ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

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ALTRINCHAM (2) 4
YEOVIL TOWN (0) 3

Vanarama National League match
played on Saturday, 22 May, 2021 at 3pm

SUMMARY:

In this first match this season at the JDS to which spectators had been admitted, 600 Altrincham fans got full value from a match in which their team led 2-0, then trailed 2-3, before securing a late 4-3 victory.

The opening stages were marred by a bad injury to Neufville following a foul by Kosylo (7 mins). A seven-minute stoppage ended with the unfortunate Neufville stretchered off.

Alty went on to take a 19th minute lead when Senior, Smith and Colclough combined and, with the Glovers unable to clear their lines, the ball came out to Kirby whose rising shot made it 1-0.

With eight added first-half minutes already announced, another lengthy stoppage saw Senior having to have a head wound bandaged. When play resumed, a superb looping header from right of goal by Mooney made it 2-0 (45+8 mins).

From being in control at the interval, Alty let Yeovil back into the game. Firstly, Sonupe's low shot beat Thompson (56 mins) before a mix-up between Thompson and a defender allowed Quigley to poke the ball into an unguarded net (69 mins).

Just three minutes later 2-2 became 2-3 as a thumping Lee header, from a freekick conceded by Colclough, seemed to have completed the visitors' recovery (72 mins).

With time running out, Hancock had a shot well saved but the ball was played back across goal by Senior for substitute Peers to net an equaliser, 3-3 (85 mins).

In the second of six added minutes Alty snatched back the lead as Colcough got to the byline, left of goal, and Hancock turned in his low cross to snatch all three points.

SCORERS:

REFEREE: Ms Rebecca Welch who had recently achieved national recognition having overseen an EFL game.

ATTENDANCE: 660 (home supporters only).
TEAM NEWS:

Matty Kosylo started his first game in eleven, after injury, and Josh Hancock was promoted to start, albeit in an unaccustomed striker's role. To accommodate the duo, Sean Williams dropped to the bench whilst Nyal Bell had left the club in midweek.

Yeovil recently had been weakened by injury and they named only four substitutes. With Luke Wilkinson suspended, Reuben Reid started, whilst injuries ruled out Rhys Murphy, Alex John and Matt Worthington. However, injury doubt Charlie Lee was passed fit to play,

LINE-UP:

ALTRINCHAM (Red shirts with white chest panel, black shorts and white socks): 1. Tony THOMPSON, 6. Jake MOULT (c), 7. Daniel MOONEY, 10.Josh HANCOCK, 15. Matty KOSYLO, 19. Reagan OGLE, 24. Joel SENIOR, 25. Toby MULLARKEY, 29. Alistair SMITH, 34. Ryan COLCLOUGH, 36. Connor KIRBY. Subs: 5. Tom HANNIGAN, 8. Sean WILLIAMS, 20. Shaun DENSMORE, 32. James HARDY, 23. Tom PEERS.

YEOVIL TOWN (All green): 1. Adam Smith; 14. Michael Kelly, 6. Luke Wilkinson, 35. Billy Sass-Davies, 3. Carl Dickinson (c); 22. Charlie Lee, 34. Chris Dagnall, 8. Lawson D'Ath; 24. Josh Neufville, 21. Tom Knowles, 19. Joe Quigley, 33. Reuben Reid. Subs: 31. Max Evans, 37. Adam Heaton, 36. Toby Stephens, 25. Emmanuel Sonupe.

BACKGROUND:

This fixture had originally been postponed in April, following the death of the Yeovil captain Lee Collins.

Up to 600 home spectators were permitted to watch this first match of the season at the JDS to which they had been admitted following the loosening of ant-Covid restrictions.

Today was the first time in more than twenty years that the Somerset club had played at Altrincham, having spent much of the intervening period in the EFL. Indeed, just seven seasons ago, they were in the Championship.

The Glovers had won the reverse fixture 2-0.

REPORT:

Heavy rain through much of the preceding day had given way to a sunny afternoon at the J. Davidson Stadium as Altrincham welcomed spectators back after a fourteen-month absence because of Covid-19 restrictions. The pitch was actually in good condition considering the adverse weather it has endured over recent weeks.

Altrincham kicked off to a background of singing from the Golf Road end and won an immediate corner which Colclough, as is his wont, took short and low but this time it did garner a second corner which he again took short but to less effect.

However, the game soon came to a lengthy halt as Kosylo fouled Neufville and the unfortunate Yeovil man was left face down and clearly with a serious leg injury (7 mins). After some five minutes treatment on the pitch he was taken off on a stretcher, with Kosylo picking up a deserved booking, his eleventh in thirty league games.

After a stoppage of more than five minutes, play resumed with Sonupé having replaced the striken Neufville. The freekick which restarted play was nodded wide but, soon afterwards, a slip-up by Alty allowed Reid to get free and it took a smart block from Thompson to keep the ball out (14 mins).

Play was fairly open before Yeovil again went close as a bout of head tennis led to the ball dropping for Quigley. With him having a clear sight of goal, Alty were relieved to see Quigley's shot skim off the far post, having beaten Thompson (16 mins).

