5 LIVE AT ALTY TONIGHT

Grahame Rowley will also be interviewed and the Five Live people will be in the ground from 6.45pm when the turnstiles open".

ALTRINCHAM v MACCLESFIELD TOWN: MATCH COVERAGE

Brian Flynn adds that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, will be broadcasting full live coverage of Tuesday night's game at The J.Davidson Stadium against Macclesfield Town. The match commentary sponsor is Altrincham FC Ladies' manager Keith Edleston and one of the players will join us for a half-time interview.

The commentators are Ian Watmore and Brian Flynn with match summaries from Stewart James. Coverage starts at 7.35pm with the game kicking off at 7.45pm. You can listen to Radio Robins on the internet at www.radiorobins.com. Leah Brotherton will be providing regular updates on Twitter (@altrinchamfc) as well as half-time and full-time updates on facebook (Altrincham FC)".

ALTRINCHAM v MACCLESFIELD TOWN: BEFORE THE GAME

Mike Garnett's record of the many clashes between Altrincham and Macclesfield is here.

Our opponents, Macclesfield Town, report that "The Silkmen make the short trip up to Altrincham for the first time in 17 years to play the Robins at Moss Lane. The Silkmen are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Lincoln which was, to date, only the club's second defeat of the season in what has been the side's best start for a decade. It left Macc in ninth place...

The Silkmen were missing Danny Whitaker, Will Haining and Luke Waterfall as they faced Lincoln at the weekend. Danny Whitaker will remain out with a back injury but the club hope to see a return for Waterfall and Haining".

TUESDAY GAMES

Right: Gavin Rathbone of GR Photography captures Steven Gillespie in action after he joined the game against Welling United as a second-half substitute. Gavin has many more Alty photos on his website.

BUCKET COLLECTION

BOOK FOR HALIFAX AND GRIMSBY NOW!

COMMUNITY SPORTS HALL UPDATE

"The CSH main building work is almost complete, the scaffolding is coming down and windows are going in this week. We are now moving onto the fitting-out stage and the mechanical and electrical services have started. Also, the external works, such as the front terracing have begun. We are still on programme and budget, overall, to complete in November 2014.

We are now taking enquiries for clubs/teams that would like to use the facility on a regular basis, if you are interested in booking a regular slot at the hall then please send an e-mail with your details and we will be in touch to discuss further".

LADIES' TEAM

Two goals from Crewe meant we had to dig deep and a goal from Hannah Shufflebothom made it 3-3 but a last minute strike from Crewe made the game 3-4. It was a great advert for women's football and the watching crowd of 50 plus which was fantastic! Full match report off Phil Taylor to follow. Next game for the Ladies is at Mersey Valley against Chester City Ladies, ko 2pm, so why not come down and support your Ladies' team?"

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The manager has agreed a deal with Telford to take talented right sided player [ex-Alty man] Wes Baynes on loan until January. The Chester-based player, who is 26 next month, came through the ranks at Wrexham and has helped both Chester and Telford to Conference North championship triumphs in the last two seasons. He has been playing at right back at Telford previously this season, but says his preferred position is right wing and has a reputation for a fierce right foot shot from distance..

Recalled Frank, 'I know Liam Watson at Telford very well and, when he told me that Wes was available, it was too good an opportunity to turn down. He can play in two or three different positions, right back, right midfield or up front, so he certainly strengthens the depth of our squad'.

Baynes, who says he can’t wait to get started with the Bay, was at the game today to complete the paperwork and see the Seagulls win a hard-fought cup tie which boiled into life with four goals in the space of eight second half minutes...

'Give them (Harrogate) credit. They came and had a go, matched us at times and could have got an equaliser late on which would have been a nightmare for us having to go there for a replay on Monday night, but we worked hard to ensure that didn’t happen.. It's six games unbeaten now and it is important we keep that run going as long as we can'" said the Bay manager.

The Football Conference adds that "Sinclair commented, 'I am serious about putting in a big challenge to win the Conference North this year because I think the league is wide open, and getting players like Wes on board can only help'".

In terms of logistics, an unlikely move is reported by NL Pitchero which tells us that "Droylsden have signed forward Ramone Rose from Eastleigh. Rose joined the Spitfires in August 2013 from Maidenhead United. He had signed for the Magpies from Hemel Hempstead Town the previous March.

Rose, 24, had only joined the Tudors the previous month from Wealdstone. He began his career as a trainee with Queens Park Rangers... He was loaned to AFC Wimbledon in 2008 before returning to Loftus Road where he made his first-team debut against West Brom in May 2008. Loan deals followed with Histon, Stevenage Borough, Northampton, Cheltenham and Torquay before being released by Rangers.

He signed briefly for Thailand side Muangthong United before joining Newport County in January 2012. Whilst at Newport, he played in the FA Trophy Final at Wembley. He signed for Wealdstone in November 2012".

The Shropshire Star reports that "AFC Telford United manager Liam Watson is urging his fired-up players to kick on from victory this week, as he closes in on signing defensive reinforcements.

His team host Chester tomorrow night looking to build on winning a seven-goal New Bucks Head thriller against Torquay on Saturday, their first Conference Premier triumph of the season. Four goals were needed, against a Gulls defence that hadn’t conceded in more than 550 minutes of play, to net the spoils. The Bucks' defensive frailties were on show, particularly from set-pieces.

Watson said, 'We conceded from three set-pieces, but I can’t really recall Hedgey (goalkeeper Jonathan Hedge) being worked, so I suppose that’s a disappointing thing'...

On defensive targets, Watson said, '“I have been speaking to a couple of players. We do need to strengthen. In effect, we’re playing three centre-halves and we’ve only got three at the club, so we need additions. A little bit of luck in the week and, who knows, by the end we might have a couple in'.

Watson praised his side’s never-say-die attitude... 'We had nothing to lose and probably nobody gave us chance. They had been having a good run and hadn’t conceded a goal in a month, winning six on the spin. But we’ve got some good players and we haven’t had a lot of luck, and things have gone against us... When you’re winning games at the top of the league all you’ve got to do is pick teams, but when you’re at the bottom you’ve got to manage. The last couple of weeks have been tough'".

According to the Essex Chronicle, "The goalless scoreline aptly summed up Braintree Town’s draw with FC Halifax Town... After a dull and uninspiring first half for the 909 spectators the match did liven up after the interval and the Iron played much better and had a greater share of the game... Had the Iron nicked all three points it would have been an injustice on the visitors, currently second in the league, which was easy to see, as their long ball game seemed set to pay dividends whenever they attacked.

But an outstanding afternoon’s work by the Iron backline, led by the impressive Alan Massey, kept them at bay... Iron manager Alan Devonshire felt... 'It’s hard to play against that when the ball is bombing into our box from long throws and all that but we defended well... And really it looked like there was only one side trying to win it at the end'...

Devonshire admitted with so many injuries it was case of getting the walking wounded to play adding, 'Jordan (Cox) is playing with an injury and so are one or two others but I’ve no other options left at present but again they all still gave me everything and I can’t ask for more'".

From the other side, the Halifax Courier tells us that "FC Halifax Town boss Neil Aspin said his side’s goalless draw at Braintree was a good point... but neither side were at their best in a scrappy game of few chances...

Aspin said, 'It didn’t help that it was warm and the grass was long... We’re still only in our second season at this level. Everybody said you find the second season a lot tougher and the lads are doing the club proud'...

Marc Roberts is expected to recover from a head injury for Tuesday’s trip to Alfreton, although captain Lois Maynard is a doubt with a hip injury".

FA CUP DRAW

• North Ferriby United v Grantham Town
• Tamworth v Coalville Town or Lowestoft Town
• Leamington v Worcester City
• Guiseley v Halesowen Town
• Runcorn Town v Norton United
• Shildon v Blaby & Whetstone Athletic or Stourbridge
• Bradford Park Avenue or AFC Fyldev Buxton
• Bedworth United or Mickleover Sports v Blyth Spartans
• Stockport County v Ilkeston
• Barwell or Norwich United v Curzon Ashton
• Colwyn Bay v Warrington Town or Sheffield
• Tividale or Leek Town v Boston United
• Bamber Bridge v Chorley
• King’s Lynn Town v Lancaster City
• Gainsborough Trinity v Marine
• Spennymoor Town v Ashton United or Salford City

Vanamara Conference Premier sides enter at the 4th QR.

WELLING GAME

Alty TV has two revealing videos. Firstly, an interview by Brian Flynn with Lee Sinnott after the Welling match. This can be viewed by clicking on the above frame.

