Altrincham completed the season with a third successive win and they finished the campaign in a respectable 13th place, their joint highest position of the entire season and their third-best finish since returning to the National League in 2020.

Manager Neil Gibson, watching from the directors' box because he was banned from occupying touchline, saw his side take an early lead when visiting debutant keeper Connor spilt a low cross from Kosylo, allowing Weaver to slot the loose ball into the unguarded net (6 mins).

And it was Weaver, playing as a striker rather than winger, who also doubled the lead after Kirk, on the left, had got the ball to him. Weaver drove a twenty-yarder into the net off the inside of the keeper's right upright (20 mins).

Alty looked relatively comfortable with their lead until the final minute of added first-half time when Amantchi got to the left bye-line from where his low cross was easily converted by Moore to make it 2-1 at the interval.

The second half was less entertaining and punctuated by by five substitution breaks in play, involving ten changes of personnel.

Altrincham held their lead into a declared five added minutes before Connor went upfield for a corner in the sixth added minute. The corner was cleared by Cooper to Humbles who, from his own half, advanced up the middle towards the unguarded goal.

As Connor raced to get back to his goal, his challenge, a little way inside his own half, failed to stop Humbles as he raced up the middle of the pitch and the on-loan midielder, who had previously played for Gateshead on loan, slotted the ball into the empty net to make it 3-1 (90+7 mins).

SCORERS:

• 6 mins: Lucas WEAVER (ALTRINCHAM 1 Gateshead 0)
• 20 mins: Lucas WEAVER (ALTRINCHAM 2 Gateshead 0)
• 45(+2) mins: Ethan MOORE (ALTRINCHAM 2 Gateshead 1)
• 90(+7) mins: Liam HUMBLES (ALTRINCHAM 3 Gateshead 1)

REFEREE: Mr Scott Jackson

ATTENDANCE: 2,118 (219 in away section)

TEAM NEWS:

Five long-term injured players remained unavailable today (Ross, Olson, Reed, Forde and Grant) but both Billy Sass-Davies, who had been out of action for the entire season, and Lewis Banks who had been out for the last 33 league fixtures were named on the bench.

Manager Neil Gibson was himself suspended so watched the match from the directors' box, with Lee Jones in charge in the technical area. Neil and Lee had made five changes to the starting eleven with Cooper, Kirk, Kosylo, Weaver and Reddin (the last named returnng from suspension), replacing Barnes, Jones, Humbles, Crankshaw and Knowles. Neither Barnes nor Crankshaw was in the squad today.

Gateshead also rang the changes with six alterations. Loanee keeper Connor replaced Desbois whilst Amantchi, Beck, Butterfield, Chadwick and Williams all came into the starting elven. Fenton John, Harry Chapman, Ashley Boatswain, Brad Nicholson and Josh Home dropped out; though Boatswain andChapman were included in the squad, on the bench.

LINE-UP:

ALTRINCHAM (Red shirts with with white pinstripes, black shorts and white socks): 30. Luke Hutchinson, 14. Matty Kosylo, 34. Dan Sassi, 5. Jake Cooper, 23. Tylor Golden, 8. Isaac Marriott, 10. Otis Khan, 22. Tom Crawford (c), 40. Charlie Kirk, 20. Kahel Reddin, 17. Lucas Weaver. Subs: 27. Louie Fallon (gk), 2. Lewis Banks, 11. Jimmy Knowles, 15. Billy Sass-Davies, 25. Joel Bailey, 33. Eddy Jones, 28. Liam Humbles.

GATESHEAD (Black shirts and socks, white shorts) 45. Shea Connor, 3. David Ferguson (c), 10. Jacob Butterfield, 11. Tyrelle Newton, 15. Levi Amantchi, 19. Mark Beck, 21. Billy Chadwick, 22. Josh Anifowose, 25. Ethan Moore, 28. Louis Storey, 31. Ben Williams. Subs: 9. Dominic Telford, 13. Preston Leech (gk), 18. Joe Grayson, 29. Ashley Boatswain, 32. Harry Chapman, 38. Jake Lish, 42. Harry Gettins.

BACKGROUND:

Both clubs had only secure mathematical safety from relegation in the previous fortnight. Gateshead had been bottom of the table and endured a run of thirteen successive defeats before a remarkable turnaround in recent weeks. However, they had lost their two previous fixtures to this one, whereas Altrincham had won theirs.

The match was played on a warm and sunny afternoon throughout and with Gateshead sporting a black strip, referee Jackson was in a yellow top.

The match was attended by a sizeable turnout of the Match of the Dames ladies and, more surprisingly, by a group of Italian supporters, presumably on a stag trip, wearing t-shirts emblasoned with "e ingessata da qui a qui: una cintura di castita" which translates as "plastered from here to here: a chastity belt"! To add to a bizarre afternoon, there was a Santa Claus in the away end of Gateshead supporters!

REPORT:

For the second successive home match Altrincham lost the toss and were obliged to change ends and attack the home end in the first half.

Wuthin 15 seconds Weaver had committed a foul but it did not take him long to make a more positive impression. A routine cross came into the box from Kosylo on the right and, as keeper Connor came out to smother the ball near the penalty spot, he failed to hold it, leaving Weaver with a simple pass of the loose ball into the unguarded net to give his side an early lead (6 mins). It was an unfortunate debut for the 20 year-old loanee from Middlesbrough.

