Match Report

This was Altrincham's second successive Saturday trip to the North-East, after last week's match at Gateshead and once again Altrincham failed to come home with three points against a team further down the table. Despite the forecast of snow the match went ahead on a slippery but nevertheless playable surface. Croft Park is a neat and tidy ground with a good club house which housed about 100 people over and above the match attendance. They were watching the Leeds-Newcastle match on live TV screens. Alty had won the encounter at Moss Lane 3-1 back in October, but Blyth have been an improving side of late though they still lay 17th at kick-off.

A draw was a fair outcome of this match although Altrincham came within six minutes of taking all three points. After Murphy and Finney had missed two clear chances in the opening six minutes, the first half was fairly even. However, it was against the run of play when Alty took the lead after 74 minutes. A corner from Scheuber was headed against the underside of the bar by Talbot and after a scramble, the ball was poked home by Gallagher, though the keeper may have had the last touch. Six minutes from the end Talbot and Glendenning between them brought down Perry in the left corner of the Alty box and Forster sent Coburn the wrong way from the spot.

Just six Alty players who started this match had begun the match at Moss Lane between these sides in October, whilst Blyth fielded eight of the same starters. The surprise for Alty fans was not so much that we fielded yet another new back four permutation, but that it comprised four players who are exclusively or primarily centre-backs. Captain Gary Talbot played at left-back with Farley on the right. Glendenning and Maddox were in the centre, as full-backs Scott and Gallagher sat on the subs' bench. Up front Murphy and Ellison supported Finney from the wings. With Steve Hawes suspended, Ward, Scheuber and Craney patrolled the midfield. Blyth were without striker Glen Robson as well as Martin and Dixon, who had figured in recent games.

As has happened several times at Moss Lane this season, this game kicked off early. Altrincham began well and should have scored twice in the opening six minutes. In the first minute, one of Ian Craney's trademark diagonal through balls to the right wing let in Danny Murphy for a clear shot at goal which should have found the net but was not well enough struck to prevent Burke from saving well. On the other wing, Ellison was held by Forster and although Ward's free-kick found Murphy, a goal-kick resulted. Murphy's lively opening continued when he got round Dunkerley to win a throw in the right hand corner (3 mins). However, Blyth soon won a free-kick for a foul by Maddox but the kick, from 20 yards out, had not reached the ground before Mr Wallace blew his whistle for an offence.

Mark Ward earned the wrath of the crowd as play was held up whilst he and the referee exchanged pleasantries; Ward was presumably arguing about what he felt should have been a penalty a little earlier. After play had resumed, Murphy again caused trouble on the right wing getting between Dunkerley and Innes to present Finney with a close-range clear sight of the Blyth net. Finney mis-hit his shot from eight yards and it screwed badly wide to the left of goal (6 mins). After this lively start from the visitors, as Farley stood off, the impressive Innes sent in a curler from the left edge of the box which cleared the bar.

The next chance fell to Blyth when Perry got the better of Glendenning in the centre, 20 yards out (12 mins). Glendenning chased back and executed a fine tackle on the forward, who went down amidst plausible penalty appeals. Mr Wallace, immediately made a ball-shape with his hands to indicate that the defender had played the ball. The ref, a north-easterner, went on to draw the partisan crowd's ire but in reality he had a good game. Soon after this, Innes fed Chandler who relayed the ball further right to Radigan who shot across goal and missed the target from a promising position (13 mins). Ward then further wound up the crowd and the referee by seeking to gain yardage at a free-kick deep in his own half; a less tolerant official would have booked him (16 mins). A crunching but fair tackle by Murphy was the most noteworthy incident of a passage of play which included a number of misdirected passes.

