BRACKLEY 1-2 ALTRINCHAM
Altrincham started well and got in four early shots, two of which Turley fumbled. But then Brackley took a 16th minute lead when Walker did well and fed Bridges, whose shot took a fortunate bounce over the diving Coburn. Brackley then had a good spell before Alty finished the half the strongly. Half time had Brackley still leading 1-0.Alty continued to enjoy a lot of the ball into the second half. But then Brackley raised their game and Moore missed a sitter. Reeves levelled after 83 minutes as he converted a fine Clee freekick. Two minutes later Walshaw's excellent shot made it 2-1 to Alty. A deserved win.
Report to follow.
BRACKLEY v ALTRINCHAM
Brian Flynn advises us that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, is providing full live commentary of Saturday's Skrill North game at St James Park against Brackley Town. The match commentary sponsor is 'E-Cignature' a locally based company supplying a full range of high quality E-Cigarettes & E-Liquids.'E-Cignature' have a fantastic offer just for Alty fans. Get the NEW 'Radio Robins' Offer Pack which includes:-
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- 3 x £5.00 Gift Vouchers
This is normally priced at £49.96 (excluding the Gift Vouchers) but Alty fans can get it now for just £20 by using the Promo Code "ROBINS" .It's a cracking deal! To take advantage of this fantastic offer go to the 'E-Cignature' website. Click on the 'Offers' page from the main menu,look for the NEW 'Radio Robins' offer & submit your order using the Promo Code "ROBINS".
The commentators are Laurence Howarth and Ian Wilkinson, with match summaries from Brian Flynn. Coverage starts at 2.50pm with the game kicking off at 3.00pm. You can listen to Radio Robins on the internet at www.radiorobins.com.
Leah and Simon Brotherton will be providing regular updates on Twitter (@altrinchamfc) as well as half-time & full time updates on facebook (Altrincham FC).
As usual, this website will also be providing its live matchday updates throughout the game, starting from as soon as the line-ups are available before kick-off.
SATURDAY GAMES
8 March- Barrow v Worcester City
- Brackley Town v Altrincham
- Bradford Park Avenue v Colwyn Bay
- Gloucester City v Stockport County
- Guiseley v Vauxhall Motors
- Harrogate Town v Solihull Moors
- Hednesford Town v Gainsborough Trinity
- Histon v North Ferriby United
- Oxford City v Leamington
- Stalybridge Celtic v AFC Telford Utd
- Workington v Boston United
CSC SEMI-FINAL
The Cheshire Senior Cup semi-final away to Tranmere Rovers will be played on Wednesday, 19 March at 7.45pm at their Prenton Park stadium. Admission is £5 for adults and £3 for concessionaries.OLD BOYS
The EvoStik League confirms that "Burscough have handed striker Mark Beesley their assistant manager's post until the end of the campaign.
Burscough-born Beesley, pictured, stepped up on Thursday to become manager Derek Goulding's right hand man at Victoria Park. The 33-year-old's promotion to player/assistant manager fills the void left by Phil Backhouse's move to Rochdale FC's Academy earlier in the season.
Beesley is vastly experienced, having kicked off his career at Preston North End in 1999 before spells at Chester, Hereford, Forest Green Rovers, AFC Telford, Fleetwood Town, Southport, Lancaster City, Cambridge United, York, Altrincham, Nantwich Town, Hednesford Town, Warrington Town and Sklemersdale United...
Goulding, who felt it was right to promote from within the First Division North club, said, 'Mark is a very experienced player at both Football League and Non-League level. The younger lads in the dressing room really look up to 'Bees' and I believe he can really add to the team in both training and on matchdays'".
SKRILL NORTH NEWS
Days after Vauxhall Motors opted to drop down the leagues, another Skrill North club is in trouble. Histon have issued a Board statement. "Following the meeting last night, the Board make the following statement.- The day to day financial position is that Histon FC needs £40,000 to complete its fixtures this season, based on current costs.
- We have approached major shareholders on a number of occasions to seek additional funding but with the exception of one shareholder, none have provided funds.