Gateshead responded by winning the game's first corner before Alty threatened with the lively Reddin's cross from the right evading Charlie Kirk in front of goal.

After Connor had sat down for treatment which prompted the customary pitchside tactical team-talk in such situations, play resumed (12 mins). When Khan fed Crawford for a snap-shot at goal, the young keeper made a decent save, low down (14 mins).

However, it was not long before Connor was picking the ball out of his net again as. this time, Kirk advanced on the left and found Weaver, inside him. Weaver fired in a low shot from twenty yards or so which went into the net off the inside of Connor's right post to make it 2-0 (20 mins). It was the first time in a league match that Alty had led by two goals inside twenty minutes this season.

At the other end, as Marriott got back to concede a corner on the Gateshead right, the Alty midfielder clattered into the perimeter hoardings but was none the worse for his experience. Another Gateshead corner followed, this time on their left, but neither caused undue danger to the hosts (22 mins).

Alty now fans celebrated their lead with chants of "Gibbo, Gibbo give us a wave" and the manager sheepishly obliged from his directors' box vantage point.

Kahrel Reddin was looking lively after his four-match ban and, after Crawford had won possession, Khan fed the winger for a shot which flew narrowly wide of the back post from the right (25 mins).

Gateshead then came close to a leveller on 30 minutes, when a ball over the top skimmed Golden's scalp and allowed Moore to fire narrowly wide to Hutchinson's right.

A fine run by Kosylo saw the right-back feed Weaver but he had allowed himself to get offside when, otherwise, he would have been clean thorugh on goal (31 mins). Indeed Alty had been caught offside three times beefore Reddin likewise transgressed (33 mins).

Nevertheless, Alty were comfortably in control as, first, Marriott fired miles over the bar from 25 yards and then Kirk went much closer, but was again too high with his aim, from a feed by Golden (36 mins).

But as the interval approached Gateshead got forward and Anifowose found himself free, right of goal, but his cross went unconverted (43 mins). Two added minutes were decreed and, in the second of these, Amantchi got himself to the bye-line, left of goal and his lay-off allowed Moore to convert comfortably to render the score 2-1 (45+2 mins)>

Gateshead put together a good move after kicking off which ended in Hutchinson having to make a save (35 seconds into the half).

But play then settled into a quiet spell as the warm afternoon seemed to take its toll on the players.

It was eleven minutes into the half before Alty had another pot at goal but, from Marriott, a twenty-yarder went over the bar (56 mins).

At the other end Amantchi got into the Alty box before being halted (58 min) before Chadwick chipped an effort wide, on the hour mark.

Kosylo now played a ball forward to set Reddin free but, unfortunately, it bounced up and hit the winger's hand causing the whistle to be blown.

Undaunted, Reddin was soon in in action again, however. His impressive run up the right led to a cross but no one was on the end of it (63 mins).

Soon after a Weaver volley from a Kosylo cross had hit the side-netting, the game was halted for a significant spell. First, Crawford went down for treatment (66 mins) so all theplayers decamped to their respective technical areas. Then the stoppage was extended as Gateshead made a triple change and Alty performed a single one.

Grayson, Chapman and Telford replaced Gettins, Anifowose and Amantchi for the visitors (67 mins) whilst Knowles came on for Weaver for the hosts (68 mins).

Before play could resume there was a medical emergency in the Popular Side crowd which meant that the medical assistance had to cross the pitch, delaying the restart further (70 mins).

After this, play meandered on unexceptionally for a few more minutes before a further stoppage saw Gateshead complete their changes when Lish and Boatswain replaced Chadwick and Beck (79 mins).

Mr Jackson was reffing the game sensibly but Crawford was fortunate not to see yellow when he tripped Lish on the Gateshead left. Soon afterwards, Boatswain won a corner before needing treatment (80 mins).

The stop-start nature of the half continued as Altrincham soon made a triple change with Eddy Jones replacing Kirk (82 mins), and Banks and Humbles replacing Kosylo and Reddin (83 mins).

After the resumption, a fine curling effort from the right by Golden won his side a corner on their left but nothing came of this (84 mins).

Four minutes later Knowles went close, from a Banks cross (88 mins), before the final substitution of the game saw Alty swap goalkeepers, with Fallon rewarded for his diligence on the bench for much of this season, with an appearance in place of Hutchinson (89 mins).

After Kosylo had been named Man of the Match, five added minutes started in which Knowles had a great chance from a Crawford feed but took a poor first touch when in on goal (90+4 mins).

Dan Sassi conceded a late corner on the Gateshead right which led to a secind corner on the left.

With keeper Connor upfield for the corner, Cooper cleared the ball to Humbles who, from inside his own half, had a free run at goal.

The fast-retreating keeper, Connor, tried to halt the Alty loanee but only succeeded in injuring himself in the process, some ten yards inside his own half. Humbles, who had spent a lengthy spell on loan at Gateshead last season, ran on un challenged up the middle before tapping the ball into the empty net to make it 3-1 (90+7 mins). The final whistle blew shortly afterwards.

So Alty completed the season with three successive wins whilst the Heed had endured three successive defeats to complete their campaign.

The three points raised Altrincham to thirteenth, their joint highest position of a season which, at one point, had looked to be in danger of becoming a relegation dog-fight.