Match Report

This was Alty's first home league game for six weeks and only their second in thirteen and a half weeks. Indeed, such has been Alty's league inactivity that Colwyn Bay have played nine more league games than Altrincham to date. Alty won the reverse fixture 5-2 at Llanelian Road early in the season. After a week of gales and heavy rain, the pitch was in remarkably good condition though the corner by the pylon at the Golf Road End was very wet and the ball did not run smoothly there.

Before the game, Michael Le Vell of Coronation Street opened the new shelter for wheelchair-bound spectators, which had been constructed thanks to the fundraising efforts of Alty in Exile Co-ordinator, Jacqui Forster and the physical efforts of her husband, Russ.

There could have been more goals in the second half of this game after Altrincham had taken a 3-0 interval lead. As it happened, Alty missed a number of chances and an own goal by ex-Robin Stuart Scheuber was the only addition to the score (70 mins), whilst Stuart Coburn made a couple of fine saves to keep the Bay frustrated. Ian Craney had opened the scoring when a Furlong shot was blocked and fell for him just outside the penalty area (18 mins). Furlong added the second when he converted a Thornley cross (26 mins) and Thornley then scored from the spot after being upended after 38 minutes.

Danny Murphy was not in today's squad, his place in the starting line-up going to Carl Furlong who joined Rod Thornley up front. Into the squad came Barry Guildford who had sat on the bench at Runcorn recently but was yet to make his debut after his arrival from Marlow Town and football in Vietnam and Australia. Altrincham deployed Ryan in midfield and Scott at right back rather than vice versa, as had occurred at Marine last Tuesday. Two familiar faces were in the Bay line-up, Stuart Scheuber and Marc Limbert, who had both had spells at Moss Lane.

The match kicked off three minutes late as the match officials did not appear on the pitch till well after the players and after 3pm had passed. It immediately became clear that the pylon corner at the Golf Road end, which the Bay were defending, would be a problem as the ball came to a dead halt on the wet surface when played along the ground there. The game got off to a fairly slow start with Furlong conceding an early free-kick on the edge of the Bay penalty area when he took unfair advantage to get past Glen Graham (4 mins). Then Paul Taylor had to nip in smartly to guide the ball back to Coburn as Graham threatened to get into the Alty penalty area (5 mins).

Altrincham gradually got into their stride and the first clear chance of the game came when Thornley chased a ball to the by-line that the defence had given up, to the right of the visitors' goal. The ball stopped dead in the wet conditions and Thornley played it back for Hulme, who shot well over the target from a clear scoring opportunity some 15 yards out (8 mins). Gary Scott soon won a corner on the right. Ryan's corner-kick was won by Hulme and Furlong tried an extravagant scissor kick but failed to make contact (10 mins). Scott who was having a lively start, then nearly got on the end of a pass from the industrious Hawes before Maddox made a timely interception from Deiniol Graham at the other end. The next chance saw Thornley cut in from the left but shoot well wide (11 mins). Thornley then came to the touchline to use a towel to dry off his mud-caked face and sodden shorts!

It was Colwyn Bay who won the game's first corner, off Thornley, and taken from the right by Limbert (12 mins). Taylor headed this out for another corner, this time on the Bay's left but this was struck poorly behind the goal. Sertori, Furlong and Craney then combined before keeper Smith smothered the ball as Furlong advanced onto it in the box. However, Smith was soon picking the ball out of his net as a Furlong shot from just outside the box struck a defender and rebounded to Ian Craney, to Furlong's right. The young midfielder drove the ball low into the net from 20 yards (18 mins). The Bay responded by winning another corner but Hawes cleared Limbert's flag-kick. Play then stopped for Graham Roberts to receive lengthy treatment after coming off worse in a challenge with Furlong inside the Alty half. Maddox then did well to get the ball away as Deiniol Graham again looked lively for the Bay (21 mins). Next, Scott won an Alty corner on the right. Ryan's corner found its way to Craney on the left side of goal and his cross was met at the back post by Maddox's head. From the knock-down, Hulme almost turned the ball into the net but the referee stopped play, presumably for offside (25 mins). A ball into the box from the right soon saw the Bay keeper flap at it, as Furlong challenged, and it dropped to Thornley, to the left of goal, outside the box. Rod drove the ball low across goal to the back post where Carl Furlong knocked it home from close range to make it 2-0 (26 mins).

Altrincham were now well in control with Craig Lawton's very high shot being the Bay's best effort at this stage (30 mins). Then from a Scott cross from the right, Hulme headed the ball downwards but just wide of goal (35 mins). Steve Hawes was having a fine game in midfield and it was he who next set Furlong running at goal. Carl held off a challenge from Graham Roberts but pulled his shot just wide of the left post (36 mins). Soon, Thornley was advancing on goal inside the right side of the penalty area when he went down under a challenge from Hogg but immediately got up to recover the ball and shoot wide. However, the referee had seen enough to award a penalty against the Bay defender. Thornley, who had missed a penalty at Marine last Tuesday, put the ball into the right side of the net as the keeper dived the other way, to his right (38 mins). It was Thornley's tenth successful penalty conversion of the season. Although clearly the better side, Altrincham had gained a three-goal lead without really setting the world alight.

