ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS

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BRACKNELL TOWN (0) 1
ALTRINCHAM (2) 3

Isuzu FA Trophy 5th Round match
played on Saturday, 11 February 2023 at 3pm

SUMMARY:

Altrincham took a ninth-minute lead in this FA Trophy Fifth Round tie when Tyrese Sinclair's shot from the edge of the box beat keeper Eacott, who probably should have kept it out.

However Altrincham did not capitalise and Bracknell responded well. Indeed the hosts actually levelled after 28 minutes when a superb shot from English came back off the underside of the bar and photographic evidence indicated that the ball had clearly crossed the line. But the referee deemed otherwise.

Soon afterwards, Alty went to the other end and won a corner which Hulme converted to give Alty a flattering two-goal lead (31 mins).

So, Alty led 0-2 at the interval having weathered a lot of pressure from the hosts.

With the visitors trying to retain their lead, Bracknell continued to threaten and deservedly got a goal back midway through the half. A mishit shot was diverted by Hollis and looped over Byrne to make it 1-2 (67 mins).

During the second half Alty brought off three forwards Cashman, Sinclair and Hulme and replaced them with Osborne, Oyedele and Quitirna as the home side applied sustained pressure towards the end.

Against the run of play excellent work from Oyedele laid on a goal for Quitirna to calm Altrincham nerves at 1-3 (87 mins).

So Alty moved into the last eight but in a far from convincing fashion and with the benefit of an opposition goal not being awarded.

SCORERS:

REFEREE: Mr Gary Parsons

ATTENDANCE: 518

TEAM NEWS:

Altrincham made one change to the starting eleven with Osborne replaced by Kaja in the starting eleven. On the bench, with Linney and Gyasi cup-tied, goalkeeper Matt Gould came in with Quitirna to replace the duo in the squad. Gould had only just been announced as going on loan to Chorley so it was a little surprising to see him today.

LINE-UPS:

BRACKNELL TOWN (All red, with black stripes on shirts) 1. Michael Eacott, 2. Jack Dean, 3. Ethan Burden, 5. Daniel Bayliss (c), 6. Sean Fraser, 7. Gary Abisogun, 8. George Knight, 9. Mickel Platt, 10. Darryl Sanders, 11. Kamaron English, 12. Guy Hollis. Subs: 4. Adam Richards, 14. Max Herbert, 15. Jose Sani, 16. KJ Osu, 17. Joe Grant.

ALTRINCHAM (Dark blue shirts with yellow sash, blue shorts, yellow socks): 1. Oliver Byrne, 34. Miles Welch-Hayes, 26. James Jones, 6. Lewis Baines, 2. Eddy Jones, 4. Isaac Marriott, 8. Josh Lundstram, 33. Egli Kaja, 11. Danny Cashman, 9. Jordan Hulme (c), 35. Tyrese Sinclair. Subs: 21. Matt Gould, 18. Ben Pringle, 28. Maxi Oyedele, 10. Elliot Osborne, Armando Junior Quitirna

BACKGROUND:

This was the first ever meeting between the clubs, both nicknamed the Robins, who were separated by two steps of the Pyramid. Bracknell ply their trade in Southern League Premier South but had knocked out three clubs from National League South in the previous three rounds as well as reaching the FA Cup First Round Proper, so they were expected to prove tough opposition and so it proved.

Bracknell Town ground share with Sandhurst and play in that town at Bottom Meadow. They went into the match doing well in the league.

REPORT:

A minute's silence was observed before kick-off, reported to be in respect of the late John King, but it may also have been in keeping with other matches where respects were paid in this fashion to the victims of the Turkish/Syrian earthquake.

It was the visitors who kicked off at Bottom Meadow, through Josh Lundstram's trademark pass to James Jones who launched the ball forward.

Hollis's long throws for the hosts, which were to be a feature of the game, were soon in evidence as the game got started in a fairly lively fashion. The first real action came when Cashman was dispossessed and Bracknell launched a counter-attack which need a smart piece of Alty covering to halt Platt (5 mins).

