ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS
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WREXHAM (4) 4
ALTRINCHAM (0) 0
played on Monday, 18 April 2022 at 3pm
SUMMARY:
Alty got off to a bad start as a Tozer long-throw led to Davies putting Wrexham ahead in only the second minute. Alty responded well with a series of decent openings but they failed to trouble Dibble.
The visitors suffered a further blow when Hulme had to go off with what appeared to be a recurrence of a calf injury (23 mins).
Altrincham suffered another defensive lapse from another dead ball situation when former Cambridge United forward Mullin was allowed a free header from a corner to make it 2-0 (29 mins).
An error by Osborne saw hin lose the ball and this allowed Mullin to hammer home a third Wrexham goal from 15 yards (33 mins). More poor defending, as Alty stood off, allowed Mullin's strike partner Palmer, the former AFC Wimbledon man, to finish impressively to make it 4-0 (35 mins)
At the interval, as against Solihull Moors earlier this season, Altrincham trailed by four goals. In this case, all four were from poorly defended situations.
Watched by a crowd of 10,022, the Red Dragons coasted through the second half to strengthen their hold on second place. Alty dropped two places to fifteenth.
SCORERS:
- 2 mins: Jordan DAVIES (Wrexham 1 ALTRINCHAM 0)
- 29 mins: Paul MULLIN (Wrexham 2 ALTRINCHAM 0)
- 33 mins: Paul MULLIN (Wrexham 3 ALTRINCHAM 0)
- 35 mins: Oliver PALMER (Wrexham 4 ALTRINCHAM 0)
REFEREE: Mr Thomas Parsons
ATTENDANCE: 10,022 (383 from Altrincham)
TEAM NEWS:
Eddy Jones, back from international duty for Wales u-23, returned to start with Andy White moving to the bench. Jones had been a last-minute sub on Good Friday.
Martin Woods was suspended for the visitors.
LINE-UPS:
WREXHAM (Red shirts, white shorts and socks): 21. Christian Dibble, 2. Reece Hall-Johnson, 3. Callum McFadzean, 5. Aaron Hayden, 6. Ben Tozer, 7. Jordan Davies, 8. Luke Young (c), 10. Paul Mullin, 30. James Jones, 32. Max Cleworth, 35. Oliver Palmer. Subs: 23. Lee Clamp, 11. Liam McAlinden, 12. Daniel Jarvis, 15. Tyler French, 19. Jordan Ponticelli
ALTRINCHAM (Yellow shirts and socks, blue shorts): 1. Tony Thompson (c), 23. Harry Perritt, 25. Toby Mullarkey, 24. Kyle Ferguson, 28. Eddy Jones, 8. Elliot Osborne, 32. Isaac Marriott, 7. Dan Mooney, 15. Matty Kosylo, 11. Ryan Colclough, 29. Jordan Hulme. Subs: 6. Jake Moult, 10. Josh Hancock, 17. Ben Pringle, 14. Jake Cooper, 20. Andy White.
BACKGROUND:
Wrexham went into the game lying second with Altrincham thirteenth but both sides were in good form. This was their seventh successive home game and their seventh in which they had fielded an unchanged side.
REPORT:
Wrexham kicked off and within two minutes Altrincham had fallen behind. But Altrincham had already won the game's first freekick, for a foul on Jones, before the ball bounced over Mullarkey and Ferguson had to be alert to concede a throw-in.
Tozer hurled his customary projectile into the Alty box where Mullarkey got to the ball first but his header went upwards, rather than away from goal, and it fell for Davies to score (2 mins).
However, Altrincham responded positively as Colclough got up the right and won a freekick off McFadzean. Inded by the eighth minute Altrincham had already won three freekicks for Wrexham fouls and they then also won a corner, but none of these dead ball situations came to anything threatening to the home goal.
Alty then successfully dealt with another Tozer long-throw, which Mullarkey cleared (12 mins). But, nect, after Ferguson had slipped, it took a fine save from Thompson to keep out Wrexham. However, a corner followed. This was only half-cleared and led to a second flag-kick. After this Hulme cleared the ball (14 mins).
Hulme then presented Kosylo with a chance but he could only execute an air-kick towards the ball. Yet another Wrexham foul, on Colcloughh, gave Alty their fourth freekick but agan nothing came of this. However, Alty looked quite lively as, next, Mooney blazed over the bar, though he was given offside in any case.
However, at the other end, an impressive 25-yarder from Mullin forced a fine save by a diving Thompson at the cost of a corner. But Alty were well in the game before Hulme had to go off with what seemed to be a recurence of a calf problem, an issue for which he had passed a fitness test on Good Friday (23 mins). He was replaced up front by Hancock, with Alty lacking an out and out striker since Dinanga had been sent on loan to Dartford.
But when Wrexham won a corner off Mullarkey, Young's kick was impressively headed home, unchallenged, by Mullin to make it 2-0 (29 mins).
Alty's defence was now rocking and it took a fine block by Ferguson to prevent a third goal. And then another top-drawer save by Thompson was needed to keep the score down (33 mins).
Osborne then allowed himself to be dispossessed and Mullin punished him with a firm drive into the roof of the net from 18 yards to make it 3-0 (33 mins).
It got worse. As Mullarkey, Ferguson and Osbone stood off, Palmer hammered home another impressive finish to make it 4-0 (35 mins). Alty were all at sea at this stage.
Soon, however, Hancock did force a save, although he was subsequently flagged offside (39 mins). To add to their woes, Alty's Jones then got himself booked for a foul on Hall-Johnson (40 mins).
With drizzle now falling, Alty survived four added minutes to conclude a torrid spell in whch all four goals had been compounded by defensive lapses. This was the second time Alty had trailed 0-4 at the interval, following the same occurrence against Solihull Moors.
Half-Time: WREXHAM 4 |
The second half began fairly uneventfully, apart from Mullin threatening to score again but, on this occasion he was flagged offside.
After 53 minutes French came on for Hayden and, immediately, the substitute intervened impressively to halt Hancock, who seemed a little tentative about shooting after Kosylo had played him in.
Next, Wrexham picked up a yellow card for Young's foul on Osborne (55 mins) before Colclough was involved at both ends.
Firstly he had a shot blocked, swiftly followed by being tackled by the lively French. Shortly afterwards the Alty wingman was alert at the other end as he cleared a Wrexham corner (58 mins).
But, two minutes later, following Marriott's foul on Palmer, Wrexham threatened again as Cleworth headed over the bar from a corner won by Mullin (60 mins).
Osborne became Altrincham's second man in the referee's book for a foul but Mullin put the resulting freekick well over the bar (64 mins).
Wrexham were proving less incisive in the second half as, now, Palmer also cleared the bar with a shot (66 mins).
Alty made a second change when White replaced Jones, who had had a torrid first half at left-back (69 mins). Four minutes later regular substitute Pringle was introduced in place of Kosylo (73 mins). That came just after Mullin had got himself booked for Wrexham.
Mcalinden then replaced Davies (76 mins), before an Alty counter-attack, following a home corner, was thwarted by Hall-Johnson's challenge on Hancock (77 mins).
Two-goal Mullin now gave way to Jarvis with ten minutes remaining.
There was little else of note in the closing stages as Wrexham were content with their comfortable margin of victory and Altrincham were grateful to come through the second half without conceding further.
Whilst there was no shame in losing to the financially empowered Wrexham, the unfortunate aspect was the manner of defeat. All four goals were the result of defensive lapses, out of character for a side which had conceded just three times in its previous eight outings.
Full Time: WREXHAM 4 |