LINE-UP

ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH (Red & white striped shirts, red shorts and red socks): 1. Lewis BISHOP, 2. Tom BARCLAY (capt), 3. Rico COLULO, 4. Alex MURPHY, 5. Michael HOWE, 6. Marcus BAXBY, 7. Danny BROWNE, 8. Michael SIMCOCK, 9. Tom BAILEY, 10. Lewis DAVIES, 11. Anthony DAVIES. Subs: 12. Kieran RAYNES, 14. 14. Jason MELLING-FONG, 15. Steven ROBERTS, 16. Paul BARRY, 17. Rick CRAWFORD.

REPORT

This report is based on information kindly supplied by George Heslop.

Making their first trip to Boothstown FC, where Salford City "A" are based, was a pleasurable experience. After all the heavy rain it was nice to find the pitches in such good condition and the facilities good. Following the previous game at Woodley Sports, four changes were made to the Altrincham side. Lewis Bishop, Rico Colulo, Michael Simcock and Lewis Davies came into the starting line-up for David Leigh, Kieran Raynes, Paul Barry and Rick Crawford as Altrincham looked for an improved performance against the league leaders, who were seven points clear at kick off.

The first half kicked off with Altrincham facing into wind and both sides playing well. In a very evenly contested half, Altrincham gave a very good acount of themselves. As a team, and individually, they were showing the commitment that had been missing recently.

Despite having been warned at half-time about concentration, as they had conceded goals in the first five minutes after the interval in recent games, Altrincham nevertheless repeated the same mistake. In the 48th minuite, Curtis Connell, Salford's number nine, (a former Altrincham player), got the ball with his back to goal on the edge of the area. He turned Alex Murphy and chipped the ball past Lewis Bishop into the top left-hand corner to give Salford the lead.

Altrincham lifted themselves and came back very strongly and in the 64th minute Tom Bailey levelled the scores at 1-1. As Altrincham were competing so well as a team and proving more than a match for the league leaders, it was decided not to make any substitutions at this stage. But then, in a rare excursion into the Altrincham half, Cuirtis Connell yet again caused problems and was brought down for a penalty. This was despatched by Craig Flowers, a former Altrincham trialist, into the bottom left-hand corner,despite Lewis Bishop getting his fingers to the ball. So it was 2-1 to Salford after 72 minutes.

With Altrincham still attacking, Marcus Baxby and Tom Bailey were both thwarted by the home keeper but it was third time lucky when Anthony Davies beat him to make it 2-2. The game ended with a much improved performance and, indeed, Altrincham could possibly have won, but the scores remained level.