Match Reports, 2004-05


ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH (1) 2

EAGLEY YOUTH (1) 1

NWYA Premier Cup 2nd Round Match
on Sunday, 4 December 2004


LINE-UP

ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH: 1. Lee MILNER, 2. Chris WAUGH, 3. John PARKER-CHAMBERS, 4. Richard GRESTY, 5. Matt GARLAND, 6. Adam WALKER, 7. Hassan ZAREH-OURANG, 8. James MONAGHAN, 9. Dion DEPEIAZA, 10. Lee HENDLEY (capt.), 11. Adam BALL. Subs: 12. Marcus MADDIX, 14. Tom BANE, 15. Paul LEWIS, 16. Ryan STEWART, 18. Sam FOX (gk).

EAGLEY YOUTH: 1. JONES, 2. HENRY (capt.), 3. ROSBOTTOM, 4. T. DARBY, 5. EDWARDS, 6. ASPEN, 7. McCLEMENS, 8. B. DARBY, 9. LEECE, 10. BIRCHBY, 11. POWER. Subs: 12. MORRIS, 14. ALLEN.


REPORT

Depeiaza shot narrowly wide after two minutes as Altrincham started brightly but Eagley won the game's first corner after 4 minutes. But soon Altrincham were back with Gresty firing a shot just over the bar (6 mins). Next the Eagley keeper had to be alert to smother the ball after Ball had almost played in Depeiaza (7 mins). But Altrincham then took the lead when Hendley got up the right and got round the keeper before passing the ball inside to Depeiaza who had a simple task of converting the chance from close range (9 mins). There were strong protests of offside from Eagley, but to no avail.

Not long after this, when a freekick was awarded to Altrincham, McClemens was booked for protesting. Milner in the Alty goal then had to make a good save at the other end. Play was now end to end but punctuated by regular freekicks. After Henry had fouled Depeiaza, Alty won another freekick but the Alty man was booked for reasons that were not altogether clear (16 mins). Eagley continued to cause Alty some concern as they got through the midfield at regular intervals and they equalised after 29 minutes when B. Darby found the bottom corner of the net, to Milner's right, from a central position 20 yards or so from goal (29 mins).

After the goal, Eagley continued to press but it was Altrincham who won the next corner but from Monaghan's kick, Ball headed wide (36 mins). Eagley went close when they advanced again up the right but the final low cross rolled safely across the goalmouth from Alty's point of view (38 mins). Next, McClemens claimed a penalty when he went down in the Alty box but he had gone down far too easily to get the decision he wanted.

Alty survived a late scare when in the first minute of added time, Milner had to make a good save after Eagley's Henry was judged to have sprung the offside trap. In the resulting melee, an Eagley player headed onto the crossbar before the ball was cleared. The referee somehow found five minutes of added time before blowing the whistle. Altrincham had not capitalised on their good start to the first half and had struggled at times to cope with Eagley's attacks, especially up the right flank.


Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH 1
EAGLEY YOUTH 1

Eagley continued where they had left off by enjoying the better of the opening stages of the second half, winning an early corner before Power shot wide from a good position. But Altrincham then came to life and after two successive freekicks, Walker got in a shot which slipped through Jones's hands to give Alty a corner on the right. This was immediately followed by a second corner, which Zareh-Ourang headed over the bar (52 mins). Altrincham's improvement was underlined when they took the lead after Hendley had advanced to the left of goal and his fierce shot was parried out by Jones. Rosbottom half-cleared the loose ball but Depeiaza arrived on the scene to finish from close range near the back post (55 mins).

Eagley came back and won a corner before Paul Lewis came on to replace Zareh-Ourang in central midfield (62 mins). Hendley then had an effort well saved before Lewis cracked in a 35-yarder which was only narrowly wide (63 mins). Alty now brought on Ryan Stewart for Depeiaza. Ryan went on the left, so Adam Ball moved to the right of midfield. Walker was now up front and his determination won a corner as Altrincham gained the upper hand. Walker won a second corner a few minutes later.

Alty seemed to have scored after 72 minutes when Hendley again outpaced the defence on the left and his firm low cross was smashed into the net from close range by Walker who arrived at the same time as a defender. The referee ruled the goal out for offside to the surprise of the Altrincham team and bench (72 mins). Within a minute Walker had another "goal" disallowed for offside before Eagley brought on Morris for Power (73 mins). Stewart was making an impression on the Alty left and when he was hacked down in the box, left of goal, the referee looked to his linesman but the flag stayed down (75 mins). At the other end good work from Morris set up Aspen for a shot over the bar (77 mins). Then Leece shot wide as Altrincham's one goal lead looked precarious. An Eagley corner followed (83 mins) and as the visitors continued to press, Monaghan was booked. Garland, who had a good game alongside Gresty at centre-back, had to make a fine saving tackle as the game went into added time but Altrincham rode out the final minutes to advance to Round Three of the Premier Cup.


Full-Time: ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH 2
EAGLEY YOUTH 1