Match Report

BACKGROUND AND TEAM NEWS

Right: The poster board at the Golf Road end.

This was a Nationwide Conference league match played at 3pm on Saturday 25th March 2000 before a modest crowd of 939.The Altrincham fans were unusually muted whilst the Kettering contingent's most obvious contribution was the hurling of gratuitous abuse at the Altrincham substitutes, particularly Greygoose and Hart, at half-time. A draw was on the cards with Altrincham having racked up 16 and Kettering 13 before today's match.

The referee, Mr Evans was one of the best to be seen at Moss Lane this year. Altrincham captain, Chris Timons, was restored to the side following suspension and Leroy Chambers, Mike Morrell and Kevin Ellison all played despite injuries. Brendan Burke, who announced his retirement last Thursday, was in the crowd, as was fellow injury victim Gavin Price. Lance Key remained in goal and Richard Landon reverted to substitute.

TEAMS

ALTRINCHAM (Red and white striped shirts, black shorts): 1. Lance Key; 2. Simeon Hodson, 3. Danny Adams, 4. Chris Timons (capt), 5. Gary Talbot, 6. Keith Russell 7. Jason Gallagher, 8. Steve Hawes, 9. Leory Chambers, 10. Mike Morrell, 11. Kevin Ellison

Subs: 12. Phil Power, 13. Dean Greygoose, 14. Richard Landon, 15. Andy Lovelock, 16. Paul Hart.

KETTERING TOWN (Green and yellow striped shirts, green shorts) 1. Adam Sollitt, 2. Ian Ridgway, 3. Carl Adams, 4. Paul Cox, 5. Colin Vowden, 6, Craig Norman, 7. Matt Fisher, 8. Phil Brown, 9. Carl Shutt, 10. Dale Watkins, 11. Gary Setchell.

Subs: 12. Turkins, 14. Lee Hudson, 15. Mark Paul, 16. Ricky Hailstone, 17. Steve Wilson

SUMMARY

This was a moderately entertaining game between two fairly evenly-balanced sides. The result led to each side dropping a place, Altrincham moving down to twelfth. On a positive note, Altrincham extended their unbeaten run to seven league matches and have now lost only two of their last 23 Conference games. They also retained their record of not losing this season in the League after scoring the first goal in a match. Lance Key has also yet to be on the losing side for Altrincham after seven appearances.

THE MATCH

On a sunny afternoon, when dark clouds passed close to the ground without ever depositing any rain, Altrincham kicked off towards the Golf Road end. Leroy Chambers, who started the match with one goal each on his record for both Kettering and Altrincham this season, following his loan spell with the visitors, clattered Adam Sollitt well after the keeper had gathered a high ball (2 mins). He was lucky not to be booked. After treatment to Sollitt, the game resumed and the home defence were soon fortunate that nothing came of indecision at the back between Hawes and Gallagher in their own penalty area (3 mins).

Right: A Kettering attack during the second half.

Corners were won at each end before a misunderstanding between the retreating Chris Timons and the advancing Key resulted in a hasty hack clear by the keeper. A good through ball also led to Key to diving at the feet of Kettering's Phil Brown to save (8 mins). In these first ten minutes the Altrincham defence was looking suspect and Kettering were the better side. However, Altrincham picked up their game, though an air shot by Russell (10 mins) was countered by a shot which was always going over the top by Fisher and which was deflected for a corner (12 mins). Timons cleared the corner and an almost immediate Kettering free-kick (13 mins). A good break by Watkins, on the right produced a low cross which the advancing Kettering forward unwisely stepped over to allow Altrincham to clear to safety. A second dangerous Kettering break followed on 15 minutes when Shutt got clear on the right then passed to Ridgway, who cut neatly inside but sliced his shot well wide.

Altrincham replied with an attack which ended when Gallagher went down with a head injury after challenging for a high ball. However, the resulting free-kick went to the visitors (16 mins) after Gallagher had received treatment for concussion. On 19 minutes came the first of two changes of ball by the referee and, at the same time, Altrincham keeper Key was made to change his yellow jersey for an orange one. Presumably it had been felt that his original attire had been too close in colour to the green and yellow Kettering shirts. On 20 minutes, Chambers, who was applying himself well, put a shot well over, following a free-kick, but a minute later Kettering won a corner which Key easily held as Adams tried an inswinger. Altrincham's best chance so far came on 22 minutes when Jason Gallagher ran through into the visitors' box, but under pressure from a defender and Sollitt, he could only win a corner. Russell's corner eventually fell to Timons on the edge of the box but his firm shot was wide of Sollitt's right-hand post. A Kettering corner (24 mins) fell to Fisher on the edge of the Altrincham box but he hit the ball wide and also high enough to go out of the ground. Free-kicks were traded by the sides until Adams put Ellison through only for Sollitt to smother the ball at the forward's feet (27 mins). Following a corner, well won by Chambers on the right, and taken by Ellison, the ball found Talbot whose header was cleared to Timons on the edge of the box. Timons again screwed his shot, this time over the top, rather than wide. Mr Evans replaced the match ball again (31 mins). Immediately, Danny Adams missed his tackle on the half-way line but Fisher's cross was initially cleared by Timons's head only for Watkins to blast over the top from the clearance.

