ALTRINCHAM FC MATCH REPORTS
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ALTRINCHAM (0) 0
WOKING (0)1
played on Saturday, 9 March, 2024 at 3pm.
SUMMARY:
Four weeks ago, Altrincham lay fourth in the table but now a run of seven matches in which just three points have been won out of twenty-one available has all but banished the play-off optimism. After this defeat, The Robins are now ninth.
Alty could have no complaints at this loss to lowly Woking, with a Conn-Clarke freekick the only serious threat of a home goal across the 90 minutes.
The first half was a mediocre spectacle and whilst the second half was a more open affair it was the visitors who had most of the attacking momentum after the break.
Without the suspended Linney, Altrincham were toothless and an illustration of the final stages of the game was that Altrincham's last substitution saw the withdrawal of striker Angus for centre-back Roscoe in a home match against a club which had ony escaped the relegation places in midweek.
The decisive goal came when Korboa counter-attacked and got round Marriott before beating Ross in the home goal in the first added minute.
SCORERS:
- 90(+1) mins: Ricky CORBOA (ALTRINCHAM 0 Woking 1)
REFEREE: Mr Zak Kettle
ATTENDANCE: 2,138 (113 in away section)
TEAM NEWS: Altrincham were without the suspended Linney, who had made his full debut and scored against Woking in their last visit to Moss Lane. But goalkeeper Ethan Ross returned after missing ten league games through injury, whilst Angus came in to replace Linney.
Having already used 37 players in league matches this season, Woking added loanee Kevin Berkoe to their squad on the eve of the match and also recalled Alfie Pavey from Braintree. Berkoe had an unfortunate loan spell at Altrincham in 2022, being sent off in only his second start, which in turn ended his one-month loan from Salford City.
Despite two wins on the trot, Woking made four changes as Walker, Akinola, Dyche and Wilkinson were replaced by Kelly-Evans, Odusina, Korboa and Anderson.
LINE-UPS:
ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks): 29. Ethan Ross, 2. Lewis Banks, 15. Jake Cooper, 4. Lewis Baines, 3. Eddie Jones, 8. Isaac Marriott (c), 8. Elliot Osborne, 10. Chris Conn-Clarke, 7. Matty Kosylo, 30. Alex Newby, 14. Dior Angus. Subs: 19. George Wilson, 11. Justin Amaluzor, 16. Sam Roscoe, 21. Matt Gould, 44. Dan Mooney.
WOKING (Yellow shirts and socks, dark blue shorts): 22. Will Jaaskelainen, 2. Dan Moss, 3. Josh Casey (c), 7. Ricky Korboa, 18. Manny Oyeleke, 4. Scott Cuthbert, 21. Timi Odusina, 23. Jermaine Anderson, 27. Dion Kelly-Evans, 32. Curtis Edwards, 33. Charley Kendall. Subs: 6. Luke Wilkinson, 29. Alfie Pavey, 37. Paul Osew, 30. Josh Smith, 38. Kevin Berkoe .
BACKGROUND:
After two successive away clashes with Essex sides, this game was a second successive home match against clubs from Surrey, a game which had arrived hot on the heels of a midweek encounter with Dorking Wanderers.
The Cards, like Dorking, had just emerged from the relegation places before setting off for Cheshire. A 2-1 home win over Kidderminster Harriers in midweek had done the trick for them and that was also their second successive league win.
Woking had a much better away record than other clubs in their predicament but were low scorers. The Cards faced another trip to Greater Manchester on Tuesday when they travel to Rochdale.
Altrincham's historical record against Woking at kick off was as follows:
- At Home: P15-W6-D4-L5-F20-A22
- Away: P16-W4-D3-L9-F15-A33
- All: P31-W10-D7-L14-F35-A55
Since returning to the National League in 2020, Altrincham had lost just once in the clubs' seven meetings, and were unbeaten in three clashes at Moss Lane.
The reverse fixture this season was Altrincham's first away match of the campaign and the Robins won that game 3-2.
Last season's visit to Altrincham by the Cards ended in a 3-1 win for the Robins despite Woking's Marcus Dackers having put the then third-placed Woking ahead. The match was Regan Linney's full debut for Altrincham.
