ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

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SANDBACH UNITED (0) 0
ALTRINCHAM (1) 4

Cheshire Senior Cup match
played on Tuesday, 11 October 2022 at 7.45pm

SUMMARY:

Alty took a seventeenth-minute lead with a fine left-footed shot by debutant Zak Goodson (right) from a Pringle feed.

Aaron Bennett added a second just after the interval following a slip-up in the home defence which allowed Pringle to find the Preston loanee.

Bennett then converted a penalty after Cope had diverted a Bennett effort over his own bar with his hands. The Sandbach man was red-carded before Bennett sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot to make it 3-0 to Altrincham (64 mins).

Jordan Hulme made it 4-0 after 78 minutes after Roxburgh had made an advance up the wing and that was to be the final score.

SCORERS:

REFEREE: Mr O. Nolan

ATTENDANCE: 193 (previously given as 178)

TEAM NEWS:

After three league wins in four outings, manager Phil Parkinson made multiple changes for this CSC tie.

The Altrincham line-up, as expected, featured players who have had little game time recently along with reserves. Sandbach included former Alty Youth and Reserves' winger Harry Cain and another link was that their assistant manager tonight was former Alty player Derek Goulding.

In the Alty side the trio of Rodgers-Morris, Cooney and Matthew were all Academy players signed on first-team forms this summer, whilst Zak Goodson was making his debut after his recent signing from Ilkeston Town. Owen German has been playing with Alty Reserves this season and Joel Bailey has been with Alty Youth this campaign.

Teenage centre-back Jack Kingdon is a product of the Manchester United Academy, having joined them in late 2020 from Morecambe. He has been training with Alty's first-team under a work experience scheme, apparently.

LINE-UPS:

SANDBACH UNITED (Blue): Eric Merner, Callum Chapman, Max Buckley-Benbow, Niall Cope, Rory Roberts, Joel Jones, George West, Stanley Tatters, Barnes, Hatton, Harry Cain. Subs: Bamba, Burgess, Klien-Davies, Barton, George Brookes (gk)

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shorts, black shorts, white socks): 21. Matt Gould, 3. Aidan Roxburgh, 26. James Jones, 5. Jack Kingdon, 20. Liam Brockbank, 25. Rodgers-Morris, 22. Owen German, 18. Ben Pringle, 32. Zak Goodson, 9. Jordan Hulme (c), 27. Aaron Bennett. Subs: 12. Joel Bailey, 14. Joe Cooney, 19. Jayden Matthew, 23. Josh Jordan, 29. Dermot Mee

BACKGROUND:

NW Counties First Division South (step six) side Sandbach United went into the match on the back of four successive league defeats whereas Altrincham had won three of their four most recent fixtures.

REPORT:

Altrincham's unfamiliar line-up kicked off and were soon enjoying the better of the game without seriously threatening to score. A corner (7 mins), a Pringle freekick (14 mins) and an impressive run up the right side all came to nothing before Zak Goodson broke the deadlock with a superb left-footed shot, following good work from Pringle (17 mins)>

Sandbach were far from out of things with Tatters looking the pick of their players at this stage. Next, Bennett won a corner from a deflection before the loanee Preston North End midfielder dribbled past a number of opponents, but his resulting shot cleared the bar (23 mins).

Gould saw some rare action on 26 minutes when he comfortably fielded a Sandbach header. Next Goodson was unable to make the most of a decent opening (28 mins).

Alty won another corner (33 mins) before Bennett hit another effort over the bar. The visitors should have doubled their lead soon afterwards when Roxburgh again got forward, leading to a close-range header for Brockbank which he put disappointingly over the bar (35 mins).

And Brockbank had another good chance before the interval when Hulme's excellent ball gave him another close-range opportunity but this time he hit the crossbar (43 mins).

Half-Time: SANDBACH UNITED 0
ALTRINCHAM 1

At the break Altrincham brought on Reserves' player Josh Jordan for Kingdon at the back.

The Robins soon doubled their lead and the second goal was netted by Bennett after Sandbach had lost possession and Pringle had provided an assist to the scorer (47 mins).

Alty's debutants tonight included Academy product Rodgers-Morris and he was impressing in midfield.

Next, Hulme almost scored after 50 minutes but his curling shot went high and wide. Straddling the hour mark Altrincham won three corners in as many minutes as they remained firmly in charge.

The lively Bennett was then through on goal but this time his effort was diverted over the bar by the hand of Sandbach's Cope who was shown a red card and a spot-kick was awarded.

Bennett took the penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way, to make it three goals for Alty and also for the loanee this week after his superb strike last Saturday (64 mins).

Altrincham now swapped keepers with Mee replacing Gould (65 mins) and the hosts also brought on Bamba.

At 3-0 Altrincham were well in control but there were no further goals before ex-Alty winger Harry Cain was subbed by the hosts (74 mins). Shortly afterwards, Bennett who had been the star man for Altrincham, was also subbed with Academy product Jayden Matthew replacing him (76 mins).

It did not take long for Altrincham to make it 4-0 with a goal finished by Hulme's backheel through the keeper's legs but the goal had been made by more attacking play from Roxburgh (78 mins).

Sandbach brought on the much travlled Klien-Davies who had started out at Bristol Rovers (79 mins) and soon afterwards they also replaced Tatters (82 mins).

Not long after another Alty corner, the visitors made their fourth and final change as last season's Academy captain Joe Cooney came on in place of Pringle who had orchestrated much of Altrincham's attacking play.

Klien-Davies did win Sandbach a corner, late in normal time, before the game ended with a comfortable win having been recorded by Altrincham.

It was particularly good to see Goodson score on his debut and Roxburgh also enhanced his claims to push for a first-team place having been sidelined by injury in recent weeks.

Full Time: SANDBACH UNITED 0
ALTRINCHAM 4

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