- We have attempted to restructure the limited company in order to seek outside investment. With the exception of the major shareholder, the other shareholders have agreed to forfeit their shares and gift them to the company.
- The major shareholder owns 31% of the shares in the company and a restructure cannot take place without that shareholder’s agreement.
The Cambridge News explains that "The future of Histon Football Club has been thrown into turmoil after the board announced their intention to resign at the end of the month. All five board members, including chairman Russell Hands, made it clear they were no longer prepared to continue running the club due to ongoing obstacles to further investment.
With a shortfall of £40,000 needed to get through the current season and long-term question marks over the club’s sustainability while competing at Skrill North level, the inability to attract further investment has proved to be too much to bear.
It was revealed during Thursday night’s public meeting, attended by just over 50 supporters, that the main difficulty in securing more funding is the structure of the club’s finances, which sees former chairman Gareth Baldwin, Angelo Dama, AWD Trustees and Primeteam Services Ltd, none of whom are involved in the running of the club anymore, holding 96 per cent of the shares. While Baldwin, Webster, AWD Trustees and Primeteam Services are happy to surrender their shares to help the club secure much needed investment, Dama, who owns 31 per cent, has refused to do so.
The result is a bitter stalemate that could threaten to bring the club to its knees.
'I’m sorry we’ve had to do what we’ve done', said Hands. 'It’s really hard. Every time we talk to any potential sponsors they look at who the major shareholders are and ask "What [do] they do at the club, what’s their input?’" They’re wary of putting any serious money in.
We’ve spoken to various corporations and companies and they’ve gone away and had a think about it and then declined. That’s the problem we have'...
The club’s shareholders have until the end of March to appoint new directors to run the club and failure to do so could result in the club being wound up by Companies' House, however the outgoing board vowed not to abandon the club.
Earlier in the meeting, company secretary Michael Tolond outlined the options facing Histon in the coming weeks. These included dropping down at least one division to a more sustainable level of football, going into administration and reforming as a community interest club with no major shareholders, or to continue trying to run within its financial means.
Tolond said it had become clear to the board that with average gates of 300 and no possibility of securing investment in the near future, to continue as at present would be unworkable.
To make matters worse for the club, members of Histon Independent Supporters Trust have made it clear they will not step in to take over as directors if the shareholding issue is not resolved. 'Members of the HIST board have said they’re not prepared to put themselves in the same position the current directors are in',” said secretary Richard Barlow...
Hands said that dropping down might be the best solution. 'If the club can continue at this level, great', he said. 'But the club has got to be realistic. There’s the cost of maintaining the grounds and the facilities around it and at this moment in time the income stream is not enough to maintain it'.
On a bad day for Histon, manager Brian Page earlier revealed that Lewis Taaffe could be on his way out of the club. 'We’ve had an offer in for Lewis', he said. 'He’s made it clear he would like to talk to the club about that. We’ll get nothing for him as he’s on non-contract terms. Unfortunately, we’ve got no resources so we can’t afford to keep him any more. It looks like if they make him a half-decent offer he’ll be gone'".
And, indeed, NL Pitchero later confirmed that "Skrill South club Concord Rangers have snapped up highly-rated Lewis Taaffe from Histon. Originally a striker, the midfielder-cum-forward progressed through the youth ranks with the Stutes and cemented his place in the senior side during the 2010/11 season... He has also trialled with Dagenham & Redbridge and spent time on loan with Molten Spartan South Midlands Leaguers Colney Heath whilst recovering from his broken foot".
By a curious coincidence, Altrincham's last two fixtures this season are against Vauxhall Motors and Histon.
News of the next visitors to the J. Davidson Stadium comes from the Harrogate Advertiser to the effect that "Harrogate Town’s players have dug deep to fund the supporters’ coach for this Tuesday’s trip to Altrincham. Town have been boosted by large travelling support in their last two Saturday away trips to Histon (gate 291) and Brackley Town (gate 293), after the team’s upsurge in form...
