Match Report

On a sloping pitch, made more difficult by a soft surface, this match was far from a classic. With the warm sun also making life difficult for the players, Altrincham nevertheless ran out comfortable winners. However, Spennymoor should have taken the lead after 24 minutes when Osborne shot well off-target when he had only Coburn to beat. It was Altrincham, though, who enjoyed the majority of first-half possession and it came as no real surprise when they went ahead though it took a marvellous 30-yarder from Kevin Ellison to break the deadlock (34 mins). Two minutes later Carl Furlong headed home from close range after the Spennymoor central defence allowed a cross to reach him. Steve Hawes cemented the victory after 49 minutes with a fine, low shot from outside the box. Although Spennymoor never gave up and stuck to a passing game they conceded a fourth when Dickie Landon headed firmly home (86 mins) following a freekick which he himself had won. The game was witnessed by just 198 spectators, which must be the lowest crowd to watch Altrincham for a considerable time.

Jason Gallagher, Eddie Turkington and Mark Ward were all unavailable for selection through injury, whilst the recovering Leroy Chambers was omitted to allow him to play a full match for the Reserves. However, Michael Garrity returned after being cup-tied for the Northwich match, last Tuesday. This meant that Ian Craney was relegated to the bench. Even more unlucky was Barry Crowe who was omitted altogether as Adam Farley was preferred at right-back. It was good to see another Reserve team player breaking into the squad with one of the subs being (according to the teamsheet) James Glendenning played at centre-back for the Reserves versus Leigh recently, having been signed from Unibond First Division side Kendal Town. Spennymoor fielded Steve Osborne as centre-forward for his first appearance of the season and Michael Carter and James Bridge are also recent arrivals - Carter from Darlington and Bridge from Canada.

Altrincham elected to play downhill in the first half, with a strong sun behind them to the left. It was immediately evident that the uneven nature of the pitch and its surface, which had been dampened by morning rain, would prevent flowing passing movements. Both Phil Power and Michael Garrity started well; Power with his fine ball control and Garrity with some neat distribution and a fine tackle on the useful Craig Veart. An early shot by Ellison was blocked at source (5 mins).

Stu Scheuber also began promisingly but both sides' early movements broke down to give the game a scrappy opening. Passing movements would repeatedly break down and the home side's best early effort was a shot from Osborne which deflected off Maddox and ran through for an easy gather by Coburn (11 mins). In an attempt to kickstart the match Mark Ward was heard shouting instructions to Ellison to change wings from left to right (13 mins). Power attempted to feed Furlong but the young striker could not control the ball and, indeed, conceded a foul in the Moor's penalty area.

Ellison's switch of wings almost paid an early dividend when he got in a testing cross but it ended up with Jackson in the home goal (15 mins). Cook, Carter and Leonard then combined for Spennymoor but their move ended in a throw for the visitors. Ellison then got free up the right wing and played a good ball inside but Jackson just beat Furlong to it as he rushed out of his area to kick clear. Soon after, Furlong was again prevented from making progress, this time by the tall centre-back Rob Jones (17 mins). Garrity, Scheuber and Hawes then contrived to move Alty forward but again the move collapsed when the ball found Jackson.

Altrincham were now having distinctly the better of the match and when Scheuber's skill took him past Sowden, the Spennymoor captain was booked for felling him (19 mins). From the resulting freekick, Ellison sent a 25-yard curler straight to the keeper. Hawes prompted the next movement forward which ended with a fine 20-yard shot from Furlong which went just over the crossbar (21 mins). Sowden broke up a flowing Altrincham move involving Coburn, Furlong, Scheuber, Power and Porter and from the break, Gary Talbot slipped and was beaten by Osborne in centre-field about 25 yards from goal. The striker went forward into the box, with only Coburn to beat, but got his shot all wrong and the best chance of the match so far went both wide and high (24 mins).

