Match Report

The last five years for Altrincham have seen two relegations and a promotion so this was, on paper, a low-key finale to the season. However, the confirmation only last Tuesday of Bernard Taylor and Graham Heathcote as permanent manager and coach, gave Alty fans their only chance to show their positive feelings towards the restored managerial partnership. Altrincham supporters turned up in large numbers and the Golf Road End choir was in good voice throughout.

This was the Robins' first visit to Hucknall, who have risen from the Northern Counties East division in quick order. The Watnall Road pitch was hard and uneven, with a slight slope across it and it was the first surface we have played on this season to boast a crop of dandelions! The Club is a friendly one and the young lad who directed the car-park operations was to be particularly commended. He clearly has management potential and even tried, (sadly unsuccessfully), to secure us free sandwiches and beer when the supporters' coach was found to have a damaged tyre and fans were stuck in the car-park, as a result, till after 7pm. (see picture, above, as the A.T.S. repair man removes the damaged tyre from its rim).

SUMMARY

Altrincham's 20th league win of the season was achieved on a hard, bumpy pitch but in spite of the playing surface the spectators saw some well-taken goals. Ian Craney slotted home the first when he finished off a fine move, which he himself had started (14 mins). Somewhat against the run of play, Hucknall equalised when Cooke curled a fine shot past Coburn after Bowker had missed a through ball (39 mins). Hucknall then missed a couple of good chances before Rod Thornley put Alty ahead again, seizing on a fumble by goalkeeper McCarthy (59 mins).

McCarthy injured himself in the process and had to give way to Cooke in goal. Altrincham's third came from Craney, again, this time a fine finish from the edge of the box after 68 minutes. Despite this good win, many Altrincham fans were left "deflated" at the final whistle - the supporters' coach was found to have a flat tyre and was stuck in the Hucknall car park for over two hours whilst repairs were carried out. However, the rare treat of a final-day league win kept the spirits up for the homeward journey.

Paul Edwards was missing from the Alty line-up, reportedly because he was playing today (Sunday) in a local league cup-final. Farley was preferred in midfield to both Scheuber and Mairs (substitutes) and Scott (not selected). Finney took Edwards's place up front. For Hucknall, Mark Place's injury had not been as bad as first reported and he started the game. Ex-League player Wayne Fairclough also returned to the home side, as did Andy Morris.

The difficult surface nearly took its toll in the opening minutes when Bowker missed his kick and allowed in Martin. The Hucknall striker's cross itself bobbled badly and Morris consequently shot well over the bar. Steve Hawes's throw, 40 yards out, after four minutes led to an early Altrincham corner. Hawes had received the ball back after the throw and played in a teasing ball for Murphy, which Fairclough half-cleared but at the cost of the corner. Murphy's challenge for the corner ball, by Hawes, left McCarthy on the ground but play continued.

After the danger had been cleared and the keeper had been treated, play resumed. Soon, Hucknall threatened when Martin turned well after good work by Fairclough and shot from 25 yards but the ball went just over the bar as Coburn eyed it watchfully (6 mins). Bowker's shaky start continued as he was penalised 25 yards from his goal for a foul on the giant Morris. However, Farley headed out Place's free-kick only for Bowker soon to pass the ball to Cooke and surrender possession once more. At the sharp end Rod Thornley was once more looking lively but his flick for Craney unluckily ran through to McCarthy (11 mins). The players were now beginning to come to terms with the difficult surface as Ian Craney picked up the ball near the centre-spot. He laid the ball off expertly to the left, for Thornley. Thornley's well-struck cross found Murphy's head at the back post and his downward header was met by the advancing Craney, who poked the ball home from six yards in a central position to give the visitors the lead (14 mins). This was as well-worked a goal as Altrincham have scored this season.

