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14 to 18 March 2005 |
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14 to 18 March 2005 |
Runcorn FC Halton can today confirm that Saturday's Nationwide Conference North game against Bradford Park Avenue will be the last that the club will play at the Halton Stadium.
The game is the 104th that the club has played there since moving from Canal Street at the start of the 2001/02 season.
The Linnets' final four home games of the season, against Stafford Rangers, Ashton United, Hucknall Town and Lancaster City, will all be played at Valerie Park, which is home to Unibond Premier League outfit Prescot Cables.
Conference officials have given the go ahead to the change of ground, and the club wish to express our thanks to both the Conference and Prescot Cables officials for allowing us to play out the season there.
Alty will have Colin Little back from suspension and Richard Norris is available again after being cup-tied for Wednesday's game but doubts remain about the fitness of Val Owen, Eddie Hussin and Chris Adams.
You can buy Gavin Rathbone's excellent pictures of the Cheshire Senior Cup Final (of which a montage of some of the images is shown above) either through the Robins' Shop at Moss Lane or by e-mail. For several of Gavin's pictures, see lower down the page, where there is is also a link to the match report.
Altrincham have now won the CSC six times, with Wednesday's win coming 100 years after the first triumph in 1904/05. The other winning seasons were 1933/34, 1966/67, 1981/82, 1998/99 and, of course, 2004/05.
The Crewe Alex unofficial website says of the CSC Final, "the majority present were from the Cheshire metropolis that is Altrincham. In all fairness, the Altrincham fans were quality throughout... Rather than causing trouble, the Alty lot were excellent and really improved my view of non league football. It was nice to see the trophy go to some fans who actually cared. The Crewe lot were obviously not bothered, and it was quite refreshing to see the enthusiasm of the Altrincham faithful". The same site says that "Justin Cochrane, Steve Jones, Michael Higdon and Andy White, all first team players, started, but none of them looked particularly effective against sub-Conference opponents".
Alty Reserves are managed by Neil Brown, with the assistance of Carlos Marsden and Alan Ainslie, whilst Alty Youth are managed by George Heslop, with the assistance of Neil Thomason and Tony Spilsbury.
IC Cheshire reports that "On Tuesday night the Linnets [Runcorn] held talks with a club - believed to be Warrington Town - about a move [of stadium]... However, by the following day talks had collapsed with speculation that the rent offered by Warrington was too high". IC Cheshire goes on to quote Steve Soley manager of Runcorn FC Halton: "It is getting harder and harder to motivate the team with what is happening off the pitch. I just want to be able to concentrate on winning games, but that is becoming impossible... Even Kenny Dalglish would struggle... Now that the latest chance of a move has fallen through, the only other place I can think of playing is my back garden. Players have not been paid and the club is in turmoil. It is a desperate situation for everyone". The same source quotes Halton Stadium manager Chris Patino: "In the last fortnight, I have phoned the chairman Dr Dave Robertson on numerous occasions and left messages but have not received a reply. The stadium will be ready on Saturday but I am disappointed the club has not had the courtesy to keep us informed of events. This situation cannot continue. The club will owe us £15,000 in rent but do not bother to contact us or speak to us about the situation. They just assume that everything will be ready on matchdays. I have left messages with the chairman saying that we assume they will NOT be playing at the weekend but he still does not reply".
NL Daily says that "Leigh RMI and Southport have been involved in a swap deal that has seen striker Lee Mulvaney move to Hilton Park and winger Mark Peers go in the opposite direction... Mulvaney is, of course, well-known to Leigh manager Steve Bleasdale, who was reserve team boss at Southport... Former Liverpool winger Peers... only joined the Railwaymen last month... Peers, still only 20, had a spell with Raith Rovers before joining Vauxhall Motors just over a year ago".
NL Daily also reports that "Kevin Wilson, manager of Kettering Town, has announced that his assistant-manager, Lee Howey, has departed Rockingham Road by mutual consent... Wilson explained: 'Lee has left mainly for financial reasons. We released Steve Croudson and signed Mark Osborn but something else had to give'".
In the Tameside Advertiser Stalybridge boss John Reed says, "18 points will keep us up - I’ve said to the lads that we should try for 20 points from the last 30, but my opinion is 44 points will keep you up... If someone had said we’d achieve what we have done in 13 games so far, people would have laughed at them including myself... I’d take ugly results because we need three points game in, game out".
Match report here
Above: Kieran Lugsden shows his delight on scoring the second goal
Above: Steve Aspinall scores his penalty.
Above: The team celebrates
Above: Alty fan Ian Rosendaal kisses chairman Geoff Goodwin's head as the trophy is passed amongst the spectators!
Pictures above all courtesy of Gavin Rathbone of GR Photography. Gavin's photos can be bought at the club shop or ordered by my e-mail.
Chairman Geoff Goodwin parades the Cheshire Senior Cup to the travelling fans at Witton.
Watched by 1,521, Hucknall Town reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy on Tuesday, beating Hereford. The two-leg semis straddle a league game against Altrincham on 5 April.
Confguide reports that "There are further hold-ups to the Victoria Stadium... Northwich had planned a Good Friday opening of their new Victoria Stadium, for the visit of Gravesend and Northfleet. However, it will not be ready in time, and we're not currently aware of a new planned date".
