ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

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ALDERSHOT TOWN (2) 2
ALTRINCHAM (1) 2

Vanarama National League match
played on Saturday, 4 December, 2021 at 3pm

SUMMARY:

After Altrincham had totally dominated a passive Aldershot in the opening 28 minutes, but without seriously threatening to score, the Shots went ahead with their first meaningful attack. Following the dubious award of a throw-in to the hosts, after the referee had first indicated it should go the other way, Whittingham put his side ahead (29 mins).

Altrincham went two down for the third successive league game when Mooney lost possession to Sylla, who received the ball back after two passes, and his curling shot beat Thompson from some twenty yards (40 mins).

However, whwn Aldershit failed to clear a Colclough corner, the ball came back to the winger and Mullarkey sidefooted his cross deep into added time to keep Alty in the game at the interval (45+3 mins).

In the second half Alty laboured to threaten the opposition goal and scarcely troubled keeper Walker. But just as the game went into added minute Colclough levelled with a cross from the left which evaded Moult as it drifted into the far corner of the net to make it 2-2 (90 mins). And in six minutes of added time Altrincham dominated, winning corner after corner but the game ended level at 2-2.

SCORERS:

REFEREE: Mr Ryan Atkin
ATTENDANCE: 1,596 (30 in away section)
TEAM NEWS:

Altrincham made three changes to the starting eleven as manager PP (Phil Parkinson) dropped all those with a surname, like his, beginning with the letter P; namely Pringle, Peers and Porter.

Into the starting line-up came Jake Moult, Dan Mooney and A-Jay Leitch-Smith

New Aldershot signing, former Bristol City man, Bradley Webb started for the Shots.

LINE-UP:

ALDERSHOT TOWN (Red and blue): 37 Laurie Walker, 7 Alfy Whittingham, 11 Corie Andrews, 18 Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, 14 Ryan Glover, 16 Corey Jordan, 18 Mo Sylla, 26 Alfie Saunders, 27 Tommy Willard, 32 Joseph Gubbins, 36 Bradley Webb. Subs: 1 Mitch Walker, 10 Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong, 20 Mikael Ndjoli, 23 Jayden Harris, 39 James Gorman

ALTRINCHAM (Yellow and blue): 1 Tony Thompson, 3 Connor Hampson, 5 Tom Hannigan, 6 Jake Moult (c), 7 Dan Mooney, 11 Ryan Colclough, 15 Matty Kosylo, 24 Joel Senior, 25 Toby Mullarkey, 27 A-Jay Leitch-Smith, 29 Danny Whitehead. Subs:8 Adam Porter, 9 Marcus Dinanga, 10 Josh Hancock, 17 Ben Pringle, 18 Kennedy Digie.

BACKGROUND:

Altrincham arrived in Hampshire in poor form, having recorded just one win in their previous eight league fixtures and having bowed out of the FA Cup at home to lower league opposition. Until a recent run of three wins on the trot, Aldershot had been in even worse form.

REPORT:

The game kicked off three minutes late with Altrincham playing down the slope and into the sun, after the hosts had required a change of ends after the toss-up.

The early stages of the game were very strange as the home side showed virtually no inclination to get forward nor to close down Altrincham in non-threatening areas, allowing the visitors the bulk of the possession.

The first shot of the game came from Mooney from a Leitch-Smith feed but Walker saved this comfortably (3 mins).

There was precious little goalmouth action after this with Colclough's wild thirty-yard effort the best attempt on offer (8 mins). Aldershot continued to sit deep but Altrincham were not proving capable of breaking them down.

Both sides were giving away possession cheaply, with Whitehead's very wide slice the nearest to a goal at this stage (24 mins). Next, a poor shot from Mooney did not trouble Walker either (26 mins)

Having shown virtually no attacking intent, Aldershot then snatched the lead out of the blue. The goal stemmed from a throw-in near halfway which, initially, the referee had signalled as being for Altrincham before changing his mind. That uncertainty, however, was no excuse for Altrincham failing to defend it properly. Through Andrews the ball came, via a smart back-heel, for an easy finish for Whittingham off the post (29 mins).

Perversely, the goal actually stirred the previously passive Shots into a bit more ambition going forward and, following a stoppage for an ijury to Mooney, the home team won a corner (34 mins). Mooney recovered and, after a good run by Senior, the ball was cleared to Mooney whose left-foot shot was comfortably saved (39 mins).

It was then a lapse by Mooney, losing possession, that allowed the impressive Sylla, with the help of Andrews, to curl the ball home from 20 yards or more to double Aldershot's lead (40 mins). It was the third successive league game in which Alty had fallen two goals behind, as they also had on a fourth recent occasion in the FA Cup at Gateshead, all in the past four weeks!

As the interval approached, a Colclough cross was headed wide by Hampson (44 mins). With the game well into added time, a Colclough corner from the left was not cleared and Mooney had a shot blocked but the ball, via a Leitch-Smith overhead pass came via another team mate back to Colcough, whose cross from the left was sidefooted into the net at the back post by Mullarkey to give Alty some hope.

After a reasonably good-natured first half the game descended into petulance in added time after the Alty goal. A skirmish between Senior and Webb drew in Thompson; Webb went down theatrically claiming that the Alty keeper had grabbed him round the neck. After the fracas, Mr Atkin booked Senior and Thompson as well as Webb (45+6 mins).

So, half-time arrived with the visitors trailing 2-1.

Half-Time: ALDERSHOT TOWN 2
ALTRINCHAM 1

With the lights now on, the hosts kicked off up the slope. Alty started with a bit more tempo than they had shown for much of the first period and, just four minutes into the half, they had a great chance as Colclough played in Kosylo only for the forward to lose his footing and, with it, any chance of scoring.

Alty continued to get forward but without testing Walker before Whitehead picked up a needless booking for blocking a freekick (56 mins). Play was broken up by a home side injury before another three hiatuses came as, first, Alty brought on Hancock for Mooney (60 mins) and then Aldershot introduced Harris for Webb a minute later. The third stoppage was when Ndjoli replaced Glover (64 mins); the breaks in play not helping Altrincham's cause.

The Shots now came to life, winning two corners, before another stoppage saw Porter replace Whitehead in the Alty midfield (70 mins).

Alty did have the ball in the net soon afterwards but Hampson's "goal" only arrived when play had virtually stopped for an offside flag. Alty's final change, and the fifth stoppage for substitutions in a 16 minute spell, came in the 76th minute as Pringle replaced Kosylo.

After this scrappy period, Altrincham raised their game, with Porter playing a prominent role, and they were to win eight corners in the final ten minutes. After the first three, a clash of heads between the two captains halted play and then Senior was hauled down by Gubbins for a further break in play (88 mins).

Another corner in the final minute of the ninety came to nothing but, as the clock ticked towards added time, a Colclough cross just evaded Moult near the penalty spot and drifted onwards into the net to level the game at 2-2. It was the third time in four weeks that Altrincham had gone from 2-0 down in a game to draw 2-2.

Six added minutes were decreed in which Alty laid siege to the home goal winning corner after corner. It took a great save from Walker to keep out Pringle's 95th minute effort before the final whistle came to Aldershot's relief.

Although Alty have now won just once in their last nine league games, they had shown character in coming back from a two-goal deficit.

Altrincham remain twelfth in the National League.

Full Time: ALDERSHOT TOWN 2
ALTRINCHAM 2

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