Match Report

SUMMARY

Altrincham were all at sea defensively and in midfield in the opening ten minutes, fell two goals behind and at that stage looked set for a heavy defeat. However, Adam Farley prompted a revival with a good ball to Quayle who set up Ellison for an excellently-taken right-foot goal on 14 minutes to reduce the arrears. Altrincham then took the initiative and had the better of the rest of the half, but shortly before half-time lost the lively Mark Quayle to a head injury after the home goalkeeper collided with him when pursuing a ball in the air. Altrincham started strongly in the second period but Accrington increasingly came back with dangerous counter-attacks which produced several fine saves from Coburn and a shot from Carragher which hit the post.

Altrincham pressed hard again in the latter stages having acquired a better shape when Crowe took over at right-back, freeing Jason Gallagher to have a good second half in midfield after a less than comfortable first half at right-back. Stuart Quinn's surging runs down the right wing were a feature of the second half. Ellison battled hard up front and Landon produced a couple of useful efforts but, without the mobility of Quayle, they lacked the guile to create enough clear-cut chances. Stanley held on to their lead, when a draw would not have been an unfair result. The match was watched by a magnificent crowd of 1,006, many of them from Altrincham.

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MATCH REPORT

Altrincham were reduced to long-ball clearances and the midfield creaked as both Hawes and Scheuber lost possession. After Watson beat Talbot his cross was cleared then Quayle, chasing a ball back to the home keeper was only just beaten to it by Speare (13 mins). Moments later, Adam Farley came forward and played a fine ball from the midfield into Quayle who neatly played it short to Ellison. Kevin surged into the box, held off a challenge and finished well with a firm, right-foot, rising shot inside Speare's left-hand post to make it 1-2 (14 mins).

Having got back into the game with Ellison's goal, Altrincham then settled down to play some good football. Young Adam Farley, though a right-footer playing at left-back, prompted several promising moves down the left-hand side. On the right, Stuart Quinn was seeing little of the ball but he won a corner (17 mins), though this unfortunately produced nothing.

At the other end, Watson had a hopeful punt from 30 yards which went straight at Coburn. Soon after, Ceraolo played a fine ball across to Shirley but Gary Talbot headed his cross clear. Stanley defender, Paul Burns fouled Farley as the Altrincham man got past him but Ellison was adjudged offside at the resulting free-kick. (18 mins). Accrington's free-kick for this offence evaded Talbot but Coburn gathered the ball comfortably. Altrincham's improvement continued as Hawes fed Quayle, who beat a defender well but Speare got to the loose ball just ahead of the Altrincham man.

A poor header by Burns produced a good move involving Hawes, Goodwin and Quinn, before the number seven was penalised over by the corner flag, when he appeared to be being held himself. Scheuber, who early on in the game had wanted too much time on the ball and had tended to turn into trouble, played a good ball to Ellison and his fine, low cross found Quayle who turned well but fell over at the crucial moment with only the keeper to beat from close range (22 mins). Accrington then gained two corners in quick succession before Maddock got under his header and put the ball well over the bar (29 mins).

Shirley and Carragher, who had a fine game, combined to win a corner but Coburn cut out the resultant cross-ball. Gary Talbot then moved upfield and his artful back-header went narrowly over the bar (32 mins) as chances arose at both ends. A long throw from Coburn put Farley under pressure and led to a Carragher free-kick on the right which came to nothing before Quinn switched wings and was immediately penalised as he went past a defender (35 mins).

After Carragher had broken down the right wing for Accrington, Ellison did the same for Altrincham but as he cut in from the right he scuffed his left-foot shot wide (37 mins). A misplaced defensive header by Talbot set up Carragher and Watson but the latter's low cross was gymnastically cleared by Eddie Turkington at full stretch. Mark Quayle then rose to meet a long ball forward from the Altrincham midfield but as he did so the keeper, Speare, collided with him. After a short period of treatment, Quayle left the pitch clutching an ice-pack to his head and, surprisingly given the proximity of half-time, was instantly substituted by Dickie Landon (40 mins). Immediately after the restart, Kevin Ellison chased a 50/50 ball and got to it just before the keeper could gather at the edge of his box. Unfortunately, the ball was cleared. Farley promptly gave the ball away to Watson as the Altrincham defence re-enacted the shambles of the opening minutes but this time the ball was cleared (43 mins). Shaun Goodwin then made a rare appearance in the opposition penalty area but his interplay with Hawes and Quinn ended fruitlessly. As the referee played an inordinate five minutes of injury time, Accrington replaced Burns with the Turkish midfielder, Servet Tasdemir. The dangerous Carragher again got free on the right but, at the second attempt, the lines were cleared by the Altrincham defence. After their disastrous opening, Altrincham had settled down and looked a reasonable bet to retrieve at least one point in the second half.

Seven minutes into the half, Speare flapped twice at a high ball and then went down in a heap after what appeared to be a collision with his own player- a lengthy stoppage ensued before the keeper recovered to take a free-kick or goal-kick; it was difficult to tell which. As play swept to the other end, the linesman stayed near Speare's goal with flag aloft. Eventually play stopped and the referee went to consult his assistant. However, he ignored whatever he was told and play resumed where it had been left off, 60 yards away.