But one point from two games last week, following the 2-1 loss at Colwyn Bay on Tuesday night, dropped Simon Weaver’s side into eighth. General manager Garry Plant said... 'The support we are getting away from home is unbelievable and it just spurs the players on. All our first team players got their heads together and they are going to pay for the next away travel out of their own pockets'.
More than 50 fans travelled south to Brackley Town on Saturday and cheer Town onto a 2-2 draw. Plant said the group were told to be quiet by stewards at the game after complaints by local resident. 'For Harrogate Town fans to be told to be quiet is amusing', he said. 'They never stopped banging the drum. It’s nice that we are now getting that atmosphere on our travels'".
The Football Conference reports that "Gainsborough Trinity have signed winger Tom Davie from rivals North Ferriby United. Released by Hull City at the end of last season, Davie was given the chance to impress Ferriby boss Billy Heath in the summer, although they faced competition for the youngster's signature from Kilmarnock.
Davie, 19, is very adaptable in that he can play left-back or left midfield... Davie left Ferriby to join Scarborough Athletic in September 2013... His loan was extended until February when he returned to Church Road.
Meanwhile, defender Callum Howe has had his loan stay with Trinity extended by Scunthorpe until the end of the season".
The Conference also tells us that "Manager Frank Sinclair has committed his immediate future to Colwyn Bay... In a bid to stop continuing speculation linking him with the vacant Wrexham job, Sinclair has released a statement ruling himself out of the running. 'I'm very flattered to have my name associated with the Wrexham job, but I can now say I will NOT be leaving Colwyn Bay', he said...
Meanwhile, Sinclair has been trying to bring in another player on loan ahead of Saturday's game. The Seagulls` sixteen-man squad has been depleted this week by former Wrexham player Louis Moss deciding to leave".
Pitchero Non-League adds that "Frank Sinclair has agreed a deal to take Theo Bailey-Jones on loan until the end of the season. Sinclair... has signed Bailey-Thomas from Wrexham... Sinclair said, 'He is a lad with a bright future and if we can give him a few games that can only help his development. He has got bags of pace, is very direct and offers something a bit different to what we've got at the moment'".
The Worcester News reports that "Experienced wide midfielder Martin Devaney has joined Worcester City on a deal until the end of the season. The former Cheltenham Town star, 33, will add further experience to the City ranks following last week's capture of centre-half Wayne Thomas.
Devaney can also list Barnsley, Tranmere Rovers and Kidderminster Harriers among his former clubs in a playing career of more than 400 senior games. He started the season at struggling Hyde where he made 11 Skrill Premier appearances.
Worcester manager Carl Heeley said, 'We were made aware of Martin’s availability by recent signing Wayne and, knowing of his capabilities, we had little hesitation in adding him to our squad. He can play in a few positions and the quality he possesses will be of huge benefit to us during the run-in to the end of the season'".
He had a trial at Altrincham but now Stockport County report that "County have chosen to release central defender Adam Cowen and allowed him to look for another club. Manager Alan Lord revealed he spoke to Adam earlier this week and told us, 'I was quite honest with Adam and explained to him that it might be better if I look in a different area for a different type of centre back'".
7 June 2014
PLAYER UPDATE
Following training on Thursday but subject, as usual, to any adverse reaction on Friday, manager Lee Sinnott hopes to have pretty well everyone fit for selection at Brackley on Saturday. Nicky Clee (right) has recovered from the injury which ended his game prematurely last Saturday. Joe Mwasile has gone back to Morecambe for assessment of his injury but there is some hope that the injury he picked up on Tuesday night may not be too serious.
ALTY v STALYBRIDGE CELTIC
Brian Flynn advises us that the recording of the Radio Robins' commentary is now available, here.Michael Ripley's images of the game are here.
FROM MARACANÃ TO MOSS LANE?
