Match Report

SUMMARY

Altrincham got off to a bad start, conceding a well-worked goal to Duffty after only five minutes. The home side slowly got their act together and equalised with a superb free-kick from Kevin Ellison, who curled in a left-footer from 20 yards. Although Frickley rarely threatened the Altrincham goal, the Robins were unable to get ahead until twenty minutes from the end when Ellison's skill on the left wing produced a fine low cross which Danny Murphy converted from close range. Popular substitute Jason Gallagher almost muscled his colleague Danny Murphy out of the way to finish off a neat move in the 82nd minute to make the game secure for Altrincham.

With Alex Hay having returned this week to Tranmere, Altrincham were fortunate to be able to bring back Kevin Ellison to add to their strike force. Kevin had not played, through injury, since the Droylsden game on 8th October. Jason Gallagher also returned, to the bench, following his dreadful injury against Bamber Bridge on 25 November. Player-manager, Mark Ward, also returned to the side but Barry Crowe can consider himself unfortunate to be omitted from the squad after a fine performance as substitute against Whitby. Frickley started the game with only one win in last 12 league games.

In the opening stages Altrincham, attacking the Golf Road end, looked like a side that had not expected to be playing this game on a pitch which, only 24 hours earlier, was covered by four inches of snow. After exchanging tentative attacks, the game came to life after five minutes when Finney was harshly dispossessed just inside the Frickley half. The ball was played forward and Duffty and Lewis skilfully interchanged passes through the centre of the pitch before Duffty slotted the ball past Coburn from close range (5 mins). Altrincham's reply was a firm, low shot from Morgan from 25 yards which went well wide but Duffty, Hilton and Matt Wilkinson were soon probing the Altrincham defence once more. Gary Talbot, who had a fine game, saved Morgan from embarrassment after he had dallied and lost possession to Lewis who combined well throughout the game with Duffty.

Then, after Scheuber had lost possession but won it back, Hawes put in a fine cross from the right which Ellison met with his head. The Altrincham number eleven's header was directed downwards and the ball bounced up over the bar (9 mins). Following a free-kick by Ward, Morgan got the ball to Scheuber who did well to beat two men to allow Hawes to get in a shot at goal, which was blocked. After Mark Maddox had stopped a threat from Lewis, Morgan put in a cross from the left which came off a Frickley head, some twenty yards from goal. The ball looped over the back-pedalling keeper, Carney, but just cleared the bar for a corner (14 mins).

Scheuber soon won a free-kick to the right of goal and Kevin Ellison ran across to take it. However, his player-manager pulled rank and took the dead-ball kick himself. From this, Talbot won a header which led to a blocked shot from Finney as Altrincham improved from their lacklustre start. Ellison, Hawes, Scheuber, Hawes and Finney all combined well before the ball ran out of play off Finney. After he had played an overhit cross, Ian Craney was fouled in centre-field but Mr Grange allowed advantage. Immediately, Hawes was body checked as he advanced towards the right edge of the Frickley area and this time the referee had no option but to stop play for a free-kick.

He also booked the culprit, Brendan West (19 mins). With Ward, Ellison and Hawes all standing over the dead ball, it was Kevin Ellison who smote the ball firmly, left-footed, into the corner of the net past the dive, to his right, of keeper Andy Carney (20 mins) for the equaliser. Shortly after this Ellison got past Hilton and Wilkinson on the left wing but then overhit his cross (23 mins). Hilton then fed Duffty up the right wing but the defence stood firm. For Altrincham, Finney, Craney and Ward combined for the last-named to send a screamer over the bar from 25 yards.

Craney himself then had a good low shot, which his anagram, Carney, held well (28 mins). Ward and Hawes were both industrious in midfield and their efforts gave Finney the ball some 22 yards out from goal. He tried an ambitious lob which cleared Carney's bar (31 mins), as Frickley remained on the back foot. Ward then fed Morgan who unleashed a superb left-foot shot from outside the box which the impressive Carney saved well (33 mins). Morgan soon did well again, winning a corner from a firm, low cross after build-up work involving Ward, Finney and Morgan himself.

Carney then held Hawes's corner well. Gary Talbot was alert to stifle Duffty after good work by Brown and Lewis . Talbot, who had an excellent game, produced a fine long pass aimed at Ellison on the left but it was well cut out by the Frickley defence. Scheuber was the next home player to distinguish himself, getting the ball to Hawes who teed up a volley from 20 yards which Carney held well low down (38 mins). Duffty and Lewis continued to threaten the Altrincham right, with their manager exhorting them to exploit what he saw as a lack of pace from Morgan.

Frickley now enjoyed some possession, assisted by a hand-ball from Ward. From the resulting free-kick the ball skimmed off Talbot's head to safety. After Ellison had fruitlessly chased a through ball to Carney, Hawes advanced on the left of the box and fired in a low shot across goal as the Frickley management called for off-side against the returning Ellison. Shortly after this, Hawes won a corner off West which ended up with a Frickley goal-kick (43 mins). The half ended with Stuart Coburn belatedly getting some action when he had to come out of his box, to his left, where he was caught by Lewis and won a free-kick.

