Match Report

This match beat the petrol-supply problems affecting the North-West and a creditably sized crowd turned out on a dull evening to watch a game which was entertaining throughout. Altrincham ultimately ran out comfortable winners but Colwyn Bay gave them a run for their money in the first half. Although both Crowe and Ellison struck Colwyn Bay uprights in an entertaining first forty-five minutes, the Bay also went close and a goalless score at the break was a suprising outcome.

Altrincham came out fired-up for the second half and had five more men booked before the end. They achieved the breakthrough after 67 minutes and never looked back, scoring twice further in the last ten minutes despite Colwyn Bay's efforts at the other end. The Bay can consider themselves unlucky to have lost so heavily in the end. For Altrincham, Furlong added some muscle up-front and Ellison again threatened down the left-hand side in particular. Garrity's debut was relatively quiet but Hawes and Crowe performed well. Gallagher had one or two unsettling moments at the back but also made some timely interceptions. The left-foot of Cross was one of the visitors' most dangerous weapons and his free-kicks caused Altrincham problems on a number of occasions. Although the referee booked six Altrincham players, to be fair, his decisions were generally justified.

Once again the full-back pairing was changed with Gallagher reverting to right-back and Crowe at left-back. Richard Landon was relegated to the bench, allowing Carl Furlong to make his first competitive start for the Club. Phil Power was omitted, presumably injured, and new signing, Michael Garrity came into the midfield to which Stu Scheuber was restored. Ian Craney and Adam Farley joined Landon on the bench. Colwyn Bay fielded Hill in goal for Richie Roberts and former Altrincham player, Marc Limbert on the right, with Craig Lawton named as captain.

Leroy Chambers appears to be on the way to recovery as he took part in the pre-match warm up but he did not participate in the subsequent game. Likewise, transfer listed and injured Shaun Goodwin looked on from the stand, whilst Mark Quayle, in a smart suit, presented the sponsors' awards before the kick-off. Other squad players in attendance included Steve Porter, also turned out in bespoke tailoring, and the recovering Eddie Turkington. Sadly, Stuart Quinn seems to have absented himself from the Club on a long-term basis.

Colwyn Bay kicked off, defending the Golf Road end, and within the first sixty seconds ex-Alty man, Marc Limbert had broken down the right wing and his accurate cross was met by Alun Evans. However, the big striker could only find Stuart Coburn when he should have done better. Things did not improve for Altrincham immediately as Stuart Scheuber twice lost possession before a foul on Carl Furlong gave Altrincham an eventual breather (2 mins). It was Kevin Ellison who soon made his side's first foray, up the left wing, but he was blocked off by Norman some forty yards out.

Next, Jason Gallagher came for a through ball but it bounced over his head leaving him the wrong side of Colwyn Bay's Evans and the Alty full-back tripped the striker as he headed for goal (3 mins). Fortunately, the resulting freekick came to nothing and play soon switched to the Golf Road end where Furlong was caught narrowly offside as he pursued a through ball (4 mins). Debutant Michael Garrity gained the first corner for Altrincham but as the ball came in from the right the referee stopped play for offside or some other offence that he had spotted (5 mins). The Bay replied with a corner of their own on Altrincham's right but Garrity headed clear Limbert's flag-kick to initiate a marvellous Altrincham passing movement involving Scheuber, Crowe and Ellison, which ended with a Hawes cross and a corner on the left.

The keeper, Hill, punched clear Hawes's corner-kick before Altrincham put together another flowing passing movement prompted by Ward but encompassing also Furlong, Hawes and Ellison. Ellison's hard, low cross could only be half-controlled by Furlong and the ball fell to Hill. Ward again instigated a good move when his freekick from inside his own half led to a blocked shot from Scheuber and from the rebound Furlong produced a well-executed overhead kick which flashed wide of Hill's right-hand post (9 mins). In reply, Limbert's pass to Norman was clipped forward to Craig Lawton but the Bay move ended with a goalkick for Coburn.