The second video, below, comprises the highlights of the match against Welling, which merit a "parental guidance" classification for Altrincham viewers.

TURNSTILE OPERATORS NEEDED

If you can help, please contact George a.s.a.p. either by phone 0793 9890503 or e-mail.

COMMUNITY SPORTS HALL TAKES SHAPE

MEET THE NEW RECRUITS

For just £15, guests will be served a two-course meal prepared by the Club's expert caterer, Richie Bentley. Drinks orders can be placed from your table and the drinks will be brought to you. All five new recruits will be in attendance (i.e. Peter Cavanagh, Ryan Crowther, Steven Gillespie, David Parton and Sean Williams). After the meal, the format involves Brian Flynn compering an informal Q&A of the five players, who have joined the Club for 2014-15. These evenings are always both very entertaining and informative so don't miss your chance to get a ticket. At a bargain £15, tickets may be ordered from Grahame or Karen Rowley via e-mail.

WEEKEND RESULTS

• Altrincham FC Ladies 3 Crewe Alex. Ladies 4. Report to follow from Phil Taylor, who tells us "The Ladies were unfortunately beaten 4-3 at home by Crewe today. The winning goal was an excellently struck volley in the 90th minute Alty's goalscorers were Tracey Blanchard Webb (2) and Hannah Shufflebotham".
• Altrincham FC Reserves 6 Penlake 1

Next Reserves' fixtures:

• Sat.4.10.14 H WEST DIDSBURY & CHORLTON k.o. 3pm
• Sat.11.10.14 A Wythenshawe Town k.o. 3pm
• CUP Sat.18.10.14 H EGERTON k.o. 3pm
• Sat.25.10.14 A FC Woodford k.o. 3pm

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

From the other side, Red Imps has photos and a match report which says that "Manager Gary Simpson rang the changes for this game against Macclesfield Town at Sincil Bank with Tony Diagne, Alan Power, Jon Nolan and Marcus Marshall all dropping to the bench. In to the side came fit-again Nat Brown, Arnaud Mendy, Karl Ledsham and Delano Sam-Yorke as the Imps looked to get back to winning ways against the Silkmen...

After Taylor flapped and missed, the ball ran to Tom Miller who drilled a low effort through a crowded box to open the scoring... The lead was doubled in the 19th minute with the Imps gifted a second; Jordan Burrow won an excellent header and after Andy Halls made a hash of a ball back to Taylor, in nipped Ben Tomlinson, who duly rounded the keeper and smashed the ball into the roof of the net from six yards.

It was all City as the half continued... Burrow wasn't fortunate... when a late challenge on Moke saw the City striker see a straight red card. Moke pushed Burrow in retaliation but only received a caution...

Whilst the 10-man Imps emerged unchanged, Macclesfield made a change prior to the start of the second half with Chris Holroyd replacing David Gonzalez Diaz...

Macclesfield Town: 1 Rhys TAYLOR, 2 Andy HALLS, 3 Scott BARROW, 5 George PILKINGTON, 6 Paul TURNBULL, 8 Paul LEWIS, 10 Waide FAIRHURST, 11 Adriano MOKE, 12 Daniel COWAN, 14 Arthur GNAHOUA, 18 David GONZALEZ DIAZ. Subs: 7 Malachi LAVELLE-MOORE (for FAIRHURST 81), 9 Chris HOLROYD (for GONZALEZ DIAZ h/t), 27 Adam THOMAS, 28 Alex GRANT (for COWAN 64), 20 Ritchie BRANAGAN".

The Football Conference tells us that "Ian Neale has resigned his position as chief executive officer and Director of Nuneaton Town. Helen Thompson will take on the role of the club’s managing director with immediate effect... The changes do not affect the running of the club in any way. The club will not be issuing any further statements regarding the resignation. "

However, the Nuneaton News adds that it "understands Ian Neale, chief executive of Nuneaton Town, has been arrested following an alleged assault. Witnesses at the scene of the incident at the Ricoh Arena on Friday, September 26 allege Neale was escorted from the venue by police after being involved with an altercation with another male. A spokesperson from West Midlands Police, said, 'We were called to a reports of an assault incident at a charity event at the Ricoh in the early hours of this morning (Saturday). The accusation is that a 48-year-old man has punched another guest causing a suspected broken nose. He was detained at the scene by other guests and police arrested him at 12.40am'...

Neale was part of Nuneaton Town Football Club’s table at a fundraising ball for the NSPCC".

FC Halifax Town, who entertain Alty next weekend, report that the Shaymen "were held to a 0-0 draw away at Braintree...to move them up to second in the Vanarama Conference. It was a close game between the two sides, with both teams having equal chances and manager Neil Aspin admitted that the game turned out how he expected.

'I had watched a DVD of the game they won against Bristol Rovers and the fact that they have won four out of five and kept four clean sheets, so you know that they are difficult to score against. It did not help today that it was warm and that the pitch grass was long and so you were not going to get a quick tempo to the game so I did expect it and I thought it might have been decided off a set piece or a mistake like last year and I feel as though it is a good point rather than coming away disappointed...

'I would be very surprised if teams come to Braintree and win easily, they are a difficult team to play at home and away and I have a lot of respect for their players and the team they have so you have to give credit to them, they are a part time club like ourselves and they do really well...

'I love a clean sheet and I think you always need to build from the back, we did concede too many goals last year and we’re doing better in terms of goals against this year... I feel you need to start at the back and last year we conceded too many goals, especially in the first half of the season, then we tightened up and then the reason at the end of the season we were getting so successful was because we were conceding far fewer goals'.

Marc Roberts was the only injury concern for the Town boss at the full time whistle, after he required stitches after an aerial challenge but Aspin said that he will be fine for Tuesday but that there are still concerns over Lois Maynard and James Bolton... 'I think we expected Lois to be available but his hip hasn’t responded and he is still struggling with that. James Bolton we expected to be out for a few weeks, I think it is too early to say after this game if we think anybody has got anything because it was a tough game but I imagine that by the time Tuesday comes and things settle down that I will have a full squad to choose from'".

"WE WERE POOR", SAYS LEE

There were no bright spots to take away and that day will come back and hurt the players. I have to apologise on their behalf".

Welling manager Jamie Day said, "I thought that, apart from the opening 20 minutes, we controlled the game. It's good to get a first win after nine away defeats".

ALTRINCHAM 0 WELLING UNITED 4

Above, Shaun Densmore's freekick comes back off the underside of the crossbar.

A sorry afternoon for the Robins was compounded by a red card for Tom Marshall, injury to Sean Williams and a fifth booking for Peter Cavanagh...

Match report here.

Welling United report that "The Wings travelled to Cheshire on the back of a respectable point at home to Gateshead. Boss Day made three changes from that game, with Corne, Hudson and Jon Nouble being replaced by Fagan, Healy and Bassele, who made his first start of his second loan spell from Bournemouth. Forward trio Tobi Sho-Silva, Charlie Penny and St. Aimie missed out through injury...

After a minute's play the home side had the ball in the net but the play was brought back for a free kick, for a foul on keeper Henly... Welling took the lead after 12 minutes when neat interplay on the edge of the box came to Healy who played a ball over the back line which found Beautyman, who casually dinked the ball over Coburn in the host’s goal.

Just after the half hour mark, Moult replaced Williams for the hosts. Shortly after, Gallagher broke forward and slotted Marsh through on goal and the Oxford loanee coolly lifted the ball over the keeper to double the visitors' lead. Welling had a good spell just before half time and trebled their advantage after the ball fell to Jake Gallagher about 20 yards out and the skipper slammed the ball home with Coburn left rooted.

The hosts had one last chance in first half stoppage time when Densmore rifled a free kick off the underside of the bar... Five minutes before time, Marshall was dismissed for the hosts and from the resulting free kick Chris Bush rifled a low shot which was deflected into the net to make it 4-0 to Welling... A great away day for Welling as they returned to DA16 with their first away points of the campaign".

In fact, this game saw Altrincham sadly continue to provide "firsts" for their opponents; a first win for the hosts at Southport, a first goal for Alfreton, a first goal and win for Nuneaton and now a first away win for Welling.

