ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

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ALTRINCHAM (1) 2
GATESHEAD (2) 2

Emirates FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round match
played on Saturday, 15 October 2022 at 3pm

SUMMARY:

Altrincham came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw which sees both sides in the hat for Monday's First Round draw. The home side made three changes from the side which started the most recent league game as Colclough, Barrows and Jackson were replaced by Pringle, Jones and Malone .

Alty took an early lead when Dinanga did well to feed Conn-Clarke. The Fleetwood loanee, Alty's best player on the day, made space impressively by selling a dummy to a defender, before scoring with a low shot from just inside the box (9 mins).

Gateshead then deservedly took a 2-1 lead before half-time and they really should have been further ahead at the break.

They equalised after sixteen minutes when a corner was cleared out to Tinkler who hit a fine, low shot past Byrne from the edge of the box. One of a number of excellent Gateshead moves produced their second goal in the 42nd minute when Olley was put clear and the Heed captain found the net past Byrne (42 mins). That goal came immediately after Dinanga had spurned a one-on-one chance against Langley.

The Heed should have made it 3-1 in their favour at the break when Daley, presented with an open goal by a ball from the right, ballooned his effort miles over the bar from left of goal.

Gateshead looked relatively comfortable for much of the second half but Altrincham got an equaliser in the 72nd minute following a throw-in on their left. The ball was crossed, low, to Dinanga who swept it home impressively from the outer reaches of the box for his fourth goal in four games.

SCORERS:

REFEREE: Mr Lewis Smith

ATTENDANCE: 1,262 (112 in away section)

TEAM NEWS:

Alty had fielded an eleven in midweek which included no one who had started their previous league match so it was no surprise to see today's starting eleven revert more closely to the team which had faced Dorking in the VNL seven days earlier.

So there were just three changes from the side which beat Dorking. Colclough, Barrows and Jackson were replaced today by Pringle, Jones and Malone. Colclough was reportedly under the weather, Barrows had been concussed in last Saturday's game and Jackson is still edging his way back to full fitness.

Other absences were of a more long-term nature in the cases of Kosylo, Marriott and Baines, whilst Bennett is also believed to be going to be sidelined for some time after an injury incurred last week.

With seven substitutes allowed, Roxburgh, Gould, Goodson and Rodgers-Morris all came in to the squad.

LINE-UPS:

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks): 1. Oliver Byrne, 5. Toby Mullarkey (c), 26. James Jones, 23. Jake Cooper, 2. Eddy Jones, 10. Elliot Osborne, 31. Dan Malone, 8. Josh Lundstram, 16. Chris Conn-Clarke, 18. Ben Pringle, 30. Marcus Dinanga. Subs: 9. Jordan Hulme, 17. Brad Jackson, 11. Ryan Coclough, 20. Aidan Roxburgh, 21. Matt Gould, 25. Harlan Rodgers-Morris, 32. Zak Goodson.

GATESHEAD (Sky blue shirts, claret shorts and socks) 1. Dan Langley, 2. Robbie Tinkler, 32. Carl Magnay, 10. Greg Olley (c), 33. Luke Daley, 42. Kamil Conteh, 3. Ethan Pye, 8. Owen Bailey, 4. Dan Jarvis, 11. Adam Campbell, 12. Dan Ward. Subs: 31. James Montgomery, 41. Jevon Mills, 28. Owen Gallacher, 20. Lirak Husani, 15. Aaron Martin, 45. Abdillahie Yussuf.

BACKGROUND:

This was the first home FA Cup tie in ten for Altrincham, their last FA Cup match at Moss Lane, other than replays, had been in 2018.

The two sides had not only met in last season's FA Cup, with Gateshead progressing by beating Alty in a replay at Moss Lane, but they had also clashed just eleven days earler. That match had seen Altrincham emerge 3-1 winners at the International Stadium in the Vanarama National League.

REPORT:

On a damp afternoon, with the floodlights already switched on, Chris Conn-Clarke kicked off for Altrincham.

After a fairly even opening few minutes Alty almost fell behind as early as the sixth minute. They lost the ball some 30 yards from goal, allowing Gateshead to advance on the right. From there, a cross totally eluded Byrne and headed across the face of goal where James Jones calmly trapped it before relaying a forward-pass to his exposed goalkeeper's arms.

Nevertheless, with light rain now falling, it was to be Altrincham who would take an early lead. Dinanga managed to hold off a challenge some 40 yards from goal and he threaded the ball through to Conn-Clarke to his right. The Fleetwood loanee advanced to the edge of the box where he sold a dummy to an opponent and, from the space created, he fired in a low shot past keeper Langley to make it 1-0 (9 mins).