I am grateful to Mike Garnett for the following extract from Tuesday's "i" newspaper. It comes from an article which dicusses whether Brazil will be ready for the World Cup and includes the following comments about Brazilian striker, Fred."Troubled by injury and unconvincing form, Fred's stock has plummeted in recent months and worse, he has only games against uncompetitive opposition in the Rio de Janeiro state league (a little like Manchester City or United spending five months of the year playing against Stalybridge Celtic and Altrincham) to prove that he is ready to lead Brazil in the World Cup".
SKRILL NORTH NEWS
The Football Conference reports that "North Ferriby United have signed former Hull City winger Danny Emerton. Emerton, 22, was released by Northampton Town yesterday. He was signed by the Cobblers from Hull last summer by former boss Aidy Boothroyd and made 20 appearances for the club, scoring once.But he has not played since Chris Wilder succeeded Boothroyd as manager at the end of January. Emerton failed to make a senior appearance for Hull, but had a short loan spell with Alfreton Town as well as Swedish side IK Frej before moving to the Cobblers".
Elsewhere, "Gloucester City have captured the signing of experienced defender Billy Jones. Jones, 30, who lives in Gloucester, has a wealth of Football League experience with Leyton Orient, Exeter City, Crewe Alexandra, Cheltenham Town and more recently Newport County, from where he was released in January... With Jack Harris due to start a three-match ban for his recent sending-off, the timing could not be more welcome.
New City manager Tim Harris said, 'I have known Billy for a while and he did extremely well at Newport County recently when he was there on a short-term contract to cover an injury crisis. Billy has played over 300 League games and, with us to lose the influential Jack Harris for his ban, he will add not only experience but good quality to the squad'".
Off the field, the BBC says that "Gloucester City have agreed a deal to remain at Cheltenham Town's Whaddon Road ground for next season... They have been based in Cheltenham since 2010, having previously shared with Forest Green and Cirencester.
Gloucester City have not played a competitive game at their own home since 28 April 2007... The Tigers are in the process of submitting a planning application to Gloucester City Council to rebuild their stadium on its original site.
'I am delighted to have agreed an extension for a further season'," said Cheltenham chairman Paul Baker. 'It makes very good business sense for the club to maximise its assets in this way and, despite the additional wear and tear, the extra revenue generated is very welcome indeed. The relationship between the two clubs has never been better'".
Gainsborough Trinity "face a mad March as the fixture pile-up caused by the recent bad weather begins to bite. Steve Housham’s men face six games in 21 days, as they look to eliminate the spectre of relegation and push for a top half finish, something that the Trinity boss is adamant the club can achieve.
'We’re going to keep going and look to compete in every game. There are plenty of points available and we’ll fight for every one'. With 13 games left of the season, Trinity are 13 points clear of the drop zone, but know that they face several teams in contention for the play-off spots in Skrill North... tough games against Hednesford Town, North Ferriby United, Altrincham and Harrogate Town...
Add into the mix the visit of Gloucester City, themselves fighting for their lives at the foot of the table, and a trip to Bradford Park Avenue, and March is shaping up to be a crucial month in Trinity’s season.
'It doesn’t get easier for us, does it? We have a run of tough games and we’ve seen against Solihull that sides at the top end of the table get the rub of the green in games', said the Blues' boss. 'It happened for us in previous years. When we were chasing the play-offs, we went to Altrincham and nicked a win when we didn’t really deserve it. You just have to take the rough with the smooth'.
Although the end of the season is in sight, the Trinity boss hasn’t set a points target... 'We’re trying to get as many points on the board and move up the table'. Housham admits that it has been a tough season for the Blues, who have been operating on a significantly reduced budget since the departure of financial backer Peter Swann.
'It has been tough, but we knew it was going to be. I’m proud of the way we’ve battled all season, and you can count on one hand the number of really bad performances we’ve had... You have to remember that we had six defeats in a row to start off with and gave everyone[?] an 18-point head start'.
One of the running themes of the season has been the club’s loan players, who have been needed to supplement the small squad of contracted players. Taking advantage of his contacts in the Football League and Conference Premier, Housham has brought in several players that have made a real impact on the club’s performances, such as Scunthorpe United youngster Jamie Wootton.
