ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS


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MOSSLEY 3
ALTRINCHAM 3
Mossley won 5-4 on penalties

Integro Cup Second Round match
played on Tuesday, 28 November, 2017, 7.45pm

SUMMARY

Altrincham, with just two of the same starters from last Saturday, (Hampson and Hancock, with the former in an unaccustomed centre-back role), were taken to a penalty shoot-out by a controversial equalizer from Mossley, netted in the fourth of a surprisingly long five added minutes. Ten minutes from the end of normal time Altrincham had lost Mason Walsh to a second yellow card but, after that, the ten men took a 3-2 lead as Hancock completed his hat-trick.

Earlier, Mossley had taken a tenth-minute lead when Ellis got clear to score with a low shot. Alty levelled when Hancock held off an opponent's tug as he advanced up the middle and struck a screamer into the net from 25 yards. When Sheridan hit a superb 70 yard ball up the middle, Hancock kneed it over the advancing keeper to give Alty the lead in the 16th minute.

Latham equalised from close range eight minutes before the interval. In the second half, Hancock bundled in a third goal for Alty, after 85 minutes, before Mossley, who had been flagged offside at regular intervals throughout the evening, were given the benefit of a controversial linesman's decision in the fourth added minute and allowed to advance, whilst looking well offside, before the ball was worked to Latham, who made it 3-3.

The first nine penalties in the shoot out were all scored before Hampson's kick was saved by Martin to give Mossley the win.


SCORERS:


REFEREE: Mr A Bennett


ATTENDANCE: 109


TEAM NEWS

Altrincham fielded just two of the players who had started last Saturday's FA trophy game. These were Josh Hancock, who was named as captain, and loanee Connor Hampson, who started in an unaccustomed centre-back role. Indeed, the entire back four could be said to be full-backs with reserves Callum Jones and Tom Westall occupying the flanks and Joel Bembo-Leta alongside Hampson in the central role. Needless to say it was a back line that had never previously played together.

Of the enforced absentees, Simon Richman was serving the second of his three-match suspension today and also unavailable were Josh Amis and Sean Miller (on loan at Colne). John Disney, James Jones and Lewis Short remained injured or in rehabilitation.

In contrast to Alty's new-look side, Mossley, managed by former Alty man Peter Band, fielded nine of the eleven who had taken to the field last Saturday.

LINE-UPS:

MOSSLEY (White shirts, black shorts and socks) 1. Oliver Martin, 2. Caldon Henson, 3. Adam Latham, 4. Mo Ali, 5. Tom Dean (c), 6. Keenan Quansah, 7. Elliot Harrison, 8. Mike Fish, 9. Liam Ellis, 10. Mason Duffy, 11. Harry Pratt. Subs: 12. James-McLean Oppong, 14. Mike Taylor (for Harrison 90), 15. Sam Howell, 16. Rio Ahmadi, 17. Dieter Downey.

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, red shorts and red socks) 1. Tim DEASY, 2. Callum JONES, 3. Tom WESTALL, 4. Joel BEMBO-LETA 5. Connor HAMPSON, 6. Laurence TAYLOR, 7. Mason WALSH, 8. Sam SHERIDAN, 9. Tom PEERS, 10. Josh HANCOCK (c), 11. Darius PALMA. Subs 12. Shaun DENSMORE, 14. Jake MOULT, 15. Jordan HULME, 20. Tony THOMPSON


BACKGROUND

The match was played on a near-freezing night at Mossley.


REPORT

Josh Hancock captained the side for the first time and after the toss up, Alty played down the slope in the first half, as Mossley kicked off.

Despite wearing the no.11 shirt, reserves' forward Darius Palma started on the right wing with Walsh on the left. Inside three minutes Mossley had been twice caught offside, a pattern which continued to a lesser degree throughout the ninety minutes.

Alty's first threat saw Walsh get to the by-line but his cross was cleared (5 mins). A greater threat came when Peers got into the box but with the keeper out of position, a defender blocked his shot (8 mins). And, likewise, a Palma effort was blocked after he had got past Duffy.

