Match Report

After Saturday's disappointing defeat at North Ferriby, Altrincham were looking for an improved performance to gain them a place in the Cheshire Senior Cup Final for the third time in four years. The game kicked off eight minutes late due to a power failure at the Golf Road End which affected visibility at the turnstiles and led to queues. The floodlights were unaffected. Amongst the spectators were Manchester United's Gary Neville and Nicky Butt.

Altrincham had the better of the first half and Lee Poland scored the opening goal, following a well-taken free-kick by Taylor which was knocked on for Poland to finish off (26 mins). Rod Thornley got the second after 35 minutes from a feed by Poland. Macclesfield improved in the second half but Coburn made a magnificent save from Shuttleworth's 51st minute penalty and Altrincham went on to keep a clean sheet.

Kevin Hulme returned to the side with Danny Murphy making way for him. Otherwise the team was as at North Ferriby on Saturday, with Neil Ryan continuing in midfield. Carl Furlong was on the bench, his first appearance since being injured at Burton on 15 December. The Macclesfield side was far from their first team but did include a number of players with first-team experience including Karl Munroe, Danny Whitaker and Andy McAvoy.

However, the Macc Reserves' team are currently well clear in the Avon Insurance League so the opposition was still formidable. Macclesfield started with a 4-3-3 formation with Harries, Askey and McAvoy in forward positions, whilst Alty had Poland and Thornley up front and Hulme also in an advanced supporting position. Paul Taylor continued at left-back.

Altrincham kicked off towards Golf Road but their first threat on goal came from a risky header over his own cross bar by Shuttleworth from a Taylor free-kick curled in from just inside the Macc half on the Alty left (2 mins). The resulting corner immediately led to another, which came out to Steve Hawes but the Alty captain's shot went over the bar (5 mins). After some fine work by Craney, Lee Poland connected well with a volley from the left but the ball again cleared the bar (6 mins). With Altrincham on top, Thornley was the next to try his luck but his volley was blocked near its source. Thornley soon won another Altrincham corner on the right and once more the ball came to Hawes and, again, his shot cleared the bar (9 mins). Macclesfield's first effort came when Bamber fed Harries, whose deft flick let in Askey but his shot was straight at Coburn (11 mins). Alty were soon up the other end and after a flapped clearance from keeper Higgins, Hawes's shot was blocked. After this fairly lively start, play went through a scrappy few minutes.

However, Altrincham won another corner through Ryan, whose shot from 20 yards was deflected out of play. Without Murphy and the injured Gallagher, Altrincham had no orthodox wide player but Taylor saw a lot of the ball on the left. From one of his many throw-ins in the first half, Taylor got the ball to Thornley whose fine turn led to Hawes winning yet another corner, on the right. Macclesfield gave away numerous free-kicks in this game on or near the half way line and Hulme was the victim of one of these midway through the half. This came to nothing and Macclesfield broke away but only won a throw in the right corner of the pitch. Following this McAvoy did power a 30 yarder at Coburn but the keeper held it comfortably to his midriff (25 mins).

Mr Jones attempted to play on after a foul on Taylor but when the advantage did not break for the Robins he correctly gave a belated free-kick. The free-kick, from near touch on the Alty left, some 45 yards from goal, was superbly curled in by Taylor. Sertori nodded the ball on, further towards the back post, where another Alty player knocked the ball back across goal for Poland to slot into the net at the near post from very close range (26 mins). Lee has yet to score in the league but has now notched twelve cup goals this season. After scoring twice on Saturday in a pair of boots borrowed from team-mate Dave Swannick, Lee was again apparently wearing the defender's boots tonight!

Sertori gave away a free-kick some 25 yards from goal but as this was cleared, Hulme was tripped as he raced out of defence with the ball and into the centre circle (32 mins). After a looping shot by Ryan had been collected by Higgins, who was fouled in the process, Altrincham doubled their lead. Poland picked up the ball some 25 yards from goal, slightly right of centre. He threaded a pass forward to the on-rushing Thornley who advanced into the box, in the clear, before flicking the ball past the keeper for a well-taken goal (35 mins). After this, Alty continued to press and soon won a corner on their left. Hulme, who was on the receiving end of a number of harsh challenges, was flattened from behind by McAvoy as half time approached. After Taylor's free-kick had been cleared, Maddox played the ball forward again to Hawes, who passed to Thornley. Rod turned expertly and fired in a fierce volley just over the bar from 20 yards (43 mins).

