Match Report

REFEREE: Mr S Lucas

ATTENDANCE: 1,274

Pre-match fitness doubts concerned Carl Rodgers and fellow midfielder, Danny Boshell and they were two of the six starters of last Tuesday's game not to be in the initial eleven today. Rested were goalkeeper Stuart Coburn, Matt Doughty, Duncan Watmore and Damian Reeves. Matt was on the bench and, for Damian, it was the first game he had not started in the league season. The six replacements were goalkeeper Tony McMillan, who was making his debut, plus Danny Hall, Patrick Lacey, Simon Richman, Ryan Brooke and Jake Moult.

Droylsden included former Alty men Carlos Logan and Joe O'Neill in their starting line-up but Lewis Chalmers was only on the bench.

LINE-UPS:

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, red shorts & socks): 1. Tony McMILLAN, 2. Shaun DENSMORE (capt), 3. Scott LEATHER, 4. Pat LACEY, 5. Gianluca HAVERN, 6. Danny HALL, 7. Simon RICHMAN, 8. Jake MOULT, 9. Ryan BROOKE, 10. James LAWRIE, 11. Nicky CLEE. Subs: 12. Matt DOUGHTY, 14. Damian REEVES, 15. Sam GRIMSHAW, 16. Callum MOONEY, 18. Josh SAMBERG

DROYLSDEN (All blue): 1. Dale Latham, 2. Lewis Killeen, 3. Carlos Logan, 4. Andy Langford, 5. Lee McEvilly, 6. Robert Sissons (cpt), 7. Steve Hall, 8. Luke Gallagher, 9. Joe O'Neill, 10. John Grant, 11. Jason Gilchrist. Subs: 12. Matt Ward, 14. Stefan Cox, 15. Lewis Chalmers, 16. Nick Crerand, 17. Aeon Lattie

BACKGROUND:

Moss Lane is not a happy venue for the Bloods, who before today's match had never won here in fifteen attempts. They arrived today already condemned to relegation to the EvoStik Northern Premier League.

Mike Garnett's statistics on previous encounters between Altrincham and Droylsden showed...

Altrincham had won the reverse fixture this season, 5-0.

On a cool but sunny afternoon, in the middle of the Altrincham FC Beer Festival, Altrincham kicked off towards the Hale end. The game opened quietly and, following a Droylsden freekick near half way, the visitors won the game's first corner, on their left (5 mins). After this, Gallagher went close to hitting the target from 25 yards, whilst Alty's only early effort was a Lawrie shot which went well wide from left of goal (7 mins).

Alty were conceding regular freekicks at this stage but from the next one, taken by 31 year-old Northern Irish international striker Lee McEvilly, who now operates as a centre-back, the ball ran straight to McMillan. Simon Richman felt the effect of the burly McEvilly as he literally bounced off him inside the Droylsden box.

After the uneventful opening ten minutes, Altrincham began to get a hold on the game with a good Clee cross, cleared by Logan, followed by an off-target effort from Shaun Densmore fromgood play by James Lawrie. The breakthrough came after 15 minutes when Droylsden failed to clear some Alty probings and, from the edge of the box in a central position, Nicky Clee chipped the ball over keeper Latham with his right foot, to make it 1-0.

The fragility of the visitors' defence was soon in evidence again when a long ball saw Lawrie and Latham converging on it from opposite directions. As Lawrie sidestepped the advancing keeper, Latham took his eye off the ball and it bounced clear to Lawrie, who was now behind the keeper, left of goal. Although his lay-back found no team mate, Droylsden failed to clear the ball adequately and it fell to Jake Moult who hammered a swerving left-footed shot past Latham to double the Robins' lead (19 mins).

At this point Ward replaced the injured Gilchrist for Droylsden. Moments later Moult almost replicated Clee's chipped goal but this time Latham got back to catch it. Play was now one-way until McMillan was required to smother a through ball as O'Neill advanced towards it (21 mins).

Alty were soon pressing again as Densmore beat Logan and his cross from the right was headed just wide at the back post by Moult. Ward was looking as lively as anyone for the visitors and he now obliged McMillan to block the ball with his feet as the substitute arrived in the box.

The score became 3-0 in the 28th minute when Densmore's ball forward found Moult who was challenged, the ball falling for Brooke who hammered it home impressively from the edge of the box Two minutes later, following good skill from Richman, Brooke had shown impressive skill to chest the ball down and put it in the net only for the flag to rule his effort offside.

Droylsden looked somewhat better going forward than defending and, now, Ward won his side a corner, which McEvilly nodded over the bar. Next Havern dived to block Steve Hall's shot before the same player shot the ball high onto Golf Road (34 mins).

After Richman had got to the by-line on the left, Clee shot wide and another chance went begging when Clee fed Brooke, who in turn located the unmarked Lawrie but he sliced his effort well wide (38 mins).

Steve Hall now chipped McMillan but his effort landed on the roof of the net. At the other end Brooke found Lawrie, whose effort from left of goal was cleared off the line by Logan. The openness of the game continued as Grant curled a shot wide and in the first of two added minutes Lacey curled an effort narrowly wide at the other end. There was still time for a piece of Clee skill to feed Moult, who won a corner on the right. Brooke headed this home at the near post to make it 4-0. It was Brooke's sixth goal of the season and his fourth in three games.

Each side made an interval change. Droylsden introduced Lewis Chalmers for Killeen while Matt Doughty came on for Nicky Clee in left midfield. As in the first half the opening ten minutes were pretty uneventful. But in the 56th minute McEvilly's arm caught Lawrie's head and the Bloods' number five was booked.

Joe O'Neill won the first of two successive Droylsden corners, which Alty defended capably. From a subsequent counter-attack, Droylsden should have won a penalty as O'Neill was clearly being pulled back as he advanced into the box (60 mins). Next, a Lawrie corner was caught by Latham but the keeper did less well in the 64th minute. As an Alty ball came in from their right, he seemed to make a smart interception but he inexplicably dropped the ball, leaving Moult with an open goal which he did not spurn.

And 5-0 soon became 6-0 when a long ball set the lively Lawrie running at Latham. The Alty man sidestepped the keeper to slot home his tenth goal in all competitions this season and become the third Alty player into double figures for the campaign (67 mins). It was also Alty's 100th league goal this season, the first time they have achieved this since 1967-68 in the Cheshire County League.

The Golf Road Choir was now in even better voice as they reprised their composition "Que sera, sera, we're going to Brack-er-ley" in anticipation of the play-off semi-finals.

To their credit, Droylsden kept going and won another corner before Sam Grimshaw came on, in left midfield. It was the youth-team graduate's first appearance since last August, after a season disrupted by injuries incurred whilst on loan. He replaced Simon Richman who had again impressed on his return from injury.

Brooke was clearly looking for a hat-trick as he saw another shot saved. Next, Lawrie almost repeated his earlier goal but this time the chase for a long ball was won by Latham. Soon Lawrie gave way to Callum Mooney, a current youth team midfielder, who was making his first-team debut today (78 mins). Mooney was deployed in central midfield, with Doughty at left back, Leather now at right back and Densmore in right-midfield.

The Bloods landed a shot on target which McMillan saved (87 mins) before a Logan freekick went straight to the Alty keeper (90 mins). Three added minutes were played out without undue incident allowing Altrincham to celebrate finishing the season in fourth place. In addition to their century of goals, 10 more than last season, Alty have conceded 20 fewer goals this season and gained 19 more points than in the 2011-12 campaign. And this 24th win of the season has not been bettered since 1978/79 in the Northern Premier League. As he had promised on appointment, Lee Sinnott has put a smile on supporter's faces this season.