But it was the Lilywhites who took a tenth-minute lead when a ball was scooped over the Alty backline setting Ellis in against Deasy. The Mossley man slid a low shot into the net to make it 1-0.

Alty responded barely two minutes later when Hancock held off a clear tug as he advanced up the middle and, with the referee playing advantage, he hammered a superb shot past keeper Martin from 25 yards to make it 1-1 (12 mins).

Four minutes later, from deep in his own half, Sheridan hit a superb seventy-yard pass which dropped into the advancing Hancock's path and he appeared to knee the ball over the advancing keeper to give Alty a 2-1 lead (16 mins).

Mossley were not taking it lying down and after Ellis had been penalised for being all over Hampson in the Alty box, from the freekick Ali wrestled Hancock to the ground. From this second freekick, by Sheridan, the ball was nodded wide by Walsh (18 mins).

Play became end to end as, next, from the right Latham sent a ball across the Alty box before Duffy did the same from the left.

After another Mossley offside, they won a corner which was headed across goal then sliced wide. Following Bembo's foul, 45 yards out, Deasy punched clear. After this, Walsh was booked for some reason, presumably off the ball dissent (25 mins).

Soon after Hancock had been caught by Ali, and play had continued, there was off-the-ball trouble between the two with the Mossley man being booked (27 mins). Next, a good Westall run won his side a corner on the left, followed by a second, from which a Taylor half volley was blocked. Another Mossley offside was followed by another fine Sheridan ball and then Hampson fired over from 30 yards (30 mins).

The match remained entertainingly end to end, before Latham advanced and forced a Deasy save (34 mins). Then, after Bembo-Leta had lost the ball, a Mossley shot flew wide. On 37 minutes a Latham cross went across the Alty box and the ball then came back in from the left and Latham scrambled it home to make it 2-2 (38 mins). Stopping crosses into the box had not been Alty's forte so far.

Next, an Ellis cross won a corner before Taylor was fouled and then was late in challenging Fish and found himself booked (42 mins).

Following treatment for Hampson, two added minutes were played before a lively first half was concluded.


Half-Time: MOSSLEY 2
ALTRINCHAM 2

Alty played up the marked slope at Seel Park for the second half and kicked off the second half. Five minutes in, Taylor won the ball and then Hancock was felled by Henson who was booked. Walsh's freekick came to Bembo-Leta who fired well over the bar. Mossley now brought on Ahmadi for Ellis (51 mins).

After a clever reverse ball from Walsh, Hancock was stopped by the keeper. In the 67th minute, from Hulme's feed, Walsh seemed to be tripped in the box but nothing was given. However, Hulme promptly won a corner. Taken by Walsh, this was hooked wide by Peers (69 mins).

Now, Pratt nodded a freekick to Deasy before Peers won Alty a corner from Densmore's feed. At this stage the game could have gone either way. Densmore was then fouled and caught accidentally on the head after the offence, for which Pratt was booked. Pratt was immediately subbed by Howell (73 mins).

Mossley were once more offside and, soon after this, Latham won a 50-50 with Taylor and his shot from 25 yards forced a Deasy save (77 mins).

When Walsh arrived, late, to challenge Latham, he was booked again and sent off (80 mins), Alty's fifth dismissal this season. Three minutes after this incident, Moult replaced Sheridan and another two minutes after that, the ten men regained the lead. A move up the right led to a Hulme cross which Hancock knocked in at the back post to make it 2-3 to complete his hat-trick and bring him level with Hulme on fifteen goals this season (85 mins).

With a minute remaining, Mossley won a corner after which they headed the ball wide as Alty's ten men defended manfully. Hancock was now booked for a foul before, surprisingly, the referee declared that there would be a minimum of five extra minutes.

In added time each side won a corner before Mossley advanced up the left wing, looking suspiciously offside. But this time the linesman did not raise his flag as had happened so frequently during the game, and the ball was worked inside to Latham who made it 3-3 (90+4 mins). And so, for the third time this season, Altrincham were involved in a penalty shoot-out.

PENALTIES


Full-Time: MOSSLEY 3
ALTRINCHAM 3
Mossley won 5-4 on penalties