Match Report

HYDE UNITED (0) 2 ALTRINCHAM (1) 1

Cheshire Senior Cup Round Two match
played on Tuesday, 14 February 2017, at 7.45pm

SUMMARY

In this Cheshire Senior Cup Second Round match Altrincham were knocked out by a Hyde United side from two levels further down the non-League pyramid. Without the injured Densmore, Owens, Miller, Hobson, Richman and Hannigan, Alty gave debuts to new signings Chris Lynch, who played at right-back, and Micah Evans, who was deployed as a striker.

Loanee Elliott Newby gave Altrincham a seventeenth-minute lead but the visitors failed to build on it and, in the rest of the game, barely tested their former keeper, Russ Saunders, in the Tigers' goal. Hyde equalised after 57 minutes when they opened up the Alty defence and, after a goal-line clearance by McWilliams, Khamsuk netted the loose ball.

An incisive move, started on the right near halfway by Hyde substitute Boyle, was completed by the same player after an interchange with Khamsuk, to give Hyde a 2-1 lead midway through the second half.

Alty belatedly got forward and brought on defender Heathcote as an auxiliary forward but they were unable to force the game into extra time.

SCORERS:
REFEREE: Mr Richard Woodward
ATTENDANCE: 170
TEAM NEWS

In the absence of six injured players (Miller, Hobson, Hannigan, Densmore, Owens, Richman), Altrincham fielded a side with only two changes from the most recent league game, with Heathcote and the injured Owens being replaced by debutants Chris Lynch (at right-back) and Micah Evans (deployed as a striker).

LINE-UPS

HYDE UNITED (Red shirts, navy blue shorts and socks): 1. Russ Saunders 2. Kyle Harrison, 3. James Burke, 4. Laurence Bell, 5. Harry Coates, 6. Paddy Miller, 7. Oliver Ford, 8. Janni Lipka, 9. Ayrton Bevins, 10. Phattharaphol Khamsuk, 11. Jamal Branker. Subs: 12. Pete Boyle, 14. Ryan Ellison, 15. Sam Fitton, 16. Lawrence Hunter, 17. Danny Tavares

ALTRINCHAM (All yellow) 1. Tim DEASY, 2. Chris LYNCH, 3. Andy McWILLIAMS, 4. Jake MOULT (c), 5. John CYRUS 6. Kyle BROWNHILL , 7. Elliott NEWBY, 8. Gary JONES, 9. Micah EVANS, 10. James LAWRIE, 11. Nicky CLEE, 12.Sam HEATHCOTE, 14. Alan GOODALL, 17. Laurence TAYLOR, 15 Sam PATTERSON 16. Damian REEVES

BACKGROUND

With last Saturday's fixture at Darlington having been postponed, this was Altrincham's first match for ten days.

As an interesting article in the Tigers' programme recounted, the two clubs have had some interesting parallels as regards relegation in recent seasons.

The match was played on the artificial surface at Ewen Fields.

MATCH REPORT

Hyde kicked off but Alty won the game's first corner, which John Cyrus headed wide (3 mins). Alty again deployed their captain Jake Moult as a central defender, alongside Cyrus, with Lynch and a beardless Andy McWilliams to right and left respectively.

Debutant Micah Evans was "up top" for the visitors supported by James Lawrie. As is so often the case, it was Nicky Clee who was providing Altrincham's main attacking impetus though Elliott Newby was also looking lively. The two combined as a Clee throw reached Newby but former Alty keeper, Russ Saunders, did well to block his shot with his legs at the cost of a a corner (7 mins).

Apart from a Hyde lob which just cleared the Alty bar, there was endeavour but no real goalmouth action before a ball from the left was laid off cleverly by Evans and it found Newby in space; he scored well from just inside the box (17 mins).

But having the lead did not have the effect of ramping up the visitors' attacking threat as Hyde came into the game but Burke fired well wide after Khamsuk had got past Moult (20 mins).

Alty were on the back foot as the first half midpoint passed. Soon after this a Burke shot won a corner, quickly followed by a second, but neother came to anything (27 mins).

The sides cancelled each other out before Clee was tripped 35 yards out. From Brownhill's freekick, Moult headed over the bar (34 mins).

Lawrie and Clee then combined well as the winger got to the byline but Lawrie was blocked off by a defender. As half-time approached, Alty were getting forward more after Hyde's spell in the ascendancy (38 mins).

A fine Lynch ball set Newby up the right but his cross was cleared and then the Alty loanee was halted, on another run, by Burke.

Just before half-time Miller upended Lawrie just outside the box but it appeared to be his team-mate Coates who was booked, presumably for dissent.

So Alty held a half-time lead but had not capitalised on it to put the hosts out of contention.

Half-Time: HYDE UNITED 0 ALTRINCHAM 1

Just two minutes into the second half Clee was pulled down and needed prolonged treatment before being able to continue.

It was still Newby and Clee who looked the visitors' most threatening players with striker Evans struggling to get involved in the game (51 mins).

From a Clee throw, Jones's shot was half blocked and ran to Saunders before Clee won a corner, after which a Cyrus header was saved (53 mins).

AFter 57 minutes Hyde got into the Alty box and equalized through Khamsuk after McWilliams had done well to clear a Hyde effort off the goal-line.

Naturally, the goal lifted Hyde and, just after the hour mark, Bevins turned smartly past Moult who fouled him and was lucky not to be booked.

Hyde now brought on Boyle for Ford, whils Alty seemed to be deploying Newby in a more central role with Evans moving to the right (62 mins).

Whereas Alty had been unable to add to their opening goal, the Tigers did so. Boyle, on the right wing just inside Alty's half, advanced and exchanged passes with Khamsuk, before Boyle himself netted a well-worked goal from 15 yards to put Hyde ahead (66 mins).

After wasting a corner, Alty did better with a second one which was cleared back to Clee who, from right of goal fired in a rasping shot which flew across the face of goal (68 mins).

But there was then panic in the Alty box as they had to hack clear a Hyde threat. With Alty on the back foot, Hyde now replaced Bevins by Ellison (70 mins).

Damian Reeves came on for McWilliams (72 mins) with Clee dropping back as a consequence.

But Clee did get forward to win a corner before, at the other end, a Branker 25 yarder cleared the bar.

Alty were creating little this half, with Saunders scarcely employed since the interval. Eight minutes from time Heathcote replaced Evans, and was sent forward rather than to his more normal defensive duties.

After a Clee run and cross, a corner was won by Heathcote. As Alty belatedly pushed forward, Lawrie won a corner (87 mins). Two minutes after this had come to nothing, Hyde brought on Fitton for Khamsuk.

Four added minutes began with a Newby shot winning a corner. After this Lawrie miscued a cross as Alty proved unable to get the equalizer that would have brought about extra time.

So an opportunity to build some confidence against a side from two levels further down the pyramid had come to nothing. Altrincham had lacked the confidence to build on their first-half lead and produced a lacklustre performance which left Hyde as deserved winners.

Full-Time: HYDE UNITED 2 ALTRINCHAM 1
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