ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS
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ALTRINCHAM (2) 3
DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE (0) 0
played on Saturday, 26 February 2022 at 3pm
SUMMARY:
The Robins ran out the well deserved victors against an ultimately dispirited Dagenham side who arrived in poor form after leading the table in the early weeks of the 2021-22 season.
However, it was the Daggers who had the better of the early stages of the game, winning several corners but not threatening to score.
But it was Altrincham who went ahead through their first meaningful attack when Marriott's excellent ball found Mooney, whose shot went through keeper Justham, the keeper appearing to get a touch on it (19 mins).
And the hosts doubled their lead on the half-hour when Colclough, making his fiftieth start for Alty, fed Hulme. The striker cut in from the left, evading two defenders, before slotting the ball into the net past the advancing keeper (30 mins).
Half-time was reached with Alty two up. It was the first time that the Robins had scored twice in the first half of a National League match this season since the opening fixture of the season at Torquay.
And Alty scored a third time after 53 minutes when Mooney fed Hancock (pictured right), who turned and impressively fired past the keeper's dive to his right. Play was halted for several minutes soon after this goal when linesman Mr D'Aguilar came off worse in a collision with the visitors' Reynolds and had to be replaced by the fourth official.
The result, a first home win for nearly five months, lifted Altrincham up three places to seventeenth, leaving the Daggers dispirited by the final whistle.
SCORERS:
- 19 mins: Dan MOONEY (ALTRINCHAM 1 Dagenham & Redbridge 0)
- 30 mins: Jordan HULME (ALTRINCHAM 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 0)
- 53 mins: Josh HANCOCK (ALTRINCHAM 3 Dagenham & Redbridge 0)
REFEREE: Mr Michael Barlow
ATTENDANCE: 1,642 (82 away fans)
TEAM NEWS:
For the second successive game, Alty made five changes. Out of the starting eleven went three of the back four, Densmore, Mudimu and White, as well as Pringle and Leitch-Smith. Jake Moult was out of contention, having been injured (ankle) in training.
Coming back in to start the game were Jones, Hulme, Mooney, Hancock as well as new signing Perritt, at right-back.
So three loanees joined Mullarkey in the Alty back four, with Cooper's two previous matches making him the most experienced of those three.
LINE-UPS:
ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, white socks): 1 Tony Thompson (c), 23. Harry Perritt, 25. Toby Mullarkey, 14. Jake Cooper, 28. Eddy Jones, 8. Elliot Osborne, 32. Isaac Marriott, 7. Dan Mooney, 10. Josh Hancock, 11. Ryan Colclough, 29. Jordan Hulme. Subs: 15. Matty Kosylo, 17. Ben Pringle, 20. Andy White, 27. A-Jay Leitch-Smith, 24. Kyle Ferguson .
DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE (Blue shirts, red shorts and socks): 1. Elliot Justham, 5. Will Wright (c), 6. Kenny Clark, 2. Callum Reynolds, 31. Josh Hare, 4. Dean Rance, 30. Brandon Comley, 26. Joey Jones, 20. Mauro Vilhete, 9. Paul McCallum, 7. Josh Walker. Subs: 8. Mo Sagaf, 11. Myles Weston, 15. Scott Wilson, 21. Ibrahim Akanbi 25. Junior Morias.
BACKGROUND:
Altrincham had been having a torrid few months but after twelve winless league games, they had beaten King's Lynn Town before losing their most recent game at Boreham Wood.
The Daggers had started the season unbeaten in half a dozen games and led the table. But they had slipped since then and arrived in Altrincham on their worst run of the campaign.
Altrincham's player turnover had continued with two new faces arriving since their last game; Perritt a loanee defender from Accrington Stanley, and Ferguson a centre-half signed on a short-term contract.
REPORT:
The Daggers won the toss and elected to change ends, presumably to try to take advantage of a stiff breeze.
In just the third minute, Mooney was taken out cynically by Reynolds who should have been booked, but was not.
However, it was Dagenham who had much the better of the opening period, winning four corners between the fifth and twelfth minutes. From the second, Joey Jones should have scored with a free header but he directed it over the bar (6 mins).
The other corners did not cause alarms, despite Altrincham fielding a new back-line which included three loanees, one making his debut, another having played just once and the third having only two Alty games under his belt.
Referee Barlow now again showed uncalled-for leniency when the errant Reynolds flattened Colclough yet, again, he avoided a booking (15 mins).
But Altrincham responded by taking the lead, against the run of play, as Marriott, who was to have a fine game, won possesssion just inside the Daggers' half and fed the ball forward to Mooney, whose shot seemed to go through the keeper into the net (19 mins).
Following a clearance by Mullarkey, Comley had the visitors' first shot on target, which Thompson saved, to his right (23 mins).
Defender Wright was taking his side's corners and following one of his freekicks it took an excellent header from debutant Perritt to clear the danger (28 mins).
Reynolds's unhappy afternoon continued when his miskick set Mooney advancing tough the Alty winger was unable to find team-mate Hulme. However, it was not long before Altrincham doubled their lead when a fine move, starting with Eddy Jones, led to Colclough feeding Hulme.
From the left, Hulme cut in and got past two defenders before slotting the ball through the legs of the advancing keeper Justham at the near post. It was the first time Alty had scored two first-half goals since the opening day of the season at Torquay (30 mins). It was also Hulme's first goal since returning to Moss Lane.
Whilst Alty's unfamiliar back four was working well, the visitors' reliance on an unreliable offside trap was proving their major weakness.
Altrincham threatened again when a tackle by Eddy Jones led to a Colclough cross which Hancock headed into the keeper's hands (40 mins).
Half-time was reached with Alty two goals to the good at home at the interval for the first time this season.
Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 2 |
At the break, Weston replaced Hare for Dagenham. After a fairly uneventful opening to the half, Altrincham made it 3-0 following a poor clearance by the visitors which Hancock blocked. The ball ran to Mooney who returned the ball to Hancock and he hit a fine shot, on the turn, from eighteen yards which founb the net to the keeper's right (53 mins).
Straight after the restart Reynolds collided with linesman Mr D'Aguilar, who dropped to the ground. After protracted treatment, led by Alty physio Ryan Murray, who was making his last appearance in that role for the club, Mr D'Aguilar hobbled to the fourth official's spot as Matthew Young switched roles with the stricken official (58 mins)
On 64 minutes, Dagenham made another change when Sagaf replaced Joey Jones but Altrincham remained comfortable with their lead. A Dagenham corner came and went (71 mins) before a good save by Thompson thwarted Rance (74 mins). A long range effort from Sagaf looped over Thompson from a deflection and struck the base of the post but it was too litle too late for the visitors (81 mins).
Marriott and Osborne continued to impress in the Altrincham engine room before a fine Alty move culminated in a Marriott shot, which earned a corner (83 mins).
Belatedly, Altincham made their first change as Leitch-Smith replaced Hulme (86 mins). A second change followed when White came on to see out a comfortable win, as he replaced Colclough who had been making his fiftieth start for the Robins (89 mins).
The referee's remarkable tolerance suddenly snapped as he made two very late bookings for non-descript offences, booking McCallum (89 mins) then Perritt (90+3 mins).
Owing to the injury to the linesman, seven added minutes were decreed. As the final whistle approached, the visitors looked a dispirited team and, after the game, some of them went to talk to their 82 travelling fans, presumably to apologise for their disappointing performance.
For Altrincham it was a first home win since 9 October 2021, and it lifted them three places in the table. Considering the makeshift line up in defence and a midfield duo with limited time at the club and even less playing-time together, it was an impressive performance.
Full Time: ALTRINCHAM 3 |