ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH: 1. Lee MILNER, 2. Chris WAUGH, 3. Ryan STEWART, 4. Richard GRESTY, 5. Matt GARLAND, 6. James MONAGHAN, 7. Paul LEWIS. 8. Arron HEVINGHAM, 9. Andy UMEBUANI, 10. Lee HENDLEY, 11. Adam WALKER. Subs: 12. Tom HORNER, 14. Deon DEPEIAZA, 15. Hassan ZAREH-OURANG, 16. Adam BALL, 18. Sam FOX (gk).

REPORT

Report courtesy of Youth Team manager, George Heslop.

Altrincham had beaten Kingsley 15-1 earlier this season but the Merseysiders had made seven changes from that game. For their part, Alty welcomed back Arron Hevingham for his first start in several weeks after injury.

This game was played on a pitch very close to the Mersey estuary, from which direction a strong wind was blowing. This wind was behind Alty in the first half and dictated the pattern of play- for the first 15 minutes the conditions were the only winners.

Alty began to get on top but long balls played forward were still being overhit as the wind carried them too far. With rain and sleet also falling, passing movements were scarcely possible. But, after 15 minutes, Hendley swivelled skilfully and drove a shot which hit the keeper's right post, rolled along the line and struck the other upright before being cleared.

After 20 minutes, Hevingham found Walker on the left. His cross was half-cleared to Lewis who, from the edge of the box, drove a shot just over the bar. A catalogue of Alty misses followed, as the players still struggled with the strong wind. Half-time arrived with the game goalless.

Alty started better in the second half, as they now played into the wind. But conditions got worse as five minutes of heavy sleet and hail fell on the pitch. However, Alty persevered and now kept possession well. After 55 minutes, Hevingham made inroads into the opposition defence and found Monaghan on the edge of the box. Monaghan, who was having a good game, even though he was playing out of position on the right of midfield, drove the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

For their part, Kingsley were causing problems by launching long balls on the wind from a deeper position than Alty had done in the first half. These were landing on the edge of the Alty box but the defence held firm. But, after 65 minutes Chris Waugh made an intercepting header only to see the ball carried behind him on the strong wind towards three Kingsley players in offside positions. One of the Kingsley players latched on to it and fed a supporting team mate who scored to make it 1-1. Many of the Alty players felt that Kingsley had been offside before the ball was played.

As the game progressed, Altrincham were having more of the play, keeping possession well and making use of the wind to play balls behind the defence which were held up on the wind. Then, Lee Hendley put Alty back ahead when he gathered the ball on the edge of the box and shot firmly under the keeper's despairing dive (75 mins). It was his 21st goal of the season. Alty soon made a change with Umebuani giving way to Depeiaza, who had a couple of chances but went for power rather than placement. More chances came and went but the management was happy that so many opportunities were being created in the first place.

After 80 minutes Monaghan succumbed to a back injury suffered in a previous game. Indeed, he had been playing today despite being unable to train in midweek but his goal had maintained his position as second leading scorer in the side. He was replaced by Adam Ball.

After 85 minutes the other scorer, Hendley, came off as well and was replaced by Hassan Zareh-Ourang whose role was to confirm Alty's grip on midfield. This left Depeiaza as the lone striker, with Walker operating on the left. Alty maintained their lead till the final whistle to record their sixth successive victory; the only blot was that they had conceded their first goal in this game after six hours and forty minutes of clean sheets. In a strong team performance, full-back Chris Waugh was a strong contender for Man of the Match.