ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

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ALTRINCHAM (1) 1
STOCKPORT COUNTY (0) 1

Vanarama National League match
played on Saturday, 26 December, 2020 at 3pm
behind closed doors

SUMMARY:

The visitors started the game the better side but, following a Stockport corner, Alty counter-attacked with Kosylo advancing up the middle. He fed Ceesay, to his left and the wingman slotted the ball through Hinchliffe's legs to give Alty a 24th minute lead which they retained at the interval.

County had the better of the second half and, from one of a number of corners, Jennings flicked the ball into the net at the near post, in the 82nd minute, for a deserved equalizer.

SCORERS:

REFEREE: Mr Gareth Rhodes
ATTENDANCE: Behind closed doors.
TEAM NEWS:

With Jake Moult suspended and Andy White, Jamie McDonald, Ryan Colclough, Andy Dales, Fisayo Adarabioyo, Byron Harrison, Sean Williams and Toby Mullarkey all missing, injured, the good news before kick-off was that Dan Mooney had returned from his lay-off to take a place on the bench.

Jake Moult was replaced by Simon Richman and Andy White was also out, injured. In Moult's absence, Tony Thompson captained the side.

LINE-UP:

ALTRINCHAM (Red shirts with white chest panel, black shorts, white socks): 1. Tony THOMPSON (c), 3. Connor HAMPSON, 35. Harrison HOLGATE, 5. Tom HANNIGAN, 24. Joel SENIOR, 30. Simon RICHMAN, 29. Alistair SMITH, 15. Matty KOSYLO, 23. Tom PEERS, 10. Josh HANCOCK, 11. Yusifu CEESAY. Subs: 7. Dan MOONEY, 9. Jacob BLYTH, 14. Will HALL, 20. Shaun DENSMORE, 27. Rowan ROACHE.

STOCKPORT COUNTY (All blue): 1. Ben HINCHLIFFE. 2. Sam MINIHAN, 4. Liam HOGAN (c), 6. Lois MAYNARD, 7. Adam THOMAS, 10. Connor JENNINGS, 11. Jordan WILLIAMS, 14. Mark KITCHING, 16. Jordan KEANE, 18. Ryan CROASDALE, 19. Alex REID. Subs: 21. Josh BARNES, 15. Jamie STOTT, 17. Macaulay SOUTHAM-HALES, 22. Harvey GILMOUR, 9. Richard BENNETT.

BACKGROUND:

This was the Cheshire clubs' first encounter since 2018-19 when County had beaten Alty four times without conceding a goal, putting the Robins out of the FA Cup and Trophy in addition to completing a National League North double.

REPORT:

Stockport started the better and won an early corner (3 mins). But a long ball forward to Ceesay, from Hannigan, allowed Altincham to reply with a corner of their own. But County's good start soon continued as Reid turned smartly and curled a shot narrowly wide (10 mins).

Thomas was impressing for the visitors whilst Hannigan was defending in exemplary fashion for the hosts. Two corners then arrived for Stockport in a two-minute spell. From the second of these, Hampson cleared the ball to Kosylo who advanced some forty yards up the middle befoe laying the ball to his left to the unmarked, cantering Ceesay.

The tall left-winger got into the box before slipping the ball through keeper Hinchliffe's legs to give Altrincham the lead against the overall run of the game at that stage (24 mins).

Ceesay was soon threatening again and, having ridden one foul challenge, he was brought down by a second, on the Alty left (29 mins). Alty then conceded a bizarre corner when Senior's intended back pass, from 45 yards out, was totally misdirected and went out of play over the distant byline (30 mins).

For all their early dominance it was not until Thompson had to beat away a Jennings shot, from a Minihan cross, that the visitors seriously threatened the home goal (31 mins). Just a minute later Reid also got in a shot, which Thompson gathered at the second attempt.

Soon after this, a Reid effort dribbled to Thompson as the visitors held the upper hand (33 mins).

Holgate, on his Alty league debut, was then harshly booked as he went for a fifty-fifty ball (34 mins). After a few uneventful minutes another County corner was won but the game drifted to half-time with Thompson's punch clear of a County cross the last significant action (45+1 mins).

So Alty reached the break with their lead intact, despite the visitors having had the better of the game.

Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 1
STOCKPORT COUNTY 0

Alistair Smith kicked off the second half as Alty attacked the Golf Road end.

It took a fine tackle by Senior to halt Williams (47 mins) as, just as in the first half, the visitors started the half the brighter side. But, on a counter attack, Cessay set Peers running at goal. Unfortunately, the striker elected to shoot rather than feed the advancing Kosylo. Peers got his shot all wrong from 30 yards (51 mins).

At the other end Holgate did well to halt Jennings before County won a corner as a reward for their dominance at this stage. When Hannigan tripped the advancing Minhan the Alty defender, who had a fine game, was booked (57 mins). However, Hannigan immediatley redeemed himself by clearing the resulting freekick.

Maynard was now booked for a foul on Hampson but Kosylo mishit the resulting freekick badly. After County had won another corner, they brought on Southam-Hales for Thomas who had impressed in the first half (65 mins).

Around the half-way mark of the second half Alty survived as the ball ping-ponged around their goalmouth.

There was some very brief respite from the County pressing when Ceesay got forward but three County corners followed inside a five-minute spell.

From the second corner of this sequence, and with rain now falling and the wind becoming more evident, Thompson produced an excellent point-blank save (70 mins).

Alty now brought on Mooney with Kosylo being the man withdrawn, which was something of a surprise (72 mins). Mooney went up front so Peers moved to the right-wing berth.

The Stockport pressure continued with another trio of corners inside a six-minute spell. Between the first and second of these, Thompson picked up a booking for time-wasting, his third yellow card of the campaign (80 mins). From the second of these corners, a little dubiously awarded, County equalised.

Although Altrincham could not argue that the equalizer was undeserved, the manner of its concession was unfortunate. A low corner from the right was hooked in at the near post by Jennings from a position virtually on the byline (82 mins).

Stockport remained on the front foot as Altrincham made a second change, new signing Blyth replacing Ceesay (89 mins). Three added minutes witnessed Mooney picking up a booking, Alty's fourth of the day, before the final whistle confirmed the result as a draw which left Altrincham in seventh place in the National League.

Although as manager Phil Parkinson admitted after the game, Altrincham had not been at their best, they had both secured a point and scored a goal against a Stockport side which had denied them both in their previous four meetings.

Full Time: ALTRINCHAM 1
STOCKPORT COUNTY 1

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