ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

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ALTRINCHAM (2) 2
KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS (1) 1

Vanarama National League North match
played on Saturday, 30 March 2019, at 3pm

SUMMARY

With Altrincham 2-0 up inside twenty minutes it looked as if the hosts would have a comfortable afternoon against their full-time opponents. But Alty let the Harriers back into the game and had to endure a half-hour of almost constant pressure in the second half to emerge with all three points.

Altrincham took a twelfth-minute lead when a Johnston corner was missed by the keeper and defence and arrived at James Jones. From beyond the back post, he netted from close range. Soon after the restart, Horsfall hammered a shot against the Alty crossbar.

But Alty retained the upper hand as Ceesay rounded the keeper but ran out of space. Soon afterwards, Alty doubled their lead in the 19th minute. After another Ceesay incusrsion, the ball came to Hulme with his back to goal. The striker managed to loop the ball over Hall and into the net.

But the Harriers improved after the half-hour mark and, from a corner, Ironside's header came back off the underside of the bar (35 mins). Four minutes later Alty got in a defensive mess and Ironside netted from close range to make it 2-1.

In the second half Alty were fairly comfortable to the hour mark before the Harriers began to pen Altrincham back in their own half. A combination of good defending and poor finishing saw Altrincham reach the final whistle with their lead intact.

SCORERS:

REFEREE: Mr Dean Watson
ATTENDANCE: 1,095
TEAM NEWS

An unchanged Alty were again without the injured Ben Harrison (recuperating at Trafford on loan), fellow long-term absentee James Poole and, sadly, loanee striker Joe Piggott who had recently been ruled out for the rest of the season with a back injury.

Loanee defender Billy Sass-Davies was also out of action with a minor injury. However, striker Matt Chadwick, who had yet to make his debut since joining from Ashton United a month ago, was on the bench today, as was goalkeeper Steven Drench who had been sidelined for the past few games with a knee injury. Jake Moult was making his 300th start for Altrincham today.

For Kidderminster, Declan Weeks and Ed Williams returned after injury, whilst Milan Butterfield returned after an absence on international duty.

LINE-UPS:

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks): 1. Tony Thompson, 2. Andy White, 3. Connor Hampson, 4. James Jones, 5. Tom Hannigan, 6. Jake Moult (c), 7. John Johnston, 8. Sean Williams, 9. Jordan Hulme, 10. Josh Hancock, 11. Yusifu Ceesay. Subs: 12. Callum Dolan, 14. Simon Richman, 15. Matthew Chadwick, 16. Shaun Densmore, 20. Steven Drench.

KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS (All yellow) 1. Brandon Hall, 2. Harry Flowers, 3. Joel Taylor, 4. Declan Weeks, 5. Fraser Horsfall, 6. Ryan Johnson (c), 7. Liam McAlinden, 8. Milan Butterfield, 9. Joe Ironside, 10. Ashley Chambers, 11. Edward Williams. Subs: 12. Russell Penn, 14. Kwame Thomas, 15. Kane Richards, 16. Harry Higginson, 18. Thomas Palmer (gk).

BACKGROUND

Altrincham went into this game after an enforced rest of three weeks caused by postponements through bad weather (v Brackley Town) and a fixture clash (v AFC Telford United). That period of inactivity had seen them drop to seventh, the final play-off place. Their opponents, Kidderminster Harriers were just a place below at kick off but were three points adrift and had played two additional games.

Before kick-off, Mike Garnett provided the historical record of games between the two clubs which showed that the outcomes are evenly apportioned.

Since the Harriers had narrowly beaten Altrincham 3-2 at Aggborough earlier in the season, they had changed manager, with Mark Yates having returned to take charge at the club.

REPORT

On a sunny but chilly afternoon, Kidderminster kicked off towards Golf Road. The first meaningful action saw Johnston fire a low cross across the face of goal (5 mins). The Harriers had Ryan Johnson, in their back three, marking the Alty winger and he was soon discomfited again when Johnston got in another cross which Hall grabbed just ahead of Hulme (9 mins).

Altrincham won the game's first corner, through Hulme. Taken from the left by Johnston the ball evaded keeper Hall and everyone else in the goalmouth and fell for centre-back James Jones beyond the back post. He calmly converted the chance to put Altrincham ahead (12 mins).

Kidderminster immediately responded with a corner of their own, from which the ball came out to Horsfall who crashed a well-struck shot from 15 yards against the crossbar.