With the game become increasingly entertaining, Crowe then attempted to kick-start two eventually abortive movements in quick succession down the left. Then, after Hawes had expertly chested down Mark Ward's pass onto Carl Furlong, the bustling Altrincham striker was fouled some 25 yards from goal. Unfortunately Hawes's freekick went straight into the defensive wall (11 mins). In the home defence, Gary Talbot and Barry Crowe combined well to dispossess Deiniol Graham after Owain Roberts had put him into a potentially dangerous position in the Altrincham box. This pattern of end to end play continued as, first, Gallagher caused the visitors problems with a cross into their penalty area and then Scheuber snuffed out a Colwyn Bay attack. Garrity, a former W.B.A. youth player, was getting involved in the game now and he will hopefully develop into a useful acquisition.

As the quarter of an hour mark approached, Hawes slotted a fine ball through to Furlong who was running through the centre but the striker was obliged to check back because the ball appeared to catch him before he got it under control. After a foul on Hawes, Mark Ward took a freekick some 45 yards out; a throw was the outcome, some twenty five yards nearer to goal, but the Alty player-manager unfortunately lost possession after Garrity had passed Crowe's throw-in to him. Shortly after this Stuart Scheuber played the ball on to Ellison, who did well to beat his defender on the left before cutting in towards goal. Kevin dragged his well-hit, low shot from the edge of the box just wide of Hill's left-hand post (16 mins).

Danger then arose at Coburn's end when Deiniol Graham measured a shot from twenty yards but it went narrowly over the bar when he really had the time to have made Coburn work for his money. Limbert was booked after 18 minutes when he caught Mark Ward after the ball had gone but when the action resumed each side produced a dangerous cross into their opponent's box. Firstly, Ellison's excellent ball was dropped by Hill but the referee somewhat dubiously awarded the keeper a freekick, presumably judging that the keeper had been impeded. Secondly, Limbert unleashed a fine ball from the right to Deiniol Graham which the striker hooked cleverly towards Coburn's goal, but narrowly over the crossbar (20 mins).

Cross's thirty-yarder a minute later was well wide of the Altrincham goal before Garrity marked his debut by becoming the first Altrincham man to be booked, for a foul tackle (22 mins). This was almost costly, as Cross's finely flighted freekick from the right gave the unmarked Evans an easy headed chance which he fluffed badly. As he took his head out of his hands the striker will have been relieved to see that the referee had blown for an offence anyway, so any goal would not have stood (23 mins).

The Altrincham defence looked a bit jittery a moment later as well when Talbot underhit a back-pass to Coburn and the goalkeeper had to rush out to clear skilfully with his feet from an on-rushing Colwyn Bay man. Play continued to flow from one end to the other but a Furlong lay-off of a ball from Hawes proved just too short for Ellison to capitalise on it. Garrity's ball to Ellison was more successful but the latter's cross was deflected off a defender to Hill (27 mins). After a short stoppage to treat Norman, whom Scheuber had caught, Ellison was firmly shoulder-charged into the advertising hoardings at the Golf Road End as the half-hour mark approached. Barry Crowe was prominent going forward but his side's forward movement was halted when Furlong was judged offside (31 mins).

Although Altrincham were now gaining the upper-hand, full advantage of their dominance was still not being taken as possession was being given away too often. Colwyn were still a threat, however, and the perceptive Limbert, spotting Coburn off his line from his vantage point forty yards out on the right wing, fired a powerful lob at the keeper which had Stuart anxiously backpedalling until he was satisfied that the effort was just going to clear the crossbar (32 mins). After Furlong had been fouled, forty yards from goal, Gary Talbot got on the end of Ward's freekick but the ball ran on safely to Hill. Bay replied by winning a freekick after Gallagher had lunged at one of their players just inside the Altrincham half and this offence was quickly followed by a foul on Evans by Hawes, some thirty yards in front of Coburn's goal.

At the second attempt Altrincham eventually cleared their lines though they had to traverse the field with the ball in their possession as Colwyn Bay closed them down quickly and stopped any forward movement. Kevin Ellison, on Mark Ward's instructions, tried his luck on the right wing and this nearly paid early dividends when Maddox's good ball to Ward led to Kevin racing in on Hill but the keeper diverted Ellison's right-foot shot for a corner on the Altrincham left (37 mins). After Hawes's corner had been half-cleared, Hawes played in Crowe who was advancing down the left and the full-back's shot was palmed off the post, low to his right, by Hill for a corner (38 mins). Crowe was again on target a minute later but his shot was cleared.

