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Match Report

17 March 2001


ALTRINCHAM (2) 3 DROYLSDEN (0) 0

Unibond Premier League Match, played on Saturday, 17th March 2001, at 3p.m.


SCORERS

  • 15 mins: Ian CRANEY (Altrincham 1 Droylsden 0)
  • 44 mins: Danny MURPHY (Altrincham 2 Droylsden 0)
  • 57 mins: Rod THORNLEY (Altrincham 3 Droylsden 0)
    REFEREE: Mr Steven COOKE
    ATTENDANCE: 565
    TEAMS
    17.3.01 ALTRINCHAM versus. DROYLSDEN
    3pm Red & white shirts, black shorts and blue socks ---. Green shirts, white shorts, black socks
    1. Stuart COBURN 1. Paul PHILLIPS
    2. Jason GALLAGHER 2. Barry CROWE
    3. Steve PORTER 3. Aeon LATTIE
    4. Terry BOWKER 4. Iain BRUNSKILL
    5. Mark MADDOX 5. Eddie JOHNSTON
    6. Steve HAWES (capt.) 6. Carl HOLMES (capt.)
    7. Danny MURPHY 7. Lee PRIOR
    8. Ian CRANEY 8. Dominic MORLEY
    9. Steve FINNEY 9. Robert PELL
    10. Rod THORNLEY 10. Eddie TURKINGTON
    11. Paul EDWARDS 11. Anthony CALLAGHAN
    12. Stuart SCHEUBER 12. Danny WARNER
    14. Adam FARLEY 14. Chris YOUNG
    15. Gary SCOTT 15. Harvey CUNNINGHAM

    BACKGROUND
    This match brought together two out-of-form sides undergoing off-pitch upheavals. Droylsden had not won in six league games whilst Altrincham had won only one in their last ten. The Moss Lane Board has recently been revamped in the wake of the Club's financial troubles whilst Droylsden's millionaire boss, Dave Pace, recently brought in ex-Barrow chairman Steve Vaughan and former Moss Lane man, Owen Brown, to assist him. Altrincham took to the field in an unusual combination of their normal red, white and black kit combined with blue socks, presumably because the visitors had chosen to wear black socks themselves.
    SUMMARY
    The match was played in a bitingly cold wind which affected the standard of play in the early stages, as passes were overhit or misplaced with regularity. However, Altrincham's nerves were settled when Ian Craney punished a flapped clearance from Phillips by striking the ball back past the goalkeeper after a quarter of an hour's play. Altrincham then scored an excellent goal just before the interval when Danny Murphy finished off a sustained passing movement with a stooping header. The third goal came from a flick-on by Finney to Thornley, who finished well (57 mins). The game was almost all Altrincham's after that with Droylsden offering little threat to Coburn's goal. The pace of Murphy and Edwards on the flanks and Thornley and Finney in the centre gave the Robins much more potency going forward than has been the case in recent weeks. Droylsden were disappointing and rarely looked like getting back in the game in the second half.
    TEAM NEWS
    Alty fans welcomed back full-back Barry Crowe and Eddie Turkington, who both left Moss Lane for The Bloods earlier this year. Turkington, however, had only just signed and was making his debut for Droylsden. In their own side Altrincham welcomed Rod Thornley, the former Congleton striker, for his first Altrincham league game, having signed him in midweek. Another home debutant was Paul Edwards, acquired from Knutsford till the season's end, following his impressive midweek display for Alty against Ashton United Reserves. Thornley, too, had played and scored in last Wednesday's Reserves' victory, as well as appearing in the previous week's friendly against Doncaster Rovers. Seven of the 14 players who were in the squad for the away league match at the Butcher's Arms in October have now left Moss Lane so it was a quite different side which played for Altrincham today.
    MATCH REPORT

