Match Reports, 2003-04
MACCLESFIELD & DISTRICT FA YOUTH (1) 2
ALTRINCHAM & DISTRICT FA YOUTH (0) 1
Cheshire County FA District Youth Cup, Group Match
played at Congleton Town FC,
on Sunday, 5 October, 2003, at 2pm.
LINE-UPS
MACCLESFIELD & DISTRICT FA YOUTH (Red & black shirts, black shorts and socks):
ALTRINCHAM & DISTRICT FA YOUTH (Pale blue shirts, white shorts and pale blue socks ): 1. Ashley TIMMS, 2. Adam DOUTHWAITE, 3. Matthew TOOTH, 4. Alex FROST (capt.), 5. Josh COLLINS, 6. Kelvin LUGSDEN, 7. Lewis CHALMERS, 8. Stevie TAYLOR, 9. Andy THORPE, 10. Kieran LUGSDEN, 11. Stuart COOK. Subs: 12. Luke KILLEEN, 14. Mark BRANNICK, 18. Barry GEORGE (g/k.)
MATCH REPORT
Many of the Altrincham team were playing their fourth or fifth game of the week, which included the FA Youth Cup match last Tuesday and yesterday's Cheshire FA win over Staffordshire.
Above: Josh Collins, with Alex Frost and Adam Douthwaite in the background.
As the game started, heavy rain began to fall on a pitch which lacked any corner flags until an alert member of the crowd told a linesman of the problem. The flags were soon produced and Macclesfield then went into an early lead. After a lecture for Kieran Lugsden, Macclesfield were given a free-kick in a central position some 30 yards out. Their no.9 hit the ball accurately to drop under the bar in goalkeeper Timms's top right-hand corner. The Alty keeper's jump failed to keep the ball out as he appeared to expect the ball to pass outside the upright.
Ashley Timms goes up but is beaten for Macc's opener, a free-kick from no.9 (far left).
When a Tooth throw led to a foul on Chalmers, the victim himself took the free-kick but drove it into the defensive wall (14 mins). Tooth then broke up another Macclesfield attack before a foul on Thorpe gave Alty another free-kick which came to nothing. Macclesfield's no.2 soon shot narrowly wide from 25 yards (17 mins) before Collins got in a good tackle to stop the opposition no.8. Thorpe then won Alty's first corner (22 mins) and this led to an Alty shot being cleared off the Macclesfield line.
Play had been fairly even but Altrincham got the upper hand for the latter period of the first half. They won another corner, taken by Douthwaite, who found Kelvin Lugsden but he was blocked off to the right of goal. With rain still lashing down, Stuart Cook, who had been working hard on the left, went down injured after having his foot trodden on in an earlier tackle. He had to leave the fray and Luke Killeen replaced him (39 mins). This prompted a change of formation as Killeen joined Kieran Lugsden up front and Andy Thorpe moved to wide midfield. Immediately, another Douthwaite corner found Killeen whose twisting header had to be cleared off the line with the keeper beaten (40 mins). Altrincham continued to dominate the latter stages of the first half with Timms unoccupied at the other end. Though Alty won another corner before the break they were unable to equalise.
| Half-Time: MACCLESFIELD & DISTRICT FA YOUTH 1 ALTRINCHAM & DISTRICT FA YOUTH 0 |
Alty were obliged to make another switch at half-time when an ankle injury stopped Stevie Taylor, who had been playing well, from resuming and Mark Brannick came on in his place in central midfield (46 mins). Killeen soon won his side a corner which was cleared but another followed a few minutes later. A foul on the no.10 by Frost earned him a booking and gave Macc. a free-kick 30 yards out (58 mins). The no.9 fancied a repeat of his first-half goal but this time his strike was held low down by Timms. With rain still pouring down, Thorpe got into the Macc. box but was tackled.
Macclesfield upped their game and soon Timms had to make a fine point blank save after the no.10 advanced and found his no.3 in front of goal (61 mins). The resulting corner was followed by two more for Macclesfield in the next five minutes. The first came after a fine saving tackle by Frost and led to a goal-line clearance by Kelvin Lugsden before Timms saved the follow-up shot well. From the final corner Macclesfield's no.3 hit the side netting. After 70 minutes Macclesfield brought on their no.14 for no.8 and soon Douthwaite had to concede a corner. Macclesfield were now on top, though Kieran Lugsden and Killeen did their best to relieve the pressure. Indeed, Kieran soon played an excellent ball, left, into the path of the unmarked Collins but he shot wide of the keeper's right post from the left of goal (77 mins).
Macclesfield then won another corner, which was headed over the bar. Next, Timms slipped making a kicked clearance and the ball ran to the opposition no.9. As he bore down on goal he was fouled just outside the box and Kelvin Lugsden received a yellow card for the offence. The Macclesfield no.14 drove the free-kick from a central position 20 yards out and beat both the wall and Ashley Timms's dive to his right to make it 2-0 (79 mins).
Macclesfield' second goal, scored by no.14 (far right).
Despite their weary limbs, Altrincham did not give up and a neat move involving Douthwaite and Brannick, saw Collins lash home a fine goal from 20 yards, to the left of goal, with just a couple of minutes of normal time left, though some four minutes of added time were to be played. Collins almost repeated his goal from a similar position a couple of minutes afterwards. Though the Macclesfield keeper had to punch clear near the end, his side held on to win the game. At half-time Alty had been unlucky to be trailing, having had two efforts cleared off the line and having kept Macclesfield penned back for the last 20 minutes of the half. However, tiredness caught up with Altrincham in the second period and Macclesfield's win was ultimately deserved.
| Full-Time: MACCLESFIELD & DISTRICT FA YOUTH 2 ALTRINCHAM & DISTRICT FA YOUTH 1 |