RESULTS & GATES

• AFC Telford United 4-3 Torquay United (gate 1669)
• Altrincham 0-4 Welling United (850 - 33 in away end)
• Braintree Town 0-0 FC Halifax Town (909)
• Dover Athletic 1-0 Alfreton Town (715)
• Forest Green Rovers 1-2 Barnet (1424)
• Gateshead 1-1 Aldershot Town (1451)
• Grimsby Town 3-0 Chester (3245)
• Lincoln City 2-0 Macclesfield Town (2265)
• Nuneaton Town 1-2 Dartford (759)
• Southport 0-1 Bristol Rovers (1202)
• Woking 2-3 Kidderminster Harriers (1524)
• Wrexham 3-0 Eastleigh (2692)

BARRY'S BLUES

FIXTURES

• Aldershot Town v Alfreton Town
• Barnet v Eastleigh
• Bristol Rovers v Dover Athletic
• Chester FC v Welling United
• Dartford v Grimsby Town
• FC Halifax Town v Altrincham
• Gateshead v Braintree Town
• Kidderminster Harriers v AFC Telford Utd
• Macclesfield Town v Forest Green Rovers
• Nuneaton Town v Lincoln City
• Southport v Woking

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

From the Lincolnshire Echo we learn that "Lincoln City boss Gary Simpson was delighted with the spirit shown by his side as they battled on with 10 men to earn a 2-0 win over Macclesfield Town... Goals from Tom Miller and Ben Tomlinson had put City in a commanding position with in the first 20 minutes.

However, Jordan Burrow saw red for a rash challenge on Adriano Moke on 38 minutes and the Imps had to see out the remainder of the game with a man down... Said Simpson, 'We had to be disciplined and we had to be patient and I thought we were terrific in the second half. I thought we did well to close down the opposition and deny them space and I thought we were worth the win. “When we had 11 men we were causing them problems and we might have got one or two more goals. People were talking about how Macclesfield had only lost one game in 11, but we’re now only four points behind them in the table. We know we should have picked up more points than what we have done... All the shots Macclesfield had were from long range. I think from about 30 yards out you would expect Nick Townsend to be on top of those. We denied them space, didn’t let them get in behind and defended really well'...

Simpson’s team selection ahead of the game caught the Sincil Bank faithful by surprise. The Imps' boss opted to drop captain Alan Power to the bench along with Jon Nolan and defender Tony Diagne. Karl Ledsham was picked for his first start and played a part in a midfield three of Arnaud Mendy and Hamza Bencherif, while Tom Anderson on loan from Burnley was drafted into defence. Simpson, whose side had suffered six defeats in seven games ahead of playing Macclesfield, said he needed to change the system as he looked for a winning formula.

'You cannot keep picking the same players and the same line-up and keep getting beat. We had to have a little rethink', said Simpson. 'If it is not working then we will have to change the way we are playing. If we are going to play Delano Sam-Yorke then we know what sort of balls he works off and so we had to put players in that would make that happen'".

FA CUP 2QR

• Bradford (Park Avenue) 2 - 2 A Fylde
• Curzon Ashton 1 - 0 Scarborough Athletic
• Droylsden 0 - 1 Guiseley A
• Barrow 0 - 1 Runcorn Town
• Workington 0 - 1 Bamber Bridge
• Harrogate Town 1 - 2 Stockport County
• Warrington Town 0 - 0 Sheffield
• Shildon 1 - 0 Stalybridge Celtic
• Colwyn Bay 3 - 2 Harrogate Railway Athletic
• Buxton 2 - 0 Newcastle Benfield
• Hyde 4 - 5 Marine
• Skelmersdale United 1 - 4 Blyth Spartans
• Gainsborough Trinity 4 - 1 Farsley
• Ashton United 1 - 1 Salford City
• Chorley 1 - 0 Glossop North End
• FC United Of Manchester 0 - 1 Lancaster City
• Cleethorpes Town 1 - 2 North Ferriby United
• Dunston UTS 1 - 4 Spennymoor Town
• Worcester City 3 - 1 Rugby Town
• Ellistown & Ibstock United 1 - 7 Halesowen Town
• Histon 0 - 0 Evesham United
• Boston United 3 - 1 Dereham Town
• Ilkeston 1 - 0 Solihull Moors
• Coalville Town 0 - 0 Lowestoft Town
• Tamworth 2 - 1 Rushall Olympic
• King's Lynn Town 1 - 0 Hednesford Town
• Tividale 2 - 2 Leek Town

URGENT: TURNSTILE OPERATORS NEEDED

If you can help, please contact George a.s.a.p. either by phone 0793 9890503 or e-mail.

ALTY v WELLING: BEFORE THE GAME

Mike Garnett gives us the historical record between Alty and Welling:

• At Altrincham: P10-W3-D3-L4-F11-A15
• At Welling: P10-W3-D1-L6-F8-A22
• Overall: P20-W6-D4-L10-F19-A37

Meanwhile, the Kent Sports News reports that "Welling United are back on their travels again this weekend, with a trip to newly promoted Altrincham. Although the two teams have not met for many years, they were regular opponents in the 1990s.

Despite having performed well in all but one of their away games, Welling are still yet to claim their first point on the road. It took a highly contentious dismissal of Jon Nouble at Wrexham to turn their most recent away game against them.

Altrincham come into this game on the back of two heavy away defeats. They lost four-nil at Kidderminster then five-nil at Barnet. They have claimed two wins at home however, defeating Bristol Rovers and Dartford, both 2-1, and they will be hoping to bounce back against the Wings. Striker Damian Reeves will need some watching, having already netted seven times this season, more than fifty per cent of the teams’ goals.

It is highly unlikely that Tobi Sho-Silva will be able to take any part but a week without a game, after a hard earned point against Gateshead, will help the other players recovering from knocks. Both Loui Fazakerley and Joe Healy should be in contention for a return to the starting line up.

More good news for Welling United manager Jamie Day is that Charlie Penny is now in full training following his injury in pre-season. The former Millwall man will be keen to make his Wings league debut and Day will be happy to freshen up his squad with a new face."

ALTY IN "THIRD GEAR"

I didn’t speak for long in the dressing room after the game but asked each player to rate his performance, on what was a tough day for everyone.

In this league, it’s apparent that the difference is about the quality in both penalty areas and Barnet defended much better than we did and executed very well. We created chances early on and in the latter stages of the game but our execution was below par and our defending was very poor for some of the Barnet goals.

It was as if we were playing in third gear, while Barnet closed us down in fifth gear and pressed us in units very well. That made it difficult for us to play our normal passing game and we never really got into the right tempo.

The demands of this league are far higher, physically and mentally, than in the Vanarama North. We did quite a lot of travelling last year, but this year, it’s on a different level and that can make players jaded at times. The matches themselves are far more intense and, to some degree, we are still adjusting to that but I am confident that we will do over the duration of the season.

I’m certainly not complaining. We want to play at this level and there is no reason why this group of players can’t do well. After five games in 15 days, we have had an opportunity to prepare for two very important home games in four days.

Welling United visit the J Davidson Stadium on Saturday and they are one of the teams in our mini-league, who are expected to be in the bottom third of the table. So, three points would turn things round nicely after the heavy defeats at Kidderminster and Barnet.

We have a big derby game against Macclesfield on Tuesday night and both sets of fans will really be up for that. Macclesfield have started very well and only lost once to date and I am expecting a very tight game.

We will be without Dave Parton in goal on Saturday. He is still suffering from the concussion that he sustained in conceding a penalty on Saturday. Stuart Coburn (above right) will come back into the side and will be determined to impress. Sean Williams and Ryan Crowther are back in training but are unlikely to feature on Saturday. Simon Richman is available after his one-match suspension".

VOTE FOR SHAUN AND SCOTT!

The MBNA Northwest Football Awards were launched at the Lawn Club in Manchester. A press release gives full details of the event and how to vote.

OLD BOYS

Speaking about his new deal, Duncan said, 'I’m delighted to commit my future to Sunderland. I’m enjoying my football; I have learnt a lot since joining the club and hope to continue progressing and developing my game'”.

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The Hearing was conducted at the competition’s Birmingham Office today. The club accepted the charge and presented circumstances preceding the offence, in mitigation. The club also asked the Conference Panel to consider exercising the discretionary element in the Rule that permitted the competition to order a replay of the match.

The Panel carefully considered all the written evidence submitted prior to the Hearing and considered the club’s verbal submission presented today. It also considered the discretionary power available to it within Rule 6.9 before finding as follows:-

Forest Green Rovers was found guilty of fielding an ineligible player on 9th August 2014 in its match at Southport. The club was fined £500 and had the three points it gained in the match, deducted from its league table score. The Panel considered but declined the club’s request to have the match replayed. The above decision is subject to the club’s right of Appeal to the Football Association within 14 days of the date of written notification."