Altrincham were now in the ascendant and Chambers was denied by the referee's whistle as he drew back his foot to shoot (40 mins). Shortly afterwards, a strong challenge by Kevin Ellison literally knocked Kettering's Ridgway into the arms of the Altrincham manager, Bernard Taylor, as he stood on the touchline. A minute later, despite a clear whistle for off-side, Brown chose to put the ball in the net past a deliberately stationary Key; he escaped the booking which his actions deserved- unlike at least two Altrincham players in earlier matches this season. Before the half-time whistle Morrell had time to fluff a cross following a throw by Ellison but a moment later (44 mins) he volleyed a shot strongly, but well over Sollitt's net.

The concussed Gallagher was replaced by player-coach, Phil Power, at half-time and Keith Russell moved to the right of midfield to accommodate him. Almost immediately a cross by Adams from the left was met by a towering leap from Kevin Ellison in the centre of the box and his firm header beat Sollitt easily (47 mins). Altrincham now applied more pressure and good work by Russell led to Ellison being blocked at the price of a corner. The resultant head-tennis ended with a fine left-foot shot from Russell from the edge of the box, which went over the bar. At the other end a cross found Shutt (51 mins) but he headed high and wide. Then a cross by Ellison at the Kettering end forced Sollitt to smother the ball at Morrell's feet (52 mins). Ellison was again clearly not fit, but carried on gamely despite his longstanding leg injury. Setchell then forced his way through the centre of the home defence but his rising shot went well over. On 54 minutes Ellison put Morrell through but he took too long to shoot. A minute later Danny Adams put Leroy Chambers through but his lob was a little too firm and cleared both Sollitt and his crossbar before resting on top of the net.

Left: Mike Morrell leaves the field as he is substituted by Richard Landon.

Watkins was replaced by Hudson for Kettering on 59 minutes and two minutes later a foray by Adams ended in the Altrincham full-back shooting narrowly wide of Sollitt's left-hand post. Then, just outside the home penalty area, Power gave away an unnecessary free-kick. This was rapidly taken by Carl Adams and was met by the incoming run of Shutt who buried a firm header into the left-hand corner of Key's goal from 10 yards. The equaliser had come (on 63 mins) against the run of play but Kettering now stepped up the pressure. On 66 minutes Russell gave way to Andy Lovelock as the visitors began to have the better of the match. After a stoppage for a back injury to Setchell in his own box (68 mins), play was fairly even until on 74 minutes Richard Landon replaced Morrell. Altrincham's play now lacked cohesion as both Lovelock and Landon struggled to get into the match. On 78 minutes Hodson fell awkwardly after making a tackle in his own half and after lengthy treatment hobbled off, leaving Altrincham to play out the rest of the match with ten men including the ailing Ellison. Not surprisingly, it was Kettering who finished the stronger despite a couple of fine dribbles by Lovelock. The second of these followed good work by Chambers in the Kettering corner and ended with Lovelock bursting into the box but firing narrowly wide (86 mins). An Altrincham corner (87 mins) resulted in a foul on Sollitt by Talbot followed shortly after by a header over the bar at the other end after a Kettering corner. Some twenty seconds before the final whistle, Timons was booked for an honest challenge for a 50/50 ball near the half-way line, a decision which spoilt an otherwise excellent display by the referee. Danny Adams was deservedly named as the Altrincham 'Man of the Match' for yet another fine performance at left-back.

Overall, a draw was a fair result. Altrincham's extensive list of injuries was increased by the addition of Gallagher and Hodson to it. Moreover, the fitness of Ellison is also open to doubt. The Conference's cruel scheduling does give Altrincham three weeks before their next game in the league in which these players may recover. However there are then five games in ten days and a run-in of eight matches which includes five games against teams from the top seven of the Conference. Three points today would have lifted Altrincham to ninth and virtual safety from relegation. As it is, their fans must sweat out three weeks of inactivity as other teams play and, no doubt, in some cases overtake them.