This was certainly an eventful match!

For the third time this season Altrincham ended a league game with just nine men on the pitch but a backs-to-the-wall performance earned them a point despite match statistics which showed a defecit of 17-2 in terms of shots on goal.

Altrincham took a thirteenth minute lead when Tylor Golden (right) finished well from left of goal, his shot finding the far corner, from a Jimmy Knowles pass.

But just three minutes later referee Callum Walchester stunned everyone, including the Woking TV commentators who described his red card for Sam Barnes as "bizarre". The Alty centre-back was sent off for a high foot as he executed an overhead kick from a corner ball from the right. It was Barnes's first card of any description this season.

Walchester, a Lowestoft-based referee who had not officiated Altrincham previously, had already dismissed four players in his twelve National League games this season and he was to raise that tally to six in thirteen outings by the end of this game.

In the first half, Woking had looked nothing like a side which had been unbeaten in seven games before their narrow defeat at York last Saturday. But in the second half they upped the pressure on the depleted opposition and finally got an equaliser in the 82nd minute when Andrews was allowed too much time to turn and score from about 15 yards.

The second red card for Altrincham on 89 minutes was not contentious. Reddin, who had just been penalised, allegedly stamped on the heel of Ward in the aftermath.

Altrincham's remaining nine men defended valiantly through more than ten minutes of added time to secure a point before there appeared to be unwelcome interaction between some Alty players and the home crowd behind their goal.

SCORERS:

• 13 mins: Tylor GOLDEN (Woking 0 ALTRINCHAM 1)
• 82 mins: Jamie ANDREWS (Woking 1 ALTRINCHAM 1)

REFEREE: Mr Callum Walchester (Lowestoft) who had never refereed Altrincham before.

ATTENDANCE: 2,958 (52 in away section)

TEAM NEWS:

Altrincham were without eight injured players in Ross, Banks, Sass-Davies, Khan, Olson, Crankshaw, Forde and Reed and made five changes to their starting eleven for the game.

Jones, Reddin, Weaver and Sassi dropped to the bench, whilst Reed dropped out of the squad so Bailey returned to take a potential substitute's role.

Woking made four changes as Timi Odusina, Harry Beautyman, Jamie Andrews and Tariq Hinds displaced Chin Okoli, Kian Pennant, Jake Forster-Caskey and Matt Ward.

LINE-UP:

WOKING (Red & white): 22. Will Jääskeläinen, 2. Aaron Drewe, 3. Caleb Richards, 5. Timi Odusina, 7. Harry Beautyman, 11. Matt Ward, 16. Tunji Akinola, 23. Tim Akinola, 25. Jake Forster-Caskey, 26. Joe Gbode, 30. Oliver Sanderson. Subs: 4. Chinwike Okoli, 6. Jamie Andrews, 8. Dale Gorman, 13. Craig Ross, 24. Steven Turner, 28. Kian Pennant, 29. Tommy Taylor

ALTRINCHAM (Black shirts with yellow diagonals, yellow shorts and black socks): 30. Luke Hutchinson, 14. Matty Kosylo, 24. Sam Barnes, 5. Jake Cooper, 6. Josh Grant, 23. Tylor Golden, 22. Tom Crawford (c), 28. Liam Humbles, 8. Isaac Marriott, 40. Charlie Kirk, 11. Jimmy Knowles. Subs: 27. Louie Fallon (gk), 12. Kian Breckin, 17. Lucas Weaver, 20. Kahrel Reddin, 25. Joel Bailey, 33. Eddy Jones, 34. Dan Sassi,

BACKGROUND:

Altrincham had travelled to Woking for this fixture on St Valentine's Day, only for the match to be called off at very short notice due to the poor state of the pitch at Kingfield. Before this rearranged game, remedial work had been carried out but the penalty area in front of the main stand was still showing significant signs of damage.

Both sides had lost the previous Saturday, results which had left 15th placed Altrincham six points and four places below their hosts who had announced Jermain Defoe as their new manager barely 48 hours before kick off.

However, for this match, the interim management trio of Craig Ross, Jake Hyde and Dale Gorman remained in nominal charge. Under their direction, Woking had been unbeaten in seven games (4 wins, 3 draws) befoer their narrow defeat York the previous Saturday. They had taken over after the sacking of Neal Ardley which was announced at the start of this month

REPORT:

Altrincham kicked off and, in just the fourth minute, as Barnes brought the ball out of defence, he slipped and lost possession some forty yards out. This allowed Sanderson to advance and his shot was touched by Hutchinson onto the post from where it went for a corner (4 mins). But neither side proved able to keep the ball for any length of time in the opening stages.