After eighteen minutes, Martin won a header and interchanged passes with Morris. This set up Martin for a low shot at Coburn which the keeper saved comfortably. The lively Thornley then won a corner for Altrincham after he had leapt well to head the ball. Hawes's corner was not controlled by Murphy and eventually ran to the keeper (18 mins). A minute later, Murphy conceded a free-kick for an aerial challenge on Pace and the ball subsequently went up to the Altrincham end where Porter conceded a flag-kick, on the Hucknall right, which Taylor over-hit and a goal-kick resulted for Coburn. The keeper's clearance found Finney and via Murphy the ball came for Thornley on the left. He combined with Craney to win a corner off Fairclough (21 mins).

Hawes's corner skimmed off Maddox's head for a goal-kick but shortly afterwards Danny Murphy was in the ref's bad books. Murphy once again challenged Place and was penalised; Danny received a few words from Mr Cooke, but no caution. Farley saw off any threat from the free-kick at the cost of a throw 20 yards from his goal on the left. Taylor's free-kick found Martin who fed Cooke but Craney won possession well to clear the danger. The sides exchanged some unproductive moves with the most alarming moment being Porter's missing of a Hucknall goal-kick but the ball ran through for Coburn. Gallagher, who had a quiet game, conceded a free-kick but Wright's in-swinger was cleared. A series of midfield throw-ins were shared by the sides before Altrincham won another corner on the right, taken by Hawes. This was half-cleared to Porter and via Hawes ended up with an Altrincham throw near the right corner flag. From this, Morris conceded a corner-kick (36 mins) as Altrincham now maintained some pressure.

A foul on Cooke gave Hucknall a free-kick 25 yards from the Altrincham goal. Following this a ball through the centre was missed by Bowker and fell for Cooke, slightly to the left of goal but in space. Cooke finished superbly, curling the ball into the net, to Coburn's left, giving the keeper no chance at all from just outside the box (39 mins). The goal had come somewhat against the run of play and, although play restarted, almost immediately there was a stoppage for Mr Cooke to remonstrate with Alty coach, Graham Heathcote, who was presumably claiming that the goal had been off-side. Farley cleared the next attack before Thornley, as willing as ever to chase seemingly lost causes, won a deserved throw on the left off Begley.

A heavy foul by Place on Murphy, 35 yards from the Hucknall goal near the touchline, gained an Altrincham free-kick. Nothing came of this but soon afterwards a Hucknall defender clearly sliced the ball across his own penalty area only for a goal-kick to be awarded (43 mins). Gallagher made a rare excursion forward just before the interval and passed to Murphy, who won yet another corner for the visitors, on their right. Once again nothing came of Hawes's corner and the half ended with the sides level.

Hucknall started the second period strongly with Martin doing well and getting the ball to Brown but the latter's rising shot went well over the bar from 25 yards (47 mins). Then Maddox either tripped or was knocked over and Soar was able to get in a cross which Coburn only held at the second attempt under a robust challenge (48 mins). Morris, Martin and Cooke were combining well at this stage for the hosts. Altrincham responded with a Craney cross which McCarthy held, before it was Coburn's turn to clutch Soar's ball into his penalty area (51 mins). However, a bad, foot-up, foul by Wright on Porter earned the Hucknall man the only booking of the game (53 mins). Porter recovered from the kick in his lower abdomen to take the free-kick himself. From this Alty won a corner on the left as Thornley's shot deflected off Begley. McCarthy dealt well with Hawes's corner which got held up on a gust of wind. Roberts now replaced Fairclough for Hucknall (55 mins).

Following a foul on Thornley yet another free-kick failed to produce any danger. More threatening was Hawes's ball over the defence, but Murphy was offside. A holding offence by Wright on Craney gave Altrincham another free-kick in a central position 30 or more yards from goal. Hawes put his kick into the defensive wall. Following an Alty throw on the left, by Porter, the ball came to Carney but was cleared by Wright. However, Hawes put in a shot from distance which McCarthy fumbled as he got down to his right. As he attempted to recover the ball, Thornley pounced before the keeper or a defender could get to the loose ball and took the ball to his right, before lashing it into the unguarded net (59 mins).

