ALTRINCHAM RESERVES (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks): 1. Stuart COBURN, 2. Keith WEDGE (capt), 3. Colin McALLISTER, 4. Aaron EDWARDS, 5. Gary TALBOT, 6. Steve BUSHELL, 7. Colin POTTS, 8. Eddie HUSSIN, 9. Colin LITTLE, 10. Peter THOMSON, 11. Pat McFADDEN. Subs: 12. Danny HEFFERNAN, 14. Kieran LUGSDEN, 15. Laurence BALL, 17. Chris ROWLEY (gk)

HYDE UNITED RESERVES (Green and blue shirts, blue shirts, green socks): 1. ? , 2. Richard GRESTY, 3. to 16. ?

REPORT

Once again the Altrincham Reserves' squad included a large number of players who hold first-team squad numbers - in tonight's match these totalled nine. It would have been ten had Justin Bowler arrived but a car breakdown prevented this. Into the starting line-up for this game compared with the last Reserves' match against Ossett Albion came Steve Bushell, Gary Talbot and Colin Little, all of whom are returning from injury lay-offs, though Colin had played as a substitute for the first team last Saturday. Facing Alty was a young Hyde United side in which former Alty Youth captain Richard Gresty was one of the back three.

The match was played on the coldest night of the year today with temperatures which were to drop below zero later in the night. There was a bizarre start to the proceedings. Altrincham took to the field first but when the match officials appeared they summoned them all off the pitch to be checked individually for jewellery on the touchline. Jackie Swindells never had problems like that!

When the game got under way, with Alty attacking the Golf Road End, the home side made some initial forays but it was the visitors who took the lead after just four minutes. Their goal came when a ball from the left evaded Steve Bushell about 25 yards out and came to the Tigers' number 10 who lashed an excellent shot past a flat-footed Stuart Coburn. Altrincham almost got on level terms four minutes later when Hussin and Potts got the ball to Little and his well struck shot from 20 yards forced a fine save, to his left, by the Hyde keeper at the cost of a corner to Altrincham (8 mins). Next, after a foul from behind on Little, Potts's freekick went narrowly wide (10 mins). Hyde themselves were passing the ball about well but then a neat Altrincham move led to Little's header to Thomson whose shot was blocked and came out to McFadden whose goalbound right-foot shot was deflected over the bar for another Altrincham corner (16 mins). McFadden got in another shot soon afterwards but the keeper saved this (18 mins).

Soon afterwards Alty actually put the ball in the net when Bushell and Potts fed Little who shot into the net as the offside flag went up (22 mins). However, when Bushell was later dispossessed, the Hyde no.6 fed the no.10 who forced an excellent block-save from Coburn at the near post from the Hyde right (24 mins). Soon afterwards Hyde shot narrowly wide and then the visitors really should have scored when an excellent ball from the no.6 again fed the no.10 who clipped the ball over Coburn but somehow it missed the target (27 mins).

Despite these chances the Alty back four was generally playing well with Edwards much involved and McAllister getting forward whenever he could. There was some concern when, after a Thomson shot had been blocked, the big striker went down for treatment to his right leg/foot but he continued after expert attention from physio, Alan Ainsley. Stuart Coburn then raced from his goal to separate Edwards and the Hyde no.10 who had gone head to head after a collision in the Alty box but, after consulting his assistant, the referee settled for having words with Alty centre-back (36 mins). The next few minutes were pretty uneventful with Hyde reasonably comfortable with their narrow lead. But, as half-time approached, Alty upped their game. A sustained Altrincham passing move ended, however, with the ball coming to the visitors' keeper off Thomson (44 mins). Next, a fine through ball from Potts almost got Little in for a goal but the defence just saw off the Alty striker (45 mins). Despite three minutes of added time, the interval arrived without any change to the scoreline.

At the interval Hyde brought on two substitutes (nos 12 and 16). After 49 minutes Little headed over from a Potts cross but Alty went even closer when another excellent cross from Potts was met by McFadden's header but the ball was pushed round the post by the keeper for an Alty corner (53 mins). Following the corner, the Hyde no.4 sliced the ball over his own bar for another flag-kick and after this, Little was tripped on the edge of the box by the same Hyde player. The freekick came to nothing but it was not long before Little fed Thomson whose shot came back off the underside of the bar to McFadden, whose own shot was blocked for a corner. Following the corner, Kieran Lugsden replaced Colin Potts on the Alty right (60 mins).

Another Alty chance came when Little dispossessed the otherwise solid Gresty but his shot went just wide from 25 yards (64 mins). Now Danny Heffernan replaced Pat McFadden (65 mins). It was now Hyde's turn to attack and they won two corners in succession, the first coming from a good tip over the bar by Coburn from the Hyde number 12's twenty-yard shot. An Alty corner then came and went before Laurence Ball came on at left-back for Colin McAllister (74 mins). Alty gained a freekick when Lugsden was fouled by the no.8 and from Bushell's freekick from the right, a Hyde player handled the ball in the air to concede a penalty. Peter Thomson converted the spot kick assuredly with a low shot into the keeper's left corner (78 mins).

With five minutes of normal time left Hyde made their final change as their number 14 arrived on the scene. Alty then had a great chance to wrap up the points when Bushell started a move which ended with Ball's cross from the left which found Thomson in space to the right of the goalmouth. But the striker dragged his low shot wide of the far post (89 mins). That turned out to be the last chance of a game which never reached the heights and whose most positive outcome for Altrincham was the amassing of match fitness for a number of first-teamers who had recently been sidelined by injury or who had recently only figured as substitutes for the first team. Thomson did take a knock in the first half but completed the ninety minutes whilst everyone else seemed to come through the game unscathed.