Match Report

REFEREE: Mr Neil Radford (Worcester)

ATTENDANCE: 258

Alty were without the injured Rodgers (calf) and Hall (hamstring), but Matt Doughty returned. However, the Robins could only raise four names for the bench.

BACKGROUND:

LINE-UPS:

SOLIHULL MOORS (White and black): 1. Jasbir Singh, 2. Philip Midworth, 3. Dom Langdon, 4. Jay Denny, 5. Tom Kemp, 6. Danny Spencer, 7. Dior Angus, 8. Reece Fleet, 9. Junior English, 10. Michael Blackwood, 11. Omar Bogle. Subs: 12. Lewis Hayden, 13. Darren Acton, 14. Dean Bennett, 15. Darryl Knights, 16. Karl Broadhurst

ALTRINCHAM (Aquamarine shirts and socks, grey shorts): 1. Stuart COBURN, 2. Shaun DENSMORE (capt), 3. Matt DOUGHTY, 5. Gianluca HAVERN, 6. Scott LEATHER, 3. Matt DOUGHTY; 7. Duncan WATMORE, 4. Simon RICHMAN, 8. Jake MOULT, 11. Nicky CLEE, 9. James LAWRIE, 10. Damian REEVES. Subs: 12.Patrick LACEY, 14. Ryan BROOKE, 15. Danny MITCHLEY, 18. Jamie GREYGOOSE.

On a cold but bright afternoon at Damson Park, The Moors kicked off, with Dior Angus winning the award as the first player to be sighted wearing gloves in an Alty game this season. An early cross from Bogle was headed back to Coburn by a team-mate but it was Alty who won the game's first corner, on the left, folllowing a Clee throw. The corner led to Singh smothering the ball.

In the fifth minute, Lawrie cleared the bar with a shot from 35 yards, as Alty started fairly brightly, passing the ball around well. However, ten minutes had passed without any serious threat of a goal when Bogle's good work led to a Moors' corner on their right.

The game was briefly enlivened when a smart turn took Watmore past Langdon but his advance on goal ended with a poor shot to the keeper. For the Moors, Bogle, on the left, was causing Alty problems but, apart from a Beswick sliced shot, very wide, the Alty goal was not seriously threatened.

This almost changed, following a 17th minute Moors' freekick on their right, but the hosts missed a good chance inside the box. Following this, Reeves was held just outside the front edge of the Moors'penalty area as he was about to shoot and a freekick for Alty resulted.

Densmore curled the freekick,low, into the bottom corner of the net to give Alty the lead (19 mins). After this, following a wide shot at one end from Solihull, Duncan Watmore won a corner at the other, which was cleared back to its taker, Clee, who rifled in a fierce shot from the right, but it was blocked.

With 24 minutes elapsed, Richman was lectured for obstruction, with captain Densmore also being called over by referee Radford which seemed rather over the top given the fairly minor nature of the offence. From the Moors' freekick, left of goal, the ball was cleared by Densmore. But the ball came back in and it needed a magnificent double save by Coburn, near his left post, to keep out the Moors.

An Alty corner came and went after a fine Doughty ball had led to Lawrie winning the flag-kick (27 mins). Play was pretty nondescript as the half hour passed but then Coburn again had to save well, as he grasped a deflected shot by English. Next, English jumped in on Havern and was booked (34 mins).

After a long Moors' throw on left from Langdon, the ball was only half cleared allowing Angus a shot from 25 yards, which went just wide (41 min

Good play by Moult now allowed Watmore a chance, which was deflected wide for corner on the right. After this, Lawrie's follow-up shot was blocked as Alty finished the half on the front foot. With added time about to start, Midwood was booked for a foul on Watmore on the Alty left.

At the interval Mitchley came on for Clee, who was presumably carrying a knock. There was an excellent early chance for Altrincham when their counter attack was half-cleared to Reeves who, uncharacteristically, struck a close range shot straight to keeper Singh (46 mins).

Next, a fine Lawrie run up the middle got the ball to Watmore but, inside the box, he fell over the ball. After this, following a foul on Mitchley, 35 yards out, Lawrie put the freekick wide (49 mins).

The game remained fairly even as another Lawrie run ended with a Mitchley effort being blocked. There was little of note until Midwood cut in and fired over the Alty bar. Solihull now changed their personnel, as Knights came on for Denny (59 mins).

Just after the hour mark, Alty also made a swap as midfielder Lacey replaced Watmore. Richman moved to the right, with Lacey slotting into the centre and Lawrie on the left. Next, a 25-yarder from Mitchley was well saved, before a less powerful effort from Lawrie also went to the keeper (64 mins).

Alty's performance had now perked up a bit as, first, Moult was seen off in the box and then a freekick was won 40 yards out. However, Alty were not seriously threatening to double their lead, and this trend continued as Richman shot wide from a Lacey feed, after a good build up (69 mins).

Leather conceded a corner under pressure, which led to a second corner, on the Moors' right. From this a free header by a Moors player went easily to Coburn. Then Reeves won a corner at the other end, which produced two more, which came to nothing (73 mins).

Richman was now rather harshly booked, with the referee pointing around the pitch to suggest the card was for cumulative offences (75 mins). Although Fleet lashed a shot at goal it went well wide from 20 yards.

Next, Lawrie won a corner after good work by Lacey, after which a very wild Lacey shot somehow won a corner. Following this, Lacey put the ball over the bar from Reeves's lay off (79 mins). When Lacey was fouled, Knights was booked (81 mins).

More good work from Lacey fed Mitchley, but he overhit his cross. The referee now booked Mitchley for dissent after Richman had again been harshly penalised (83 mins). Substitute Ryan Brooke then came on for Reeves (85 mins).

The game looked to be petering out into a narrow win for Altrincham when the Moors won a corner which Angus nodded forward for English to hook into the net for an equalizer (88 mins). As four added minutes were announced, Beswick rattled the Alty post from 23 yards, with Altrincham seeming to lose their defensive and midfield organization completely.

In added time another Moors corner came to the back of the box from where Angus scored a second for the Moors, to produce a scarcely believable scoreline given how it had stood moments earlier (90+1 mins). To make matter worse, Densmore had an exchange of views about the goal with the referee who took exception to what was said and produced a straight red card for Altrincham's captain (90+2 mins).

Not for the first time, this season, Altrincham had thrown away three points by conceding in the closing stages.