The end to end play continued as the ball was cleared and Ceesay got round keeper Hall but the ball ran out of play before he could turn it into the empty net (14 mins).

Altrincham's ascendancy was confirmed in the 19th minute when Ceesay again got to the byline, left of goal. The ball found its way to Hulme, with his back to goal. But the Alty no.9 somehow contrived to hook the ball up and over the stranded Kiddy keeper and into the net to make it 2-0. Arguably, it was an own goal by the visitors' Johnson.

Another incursion by Ceesay soon led to a Johnston shot which the keeper saved well at the cost of a corner. As Alty dominated, Ceesay was then upended just outside the box but Johnston hit the freekick well over the target (22 mins).

At the other end, Kidderminster's plight was summed up when Chambers's speculative shot was so far off-target that it went out for a throw-in, several yards from the corner flag to the right of goal.

Kidderminster's afternoon got worse as Flowers's trip on Hulme earned him a yellow card (27 mins). So, as the half-hour mark passed, you would not find many of the spectators who would have bet on the Harriers rallying from their two-goal deficit.

But a good Harriers' move earned them a corner in the 34th minute. As ever, Alty hauled all ten outfield players back but they were nowhere to be seen as Ironside crashed a powerful header against the underside of the crossbar, from where it was cleared.

However, the visitors' confidence had been bolstered and, within five minutes, they had scored. McAlinden headed the ball back into the goalmouth where Ironside held off a Hannigan challenge to hook the ball past a stranded Thompson to make the score 2-1 (39 mins).

Ironside threatened again soon afterwards when Taylor had done well to advance up the left to feed the striker. But Thompson came out smartly to block Ironside's shot (42 mins).

Before three added minutes started the visitors maintained their strong finish to the first half as another Ironside effort had to be blocked. But Alty got to the interval, with a chance to regroup, after having lost the initiative following their impressive start to the match.

Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 2
KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS 1

The sun was still shining as the second half got under way. Altrincham were relatively comfortable during the quiet opening ten minutes of the half. Indeed, they made a strong penalty appeal for handball following their first corner of the half (54 mins).

There was little to note before the hour-mark passed, when Richman replaced Hancock, who had had a quiet game (61 mins). But just as in the last quarter of an hour of the first half, a relatively comfortable Altrincham performance became an edgy one. The change came after the 65th minute when, in a ten-minute spell, the Harriers gained four corners.

With Alty dragging all their players back for each corner, they found it increasingly hard to relieve the pressure.

In the seventieth minute each side made a change as Chadwick came on for his Alty debut in place of Ceesay; at the same time Thomas replaced Ironside for the visitors. Chadwick almost made an instant impact as he was set up to run towards goal but his well-struck shot went narrowly wide of Hall's left post.

Kidderminster made another change in the 79th minute when Richards replaced McAlinden as they continued to turn the screw on a resolute Altrincham defence.

A Jones foul on Chambers gave the visitors a freekick from just outside the box. In what was presumably a rehearsed ruse, Weeks was allowed by the referee to protest at the alleged proximity of the wall by marching out the ten paces himself. Instead of booking him for dissent the referee allowed the freekick to be taken as Weeks strutted towards the wall. Despite being caught off guard, Thompson made a fine stop from the resulting shot (84 mins).

Just after Richards had spurned a great chance by putting a low cross over the bar from six yards, each side made another substitution; Penn replaced the ailing Weeks and Densmore came on to shore up the home defence in what was now a back five, with Johnston being replaced (86 mins).

The threat to Alty's goal continued as Williams got into the box but Hannigan made a vital challenge at the cost of a corner (88 mins). An excellent chance for the visitors went begging in the 90th minute when Williams got behind a dawdling Chadwick on the Harrier's right and his cross was put over the bar from point-blank range by the errant Richards once again.

Four minutes of added time witnessed Alty reduced to ten men for much of the time as Hampson had to go off to attend to a facial blood injury. The referee delayed allowing him to return to the pitch till the 95th minute when the Harriers won a final corner.

But Alty held out to secure a three-point haul which leaves them six points clear of the Harriers as they climbed into sixth place. With Altrincham and Stockport being the only teams in the top nine to win today, Altrincham's place in the play offs is looking more secure than it had done before kick off.

Full-Time: ALTRINCHAM 2
KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS 1