ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

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TRAFFORD (0) 0
ALTRINCHAM (1) 2

Pre-season friendly match
played on Tuesday, 30 July 2019, at 7.45pm

SUMMARY:

As has become an annual custom, Altrincham travelled across the Borough to Trafford and completed their pre-season with a 2-0 win over their neighbours, Trafford.

In an entertaining match, played at a decent pace throughout, Altrincham took the lead just before half-time when Josh Hancock set up Tom Peers, who scored from six yards.

Hancock himself netted the second goal nine minutes after the interval following a defensive error by Trafford.

Alty made six second-half substitutions, five of them en masse after 73 minutes.

SCORERS:

REFEREE: Mr Nik Storey
ATTENDANCE: 281
TEAM NEWS:

Only Andy White, James Jones and Sean Williams started this game from the eleven who had kicked off against AFC Fylde last Saturday.

Into the squad at Shawe View came youth and reserve-team graduates Jack Ryan and Dontai Gabidon. Missing, however, was Simon Richman following his injury in the game on Saturday. Nathan Arnold was also absent tonight but Max Harrop returned after sitting out last Saturday with a hamstring twinge. It was good to see Jake Moult on the pitch during the warm-up as he recovers from his operation.

Trafford included several players with Alty connections. Right-back Harry Sheridan is on dual forms with both clubs, whilst midfielder Laurence Taylor and left-winger Darius Palma both had first-team appearances to their credit with the visitors. For Trafford, striker Lewis Salmon had trialled for Alty this summer whilst Tom Schofield had done so a few years back.

LINE-UP:

TRAFFORD (All white): 1. Matt Cooper (c), 2. Harry Sheridan, 3. Joel Amado, 4. Laurence Taylor, 5. Sam Baird, 6. Keil O'Brien, 7. Jordan Wynne, 8. Ross Davidson, 9. Lewis Salmon, 10. Darius Palma, 11. Sam Grimshaw. Subs: 12. Chris Palmer 14. Declan Rydings, 15. Adam Farrell, 16. Tom Schofield, 17. Sam Egerton, 18. Dougie Nyaupembe, 20. Mike Jones.

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks): 1. Tony THOMPSON, 2. Shaun DENSMORE (c), 3. Andy WHITE, 4. James JONES, 5. Toby MULLARKEY, 6. Sean WILLIAMS, 7. Matt CHADWICK, 8. Max HARROP, 9. Tom PEERS, 10. Josh HANCOCK, 11. Lewis WALTERS. Subs: 12. Jordan HULME, 14. John JOHNSTON, 15. Conor BRANSON, 16.Tom HANNIGAN, 17. Connor HAMPSON, 18. Dontai GABIDON, 19. Jack RYAN, 20. Steven DRENCH.

BACKGROUND:

This was Altrincham's final pre-season game but the hosts still had more than two weeks till their season was scheduled to start. After plenty of rain in the preceding days, the dire forecast for the time of this match did not materialise; the first half was actually played in dry conditions and the rain throughout the second half was, at most, steady rather than torrential.

REPORT:

Altrincham started brightly but with their shooting boots very much off. First White fired off target (1 min) before Williams hit a wild shot (4 mins), followed by trialist Walters shooting over the bar (5 mins).

At the other end, Wynne was also off target but much closer to the target than his trio of adversaries had been before him. The pots at goal continued as Palma turned well but knocked his effort over the bar (8 mins). Alty then wasted a corner by taking it short.

Trafford keeper Cooper raised a cheer when he dribbled past not one, but two, Alty attackers in his own goalmouth. The openness and end to end pace of the game continued as Hancock saw a shot blocked (14 mins).

But Alty's compass remained miscalibrated as Harrop now blasted a shot miles wide. To compound Alty's disappointment, they were now caught offside for the third time already in the evening (22 mins). And the shooting continued to be awry as Peers hit an effort high and wide (24 mins). At last something better came along as Walters's ball from the left came to Chadwick, on the right. His well-struck and on-target shot was impressively tipped over the bar by Cooper as Alty continued on top but with nothing to show for their endeavours.

For Trafford, Sheridan got past White befoe being halted but, from his subsequent cross, Amado's fine header forced an excellent save from Thompson (31 mins).

After a Palmer shot had also been saved, Alty won two corners. Following these, a testing cross from Chadwick was headed inches wide by a diving Mullarkey, who again had looked impressive as, on more than one occasion, he brought the ball out of defence (39 mins).

Alty continued to get forward as Peers was now halted in the box and, next, a Chadwick effort was comfortably saved by Cooper. After each side had won a corner, Altrincham finally broke the deadlock in the 44th minute. Hancock laid the ball off for Peers who had a straightforward chance from close range, which he converted comfortably.

Half-Time: TRAFFORD 0
ALTRINCHAM 1

Rain started during the interval and, after the resumption of play, an early cross from Walters went into a goalmouth inexplicably devoid of his team-mates (48 mins). An off-beam effort from Densmore continued the wayward theme of much of the first half before Cooper spilt the ball but Chadwick was unable to capitalise (50 mins). Two Alty corners underlined their superiority at this stage, the first having been won following a good save by Cooper from a Harrop shot.

A defensive mix-up in the outer reaches of the Trafford box then allowed Hancock to advance and drive the ball into the net to make it 2-0 (54 mins). For Trafford, a clear header for Salmon was saved by Thompson but he could not hold the ball but was fortunate to re-gather it as it evaded the Trafford man (56 mins).

Trafford now made three substitutions as Taylor, Davidson and Grimshaw came off and Palmer, Farrell and Egerton replaced them (57 mins). Four minutes later Alty brought on Branson for Williams in midfield.

Referee Storey, who was in charge of his second Alty game in four days, saw nothing wrong when Chadwick was pulled down in the box (64 mins) but Alty's lead remained comfortably intact.

After 73 minutes Altrincham made a mass substitution as Hannigan, Hulme, Gabidon, Ryan and Johnston replaced Jones, Harrop, Walters, Peers and Williams.

In the final ten minutes Trafford got forward with some consistency but without causing too much danger to the Alty goal. So Altrincham completed their summer matches with five wins, a draw and two defeats, ahead of the planned visit of York City to a currently very wet J. Davidson Stadium.

Full-Time: TRAFFORD 0
ALTRINCHAM 2