Match Report


TRAFFORD (1) 2 ALTRINCHAM (1) 1

FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round
played on Saturday, 28 September 2013, at 3pm


SUMMARY

Altrincham put up a poor show against their neighbours, Trafford FC, not once seriously testing O'Hara in the home goal. Rory Fallon fired Trafford ahead after 11 minutes but the lead lasted fewer than three minutes before James Walshaw was upended in the box and got up to score from the spot (14 mins).

With Altrincham continuing to misfire in all departments, Michael Oates restored the Trafford lead after 64 minutes with a thumping shot after a couple of team mates' shots had been blocked. Alty never looked like equalizing and bowed out of the Cup with barely a whimper. Trafford may be 19th in the league below Alty but they were certainly the better side today.


SCORERS:


REFEREE: Mr Daniel Meeson
ATTENDANCE: 829
TEAM NEWS

Alty were again without Danny Boshell (groin) but Jake Moult returned on the bench. Damian Reeves was again only named on the bench whilst youth team centre-back Derek Ubah and midfielder Matt Todd were also named as substitutes, seven names being allowed in the FA Cup. So Alty's starting eleven were unchanged from the side which beat Gloucester City in midweek.

Trafford were without former Alty Youth keeper Tom Read but did start with former Robins' left-back, Andy Smart. A former Alty trialist, Tom Schofield, was in the Whites' midfield.


LINE-UPS:

TRAFFORD (All white) 1. Kieran O'Hara, 2. Steve Mason, 3. Andy Smart, 4. Lewis Lacy, 5. Nia Bayunu (capt), 6. Tom Schofield, 7. Shelton Payne, 8. Martyn Andrews, 9. Michael Oates, 10. Rory Fallon, 11 . Paul Ashton, Subs. 12. Kamahl Whight, 14. Jake Parker, 15. Cedric Krou, 16. Chris Palmer, 17. Omar McKenzie, 18. Luke Heron, 19. Hayden Buckley-Smith

ALTRINCHAM (Red and white stripes, red shorts and socks) 1. Stuart COBURN, 2. Shaun DENSMORE (capt), 3. Matt DOUGHTY, 4. Carl RODGERS, 5. Gianluca HAVERN, 6. Scott LEATHER, 7. Brian SMIKLE, 8. Simon RICHMAN, 9. Kyle PERRY, 10. James WALSHAW, 11. Nicky CLEE. Subs. 12. Rob GILROY, 14. Damian REEVES, 15. James LAWRIE, 16. Jake MOULT, 17. Derek UBAH, 18. Adam REID, 19. Matt TODD.


BACKGROUND:

This was Altrincham's fifth successive away draw in the FA Cup but the first time they had met Trafford in a competitive match apart from in a UniBond League match.


REPORT

On a sunny afternoon, on the typically excellent Shawe View surface, Trafford kicked off but soon saw a Mason long-throw cleared. From the start there seemed to be some tension between Matt Doughty and Trafford's Shelton Payne. Following a foul by Doughty, the Alty man pushed his opponent and the two players then stood head to head for several seconds before play resumed with a freekick (4 mins). Mr Meeson showed surprising patience in not producing a yellow card.

When right-back Mason, (who normally plays at centre-back), hesitated, keeper O'Hara had to smother the ball at the feet of the advancing Walshaw (7 mins). The mildly promising start for Altrincham continued as a fine diagonal ball from Rodgers located Doughty but he was beaten by Payne, deep in the Trafford half.

> After a good Trafford move on the left, Scott Leather was unable to clear and a short Schofield pass found Fallon who shot home from the edge of the box (11 mins). Soon afterwards a Fallon cross was sliced by an Alty defender as he attempted to clear but a foul on Coburn ended the danger.

When the ball was played up to the other end, Perry fed Walshaw, to his right, and the striker was unceremoniously brought down inside the box. The clear penalty was duly awarded and Walshaw netted comfortably from the spot, to O'Hara's left, to level the score (14 mins).