Following a passing move, the recovered Scheuber got in a good, low shot which won a corner on the right (48 mins). This was firmly met by a Murphy header which missed the target. Mark Ward's passing was a mixture of the sublime and the disappointing and he himself hung his head after a mis-placed cross-field ball went behind his target (50 mins) as Altrincham laboured to make the most of their domination of possession. Hanby was lucky to get away with a foul on Hawes but Scheuber nearly made him pay when he slotted a ball through to Finney. Finney had to go wide to get round the keeper and was only able to find the side-netting with his shot from an acute angle on the left (52 mins).

After a stoppage for treatment to Murphy's right knee, Talbot did well to stop Duffty and Lewis before Frickley were caught off-side (55 mins). In straining to save a throw in from a poor kicked clearance from Coburn, Danny Murphy only succeeded in setting up a Frickley attack up the left, the final ball from Price reaching Coburn. At the other end, Scott did well to win a corner off the foot of Price. Hawes's flag-kick, from the right, was firmly met by Maddox's head but the ball flashed over the cross-bar (58 mins). Frickley resorted to more physical means as the game progressed and Hawes and Scheuber were fouled in quick succession, much to Ward's annoyance. Altrincham were showing little bite up front, with both Finney and Ellison having quiet spells. Finney, however, did get in a header at Carney, with Hawes arguably better placed behind him. After a stoppage for treatment to Edge, administered by Garry Thompson, the Alty physio, in the absence of a Frickley sponge-man (61 mins). Altrincham now replaced Morgan with Gallagher (62 mins), who slotted in at right back as Scott moved to the left-back position.

Altrincham's dominance continued as Murphy won a corner off Brown, but Hawes's kick was too high (64 mins). With the Frickley bench telling its players to "take your time" at each stoppage, Altrincham were unable to make their superiority tell. However, Kevin Ellison produced the vital spark when he surged past two defenders on the left and sent in a firm, low cross which evaded Finney but found Murphy who tapped home from close range to give Altrincham the lead (70 mins). Ellison almost repeated the act moments later but Carney saved his shot well at the cost of a corner (72 mins). A second corner followed immediately off West's head before Frickley broke down the left.

Gallagher dived in but missed his tackle on Lewis who got Brown in for a good shot from 20 yards which just cleared the bar (73 mins) as Frickley refused to lie down. After a foul by Finney, Talbot's fine, clearing header found Finney but Hawes, receiving the ball via Murphy, delivered a misdirected cross. Coburn made something of a hash of a back-pass and was luck to escape when challenged by a Frickley attacker. The visitors now replaced Smith by McAreavey (75 mins) before Coburn again made a meal of a back pass, having finally to hack the ball into touch.

A prodigious long throw by Frickley fell for Edge who fired in a dangerous shot which curled just wide of Coburn's left post (78 mins) as Altrincham failed to finish off the opposition. However, Ellison tried to do so, but as he advanced into the box his shot was half-blocked and went out for a corner (80 mins). It was left to substitute Jason Gallagher to wrap things up two minutes later. A perceptive ball forward through the centre by Ward found Gallagher and Murphy almost getting in each other's way as they both raced through the centre of Frickley's defence. Gallagher was the more determined to score and duly did so from about eight yards (82 mins).

Frickley's frustration was seen as Scheuber was felled by Wilkinson, who was booked (83 mins). A good Altrincham move ended in a very wide shot by Hawes. After a poor cross by Murphy, he made amends with a mazy run past Edge and Hanby before getting the ball to Scott, who slipped inside the box and lost possession. After a fine tackle by Gallagher, Murphy was upended by Brown. The Altrincham man responded angrily and Brown continued to act in an aggressive manner as Maddox and others arrived to prevent a melée. Brown was booked (89 mins) before play resumed with a bounce-up some fifteen yards away on the goal-line, to the right of the Frickley goal. Edge ran into a blind alley as Frickley mounted an attack and then Maddox intercepted McAreavey's advance down the left. The final action of the game was an Altrincham passing movement involving Ward, Hawes, Scott, Scheuber and Ellison, the last-named being announced as Man of the Match.

The return of Ellison and Gallagher were the vital factors in this match, though Mark Ward's restoration was also significant. Talbot and Maddox were solid at the back as the home side enjoyed the lion's share of possession and put together a number of impressive passing movements. However, until Ellison's surging run to set up the second goal it looked as if Altrincham might be about to surrender two points to a game, but limited, Frickley side. All turned out well in the end, however and the Robins moved up to third, thanks to inactivity from other sides in the Division. To their credit, Frickley made a fight of it and did not look like a side with only two wins all season.