ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

Return to News Page

AFC TELFORD UNITED (0) 1
ALTRINCHAM (1) 1

Vanarama National League North match
played on Tuesday, 9 April 2019, at 7.45pm

SUMMARY

Altrincham only just failed to emerge from the New Buck's Head with all three points as they surrendered an injury-time equalizer from a penalty. It was the second time in three days that the hosts had salvaged a point through a late spot-kick.

Earlier, Altrincham had taken an eleventh-minute lead with a well-worked goal. Johnston advanced on the right to feed Ceesay in the centre; he laid the ball off for Hulme to fire a fierce shot from the right past the Telford keeper. Alty were the better side for the remainder of the first half, deservedly reaching the interval with their lead intact.

As Telford began to build some second-half momentum, manager Phil Parkinson signalled his intentions, in the 64th minute, by withdrawing two forwards, Hancock and Johnston, in favour of defenders Sass-Davies and Richman. When Andy White brought down an opponent on their right flank, he saw a second yellow card and the inevitable red, leaving the remaining ten men to try to retain their lead through the final seventeen minutes, plus added time. A further change of personnel saw the booked Hulme also substituted meaning that Alty had withdrawn all of their three leading scorers in a ten-minute spell.

The ten men survived a mounting tally of Telford corners, which eventually totalled sixteen, before Densmore was drawn into a 90th-minute foul on Udoh which meant a penalty kick. Andre Brown's stoppage-time spotkick was stopped by Tony Thompson's dive but the ball dribbled over the line to level the score.

Altrincham ended up with six yellow cards, two of which were shown to White, and one to the already substituted John Johnston on the bench. That was their highest number of cards in any league game this season and outdid, in just ninety minutes, the cumulative total of cards accrued across their previous nine matches. The referee, Robert Massey-Ellis, did not emerge with much credit from this game.

The result left Altrincham in fifth place, one point behind Spennymoor Town but with a game in hand

SCORERS:

REFEREE: Mr Robert Massey-Ellis, whose previous Alty matches included our last previous visit (in 2017) to the New Buck's Head when Telford won 1-0 and an away draw at Brackley in the same year.
ATTENDANCE: 982
TEAM NEWS

Altrincham made an enforced change as Connor Hampson had limped off last Saturday. So, Andy White moved across to left-back with Shaun Densmore stepping in at right-back for only his second league start of 2019. On the bench, despite three Alty keepers (Wynne and Drench as well as Thompson) being involved in the warm-up, no substitute goalie was named as Billy Sass-Davies came into the squad for Steven Drench.

For Telford, former Alty loanee Brendon Daniels was not in tonight's squad.

LINE-UPS:

AFC TELFORD UNITED (White shirts, black shorts and socks): 1 Josef Bursik, 2 Ross White, 3 Stephen Morley, 4 Ellis Deeney, 5 Shane Sutton (c), 6 Theo Streete, 7 Ryan Barnett, 8 James McQuilkin, 9 Amari Morgan-Smith, 10 Daniel Udoh, 11 Darryl Knights. Subs: 12 Dominic Smith, 14 Jonathan Royle, 15 Adam Dawson, 16 Andre Brown, 17 Marcus Dinanga

ALTRINCHAM (Purple shirts and shorts, white socks): 1. Tony Thompson, 2. Shaun Densmore, 3. Andy White, 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. James Poole, 14. Max Harrop, 15. Matt Chadwick, 16. Simon Richman, 20. Billy Sass-Davies.

BACKGROUND

Mike Garnett kindly provided the pre-match statistical record of matches between the two clubs. Each club's record on the other's home ground is better than the home record.

REPORT

On a chilly evening, on a pitch almost devoid of grass in parts of the away end, Telford kicked off towards the approximately 100 Alty supporters, who were in good voice. Almost immediately Amari Morgan-Smith barged Hannigan in an aerial challenge but the Bucks' forward came off the worse. Soon, Telford won the game's first corner (2 mins) and then went close on three occasions in quick succession in the seventh and eighth minutes.

Firstly, a clearance went to the lively Shrewsbury Town loanee right-winger, Barnett, who hit a well-struck shot which Thompson, who had a fine game, beat away. Then the same player put in a dangerous cross before another shot by the home no.7 hit an Alty defender in the goalmouth.

Having survived that torrid spell, Ceesay got forward but his shot was deflected (9 mins). Alty began to grow into the game and they went ahead in the eleventh minute with a well-worked goal. Johnston advanced in the inside right position before feeding the more central Ceesay. The tall loanee from Blackpool laid the ball off for Jordan Hulme to crack a fine shot past the keeper to put Alty 1-0 up.

Alty now held the upper hand and won a corner which loanee keeper Bursik, from Stoke City, dropped. Back in February manager Cowan had "urged young goalkeeper Josef Bursik to stop the mistakes as they approach the business end of the season. The England Under-19 international and Stoke loanee has made goal-costing errors in each of the Bucks’ last two league games". He continued to have a jittery spell in the first half of this match, with poor distribution, and the home crowd voiced some anger when, under no pressure, he played the ball out to a team-mate who was marked.

Following a Hulme 25-yarder which went wide after he had won the ball himself, a misplaced Telford pass allowed Ceesay to advance but Johnston's resulting shot was saved. (18 mins).

