Match Report

Both of necessity and choice Jim Harvey rang the changes. Tim Deasy was injured on Saturday. At left-back was new loan signing Josh Doherty from Leyton Orient. Alan Goodall's wife was very ill, Sam Heathcote was ill, whilst Deasy, Hall, Hannigan, Densmore and Cyrus remained sidelined by injury. So, of necessity, two strikers (Hobson and Hattersley) were named in yet another central defensive pairing.

LINE-UPS:

NUNEATON TOWN (Blue and white) 1.Christian Dibble; 2. James Clifton, 5. Kelvin Langmead, 6. Jordan Keane, 3. Ben O’Hanlon, 4. David Morgan, 8. Billy Daniels, 7. Greg Tempest, 10. Elliott Whitehouse, 11. Aaron Williams, 9. Joe Ironside, Subs: 12. Alex Penny, 14. Euan Cartwright, 16. Sam Warburton, 15. Shaq McDonald, 17. Daniel Demkiv

ALTRINCHAM (All yellow): 1. Andrew DAWBER 2. Sam PATTERSON, 3. Josh DOHERTY, 4. Danny HATTERSLEY, 5. Craig HOBSON, 6. Simon RICHMAN 7. James LAWRIE, 8. Jake MOULT, 9. Charlie JOYCE, 10. Damian REEVES, 11. Sean MILLER, Subs 12. David LYNCH, 14. Harry CAIN, 15. Jon MORAN, 16 Fabio BASSANGUE, 20. Andrew JONES (gk)

Altrincham arrived for their tenth fixture of the league season, still looking for their first win. They had lost their previous fixture, against Gloucester City, 5-0, and lay second-bottom in the league.

Mike Garnett reminds us of our record against Nuneaton Town.

• At home: P2-W1-D0-L1-F2-A1
• Away: P2-W0-D0-L2-F2-A4
• All: P4-W1-D0-L3-F4-A5

After Alty had kicked off, Reeves shot well wide from 30 yards in the second minute. After an uneventful few minutes, a cross from the Boro left, was miskicked by Doherty, then Dawber blocked but could not hold a shot before Whitehouse netted the loose ball (8 mins).

Things got much worse a minute later as Joyce dwelt with the ball on the front edge of Alty's box, centrally. An opponent dispossessed him and Joyce then brought the man down to concede a penalty. To make things worse, Joyce was shown a red card and slowly trudged off (9 mins).

But Whitehouse's spot kick was well saved by Dawber, diving low to his left, conceding a corner (11 mins). The mad few minutes continued as Miller tripped Whitehouse and was booked (12 mins).

Then Altrincham were carved open again, and it took a fine Dawber block to stop Williams's close-range shot as Nuneaton dominated (14 mins). The keeper had kept the score down and he made another impressive block as Nuneaton again waltzed into the box.

But then, from a Reeves lay off, Miller drifted onto his right foot and hammered a superb shot into Dibble's top left corner from 25 yards to make it 1-1 (17 mins). At the back Alty looked fragile. From a corner won after Patterson had been beaten, Langmead headed over the bar. Soon afterwards, Hobson was beaten in the air but Williams fired over (19 mins).

A rare foray forward saw Reeves fire over from Lawrie's feed from a Richman pass (23 mins). Next, after Alty had cleared to an opponent. Dawber saved Ironside's 20-yarder. Nuneaton continued to dominate as a good Clifton cross was headed over by Whitehouse when Ironside was better placed (28 mins).

When a cross from the left to the back post led to Hobson barging Ironside out of way, there were strong appeals for another penalty (31 mins). After Patterson had conceded a corner on Boro's left, a header from the corner bounced to Dawber.

After Hobson had done well to head clear a Clifton cross, the ball came back in and Ironside lobbed a volley across Dawber from 10 yards to make it 2-1 (34 mins).

Alty remained largely on the back foot, until an O'Hanlon cross found Williams, who hit the bar and with Alty unable to clear, Whitehouse netted the loose ball to make it 3-1 (43 mins).

Despite announcing one added minute, Mr Tankard played a generous three. In the second of these, a cross came off Hobson's shin and flew just wide of his own goal for a corner. It was to prove costly as the ball came in from the left, a Langmead effort was blocked and Williams made it 4-1 (45+3 mins).

At the break, Penny came on for his debut to replace Morgan for Nuneaton. Six minutes in, Whitehouse just cleared the bar from a left-side feed. Then the impressive O'Hanlon intercepted the ball, advanced and shot just wide.

Boro now dominated possession against the ten men for whom it was a case of damage limitation now. After a Hattersley foul on the front edge of the box, Williams who shot badly wide (57 mins).

Alty's supporters managed to keep singing despite the score and an unwanted impending club record of eleven games without a win from the start of the season.

Perhaps with thoughts on Saturday's FA Cup match, Alty made a triple substitution as Lynch, Moran and Cain came on for Reeves, Richman and Hattersley (64 mins). And Boro brought on Warburton for the injured Tempest (65 mins).

Alty had an escape as Dawber missed a cross and then did not hold a shot before a follow up was poked wide (69 mins). Lawrie was now the lone front man but it was Miller who now got into the box but was halted.

On 74 minutes, ex-Halifax man McDonald replaced Williams as Alty's ten men were working hard. From another O'Hanlon cross Whitehouse headed over the bar.

After a trip on Warburton tripped on the front edge of the box, Dawber saved the freekick (83 mins). Then Daniels shot wide from 22 yards. When Clifton fouled Cain as he was getting free near half way, he was booked (85 mins).

A good Cain run into the box ended disappointingly as he played the ball back to Lawrie who shot wide (87 mins). With just two added minutes of added time announced, a floodlight in the corner went out but before Alty could raise any hope of a reprieve through floodlight failure, the final whistle sounded.

So another heavy defeat was inflicted on an Alty side decimated by injury, illness and the shortcomings of summer recruitment. The one positive was the application shown in the second half by the ten men who kept Nuneaton from adding to their first-half tally.