    The first chance of the game fell to Ian Craney as Altrincham attacked the Golf Road end with the gusty wind behind them. Craney was played in by Rod Thornley but chose to shoot at Phillips with the ball under his feet rather than take the time to control the ball and move in on goal. The outcome was a comfortable save for Phillips (3 mins). Murphy, Thornley and Edwards all started the game well and it was Thornley who created the next chance. Chasing a lost cause to the by-line he stretched for a tackle and emerged with the ball on the Droylsden by-line to the left of goal. He then got in a fine cross which Murphy headed goalward only for Phillips to get a hand to the ball and palm it away. A follow-up shot from Murphy was cleared before the ball came to Thornley whose shot was also blocked (7 mins). For their part Droylsden were making some forward movements too but the game lacked any sustained flow in the early stages. However, Altrincham nearly went ahead in bizarre fashion when the lively Edwards closed down a defensive clearance some 35 yards from goal and the ball cannoned off his legs over the Droylsden keeper but also cleared the bar as Phillips back-pedalled towards his line (12 mins). Murphy then got down the right flank and his cross was taken off Thornley's head by a defender to concede a corner. From the corner, taken by Hawes, the ball was cleared.

    Thornley then intercepted a Droylsden pass to feed Hawes. The captain's ball found Edwards who took on Crowe and got to the by-line but his cross was deflected behind the goal for a corner (14 mins). Hawes's corner, from the left, was only palmed clear by Phillips and found its way out to Craney on the edge of the penalty area. The young midfielder lashed it back pass Phillips into the right-hand side of the net to give the hosts the lead (15 mins). Edwards showed some further nice touches but his fine flick for Finney, shortly after the goal, was carried into touch by the wind. Droylsden's first threat of the game came after Edwards was harshly penalised for a tackle in centre-field on Prior. The free-kick evaded the central defence and fell to Turkington who produced a fine save from Coburn at the back post (20 mins). Prior himself soon produced a long shot but it reached Coburn comfortably on the bounce. At the other end Thornley again got to the line and crossed before Finney nicely laid off a ball for Hawes to shoot firmly but wide from 25 yards (24 mins).

    A routine ball into the box caused Maddox some discomfort but he successfully evaded contact when an own goal threatened. However, although Altrincham were the better side the game was not proving to be a classic. Droylsden won a free-kick for a foul by Craney on the burly Pell and the big ex-Southport and Northwich man got on the end of the free-kick but his header fell weakly to Coburn. The keeper's subsequent prodigious 80 yard punt was superbly controlled by Finney, who then cut in from the left and fired at Phillips, who saved at the second attempt. The Droylsden keeper looked uncertain with his handling throughout this game and his kicking was also sometimes wayward. Pell threatened again after 35 minutes but he failed to control a pass inside the box and the ball ran to Coburn. Next, after Edwards had won the ball, Hawes shot over the bar from 25 yards. Moves were being traded at this stage and Droylsden now won a corner, albeit after a foul by Morley on Bowker had gone unnoticed. The corner from the left came off a Droylsden head, across goal, for a goal-kick (37 mins). Hawes and Finney next combined before Thornley and Murphy also ended up being smothered out by the Droylsden defence for a goal-kick. Ironic cheers greeted the award of a free-kick for a push by Johnson into Finney's back, for Mr Cooke had chosen to ignore a number of clear pushes and pulls by the Droylsden defence earlier in the half (42 mins). However, just as it looked as if Altrincham would have to settle for a slender half-time lead, they put together a superb and productive move. Bowker started things off with a neat sidestep at the back, after receiving a pass from Gallagher from the right, some 35 yards from his own goal. Bowker passed to Porter on the left who in turn threaded it to Craney. Hawes next relayed it back to Porter before Craney and Porter interchanged passes. Then Finney flicked the ball wide to Edwards whose cross was met by a stooping header from the incoming Danny Murphy which beat Phillips to complete a fine move (44 mins). The ball had moved some 75 yards via 11 touches into the Droylsden net. As Altrincham fans enjoyed the rare experience of a two-goal half-time lead their joy was increased by rumours than Kevin Ellison was on the bench for Leicester at Old Trafford and that if he were to appear on the pitch, Alty would apparently receive a further £5,000 instalment on his £50,000 transfer fee.
    HALF-TIME: ALTRINCHAM 2 DROYLSDEN 0