'We’ve had to bring these young lads in and they’ve done a job for us. There are times when they can get a bit overawed or physically beaten and, at times, I’ve had to tell them to man up because they’re playing a man’s game now'. The club has also been hit hard by injuries throughout the season, although Housham is pleased that his side are now largely back at full fitness.
'Callum Howe’s head injury isn’t as bad we feared it might be, we just had to take him off as a precaution'".
Solihull Moors announce that "Former Liverpool Goalkeeper Deale Chamberlain is the latest addition to the Moors' squad, the 21 year old shot-stopper joins the club after impressing boss Marcus Bignot, having trained with the first team for several weeks.
Deale, who hails from Tamworth, progressed through Liverpool's Academy and Reserve side before being released in the summer of 2011. He as also been on the books of Atherstone Town, the New York Red Bulls and most recently Worcester City at the start of this season. He will continue his development under Solihull's experienced goalkeeping coach Darren Acton and will provide immediate competition with current No.1 Jasbir Singh for the keeper's jersey."
On Thursday evening Histon were holding a "Shareholders' and supporters' meeting to update everyone on the current financial position".
Harrogate "Town are looking to put a week of disappointment behind them... A disallowed late goal against Colwyn Bay during the week and an annoying 2-2 draw against Brackley Town has seen a little hiccup in the play-off chasing plans...
With Michael Woods stepping up his level of training the management have high hopes that we will be seeing the striker return to action sooner rather than later and his re-emergence could come at just the right time for Simon Weaver’s troops. Unfortunately it looks like left winger Dan Clayton may miss this [Saturday's] match through the injury picked up several weeks ago. However, with Dominic Rowe in excellent form, it seems that the left wing will certainly be covered".
Referring to opponents Solihull Moors, they say "Omar Bogle continues to be their danger man, although he has been relegated to the bench on several occasions recently, but they also have Ryan Beswick, whose 90th minute winner against Gainsborough Trinity this week ensured that the Moors were back in the play-off places come the start of this game".
Colwyn Bay report that "Louis Moss last night left the club to find regular football elsewhere. Manager Frank Sinclair commented, 'It is a big disappointment because he is a top lad and good player. I hoped when we reduced the squad to 16 he would feel more involved, but I see him mainly as a left back and I have not been able to give him the number of games he wanted due to the consistency of Mike Lea'...
Frank is now looking to try and bring in another body to bring the senior squad back up to 16. Louis made 21 appearances for the Bay, mostly coming on as a substitute, but made only seven starts and scored two goals".
OLD BOYS
In one of the Manchester Premier Cup semi-finals, New Mills lost 3-4 to Hyde FC and the winners now play our neighbours, Trafford, in the Final. Ex-Alty Youth man Danny Grimshaw got a hat-trick of sorts; two for New Mills and an own goal for Hyde. Hyde FC add that "The Manchester FA have now confirmed the venue and date for the final. The 2014 Robinsons Brewery Premier Cup Final against Trafford will take place at Bury's JD Stadium, Gigg Lane on Monday 28th April, kick-off 7.45pm. Tickets will be sold directly through the club with adult tickets priced at £10 each and £5 for concessions (over 65s & unaccompanied under-16s).The Manchester FA have stated that this year they will be implementing a 'kids for a quid' policy for all those under 16 who are accompanied by, and purchase their ticket with, an adult so our younger fans can see the final for just £1".
6 March 2014
LEE IMPRESSED BY YOUNG PLAYERS
Above: Five of Alty Youth's team which did well this season in the FA Youth Cup also featured against Stalybridge in the CSC on Tuesday. They were Derek Ubah, Max Pouncey and Rob Gilroy (far left, nos. 5,9 and 11), David Brown (third from right, no.2) and goalkeeper Josh Samberg.
John Edwards, Altrincham FC's joint Press and Media Officer, writes...
"Altrincham are anxiously waiting to discover whether Joe Mwasile will be able to play for them again after the on-loan Morecambe winger suffered a groin injury in the opening minutes of Tuesday night’s Cheshire Senior Cup quarter-final win over Stalybridge Celtic.