Following this, Forest Green Rovers have issued a "statement in regards to the outcome of a Football Conference hearing into an alleged breach of Membership Rule 6.9". It starts, "Forest Green Rovers is disappointed at the outcome of the hearing and have indicated to the Football Conference that they will most likely appeal. FGR looks forward to receiving the Panel’s detailed explanation of how it exercised its discretion in refusing the club’s request for a re-match. FGR notes that the Conference has, in its history, never exercised its discretion in favour of a re-match and is concerned that it may have been deprived of an opportunity to to have its rights under rule 6.9 properly and fully considered...

A statement from the Football Conference said...

1. Forest Green Rovers was found guilty of fielding an ineligible player on 9 August 2014 in its match at Southport.
2. The Club was fined £500 and had the three points it gained in the match, deducted from its League Table score.
3. The Panel considered but declined the Club’s request to have the match replayed."

The Football Conference reports that "Dartford have signed 21-year-old defender Tom Bender. Bender has had experience with Colchester United and Millwall and is comfortable playing at left-back or centre-back. He is no stranger to the Conference, having had loan spells with Chelmsford City and, last season... Welling United.

Manager Tony Burman said, 'I feel that the signing of Tom will give us more competition for places in the defensive areas and I am pleased to add him to the squad'. Wales under-21 international Bender will be available for tomorrow's game against Nuneaton Town."

Elsewhere, "Barnet have signed 18-year-old striker Alfie Pavey on a month`s loan from Millwall. Young Pavey joined Millwall’s Academy ranks in May 2013 after some phenomenal goalscoring exploits with Maidstone United. Pavey scored more than 100 goals for the Stones in youth and academy football during the 2012/13 season, and initially trialled with the Lions earlier that year and clearly did enough to earn a deal with the south London club.

He made one appearance for the Stones first-team, coming on as a 62nd minute substitute against Whitehawk in the League Cup".

According to Get Surrey, "Woking FC legend Kevin Betsy [is] back in training after summer knee injury. The 36-year-old midfielder took part in a non-contact session on Thursday night, his first full session since... sustaining a knee ligament injury during pre-season

The 36-year-old attacking midfielder, who underwent surgery on July 29, is a little ahead of schedule with his return from injury too. Betsy trained with the rest of the squad on Thursday, his first full session since his surgery.

'It was a non-contact session but it felt good', reported the ex-Fulham star, who works at the Championship club’s Academy. 'They went easy on me and the knee feels great. It’s really positive and I’m so lucky I had a fantastic surgeon in Professor Faris Haddad and Tom Jackson, the head physio at Fulham has looked after me'.

Asked when he could be available again, Betsy replied, 'I don’t know but it might be sooner than anticipated. It depends how it holds up in full contract training'. Cards' fans will be hoping for good news on the injury front ahead of their side's clash with Kidderminster Harriers with Mark Ricketts and fellow centre-back James Clarke both recently sidelined. Skipper Ricketts has missed the last three matches with a knee injury while Clarke, a summer signing from Salisbury City, limped off early in the Torquay clash, which ruled him out against Bristol Rovers last Saturday".

Chester FC say that "It's been a week to remember for Chester FC and especially Ben Heneghan, following his derby winning goal scored deep into injury time on Monday night. Last night, we received the news from Manager Steve Burr, that Ben had committed his immediate future to the Blues, signing a contract that will keep the defender at the Swansway until the end of the season.

Burr, naturally delighted said, 'He was on a non-contract but is now with us on a contract until the end of this season. Ben has been brilliant since he's been here and obviously became a hero other against Wrexham. He is still a young lad learning the game, and needs a lot of had work and coaching but I'm delighted that he's going to stay with us until the end of the season'".

FITNESS REPORT

Lee is planning for an important sequence of five home games in the next seven league fixtures, which includes the big local derby next Tuesday against Macclesfield Town. Though it is his first experience of this particular Cheshire derby the Alty boss is only too aware of its importance to Alty fans!

URGENT: STEWARDS NEEDED

CCFA CUPS

• Chester 2-4 Runcorn 7/09/2014
• Mid Cheshire 2-5 Altrincham 7/09/2014
• Stockport v Chester 28/09/2014
• Runcorn v Mid Cheshire 28/09/2014
• Chester v Altrincham 12/10/2014
• Runcorn v Stockport 12/10/2014
• Mid Cheshire v Chester 19/10/2014
• Altrincham v Stockport 26/10/2014
• Altrincham v Runcorn 9/11/2014
• Stockport v Mid Cheshire 9/11/2014

In the other group...

• Macclesfield 0-5 Wirral 7/09/2014
• Stalybridge & Hyde 1-2 Crewe 14/09/2014
• Crewe v Macclesfield 12/10/2014
• Wirral v Stalybridge & Hyde 12/10/2014
• Stalybridge & Hyde v Macclesfield 9/11/2014
• Wirral v Crewe 9/11/2014#

And in the Cheshire FA Youth Cup on 14 September, the result was Altrincham FC Juniors (U17) 2 AC Hoylake (U17) 5

BARRY'S DARTFORD THOUGHTS

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

NL Pitchero tells us that "Torquay United have extended the loan agreement with Josh Wakefield by a further month. The young midfielder signed from AFC Bournemouth in August, has been a consistent option for manager Chris Hargreaves during the Gulls' recent run of good form. The current deal with Wakefield will run until Sunday, October 19th."

From the BBC we learn that "Forest Green Rovers have signed striker Christian Jolley on a month-long loan deal from Newport County. Jolley has made six substitute appearances this term... The 26-year-old has been at Rodney Parade since November 2012, initially joining on loan before making a permanent move two months later".

In the Nuneaton News, we learn that "Experienced Nuneaton Town duo Gavin Cowan and Lee Fowler have ‘stepped up’ to temporarily fill the void left by assistant manager Mark Noon’s shock departure this week...

But the decision [by Noon] was not one of Daish’s making. 'I was expecting to work with Mark but, for whatever the reason, it was nothing to do with me, he decided it wasn’t for him. I respect his decision and that’s fine. I will be looking for a number two and someone I can trust, and have the respect of the players. So, if I was away watching the game or was unavailable for whatever the reason, I can rest assured the players are being trained well while I’m away. Assistants are important, it’s not a case of having a ‘yes man’.

In the past I’ve always relied on my number two’s opinions, to have someone to bounce my ideas off and them likewise. I’ve got a few people in [mind] but, whether it suits them, I’ll have to wait and see... I’ve got some decent people around the club, people I can rely on'".

According to the Shropshire Star, "AFC Telford United manager Liam Watson stated defensive signings are his priority, as he admitted to feeling the pressure of the club’s poor start.

The Bucks' boss is desperate to add a left-back and central defender, preferably before this Saturday’s home game with Torquay United... Telford have conceded 30 goals in their opening 11 Conference Premier games, have won none of them and sit rock bottom of the division...

'Of course, it has been tough. You are used to winning. But, as I have said, I have been in a rut before, when you are top of the league you pick the team and when you are struggling you manage. There is a big difference. I am trying to pick people up but I think there is a phrase, who motivates the motivator? On Saturday (after the 5-0 defeat at FC Halifax) I thought it was more important I spent the time with the players, rather than going out to face the press. People forget there are a lot of players who have never played at this level before'.

Finding a new left-back is the target, with Chris Lever poised to join Bradford Park Avenue and Andy Owens also being told he can move on. The latter did play the full 90 minutes in Tuesday’s 6-1 Shropshire Senior Cup win over Market Drayton Town. Watson said, 'We probably could do with a central defender but we definitely need a left-back of some description'".

According to the Essex Chronicle, "Braintree Town skipper Kenny Davis believes that the 'big' teams in the Conference Premier are more worried of the Iron than they are of them. The Iron have the daunting prospect of playing three of the current top five in their next fixtures, starting with FC Halifax Town at Cressing Road Stadium on Saturday.

Barnet and Gateshead follow, straight after, but Davis insists that his team are showing enough this season that they will be able to compete. He said, 'We have always done well against the better teams and we will look forward to what's coming up. I think that they will be more worried about us than we will about them because they have more pressure on them to succeed and do well. We will take the games as they come but I am sure that, if we play as well as we have been, then we will get something out of the three games'.

The Iron had a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Eastleigh last weekend, but have taken 18 points from their first 11 games... Davis added, 'I think that we are playing well at the minute and it is definitely some of the best form that we have been in since I have been at the club. We will try to take the positives out of Saturday, even though I know it wasn't the result we were after. The first half was pretty even but the second was really one-way traffic. Even though they had one off the line, we were pressing and pressing but just didn't have that cutting edge.