Alty were conceding too many eaerly frekicks in these early stages of the game but they soon put together a good move with Senior, Mooney and the excellent Smith feeding Colclough. He advanced into the box from the left and, though his shot was blocked, Yeovil could not clear their lines and, from the edge of the box in a central position, Kirby lifted a shot into the upper reaches of the net for his first goal in Alty colours (19 mins).

Next Knowles shot narrowly wide for the visitors before a smart interchange of passes between Senior and Mooney saw the latter's well-struck curling shot from the right diverted wide by Kosylo's header from near the penalty spot (21 mins).

After another Yeovil freekick had been driven into the defensive wall, a shot by Kelly was blocked but a corner resulted from which two shots in succession were blocked by the Alty defence at the cost of a further corner (24 mins).

Alty continued to concede freekicks before a fine Thompson kick upfield located Colclough who set up Hancock, but his first touch was not good.

The entertaining game continued past the half-hour mark before Ogle, Kirby and Hancock fed Kosylo for a clear shot at goal but he hit it straight at the keeper (32 mins).

When Alty themselves won a freekick, Mooney's dead-ball was cleared to Colcough whose fierce left-footer was not held by goalkeeper Smith but a goalkick ensued.

Lee was now booked for a foul on Kosylo (34mins) but Hancock put the resulting freekick over the bar. Next, a good run by Lee ended with a weak shot to Thompson (36 mins). Soon, a fine ball from Senior found Hancock but his shot was saved (39 mins).

Knowles then needed treatment, after a clash in the air with Ogle, before eight added minutes were announced. That lengthy period was to be esxtended further when Mullarkey was flattened only for play to contiue momentarily and Senior was laid out by a stray arm from Quigley, who was booked (45+2 mins). Senior's head had to be bandaged, and the blood shirt utilised, before played resumed. But the Alty right-back was soon haring up the wing to the byline before Kosylo and Mooney each had a shot blocked.

Deep into added time Hancock could not sort out his feet inside the box and the ball was replayed back into the box from the left by Ogle. Beyond the back post, Mooney executed a superb looping header which went into the net at the back post to give Alty a 2-0 lead (45+8 mins).

There was still time for an Alty corner but it was the Glovers who almost scored as Sonupe forced a fine save from Thompson (45+10 mins).

Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 2
YEOVIL TOWN 0

Yeovil kicked off but it was Alty who went close inside two minutes as Smith forced a good save from his goalkeeping namesake (47 mins). Alty also gained the half's first corner which was poorly delivered by Mooney. Moments later Dagnall took out Smith but somehow escaped with a lecture from referee Welch who otherwise had a good game.

Play was not as entertaining as in the first half before, for some reason, Alistair Smith went off to change his boots (53 mins)! But the visitors now got back into the game as Sonupe's measured low shot from about 15 yards beat Thompson's dive to his right and made it 2-1 (56 mins).

There was anamusing moment next, as a ball sailed into the main stand only for substitute Sean williams, seated there, to head it back towards the pitch!

Another clean pair of heels by Senior, on the Alty right, led to a corner but this, and a subsequent freekick for a foul on Colclough, came to nothing (59 mins).

Next Williams replaced Kosylo who had appeared to be short of his usual spark after his injury lay-off (65 mins). Dagnall now picked up a booking as he brought down Senior (68 mins).

Following a Yeovil goalkick Thompson and Moult hesitated on the front edge of the box and Quigley nipped in to steer the ball into the empty net to level the scores (69 mins).

Alty were now on the back foot and conceded a freekick when Colclough brought down Knowles from behind and received a merited yellow card (72 mins). The foul proved costly as D'ATh's freekick was met by a bullet header by Lee from left of centre, which gave Yeovil a 3-2 lead (72 mins).

To their credit Alty responded with a corner but the mood was now flat, having experienced the surrender of a two-goal lead.

However, Senior once again now got to the byline and exchanged passes with Williams before his goalbound shot was cleared off the line by a defender (80 mins).

At this point Peers replaced Kirby, who had played well (80 mins).

Williams's foul on Knowles made him the third Alty man to go into the referee's notebook (82 mins). And, soon after this, Mooney was replaced by Hardy (83 mins).

Alty now raised their game again and Hancock forced a good save by Smith, with his legs, but the ball came out to Senior on the Alty right. His low cross was smartly turned home by Peers to level the score at 3-3 (85 mins).

Next Stephens replaced Reid for Yeovil (89 mins) before a six-minute period of added time was announced.

Two minutes into this, Ogle set Colclough up the left and his low cross from the byline was expertly turned into the net by a stretching Josh Hancock to give Alty a 4-3 lead (90+2 mins). Yeovil tried to rescue the game but Alty went close agin as Senior yet again got up the right and, with assistance from Williams, got the ball to Hardy who put his effort narrowly wide (90+5 mins).

With getting on for eight added minutes having elapsed, the final whistle blew on an entertaining game which had brought Alty their first four-goal haul of the season and their first victory in eight fixtures.

Both sides had contributed to an entertaining afternoon for the spectators on their first release from lockdown to attend a football match.

Full Time: ALTRINCHAM 4
YEOVIL TOWN 3

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