Altrincham F.C. Youth Team: Match Report.

Bolton & District N.W. Youth Alliance Premier League game, played on Sunday, 28 April, 2002, at 2pm

Altrincham deployed the same team which had come from two goals down to win against Marine last Thursday but there was to be no comeback from another two-goal deficit in this match. The match started in bright sunshine but heavy and very squally rain arrived during the first half and made playing conditions very difficult. However, things dried up for the second half, so Alty could not blame the weather for this defeat. Rather, it looked like tiredness was a more important factor in the defeat.

Eight of the Alty squad had played for the Reserves in their curious match at Colwyn Bay on Saturday and having also played 90 minutes last Thursday, they did not match the spark shown by the visitors, who are top of the NW Youth Alliance Premier Division.

Alty started well enough and won an early corner when Walsh, Lunt and Thompson combined after three minutes. Thompson's kick, from the left, was fumbled over the bar by the keeper. Soon, Steve McGrath got in a firm header at goal but the referee's whistle went for an infringement (7 mins) before a flashing overhead shot by Steve Lunt went narrowly wide (8 mins). Mark Drew then drove a 20 yarder into the side netting before he then headed a Thompson cross just over the crossbar (14 mins).

However, after starting on the back foot, South Sefton broke down the middle and one of their players hit the post, to Broxson's right, but then the rebound stuck in his feet on the by-line to prevent him opening the scoring. (The identity of the visitors was difficult to record as they had no numbers on their shirt backs, yet curiously had small numbers on the front both of their shirts and shorts). The wind now started to get gusty and Alty had another let off when a Sefton player sent his shot across goal from a good position (24 mins). However, Alty responded with Lee McDonald's low, long shot which the Sefton keeper tipped around the upright (27 mins)

With rain and hail now lashing down Sefton got up the right and a cross cum shot came back off Broxson's cross bar from 20 yards out on the touchline (29 mins). After Walsh had been brought down, Drew then drove a 20 yard free-kick at the visitors' keeper. Altrincham's left-back, Robinson, then fed Paul Tilley from a free-kick but his shot came back off the inside of the post (34 mins).

Shortly before half-time a Sefton cross from the left was headed out by Robinson but the opposition latched onto it and scored with a low shot to the right of Broxson which entered the net near the upright (41 mins). Altrincham had paid the price for not converting their early chances.

Thankfully the atrocious conditions of the first half gave way to drier but still windy weather in the second half. Thompson headed into the net immediately after the interval but was offside (46 mins). South Sefton then applied some pressure and Alty's next shot was a long range effort from the left, by Thompson, which just cleared the bar (52 mins). Alty then brought on Lee Shillito up front in place of Steve Lunt (59 mins).

Soon afterwards Broxson had to make a fine save after Sefton had gone up the left (61 mins). Almost immediately after coach Neil Thomason instructed Paul Tilley and Richard Smith to swap their midfield positions, a ball down the centre skimmed off the Alty captain's head and a Sefton player latched on to it to smash a superb shpt past Broxson, though the keeper did well to get his hands to it on its way into the back of his net, to his left (62 mins).

Alty had come back from a two-goal deficit in their last game but a series of misplaced passes and ill-directed long balls meant that they rarely looked like threatening the Sefton goal at this stage. They did, however, win a corner following a free-kick for a foul on Shillito but it was Sefton who went the closer when they got behind Horton and fired just wide (71 mins). The Sefton defence played solidly and their players seemed to have an extra yard on their opponents. Altrincham then made another switch with Domain Esdale coming into central midfield as Richard Smith made way (76 mins).

Sefton soon made a change of their own personnel before Alty belatedly applied some goalmouth pressure on the visitors. First, Shillito did well on the right and Esdale's shot from the cross was well parried by the keeper, to his left. From the resulting corner, Mark Drew's effort yielded another corner. This led to a melee in the South Sefton goalmouth but their goal remained intact. Sefton made two late substitutions but there was no way back for Altrincham.

The combination of a Youth league fixture backlog, a wide overlap between the Altrincham Reserves and Youth teams' personnel and the loss of regular players Vernum Rowland and Mario Daniel to the first team squad, have all conspired to place a big strain on the Youth team. Today, they looked to have lost the spark which they had earlier this season and South Sefton were deserved winners today.