We have always been pretty slow starters but we will take 18 points this year and we are in and around where we want to be. There are still loads and loads of points to play for so I think, overall, we have started pretty well'. Winger Dan Sparkes had been called up to the England C squad for this week's training camp at St George's, but had to pull out due to an ankle injury picked up on Saturday".

News of Alty's next opponents comes from Kent Online, in the shape of a report on the Kent team's 1-1 draw at home to Gateshead. "Harry Beautyman scored his fifth goal of the season as Welling picked up a creditable point... The Wings dominated the first half and could have been more than one goal ahead. But promotion-chasing Gateshead showed their class after the break and could have gone on to get the three points themselves.

Welling were ahead as early as the fifth minute. Tyrone Marsh cleverly flicked Ben Jefford's throw-in into the path of Beautyman, who drove forward and powered home a right-foot shot from 20 yards to beat keeper Adam Bartlett at his near post. The hosts never let Gateshead settle. The visitors tried to play possession football from the back but they were continually forced back under constant pressure from the Wings...

Gateshead turned the game around after the break... The equaliser arrived within five minutes of the restart, JJ O'Donnell's left-wing cross being headed in by substitute Carl Finnigan at the far post".

BT SPORT

• Wed 8 Oct - Kidderminster Harriers v Welling United 7.45pm
• Sat 11 Oct - Alfreton Town v Torquay United 5.30pm

RADIO ROBINS

OLD BOYS

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

In doing so he neglected to mention the HMRC, football creditors, season ticket holders, many utility companies and small businesses that are out of pocket. Mr Justice Arnold refused to accept any of the arguments put forward by Touzar and confirmed an administrative order made last Thursday, was not to be cancelled, stayed or postponed. He further advised Touzar there was no right of appeal.

Touzar was also ordered to pay £1,700 in costs and given just fourteen days to pay or face the threat of bankruptcy. In court he said he had no money to address the debt. He also failed to pay a £1,200 fine for losing an FA appeal hearing. It is with immense sadness that justice has finally prevailed so late on but, at least, everyone can finally look forward now the club are free from the shackles of Touzar's reign.

The club wish the administrators full support whilst they run the club and attempt to undo some of the actions that Touzar has caused to occur. Everyone at Salisbury City looks forward to football again being played at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium, under leadership that cares about the direction of the club."

The Nuneaton News reports that a former director at Kettering Town and the current "Nuneaton Town chairman Lee Thorn aims to turn the club full-time inside three years. A top-12 target for the current campaign has also been handed to new manager Liam Daish with the club currently in the relegation zone.

But immediate concerns over tumbling attendances have prompted Thorn to question whether the town has an appetite for a Conference National side, let alone a Football League outfit.

He said, 'We cannot change the past, but we can do something about the future if we all work hard. I heard there was a great local support for Nuneaton Town, but have not seen any of it. Gates are slowly whittling away and, now that our near neighbours [Coventry City] have returned back to the Ricoh I am struggling to see how they will improve.

We have now appointed a positive manager in Liam Daish, who gave 100 per cent in his playing career, and the same can also be said in his managerial career. I would like our fans to give 100 per cent to[o] and help us to achieve the five-year plan, the club needs to progress on and off the pitch and this can only happen with the support of the paying fans, other stadium revenue and streamlining expenditure.

'When we played Aldershot the attendance was 803, 116 of which were Aldershot fans that make’s 687 home fans. The players deserve better, we are now playing some good football. The team were clearly not getting the previous arrangements but they stuck together and saw it through, and we are now turning negatives into positives starting with Liam’s appointment.

The gate receipts will have a big impact on the future; I have a crystal clear five-year sustainable vision for this club for all to see:

• 5th year – To be in the football league
• 4th year – To be playing part in promotion into the football league
• 3rd year – To be a full-time professional club
• 2nd year – To play a role in the playoffs as a part time club
• 1st year – To be a solid top 8 Conference Premier football club
• This season – To finish in the top 12

Everything is easily achievable through hard work and support.

We plan to turn the three acres of land the club owns on the other side of the river into a training area with a small-sided pitch being part of this development with the community and for the community; we hope to achieve this in conjunction with local colleges as a live ongoing project.

I am happy to back us, but I need more assurances. I need to see the gates improving as the team improves, I need to know the truth why the fans aren’t supporting their local club, less than 0.8 per cent, of the local population is coming to watch our games this season'.

Nuneaton was pulling in gates of 1,200-plus three years ago on their way to many promotions. However, during the start of this season attendances have hovered at around the 800-mark".

According to the Southport Visiter, "For the first time in 40 years, Southport play Bristol Rovers on Saturday hoping that the fixture will bring about a change of fortunes... on the back of three straight defeats, having experienced another afternoon to forget at Macclesfield Town on Saturday.

Three first-half goals, all of which came from set-pieces, saw Southport’s away-day blues continue as they were beaten convincingly at Moss Rose... 'We’ve got to learn quickly,'[manager, Martin] Foyle said... 'I’m disappointed with our defending from set-pieces as we go through everything in training but, when people switch off, it causes you problems.

Training has been great. The players do everything right, they work hard and they are hungry but we need to be more aggressive because we’re a bit of an easy touch at times. Maybe it’s a case of spending more time on corners and free-kicks because we’ve got to deal with it.

We need to get back out onto the training pitch to get that bit of confidence and organisation we need. We had some good chances against Macclesfield and we’ve got to score goals because we need that impetus and get a smile on our faces. We’re putting ourselves under pressure but the supporters have been fantastic and they have really stuck behind us. P> They can see the effort is there but they need to see more quality. I don’t think we deserved to lose by three goals at Macclesfield because we had some really good chances and forced their goalkeeper into some magnificent saves'.

The defeat at Macclesfield saw debuts given to David Raya Martin, the 19-year-old goalkeeper, and striker Ross Dyer, signed on loan from Blackburn Rovers and Halifax Town respectively. The Sandgrounders are still without winger Micah Evans due to a hamstring injury although Luke Foster, who has missed the last four games with a back injury, could be in contention for the visit of Bristol Rovers".

They may have beaten Southport but Macclesfield Town report that their "Friendly at Congleton ends in defeat. Trialist Patrick Antelmi scored the opener for the Silkmen in the first half at Booth Street...

But the second half saw the Silkmen side, which also featured Terry Dunfield, on the back foot and Congleton equalised just after the break, before a sloppy backpass left Ritchie Branagan stranded for the Bears to take the lead.

The third came from the spot as Branagan watched a Congleton penalty fly wide only for the referee to order a re-take, which was scored... Silkmen: Branigan, Cowan, Gibson, Dunfield, Rose, Grant, Thomas, Clark, Antelmi, Hunter, Moke Subs: Lavelle-Moore, O’Keefe, Tighe, Thompson.

Trialists:

• Terry Dunfield, former Manchester City, Bury, Macclesfield Town, Shrewbury, Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto, Oldham Athletic and Canada midfielder.
• Jordan Rose. Defender who was on trial with the Silkmen this summer.
• Luke Clark. Defender/midfielder who has featured for Preston North End and Accrington.
• Patrick Antelmi. Australian striker formerly of Blacktown City Demons before moving the U21 systems at Portsmouth, Leeds United, where he was top scorer and wolves before moving to Wigan in December 2013."

NW NEWS

ENJOY A SPORTSMAN'S DINNER

This event will consist of a four-course meal followed by an auction and raffle. The price is £400 + VAT for a table of 10 or £40 per ticket. Please complete the attached booking form now and return to Karen Rowley at the club, Moss Lane, Altrincham, Cheshire WA15 8AP, or by e-mail. Book soon to avoid disappointment!

"OFF THE PACE" AT BARNET

The Altrincham manager made no attempt to disguise the way Barnet bossed proceedings and could have run up an even more emphatic scoreline. But, mindful Alty’s season will be shaped by how they fare against the likes of Welling, he was keen to ensure there were no lasting ill-effects from a chastening experience against a side who already look destined for a quick return to the Football League.

'You’ve got to be honest about things and say they were the best we have come across all season and were better than us all over the park', he said. 'But it was quite a short talk I had with the players after the game. I asked one simple question. How do you rate your performance? And they were totally honest with their answers. It’s not nice enduring a tough afternoon like that, but the important thing now is to dust ourselves down and move on to the next game.