Altrincham took an early lead when Sinclair took aim from just outside the box and his shot seemed to go under Eacott. The keeper will have been disappointed not to have kept it out of his net (9 mins).

But what looked like it might become an easy game for the visitors against a team from two leagues below them did not develop in that way.

First though, Bracknell had to survive a trio of efforts, all blocked one after another, from Hulme, then Cashman, and Hulme again (12 mins).

But after that threat to their goal, it was the hosts who were to have the better of the half, without threatening too seriously to score until Marriott was dispossessed and Bracknell seemed certain to equalise. However, with the goal at his mercy, Knight somehow screwed his effort across the face of goal (20 mins).

As the game passed the half-way point of the first half Altrincham were being kept on the back foot. And Bracknell seemed to have equalised when a finely struck shot from English came down off the bar and was cleared. Photographic evidence later showed that the ball had comfortably crossed the goal-line and that a goal should have been awarded (28 mins). But it wasn't.

Sinclair was looking lively for Altrincham and he won a freekick which was soon followed by an Altrincham corner. The corner semed to come off James Jones, and possibly a defender, before Jordan Hulme forced the ball home at the second attempt to make it 2-0 (31 mins).

Despite this blow, Bracknell continued to push forward belying the gap in league status between the teams. Next, Marriott conceded a corner and Alty's unimpressive spell continued with Cashman picking up a booking after he had protested after not winning a freekick when he had been pushed over (40 mins).

Altrincham did rally a little before the interval when Hulme had an effort and a follow-up both saved (43 mins). Kaja then won a corner off Hollis but this was unproductive (44 mins).

Inside the three added minutes before the break Eddy Jones was booked for a foul, with Dean's freekick being headed to Byrne by Bayliss (45+2 mins).

The two-goal interval lead flattered Altrincham.

Half-Time: BRACKNELL TOWN 0
ALTRINCHAM 2

At the break Herbert replaced Fraser for Bracknell. An early bit of confusion between Baines and Byrne almost let in the hosts but their goal reamained intact (47 mins). Kaja then won a corner before Sanders went close at the other end as the game continued in an entertainingly open fashion (50 mins).

Next Hulme seemed to hesitate when put through on goal and Eacott saved the striker's effort although a corner resulted (52 mins).

Despite their two-goal deficit the hosts continued to get forward themselves and won themselves a corner (55 mins) before the game went through a scrappy spell. Then Hulme got himself booked for dissent after Lundstram had been harshly penalised (62 mins).

A first signal that Altrincham might be settling for their 2-0 lead came when Osborne replaced the more attack-minded Cashman (64 mins). Soon afterwards, Welch-Hayes made an important challenge to halt Bracknell at the cost of a corner. Following this a mishit shot came in from the edge of the box which seemed to be diverted over a wrong-footed Byrne and into the net to make it 1-2.

Hollis was credited with the goal (67 mins).

Abisogun found himself in the book minutes later (71 mins) at which point Altrincham introduced Manchester United loanee Oyedele for Sinclair (71 mins).

There was some embarrassing time-wasting by Byrne, claiming to be injured, (77 mins) before Bracknell brought on a sub for Burden (81 mins). At the time there was a debut for Quitirna who replaced Hulme, the Altrincham captain seemed to be injured. This meant that three forwards had now been taken off by Altrincham (81 mins).

James Jones was having a fine game but his next clearance went for a home corner, which thankfully came to nothing (85 mins). With Altrinchm having been on the back foot in the latter stages of the game, they broke upfield and a fine pass by Oyedele fed his fellow substitute Quitirna. Although the Fleetwood Town loanee did not make clean contact, he managed to find the net to give his side a two-goal margin over the hosts, which was certainly harsh on them (88 mins).

Nevertheless, Bracknell kept going to the end and in the fifth added minute Osborne picked up a yellow card for a deliberate tug back on an opponent, to see Altrincham end the game with four players having been cautioned as a measure of their discomfort.

Altrincham now await the quarter-final draw, a stage of the competition they have not reached for almost thirty years.

Full Time: BRACKNELL TOWN 1
ALTRINCHAM 3

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