Match Report

After playing some good football and seemingly coasting to an easy win, a deflection off Mark Sertori gave Blyth a goal after 77 mins from Carl Pepper and made the closing stages more uncomfortable than they should have been. Alty took the lead after 13 minutes when Kevin Hulme, replacing the ill Steve Hawes as captain, finished off a free-kick move. Thornley was bowled over in the box to earn a penalty, which he himself converted to make it 2-0 after 42 minutes. Danny Murphy was a deserved Man of the Match but there were quite a few good performances from his team-mates, too.

Injury doubts about Gallagher, Furlong and Coburn proved unfounded with the latter two starting the game and Gallagher on the bench. However, captain Steve Hawes was an unexpected absentee, with flu, so Kevin Hulme captained the side for the first time. With the departure of Jeremy Illingworth to Stocksbridge Park Steels last week and the continued absence of Paul Taylor, all the other outfield members of the first team squad were involved today. Danny Murphy came back into the side which had drawn in the last league game, at Accrington. Chris Adams played on the left side of midfield, with Stuart Locke at left-back, whilst Murphy operated on the right flank. For Blyth, Craig Skelton, who figured on the Alty bench during our last Conference season, was in that position again for his team today.

The first attempt at goal was a weak effort from Perry, from a Robson feed, which ran to Coburn in the goal at the Hale End in the first minute. More threatening was a header won by Perry which Stewart almost reached inside the box, a minute later. Alty responded with a fine ball from Adams for Murphy in the right corner of the pitch but only a throw-in resulted. When Furlong was fouled it was Mark Sertori who took on the kicker's role in the absence of Hawes (5 mins). The next move saw Furlong and Hulme get Adams into the left forward corner of the pitch, but a Blyth goal-kick resulted (5 mins). The end to end play continued when Morton fed Robson but his 35 yarder went narrowly wide with Coburn having the ball well covered.

Then Thornley, Craney and Locke combined for Murphy to fire at Gilmore but the Blyth keeper made a fine save to concede a corner, which Adams took but which was cleared (8 mins). Next, Furlong played a good ball forward for Adams, advancing into the left corner of the Blyth box, but the Alty man was caught in two minds and ended up falling over and failing to connect with the ball. Gilmore then made his second excellent save as Thornley and Furlong aimed rapid-fire shots at his net (9 mins). When Maddox then lost the ball to Robson, Coburn had to come out to collect Morton's ball into the box. Altrincham, however, were beginning to look lively and a Furlong overhead kick into the box nearly found Thornley, to his right.

Next, a Locke header only found Morton and Hulme gave away a free-kick to stifle any danger, 30 yards from his goal. Soon, however, there was to be an Altrincham free-kick after Craney was fouled in his own half. This was followed almost immediately by a foul on Hulme, 35 yards from the visitors' goal, to the left. Murphy, at the far post, got onto the end of the free-kick by Adams. Murphy knocked the ball back to Hulme (pictured left, courtesy of Josh Easby) who poked it home from about six yards to give Altrincham the lead (13 mins). It was Kevin's sixth goal in fifteen starts this season.

Ian Craney was having a good match in midfield and swept the ball out to Murphy on the right. From his cross Adams got the ball to Hulme but Blyth cleared the threat. From a free-kick for a foul by Perry on Scott, Adams floated the ball in from 40 yards out and Furlong seemed to be clearly held in the box, but Mr Davies simply gave a goal-kick to Blyth (15 mins). Scott then won an Alty corner, on the overlap, after good work by Furlong had brought the ball to the wing via Thornley and Craney. From Adams's corner, Furlong headed over the bar (17 mins). Next, Murphy was tripped as he advanced onto a Coburn clearance but no free-kick was given. However, Hutton rightly found himself in the ref's notebook shortly afterwards for a very late tackle on Hulme by the Alty left touchline, near the centre-line (19 mins).