Next, Kevin Ellison threatened the Accrington goal and appeared to be hauled over on the edge of the box, but the nearby referee allowed play to continue (54 mins). Stuart Quinn then set off on one of several impressive sprints down the right-side; this time he beat three men but eventually the ball was lost by Farley, whose impressive forward movement in the first half was not fully matched by his defensive qualities in the second half. As Altrincham piled on the pressure, first Landon won a corner and then Ellison fell under pressure but the referee awarded the offence against the Altrincham man (56 mins). Accrington regrouped as Mullin came on to replace Ceraolo (57mins) before Altrincham won two corners in quick succession. The second, on the left by Quinn, was played to Hawes outside the box, but the midfielder's first touch was not good and his shot was poor (60 mins).

A lapse by Crowe allowed Watson a weak, curling shot at Coburn, but generally Crowe settled in well at full-back and Jason Gallagher's game improved in his midfield role after the interval. Play was now end to end and after another speedy break by Quinn, Hawes lost the ball and Coburn had to save well at point-blank range from Watson. The half-cleared ball fell to an Accrington player 25 yards out who was fouled by Scheuber who received a booking (64 mins). Karl Bell's well-taken free-kick, from some 25 yards out in a right-central position, produced a magnificent save from Coburn, diving to his right at full length. The tit-for-tat play continued as the hard-working Ellison then broke away and forced a corner for Altrincham (66 mins). A stupendous 30 yard run by Barry Crowe ended with a testing cross-cum-shot from the right which the Stanley keeper, Speare, did well to tip over the bar.

Accrington responded with a flowing move involving Watson and Carragher which culminated in a moderate shot from Carragher striking Stuart Coburn's right-hand post as he remained uncharacteristically static on his line, as if he was expecting the ball to go wide (68 mins). Stuart did far better moments later when he dived to save a cross-shot from Watson as the crowd got full value for their admission fees. Stuart's namesake, Scheuber, was then crudely tackled by Carragher but the home player escaped a booking, but when Quinn lunged late at Karl Bell in the Altrincham half, near the right touchline, he was booked (73 mins) to continue Altrincham's worrying sequence of bookings in the opening matches of the season.

After Coburn had been beaten in the air from a high ball played into his penalty area, the keeper was pleased to see the ball headed over his crossbar. At this stage, the home side were back in the ascendant and Coburn was soon in action again with a routine save from a Mullin header. However, Jason Gallagher relieved the pressure for a moment with a storming 40 yard run, but the move broke down with Richard Landon. Altrincham nearly got the equaliser they sought following a corner (79 mins) when Accrington twice in succession frantically cleared the ball off their own goal-line only for the half-clearances to end with a rasping shot - possibly by Landon- which struck the cross bar (80 mins). Curiously play stopped for a home free-kick but it was an Accrington player who received a lecture and a booking from the referee before the kick could be taken.

Play yet again switched to the other end and Coburn had to rush to the edge of his box to head clear before Ellison made an impressive slanting run in from the left which sadly ended in a shot yards over the bar (82 mins). Coburn then cut out a low cross before an Altrincham corner eventually came to Landon whose fierce strike from 18 yards was parried out for a corner (87 mins). Time remained for Scheuber to play in Adam Farley but the full-back's shot was blocked and then Speare dropped, then recovered a cross-ball at the cost of a corner, which was half-cleared for an unproductive second corner. As the final whistle blew, Altrincham could rue their sleepy start to the match and look forward to encounters on Saturday at Whitby (who have maximum points so far) and on Monday against Lancaster City (who knocked in five goals last night).

It is to be hoped that Quayle is not too seriously injured to figure in the bank holiday games, and that Carl Furlong, Mark Ward and Leroy Chambers are also available for selection. Danny Adams is supposedly playing in tonight's reserve game at Moss Lane against Leek Town. If his rift with Mark Ward can be healed, that would be a further bonus.

Adam Farley played well going forward especially in the first half whilst on the other flank, Jason Gallagher did not look altogether comfortable at right-back but was much improved when he moved forward to a midfield role in the second half. Stuart Quinn played well last night, as did Kevin Ellison, and Stuart Coburn made some magnificent saves. In midfield, Steve Hawes was understandably rusty in his first game of the season and Shaun Goodwin is apparently still carrying an injury. Barry Crowe did well when he came on and Talbot and Turkington settled down after a traumatic opening period in the central defence. Stuart Scheuber showed a few good touches but he seemed to want extra time on the ball on some occasions.

However, it is the strike-force which will be a major concern if Richard Landon alone remains fit from the forwards in the first team squad. Dickie, as ever, produced a number of well-hit shots but his lack of pace left Kevin Ellison as, effectively, the lone raider on many occasions. The pace of Quayle, Furlong or Chambers would be sorely missed if none of them were to be fit for the weekend. On this from it was easy to see why Accrington did so well last year and why they should also be at the right end of the table this season.