Match Report
BURTON ALBION (0) 3 ALTRINCHAM (2) 3
played on Sunday, 4 November 2012, at 3pm
SUMMARY
Altrincham came within 90 seconds of adding Burton Albion to their extensive list of Football League scalps in the FA Cup. And the Brewers could not have complained, especially after the first half, which Altrincham dominated. The interval arrived with Alty 2-0 up but having missed a penalty, awarded when Richman was upended by the keeper, as well as a couple of good chances.
The penalty, in the fifth minute, was taken by Damian Reeves but, for the fourth time this season, he failed to score from the spot. However, later, Nicky Clee beat two men on the Burton left and his cross was despatched by Carl Rodgers to give Alty a 29th minute lead.
Five minutes later, a well-taken corner from the Alty right by Clee was sliced into his own net by Burton's Stanton. With James Lawrie also spurning a couple of decent chances, the Robins could have wrapped the game up by half-time.
Burton were much improved in the second half and they got a goal back, eight minutes after the break, when Diamond was allowed to score as a freekick was played into the box. After Moult had unluckily conceded a penalty for hand-ball, Weir blasted the resulting Burton penalty yards over the bar.
Alty almost made it 3-1 when Moult hit the underside of the bar. However, Burton levelled the score, after 76 minutes, when Maghoma was allowed to score from a Brewers' freekick from the left which drifted into the box.
When substitute Watmore's cross from the right was put into his own net by McCrory, with five minutes left, it looked good for the visitors. However, a speculative cross from the right by Chappel was diverted into the net by Zola's had to make it 3-3 in the third minute of added time.
It was a harsh outcome for an Alty side which had played some excellent football against a team two divisions higher in football's pyramid.
SCORERS:
REFEREE: Mr Michael Bull
ATTENDANCE: 1,969 (338 in away terrace + about 60 in away stand)
TEAM NEWS
Alty were without injured centre-back Gianluca Havern, so Scott Leather started at centre-back. Damian Reeves took to the pitch in a number 19 kit as his normal number 10 kit had been mislaid!
BACKGROUND:
This was Altrincham's first appearance in Round One for four seasons. They were attempting to make Burton Albion their seventeenth Football League scalp in the competition - though their last such victory was as far back as 1994/95 when they defeated Wigan Athletic who, of course, are now in the Premier League!
LINE-UPS:
BURTON ALBION (Yellow & black): 30. Mark Oxley, 20. Anthony O'Connor, 4. Nathan Stanton, 5. Zander Diamond, 14. Damien McCrory, 27. Jordan Chappell, 8. Robbie Weir, 23. Lee Bell, 19. Jacques Maghoma, 10. Calvin Zola, 29. Billy Kee. Subs: 9. Justin Richards, 16. Dean Lyness, 18. Matt Paterson, 21. Marcus Holness, 7. Cleveland Taylor, 11. Chris Palmer, 22. Jack Dyer
ALTRINCHAM (Aquamarine shirts and socks, grey shorts): 1. Stuart COBURN, 2. Shaun DENSMORE (capt), 3. Matt DOUGHTY, 4. Carl RODGERS, 5. Scott LEATHER, 6. Danny HALL, 7. Simon RICHMAN, 8. Jake MOULT, 9. James LAWRIE, 19. Damian REEVES, 11. Nicky CLEE, Subs: 12. Sam GRIMSHAW, 14. Patrick LACEY, 15. Duncan WATMORE, 16. Danny MITCHLEY, 17. Ryan BROOKE, 18. Adam REID
REPORT
With some 400 travelling fans easily outsinging the Brewers' support, Altrincham kicked off and went on to dominate the first half against their League Two opponents. Their first chance arose after an early foul on Reeves, when Lawrie shot wide (2 mins).
When Richman was upended in the box by Oxley, Altrincham were awarded a penalty but the offender escaped further punishment. Unfortunately, Damian Reeves missed his fourth spot kick of the season as his shot was well saved by Oxley, to his left (5 mins).
Undaunted, Alty continued to dominate and won three successive corners, following which Reeves was kicked in the chest but no penalty was awarded this time (7 mins). As the visitors continued to set the pace, Lawrie ballooned an effort over the bar from Reeves's feed (14 mins).
Next, a great low cross by Clee came to Lawrie, who sliced his shot badly wide (15 mins). After Richman had been barged into the pitch side hoardings, he was fortunate to be able to play on. There was only one side in it so far; Altrincham. After a brief stoppage to replace a linesman's defective flag, Coburn was finally called into action when he had to get down to divert a shot round his right upright. This gave Albion a corner, which came to a Burton player who blasted it over the bar (21 mins).