After a fairly uneventful few minutes a Johnston run ended with a shot over the bar (25 mins). But Telford came back to life through Barnett whose cross won a corner for his side for which Altyt as usual, brought back all their players. Thompson then had to be alert to smother a through-ball as the half-hour mark passed.

Telford had now regained their initial dominance, if only for a few minutes, as they won three corners in short order. From the second, Thompson did well to tip the ball over th bar despite being fouled, an offence which was one of many ignored by the officials. Mr Massey-Ellis, however, did find it necessary to warn Thompson for timewasting (34 mins).

A foul on Hulme, who was wrestled to the ground, was then punished but the Alty man needed treatment before continuing. Sutton escaped with just a lecture for this offence before White hit a superb 35-yard curling half-volley which did not quite bend enough to find the top corner of the net (37 mins).

When Hulme appeared to be elbowed by an opponent, the referee again saw nothing amiss before a well-struck long range effort from Williams had to be beaten out by Bursik as Alty again now held the upper hand. Next, a fine shot from Hulme earned Alty a corner and the same player won another for his side in the 41st minute.

Telford's top scorer Udoh was caught offside three times in the first half and, when he fouled Hannigan, he was lectured.

In the third added minute of the half Telford won a corner but Alty remained deservedly ahead at the break.

Half-Time: AFC TELFORD UNITED 0
ALTRINCHAM 1

Alty kicked off the second half and almost immediately Ceesay stole possession, which led to Williams earning a corner. After this Telford counter-attacked and they won a freekick for a foul on Udoh, which resulted in a corner (48 mins).

Andy White was then booked for a foot-up challenge (50 mins). At the other end, when Hulme played a through ball for Ceesay, keeper Bursik had rushed off his line and was very fortunate to grab the ball before it got past him (52 mins). Next Hulme got into the box to win the first of three successive Altrincham corners, after which Hulme cut into the box from the right and got round his man only for the officials to deem that he had committed a foul, a decision with which the Alty striker clearly did not agree (55 mins).

With Altrincham looking comfortable with their lead, Hancock was getting free on the half-way line when he was cynically brought down by the Bucks' Ross White, who joined his Alty namesake in the referee's book. After this, Telford brought on Andre Brown for the booked White. Johnston wasted the resulting short free-kick before Hannigan found himself booked for only the second time in this league season (63 mins). The threshold for receiving yellow cards was being markedly lowered in the second half; lectures had sufficed in this first period for fouls by Sutton, Amari-Morgan and Udoh which were even more obvious than Hannigan's "bookable" challenge now.

Altrincham then made an unexpected double change, as manager Parkinson signalled an intention to hold on to the lead rather than remain on the front foot. Off went the offensively-minded Hancock and Johnston to be replaced by defensive personnel in the shape of Sass-Davies and Richman (64 mins).

Nevertheless, the next few minutes passed without any problems for the visitors and, indeed, a good cross from Densmore was almost turned home by Hulme but a defensive block hindered the striker (67 mins).

When White then fouled an opponent on the Bucks' right wing, the referee blew for the offence but did not seem particularly animated by it. Predictably, the home crowd bayed for a sending off of the previously booked left-back and the Bucks' players likewise lobbied the referee. Mr Massey-Ellis then belatedly produced a second yellow and a consequential red, to dismiss White from the pitch (73 mins).

In the aftermath of this incident Hulme got himself booked for dissent and, a couple of minutes later, Telford brought on Dawson for Morley, followed by Alty's Harrop replacing the cautioned Hulme (76 mins). So, in barely ten minutes, Altrincham had withdrawn their three top strikers (Hulme, Hancock and Johnston), leaving winger Ceesay as their lone striker.

From this point onwards Altrincham rarely got out of their own half as Telford sensed their chance to capitalise on the red card and Alty's more defensive shape. Indeed, the Bucks were to win seven corners in the next ten minutes, taking their tally to sixteen. Despite this, the Altrincham fans were lending excellent support to their pressured team.

In the midst of the sequence of Telford corners, which Alty defended well and from which there was minimal real threat to Thompson's goal, striker Dinanga came on to replace McQuilkin for the hosts (82 mins). It looked as if Alty would reach the finishing line with their lead intact but in the ninetieth minute Densmore brought down Udoh near the front edge of the box to concede a penalty.

Telford had grabbed a late point at Chorley some 72 hours earlier with a penalty and history repeated itself now as Andre Brown stepped up for the spot-kick. Having impressively saved an Alfreton penalty last Saturday, Thompson again excelled and almost stopped Brown's effort only for the ball to creep from his grasp and over the goal-line to make it 1-1 (90+1 mins).

In the remaining period of the decreed five added minutes, the referee flashed two cards towards the respective benches with Johnston apparanetly the Alty recipient of the caution. It left Alty having seen six yellow cards (two of which meant a read for White), their highest tally of the entire season

Whilst the post-match reaction of Altrincham supporters was one of great disappointment, in the cold light of day, a point at play-off rivals was a creditable outcome. From a position of relative comfort, 1-0 up at the hour mark, the dismissal of White amidst the substitution of all three of Alty's top-scorers left the Robins penned back for much of the final portion of the game.

Next up come the visits to Altrincham of second-placed Chorley (Saturday) and third-ranked Brackley Town (Tuesday).

Full-Time: AFC TELFORD UNITED 1
ALTRINCHAM 1