ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS
Return to News Page
YORK CITY (0) 1
ALTRINCHAM (1) 2
played on Tuesday, 14 March 2023 at 7.45pm.
SUMMARY:
With this second 2-1 win at the LNER stadium in four days, Altrincham also completed their first league double of the season and made it six successive wins at York in all competitions, despite the hosts enjoying the majority of the possession and Alty keeper Ollie Byrne being by far the busier keeper.
Although York had enjoyed plenty of the ball in the first half, it was Altrincham who took a seventh-minute lead against the run of play. The goal was made by Josh Lundstram, captaining the side. He found space near the right byline and his low cross was smartly turned into the net by Manchester United loanee Joe Hugill for his first goal in Altrincham colours.
In the second half Altrincham created virtually nothing in the first 25 minutes as York got forward repeatedly, forcing three good saves from Byrne. And when the Minstermen deservedly equalised, after 73 minutes, as substitute Forde's rising shot found the net, the outcome looked more likely to be a home win.
But the introduction of Jordan Hulme helped Alty lift their game and it was he who won what proved to be a decisive corner. From Eddy Jones's corner-kick on the right, the ball was half-cleared and recycled back to the left-back. His cross from the right was headed home from near the penalty spot by James Jones, repeating his goalscoring feat in the FA Trophy three days earlier (83 mins).
After that, York struggled to reimpose themselves and Alty saw out the game and five added minutes to record their first win in four successive away league games.
SCORERS:
- 7 mins: Joe HUGILL (York City 0 ALTRINCHAM 1)
- 73 mins: Shaq FORDE (York City 1 ALTRINCHAM 1)
- 83 mins: James JONES (York City 1 ALTRINCHAM 2)
REFEREE: Mr Jamie O'Connor
ATTENDANCE: 3,644 (56 from Altrincham, who had brought nearly twelve times that number for the FA Trophy tie three days earlier)
TEAM NEWS:
Both managers had indicated that they would make changes following their meeting in the FA Trophy three days earlier but, in the event, each made a modest three alterations to their starting elevens.
Altrincham brought in Regan Linney (who was cup-tied last Saturday), Kyle Ferguson and Elliot Osborne as Tyrese Sinclair, Jordan Hulme and Harry Perritt moved to the bench. Bennett, Gould and Goodson dropped out of the squad.
York also made three changes to their starters as Fallowfield, Dyson and Kouhyar came in and McLaughlin, Forde and Mafuta dropped out of the eleven.
Apparently, York's leading scorer John-Lewis was on the original teamsheet but was withdrawn shortly before kick-off.
LINE-UPS:
YORK CITY (Maroon shirts, white shorts and socks): 18. Ryan Whitley, 2. Ryan Fallowfield, 3. Adam Crookes, 4. Maxim Kouogun, 8. Olly Dyson, 11. Maziar Kouhyar, 16. Mitch Hancox, 19. Dan Pybus, 23. Luke James, 27. Manny Duku, 28. Michael Duckworth (capt). Subs: 7. Alex Hurst, 9. Shaq Forde, 25. Maison Campbell, 6. Paddy McLaughlin, 24. Mark Ellis
ALTRINCHAM (Dark blue shirts with yellow sash, dark blue shorts and socks): 1. Oliver Byrne, 26. James Jones, 5. Kyle Ferguson, 6. Lewis Baines, 2. Eddy Jones, 8. Josh Lundstram (c), 10. Elliot Osborne, 4. Isaac Marriott, 28. Maxi Oyedele, 29. Regan Linney, 39. Joe Hugill. Subs: 11. Danny Cashman, 18. Ben Pringle, 30. Harry Perritt, 35. Tyrese Sinclair, 9. Jordan Hulme.
BACKGROUND:
Just three days after meeting in the FA Trophy quarter finals, a match which Alty won 2-1, the sides met again tonight in the league, once more at the LNER Community Stadium, as Alty's run of six successive away matches in all competitions continued.
REPORT:
Deploying a back three, Altrincham kicked off through Isaac Marriott. However, it was the hosts who started the better and it took a smart stooping header off the line by captain Josh Lundstram to divert a goalbound Dyson shot from giving the Minstermen an early lead, albeit at the cost of a corner (4 mins).
But, then, against the run of play Altrincham took the lead. York stood off as Lundstram was allowed to get to the right byline and to cross in a low ball to Hugill, making his league debut for Alty on loan from Manchester United.
And the young striker showed why The Reds had paid £300,000 for his services with a smart finish as he curled the ball into the keeper's botom right-hand corner (7 mins).
The goal prompted a few minutes of Altrincham setting the pace and the home crowd, which outnumbered the reported 56 away supporters enormously, went quiet.
However, Kouhyar, recalled after injury and dental problems, was soon making an impression for the hosts and his relay of a Hancox cross from the left gave Fallowfield a chance but he put his effort well over the bar (15 mins).
