ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

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ALTRINCHAM (2) 6
FARSLEY CELTIC (0) 0

Wvo-Stik Premier Division match
played on Tuesday, 19 September 2017, 7.45pm

SUMMARY

Altrincham, with five players out injured or suspended, took an inept Farsley Celtic side apart in a match that they dominated from start to finish. The visitors were fortunate to escape with a six-goal defeat and, equally so, to finish the game with all eleven men on the pitch after a series of agricultural challenges earned them six yellow cards.

Hancock's stooping header opened the scoring when he converted a Johnston freekick from the right edge of the box. The second goal also came from a freekick, which was quickly taken, before the ball found Peers. He drifted to the left and drew the keeper before converting the chance

Johnston ran Farsley ragged and he deservedly scored the third, three minutes after half time, converting Hulme's low cross from the right. Hulme added the fourth in the 55th minute after some poor defending before Hannigan poked home the fifth from Amis's excellent header.

Number six was scored by Hancock from a low Johnston cross, four minutes from the end.

SCORERS:
REFEREE: Mr Daniel Bruce
ATTENDANCE: 497
TEAM NEWS

Altrincham had Max Harrop suspended but James Jones remained available as his suspension did not start till the following Saturday. However, he was only on the bench tonight. Last Saturday Josh Amis made a brief debut after his lay-off and Joel Bembo-Leta was available again after being cup-tied. Amis was a sub tonight and Bembo-Leta started.

Phil Parkinson named Simon Richman on the bench but Deasy, Miller, Taylor and Poole were all unfit to be involved.

LINE-UPS:

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks) 1. Tony THOMPSON, 2. Joel BEMBO-LETA, 3. Lewis SHORT, 4. Tom HANNIGAN, 5. Ben HARRISON, 6. Jake MOULT (c), 7. John JOHNSTON, 8. Sam SHERIDAN, 9. Jordan HULME, 10. Tom PEERS, 11. Josh HANCOCK Subs: 12. James JONES, 14. Rhain DAVIS, 15. Josh AMIS, 16. Simon RICHMAN, 17. Shaun DENSMORE

FARSLEY CELTIC (All blue) 1. Graeme McKibbin, 2. Kurt Harris, 3. Isaac Baldwin, 4. Chris Atkinson, 5. Danny Ellis, 6. Adam Clayton, 7. Ben Atkinson, 8 Nathan Turner, 9. James Walshaw, 10. Ryan Watson, 11. Paul Walker. Subs 12. Richard Marshall, 14. Luke Parkin, 15. Adam Priestley, 16. Adam Porritt, 13. Kyle Trennery

BACKGROUND

Altrincham went into this match ahead of the visitors in the form guide, having won four of their previous five league matches. But the 5-2 reverse at Workington and the FA Cup defeat at Shildon in the past week had dented optimism before kick off. Farsley started the game in third place with seven more points that Alty but they had played two more games than the Robins.

This was the clubs' first meeting since Farsley Celtic had reformed. They had folded in 2010 and restarted as Farsley AFC before reverting to their original Celtic name. Mike Garnett's records show the record in matches between the original Farsley Celtic and Altrincham.

REPORT

After changing ends at Farsley's behest, Altrincham kicked off towards the Golf Road end. They started brightly and as early as the second minute a well-struck 30 yarder by Hancock had to be saved. Johnston was soon impressing on the Alty left and now had a shot which was blocked (4 mins). At the other end, Moult cleared after Celtic had got to the byline, left of goal.

The first of what was to become a litany of crude fouls by the visitors came in the seventh minute when Peers was flattened after he had crossed the ball, following good work by Bembo_Leta. The offender became the first name in the ref's book.

. After treatment Peers recovered and justice was done when, from the freekick by Johnston, right of goal, Hancock scored with a stooping header (9 mins).

For Farsley, a Baldwin freekick went to Thompson before Bembo-Leta won a freekick in his own half. Next, a fine cross-field ball from Sheridan located Johnston, whose shot was blocked by keeper McKibbin for a corner (17 mins).

Soon after this, from a Moult pass, a Johnston ball flew unconverted across Farsley's goalmouth (18 mins). With Alty on top, Sheridan was tripped. A quick freekick was taken and although there was blatant holding on Hulme as he went for the ball, Peers nipped in and drifted to the left, drawing the keeper before slotting it past him for Alty's second goal of the night (22 mins).