Mwasile returned to the Globe Arena on Wednesday to be examined by Morecambe’s medical staff, amid concerns he may struggle to regain fitness before his loan spell expires towards the end of this month.
The setback rules him out of Saturday’s trip to Brackley and comes just days after he underlined his matchwinning potential with a superbly-taken goal against Workington last Saturday.
‘He tweaked his groin, and though he thought it was innocuous to begin with, it has given him a problem,’ said manager Lee Sinnott, after a 2-1 win set up a last-four showdown with Macclesfield or Northwich. ‘It’s too early to say how long he might be out, but he has gone back to Morecambe to have the injury assessed.
‘We should know more after that, but it is a shame, because Joe is an instinctive player, and I thought he was showing signs of that on Saturday. I still felt there were a lot of plusses against Stalybridge. There were four or five young lads in the team who all pushed their claims, and the first-team squad members who played will all have benefitted from 90 minutes under their belts.
‘I thought Josh Samberg looked confident in goal; David Brown I hardly noticed at right-back, which is a compliment, because it shows how steady he was; Derek Ubah grew into the game and the same applied to Rob Gilroy and Max Pouncey.
‘Errors were made, as you would expect when tiredness creeps in, but I was pleased with what I saw overall.’
Alty face a test of their promotion credentials at Brackley but expect in-form winger Nicky Clee to be fit and are buoyed by three straight wins, in league and cup, since returning from a weather-enforced lay-off.
‘There are massive games coming up and this is certainly one,’ added Sinnott. ‘We had a bad day there in the play-off semi-final return leg last season but, don’t forget, we went there in the league and won 1-0. You have to be tough physically and mentally at Brackley, and we were that day. It will require more of the same on Saturday.’"
ALTRINCHAM 2 STALYBRIDGE CELTIC 1
Michael Ripley's photos from the CSC match against Stalybridge Celtic are now available on his website.
For their part, Stalybridge Celtic say that "It was a mixture of teams for both sides, with welcome returns to Kristian Platt and Sean McConville for Celtic. Although a win would have been great for Celtic, the loss isn’t massive, as it would have added to fixture congestion at the important end of the season when we have much bigger fish to fry.
Truth be told, Celtic probably edged the possession and the chances but, with Kyle Perry gifted two open goals, there was only going to be one winner.
Alec Mudimu logged the first shot on target of the game trying to skim the ball to Josh Samburg’s right, whilst Obi Anorou should have done better firing tamely into Samburg’s midriff. Jamie Lawrie registered the first shot on target for the home side twenty minutes in, with an almost back pass to Danny East. Adam Parkhouse’s effort lacked power and precision and was fairly comfortable for the home side as the two teams traded chances.
The deadlock was broken when Lawrie’s fierce drive was superbly saved by Danny East, the ball spinning up to Lawrie’s striker partner Kyle Perry to knock into an empty net, but it could have been equal just seconds later when Obi Anorou raced past the ponderous Altrincham defence and unleashed a cannonball that curled away from Samburg and smacked against the post on the way out. He got another chance seconds later, again outpacing the defence, and trying to knock the ball past Samberg who got down well and tipped the ball just past the upright. Amazingly, with the assistant and referee well out of position and huffing and puffing they missed the very good save and gave a goal-kick.
Altrincham started the second half with an absolute gift of a goal. Danny East got down well to block the ball at Lawrie’s feet, but the loose ball was not cleared, but instead rolled to Perry who notched his second of the night.
Celtic were the better side after the goal went in, Tom Buckley’s cracking effort from outside the box bringing a superb save from Samburg, before it was Altrincham’s turn to make a mistake, former Celt, Greg Wilkinson’s lax pass latched onto by Sean McConville who raced towards goal and unleashed a curling, dipping shot that resulted in the goal of the night.
It looked for a moment that Altrincham would restore their two goal cushion when Louis Smith brought Kyle Perry down in the box. Perry took the spot kick himself and struck it well enough, but Danny East pulled out an incredible save to deny Perry his hattrick.
