsley (81 mins). Then, a fine Hyde move ended with the ball running to Coburn. After another unsuccessful Altrincham corner, it took a fine block from Coburn to beat out Poole's rasping shot from right of goal.

Alty kept battling and won two corners as the game went into an unannounced period of added time. Just after Lynch and Gray had been named as the respective Men of the Match, a superb shot from the right by McGivern beat Carnell but came back off the bar (90+3 mins).

So Hyde completed a double over The Robins and in today's game few could argue that they deserved their win. This second successive defeat more or less ends Altrincham's outside chance of securing a play-off place but until it is mathematically certain, Lee Sinnott will keep his team competing, with second-placed Guiseley the Robins' next opponents.