As usual, a Thornley celebratory cartwheel followed but keeper McCarthy remained on the deck. It was not clear what had happened but he must have either fallen heavily and/or collided with a defender and appeared to have picked up a head or shoulder injury. After five minutes of treatment he gingerly left the field and was replaced in goal by the Hucknall goal-scorer, Russell Cooke. Ricketts immediately came on to make the Hucknall numbers back up to eleven.

After Thornley's persistence had won another throw, play switched to the Altrincham end and Bowker completely missed a through ball, with an air-kick. Martin was clean through on goal but sliced his shot very high and wide (62 mins) to waste a good opportunity. Taylor then went in hard on Murphy who had to hobble over the left touchline for treatment (63 mins). Hucknall then wasted another good chance when a cross found Brown in a central position some 18 yards out. He sliced an attempted shot so badly it continued its trajectory to the left and came to Wright. Wright advanced into the box and fell too easily under a challenge to win the award of a penalty that he was seeking (65 mins). Altrincham were failing to test the replacement goalkeeper at all until Thornley chased a back pass towards Cooke which the stand-in goalkeeper kicked clear.

Moments later, however, Cooke was picking the ball out of the net when, from a throw on the left, Porter fed Thornley who passed it right to Craney. The young midfielder hammered it into the net from the edge of the box in a central position, for his second goal of the game (69 mins). Ricketts took out his frustration on Porter, running the Alty left-back into a painful collision with a low concrete wall. After Porter had recovered, Landon came on for the Alty top-scorer, Steve Finney, who had an ineffective game (71 mins). Alty immediately won a corner on the right which Hawes hit low and thirty yards from goal to Craney, but as he gathered the ball offside was given. A Hucknall move was seen off before a good ball by Landon to Murphy resulted in a poor cross and a goal-kick.

Farley than played a fine ball to Hawes, who beat Soar and entered the box from the left. Hawes's cross found Thornley but Rod made a hash of his shot, hitting it way over the bar (74 mins). Murphy soon won a corner on the right but this was cleared after Hawes had taken the kick. Rankin came on for Morris for Hucknall (76 mins). Roberts and Ricketts combined to get into the box but despite being jostled, Gallagher and Bowker got the ball back to Coburn. After treatment for Martin, Landon shot low at Cooke and the replacement goalkeeper saved competently. Farley then won possession well and played a perceptive ball, wide and left, to Landon.

Landon's ball found Thornley but his header went narrowly wide (79 mins). However, Hucknall struck back when Roberts's excellent cross from the left was met by Ricketts who tried flick it on the volley past Coburn from 15 yards but he put it over the bar instead (81 mins). Soar then shot well wide from 25 yards before Altrincham themselves went forward on an abortive move. Following a Hucknall throw some 15 yards from the Alty goal, Martin turned well inside the box and Coburn got down well to save from Martin's close-range shot. Meanwhile Altrincham were still unable to test Cooke in the Hucknall goal. The last threat to Altrincham came when a half-hit shot from Martin caused Coburn undue problems. The keeper dived to his right, fumbled the ball and seemed slow to react, only re-gathering the ball after it had gone out for a left-side corner for Hucknall.

Maddox cleared the corner before Mr Cooke blew the whistle early, only allowing about half the five-minute stoppage time for the injury to McCarthy. The Alty team came across to salute their travelling fans, many of whom were to be stuck at the ground for a further two and a half hours as their coach was repaired. There was no formal "Man of the Match" but Thornley and Craney were leading candidates had there been such an award and Hawes, Murphy and Maddox also played well.

Altrincham finished the season in seventh place and the goals in this match brought their season's league tally to eighty - a staggering 13 more than were scored when winning the UniBond title in 1999, (albeit in two more games this season). The games since Mark Ward left have seen 17 points gained from nine matches, a markedly improved strike rate than that achieved in the previous 35 matches. So, Altrincham fans go into the close season encouraged, though anxious to see the effect in the pre-season friendlies of the changes in playing personnel which are likely to occur over the summer as Bernard Taylor and Graham Heathcote come to terms with the club's downgraded financial status.