However, it might have got even worse for the Bay a minute later when Hulme got free only to be penalised for an alleged foul inside the Bay penalty area as Ian Craney chipped the ball expertly into the net from 25 yards after the whistle had gone. Altrincham were controlling the game now but after Taylor and Deiniol Graham collided in the Alty box, the Welshman needed treatment (43 mins). The Bay then won a corner off Scott, through Graham Roberts's endeavours on the left.

From the kick, by Lawton, Deiniol Graham got in a goalbound shot which was cleared by the upright by Craney (44 mins). The half ended after another treatment stoppage for Colwyn Bay, this time for Hogg's benefit. Apart from the game at Colwyn Bay in August, this was the only time Alty had scored three first-half goals in the league this season.

After the free-kick, Hawes, Hulme and Craney soon combined for the last named to shoot wide from 20 yards (57 mins). Another nice Alty move involving Taylor, Thornley, Ryan, Hawes, Furlong and Craney foundered when a Hulme back-heel did not come off. The Bay gained some respite when they won a free-kick 35 yards out and Limbert found the head of McIlvogue, but he headed comfortably wide of Coburn's goal (60 mins). A fine run by Hawes then took him past both Joneses to win a corner off the covering Glen Graham as he reached the by-line to the right of goal (61 mins)

This corner was cleared but Craney soon fed Scott to win another one, also on the Alty right off Evans. Again, nothing came from Ryan's flag-kick (63 mins). Then a Limbert free-kick from the right came to Graham Roberts who appeared to handle the ball as he shot at Coburn and, indeed, the referee awarded Alty a free-kick (66 mins). Hawes won another Alty corner, which led to yet another from which a Thornley shot was diverted for a third corner in quick succession. This was cleared before the irrepressible Hawes surged across the half-way line only to be tripped by Graham Roberts, who could not complain at being booked (68 mins). Furlong then fed Hawes whose shot was well beaten out by Smith before a superb cross ball from the Alty captain led to a low diving header from Thornley, arriving at the back post, which just missed the target (69 mins).

The Alty pressure finally told when an excellent diagonal pass from Furlong, forward for the advancing Thornley, to his left, was firmly diverted by the toe-end of Stuart Scheuber past his own keeper for an own goal from 15 yards or more (70 mins). It was not to be a happy return to Moss Lane for Stuart, who now operates at right-back. Kevin Hulme immediately gave way to Lee Poland.

Alty had a scare however, when Sertori lost the ball as he attempted to run out of defence and Limbert's resulting chip only just cleared the bar, though Coburn had it covered. Dave Swannick now replaced Carl Furlong (73 mins) and the newcomer slotted into midfield. Altrincham continued to dominate and when Rod Thornley surged past three defenders and headed to the right of the penalty area his reverse cross only just failed to find Poland at the back post (74 mins). Hawes again excelled as he dispossessed Evans to prompt another attack. Then Poland collected a pass well, swivelled and shot but his effort was blocked. Limbert was next awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Alty box for an alleged foul by Maddox, which did not seem to amount to much, but insult was added to injury when Maddox was booked, much to his annoyance (76 mins). Coburn was called to make a fine one-handed save from the resulting Bay free-kick before another fine pass from Hawes set Thornley in on goal. Though unmarked, Rod lifted his shot over the bar (77 mins).

Hawes and Ryan soon combined to give Poland a snap-shot at goal which he hooked just wide from the edge of the box (78 mins). Scheuber prompted a corner out of Sertori at the other end and soon afterwards they won a second corner before Paul Jones gave way to Owain Roberts (81 mins). After Scott and Poland had combined, Rod Thornley blasted another shot at goal which ricocheted back off the right upright as Alty created chance after chance but failed to convert any of them (82 mins). Barry Guildford now made his Alty debut, replacing Mark Sertori. This meant that Taylor moved alongside Maddox in central defence as Guildford played at right-back (82 mins). After the Bay got in a long shot, following a lapse by Scott, Craney won another Alty corner. However, Bay now began to enjoy some belated possession as the minutes ticked away. Nevertheless, Alty were still creating chances to the end as a magnificent ball from his own half by Craney led to Thornley toe-ending a shot wide (88 mins).

This was Alty's biggest winning margin in the league this season and was only the second time they had scored more than three goals- the only other occasion was also against Colwyn Bay in August! Defeats for Barrow, Lancaster and Accrington, combined with Burton's diversion in the Trophy, meant that Alty closed in on the league leaders to keep alive their hopes of a championship challenge. After the lacklustre first half at Marine, this was a much better performance over the full ninety minutes. As well as fine performances from Hawes and Craney in midfield, the team looks more balanced with two strikers and with Scott at the back and Ryan in midfield rather than the other way round. Steve Hawes had a particularly fine game and well deserved his Man of the Match award.