Two fouls by Marriott helped the hosts remain on top and, from the second of these freekicks, Hancox earned a corner off James Jones (20 mins). This led to Byrne having to make a decent save to get the ball over the bar for another corner.
From this corner, a James header from the near-post area flashed across the goalmouth and out for a goalkick (23 mins). Soon afterwards a promising Alty move started by Baines ended when Linney was cynically pulled down by Crookes who somehow escaped a booking.
The game progressed without anything much to animate the spectators of either side before Linney himself committed a needless foul near halfway. Both sides were making errors and even the normally reliable Marriott now gave the ball away to Kouhyar and a corner soon resulted (32 mins).
Alty did get some relief when Hugill won a freekick on the right. Eddy Jones's inswinger of a freekick was cleared by Duckworth but came to Osborne whose shot lopped up of a defender to keeper Whitley (36 mins). By now the home fans were getting somehwat restless despite their side having played quite well, albeit without an end product (39 mins).
Osborne hit a speculative thirty-yarder which had good power behind it, but went across goal (40 mins).
Next, James Jones took a heavy touch on half-way on the Alty right and crudely hauled down his opponent to merit a yellow card from Mr O'Connor (42 mins). However, it was Jones himself who cleared the freekick danger.
The interval arrived with Altrincham retaining their lead but not looking particularly convincing in the face of a wealth of York possession in the first half..
Half-Time: YORK CITY 0 |
York kicked off the half and won an immediate freekick. The freekick located Duku in the goalmouth but, from close range, he contrived to divert the ball well over the bar to Alty's relief (47 mins).
Duku again disappointed the home support when he miskicked an excellent chance from Fallowfield's good work (48 mins).
Alty came to life when a Lundstram feed led to a corner, won by Hugill (49 mins). Soon afterwards Linney lifted an effort well over the bar after being gifted the ball by a York player (50 mins).
But the home side were genrally on top at this stage and Dyson's excellent one-two with a team-mate, as Oyedele sold himself, led to a goalbound shot which Byrne impressively pushed over the bar for a corner.
However, the home side almost gifted Alty a goal when a weird long and looping high ball was played back from the halfway line towards the home goal. Linney got to it and, as Eddy Jones raced up to support him to his left, the ball was laid off only for the Alty left-back to drag his shot across goal (56 mins).
Ferguson now picked up a booking for a foot up challenge for a fifty-fifty ball (56 mins) as Altrincham failed to show much forward momentum in the second half before the game passed the hour mark. Nevertheless, the impatient home crowd was again showing signs of restlessness before Duckworth forced another good save from Byrne, the keeper diving to his right (65 mins).
Despite the home crowd's anxiety, the pattern of play suggested that the next goal was certainly coming from the Minstermen rather than their so-far lacklustre second-half opponents
So it was timely that Phil Parkinson acted to shake things up by bringing on Jordan Hulme to replace Linney (65 mins). At the same stage York introduced Forde for James (66 mins).
Hulme made an immediate impact as his clever backheel gave Hugill a shot which hit a defender (68 mins). But York responded by forcing a third fine save of the second half from Byrne, this time from Forde. Byrne then annoyed the home support by sitting down and suggesting he had a hand injury which prompted treatment (70 mins).
The Alty keeper was powerless soon afterwards as York finally, and deservedly, got themselves level in the 73rd minute. Dyson fed Forde, who hit a rising shot to the keeper's right, which found the back of the net to make it 1-1.
Alty now made another swap with Sinclair replacing Hugill (76 mins). Almost immediately a long ball set Sinclair free with only Whitley to beat but the Rochdale loanee could only shoot wide of the far post (77 mins).
However, the personnel chamnges had prompted an improvement in Altrincham's play and, after Pybus had been booked for a trip on Ferguson as the centre-back strode up the middle (81 mins), Hulme won his side a corner.
Eddy Jones's corner from the right was met by a towering header from James Jones, from near the penalty spot, as he got the better of his marker, Kouogun, to score (83 mins). Hurst immediately replaced Kouogun (84 mins).
When the already booked Pybus tripped Lundstram the referee opted not to produce another card (85 mins) before Alty's final change saw Perritt come on for Osborne (87 mins).
York rallied to win three successive corners just before five added minutes were proclaimed.
After Kouhyar had shot wide (90+2 mins), Hurst got the better of Perritt on the York left to win another corner (90+3 mins) but Alty held out and, indeed, the final meaningful action saw the impressive Hulme keep possession with three opponents around him, to win a corner (90+6 mins).
This was Alty's first win in four successive away games in the league. After a poor first 25 minutes of the second half they had raised their game to take the points ahgainst a York side which had lost 2-1 at home to their visitors for the second time in four days.
Altrincham have become the Minstermen's bogey team, having now won on their last six visits to the city.
Full Time: YORK CITY 1 |