REPORT:
Woking kicked off towards Golf Road. Kosylo was much involved in the early stages, both as victim of a foul as well the perpetrator of one (4 mins). Overall the early minutes were scrappy with Woking winning the first corner and enjoying slightly the better of the game.
However, when a foul on Argus just outside the left of the visitors' box, gave Alty a freekick, Conn-Clarke hit a superb shot which Jaaskelainen did well to get to as it headed towards the top corner of his net. He conceded a corner rather than a goal. In retrospect that was to be the nearest to a goal for Alty during the entire match (16 mins).
Woking had to make a change in the 20th minute when former Alty loanee, Kevin Berkoe, came on for his Woking debut replacing the injured Oyeleke (20 mins).
The match was proving to be uninspiring fare but when Alty allowed Korboa to run 30 yards into the box it underlined their under par performance (22 mins).
Play continued with no goalmouth action and little in the way of skilful play. Woking were closing down Altrincham well and more than holding their own against the much higher placed hosts.
Indeed, it needed two smart pieces of work by Eddy Jones to block efforts from Edwards as half-time approached (40 mins) with little of note occuring in the previous fifteen minutes.
After four added minutes were computed, Kendall won his side a corner (45+2 mins) but nothing came of it, a statement true of so much of a poor first half.
Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM 0 |
Alty kicked off towards Golf Road and the second half started in a more open, but no more skilful, fashion than before the interval.
It was the visitors who were having the better of things as the hour-mark approached, with Altrincham hemmed back in their own half for a significant period. But neither keeper had needed to make a save worthy of the name thus far into the second half.
Altrincham tried to shake things up as Amaluzor returned from injury to replace Kosylo (64 mins).
When Korboa was upended as he got into the box, the referee gave a freekick on the very edge of the front of the box, left of centre. Woking had some cause to claim that the offence had been actually inside the penalty area. However, Banks was booked.
With Marriott adopting the "draught excluser" role, lying prostrate behind the defensive wall, the freekick was ballooned baddly miles over the bar (72 mins).
Woking continued in workmanlike fashion and were on top of a pedestrian-looking Altrincham. They won another corner just before Wilson replaced Osborne in midfield (75 mins).
Both teams lacked anyone who seemed capable of breaking the stalemate but the Cards remained the better side, winning two corners in succession (77 mins).
Given the lack of goalmouth action, it came as a surprise when a Koroba cross was deflected onto the woodwork then struck the bar and this prompted desperate defending at the cost of another Woking corner (79 mins).
Alty did actually gain a corner of their own (81 mins) but it underlined Altrincham's thinking at this stage that, rather than introducing the threat of Dan Mooney, it was Sam Roscoe who came on (81 mins).
Before kick off few would have expected a team with play-off aspirations, at home against relegation-threatened opposition, to replace their lone striker with a central defender when the scores were level with nine minutes to play.
In contrast, just five minutes later, Woking brought on striker Alfie Pavey for midfielder Anderson as they sensed the opportunity to get more than a single point (86 mins).
When Amaluzor reacted to holding by Kelly-Evans, the winger's reaction might have been interpreted as a head-butt. However, Mr Kettle simply booked both men (87 mins).
Altrincham won a late corner, as the added-time board showed a modest three minutes.
When the corner was taken by Newby, it was cleared upfield by Berkoe to Korboa. As Marriott attempted to check his progress, he appeared to slip. Korboa ran on towards goal, left of centre, before beating Ross and signalling great rejoicing in the away end and on the Woking bench (90+1 mins).
And Woking should have made it 0-2 when Kendall executed an air-shot with the goal at his mercy (90+4 mins). Altrincham won a late free-kick some forty yards out, for which goalkeeper Ross went up to the Woking box, but nothimg came of it (90+5 mins).
As the game ended, Marriott was being treated just off the pitch in front of the Popular Side, deep inside his own half, with a stretcher being brought across the pitch to the stricken Alty captain. So a wretched afternoon ended not only in defeat but possibly a serious injury to the team's acting captain who had only been called up for England C duty in midweek.
So, Altrincham dropped to ninth as a run of six defeats in seven fixtures has blown a hole in the club's play-off aspirations.
Full-Time: ALTRINCHAM 0 |