The difficult surface did not account for all of these errors, by both sides, as play began to settle into a more even contest. The Altrincham back four was not unduly tested down the flanks, other than by Innes on the left whilst the Blyth central defence also held firm despite Murphy's danger down the right. Ellison was having a quiet game on the left, some of which may have been due to the lack of a regular supply line from a conventional left-back. Finney showed some nice touches up front before Mark Maddox needed to produce a superb tackle to rob Pepper after the Spartan had received a misplaced pass from Ward. Ward's afternoon got no better when he engaged in more verbal exchanges with the referee over the petty issue of the placement of a free-kick to his side in their own half (24 mins). Burke, the Blyth keeper then had to rush and dive to the left of his goal to hold a poor back header which was going for a corner. An underhit Farley backpass almost caused Coburn as much concern at the other end shortly afterwards. Farley was soon penalised however when he fouled Perry. Innes's free-kick from 22 yards gave Little a shot which was blocked.

As Blyth asserted some pressure, Glendenning cleared with a horizontal header executed only a couple of feet off the ground but a Ward shot, which was blocked on the edge of the box, showed that Altrincham were resisting well. Indeed, there followed a flowing move started by Maddox at the back with the ball passing via Talbot, Ellison, Scheuber and Craney, to Murphy who was dispossessed on the edge of the box (28 mins). The Spartans replied with a move and cross from their right which Coburn held well but then Perry's ball into the box fell for Innes who won a corner off Farley on the Blyth left. The corner was poor, not even reaching the goal before going out of play (32 mins).

Ward and Scheuber continued to struggle to find their touch in midfield with the game now settled into an even pattern. Scheuber then needed lengthy treatment to a leg injury before play restarted with a free-kick for offside against Blyth. Ward was fouled a few minutes later and made an exaggerated dive, as even he seemed to signify with a mock diving action after the nevertheless correct award of the foul (37 mins). This again did little to endear him to the Blyth fans. Craney continued to be the pick of the Alty central midfield and he won the ball well before it came via Talbot to Ellison. Ellison won a throw which he took to Finney, who turned well and crossed, only for Dunkerley to take the ball off Murphy's head (39 mins). Ellison then switched wings but was caught offside. For Blyth, Innes and Radigan linked well, the latter's ball into the box just evading an incoming colleague. Then Blyth attacked up the left with Dixon, Chandler, Radigan and Perry involved until Maddox's timely tackle stopped the last-named. For Altrincham, Glendenning found Finney who passed to Ellison, back on the left. Kevin's 20 yard shot was well-hit and well-saved by Burke, diving to his left (42 mins).

But Blyth had the last good chance of the half when the ball broke for Chandler off Glendenning, who emerged from the encounter with a cut to his face. Play nevertheless carried on and the move only ended with Perry curling a shot round Farley, which Coburn did very well to tip over the bar for a corner on the Blyth right. Coburn, back to his best form, caught the corner well (44 mins). Although goalless and riddled with misplaced passes, the half had been made entertaining by its end to end nature. The game adjourned with the outcome evenly balanced.

Jason Gallagher replaced the out of sorts Mark Ward in midfield at the interval (46 mins). The sub was soon the victim of a foul (48 mins) as was Scheuber a minute later. Glendenning's free-kick went straight through to Burke before Coburn had to be smart to deal with Maddox's underhit back-pass. After an Ellison run had been curtailed, Forster got in a disappointing shot at Coburn from 25 yards. Worse followed for Blyth when Little's free-kick gave them a clear shot at goal which was mis-kicked (52 mins). Finney again did well, getting Murphy the ball but though he controlled it well, his cross was poor. Gallagher then threatened to break clear but had to check back through lack of support. Both sides' moves were still bedevilled by poor passing on the unreliable surface.