Extra time was avoided when Samberg first saved off a corner from Louis Smith’s low drive after Altrincham failed to clear a corner, and then saved superbly well from Adam Parkhouse. Truth be told, Altrincham could probably do without the fixture congestion the tie away at Tranmere will entail, but with Celtic battling at the other end of the table, leaving the competition is better news than a win. Additionally, it shows the improvement in the past two months as Altrincham probably expected another 5-0 win."
ALTRINCHAM YOUTH EDUCATION PROGRAMME
The Altrincham FC Youth Education Programme team lost 2-0 away to Hyde on an all-weather pitch on Wednesday. Next Wednesday they entertain Harrogate Town.NEXT UP
At our next opponents, the Brackley Town chairman has issued his latest Chairman's Chatter.IAN CLOSES GAP ON NEIL
Ian Senior won Tuesday night's pre-match Crossbar Challenge 1-0 to close the gap to 15-17 in his charity contest with Neil Tolson.MARK'S CAMPAIGN IN THE NEWS
The Manchester Evening News carries an article on Mark Maddox's Motor Neurone Disease Association campaign. This informs us that Mark, despite his Liverpool allegiance, recently appeared on MUTV. Afterwards, the former Alty captain said, 'It's been a busy few weeks but I really enjoyed doing the interviews and the people at Manchester United were fantastic, even though I'm a Scouser', he laughed. 'Trying to raise awareness for a disease not many people know about can feel like banging your head against a brick wall at times. But this campaign has gone beyond all expectations and it is thanks to the whole football family joining together with the MND community.
But, at times, you think this isn't really happening', said Maddox, 'I'd been so fit all my life, playing football. Yet I have ended up with motor neurone disease, through no fault of my own. At the moment there is no cause and, unfortunately, no cure. I hope everyone will get behind the campaign to tackle motor neurone disease together''.
Any club wanting to include Mark's poster (right) in their match day programme can e-mail for more information".
Whilst the MEN is to be applauded for helping the campaign, unfortunately its article is accompanied by a photo, captioned "The left-back", which actually shows Rod Thornley and not centre/right-back Mark.
SKRILL NORTH NEWS
As reported yesterday, Vauxhall Motors wish to regroup in the West Cheshire League, a drop from Step Two to Seven in the non-League pyramid. Vauxhall Motors have issued a "Club statement from chairman Alan Bartlam", which says:"It is with great sadness that Vauxhall Motors FC have tende[re]d their resignation to the Football Conference to take effect from the end of the current playing season.
Vauxhall Motors, like many other football clubs, are confronted with the reality of low gates and ever-increasing costs. This. now unsustainable. position has been going on for several years. despite the tremendous efforts of a dedicated and active committee to try and balance the books.
It is anticipated this season will result in another sizeable financial loss, eating into a legacy of finances that we were fortunate to inherit over a decade ago. And to do nothing would be foolhardy.
As a responsible committee administering a club that was founded over fifty years ago and a club that we would wish to continue for another fifty, with responsibilities beyond the Football Conference, to some thirty teams, youth, junior and ladies, catering for over 400 children within Ellesmere Port and beyond, it has become necessary to withdraw the senior side from the established pyramid.
We have enjoyed nineteen fabulous seasons in that pyramid but now we must restructure, stabilise and rebuild again".
All at Altrincham FC wish the Motormen well and will miss our visits to Rivacre Park.
CHESHIRE SENIOR CUP
On Tuesday night, whilst Alty played a quarter-final of the Cheshire Senior Cup, Macclesfield Town and Northwich Victoria played a 1-1 draw at the semi-final stage. (Replays are nowrequired by the County FA at the stage, rather than playing to a result). Brian Summerskill, the former Alty midfielder scored an equaliser during the 28 minutes of added time necessitated by a bad injury to the Macc keeper.
John Edwards of the Daily Mail kindly sent us his report, along with an image from Peter Hilton Photography.