Johnston was brought down crudely as he moved inside, at speed, and Atkinson was fortunate to escape with a yellow card (25 mins). As Alty remained well in control, Alty won a corner as Hulme again was being held by Ellis. After a good run by Bembo-Leta he lost his footing and slid into an opponent to concede a freekick.

A collision between two more players left Hancock and his opponents needing treatment (30 mins). Five minutes later a Peers effort won another corner but Farsley were seeing a little more of the ball at this stage. Nevertheless Alty almost scored again as Johnston got to the left byline and his ball went right across the goalmouth but, somehow, it was cleared as Bembo-Leta was on the line for a potential tap-in (40 mins).

At the back Hannigan was having a good game and he now cleared Turner's cross for the visitors' first corner (42 mins). Alty responded as an impressive run by Harrison ended up with an Altrincham corner. Despite several stoppages the referee played only 90 seconds of added time, leaving Alty 2-0 ahead and deservedly so after a very good overall team performance.

Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 2
FARSLEY CELTIC 0
It took Alty fewer than three minutes to add to the scoreline. Another excellent run by Johnston got him to the byline and his ball across the goalmouth somehow evaded Peers in front of goal. But the respite for Celtic was momentary as Hulme's low cross from the right was netted at the back post by Johnston from 15 yards to make it 3-0 (48 mins).

Farsley appealed forlornly for a penalty as one of their men went down before Hulme was given offside as he got clear (53 mins). After Sheridan had collided with Walshaw, Alty worked the ball up the left and Hulme scored from close range as Baldwin failed to clear. So it was now 4-0 (55 mins).

Four almost imnmediately nearly became five as the keeper made a fortunate save with his foot with Johnston in close attendance. Alty now brought on Densmore for Short at left-back (57 mins)

Next another poor tackle by Farsley saw Watson bring down Peers and the offender was booked (60 mins). Farsley's robust approach was winning no friends here. The freekick put Hancock clear against McKibbin but his shot hit the keeper as Alty remained in control.

Farsley responded to their poor performance with a triple substitution as Marshall, Parkin and Priestley came on for Harris, Turner and Walker (63 mins).

Four minutes later Amis replaced Hulme for the hosts. Once again it was Peers who was on the end of the next poor challenge as Baldwin hacked him down and received a yellow card for his action (68 mins). When Alty won a corner soon afterwards, the ball flew through the open door of the ladies' toilets at the away end! The Robins now took off Sheridan and brought on Richman (70 mins).

When the corner came in from Johnston, on the right, Amis headed goalwards but the ball came back of the keeper to Hannigan who poked it home to make it 5-0 (71 mins).

The next Alty victim of a clattering was Harrison, with Walshaw deservedly joining his team-mates in the referee's book (72 mins).

After Farsley had won a rare corner, Richman blocked a shot before a foul by Clayton on Hancock yielded another freekick. The referee then stopped play and booked Parkin for reasons that were not altogether clear (78 mins).

It should have been 6-0 moments later when a Hancock shot was not held by the keeper and Amis skied the ball over the bar instead of into the inviting goal (79 mins). A rare Farsley shot on target from Parkin was then saved comfortably before Johnston gained his side a corner which was quickly followed by a second.

Amis now had a shot blocked following which Harrison skied his effort (82 mins). When Richman was penalised 40 yards out from the Alty goal, Walshaw headed the freekick over the bar (84 mins). Ellis now fouled Amis after which a low cross from Johnston deflected to Hancock who scored from close range at the back post to complete the rout (86 mins).

Farsley lost the ball from kick off, as they looked anything but a third-placed side in the league. Their crude challenges continued to the end as Johnston was felled but this time no card was produced (87 mins).

Johnston's freekick was beaten out by the keeper then two more Alty men brought down before the ref awarded a freekick 25 yards out for the first offence. In the final minute of normal time a Peers shot was just tipped round the post for a corner as Alty dominated to the final whistle. Bizarrely Mr Bruce played only 25 seconds of added time despite numerous substitutions and stoppages.

This was Altrincham's best 90 minutes of the season by some distance and, presumably, was Farsley's worst. The win lifted Alty to eighth place with a game or two in hand on all but Warrington Town of the teams above them.

Full-Time: ALTRINCHAM 6
FARSLEY CELTIC 0