When Pringle fouled an opponent near halfway he was cautioned by the referee (13 mins) before Gateshead were soon threatening again when Magnay advanced into the box on the left but James Jones executed an excellemnt tackle, albeit at the cost of a corner.

The corner came out to Tinkler who hit a superb drive past Byrne from the front edge of the box to level the scores (16 mins).

The Heed soon won another corner, which Bailey headed off target for a goalkick (19 mins). Soon James Jones got in another excellent tackle, this time on Olley, and again at the cost of a corner (21 mins).

The visitors continued to produce the more impressive attacking moves, with one such effort on the half-hour only being undone by a weak final shot by Jarvis. Soon another impressive passing move ended with Ward attempting to chip Byrne but the tall keeper collected the effort above his head (34 mins).

Gateshead were then guilty of a worse miss when Campbell found himself in space in the box but his underhit shot ran to Byrne (38 mins). Play almost immediately switched to the other end where Dinanga was put clear, one on one, running at keeper Langley. But the Alty man could only shoot against the advancing Gateshead keeper and the chance was gone.

Gateshead's superiority continued as they won another corner (40 mins). And the visitors finally got a deserved second goal when another well-constructed move up their right wing ended with Olley in space in the goalmouth and he duly beat Byrne to give the Heed a 2-1 lead (42 mins).

However, Altrincham almost got level before the break when Conn-Clarke won a corner. Taken by Osborne from the left, James Jones met the corner with a goalbound header at the near post, but Langley blocked it well at the cost of another corner (45 mins).

However, there was still time for Gateshead to spurn their best chance of the half when yet another impressive move up their right side culminated in a ball across the Alty goalmouth which found the incoming Daley beyond the back post. With the goal unguarded he seemed certain to score but, from close range, he ballooned his finish well over the bar (45+2 mins).

Altrincham left the field at the interval grateful to be trailing by just a single goal after seeing Gateshead carve open their defence with regularity in the first half.

Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 1
GATESHEAD 2

Hasani replaced Jarvis for Gateshead at the interval before the visitors kicked off towards their travelling supporters.

Disappointingly, the Gateshead keeper and his full-backs started timewasting as early as the fitieth minute. The three also repeatedly employed a strange goalkick routine in which the full-back took the kick by laying the ball off a few feet sideways for the keeper to boot upfield. This seemed a more risky procedure than allowing the keeper to take the kick himself.

When Osborne gave the ball away with an errant pass, Gateshead broke forward and forced Byrne to make a save (58 mins) as Alty failed to make an early impression after the interval.

Gateshead then won two corners, either side of the hour mark, as they looked comfortable with their lead. The second corner came out to Magnay who struck a good shot narrowly wide (61 mins).

At this point Hulme replaced Stoke loanee Malone who had had a quiet game in midfield (61 mins).

After a freekick for a foul on Conn-Clarke, the same eplayer put in a curling cross which only just evaded the head of the diving James Jones (65 mins).

Next Colclough came on to replace Pringle as Gallagher also came on for Daley for Gateshead (69 mins).

Alty had not really threatened to equalise before a throw-in led to a routine low cross from their left only for Dinanga to sweep it home impressively, first-time, to make it 2-2 (72 mins).

Next Yussuf replaced Ward for the Heed and, shortly afterwards, Gallagher was played in on goal but Byrne blocked well leading to a Gateshead corner.

Neither side was settling for a draw as, next Hulme was unable to turn home a Conn-Clarke cross at the near post (79 mins0>

Alty then wasted another decent opening as Eddy Jones opted to pase to Hulme rather than shoot from well inside the box.

At the other end, it took a brave dive at the feet of Gallagher by Byrne to stop the visitors as, again, they opened up the home defence too easily. The Alty keeper lay prostrate but recovered after treatment (86 mins).

After Hulme had won his side a late corner, Gateshead responde with two flag kicks of their own (90+1 mins).

Six added minutes had been decreed and Jackson came on for Alty two minutes into that extension of playing time, replacing an apparently injured Mullarkey.

The last chance of the game arose when Hulme won a corner which Langley punched clear but the ball only came out to Osborne whose fine shot was well blocked by the keeper (90+5 mins).

So the two sides must replay the tie next Tuesday with Altrincham the more fortunate of the two teams to be still in the competition. And the wait for a first home FA Cup win since 2018 goes on.

Full Time: ALTRINCHAM 2
GATESHEAD 2

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