Spennymoor soon threatened again as full-back Andison was allowed to run 40 yards through the centre of the pitch before the ball ran through to Coburn who, in collecting the ball, collided with the advancing Osborne, who subsequently needed treatment from the sponge-man (29 mins). Altrincham persisted with trying to pass their way to victory but a move involving Furlong, Power, Ellison, Power and Scheuber ended when Garrity lost possession. The Moor replied with Osborne playing a fine ball to Wells, on the right. He fed Carter who won the first corner of the match off Maddox (32 mins). This was cleared by the industrious Scheuber to prompt the first of three successive Altrincham assaults on the home defence. Firstly, Furlong, having come deep to gain possession, passed to Hawes whose fine ball to Porter on the left led to a shot from Ellison from the left which was blocked (33 mins). Next, Ellison and Porter interchanged passes but Ellison's final cross was too long for Furlong in the centre. However, the third probing of the home defence produced a goal. Hawes played a ball forward to Scheuber in the centre and he in turn passed to Ellison who sent a screaming left foot shot past the startled Jackson from 30 yards out, slightly to the right of centre (34 mins). It was a goal of a class which was out of keeping with the match up to this point and even the Spennymoor directors applauded it.

Altrincham applied further pressure but Power was unable to control the final ball of a move initiated by Garrity's winning of the ball from Jones. However, a corner ensued from which Altrincham were awarded a throw even though the ball had clearly gone out off Talbot's head. From such decisions come goals. The ball was played back to Farley and his moderate cross was allowed to bounce in the Spennymoor box; the bounce beat a defender, leaving Furlong with a clear chance which he finished well with a firm header past Jackson from six yards (36 mins).

A shot screwed well wide of Coburn's goal was Spennymoor's immediate riposte before Furlong's pass to Ellison on the right wing led to a fine cross but Furlong was just beaten to it in the air (41 mins). However, there was almost a mix up at the Altrincham end when Coburn made a clear call for a routine through ball to be allowed to come to him. However, the ball held up on the damp pitch and Stuart was forced to come out of his box and make an undignified header clear from an advancing forward. Andison tried his luck once more along the right wing but his advance ended with a poor cross.

Jones then fed Leonard but the move came to an end without any danger to the visitors' goal. Phil Power continued to battle and twice tried to set moves going from centre-field before half-time but to no avail. Altrincham's last threat of the half came when Porter passed to Scheuber and the midfielder, unbalanced by the attentions of a defender, sent a firm left-foot shot which went wide of Jackson's left post

Paul Zand, returning from injury, replaced Carter at half-time for Spennymoor. Scheuber soon showed his fine ball-skills starting and finishing, with a looping header, a move also involving Porter and Hawes (46 mins). Power then pursued a ball into the box as Jackson and Sowden left it to each other before the keeper cleared it. The funniest moment of the match came after 47 minutes. Having been awarded a freekick in their own half, on their left, when it appeared that Talbot was the offender and not the victim, Steve Porter shaped to take it.

As he stepped up, near the touchline, he slipped, fell over and sliced the ball into the first row of the stand ten yards in front of him where the ball almost hit his non-playing colleagues, Turkington, Gallagher and Crowe- much to their amusement. The ex-Macclesfield player, Chris Leonard then produced a fine curling shot from 30 yards but Coburn was able to watch it narrowly clear his crossbar (48 mins). Scheuber excelled once more a minute later when he played the ball forward and a throw resulted. From this, he got the ball back, laid it off to Steve Hawes who was just outside the Moor's box, to the left and the Altrincham number six took aim and fired a low right-foot shot from 20 yards just inside Jackson's left-hand post, with the keeper possibly unsighted until the last minute (49 mins).

Although now three goals down, the home-side did not give up. Without a win in their first ten games, they could easily have become dispirited and resorted to the kind of negative, spoiling tactics which Altrincham fans saw from Emley recently. To their credit the Durham side battled on, playing fairly and honestly throughout this game. The sub, Zand, looked lively and then Wells sliced a shot badly wide after good work by Andison and Veart (52 mins). A superb dummy by Scheuber earned a freekick in midfield for Altrincham but this and a subsequent cross from Furlong, aimed at Ellison, came to nothing. Scheuber then showed how to bring down and control a high ball before feeding Furlong. Furlong laid it off to Porter but was caught by a defender as he did so and needed treatment but this was only possible after Coburn had raced 25 yards out of goal to hoof clear (56 mins).