Confidence is a major commodity for us this season, so while we will have a look at what happened, we won’t dwell on it. We had a couple of chances before Barnet scored, and there was another late on when Damian Reeves went through, but the lesson once more was that, in this league, it’s about quality in both boxes. It’s how you defend on one and how you execute in the other.'

'Barnet were better in both regards, so it’s up to us to improve. We need to be brighter and to play at a better tempo. There was a fair bit of travelling in the Conference North, but the demands in this division are far greater, and not just in terms of distance covered. The games are more intense, we are having to work harder for opportunities and the mental aspect takes more out of players.

'But this is the challenge we wanted. We want to test ourselves at this level, so it’s up to us to show we are up to it. If we perform as I know we are capable of, we will pick up points and be fine. But we were off the pace at Barnet, against a team who certainly were not. Hence the result'".

YANKEE WINNERS

LADIES' MATCH REPORT

YOUTH TEAM REPORT

Pictured, right, we see Shaun Arrowsmith after scoring Altrincham's goal against Irlam. Image courtesy of James Lobley, who has more images here.

LAST AND NEXT OPPONENTS ON VIDEO

Our next opponents, Welling United have 18 minutes of highlights of their game against Gateshead.

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Also, "Alfreton Town have extended the loan of Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Cameron Dawson for a further two months. Dawson, 19, has certainly produced the goods recently, keeping two clean sheets in his last three outings and playing a big part as the Reds have taken ten points out of the last twelve in the league. Dawson will now be with the Reds until November 22nd inclusive."

According to the BBC, "Manager Kevin Wilkin says Wrexham need to forget about defeat at Chester and refocus for their next game. Blaine Hudson gave Wrexham an early lead but Craig Hobson and a late Ben Heneghan goal secured a 2-1 victory for Chester.

Wrexham host Eastleigh in the Conference on Saturday and Wilkin wants a response from his players. 'We have to dust ourselves down and we have to focus on the next game,' Wilkin said. 'I want a response and a reaction and look to take the points on Saturday... There's so many chances we've had through the game really that the game's got to be sewn up and out of sight... To come away with nothing is really a kick in the teeth'."

At Nuneaton Town, "Mark Noon has left... with immediate effect. He said, 'I have decided not to continue in the role of assistant manager. In doing so, I reflect on 11 memorable years at the Boro which have included three promotions and reaching the third round of the FA Cup. More recently I have thoroughly enjoyed the coaching role with the club working with a fantastic group of players and staff...

However, I feel the time has come to move on and in doing so I wish Liam Daish, the players, staff and board every success in the future'.

Chief executive Ian Neale said, 'It is with real disappointment that Mark leaves the club... It has been a difficult period since Kevin Wilkin left but at all times Noon has stayed focused and put the club ahead of the his personal position... The door for Mark is always open and I hope to see him at games this season and in the future'".

In the Torquay Herald Express we learn that "Torquay United manager Chris Hargreaves has confirmed that AFC Bournemouth midfielder Josh Wakefield has extended his loan spell at Plainmoor, and described him as an “important” part of the team.

Wakefield’s first month on loan... expired after Saturday’s clash against Dover Athletic, with the 20-year-old having had limited opportunities to impress. Wakefield has so far made a single start, on the wing against Lincoln City. In the last five games – a potential 450 minutes of football, Wakefield has been limited to 40 minutes across three substitute roles...

Said Hargreaves, 'We’re happy, he’s happy and Bournemouth are happy so it’s all good. He’s the next in if Luke Young or Courtney Cameron are struggling with injury, so he’s an important player for us. He’s got a good attitude as well, and with the way the squad is, you would have to say having him is a necessity... He loves it down here and is really enjoying his football', said Hargreaves. 'He knows that I think a lot of him. He’s obviously frustrated that he’s not playing right now, but he understands where we are and why he’s not been involved. He realises that when the team’s winning, you can’t make loads of changes'".

Reports in the Bristol Post tell us that "Rovers' boss Darrell Clarke has confirmed that Ryan Brunt has been made available for loan at his own request. Brunt has not featured since the 2-1 defeat at Altrincham on August 16 and had already had one request to temporarily go elsewhere in search of game-time rejected earlier this month.

The striker, however, made another appeal at the end of last week and Clarke agreed to make Brunt available for loan having agreed that he is unlikely to force his way back into the first-team future in the immediate future... Clarke said... 'He has slipped down the pecking order and is going to find it difficult to get in the team. Ryan wants to play and I can’t offer that to him here at the minute so it is probably best for all concerned if the lad goes out and gets some games. There hasn’t been any interest in him as of yet'".

In the Shropshire Star we learn that "Manager Liam Watson today insisted AFC Telford United will come through their dreadful start to the season, as defender Chris Lever prepared to leave. The 26-year-old is set to join Conference North outfit Bradford Park Avenue on a permanent basis.

Lever was made available for transfer last week along with Wes Baynes and Andy Owens, as Watson looks to shake-up his struggling squad. He said, 'It’s whether Chris feels confident or not. I think he wants to go and play as a centre-back in the Conference North. Good luck to him'.

Watson kept his players in the dressing room following Saturday’s 5-0 defeat at Halifax, which extended Telford’s winless start to 11 games. Defeat left Telford rooted to the foot of the Conference Premier table, but Watson remains confident they can pull through their dreadful start and survive.

He said, 'I have had this before at Southport when we first came up. There is a big gulf between the two levels and from that point of view we will come through it. I think, for the players who have not played at this level before, it has been a massive shock. It’s difficult, especially on the back of last season when we were winning most weeks. It’s just a case of working harder. We just need that first win to get us going, to raise the players'.

Telford will aim to pick up their first victory of the campaign tonight when they travel to Market Drayton Town in the Shropshire Senior Cup. And Watson intends to field a strong side tonight, saying, 'That’s the way I’m looking at it, a chance to get a win under our belts. Hopefully, one or two players will get a boost out of it. I don’t intend on making too many changes, we will try and put a strong side out'".

ALTRINCHAM 1 IRLAM 2

A report from Youth team defender, James Farrington, is here.

COMMUNITY SPORTS HALL GENERAL MANAGER

Information about the project is on the Community Sports Hall's website. Pictured, right, is the building work on the Community Sports Hall in progress, earlier this month.

BARNET v ALTY BLOG

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Monday, 22nd September 2014

• Chester 2 Wrexham 1

The Football Conference tells us that "Wrexham have signed striker Dan Holman on a month`s loan from Colchester United... until 19th October... Holman joined the U’s in the summer after a tremendous season with Braintree Town... He scored 24 goals in sixty-nine games for the Iron after switching from then Conference North side Histon in 2012".

Nuneaton Town announce that "Former Republic of Ireland International... Liam Daish is the new manager of Nuneaton Town.

Daish, selected from a longlist of more than 60 applicants for the position, was unveiled to fans and media at the Sketchley Grange Hotel on Monday afternoon. The new boss said, 'Nuneaton has always been a decent non-league team with a decent non-league reputation, and the timing of the job coming in, as well as the location, felt right for me. I have been very impressed by talking to the chairman and the chief executive and it feels like a good, honest club that wants to progress.

'When the job came up I was on a break in Portugal, so I came back, did a bit of homework and was able to watch the match against Forest Green Rovers. I have a very good idea of the squad and the players and, no doubt, I will be very well briefed about all of them. It will not take me too long to get settled in, I’m sure'.

A former centre half, Daish started his playing career with Portsmouth before spells at Cambridge United, Barnet, Birmingham City, Coventry City and Havant & Waterlooville, where he was also joint-manager. He also made five appearances for the Republic of Ireland. After a brief period as caretaker manager at Welling United, he became manager at Gravesend & Northfleet (later known as Ebbsfleet Town) in 2005, leaving by mutual consent in May 2013.

As a manager, Daish has enjoyed success including winning the FA Trophy and developing players that have gone on to enjoy careers in the Football League. He is a UEFA ‘B’ level 3 coach and is waiting to go on the UEFA ‘A’ course, and says his biggest asset is his experience gained as a player working under great managers, being involved in winning promotions as a player and manager.

He said, 'There is lots of new terminology with regards to how you play, but the game itself has not changed that much. I like teams that can play with a good tempo, who are positive and who look forwards first. Without getting too technical, I will be looking to play in a positive way that creates chances to score and hopefully we will have that extra something that will help us put those chances away'...

Daish... said, 'I played in a number of systems as a professional player and have been adaptable as a coach and a manager. A lot is determined by the players I have at my disposal and what will best suit the players I have. I have an idea of how I would like to play, but we will have to wait and see'.