    Soon after the restart Steve Hawes received the ball full in the face whilst attempting a header and play stopped for treatment to him (48 mins). He soon recovered to combine with Murphy to set Edwards going along the flank, his cross being held low down by Phillips, at the near post (50 mins). Gallagher won a freekick for Alty before Craney conceded one to Droylsden as the game went through a slightly untidy spell at the start of the second half. Although some of the errors in passing were attributable to the wind, not all of them were. Jason Gallagher began to make inroads along the right flank and his fine cross from a Thornley and Hawes feed was punched out by the keeper (55 mins). Another good forward move involving Gallagher ended with Thornley stretching to get the ball and his shot running comfortably to Phillips along the ground. However, a minute later the former Congleton man had the ball in the net. A punt from Stuart Coburn was expertly nodded on by Finney some 25 yards from goal. Thornley latched onto it to the left of goal and finished well from ten yards with a shot past Phillips to make the lead unassailable (57 mins). His celebratory cartwheel was as impressive as his goal. Dave Pace and Owen Brown immediately made a double substitution; Warner and Young replaced Pell and Callaghan.

    Paul Edwards continued to run at the defence at every opportunity, whilst on the opposite flank Jason Gallagher was also showing increasingly attacking intentions as Droylsden were hemmed into their own half. A wide shot from 20 yards from Warner was the limit of the visitors' threat at this stage (65 mins). Mr Cooke continued to overlook some clear infringements, notably when Brunskill bundled over Finney just outside the box. Lattie then gave way to Cunningham for Droylsden (68 mins). Edwards continued his fine debut by cruising past two challenges as he cut in from the left but he ended up being run out of play across the by-line, left of goal. Coburn was virtually a spectator for Altrincham until Hawes tripped Young. The keeper punched out the freekick but Holmes fired a shot back at him, just over the cross bar. Then Morley shot narrowly wide but Coburn had the ball covered (71 mins). Mark Ward now brought on Scheuber to maintain the youngster's record of playing in every league and cup game this season (74 mins), Murphy being the player to give way. After Gallagher had got past Prior and had his cross cleared, Scheuber played an excellent threaded ball to Gallagher who was tripped on the edge of the box, near the by-line (76 mins). As Altrincham stepped off the gas, Warner's woeful miscue was the best that Droylsden could offer (79 mins). Gallagher then got away with a push on Turkington to set up Scheuber but the sub's shot was sliced badly wide. Gallagher was again on the overlap soon afterwards but Finney was unable to capitalise on his ball into the area. Gary Scott then replaced Steve Hawes (85 mins) before a fine inswinging corner by Scheuber, from the left, was almost converted by Finney. The final whistle went without any significant time being added on, despite the second-half substitutions and a couple of injury stoppages.

    This was Altrincham's most comfortable win for several months but, in truth, Droylsden performed disappointingly, rarely looking like scoring. However, despite the failings of the opposition, nothing should detract from the combination of Thornley, Edwards, Finney and Murphy which gave Altrincham a forward thrust that has been lacking this season and which promises much for the final weeks of the campaign. Young Edwards has good ball control, pace and the ability to beat a man. Thornley too is pacy and willing to chase apparent lost causes. The home defence also looked fairly solid today, with the mix of experience (Maddox and Gallagher) with youth (Bowker and Porter) performing well. Rod Thornley was awarded the Man of the Match champagne but Paul Edwards must have run him close.
    FINAL SCORE: ALTRINCHAM 3 DROYLSDEN 0



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    Compiled by John Laidlar