CURRENT SEASON'S ARCHIVE page |
12 to 15 August, 2004
|
12 to 15 August, 2004 |
STAR's Mark Murray (back to camera) displays his STAR Nationwide North t-shirt as Colin Little receives his Man of the Match award from Dave Tracey and a female colleague. The commemorative t-shirts are just £6.50 from STAR and have been selling to several clubs in the Nationwide North division.
Mark has prepared stickers for the STAR seat sponsorship scheme and these will be added to the seats in the stand very shortly.
Even 65 minutes into this game, you would have got very long odds against this result as Alty trailed to a well-taken Lee Ellington first-half goal. At that point Marcus Hallows had been stripped off for several minutes ready to come on as a sub before the mangement duo decided not to make a change. This, in hindsight, inspired non-substitution led to four goals in the final 25 minutes which transformed the game as Alty came to life.
Despite winning the corner count 8-0 in the first half, Trinity had soaked up the pressure well and Ellington and Caudwell looked lively on the break. But, after a farcical corner which saw Aspinall underhit the ball to Rose, who missed it altogether, the ball ran loose to Potts whose low drive into the corner of the net from the edge of the box made it 1-1 (66 mins). After a quiet first half Potts came to life in the second period and it was his pass that set up Peter Wright for the second Alty goal after a defensive error (69 mins). The Gainsborough defence fell apart in the closing stages and a fine pass from Potts saw Wright beat the keeper to the ball and net goal number three (84 mins). In the third minute of added time Colin Little became Alty's third debutant to score when good work by Hallows and Wright set him up.
Match report here
After the game Peter Wright (left) and Colin Potts (right) leave the pitch.
Saturday 14 August- Conference North:
Altrincham will hope to pick up where they ended last season, when they finished the season with a win over Runcorn FC Halton. The celebrations are shown above: L to R: Steve Lunt, Peter Band, Stuart Coburn, Matt Bailey. Centre: Ged Kielty, Gary Talbot, Stephen Rose, Marcus Hallows, Jamie Baguley. Front: Stuart Wright, Ian Craney, Gary Scott.
Lancaster manager Phil Wilson told Lancaster Today "I think we have got to be looking to try and get in the play-offs... This is a new league and for three or four weeks everybody is going to be having a good look at everybody else... I have been reasonably happy in the pre-season games and we have played quite a lot of really good football... You can never tell until after the first game... It is a step up from the UniBond Premier League. There are a lot of new teams and it would be nice to get a few more fans through the gate".
Alty travel to Hinckley's 'old' ground on Bank Holiday Monday. The Hinckley Times reports that "With a new, impressive state-of-the-art stadium due to open later this year, United are hoping to build on last season's sixth place finish in the Dr Martens Premier Division with another solid campaign. A host of fresh faces have been brought in by manager Dean Thomas". Thomas said "Gavin Stone has got a back problem so he won't be involved on Saturday... Up front obviously I've got a lot of options with Matt Lewis, Paul Barnes, Chris Smith and Nathan Lamey... I think a top-eight place is realistic". Meanwhile, "Season ticket sales at United are up 30% on last year".
In the Tameside Advertiser "Droylsden supremo Dave Pace said 'Everyone will know Barrow, Southport and Kettering will be strong, but we have got nothing to fear and we are looking to win it'... On their way out are Danny Warner and Leroy Chambers, but coming in are Carl Serrant and [winger] Andy Lee" from Aberystwyth but formerly with Chester.
Stalybridge boss Dave Miller "is optimistic that Celtic can mount a serious challenge this year if they enjoy the luck sorely lacking last term. He said: 'Barrow, Southport and Stafford Rangers are the three favourites... The Stafford boss said in the paper last week that they haven’t signed anyone during the summer and would be happy to finish halfway... We don’t know much about the Midlands clubs'... Having added Dean Calcutt, Paul Sykes and Tony Whealing to his squad over the summer, Miller is still looking for extra players". However, Jody Banim will not be joining Celtic, having now gone on loan to Accrington. Also disappointed by this are Harrogate Town as "The Harrogate Advertiser reveals today that "the striker from a Coca-Cola League Two club that manager John Reed was hoping to sign before the start of the season was Shrewsbury Town's Jody Banim... Reed is also still interested in bringing Matlock Town striker Danny Holland to Wetherby Road. Holland has featured for Hucknall Town during the pre-season".