Although Altrincham were clearly on top by now, a diagonal ball from the Blyth right into the Alty box evaded the defenders and found Robson in space, some ten yards out. For a striker with 9 league goals to his credit this season, Robson will have been disappointed to have fired narrowly wide of Coburn's right stick (20 mins). Good work by Craney in midfield was undone when his pass hit the referee and Radigan broke up the Blyth right as a result to win a corner off Hulme. Murphy brought the ball out of defence to Furlong, who interchanged passes with Thornley before Thornley ended the move with a volley over the bar from which he collapsed injured and needing treatment (24 mins). More good play from the home side saw Furlong again deprived of a plausible penalty as he was held in the box. However, Blyth's Stewart did get past Craney to set up a shot for Hutton, which was blocked near source. Alty were soon up the other end with Murphy being fouled by Graham Pepper, who became the second Spartan to be booked (27 mins)

Gary Scott, Danny Murphy and Mark Sertori lead the charge out of defence. Picture courtesy of Alan Johnson's site.

After Coburn had punched away a Radigan cross, Murphy needed treatment. At the back Sertori and Maddox were looking secure and Locke made a number of interceptions but, once or twice he dallied on the ball, and on one such occasion, after 33 minutes, he was lucky to escape with a throw. A good move involving Hulme, Murphy, Craney, Locke, Scott and Furlong ended with a rising shot from Craney over the bar (37 mins). But then Blyth won a corner on their right which was cleared before Hulme was felled by Robson, who was fortunate to evade a booking.

From the free-kick Hulme's pass hit Mr Davies, as the official got in Altrincham's way for the second time so far. (39 mins). But Altrincham were not to be denied and a move started by Maddox saw the ball routed via Scott and Murphy, then returned to Scott. Murphy next took it up and the ball returned to Scott via Craney and Furlong. As Scott's ball came into the box from the right, Thornley was knocked over in the centre of the area, near the six yard box and the referee blew his whistle. (The culprit was Morton according to the Blyth website and Forster according to the press). At first, the ref. seemed to point away from goal but it soon became clear that he had in fact awarded a penalty, to the annoyance of the group of Spartans players who gathered around him. Thornley stepped up and beat Gilmore, to the keeper's left, to net his 13th goal (and 6th penalty) of the season (42 mins).

A minute later, after a Craney interception, Furlong and Carney set up a Murphy header which came to Thornley whose shot on the turn won a corner. Following Adams's corner, Scott's ball into the box had to be helped over the cross bar by Gilmore for another corner on the right side. From this Murphy's firm header was about to enter the bottom left of the net when a defender kicked it off the line (44 mins). As the half drew to an end, a badly sliced clearance by Maddox fortunately ran conveniently to Coburn (45 mins). Altrincham had played some good football in the first half, with Murphy, Thornley and Furlong looking lively going forward and the midfield and defence also functioning well. This was only the second time this season that Alty had scored twice in the first 45 minutes of a game.

Craig Skelton came on at half-time for Robson and any thoughts that Blyth would roll over were dispelled when the visitors won an early corner on the left (46 mins). From Coburn's punch out, Alty broke forward and as the move threatened to break down, Thornley missed the ball, but it ran for Furlong who held off Keegan as they entered the box, to the left of goal. However, Furlong shot narrowly wide, across the face of the goal (47 mins). Craney then broke up a Blyth attack following Scott's loss of possession on the right of the Alty defence. Thornley then played a fine ball for Murphy who advanced up the right before laying the ball back to Hulme whose attempted lob was caught by the keeper (49 mins). After the lively Skelton had got past Sertori, Coburn palmed a cross over his crossbar for a Blyth corner on their left; a second corner followed off Murphy and this one, too, found Murphy's head. Murphy then pulled up sharply with what looked like a hamstring problem but he recovered sufficiently to continue. Blyth won their third corner inside two minutes when Stewart advanced and Sertori cleared. Coburn caught Radigan's flag-kick. With Altrincham not yet firing on all cylinders in the second half, Skelton found himself in plenty of space but his shot went across rather than at goal.

