YOUTH REPORT

Match report from George Heslop.

Due to a variety of reasons Altrincham made various changes from the previous week's game. Unavailable were Jimmy Ladd (playing for Macclesfield & District FA), and Lee Berrill (at a family christening). Dominic Lillie returned to the team in right midfield, Daniel Killilea moved to left midfield and Chris Francis moved to left-back. Sam Madeley (returning from injury) took over from Emanuel Ladu. Steven Crane and Jake Powell made up the squad.

Altrincham took hold of the game from the start and made good use of the flanks. Tom Bailey played in the area between Sam Madeley and central midfield. This was to prove a successful experiment instigated by coach Tony Spilsbury. As Altrincham got on top, in the 14th minute, Bailey was unlucky when his header hit the bar. However, in the 22nd minute, Madeley harassed a defender into losing possesion. Killilea received the ball from Madeley and crossed first time for Tom Bailey to give Altrincham a one-nil lead. Ten minutes later, a move involving Bailey and Lillie provided the second goal for Sam Madeley. In the 35th minute Killilea provided the cross for a Dominic Lillie header but Leigh averted the danger. Then, in the 38th minute Danny Browne had a header saved and Chris Francis had a header disallowed for offside. Half time arrived with Altrincham leading two-nil.

The second half started with an exquisite piece of skill by Tom Bailey who, at full pace, executed the perfect drag-back to go past two defenders and set up Sam Madeley for his second goal and Altrincham's third. The first substitution of the match came when Leigh replaced Daniel Duffield with Austin Tunnacliffe in the 48th minute, followed three minutes later by Altrincham withdrawing Madeley, who was suffering from blisters. His place was taken by Gavin O'Connor. In the 56th minute Bailey crossed but O'Connor leaned back and his effort went over the top. In the 59th minute Danny Browne, who had played the previous day for Cheshire, was replaced by Steven Crane and this change was followed in the 62nd minute by the home side replacing Clay by Gareth Bailey.

Altrincham further increased their lead, to 4-0, in the 67th minute when a cross came in and a defender, under pressure from O'Connor, conceded an own goal. This was followed, a minute later by O'Connor scoring on his own behalf to make it 5-0. By this time Altrincham were completely on top so decided to give Jake Powell a run in goal in place of Jones (70 mins). However, he did not have too much to do as Altrincham were camped in the Leigh half. The pressure paid off in the 84th minute when an attacking run by Dominic Lilie was ended by his being brought down in the area. Bailey successfully converted the penalty to complete the biggest victory of the season so far. Let's hope this marks an upsurge in Altrincham's form and future results. Keep up this commitment!