Macclesfield started the second half with much more purpose than they had shown in the first forty-five minutes. They won a dubious corner when Brackenridge's 25 yard shot over the bar was deemed to have been deflected (47 mins). Altrincham were penned back and when Harries played in Whitaker, to the right of goal, they won a penalty when the Macc number four went down, stumbling, under a challenge from Scott. After treatment to Whitaker, Shuttleworth struck the penalty low and quite firmly to Coburn's left. However, the keeper made a magnificent save, low down by his left post to thwart Macclesfield (51 mins).

However, Macclesfield continued to press and a lunging tackle by Maddox just inside his own half earned him a yellow card (54 mins). From the resulting cross, Harries headed goalwards but Coburn saved the effort (55 mins). Munroe followed Maddox into the book, for needless dissent, after the referee had given his side a free-kick for a foul by Scott (58 mins). Scott then did well at the other end, receiving a good pass from Hawes and advancing up the right. His cross found Hulme at the back post but his header went across, rather than into the goal (60 mins). Hulme also got on the end of another Scott cross but, under pressure, headed over the bar (63 mins). Munroe was now replaced by Carr for Macclesfield (63 mins) and Whitaker took over the captain's role. He soon followed Munroe into the referee's book for flattening the much abused Hulme (65 mins).

After Macclesfield had had the better of the opening quarter of an hour of the second half, Alty were now reasserting themselves and they made a change of formation after 66 minutes when Maddox was replaced by Swannick. Swannick slotted in at right back with Scott shifting to the left-back berth , allowing Taylor to move into his accustomed central position. A wild body check, near half-way, on Thornley by Welch deservedly earned the Macc man a booking but Thornley needed extended treatment to his leg and was only able to hobble on afterwards (68 mins). Thornley was clearly unfit to continue and a few minutes later Murphy replaced him (72 mins).

Soon afterwards, Carl Furlong made his first appearance since being injured in mid-December when he replaced Lee Poland (76 mins). Immediately after this a well struck free-kick by Swannick found Hulme but the ball ended up with Higgins. Swannick was also soon in action at the back, clearing the ball after a surge forward by Whitaker. Stuart Coburn caused Alty fans' hearts to miss a beat when, first, he beat a Macclesfield man with an excellent dribble inside his own area but then he tried to repeat the act and lost the ball to Whitaker. Fortunately, Whitaker's resulting lob cleared the bar (78 mins).

Furlong was then played in well by Craney but the ball seemed to get under Carl's feet and he shot well wide and high (80 mins). Macclesfield continued to press with Whitaker particularly prominent but from an Alty throw by Swannick, from the right, Ryan's 30-yard lob only narrowly cleared Higgins's cross bar (83 mins). After being dubiously penalised for a foul, Furlong got himself cautioned needlessly for protesting (85 mins) before he got in a shot across goal as he entered the box from another perceptive pass from Ian Craney (87 mins). At the other end, a mighty boot from Mark Sertori cleared an attack and the ball ended up in the front garden of a house on Golf Road. From the resulting corner, Welch headed it firmly, but wide of goal (88 mins) and with that effort, Macclesfield's resistance ended.

Compared with last Saturday, this was a much more solid defensive display from Altrincham tonight and up front Lee Poland turned in another lively performance, alongside the energetic Thornley. The return of Kevin Hulme also made a marked difference though both he and Thornley received some harsh treatment from the visitors' defence and midfield. Paul Taylor is emerging as a good taker of free-kicks even if, at left-back, he is not playing in his best position. Sertori and Maddox gave Macclesfield few openings and Coburn's penalty save was magnificent. Alty's opponents in the Cheshire Senior Cup Final will be either Stalybridge Celtic or Crewe Alexandra, who meet in the other semi-final at the Bower Fold on 22nd January.