Alty have met tonight's opponents, Crewe, twice in the CSC since 2002:
In the CSC Final at Northwich on 19th March, 2002 Alty lost 3-0 a.e.t., when Carl Furlong was sent off near the end of normal time. The extra-time Crewe goals came as follows:
Alty's side that day was 1. Stuart COBURN, 2. Neil RYAN, 3. Dave SWANICK, 4. Gary SCOTT, 5. Mark SERTORI (capt.), 6. Vernum ROWLAND, 7. Kevin HULME, 8. Ian CRANEY, 9. Carl FURLONG, 10. Rod THORNLEY, 11. Lee POLAND. Subs: 12. Lee THOMPSON, 14. Barry GUILDFORD, 15. James WILKINSON .
Only Coburn, Scott and Thornley remain at Alty of those 15 players.
In a 1st Round match, played on 18 September, 2002, Alty lost 3-2 to Crewe, after leading 2-0. The goals were:
The Alty side that night was: 1. Andy MOORE, 2. Neil MURPHY, 3. Mark MADDOX, 4. Stephen ROSE, 5. Gary TALBOT, 6. Andy McDONALD, 7. Ian CRANEY, 8. Peter BAND, 9. Chris YOUNG, 10. Rod THORNLEY (capt.), 11. Danny MURPHY. Subs: 12. Adewale AJETUNMOBI, 14. Andy TUNNICLIFFE, 15. Jason GALLAGHER.
Of the above, only Mark Maddox, Gary Talbot and Rod Thornley will be involved in the match tonight.
The Barrow website states that "The Chairman and Board have unanimously agreed that Lee Turnbull is the manager to lead Barrow AFC and give its fans the success it deserves. Therefore Lee Turnbull has had his contract renewed for the 2005/6 season. We hope this announcement will bring stability in depth to the club".
On Preston Today "Jamie Speare admits his decision to quit Lancaster City for Southport is about personal ambition. Speare said: 'It is going to be really hard to leave Lancaster, but the reason you do anything in life is to better yourself... But I'm not going to Southport to sit on the substitutes' bench, I had enough of that at Accrington Stanley. I want to be Southport's first choice in the Conference next season'". Speare stays at Lancaster till the end of March.
Nuneaton have signed Martin Reeves (23), a former Leicester City and Northampton midfielder.
Revised league table.
Altrincham FC have produced an attractive leaflet entitled Advertising Opportunities and Room Hire at Altrincham FC, which is available from the club at the address at the top of the page. This includes Sponsorship Prices for everything from advertising boards and room hire to match and stadium sponsorship. A list of the clubs' main sponsors is here.
Alty's third goal, Kieran Lugsden's long-range header which deceived the stand-in Vauxhall keeper in the Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final has now been credited to Colin Little, who followed the ball into the net. This means that Kieran's goal tally this season is reduced to 2, whilst Colin's total rises to 29.
Worcester City's Forum quotes a local newspaper report that "Worcester City Football Club has confirmed that Miller Homes is the preferred developer for its St George's Lane ground. Discussions to redevelop the land for residential purposes are said to be in the advanced stages but both parties have stressed that contracts will not be signed until shareholders have given their formal approval and a suitable relocation site is found. Three alternative sites are currently being investigated by the club and a final decision is expected towards the end of April... Club Secretary, Brian Lancaster, added; "I would, however, stress that the proposals are in the very early stages".
NL Daily says that "Redditch United are already putting together the framework for next season’s squad. Striker Scott Rickards and defender Matthew Clarke have both agreed terms to stay at the Valley Stadium next season, and the club are also in the throes of working out new deals for defender Asa Charlton together with Simon Hollis and midfielder Sean Flynn..., with French striker Norman Sylla already on a two-year deal".
Confguide reports that the next Conference season will begin on 13 August 2005. "Regarding this season, the transfer deadline has been confirmed as Thursday 31st March" for all divisions of the Conference.
Lancaster City have reportedly been fined £500 for not fulfilling their fixture at home to Runcorn recently. They have also been required to pay the travel expenses of Runcorn, who did make it to the Giant Axe when the home side did not due to a traffic jam on the M6.
Southport keeper Steve Dickinson has told Preston Today, "The manager is bringing another goalkeeper in and I don't understand it really... It is down to me to keep Jamie Speare out. Obviously the lad is a very accomplished goalkeeper, and too good to be sat on the bench. But there's no way I'm going to let him take my place. Liam Watson has got something special going at Southport, and there's a great spirit at the club, the best I've known at Haig Avenue... I'm Southport's first choice and I intend to keep it that way". Dickinson "recently signed a new two-year deal and is due a testimonial in 2006."
The admission prices for Wednesday's Final at Witton will be £6.50 for adults and £5 for concessionaries. Click on the Away Travel link for details of the STAR supporters' coach to this match. Howard Watts's Through the Years records for Wednesday's date are here.
Right: Gary Scott receives his Man of the Match award on Saturday.
Tuesday STAR bucket collection raised £115.01 whilst Saturday's produced £103.19. As ever the club is very appreciative of the collectors' efforts and the donors' generosity. Alty now lie 3rd in the form guide over the last 8 games.
Saturday 19th