Graham Pepper, already booked, was lucky to stay on the pitch when he fouled Furlong after the striker had got past him on the right (53 mins). Altrincham then came to life and won five corners inside three minutes. Amidst these, a 30 yarder from Stewart, who increasingly came into the game for Blyth, proved easy meat for Coburn. The fourth of the sequence of five corners resulted from a defender heading narrowly over his own bar but the fifth drew a fine save from Gilmore, low to his left, from a Murphy headed effort (57 mins). Two Alty throws followed as the home side kept up the pressure with some impressive play. Furlong kept things going by winning possession but from Adams's resulting cross a foul on the keeper was awarded. Feeling left out of things, Alty keeper Coburn then did a Fabien Barthez, coming out of his area towards the touchline to clear only for his kick to cannon off a Blyth player.

Unlike the French keeper, Stuart recovered well and dribbled the ball away to safety. Shortly after this a Blyth player was fouled and Hulme entered the ref's book, the Alty midfielder's fifth yellow of the season (62 mins). After Furlong had lost possession, Sertori had to concede a corner, which came to the unmarked Graham Pepper. Like his number 3 counterpart, Adams, in the first half, the Blyth defender dithered and the chance had gone. Adams then sent Thornley forward and his pass set Furlong on a clear run at the keeper, inside the box. Furlong mishit his shot but it almost came to Hulme as it went across the face of goal, but Kevin could not turn it in from close range (64 mins). In fact, Furlong should really have finished the chance himself.

Little now replaced Keegan, Blyth's player of the month for September (65 mins). Then, after a magnificent run up the right by Murphy, who jinked past Graham Pepper and Forster, Williams replaced Radigan for the visitors (67 mins). Murphy soon got the better of Forster again, as he steamed up the right flank, and his cross was met by the outside of Thornley's boot as he entered the centre of the box under close guard by a defender. Thornley's shot went over the bar to end a fine move. With Mr Davies the only person in the ground not to hear the loud banging together of the substitution boards by Alty physio Gary Thompson, play continued with Lee Poland waiting to replace Stuart Locke. Before the change could be made, Hutton set up Stewart whose curling shot was brilliantly saved by Coburn, diving to his left to tip the ball away. Poland then came on (72 mins) alongside Thornley and Furlong, up front.

At this point it was difficult to believe that Blyth had lost only once on their travels this season but out of nothing Carl Pepper took aim from 30 yards and his well-hit shot struck Mark Sertori and the ball diverted past the hapless Stuart Coburn for a goal to Blyth (77 mins). Almost immediately, Alty advanced up the left via Craney and a resulting Murphy shot was cleared off the line before Graham Pepper shot over the bar at the other end as Blyth went in search of a hitherto unlikely point. Thornley had other ideas and fed Hulme who, in turn, got the ball to Murphy, who was causing problems on the left side of the Blyth defence. His cross was met by a firm header from Furlong which was straight at Gilmore (79 mins). As Blyth now pressed forward, Scott got his first booking of the season for a foul on Stewart, who had got past him on the Blyth left (81 mins). Little hit the free-kick from 30 yards over the bar. Murphy and Thornley then combined to give Furlong a diving header at goal but his accompanying defender must have got a touch as the ball went narrowly wide and a corner was awarded to Alty on their right (82 mins).

After a stoppage for treatment to Adams, Blyth won a corner off Maddox on their left but Coburn punched this clear. Murphy again got into the box, past Stewart, but his and Scott's follow-up were both blocked (85 mins). Murphy then needed treatment but as soon as play restarted he was firmly tackled by Graham Pepper who again escaped a red card. Dave Swannick now came on for Furlong (87 mins) as Murphy hobbled on, after treatment. Blyth continued to press for an equaliser but Altrincham held on reasonably comfortably to keep all three points.

Danny Murphy was a deserved Man of the Match, with Rod Thornley another likely candidate. But for a deflected goal, the defence would have recorded another clean sheet, and even without Steve Hawes, the midfield played well today. If the small Altrincham squad can stay clear of major injuries, they could cause serious concern to Burton Albion and Lancaster City, the only two sides ahead of them at present.