Despite Altrincham's improving play, Colwyn Bay were far from finished and a flowing interchange between Deiniol Graham and Norman, following a throw on the visitors' right wing, led to Graham colliding with Gary Talbot. The normally equable Talbot responded angrily to what may have been a dig from Graham's elbow and stood over the Welshman menacingly as the Bay striker got up from the ground. The referee lectured Talbot but no one was booked (39 mins). Furlong was on the end of a number of foul tackles up-front. From one such incident, which for once was perhaps a harsh decision on a 50/50 tussle with a defender, Hawes's freekick forced the keeper to a punched clearance to Ward but possession was quickly lost.

As a result, Jason Gallagher had to chase back a punt upfield and his back-header to Coburn was weak enough to cause the keeper some anxiety as he just got to the loose ball before an attacker. Once more, the pendulum swung and Furlong raced away at the other end. Though fouled, Furlong got the ball to Ellison and with the referee allowing play to continue, Kevin shot firmly but against the upright from inside the box. The ball rebounded to the keeper but in attempting to get at it, Furlong did himself an injury which required treatment as he lay near the goal-line (41 mins). There was time before the break for Deiniol Graham and Talbot to tussle again in the home box before Garrity was pulled up for a foul on Cross (42 mins), twenty-five yards from the Altrincham goal. Cross's subsequent curling free-kick went well wide of Coburn's right upright.

Dave Norman's full-blooded clearance on the right caught Kevin Ellison full in the face as he attempted to block the defender but the Altrincham man took the blow in his stride. After Furlong had again been caught offside (44 mins) Colwyn Bay's Limbert played a fine ball to Evans before Graham won a corner off Jason Gallagher. Coburn dealt easily with the flag-kick as the referee blew his whistle to end an entertaining first half in which Altrincham had enjoyed more of the possession but had been unable to land a telling blow. Colwyn Bay had done more than enough to suggest that their steady goalscoring this season had not been a fluke and that they would pose a serious threat also in the second half.

Altrincham's right-back made some amends when he headed away a testing cross for a corner which was itself overhit for a goalkick to Altrincham. It was then the turn of Colwyn Bay to offend, Furlong being caught by Price as he attempted to turn (51 mins). The referee's patience ran out when, after a Ward-Garrity-Hawes move, the last-named lost possession and committed a foul in attempting to get the ball back. Mr Redhead added Hawes's name to his book (51 mins). Evans was lucky to escape a booking when he directed Gallagher into the advertisement hoardings, in much the same way as Ellison had been treated in the first half. Gallagher half-reacted but Maddox intervened to prevent things developing for the worse. At this point, Garrity gave way to Dickie Landon (52 mins) who immediately lost possession; the substitute was more than to make amends later on, however. Hill, who had looked less than certain in his handling all night, fielded a long shot from Scheuber at the second attempt and the ex-Stoke man was closing in on Hill a minute later, after Hawes had slotted the ball through the defence, only for a foul on Hill to be awarded against the Altrincham midfielder (54 mins).

As the home side exerted greater dominance over their visitors, centre-back Maddox played a superb fifty-yard ball to the advancing Gallagher but the full-back's cross was cleared easily. Ellison almost emulated Maddox when, having come deep to stifle a Colwyn Bay movement, he played a fine ball to Landon on the left but the latter's cross was deflected to safety (57 mins). Mark Ward had a game in which excellent passes were interspersed with occasional lapses, as when he dwelt too long on the ball and was dispossessed (57 mins) but attention immediately switched to an off-the-ball confrontation between Gallagher and the troublesome Evans, back in the Altrincham defensive area. Both players were booked (58 mins) and the referee restarted play with a bounce-up on the left wing. Almost immediately afterwards Evans risked a sending off by stupidly putting his foot up at Gallagher on the touchline but he escaped unpunished.

Colwyn's threats were now less frequent than they had been in the first half and when Graham did make a run at the home defence he was offside (59 mins). Action was soon transferred back to the Hale End as Hawes took a corner on the Altrincham left. Furlong rose and like an Australian Rules footballer appeared to attempt to catch the ball under the bar with both hands; not surprisingly Mr Redhead booked him for this unnecessary act as the hour-mark arrived. Not daunted, Furlong ran at the defence again but was offside before the Bay themselves caused some consternation with a right-wing attack which Gallagher and then Hawes tidied up before Hawes was fouled in the centre-circle (62 mins). The freekick was too long for Talbot to reach at the by-line. Scheuber then became the fifth Alty name in the referee's book when he clattered Glen Graham (63 mins); Mark Ward must be concerned at his side's lack of discipline. None of the bookable offences were particularly serious but the day of reckoning will come when the booking points are converted into bans. Thankfully, after four home bookings inside twelve minutes, Altrincham's hunger for a goal was chanelled into a more productive direction with a goal from Furlong. The scoring move started when Mark Ward showed his experience by jumping over an incoming lunge to win a throw just inside his own half, on the right.