Osborne produced a shot which was too high to concern Coburn from 25 yards and, after a stoppage for a home-side injury, it was Osborne who fouled Hawes on the centre-line as the hour mark was passed. At this point Ellison left to be replaced by Ian Craney whilst Jon King came on for the home side to replace Wells (60 mins). Osborne looked lively throughout the game and it was he who then beat Mark Maddox but was forced wide and eventually lost possession (63 mins). Spennymoor were enjoying a fair amount of possession at this point but with a three-goal lead, Phil Power's petulant discarding of the ball when a throw-in decision had gone against him was totally unnecessary and the Altrincham man was fortunate not be booked or even admonished (64 mins). As the home side pressed for a goal, Andison, Leonard and King combined and Coburn had to come to the edge of his box to kick clear. Echoing Power's behaviour a few minutes earlier, Furlong tried to stop Spennymoor taking a quick free-kick which he himself had conceded. Not surprisingly the home-side were none too pleased and Furlong, too, was lucky not to be booked for what would have been an unnecessary offence. Self-discipline is a lesson which some Altrincham players still need to learn. The situation was diffused when Furlong was instantly substituted, with Dickie Landon replacing him. (67 mins).

Ironically, it was the normally peaceable Dickie Landon who became the only Alty player to be booked, just two minutes later. This followed a fine 30 yard shot from Leonard which cleared the bar and a lecture for Garrity from the referee, for reasons which were not clear. Landon's booking came when he chased a 50-50 ball and collided with Jackson. On the linesman's advice, Mr Kellett booked Landon for what did not seem to be much of a foul, if a foul at all (69 mins). Landon was then the victim of a lunge by Jones as Mark Maddox attempted to raise Altrincham's game with some vocal encouragement to his team-mates. Spennymoor then progressed up the left via Osborne and Bridge, then up the right with Andison before Leonard switched play again to Veart, on the left. The move ended with a foul on Farley and some ensuing posturing between Osborne and the Altrincham man.

In another Spennymoor move, Leonard repaid Osborne's pass with poor control when one-on-one with Coburn (74 mins) as Altrincham continued to leave their foot off the pedal. Play stopped for treatment to Scheuber's hip before Landon was called offside from a Porter cross (76 mins). Altrincham debutant, Glendenning replaced Power at this point and slotted into a forward position on the left-side. A Hawes cross just missed Landon (78 mins) and after Bridge had fouled Scheuber, the offender went off to be replaced by Ross Foreman (79 mins).

Spennymoor continued to advance in search of a goal but Leonard's low cross only found Coburn before Scheuber and Landon tried to produce a goal at the other end. Whilst this move came to nothing, Landon soon won a freekick from a foul by Jones, who received a lecture from the referee. Garrity's freekick, 25 yards out came to Hawes and his accurate cross found Landon in space. Landon headed firmly into the net (86 mins) to make it 0-4. Landon nearly added to his tally with a 20 yard shot along the ground to Jackson. In the final minute Landon won possession from Sowden and his cross found Scheuber. However Scheuber's firm header went over the bar as he came under pressure from a defender; had he scored it would have been a fair reward for the player who was arguably Altrincham's Man of the Match.

The pitch and the heat did much to prevent this game flowing but there was no doubt which was the better side throughout. It is sad to see Spennymoor still without a win when they are sticking to the principle of playing creative football but are lacking the resources to strengthen their side. This was Altrincham's third successive win and takes them to third place. A number of the newer players are now settling down, notably Stu Scheuber and also new signing, Michael Garrity who also gave a useful display. Hawes is doing a fine job in Ward's absence to marshal the midfield and Kevin Ellison continues to threaten the opposition goal on a regular basis. Richard Landon's role as goal-scoring sub continues and with Mark Quayle and Leroy Chambers in the wings, Mark Ward has a variety of striking options.