ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS
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ALTRINCHAM (2) 3
BARNET (0) 2
played on Saturday, 6 January, 2024 at 3pm.
SUMMARY:
Altrincham got off to a flying start, scoring just as the clock ticked towards the end of the first minute.
The hosts won a freekick some 40 yards from goal on the right. Conn-Clarke took it quickly and Barnet found themselves exposed at the back post where Newby took a touch and steered the ball, low across the keeper and into the opposite side of the net.
It was a cruel start for debutant loanee keeper Keeley, signed 48 hours earlier on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. Midway through the first half play was suspended for eleven minutes when the referee suffered a hamstring injury. It took an inordinate time for the fourth official to emerge and restart the game.
Although Barnet had had more of the ball in the first half, albeit without seriously looking like scoring, in the seventh added minute before the break, Alty doubled their lead. Again it was an unhappy experience for Keeley as he and a defender dithered over clearing a ball on the byeline, with Newby in proximity, and the keeper put it out for a needless corner. From the corner the ball came to Baines, towards the back post, and he hooked it into the net.
Altrincham started the second half impressively with Conn-Clarke superb and it was the Ulsterman who scored the third goal, after Marriott had set Newby advancing up the left (50 mins). His shot deflected off Okimo into the net.
But Barnet did not give up and pulled a goal back after 75 minutes when Ross and Cooper went for the same ball and it fell to Pritchard whose low shot from 20 yards found the back of the net.
The Bees made it 3-2 when Kanu converted an excellent cross from Maguire-Drew in the second of five added minutes but it was too late for them to add an equaliser. Alty moved up to fifth with this result.
SCORERS:
- 2 mins: Elliot NEWBY (ALTRINCHAM 1 Barnet 0)
- 45(+7) mins: Lewis BAINES (ALTRINCHAM 2 Barnet 0)
- 50 mins: Chris CONN-CLARKE (ALTRINCHAM 3 Barnet 0)
- 75 mins: Harry PRITCHARD(ALTRINCHAM 3 Barnet 1)
- 90(+2) mins: Idris KANU (ALTRINCHAM 3 Barnet 2)
REFEREE: Mr James Durkin (injured in first-half and replaced by fourth official Dane McCarrick)
ATTENDANCE: 2,379 (180 in away end)
TEAM NEWS:
For this game Matty Kosylo became the third Altrincham player in three weeks to be suspended, following his red-card at Halifax on New Year's Day. He was replaced by Dan Mooney, who was making his first start since returning to the club.
Former Barnet player Justin Amaluzor had missed the previous game through illness so was only named on the bench.
The availability of Justin Donawa, George Burroughs and Ollie Byrne were areas of uncertainty before kick-off and none of them was involved today.
Despite keeping three successive clean sheets in the the three most recent games, goalkeeper Walker was replaced by new loan signing, Irishman Josh Keeley, a loanee from Tottenham Hotspur. Captain Dale Gorman was not involved as Kanu came into the side.
LINE-UPS:
ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks): 29. Ethan Ross, 2. Lewis Banks, 15. Jake Cooper, 4. Lewis Baines, 16. Sam Roscoe, 6. Elliot Osborne, 8. Isaac Marriott (c), 44. Dan Mooney, 30. Alex Newby, 10. Chris Conn-Clarke, 9. Regan Linney Subs: 12. Liam Brockbank, 14. Dior Angus, 19. George Wilson, 21. Matt Gould, 11. Justin Amaluzor.
BARNET (Amber shirts, white shorts and socks) 25. Josh Keeley, 22. Adebola Oluwo, 3. Ben Coker, 2. Reece Hall-Johnson, 30. Finley Potter, 14. Harry Pritchard, 6. Jerome Okimo, 18. Anthony Hartigan, 33. Zak Brunt, 11. Idris Kanu, 9. Nicke Kabamba. Subs: 1. Laurie Walker, 5. Marvin Armstrong, 10. Callum Stead, 15. Jordan Maguire-Drew, 32. Jordan Cropper
BACKGROUND:
This was a clash between the National League's sixth (Altrincham) and third-placed team (Barnet). Hard work by groundsman Adam Lawrence and his volunteer crew had ensured that the game was played despite the huge amounts of rain in the preceding weeks.
However, the surface was looking particularly soft and worn in front of the main stand and extending towards the centre of the pitch.
REPORT:
For no apparent reason the game kicked off more than three minutes late, with Barnet defending the away end.
An early foul on Linney, on the Altrincham right gave Conn-Clarke the opportunity to take a quick freekick which caught out the visitors' defence and reached Newby beyond the back post. He controlled the ball before calmly slotting a low shot past Keeley into the keeper's left side of the net just as the game went into its second minute. It was hardly the debut the young keeper had dreamt of, to be picking the ball out of the net before he had otherwise touched it (1 min).
However, Barnet settled well and had the lion's share of possession and territory in the opening stage. They won three corners in as many minutes (7 to 10 mins) but none of these came to anything threatening for Alty.
On the counter-attack, however, Altrincham looked dangerous and, following a good run by Conn-Clarke, Newby should have done better with his swept shot which ran to the keeper (19 mins).
Then Linney was fouled on the left edge of the box, allowing Conn-Clarke the chance to hit a freekick at goal which only narrowly cleared the bar (21 mins).