Altrincham's first real attacking threat arose after Kosylo had dispossessed Odusina and fed Knowles but Alty's leading scorer shot wide from right of goal (8 mins). Alty now began to settle and after a freekick for a foul on Humbles, Knowles polayed a twenty yard pass to his left to the advancing Golden. He advanced into the box, left of goal, before firing a shot across the keeper into the far side of the net to put Alty one up (13 mins).

Following the restart Altrincham soon won a corner from a Crawford ball. Taken from the right, Barnes connected with an overhead kick which cleared the bar. Referee Walchester then stunned everyone by showing a red card to the Alty centre-back, who had not seen a card of any colour in any of his previous appearances this season. It was Alty's ninth red card of the league season and for Mr. Walchester it was a fifth red card in his thirteen National League fixture this season.

Curiously when Kosylo tripped an opponent for what should have been a yellow card, the referee strangely kept his cards in his pocket. However, when Beautyman fouled Kosylo shortly afterwards the Woking man was cautioned (24 mins).

Despite being a man short, Altrincham were the better side at this stage, with Woking looking a shadow of a side which, before its narrow reverse at York the preceding Saturday, had been unbeaten in seven fixtures.

Goalkeeper Hutchinsonm whose timewasting this season had accounted for most if not all of his seven yellow cards, was already dawdling before the half-hoir mark.

The Cards did rally themselves to win a corner (34 mins) and a further one conceded when Altrincham lost possession after 45 minutes. Nevertheless, the Cards had not seriously threatened to score since the visitors had gone ahead.

Three added minutes saw Kosylo dive into a tackle and escape a card again but Crawford was less fortunate whn He got a yellow card for dissent, his twelfth yellow of the season (45+2 mins).

So the ten men had held their lead for more than half an hour without too much difficulty.

Alty started the second half well with Kosylo's excellent half-volley from more than 20 yards requiring a save (47 mins). Moments later the same Alty man made an excellent covering tackle at the other end to concede a corner.

In the next fifteen minutes Woking stepped up the pressure, gaining five corners in a fifteen-minute spell (50-64 mins). In this period Hutchinson went down with one of those tedious "injuries" which allowed a tactical regrouping of the team (53 mins).

With the Altrincham goal under siege, Hutchinson picked up his eighth yellow card of the season and, once more, this one was for timewasting (59 mins).

Despite their sustained pressure against the ten men, Woking were unable to find a leveller before they made a double change midway through the half. Andrews and player-manager Gorman replaced Forster-Caskey and Timi Akinola (67 mins).

There was a further stoppage moments later when Odusina went down injured and, whilst he was being treated, Altrincham introduced Reddin and Jones for Kirk and Humbles (70 + 71 mins).

What had been at least three minutes of inaction were completed as Okoli replaced the injured Odusina (72 mins). The substitutions meant that Golden moved to the right with Jones on the left.

Woking's pressure resumed with three more corners in a short spell (76-82 mins), the last of the trio coming just after Weaver had replaced Knowles for Alty.

When Woking finally levelled, in the 82nd minute, it was down to a failure to close down Andrews as he was allowed time to gather the ball, turn and shoot into the upper part of the net with Hutchinson seeming to get a touch as the ball entered the net.

Soon after Gokden had been booked, following a spat with an opponent (87 mins), Reddin committed a foul in midfield. As he moved away from the scene he appeared to stamp on the heel of Ward and was duly shown a red-card, reducing Altrincham to nine men for the third time in a league match this season (89 mins). Weaver was also booked in the aftermath.

Nine added minutes were announced and each side made achange in the third of those minutes. Sassi replaced Golden and Woking's Taylor came on for Akionola .

GBode began to torment the nine-men on the Woking right but it was one of their own men, Andrews, who was next into the referee's book (90+7 mins). ALtrincham held out against the pressure before the referee finally blew for time in the eleventh added minute.

To emerge with a point after enduring for an hour and a half of playing time with ten men, which included twelve minutes with nine men, was a credit to the Alty players and edged them nearer to mathematical safety in the National League. But with two more suspensions to deal with, and an extensive injured list of eight players, Neil Gibson faces a tough task over the remaining fixtures of the season.