Match Report

BACKGROUND

This was Altrincham's first league clash with Nottinghamshire side, Hucknall Town, who are in their second season in this division. Hucknall won last Saturday to end a four-game unsuccessful sequence. Sadly, Altrincham had a worse record; no win since New Year's Day.

A double substitution at half-time resulted in Altrincham enjoying much more of the possession in the second half but just as it looked as if this would come to naught, Steve Hawes popped up in the box to finish smartly from a good move involving Scheuber, Landon and Finney with just two minutes to go. Sadly, the crowd was Alty's lowest for a league match this season, the numbers being influenced by a cold and, initially, wet night, the proximity of Manchester United playing Valencia, (which was also live on digital TV) and the scheduling of a midweek match against opposition whose fans would have had to set off straight from work to get to Altrincham through rush-hour traffic.

With captain Steve Hawes reported to have been on trial at Doncaster, Altrincham fans were pleasantly surprised to see him lead out the home side. An even bigger surprise was the appearance as substitute of Dickie Landon, returned from his loan at Droylsden. At last Saturday's supporters' meeting, home fans had been led to believe that his loan period had just been extended.

The promising Terry Bowker continued at centre-back. French striker, Gerard Leonard, was not included in the squad and the return of Richard Landon presumably puts an end to the expected arrival of Mike Moseley from Runcorn. Hucknall, captained by goalkeeper Dave McCarthy, included recent acquisition Gary Ricketts, a relative of the prolific Bolton striker of the same surname. Their win last Saturday was their first in five games so both teams were anxious to take something from this match.

Hucknall kicked off after the teams had changed ends, with Altrincham defending the Golf Road end. After some early head-tennis, Cooke and Ricketts soon forced Bowker to head clear before the home side put together their first flowing move, which involved Scott, Finney, Gallagher and Hawes, initially, but then swept across the pitch to Porter and Maddox, before it ended with a Gary Scott cross, which the 'keeper held (3 mins). Maddox almost scored the most spectacular goal of his career when his shot-cum-clearance from all of sixty yards induced some mild concern in McCarthy as he back-pedalled to take the ball under his cross-bar (5 mins).

Cooke was then involved for Hucknall in a move which resulted in an involuntary header across his own penalty area by Bowker, which led to the first corner of the game, to Hucknall, on their left (6 mins). Although Roberts's kick came out to Taylor, the ball was eventually cleared. A long-throw from the Hucknall left then led Craney to repeat Bowker's error and head across his own penalty area and this time a Hucknall head got to the unintended flick-on and put the ball narrowly over Coburn's bar (7 mins). Danny Murphy mopped up the next Hucknall attack in a game in which the Altrincham wing-man was to be uncharacteristically reticent in making his mark. Altrincham won their first corner after ten minutes when Scott started and finished a right-wing move, with some help from Gallagher and Finney. Hawes's corner came off Bowker for a goal-kick to Hucknall (10 mins).

Cooke's next foray at the other end only ended in a goal-kick to The Robins. Soon, Murphy and Gallagher induced McCarthy to come from his line only for one of his defenders to leave him stranded as he half-cleared the ball before the keeper could get to it. However, Hucknall were quickly winning another corner for themselves as the sides traded attacks. From this corner Coburn made a magnificent one-handed save at the near post, to his right, from an effort by Wright (12 mins). The resulting corner was cleared but Hucknall were looking the more likely to score at this stage. Indeed, Coburn had to make another smart save, low down after 14 minutes.

Then, Martin, who has been watched by Leicester City, threatened to break free but was forced out to the right-wing and his eventual cross was directed comfortably over the Altrincham bar. Altrincham replied by winning a corner after good work by Porter and Hawes on their left. Although the first flag-kick immediately led to a second one, neither produced a goal. After a Craney cross had fallen behind the Hucknall goal, the visitors won another corner for themselves with Coburn then catching the ball well from Roberts's kick (18 mins).