Murphy limped off to be replaced by Mairs (55 mins) just before Finney set Ellison racing into the box. However, Kevin was intent on getting the ball onto his left foot and turned inside into a tackle which dispossessed him (56 mins). Radigan was then prominent in Blyth's forward movements before Talbot fouled Forster. Alty's next threat to Blyth came from an excellent pass by Mairs to Gallagher, who was racing forward into the box from the right. Jason outpaced the defence but his adequate shot was well saved by the advancing Burke (60 mins). Talbot then did well to block Perry following a free-kick for a foul by Ellison. A passing move from Maddox via Farley and Mairs reached Ellison but he unfortunately slipped. As he received treatment, Gary Scott, who was already about to come on, substituted for the injured Ellison, who hobbled to the dressing room (64 mins).

Alty had thus now lost both their wide-men. Blyth then scorned a close-range chance set up by Pepper on the right before a wide header by Perry resulted fom a free-kick ceded by Mairs (66 mins). Altrincham were threatening little up front at this stage as the home crowd got behind their team well. Radigan then set up two chances for his side in quick succession, the second of which Coburn saved well, low down (67 mins). Andy Hay then replaced Chandler for the Spartans (67 mins) and a minute later, following a lapse by Maddox, Perry flashed a 25 yarder at Coburn which he saved well. Gary Scott tried to probe along the left-side and it was he who won a corner at the by-line. Without Steve Hawes and Kevin Ellison, there was some hesitation over who would take the corner before Scheuber came across to do so. This corner was cleared at the cost of one on the right.

This time, the ball found Talbot arriving on the left of the box and his firm header from 12 yards crashed down off the cross bar. In a melee, the ball was poked in at the right post by, it seems, Gallagher with the goalkeeper possibly getting the last touch off his back (74 mins). The goal had come against the run of play and Blyth responded with further pressure, Pepper shooting wide from 20 yards (75 mins).

As Altrincham attempted to break, the pacey Gallagher was crudely fouled 25 yards from goal. Having recovered from that, but still limping badly, the unfortunate Gallagher was immediately tripped, an offence which was not given as play continued (80 mins). Blyth's Dixon then left the fray to be replaced by Stewart, with his shirt on back to front! After this was rectified, a foul by Scott allowed a Blyth free-kick in the right corner of the pitch. A reaction header by Hay, following a flick on from a team-mate, went over the bar from a dangerous position (83 mins).

Worse was to come. Finney was fouled in the centre of the pitch but the ref allowed Blyth to play on. A ball came across to Perry on the right-hand edge of the box. As he seemed to be about to get the better of Talbot, Glendenning came racing across from the centre and in a melee, the Blyth man was knocked over.

Initially it seemed that Glendenning was the culprit, but it was Talbot who was taken aside and booked, either for his role in the offence or for protesting. This was the seventh penalty conceded by Altrincham since October. After a delay to locate the penalty spot in the mud, Forster sent Coburn to his right whilst shooting to the other side of the net to equalise (84 mins). Before the restart, Craney was booked, presumably for something that he said (85 mins).

A Gary Scott shot was blocked a minute later before a foul by Scheuber on Radigan elicited a huge over-reaction from one of his team-mates who went head to head with the sensibly uninterested Scheuber. Neverthless, the fuss, exacerbated by the baying crowd, prompted the referee to book Scheuber (87 mins)- a third booking inside five minutes. A poor shot wide by Pepper and a cross from Scott which went easily to Burke completed the game. Blyth left to tumultuous applause from an admirably supportive crowd, whilst Altrincham trooped off for the long journey home having got so close to snatching the three points.

Altrincham's new back-four format was not severely tested by Blyth on the flanks but the absence of Altrincham's full-backs did seem to hamper Kevin Ellison in particular, for he saw little of the ball for the first half hour. The second-half loss of Ellison and Murphy further reduced our forward potential but the introduction of Scott and, particularly, Gallagher did improve things to some extent.

Our disquieting habit of giving away penalties continued and we have only now kept one clean sheet in the last 13 league games, an indication that the tinkering with the defence has yet to bear fruit. Whatever the disappointment at losing another two points and the prospect of a longer stay in the Unibond League, this was once more an entertaining game for the spectators at a friendly club; we could not always say that last year in the Conference.