"A cup tie involving Macclesfield Town will go down as one of the longest on record after a serious injury led to 28 minutes of stoppage time being played. Macclesfield keeper Ritchie Branagan landed heavily after punching clear a free-kick and was treated on the pitch for nearly half-an-hour, amid fears he may have broken his neck.
After medical staff finally decided it was safe to move him, he was carried on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance and taken to Salford Hospital, where, after extensive tests, he was allowed home in the early hours of this morning (Weds).
Shaken Macclesfield and Northwich players were still adjusting their thoughts to the Cheshire Senior Cup quarter-final at Moss Rose, when the fourth official raised his board indicating there would be a minimum of 28 minutes added time.
Reflecting on his ordeal, the 22-year old son of former Bolton keeper Keith Branagan, capped at under-21 level by the Republic of Ireland, blamed an unlucky number 13 jersey, as he said: ‘I’m still a bit woozy, but I’m home and, though I need someone to keep an eye on me today, I’m not feeling too bad. Certainly not as bad as it could have been. I don’t remember anything about the incident or about the second half. I hadn’t had much to do in the first half, though, so it came as a surprise to hear the game finished 1-1!
‘I’m told I started to come round as I was being taken to the ambulance, and I started to communicate on the way to the hospital. The ambulance crew were fantastic, and I’m going to invite them to a game as a thank you. I had a couple of scans and x-rays at the hospital, to check there was nothing too seriously wrong, and when they were satisfied I was basically OK, I got to come home at two in the morning.
‘It was great to look on Twitter and Facebook and see so many people sending me their best wishes. It really put a smile on my face, and I’d like to thank every single one of them for their support. It gave me a real boost.
‘The concussion is already easing, and I have spoken to the physio about when I can play again. It’s more of a neck injury than head, like whiplash, and it is very stiff. I’ll probably have to leave it for a while, but I haven’t given up hope of being fit for the replay. I want to get out there again.
‘But I won’t be wearing 13. For some reason, the number one jersey, in the kit we were wearing last night, didn’t fit, so I ended up taking 13. It turns out someone picked up a bad leg injury wearing that same one, so I wasn’t too upset when they had to cut it off me in hospital. I couldn’t move much, so they had to take a pair of scissors to it. It’s in a bin somewhere in bits, so at least it can’t do any more damage!’"
5 March 2014
ALTRINCHAM 2 STALYBRIDGE CELTIC 1
Altrincham progressed to the semi-final of the Cheshire Senior Cup as two much-changed sides contested Tuesday night's tie at the J. Davidson Stadium.
MIDWEEK SKRILL NORTH GAMES
Monday 3 March- Bradford Park Avenue 0-0 Vauxhall Motors (att. 232)
Tuesday 4 March
- Colwyn Bay 2-1 Harrogate Town (gate 213)
- Gainsborough Trinity 2-3 Solihull Moors (265)
- Gloucester City 2-0 Histon
- Guiseley 2-1 Leamington (329)
- Stockport County 2-2 Barrow (2,457)
- Workington 1-0 Oxford City (336)
VAUXHALL MOTORS SHOCK
The LIverpool Echo reports that "Non-league side Vauxhall Motors will quit the Conference North at the end of the season in a bid to save the club, the Echo understands.The Rivacre Park side can no longer afford to run a team in the second tier of non-league football and will resign from league at the end of the campaign. Vauxhall are 15th in the Conference North with 10 games remaining.
Management staff and players were left in shock after being informed of the decision on Tuesday night at an emergency meeting.
And the squad have been told they are free to start looking for other clubs.
The Vauxhall Board hope to save the club, formed in 1963, once their financial difficulties are sorted and then reform for next season in the West Cheshire League. But the move will see a major exodus of players and coaches at the end of the season.
Boss Carl Macauley, who has worked wonders at the club in recent years, will be looking for a new role. However, the highly-rated manager, distraught by the news, is determined to oversee a positive run of results before the season is out".
Altrincham are set to host Vauxhall Motors on Easter Monday.
ALTRINCHAM FC PONTOON
Geoff Morris's update of the Altrincham FC Pontoon Table is here.
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