Celtic report that Miller "will be bringing a player who was with a 1st Division club last season to the club in the next week. Chris Denham will miss at least the first two months of the season after doctors confirmed he has suffered a broken leg. Chris has been told to rest completely and not to attempt any exercise for at least six weeks... Danny Caldecott picked up an injury in the game against Hyde and will have to see an orthopaedic specialist to determine its extent... Dave Miller will also watch the first three games from the stand, having been banned as a result of his gentle enquiry to the referee as to why the penalty was given at Vauxhall". Celtic's third game is against Alty.
Alan Bartlam, chairman of Vauxhall Motors told IC Cheshire, "It is stunning to think that just over four years ago, we were still playing North West Counties League football, and now we are on the verge of playing Conference football in this new, vibrant competition - and the competition will be intense... The club is now hoping the crowds at Rivacre Park will turn up in their droves and reflect the hard work by staff that has been going on behind the scenes during the summer".
Bradford PA boss Carl Shutt "has added four more players to his squad in readiness for Saturday's opening match of the new season. Central defender Karl Colley, was previously with Halifax Town, Kettering Town, Sheffield United and Newcastle United. Former Rotherham United player Gareth Clayton skippered a young Rotherham side against Avenue in a pre-season friendly match in July 2003. 18 year old Sheffield-born Adam Oldham is a former England Youth International who played alongside Wayne Rooney. Formerly with Barnsley, he put in some impressive performances in defence and midfield in this year's pre-season friendlies. 16 year old midfielder Paddy Mumbley is a local Bradford boy of whom much is expected in the future".
This is Staffs says that "Stafford Rangers have clinched the signing of goalkeeper James Lindley in time for tomorrow's club debut in the newly-formed Conference North at Lancaster. Lindley left Rangers at the back end of last season for Hucknall, but did not play a competitive game... Rangers' player-manager Phil Robinson has run the rule over Lancaster and said: 'We will have to counter a physical element, but they also have a lively front line, so we will have to be careful'".
The NW Evening Mail says that Barrow "manager Lee Turnbull will hold talks with defender Paul Raven tonight about his possible future at the club". Raven (33) has been released by Carlisle United. "Turnbull has already offered the Doncaster-based player a pay as you play deal. Raven is, however, undecided as to what he wants to do and is even believed to be considering hanging up his boots to concentrate on his business".
The newcomers this season are Hussin (from Marine), Holt (Stockport County), Little (Halifax T.), Potts (Northwich V.) and Peter Wright (Northwich V.). Of last season's players, Ian Craney has left (to Accrington) and Steve Lunt is taking a break from football.
As SAM was unable to publish the STAR Column this week, it is here.
However, SAM did include two articles on Alty and a fixture list. In an interview with Eddie Hussin, the midfielder signed from Marine said, "The chance to play at a ground like this and with the players that they have got was too big a chance to turn down". Graham Heathcote added, "Once the first two or four games are out of the way and we've hopefully got no injuries and the suspended players are available again, the strength of the squad will be there and create competition for places, which is healthy in any atmosphere".
"Alfreton Town chairman Wayne Bradley told......."This is a massive year for the club, one in which we are continuing to play catch up with our own development... I can only describe the club’s rise from Counties football to where we are now as phenomenal. We are the David against some of the Goliaths of the football world. That statement comes from the fact that we have one of the smallest support bases and yet the biggest ambition outside the more established and fancied clubs... The national presence for Alfreton could be massive... Manager David Lloyd’s brief this season is for his side to to entertain".The article adds that "The Reds go into the new season buoyed by a record number of season ticket sales with 101 sold so far".