Another Barnet croner came to nothing as Ross collected a gentle header (23 mins) before the referee brought the game to a halt, seemingly having damagaed his hamstring.
One might think that handing over as whistle and earpiece to the fourth official might not be a major undertaking but it took some eleven minutes of inaction on the pitch before Mr Dane McCarrick emerged to re-start the game.
During the hiatus Barnet boss Dean Brennan had to be asked to leave the pitch after striding out to give his team tactical advice.
It took a few minutes for the players to pick up the pace again before Newby got in a shot which was easily saved by Keeley (40 mins). Alty then won their first corner of the game, followed by a second immediately afterwards. The latter corner was taken by Newby from the right directly towards the incoming Osborne but he scuffed his shot from some 22 yards wide of the keeper's right post (41 mins).
Conn-Clarke continued to shine but his fine ball to Linney was undone by the striker having strayed offside (43 mins).
Despite the hiatus to change the referee, only ten added minutes were decreed. As these started Mooney got booked for a lunge (45+2 mins).
The substitute referee seemed content to allow apparent fouls to go unpunished, notably when Marriott was upended on the edge of the box, before Newby harried a defender and the visitors' goakeeper into panic on the byline right of their goal. The upshot was that Keeley needlessly put the ball out of play for a home corner on the Altrincham left.
Newby's corner skimmed off Roscoe to Baines, towards the back-post area. The defender calmly hooked the ball home to make it 2-0 (45+7 mins).
Next, there was a chance to double the one-goal margin but a Linney run ended with his shot being saved (45+9 mins).
There was still time for Altrincham to survive a scare when a Barnet man was clearly brought down in the box but fortunately an offside flag saved Altrincham from punishment (45 +10 mins).
Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 2 |
With Altrincham emerging late after the break, Barnet boss Dean Bennan pointed to his watch as the substitute referee emerged for the second half. It was already approaching 4.20pm as the second half got underway with Alty attacking the Golf Road end.
Soon, Chris Conn-Clarke had won his side a corner (46 mins) which came out to Linney whose shot was deflected narrowly wide for another corner. The pressure on Barnet continued as Linney was played in on Keeley and the striker went down as the keeper gathered the ball at his feet (48 mins).
The relentless early pressure continued as Banks played a fine ball out to Newby on the left and he fed Conn-Clarke whose shot deflected off Okimo and flew into the net to make it 3-0 (50 mins).
And Conn-Clarke's fantastic spell continued after the restart as he advanced up the left, avoiding several challenges before reaching the byline where he got past another challenge to feed the unmarked Linney in the centre of the box. But the striker could only steer his efort wide of the keeper's left-hand post (53 mins).
Barnet now made a change as Cropper replaced Potter (53 mins).
But Conn-Clarke's purple patch continued as his tewnty-yarder flew only narrowly wide (54 mins). Alty were in total charge at this stage but when Newby won possession and fed Linney, the striker's cross from the left was badly overhit, yet was kept in near the far corner flag, which led to Conn-Clrake winning his side a corner (56 mins).
The talented Irishman threatened yet again as another long-range effort from him took a deflection and forced the save of the afternoon from Keeley, diving to his left, at the cost of another corner (56 mins).
Aanother change saw Maguire-Drew come on in place of Brunt (58 mins).
Gradually Barnet weathered the storm which had comprised a totally dominant fifteen minutes from Altrincham. However, the danger was not over, as a Mooney shot needed to be saved before the hosts won another corner (64 mins).
The substitute referee continued to give some eccentric decisions and when Maguire-Drew seemed to be brought down in the box, the referee not only did not award a spot-kick but booked the Barnet man for diving (65 mins)!
Alty won another corner (70 mins) and looked reasonably comfortable with their lead as, next, Newby fired an effort at goal which went wide. At this point Amaluzor came on against his former employers, replacing Dan Mooney, who had had a quiet game (73 mins).
Then, out of nothing, Ross came out to punch an aerial ball but collided with a team-mate in doing so, Although he cleared the ball it fell to Pritchard who fired home a low shot from just outside the box to make it 3-1 (75 mins).
Barnet were buoyed by their goal and soon won a corner but this was unproductive. As Barnet pressed, Banks picked up a booking for a foul (83 mins).
The referee than came over to book Barnet manager Dean Brennan (84 mins) before Altrincham surprisingly withdrew the outstanding Baines in favour of Brockbank (85 mins), followed by Wilson coming on for Newby (87 mins).
The changes continued as Stead replaced Hall-Johnson for The Bees (89 mins).
Five added minutes saw Barnet win a corner for which Alty hauled back all ten outfield players. This was cleared but Maguire-Drew's excellent cross from the left allowed the unmarked Kanu to bundle the ball home at the back post to make it 3-2 (90+2 mins)
There were very plausible appeals for a penalty for handball against Alty which the referee turned down to Alty's relief. However, the Robins saw out the closing stages to clinch their win. It had been an entertaining afternoon with both sides showing attacking intent throughout.
Alty's dominant spell after half-time should have produced a more clear-cut final score and, ultimately, defensive lapses meant that they had to ride their luck in the closing stages to secure the points.
Full-Time: ALTRINCHAM 3 |