Match Report

The sides were meeting for the second time at the Crown Ground this season and the third time this campaign in all. After a 0-0 draw at the Crown Ground in the League, Alty had won at Moss Lane 3-1 and that had been Stanley's last defeat before their current run of seven undefeated games had started.

A draw was the last sort of result that Altrincham wanted in advance of their FA Cup tie with Darlington next Saturday. For 50 minutes it looked as if the Robins would have a free midweek and go through to the next round of the Trophy as they held on to a 1-0 lead gained by a well-worked move, finished off by Ian Craney's low shot (21 mins). However, Accrington dominated an increasingly tetchy second half and, but for some lack of composure in front of goal, should have equalised earlier than they did, in the 71st minute. In fact, it took an own-goal by Mark Maddox to give Stanley their goal, as he stretched out his foot to try to cut out a left-wing cross. It could have been different if two Alty chances either side of the interval had been taken by Craney and Hulme respectively but there can be no complaints from Altrincham about the final score.

Jason Gallagher was missing after reportedly having an operation on his groin, though the Alty midfielder was actually present in the crowd today. The only other surprise in the squad was the omission of a goalkeeper from the five Alty substitutes, even though reserve keeper Kurt Edginton was at the match. Not surprisingly, hat-trick hero Lee Poland was retained in the side, as partner to Rod Thornley, after his exploits at Lancaster on Tuesday.

A disappointingly low crowd of 592 gathered for this Trophy match, more than 300 fewer than had watched the League game between these sides earlier this season on what had been a foul, wet day. Today's game was played in dry conditions but the heavy overnight rain made the touchlines, especially on the stand side, very muddy indeed as Kevin Hulme immediately found out. The Alty midfielder came to the Alty right touchline to shepherd the ball out and found his feet stuck in a morass and he ended up covered in mud which he had to shake off before resuming play. Hulme was also soon penalised for a foot-up offence when going for a 50-50 ball but Shirley took a poor free-kick from just outside the box, directing the ball to Coburn in the Alty goal (5 mins). However, it was a Stanley man, the captain Peter Cavanagh, who was the first player booked in this game following a tackle by Adams which had seemed a little late. Cavanagh and Carden got involved with Hulme in the aftermath of the tackle but the referee obviously took the view that Adams's original challenge had been legal (9 mins).

A far worse challenge was that by Smith on Thornley which nearly cut the Alty striker in half and left him needing very lengthy treatment for what was, at least, a very severe winding (11 mins). The resulting short free-kick came to Poland whose fine, low shot was just wide of Speare's left-hand post (12 mins). Referee Astley, who had run the line on Tuesday in the Alty match at Lancaster, broke up the next attack for Alty when he collided with Lutel James, but Sertori and Maddox were dealing comfortably with everything else that came their way. Although Stanley were playing some neat passing moves, their final ball was poor. After a trip on Thornley by Smith had gone unpunished, the first corner of the match, to Accrington, came after 15 minutes when Scott got in a fine tackle inside the box as James threatened the goal following a pass by Mullin.

Both Hollis and Smith were robust in their treatment of Thornley as the game developed an entertaining end to end pattern at this stage. A ball from Craney, via Hawes's fine pass, found Hulme on the Altrincham right near the by-line. Hulme attempted to come inside and got the free-kick for obstruction that he was looking for. Poland took the free-kick, left-footed, from the Alty right, and Murphy did well to win the ball at the back post. He knocked it back to Craney who drilled it home with his left foot, low into the net through a crowded goalmouth for the opening goal of this match and his fifth of the season (21 mins). Thornley, Craney and Poland soon combined again up the right but this time the threat was cleared. But Hollis and James responded by setting up a cross by Hart, which Coburn punched out. The visitors reply to this was a fine cross from Scott which the Stanley defence hacked clear. Hulme then fed Thornley whose nice lay off set up Craney who, this time, lifted his left-foot shot over the bar from the edge of the box (27 mins). Hawes was then involved in an argument with the referee before he won a foul for a tackle on him by Hollis. Following this, the ball came to Thornley on the wide left. His fine cross was met by Murphy, who rose very well at the back post but headed narrowly over the bar (31 mins). At this point Stanley manager John Coleman was berating the referee for some reason, from the touchline.