"Pat Cremin, chairman of Redditch United, wants townsfolk to get through the turnstiles... He said: 'Last season we exceeded and achieved beyond our wildest dreams. We had a plan to finish in the top seven but we ended up breaking a record by staying at the top of the league from day one' ... We're a town of 110,000 people and if we really want to advance to the next level we need their help... We're entering a new era - we're not going to get another chance like this. We're so close to touching something that's unbelievable'".
Like Altrincham, Barrow see their Reserves and Youth teams as important so have urged fans "Wherever you are in the world you can now help AFC Reserves and the U18s, who are the club's future, to succeed this season. All you have to do is to donate either £10 or £20, towards the target of £8000 to run the Reserves and U18 sides... The cost of travel, match officials costs, training facilities and match balls, etc is around £8000 a year".
Our first two away opponents (Ashton and Stalybridge) and an ex-Alty manager (Gerry Quinn) all figure in the Huddersfield Daily Messenger- "Manchester rivals Ashton United and Stalybridge Celtic are hoping for inspiration from Huddersfield as they aim to make their mark in the new Conference North. Ashton, bossed by former Emley manager Gerry Quinn, the man who took the village club into the Northern Premier (UniBond) League back in 1989, have just added former District League midfielder Nick Clee to a big Huddersfield contingent at Hurst Cross... Clee turned out for Wakefield and Emley, who remain in the UniBond Premier, in their pre-season clash with Town at the Welfare Ground. But Quinn came in with an offer which was too good to refuse, and now Clee, who lives in Upperthong and works in the accounts department at Reliance Gears, is hoping to be in the starting side when Ashton open their campaign... Clee, who joins Huddersfield-based right-back Andy Thackeray, centre-back Lincoln Adams, midfielders Dean Johnson and Martin Allison, winger Steve Smith, striker Jamie Miller and goalkeepers Danny Trueman and Ashley Connor at Hurst Cross. Manager Quinn, who moved to Ashton from Ossett Albion four years ago, lives in Marsh himself, and explained: 'The Huddersfield connection has proved fruitful for me over the years... For the top Huddersfield players, there isn't really anywhere to go after the County Amateur League". Quinn "who left Emley to manage Altrincham in the national Conference... [and] holds the prestigious UEFA 'A' coaching badge... [said] "We're not under any illusions about the Conference North. There is more travelling, which can be a problem midweek given that most players have full-time jobs, and there are some strong and fairly wealthy clubs, like Nuneaton, Kettering and Southport... But we have a flourishing social club which has helped provide a sound financial base, and while our immediate aim is survival, in the long term we can become established at this level".
The article adds that "Stalybridge... have snapped up former Welfare Ground winger Dean Calcutt after his release by Accrington Stanley... Stalybridge... kick-off at Worksop, now managed by Ronnie Glavin, but Calcutt will miss out on a reunion with the man who took him to Emley from Brackenhall. He must serve a three-match ban carried over from last season, when he was in the Accrington team". Presumably he is also suspended for the match against Altrincham on 21 August.
The NW Evening Mail says that Barrow's "new loan signing Jonathon Smith could miss the first game of the new season after limping off in the 2-1 friendly defeat at Morecambe on Saturday. The centre-half, signed on a one-month loan from Accrington Stanley on Thursday, strained a hamstring in the second half and is a major doubt for Saturday's game... Barrow manager Lee Turnbull said: "It would be a massive blow to lose Jonathon for the first league game... although he was at fault for the second goal, which he holds his hand up to". But "new signing Ian Kilford is tipping himself and Graham Anthony to form a formidable partnership at the heart of the Barrow AFC midfield. The 30-year-old former Wigan Athletic ace... released by Scunthorpe United... certainly seems to be Turnbull’s favoured choice to partner stand-in skipper Anthony in central midfield".
Copyright: ©
Compiled by John Laidlar