He himself took the throw to Hawes who fed Ellison, to the left. Kevin got in a good low cross and Furlong, intertwined with a defender, forced the ball in from close range at the near post (67 mins). Landon almost doubled the lead immediately when he rose to head a cross at Hill but Cross replied with a fine ball upfield for Colwyn Bay. The home defence dealt with its aftermath. Another Colwyn Bay move was waved on, despite a foul by Ward as the referee allowed the attackers an advantage but their final shot was too high to trouble Coburn.

Colwyn Bay's attempts to get back on level terms included a blocked shot by Limbert and a daisy-cutter from Owen which went narrowly wide of Coburn's post (71 mins). After a foul was given against Maddox, Cross's freekick led to Limbert getting into a dangerous position before a block-tackle saw him off. Frank Gibbons replaced the Welsh side's captain, Lawton (75 mins) and Price put on the armband instead. A thirty-yarder from Graham was fielded by Coburn and then Limbert cut in from the right after good work by Jones and Cross. Limbert produced a fine shot which cleared the bar. Mark Maddox became name number six in the home players' section of Mr Redhead's notebook when he tripped the substitute, Gibbons, as he raced for goal (77 mins). Fortunately for Maddox, he was not the last man between attacker and goal. From another fine freekick by Cross, the ball was headed over the bar for a goalkick. Ellison was then flattened as he went for a long ball on the wing but the referee, after stopping play, took no action and play resumed with a bounce-up.

< Ellison went haring off with the ball at his feet from the bounce-up but with everyone else standing still he suddenly realised that the gentlemanly thing to do was kick the ball into touch for a goalkick, which he then did. Furlong, who had been limping, gave way to Ian Craney (80 mins) prior to Coburn beating Gibbons to a 50-50 ball. Ellison was given offside after he had moved well on to a pass from Landon but his compensation soon arrived. Scheuber fed Crowe and his good cross to Landon was headed back across goal by the substitute for Ellison to knock in from close range, with a defender in close attendance (81 mins). Altrincham were now in command and Ellison threatened again when a Hawes freekick found him in the box. However, under close attention from the keeper, Kevin could not turn and only succeeded in heading the ball away from the goal from five yards out (84 mins).

Maddox made a fine redeeming tackle at the Golf Road end after Crowe had lost the ball before the home side constructed a fine move involving Craney, Ward and Landon which ended when Gallagher strayed offside. Craney was involved again when he linked with Hawes to feed Ellison who, in turn, fed Landon. The sub's shot from an acute angle was blocked for a corner. Hawes took the kick on the left and Landon, near the far post, headed firmly into the net off a defender to make the score three-nil (88 mins) and add to his superb scoring ratio of goals scored to time spent on the pitch. Such a big winning margin had not seemed likely at half-time but, by the end, Altrincham were well on top in a game to which Colwyn Bay contributed much.

Kevin Ellison was named "Thresher's Man of the Match" for the second time in four days and was Altrincham's main striking threat. However, in midfield Steve Hawes also had a fine game especially in the second period and Mark Ward, as ever, distributed the ball well. Further back, Coburn was underemployed but Crowe again impressed. Jason Gallagher still looks a better midfielder than full-back but stuck to his task to the end. The subs, Landon and Craney did well whilst the central defensive partnership of Maddox and Talbot will be pleased with a second consecutive clean-sheet, albeit after a rocky opening few minutes of the first half.

Michael Garrity showed a few good touches before being rested and Carl Furlong added some welcome bustle at the front-end of the team. Altrincham moved up to fifth with a game in hand on two of the teams ahead of them and despite the regular changes to the line-up seem to be moving in the right direction. Fuel-strike permitting, the clash at second-place Worksop and Chris Waddle on Saturday promises to be a good indicator of Altrincham's title pretensions.