Following a free-kick to Hucknall, twenty yards from the Alty goal near the left touchline, Taylor's kick found Roebuck, but Scott cut out the threatening low cross which followed. After 21 minutes came the first of no less than nine clear fouls in this match by Marvin Marston, as he wrestled Steve Finney to the ground. Virtually all of his fouls were seen by the referee and punished by free-kicks but none of them resulted in even a lecture for the big centre-back. Mr Commins had a generally good game but he seemed to have a total blind-spot so far as Marston was concerned. The defender's fouls were not in the horrendous category but all were far more than nudges and cumulatively should have been punished. From Ward's free-kick Scott got the ball forward to Hawes in a dangerous position inside the box.

As the Alty captain moved from left to right across the penalty area, his control let him down and, as he sought to recover control of the ball, he was arguably bowled over inside the box by a defender but no offence was noted by the officials and a goal-kick ensued (23 mins). The hapless Finney was soon, once more, subjected to Marston's attentions as the Alty man continued to make himself a lively presence up front. Mark Ward next contrived to get the ball forward for Gallagher, coming in at the back post, but Jason could only direct the ball over the bar as he arrived (25 mins). Hucknall's Ricketts next had a shot half-cleared but Cooke's follow-up was mis-hit and offside was awarded in any case. (26 mins). A long ball from Taylor then set up a shot from Martin but this proved comfortable for Coburn (28 mins). Martin then did well to get another shot at Coburn from the edge of the box but his toe-poke went wide (30 mins).

For Altrincham, Steve Hawes was more like his true self after a couple of quiet games but his and Mark Ward's midfield prompting could not break down the Hucknall defence. The visitors were giving at least as good as they got, however, and a fine through ball from Wright set up a good shot from Cooke which went narrowly wide of Coburn's left post (34 mins). A minute later Terry Bowker had a speculative effort at goal from distance but it was easy fare for McCarthy. A fine ball from Ward was then relayed by Murphy to Finney, who won a corner on the left.

Though this came to nothing, Hawes soon whipped in a looping shot-cum-cross which McCarthy held under his bar (36 mins) before Marston committed his third transgression on Finney, which went unpunished. Martin's foul on Hawes was spotted, however, but the resulting free-kick was wasted. Gary Scott and Jason Gallagher were combining well on the Alty right and Scott's good cross from that side, after he had beaten Taylor, almost found Murphy in a dangerous position.

The game's first booking came after Ward brought down Cooke on the touchline just inside the Hucknall half and the player-manager was cautioned for the ninth time in this season's league campaign (38 mins). An impressive Altrincham passing move ended with Finney's cross evading all his colleagues and going for a goal-kick. Jason Gallagher soon fired over the bar from the right at the end of a good move initiated by Ward and relayed through Scott (42 mins). For the visitors, Mayman's break up the right side set up Cooke with a clear chance but he flashed his shot wide, though it took a marginal deflection and earned a corner on the right (43 mins). After Ward lost the ball, Coburn then made a fine save from Martin but offside had already been flagged (44 mins).

As half-time approached the referee took Mark Ward aside to deliver a lecture which included his pointing to various parts of the ground where, presumably, he felt Ward had offended earlier. However, play resumed with a free-kick to Altrincham inside their own half. Another free-kick, shortly afterwards for offside, almost led to an Altrincham goal. Finney, Porter and Scott managed to get Jason Gallagher to the by-line, inside the box, where Jason appeared to be upended, but nothing was given. Shortly after this the referee did blow his whistle to close an entertaining first-half which had seen the sides evenly balanced.

Play stopped after Ricketts chopped down Porter but moments before this Finney and Murphy had collided on half-way and Finney was slow to recover from this knock. A fine tackle by Maddox stopped Roebuck's attempts to advance on the Alty goal but a poor back-pass soon gave Hucknall a corner on their left, taken by Roberts. In what was to be a dummy run for the move which eventually decided the game half an hour later, Scheuber made a fine surge through the middle, played the ball to Landon, who laid it off to Finney to the left. The striker's shot zipped across the face of goal when really it should have made the keeper work to stop it (56 mins).

Scheuber was prominent again, a minute later, when a move initiated from the back by Bowker came to him via Murphy, Hawes and Porter, but his cross from the by-line was headed clear. Next, it was Scott who won a throw on the right flank which was reached by McCarthy as Finney closed in but at the cost of a corner as Altrincham applied sustained pressure. Hawes's corner was knocked out for another flag-kick, this time on the Alty left, again taken by the captain (59 mins).

