ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

Return to News Page

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN "B" (0) 0
ALTRINCHAM (3) 4

Pre-season Friendly match
played on Saturday, 19 September, 2020 at 12 noon
behind closed doors

SUMMARY:

After the young home side started well, with plenty of possession, two goals in quick succession from Ceesay and Hulme put Alty in control. The first was a fine finish from Ceesay and the second was a smart finish from Hulme.

Hulme made it three before the break. Alty were comfortable during the second half and added a late fourth goal from Mullarkey after the visitors had made eight changes just after the hour-mark.

SCORERS:

REFEREE: TBA
ATTENDANCE: Behind closed doors.
TEAM NEWS:

With Josh Hancock having taken a knock, he joined Andy White and Dan Mooney on the injured list. However, Connor Hampson returned to the starting eleven.

On the bench Altrincham included three trialist defenders. They were defenders Ashley Smith-Brown, Will Hall and Joel Senior, all of whom had featured earlier in pre-season. The pre-match plan was for a mass substitution around the hour mark.

Huddersfield fielded a side including several teenagers. However their B team had secured a commendable 1-1 draw at Anfield a few days earlier against a side including several Liverpool first-teamers. Recently five Huddersfield Town Academy players had signed their first professional contracts. Bamford, Bellagambi, Headley, Kherbouche and Sharrock-Peplow signed deals to run until the summer of 2021 and 2022.

LINE-UP:

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN "B" (Blue and white): 1. Giosue Bellagambi, 2. Ilounga Pata, 3. Brodie Spencer (aged 16), 4. Loick Ayina (aged 17), 5. Mustapha Olagunju, 6. Josh Austerfield, 7. Sam Sharrock-Peplow, 8. Jaheim Headley, 9. Kian Harratt, 10. Myles Bright (aged 17), 11. Will McCamley. Subs: 12. Ricardo Lammey? 14. Conor Falls (aged 16), 15. K. Phillips.

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks) 1. Tony THOMPSON, 2. Shaun DENSMORE, 3. Connor HAMPSON, 4. Ritchie SUTTON, 5. Tom HANNIGAN, 6. Jake MOULT (c), 7. Yusifu CEESAY, 8. Sean WILLIAMS, 9. Jordan HULME, 10. Max CLAYTON, 11. Tom PEERS. Subs: 12. Toby MULLARKEY, 14. Simon RICHMAN, 15. Will HALL, 16. Ashley SMITH-BROWN, 17. Curtis MILLER, 18. Joel SENIOR, 19. Matty KOSYLO, 20. Curtis MILLER, 21. Joel SENIOR, GK. Matthew GOULD

BACKGROUND:

Huddersfield Town's "B" team had recently been set up as a pathway to the first team. They do not play in a league but have one-off matches such as this one. They had met Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the week and drawn 1-1 against a side containing several of Liverpool's Premiership-winning players.

REPORT:

In blustery conditions the game got off to a stop-start opening. The Huddersfield captain Pata was injured, inside two minutes from kick-off, and then team-mate Bright also took a knock. Though both resumed, Pata soon had to go off and be subbed by Lammey. Consequently, the game had a very disjointed opening period.

When play settled down, after a Bright shot deflected to Thompson at one end, a long ball over the top of the home defence by Sutton set Hulme one on one against the keeper at the Town end. Hulme tried to lift the ball over the keeper but failed to do so (10 mins).

Bright looked lively for the hosts in the opening minutes but was not to continue to operate at that level in the rest of the match.

As the half reached its midway point, the Terriers had enjoyed more of the possession but without creating any opening to concern Thompson.

Altrincham then enjoyed an excellent spell. First a fine pass from Moult, over the top of the defence, found Ceesay but his cross was cleared and came to Peers who fired over the bar (25 mins).

Next, a Sutton error allowed Bright to get in a shot which went straight to Thompson's arms (26 mins). A minute later Ceesay got past his man and, from a sharp angle, beat the keeper with a fine shot to put Alty ahead (28 mins).

Three minutes later, it was 2-0 for Altrincham as Densmore advanced and his chipped cross was lifted over the keeper by Hulme (31 mins).

Alty continued to play well as, next, Clayton fed Peers but he lost the ball (36 mins). Peers's persistence then led to the ball breaking off a defender to Hulme, who poked the ball past the advancing keeper before sliding the ball home, left-footed, from fewer than ten yards to make it 3-0 (39 mins). The young home side seemed disheartened by their triple concession which had occurred inside twelve minutes.

Half-Time: HUDDERSFIELD TOWN "B" 0
ALTRINCHAM 3

At the break Huddersfield brought on Phillips for Spencer with Headley moving to left-back, presumably to address the threat of Ceesay to the home defence.

The hosts had a good early chance but Headley failed to convert the opening (47 mins). As in the first half there was an early stopppage for a home-team full-back injury with Lammey this time the victim but he recovered (51 mins).

Next, after a Huddersfield error, Ceesay got free but, instead of shooting, he tried to pass and wasted the opportunity (60 mins).

Spencer now returned for the hosts to replace the injured Lammey.

On 64 minutes, all eight Alty substitutes came on with the only three starters remaining on the pitch being Moult, Peers and Clayton. Young Mullarkey was now the senior member of a back four otherwise comprising three trialists.

With Alty comfortably ahead, the game drifted on before Hulme returned to seek his hat-trick and play the final fifteen moutes in place of Peers.

Senior's pace then led to Hulme netting but he was offside (85 mins). Next, Clayton played in Miller who was cyniclly tugged back to concede a freekick which would have been a red card in a competitive game. From the freekick Kosylo's cross was met at the back post by a left-foot volley from Mullarkey to make it 4-0 (87 mins>.

So, Alty ran out deserved winners with their next test coming against AFC Fylde.

Full Time: HUDDERSFIELD TOWN "B" 0
ALTRINCHAM 4