Next, a Lawrie 20-yarder just cleared the Burton bar as the away support continued in fine voice. In the 27th minute Burton shot wide after a Hall and Leather mix up but, otherwise, the new defensive pairing, brought about by Havern's injury, performed well.
Clee was looking lively for Alty and, after he had taken a freekick, the ball came back to him and, inside the box, he brilliantly got past two defenders with a smart turn and played in a cross from the right of the box. The ball came to Rodgers, who hammered the ball in from close range (29 mins).
Still Burton were second best and Alty soon won a corner on the right. Clee took this impressively and, as it went through the goalmouth, Stanton turned it into his own net to give Altrincham a well-deserved two-goal lead (34 mins).
Next, a Densmore cross just cleared the bar before the Alty captain was harshly booked for a foul. Alty were briefly reduced to ten men when the referee made Richman go off for treatment to a cut elbow, presumably caused by his earlier collision with the advertising hoardings (39 mins).
Burton continued to play poorly as Richman returned to the fray. A wayward shot by Lawrie from 35 yards went a similar number of feet, over the bar (42 mins). An excellent Alty move almost yielded a goal but, after Lawrie's feed to Reeves, the keeper, Oxley, saved well at the second attempt (44 mins).
With the expectation of a half-time roasting from their manager, Burton finally raised their game in added time, winning a corner as Coburn saved well from Maghoma. Two more successive corners followed but half-time arrived with Alty deservedly two-up - and it could have been four had they taken their chances.
| Half-Time: BURTON ALBION 0 ALTRINCHAM 2 |
Unusually, Alty came out very early for the second half and had a kick around before Burton appeared. The Brewers emerged and kicked off, defending the away end. Initially Alty got forward through Clee and then Lawrie, but at last Burton belatedly came to life.
Six minutes into the half, Weir shot just wide from 20 yards. Then, from a Burton freekick awarded for a challenge on Chappell on the wide right, the unmarked Diamond hooked a long freekick from Bell into the net to make it 1-2 (53 mins). Next, Chappell forced a tip over by Coburn for a corner, following which the Alty keeper seemed to be fouled and lost the ball, but nothing was given (55 mins).
But, as the hour mark arrived, Alty settled after Burton's good spell. But then Moult had a penalty awarded against him. The midfielder had gone up to try and clear a ball in his own box but, when it struck his raised arm, the referee pointed to the spot. Not only did Weir miss the penalty he drove it many yards over the bar (64 mins).
Soon after this, Weir's afternoon got worse as he was booked when he flattened Clee (67 mins). Paterson now replaced Kee for Albion, after which Moult was fouled (70 mins). From the freekick on the right by Lawrie, a corner was won by Alty, which Clee put into the side-netting.
At the other end, a Zola header went just wide (71 mins). But Altrincham now put together an impressive move which started in central midfield and ended when Moult's shot from 12 yards hit the underside of bar and Reeves headed the rebound over the bar (73 mins).
After Burton had won a corner off Leather, Burton claimed a penalty but it was not given. However, the Brewers' O'Connor did win a freekick on their left, for which Reeves was booked (75 mins). This proved costly as, again, Alty failed to mark Diamond and Maghoma, from a long hopeful Bell freekick into their box, allowing Burton, again, to score from close range (76 mins). Though the tannoy gave Diamond the goal, Maghoma was later awarded it.
As time ticked away, Alty brought on Watmore for Clee (81 mins) and they were soon applying pressure. Soon a cross from the right by Watmore was turned past his keeper by McCrory (85 mins); it looked as if this would be the decider. After a brief stoppage to deal with a snapped corner flag, Alty made a change when Brooke came on for Reeves (88 mins). As the ninety minutes reached its conclusion, a Burton player was booked but it was not clear who it was (89 mins).
Surprisingly, the referee found reason to declare five added minutes. During this, a lay-off from Watmore came to Lawrie but his mis-firing afternoon continued to the end as he shot into the side netting. But, then, deep into the third minute of added time another hopeful cross from Chappel, on the Burton right, drifted across the box and Zola's head diverted it into the net (90+3 mins).
In the fourth added minute, Burton's O'Connor was booked for a foul. The resulting freekick was wasted by Lawrie and, so, Altrincham had been robbed by a very late equalizer of a game they deserved to win. Their Achilles heel proved to be an inability to deal with long balls thrown into their penalty area - the route for all three of Burton's goals; but sharper finishing at the other end would also have ensured a victory.
Disappointing though the final result was, this was an excellent team performance from Altrincham and it was The Brewers who were the happier with the outcome.
| Full-Time: BURTON ALBION 3 ALTRINCHAM 3 |