ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

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ALTRINCHAM (0) 0
CURZON ASHTON (1) 2

Vanarama National League North match
played on Saturday, 8 September 2018, 3pm

SUMMARY

Altrincham's search for a home win continues as Curzon Ashton secured all three points against their hosts, who scarcely troubled visiting keeper Mason. Alty were without injured defenders White, Hampson and Harrison as well as suspended striker Hulme. As a consequence, midfielder Richman played at right-back and the bench had only three outfield occupants, including a new signing (Callum Harris) and Crewe loanee Owen Dale.

The Nash took a 42nd minute lead when the impressive Crankshaw got the benefit of a ricochet against Shaun Densmore to advance on the right. Following a resulting cross-shot by Samizadeh amd a parry by Wynne, Hughes netted with a rising shot from close range at the back post. To compound Alty's defensive injury problems Densmore had to give way at half-time after seemingly picking up a knock.

The match's outcome was settled in the 58th minute when Crankshaw netted impressively from outside the box when Alty stood off the advancing Curzon player. The nearest Alty came to a goal was when a Johnston freekick hit the top of the crossbar in the fourth minute of added time. Alty drop to fifteenth.

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TEAM NEWS

After his brief comeback from injury James Poole, as well as Andy White (ill) joined fellow defenders, and long-term injured defenders Conor Hampson and Ben Harrison on the absentee list for this match. In addition Jordan Hulme was suspended, so Tom Peers got his first start of the season.

So, with three defenders out of contention, midfielder Simon Richman was named at right-back which meant that Shaun Densmore had to shift across to left-back. Only four players were named on the bench, one of them being new signing Callum Harris and another was Crewe loanee Owen Dale.

LINE-UPS:

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks) 1. Elliot Wynne, 2. Simon Richman, 3. Shaun Densmore, 4. James Jones, 5. Tom Hannigan, 6. Jake Moult (c), 7. John Johnston, 8. Sean Williams, 9. Tom Peers, 10. Max Harrop, 11. Josh Hancock. Subs: 14. Owen Dale, 15. Liam Goulding, 16. Callum Harris, 20. Tony Thompson

CURZON ASHTON (Neon, i.e. lime green, shirts, black shorts and socks). 1. Cameron Moore, 2. Daniel Morton, 3. Cameron McJannet, 4. Jonathan Hunt (c), 5. Daniel Shaw, 6. Chris Rowney, 7. Joe Guest, 8. Oliver Crankshaw, 9. Niall Cummins, 10. Alex Samizadeh, 11. Connor Hughes. Subs: 12. Paul Marshall, 14. James Baillie, 15. Mason Fawns, 16. Mohamud Ali, 17. Jack O'Leary

BACKGROUND

After a decent start to the season, Altrincham had faltered recently and were still seeking a home win in this, their fifth league fixture of the campaign at the J. Davidson Stadium.

Steady morning rain had developed into a torrential downpour before kick-off but it had eased considerably before kick off. Nevertheless the inside channel on the Popular Side was very wet, particularly towards the Golf Road end.

REPORT

For the second game in succession Altrincham opted to change ends and allow their opponents to kick off, in this instance Curzon started towards the away end. The floodlights were on from the start but there was little to animate the gate of almost a thousand in the opening stages.

On the Curzon right, Crankshaw was soon giving Densmore a testing time but play stopped in the sixth minute for lengthy treatment to Wynne who had been accidentally caught by Samizadeh when the home keeper had dived at the forward's feet (6 mins).

When Crankshaw got past Densmore, his cross was met by a fierce, low shot from McJannet which fizzed just past the post (11 mins). Wynne continued to be the busier keeper as he had to beat out a shot from Hughes (14 mins). Alty did win a corner but, following it, Peers sliced an effort into Golf Road (18 mins).

However, Alty's Wynne was soon in action again, having to parry a Samizadeh effort (23 mins). The Robins did then put together a fourteen-pass move but the end result was a corner rather than a shot at goal. Most of Alty's attacks wer going up the soggy right channel rather than the drier left side of the pitch.

From a freekick on the front edge of the box, Harrop put his freekick narrowly wide (31 mins). But Curzon went close at the other end, soon afterwards, when Densmore was dispossessed; Samizadeh fed Crankshaw and, from a Guest cross, Richman had to hack the ball clear from deep in his own goalmouth (33 mins).

Altrincham did force the Curzon keeper to make a save when Richman got into the box but Mason was able to keep the ball out comfortably (37 mins). After Hancock had been fouled the referee waved a yellow card but whether it was at the perpetrator or a team-mate for speaking out of turn was impossible to say (39 mins).

When Crankshaw got the benefit of a ricochet off Densmore, some forty yards from goal, he fed Samizadeh. A resulting shot from right of goal was parried away by Wynne but Hughes arrived to net the ball with a rising shot from close range at the back post (42 mins). Altrincham could not complain that the visitors had taken the lead as Curzon had produced more of a goal threat than the hosts.

Soon after the restart Hancock got in a 25-yard shot which the keeper had to save but then in added time, a poor back-pass from Moult led to Wynne's hurried pass to Hannigan who was drawn into conceding a foul. However, the resulting freekick, from the Curzon right wing, came to nothing

Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 0
CURZON ASHTON 1
Densmore had seemed to take a knock shortly before the interval and he did not appear for the second half, his place being taken by Goulding, at left-back. In the first half Johnston had spent most of his time on the Alty right and in the second half he switched to the left-wing so patrolled much the same stretch of ground on the soggier side of the pitch.

Altrincham were a little brighter in the opening stages of the second half and won four corners by the 56th minute. Three of these arrived in a two-minute sequence which followed a Hughes shot which had gone narrowly wide and a Harrop shot which Mason had saved. Following the fourth corner, Guest's side-footed effort just cleared the bar after Altrincham had failed to clear the ball.

Moments later, however, Curzon did double their lead. Crankshaw was allowed to advance up the inside-right channel and, from about twenty yards, he drove a fine, rising shot past Wynne to make it 2-0 (58 mins).

Just after the hour mark each side made a change. Curzon brought on Fawns for Samizadeh, the procedure taking an inordinate time as the new player tried to come on wearing his training bib rather than his match-shirt. So, he had to strip off the former, locate the latter, and put it on before play could resume. At the same time Dale replaced Williams for Altrincham (61 mins).

A Dale shot, straight at the keeper, and a wide effort from Johnston were the best that Alty could muster in the 15 minutes after Curzon had doubled their lead. On 76 minutes Harrop picked up his second booking of the season, for a foul, after which Baillie replaced Hughes for the visitors (77 mins).

There was little real sign of Altrincham staging a late comeback and Phil Parkinson's last throw of the dice saw new signing Callum Harris take to the field in place of Peers (83 mins). A minute later Marshall completed the Nash's changes as he replaced Rowney (84 mins).

Indeed, far from Alty scoring a consolation goal, it took two saves in a minute from Alty keeper Wynne to keep out, first Marshall, and then Guest.

In the four added minutes of play Johnston was tripped by Fawns, who was booked. From the freekick from the left, Johnston's effort hit the top of the crossbar (90+4 mins).

So a hugely disappointing afternoon ended for Altrincham. The absence of five first-choice players, (four through injury and one through suspension) put Alty on the back-foot from the start. And an apparent injury to Densmore in this game only adds to the preponderance of defenders who are out of action. The absence of Hulme underlined his importance to the team as, without him, they posed little threat to the opposition goal, despite hard work in midfield from Harrop, who was named the home side's Man of the Match.

Full-Time: ALTRINCHAM 0
CURZON ASHTON 2