With Altrincham looking the better side now, Mark Sertori underlined his no-nonsense approach with a thunderous clearance by the Alty right touchline which nearly decapitated a lady in the directors' box and left a thick muddy impression on the door to the lounge (32 mins). Stanley continued to waste their attacks with woeful final balls but Altrincham were giving as good as they got and Cavanagh had to make a fine tackle to stop Thornley's advance (36 mins). After a free-kick for a foul on Sertori by James had come to nothing, Stanley's Payne, whose pacy runs had looked promising, won a free-kick for his side near the half way line. From this the ball came via Payne and Mullin to Flitcroft, whose firm shot from the right side of the box was well saved at close range by Coburn. The rebound came to Smith who made an awful hash of his attempt, slicing the ball well wide of the target from near the edge of the box. This had been Stanley's most serious threat to date (38 mins). Alty's Gary Scott was having a fine game at right-back and his harrying prompted some attacking movement up the Alty right flank, which Stanley saw off. However, Stanley were soon threatening at the other end and a very neat move between James and Shirley saw the latter lay the ball off to Mullin whose curling shot from the left of the box was well directed but not powerful enough to cause much difficulty to Coburn in catching it by his own left hand post (40 mins). A foul on Thornley gave Poland a free-kick in a similar position to that from the Alty goal had come, to the right of goal. Again Murphy won the ball but this time it went out for a goal-kick. Alty were pressing well now but it took an alert tackle from Maddox to stop a counter attack and start Murphy off on an impressive, fast advance from the left which took him a good thirty yards forward before he fed Kevin Hulme. Hulme advanced into the box and his good left-footed shot had to be smothered well by Speare at the foot of his left-hand post. As Stanley counter-attacked through Shirley and Mullin, Sertori showed all his experience in refusing to buy a dummy by James and cleared the ball from inside his own penalty area. Play again swept to the other end and from a move involving Craney, Poland, Scott and Hulme, the ball came to Adams on the left and his cross was well won by a header from Poland but the effort dropped comfortably for Speare in the Accrington goal (44 mins). Altrincham then missed a great chance to sew up the match as they finished the half strongly. An excellent lay-off by the advancing Murphy set up Craney but his right foot shot from the fringes of the box went wide of the target when he should at least have forced a save. Shortly after this the half ended with Altrincham looking reasonably comfortable with their lead though Accrington had created some good chances which they had failed to take.

Altrincham had an early chance to make up for the miss by Craney when a poor ball out of the home defence came to Thornley. He passed to Hulme who shot narrowly wide (47 mins). However, the lively Payne soon fed James and he blasted a shot at Coburn which the Altrincham keeper saved superbly from close range but the whistle had already gone for off-side (49 mins). Stanley now put together some nice passing movements but Poland soon got away up the left only to waste the opening with a poor cross (50 mins). Murphy then got in a shot at Speare which the keeper saved easily but Murphy was caught by a tackle as he shot and needed treatment. Stanley continued to waste their openings with Carden the culprit when fed by Mullin, allowing Coburn an easy save from his mis-hit effort (56 mins).

A free-kick by Cavanagh forced a punch clear by Coburn (59 mins) before Carden's shot hit Adams, as Stanley now applied some sustained pressure at the hour mark. Adams and Maddox distinguished themselves in breaking up attacks. Following a Stanley corner, on their left, Coburn flicked a high ball from the Stanley left behind him with his hand and as the keeper regained his feet and turned to where he had knocked the ball he instantly received the ball back into his midriff from Smith's close-range volley at the back post (63 mins). After an Alty free-kick for a foul on Adams had led to nothing, a needless free-kick was conceded by Sertori's push. From the resulting high ball into the box, Coburn again back-flicked the ball this time into the Accrington left corner. There was then an off the ball incident involving Coburn and Smith near the goal-line, which resulted in both players being booked (66 mins). Things then got a bit silly as Poland went down off the ball. Accrington clearly felt he was shamming, but soon Thornley was knocked over off the ball as the game threatened to decline into tetchiness.

A poor back-pass by Smith forced Speare into a hurried, volleyed clearance but fortunately for him it ran to safety. However, Accrington continued to apply sustained pressure to the Altrincham defence and following a foul by Hawes, the home side advanced up the left, through Shirley and Hart. The ball came in low from the left and Maddox, retreating towards his own goal at the near post, steered the ball into his own net with his outstretched foot (71 mins). Soon afterwards, Flitcroft fed James, who got past Maddox on the right to win a corner as Altrincham remained penned in their own half. Alty now replaced Murphy by Hargreaves (73 mins) who initially slotted into midfield before moving forward as Poland dropped deeper. Coburn next smothered a corner, only to be caught by the foot of Carden, and the keeper then needed treatment. The game teetered on the edge of petulance and Poland's silly foul on Smith did not help things.

Altrincham's main attacking stratagem at this stage was the long ball forward vaguely aimed at Thornley. However, as the final ten minutes started Altrincham belatedly began to get out of their own half after a substantial period of defending in which the Stanley keeper had been little more than a spectator. However, Accrington's wastefulness in front of goal continued to the end. Mullin did well to turn both Adams and Maddox, inside the box, before ending his move with a quite awful shot which was half-hit and too high to trouble Coburn (83 mins). Although Altrincham pressed forward in these closing stages it was Hart's low cross-shot which went narrowly wide, two minutes from the end, which was the nearest to a goal.

So the game ended with the scores level but with Accrington feeling the more disappointed at not finishing off the job. They had only themselves to blame for some very wasteful finishing and poor final passes. However, this was also a result which Altrincham would have wished to avoid with their biggest FA Cup match for seven years coming up next Saturday. Altrincham posed little danger to the Stanley goal in the second period as Thornley was kept under tight rein and he and Poland got little change from the Stanley defence. At the back, Sertori was as efficient as ever and until his own goal, Maddox had also done well. Gary Scott was also in good form especially in the first half. After a fine first half from Craney, the young midfielder was a bit quieter in the second period, as was the Alty midfield as a whole. The tie now moves on to Moss Lane and a replay on Tuesday night.