A flick from Murphy from a pass by Finney set up Landon for a pot at goal but, though the direction was good, the strength of the shot was not and McCarthy saved easily as the game passed the hour mark. Altrincham continued to press, through Gallagher and Scott on the right, the two players interchanging defensive, midfield and attacking duties in the process. A brief interlude in the home side's pressure saw Ricketts caught offside (63 mins) before Bowker strode up from the back but his long-shot at goal was weak and straight at the keeper.

The sides traded handball offences as, first, Mayman offended. Then, from the free-kick Landon's shot was blocked and Scheuber handled inside the Hucknall box as he tried to calm the rebounding ball (66 mins). Scott won a free-kick after being fouled twice in a matter of yards by the touchline, 20 yards from the Hucknall goal. Ricketts again tried to relieve his side but Scott soon mopped up any danger, before Coburn showed his dribbling skills by coming to the touchline to win a throw (70 mins).

As Hawes hobbled after going down with an ankle knock, Ricketts and Mayman advanced but an Altrincham goalkick resulted from their efforts. After Scheuber had lost and re-won possession, Scott put in a fine ball which McCarthy clawed out from under the bar but the lurking Hawes could not get a shot in as the ball came out towards him. Marston committed two more fouls in as many minutes, with the referee still seemingly unconcerned despite Murphy being felled in the second incident and a free-kick being awarded in a central position about five yards outside the box. Landon hit a wickedly curling and hard free-kick round the wall but McCarthy was well positioned to save (75 mins).

A rare Hucknall break was cleared but Ricketts remained in the Altrincham area needing treatment for a leg injury. As Ricketts was treated so too was Finney, who received a back spray to alleviate the symptoms of Marston's repeated attentions. Whilst the Hucknall number five escaped a booking for his offences, Scheuber went straight in the book for his first misdemeanour, a trip on Martin (77 mins). Martin was substituted and by the time he had walked back to the bench he could be seen to have lost the complete left arm off his shirt. Quite how this happened was unclear, though it may have been removed as he received treatment on the pitch. Just to underline the ref.'s inconsistency, immediately after Scheuber was booked, Marston did it again; he clearly held Finney, was penalised but otherwise went unpunished even verbally. Hucknall were certainly not an overly physical side but Marston certainly rode his luck for the sheer volume of his offences!

From the free-kick on the edge of the box, Porter sent the ball wildly over the bar (79 mins). Then Bowker conceded a free-kick in the circle from which no capital was made by Hucknall. but a little later, from another free-kick 20 yards out, Mayman laid the ball off to Taylor whose curling short just cleared the bar under Coburn's watchful eye (83 mins). Finney yet again was fouled by Marston, who escaped without reproach. Landon then had the ball in the Hucknall net but the whistle had gone for something spotted in a preceding mêlée (84 mins). Hucknall then mounted an attack and gained ground through a couple of throw-ins on the right but the ball finally came to Coburn.

Landon, for Alty, and Ricketts, for Hucknall each had shots on goal blocked by defenders as the game appeared to be heading for a goalless draw. But then, following a punt upfield by Coburn Scheuber advanced in central midfield before passing, left, to Finney. Finney did well to get the ball forward to Hawes, who had got behind the defence, to the left of goal. The Alty captain did well to fire into the net from a a difficult angle to give Altrincham their first three points since New Year's Day (88 mins). There was still time for Marston to continue his campaign of attrition against Finney (89 mins) before the whistle went on the first 1-0 result of Altrincham's season to date.

With a solid back four, in which Bowker was prominent, Altrincham achieved their first shut-out since December. With Gallagher and Scott getting forward well, the relatively subdued performance of the normally lively Murphy was not critical. Steve Hawes was also back on form after a couple of games which were quiet by his standard. Dickie Landon was as enigmatic as ever; seemingly cumbersome in his movements he nevertheless packs a powerful shot and produced some good lay-offs. Like Altrincham recently, scoring goals has been a problem for Hucknall this season. Nevertheless, they contributed a lot to the night's entertainment, particularly in the first half, and Altrincham will look forward to visiting Nottinghamshire for the return fixture which closes the season in May. Terry Bowker was the deserved Man of the Match but Jason Gallagher and Gary Scott also were contenders.