Boro chairman Lee Thorn was delighted to have been able to appoint Daish, saying, 'Right from the outset there was one stand out character and as soon as his CV dropped, (Liam) was the guy for me. We interviewed four candidates, who all performed exceptionally well. Each interview lasted at least two hours each and we followed the same format for all of them; all were asked the same questions, and we also gave them a paper exercise with a football scenario to knock them out of their stride, based on the scenario we faced against Bristol Rovers.

Mr Thorn revealed that James Ellis joined chief executive Ian Neale and himself on the interview panel. '(Following the interview process) the three people on the panel had one clear choice. I spoke to Liam on Saturday night and offered him the position, and he called back on Sunday morning to accept the terms and conditions we offered... You cannot fault his record at Ebbsfleet.... He is the perfect candidate, with an outstanding proven reputation, and is the perfect fit for Nuneaton Town...

I spoke to a few people who have previously worked with Liam before offering him the job. Barry Fry described him as his "Captain Marvel", while Graham Carr said he was a natural leader of men'".

NORTH-WEST NEWS

Lim, who is also set to take over La Liga outfit Valencia CF, will add 'invaluable' experience to the club. The takeover is subject to Football Association approval. The quintet commented, 'When we set upon this journey we always knew at some point we wanted external partners involved, people who would share our vision for Salford City. Peter's love of sport, above all football, is well documented. He has an incredible track record in business as well as youth and community engagement, especially at grassroots level. Peter's experience and knowledge can help take the club to where we believe they can be'.

The Ammies' current chairwoman, Karen Baird, said, 'The formal process of the takeover of the club has begun with the FA. It's been a great start to the season, we are very excited about the future for the club and what can be achieved. The most important aspect for us is that we continue to bond with our community and city and we have assurances this will happen'".

FA YOUTH CUP

Altrincham currently lie fourth in the NWYA Premier whilst Irlam FC are fourth in the NWYA Second Division. Irlam FC are distinct from Irlam Town and were founded in 1969 as Mitchell Shackleton Football Club. Irlam FC's first team plays in the NW Counties League, Division One. The winners of the tie will be away to Chester FC in the next round.

BARNET 5 ALTRINCHAM 0

Above: Tom Marshall heads clear in the first half at Barnet.

Match report here.

LEE ON KIDDERMINSTER GAME

I’m smiling as I say that because for 35 minutes at Kidderminster on Tuesday night, we stood up really well and looked the better team and created the better chances, yet we have then conceded a couple of goals in three minutes before half-time, had a man sent off early in the second half and eventually came away on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline in a very strange game.

It’s a bit baffling because, partly, I’m annoyed with them but, partly, I’m proud of the way that they performed, even though I felt that we were to some degree the architects of our own downfall.

As we did at Nuneaton a couple of weeks ago, we started well at Aggborough but we need a better efficiency in the final third, particularly away from home. I was a bit annoyed with the way we conceded two goals in quick succession, just before half-time, and having made plans, during the interval, to try to get back into the game, we then lost Simon Richman, who was sent off for a second bookable offence.

I thought the referee got those two decisions right and Simon needs to show a bit more nous than he did; he should have stayed on his feet, rather than diving in.

Despite this further setback, we continued to create chances. Kyle Perry went very close and within a minute, we have conceded a third and the contest is over.

Whilst I thought that the referee got the two decisions that led to Simon Richman being sent off right, I have to be very diplomatic about how I word what I say about his performance. Kyle Perry seemed to be taken from behind in the first 15 minutes and Jake Moult incurred a very hefty and high challenge, yet no action was taken in either instance.

It may sound stupid when you have just been beaten 4-0, but I still believe that we are making positive steps in this league and, whilst our next game is another very tough one at Barnet, who are top of the league, we will go there and play our football and hopefully give our travelling fans something to cheer about.

They were great again on Tuesday, almost a hundred made the journey to Worcestershire and they gave the team great support. Thanks for that".

LADIES' 7-3 WIN

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

It was goalkeeping coach Andy Pryce who fronted questions after two goals from Danny Hattersley and strikes from Adam Smith, Scott Boden and Paul Marshall saw The Bucks lose 5-0 at FC Halifax Town. And Pryce reckons it's now time Watson's players took responsibility, as they continue to search for their first win of the season after eleven games.

Pryce said, 'Liam has kept the players in the changing room and is going over a few things. He's not shouting, he's just going over a few things and trying to keep us all together really. All the lads in there are devastated. OK the first goal was a worldy of a strike but there are things we can do to prevent that and that's what we have to start doing. We need to work harder as a unit, work harder as individuals and stop those little mistakes. Today they have scored three or four really good quality goals, but we can do a lot better".

Meanwhile, the Lancashire Evening Post reports on another troubled club as "Southport’s misfortunes continued on Saturday when they were beaten 3-0 by Macclesfield Town at Moss Rose. The Sandgrounders gave debuts to striker Ross Dyer, and keeper David Reya Martin, who replaced long-term injury victim, Daniel Lloyd-Weston.

But, repeating the pattern of their last two matches, it took only eight minutes for Port to fall behind, a tremendous volley by [ex-Alty loanee] Luke Waterfall from a Waide Fairhurst corner finding the net. This was followed in the 22nd minute by a second goal, a free-kick from [ex-Alty loanee] Paul Turnbull. And Waterfall made it three just before the interval when he headed in a Turnbull cross. Dyer and Richard Brodie had the best efforts for the visitors but were thwarted by the Macclesfield keeper".

Our next guests at the J. Davidson Stadium, Welling United are making their first visit to us since 12 February, 2000, when the visitors won 1-0 (see right). Mike Garnett gives us the historical record between Alty and Welling:

• At Altrincham: P10-W3-D3-L4-F11-A15
• At Welling: P10-W3-D1-L6-F8-A22
• Overall: P20-W6-D4-L10-F19-A37

On Saturday, Welling "secured a more than valuable point after a 1-1 with high flying Gateshead. Coming off the back of a terrific 2-0 Victory over Lincoln just 4 days previous, it was clear to see confidence flowing in Wings. It took Welling just five minutes to open the scoring, with the first shot on goal of the game.

Ben Jefford took a quickly taken throw to Tyrone Marsh and a clever back heel flick from Marsh brought into play the on rushing Harry Beautyman, the ball sat up perfect for The Wings' top scorer and he hit a magnificent rasping strike from 18 yards past Adam Bartlett at his near post.

Welling nearly added a second soon after Chris Bush burst forward out of defence and carried on his run going for a one two with Hudson only to see his route to goal block before checking back inside and shooting straight at Bartlett.

Welling were in control dictating the tempo, harassing The Heed into making mistakes and in Harry Beautyman they currently have a player revelling in playing a more forward role... If the first half belonged to The Wings then the second half belonged to Gateshead.

Gateshead manager Gary Mills made a half time substitute as Carl Finnigan was brought on. The Gateshead debutant took less than five minutes to make an impact... O’Donnell produce[d] a great cross which was met at the backpost by Finngan as he rose above Jefford and headed past Henly. This goal changed the complexion of the game on its head and it was Gateshaed now in full control... Arguably Welling were paying the price for their energetic start to the game and really struggled to keep the ball, such was the sustained attacks from Gateshead...

It was a brave performance against a strong Gateshead side as Welling travel to Altrincham next Saturday".

And in the News Shopper, we read that "Both teams will feel disappointed at coming away with just a point after a game in which each dominated a half. Although Welling were very good value for their half time lead, Gateshead dominated the second period and but for wayward finishing and determined Wings defending, they could have claimed all three points.

Injury to Tobi Sho-Silva, sustained in Welling’s last game, ruled him out and Jon Nouble replaced him following his one match suspension. Sam Corne was preferred to Zach Fagan as the only other change...

Welling United: Henly, Williams, Jefford, Gallagher, Bush, Fyfield, Beautyman, Corne (Baselle 75), Nouble (Healy 57), Marsh. Hudson (Fazakerley 68). Unused substitutes: Turner, Fagan."

From the other side, Gateshead report that "Debutant Carl Finnigan came off the bench to earn Gateshead a share of the spoils... Up until that point, however, the high-flying Tynesiders had toiled against the lowly Wings, with Jamie Day’s men enjoying by far the better of the opening exchanges.

A 2-0 home victory over Lincoln City in midweek looked to have instilled a new sense of confidence in the home side, and they drew first blood with only six minutes on the clock... Buoyed by their leveller, Gateshead began to turn the screw, and went on to dominate the remainder of the game... Welling looked to be tiring, camped inside their own half as the visitors continued to press for a winner".