However, soon Trafford won a corner, which was taken short by Smart and led to Payne firing a shot against the post (16 mins). Four minutes later a Perry shot from the right seemed to hit Walshaw, rather than be deliberately headed by him, but the ball went wide.

Play was fairly even with no real chances before Clee lost possession and, from an Ashton cross from the left, Oates hooked a sitter over the bar from inside the goalmouth (26 mins). After a Payne cross had been cleared, Doughty again fouled Payne and received a deserved booking (27 mins).

After an Ashton cross had come off Perry for a corner, Ashton volleyed over the bar from 35 yards. At the other end a fine ball by Clee to Doughty ended with Walshaw winning a corner on the left. Trafford left four men upfield for the corner which produced a second corner for Altrincham (31 mins).

From a Densmore cross, Perry headed well over the bar before Trafford started pressing again. But then a foul on Walshaw just outside the box, left of centre, led to a Densmore freekick but this struck the wall. Next, a Havern cross found Doughty, who crossed, but Perry put his effort wide as Alty consistently failed to trouble the young keeper, O'Hara, who is on loan from Manchester United (38 mins).

Alty won a couple of corners which came to nothing as Clee and Smikle briefly switched wings. After his impressive midweek game, Smikle was finding it difficult to make an impression on this match. Indeed, from his mis-pass, Trafford now won a freekick. From 35 yards out, Smart's effort went to Coburn.

As the half went into added time, a fine long ball from Densmore was met by a Walshaw header which dropped onto the bar. But parity was the least Trafford deserved after more than matching their higher-placed opponents.


Half-Time: TRAFFORD 1 ALTRINCHAM 1

The second half started very uneventfully. Things got slightly better just before the hour mark when Perry put Smikle clear but the advance ended as a Walshaw effort was blocked for a corner (58 mins). After a Densmore cross and Perry header to the keeper had been deemed irrelevant by an offside flag, Trafford pressed and won a corner themselves.

Altrincham now made a change, as Clee went off and Lawrie came on (62 mins). But, within two minutes, Altrincham had fallen behind again. Trafford got forward and a couple of Trafford attempts were blocked on the front edge of the Alty box as the ball was worked from left to right. However, the ball arrived in the right of the box at the feet of Oates who blasted a shot home from right of centre.

Altrincham now introduced Moult and Reeves for Perry and Smikle (65 mins). The visitors soon won a corner, following which Walshaw's header just evaded Reeves in the goalmouth. Trafford's Fallon was now booked for blocking a freekick. He need not have bothered as Rodgers's freekick went straight to an opponent (69 mins).

Rodgers was now at right back, with Densmore pushed forward, but Alty were yet to test the Trafford keeper, who was playing only his second game for the club. Alty did win a corner after Lacy muscled off Reeves in a chase for the ball but this came to nothing.

A freekick was awarded when Walshaw was flattened on the edge of the "D", after which Lawrie's shot was deflected. Next Trafford introduced new signing Parker for Ashton. Then, with six minutes left, Trafford's Krou came on for Payne (84 mins).

Lawrie won an 86th minute corner, which was cleared to Richman whose off target shot got a fortunate deflection for another corner. But still there was no real sign of an Altrincham goal being created before play moved to the other end, where Havern was penalized on the edge of the box as he fouled Oates on the edge of the box; Havern was booked (87 mins).

Smart's shot from the freekick went for a corner and, with the game into added time, Trafford took Oates off and brought Whight on (90+1 mins). Alty did win a corner in the fourth added minute, after which Moult shot well wide. There was still time for Lawrie to be booked for a foul to round off a poor afternoon for the visitors in which they had never really threatened to score from open play.

Trafford deservedly advance to represent the Metropolitan Borough in the next round and we wish them well at that stage and beyond.


Full-Time: TRAFFORD 2 ALTRINCHAM 1