Match Report

ALTRINCHAM (2) 2
STOCKPORT COUNTY (1) 3

Vanarama National League North match
played on Saturday, 3 September 2016, at 3pm

SUMMARY

In five matches this season Altrincham have scored first but failed to win on any of those occasions. This time they were undone by two goals in the last fifteen minutes of normal time.

James Lawrie put Alty ahead from a feed by Miller in the 14th minute before Clark was allowed an unhindered header to equalize from a 26th minute freekick.

Altrincham went ahead again in the 35th minute when Miller finished a Reeves cross superbly. But Alty rarely threatened the visitors' goal in the second half and substitute Spencer levelled with a shot from outside the box after Alty had failed to challenge him as he advanced 20 yards. That was with fifteen minutes left. And another headed goal from a corner won it for County in the 87th minutes, Smalley being the scorer.

SCORERS:
REFEREE: Mr Simon Mather
ATTENDANCE: 2,355 (863 in away end)
TEAM NEWS

Altrincham made four changes. Patterson, Goodall, the returning Deasy and Miller came in for Sumner, Dawber, Lynch and Sinclair.

LINE-UPS:

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts): 1. Tim DEASY, 2. Sam HEATHCOTE, 3.Sam PATTERSON, 4. Jon MORAN, 5. John CYRUS, 6. Adam GOODALL, 7. Simon RICHMAN, 8. Jake MOULT, 9. James LAWRIE, 10. Damian REEVES, 11. Sean MILLER. Subs: 12. David LYNCH. 14. Harry CAIN, 15. Emile SINCLAIR, 16. Craig HOBSON, 17. Andrew DAWBER.

STOCKPORT COUNTY (Grey with fluorescent green trim shirts and socks and white shorts) 1. Ben Hinchliffe; 2. Mark Ross, 3. Scott Duxbury; 4. Courtney Meppen-Walter, 5. Michael Clarke, 6. Chris Smalley, 7. Sam Minihan, 8. Lewis Montrose, 9. Kayodi Odejayi, 10. John Marsden, 11. Danny Lloyd. Subs: 12. Craig Carney, 13. Ian Ormson, 14. Glenn Rule, 15. Scott Spencer, 16. Josh Amis.

BACKGROUND

Following four successive defeats, Altrincham were still looking for their first win of the campaign. For the second match in succession the players' triumvirate of Densmore, Goodall and Moult were in charge of the team today as Alty look for a new manager following last week's resignation of Neil Young.

REPORT

County kicked off in pouring rain towards the well-populated away end. After trading a couple of free kicks, neither side's keeper was troubled though Miller had to be halted by a timely block just as he was about to shoot (7 mins).

Alty deployed Heathcote again at right-back with Patterson returning, after injury, as left-back. Play was disrupted by treatment for a facial knock to Miller and then Goodall was hurt in a challenge with Marsden (11 mins).

Altrincham took a 14th minute lead when a move was finished by Miller's lay off for Lawrie, whose low shot from outside the box seemed to go through Hinchcliffe and into the net to make it 1-0.

At the other end, Deasy had to come out to smother the ball ahead of the lively Lloyd, who soon had another run halted by Goodall. Next, Patterson cleared for a corner on County's right (17 mins).

Five minutes later, Lloyd went down looking for a penalty which he did not get but County did get a freekick, 30 yards out, left of goal, when Cyrus tripped an opponent and got himself booked. From Lloyd's freekick the unmarked Clark headed home to make it 1-1 (26 mins).

Following this a Lloyd effort had to be beaten away for a corner by Deasy who soon had to save again from the same player who looked County's major threat (28 mins). Following a County corner, Duxbury clattered Reeves and got a lecture from Mr Mather (29 mins).

Play was pretty unremarkable before Reeves was given offside despite the ball coming to him off two County touches. But a minute later, Alty regained their lead. A deep Reeves cross, from the right, was met on the half volley by a brilliant sidefoot finish by Miller to make it 2-1 (35 mins).

Play meandered uneventfully in the wet conditions towards the interval. Three added minutes had no impact on the score as Alty went off with their lead intact.

Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 2
STOCKPORT COUNTY 1

County brought on Amis for Meppen-Walter at the interval, during which the rain had stopped. The second half began as the first had finished with little quality and no hint of a goal from either team.

But then Heathcote tried to head the ball back to Deasy but failed to do so, leaving Lloyd clear in the box. However, Deasy blocked well and even won a goalkick (54 mins).

Dissent from Heathcote over a throw-in earned him a lecture for him in front of his captain. Just before the hour mark, Cain came on for his league debut, in place of Miller who had produced some bright moments in the first half (59 mins).

Next County introduced former Hyde striker, Scott Spencer in place of Odejayi (62 mins). It had been a very scrappy second half so far.

Good work by Patterson and Cain led to a Lawrie ball for Richman who was caught by the keeper as he kicked clear.

Alty were not threatening at all up front but a Smalley miskick gave them a corner, which the keeper missed but County cleared. It took a brilliant sliding tackle by Patterson to halt a County man in Alty's box but the escape was brief as Spencer was then allowed to run up the middle unchallenged for 20 yards before planting a low shot past Deasy to level the game at 2-2 (75 mins).

County now retained the initiative and a low shot had to be clawed away by Deasy for a corner. On 80 minutes, Rule came on for Montrose. With it now raining again, Sinclair replaced Goodall (82 mins). Cain beat two men on the left but County counter-attacked and gained a corner. This was soon followed by another corner, off Moran. And then a third corner was won.

From the right the corner was met by an unmarked Smalley who headed it home at the back post to make it 2-3 (87 mins). This was the cue for some mindless idiot to run onto the pitch from the away end and then he and accomplices in the crowd battled with the stewards who eventually carted him off. The lunacy continued as another idiot in the County end threw a smoke bomb onto the pitch which delayed proceedings further. To behave like this when your team is winning beggars belief.

In the first added minute Hobson came on for Heathcote. But County went close again as a Lloyd shot flew across goal and was almost turned into Deasy's net by Amis. At the other end Cain got Sinclair to the byline but he produced a wild cross(90+2 mins).

Although play went into a seventh added minute there was no way back for Altrincham who went down to their fifth successive defeat and found themselves in the relegation places at the final whistle.

In the second half Altrincham had scarcely threatened the County goal and, having conceded three times from situations which could have been defended much better, they could not complain at the outcome. However, there were signs, as at Kidderminster, of an upturn in Altrincham's form which need to be built on once a settled side can be established.

Full-Time: ALTRINCHAM 2
STOCKPORT COUNTY 3
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