Altrincham FC Youth Team
Match Reports

ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH (0) 2 WARRINGTON TOWN YOUTH (4) 4


NWYA Premier League Match
Sunday, 31 March 2013, at 2.30pm at Clay Lane


BACKGROUND

LINE-UP

ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH (Red and white striped shirts, red shorts and socks). 1. Stephen BULLEN, 2. David BROWN, 4. Jamie McLELLAN, 5. Alex WEATHERBY, 3. Matt GRAETZER,; 7. Callum MOONEY, 6. Oliver RILEY (capt), 8. Spencer CUNLIFFE,, 9. Adam BEZZINA, 10. Derryn OFORI, 11. Rob GILROY. Subs: 12. Louis POTTS, 14. Callum HARKIN, 15. Jordan MAINOO-HAMES, 16. Rory McGOLDRICK, 17. James FARRINGTON


REPORT

The game got under way on a sunny afternoon but on a very bobbly surface, which had seen no rain for some time. The visitors took an early lead when the ball came from the left to the unmarked no.10 who fired home past Bullen with barely four minutes having elapsed. And Bullen had to be alert two minutes later when he tipped a 25-yard effort from the Warrington no.11 over the bar.

In midfield the busy Callum Mooney was twice tripped before another Warrington long-range shot came in, narrowly clearing the crossbar (13 mins). When the visitors' no.11 was tripped inside the box, referee Joe Simpson, a Conference North official, pointed to the spot. The Warrington no.6 converted this to make it 2-0 (16 mins).

Things got worse a minute later when Alex Weatherby was judged to have brought down the Town no.7, just inside the box, as he advanced up the middle. So, another spotkick was awarded and Alex was sent off as he was the final defender and was judged to have denied his opponent a clear goalscoring chance (17 mins). Again the penalty was converted, this time by the no.7. So, Alty trailed 3-0 and were a man short with only 18 minutes on the clock. Captain Oliver Riley moved back into defence to plug the gap left by Weatherby's dismissal.

With Alty yet to trouble the Warrington keeper, the visitors soon won a corner, as the home side struggled to find their men or to support the man in possession quickly enough. Town then won a freekick on the edge of the Alty box but, though this was blocked, the Robins were soon a further goal adrift. A misplaced Altrincham pass to the Town no.9 led to his feeding the no.10, who shot past Bullen to make it 4-0 (32 mins).

The visitors made a substitution soon after this. Altrincham finally got a shot on goal in the 38th minute when a good ball by Ofori set Gilroy going forward. He fed Bezzina but his shot was saved by the keeper. Moments later, a fine run by Ofori won his side a corner. And Alty's improvement continued as Gilroy got to the by-line but his resulting shot was well over the bar (41 mins).

JUst before the break the Warrington no.7 had to be helped off and substituted, after being injured blocking an effort from Riley in the visitors's box.

Half-Time: ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH 0 WARRINGTON TOWN YOUTH 4

Bullen was soon in action at the start of the second half, blocking a shot by the no.14 (48 mins). Alty made a change after 51 minutes when Gilroy was replaced by Potts. After this, a fierce shot from the no.14 forced another save from the busy Bullen (53 mins). Warrington also won the game's next two corners, one either side of the hour-mark.

In what had been a disappointing showing from several of the Alty players, Derryn Ofori set a positive example as he attempted to instill more passion into his team-mates, chasing down opponents and attempting to get forward when in possession.

Bullen was called to make another save, after 68 minutes, and soon he had to be alert again to tip another effort over the bar (73 mins). Alty now brought on Jordan Mainoo-Hames for Adam Bezzina, after which an impressive run by Ofori led to an offside decision against Mainoo-Hames. After 77 minutes Ofori took a freekick from 40 yards out on the right and found Spencer Cunliffe at the back post. His looping header back across goal made it 1-4 (77 mins).

Anopther freekick, 50 yards out on the left gave Altrincham a second goal, as Ollie Riley's freekick evaded everyone including the Warrington keeper before finding the far corner of the net (83 mins). Sensing an improbable come-back, manager Heslop changed formation to a back-three but Warrington successfully saw the game to its conclusion.

Altrincham had restored some pride in the second half, with their ten men finishing the game on a positive note.


Full-Time: ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH 2 WARRINGTON TOWN YOUTH 4