Match Report

REFEREE: Mr D Meeson

ATTENDANCE: 768

Carl Rodgers was again out, after suffering hamstring trouble at Worcester but Shaun Densmore returned following his suspension. For Matt Doughty, it was his 100th appearance for Altrincham (96+4 games).

BACKGROUND:

After their fine FA Cup performances against Burton Albion, it was a return to league action for Altrincham in their first Saturday league game at Moss Lane for nine weeks. Despite several really impressive away performances, (at Gainsborough and Corby in particular), the Robins's home record was poor - just two wins in six BSBN matches -albeit three of the defeats in that sequence were against the current top three in the league.

LINE-UPS:

Hinckley kicked off on a sunny afternoon, which had followed a damp morning in Altrincham. The Knitters were defending the Golf Road end, with a small number of their supporters occupying the Carole Nash Family end. Alty started the better of the two sides though the opening few minutes were relatively uneventful with nothing like a good goalscoring chance presenting itself.

For the visitors, Newton won a throw which caused some danger in the Altrincham box, before Hall hacked the ball away (7 mins). But soon afterwards, Altrincham opened the scoring; an excellent ball up the inside left channel set Lawrie running at goal. As goalkeeper Peet came to meet him, Lawrie jinked outside him and from a sharp angle, slotted the ball home as the match went into its eighth minute.

The goal was soon followed by a Clee chip which drifted narrowly wide and to underline Alty's dominance a Doughty cross won a corner on the left. Doughty and Clee on the left and Leather and Densmore on the right were all regularly getting forward, with one covering for the other, as the home side played some impressive attacking football.

But there were no more clear openings at this stage as, first, keeper Peet gathered a looping header from Lawrie and, then, Richman was well tackled as he got into the Hinckley box. The pressure continued as a Densmore shot was blocked (17 mins). A Moult foul on Harrop gave Hinckley a freekick 35 yards out, which was well-struck by Harrop, forcing Coburn to tip the ball over the bar for a corner (18 mins).

But Altrincham continued to show respect for the visitors as they pulled all ten outfield men back for a Hinckley corner. Following this an impressive Clee dribble led to a ball inside, which seemed destined for Moult but Densmore nipped in and shot comfortably wide. Hinckley's most lively threat was proving to be Harrop and he now cut inside and got in a good shot which was slightly deflected out for a corner (21 mins).

At the other end, Richman was played in but could not find any team-mate with his lay-off. Though Alty were making the running, Hinckley had settled after their shaky start. Next, a Lawrie shot was saved, low down by Peet and then Doughty got to the byline and forced a save with a strong shot. After this, Clee was played into the box but slipped as he was about to shoot from left of goal (26 mins).

Altrincham finally made another breakthrough and an impressive goal it was, too. Densmore played the ball in diagonally from the right about 40 yards out. Moult showed great control, as he cushioned the ball on his chest then swivelled and volleyed a superb shot into the far corner of the net, giving Peet no chance (29 mins).

It should have been 3-0 on the half-hour when a great ball from Doughty played Reeves clear, but he lifted his shot well over the bar. Next, Lawrie was set free by Clee's fine cross and he laid the ball towards the far post. Just as Reeves seemed certain to score from close range he was expertly tackled. Hinckley were now being carved open regularly by a rampant Altrincham.

Play stopped, however, as Clee was hurt by a Towers challenge; no freekick was given but Clee needed treatment (35 mins). Hinckley had a glimmer of hope when Harrop got in a shot, which went wide of the vacant net (39 mins).

Next, a Richman shot was beaten out and cleared before Densmore advanced and fired just wide from 22 yards. After this Richman won a freekick on the edge of the box, even though he had poked the ball to Reeves who had seen his shot saved. From the freekick, Densmore scored, his kick going into the net despite Peet getting his hands to it before it went in off the inside of his left post (45 mins).

So for the fifth game in all competitions this season Altrincham had a three-goal (or more) lead at the interval - and they could have had more had the normally efficient Reeves converted two very good chances.

At the interval, Holt and Hartland came on for Hinckley, replacing Headley and Newton. Following a Cole foul on Densmore, a freekick on the right by Clee allowed Reeves to poke the ball towards goal but time seemed to stop as it trickled onto the goalpost and keeper Peet smothered it (47 mins). At the other end as Coburn likewise tried to smother the ball in his goalmouth he received a facial knock that required lengthy treatment from busy physio, Alan Ainsley.

The subs seemed to have given Hinckley a bit more spark going forward but as the hour mark approached Moult won a freekick on the right but Clee's kick went out of play in front of the near post. Alan Ainsley was called on again as Scott Leather was hurt in an aerial challenge, after which Holt got in a shot, which was saved (58 mins).

Altrincham made it 4-0 when Clee's strong shot looped off the keeper's parry and went into the net as Reeves arrived to make sure it crossed the line (60 mins). After the restart, Reeves had the ball in the net but he was rightly ruled offside. Next, Lane was booked for a foul on Reeves near half way, after which Reeves was clearly held in the box by Raglan but no action was taken.

Despite their mauling Hinckley continued to show some fight as a shot from Harrop forced a save by Coburn and earned the Knitters' player some deserved applause from the home crowd. When Clee was tripped on the edge of the box, Richards-Everton was booked. Densmore's freekick, from 20 yards, struck low to the left of the keeper, was touched onto the post by Peet and went into the net. Peet had got a hand on three of the goals but had been unable to keep them out (68 mins).

Altrincham now brought on Brooke for Doughty (69 mins) before a Hartland shot flew across Alty's goal. Danny Hall was apparently cautioned for dissent (72 mins) before Mitchley replaced Reeves (73 mins). After a great Densmore interception and run by the Alty captain, Mitchley miscued his shot from Densmore's low cross (78 mins). Now Watmore came on for Havern (79 mins). Clee was now at left back as a good run from Richman won a corner.

After 82 minutes a trademark Watmore run gave Mitchley a shot from 25 yards which he scooped well over the bar. Three minutes later, as Brooke ran into the box he lost his footing under a challenge from the advancing keeper. Though he tried to stay on his feet, Brooke went down and the referee awarded a penalty, with the unlucky Peet seeing a red card; video evidence showed the contact was a good yard outside the box. With no replacement keeper available, Lane put on the goalkeeping jersey, despite being the smallest man on the pitch (85 mins).

Brooke, who had not scored in his 15 appearances to date, converted the penalty comfortably to make it 6-0 (87 mins). Now a man short, Hinckley were getting overrun. When Lawrie blasted in a thirty-yarder, Lane the stand-in keeper made a good stop, but he could not hold the ball and Watmore pounced to score (89 mins). With four added minutes being played, Watmore was put through and despite stumbling, the ball ran through Lane's challenge into the net to round off an 8-0 win (90+3 mins).

It was hard not to have some sympathy for Hinckley's young team, for whom everything seemed to go wrong. But Altrincham were certainly impressive as they showed no sign of having played a tough FA Cup match against a League Two side fewer than 48 hours earlier.