"TAKING IT GAME BY GAME"

'It might sound a little strange, after losing 5-0, but we're taking it game by game. Barnet are up there at the top, aren't they? So, this is a tough place to come to.

'we can't dwell on things. The major commodity I work in is confidence and it is my job to keep the confidence of the players up. When we do that, we are capable of picking up points'".

BARNET 5-0 ALTRINCHAM

Match report here.

Above, Stuart Coburn tips Luisma Villa's freekick over the bar after the Alty keeper had come on as a substitute in Saturday's game at Barnet.

SATURDAY FIXTURES

• Aldershot Town 1-0 Lincoln City (gate 1,582)
• Alfreton Town 1-0 Nuneaton Town (600)
• Barnet 5-0 Altrincham (1,516)
• Bristol Rovers 2-0 Woking (6,028)
• Dartford 1-2 Forest Green Rovers (1,003)
• Eastleigh 1-0 Braintree Town (1,131)
• FC Halifax Town 5-0 AFC Telford United (1,519)
• Kidderminster Harriers 0-1 Grimsby Town (2,093)
• Macclesfield Town 3-0 Southport (1,450)
• Torquay United 2-0 Dover Athletic (2,363)
• Welling United 1-1 Gateshead (536)
• Through the Years by Howard Watts

RESERVES DRAW

The commentators are Laurence Howarth amd Mike Reeves. The match summariser is Stewart James. Coverage starts at 2.50pm, with the game kicking off at 3pm. You can listen to Radio Robins on the internet at www.radiorobins.com

Leah and Simon Brotherton will be providing regular updates on Twitter (@altrinchamfc) as well as half-time and full time updates on facebook (Altrincham FC).

BARNET SIGNING

He said, 'I suppose it is something to look at. I thought that we were pretty average in the first half at Telford but fantastic in the second half. I think we started tonight’s game really well but faded as the game went on. There was still plenty of effort, but just lacking that bit of quality and creativity. These games are going to be difficult, but we are going to have to find a way and work out different ways of beating the opposition because at the moment it has not been good enough'.

Player-coach Jon Nurse deputised for MacDonald in Tuesday’s 1-0 home defeat by Wrexham and Allen was pleased with the 33-year-old’s impact. He enthused, 'I thought he [Nurse] was superb on Saturday at Telford, he really was. He led the line well; he certainly improved our team when he went onto the pitch. He’s got energy, he’s got enthusiasm and he has got a running power. He turned their team numerous times during the first half, but we didn’t quite get a goal from his good play'...

Also in contention to partner John Akinde up front will be Jamal Lowe, though the 20-year-old has only made two substitute appearances for the Bees this season. Midfielder Mauro Vilhete will also miss out; whilst defender Jack Saville is expect to be out for 'another two to three weeks minimum' after suffering an ankle ligament problem".

Nevertheless, Barnet reported on Friday evening that they were "delighted to announce the signing of striker Sam Hoskins on a short-term loan deal from Yeovil Town. The 21-year-old is a product of Southampton’s prestigious youth academy, and made his first team debut for the Saints club during the 2011/12 season, making two appearances from the bench in both the Carling Cup and FA Cup as well as featuring in two Capital One Cup games during the following campaign.

During six seasons with the South Coast club he was top scorer for four consecutive years; twice with the U18 side and twice with the U21s. The young striker was signed by Yeovil in the summer of 2013... and has made seventeen appearances for the Glovers to date. Hoskins has also enjoyed short loan spells at Rotherham United... and Stevenage... as well as a short stint at Preston that was cut short by a training ground injury. Sam will be available for selection for the game at home to Altrincham".

And for spectators, Barnet warn "supporters of closures on the London Underground on Saturday that may affect their journeys to The Hive for our home match against Altrincham. On the Jubilee Line, there will be no service between Willesden Green and Stanmore due to track replacements at Neasden. An alternative bus service will be operating...

There will also be no service on the Metropolitan Line between Aldgate and both Uxbridge and Northwood. A replacement bus service as well as a special train service will be operating instead."

Barnet announce...

Accommodation The West Stand blocks F, G and the North Terrace (behind the goal) are allocated to visiting supporters. Ticket prices as below:

• West Stand Block F & G (seating): Adults £20, Concessionaries (u-19 and 64+) £12, (u-14) £5
• North Terrace (standing): Adults £17, Concessionaries (u-19 and 64+) £12, (u-14) £5 (U19 & Over 64) Under 14s

Tickets

E-tickets can be purchased via the online box office at www.barnetfc.com. Please note e-tickets must be printed off by the supporter and the barcode downloaded by the right click on the mouse.

Disabled Supporters: Wheelchair and ambulant tickets are available at a cost of £20.00 with the helper going free of charge. These seats are situated on the front rows of the West Stand blocks F and G.

Please pre-order tickets, otherwise buy from the ticket office on the day.

Food and drink

We have an exclusive bar available where away supporters can purchase refreshments. This opens 2 hours before kick-off and is located inside the stadium. Tea huts are available serving hot and cold food and drinks. The ground opens 1 hour before kick-off.

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Thorn, chief executive Ian Neale and a third, unnamed, member of the board, have this week been busy sifting through a raft of CVs to find Brian Reid’s successor. 'Each of us have picked our best three candidates and a wildcard', said Thorn. 'From there, a synergy is created and we are calling in the candidates from that process and interviewing them. We hope to make an appointment by the start of next week and we’d like to have them in the stands tomorrow'.

Boro caretaker manager Nicky Eaden confirmed after Tuesday night’s defeat to Bristol Rovers that the Alfreton Town game was likely to be his last before returning to full-time duties at Leicester City. And Thorn was full of praise forEaden’s contribution, saying, 'He’s been fantastic for us. We didn’t want to rush into anything and we wanted to make sure we got the right man this time, and Nicky has helped bide [?buy] us some time'...

Thorn was in the stands at the Memorial Stadium for Tuesday night’s 3-1 defeat to Bristol Rovers... He said, 'We’re from two different worlds, as clubs, but I thought the lads did well and we had some good chances'...

Boro caretaker manager Nicky Eaden believes tomorrow’s trip to Alfreton will be his last in charge. He said, 'I seemed to have got some sort of response from the players... I felt we ran out of legs a little bit against Aldershot and if we maybe had gone a little bit longer without conceding we might have got another win. Being part-time brings its own problems, but that’s what you’ve got to work with'".

The Football Conference says that "Martin Foyle, manager of Southport, has brought in 19-year-old Spanish goalkeeper David Raya Martin on loan from Blackburn Rovers.... Martin has quickly risen through the Rovers' ranks to the fringes of the first-team squad, signing his first professional contract in February this year...

Foyle has also brought in striker Ross Dyer on a month`s loan from league rivals FC Halifax Town. Dyer joined FC Halifax in June after his release from Mansfield Town at the end of last season".

Elsewhere, "Alfreton Town have extended the loan of striker Joe Ironside from Sheffield United for a further two months. The Blades have also given Alfreton permission to play Ironside in this season's FA Cup competition. The in-form striker, who has scored four goals so far during his loan period at the Impact Arena, including netting in each of the last three games, will be with the Reds until November 15th inclusive."

Also, "Lincoln City have signed centre-back Tom Anderson on a month`s loan from Burnley. The 21-year-old, who progressed from captaining the youth team to the reserves at Turf Moor, has yet to play a competitive game for the Clarets but experienced first-team football with Barrow AFC, Hyde FC and FC Halifax Town on loan in the last two seasons. Anderson, whose loan will run until October 18th, will go straight into the City squad".

Also acquiring a new face are AFC Telford United, who "have completed the signing of Ryan Higgins. Higgins is an athletic and versatile player with quality experience playing for Everton's Academy since the age of 7 years. He has featured on several occasions for Everton reserves and also captained the under-18s. He joined Birmingham City... and went onto to gain valuable experience making the First Team Squad on six occasions".

The Conference also tells us that "Grimsby Town have signed striker Rhys Oates on an initial one month loan deal from Sky Bet League One side Barnsley. Oates is a product of the Barnsley academy and is described as a powerful front-man, who has the ability to lead the line as the lone-striker. He made his Barnsley debut in a 2-1 win at Crewe back in August and last season he made a good impression on loan with Stockport County".

Meanwhile, "Dover Athletic have announced the signings of three players in goalkeeper Andy Rafferty, defender Robert Gerrard and midfielder Matthew Saunders... Rafferty is a 26-year-old goalkeeper, who joins following his release from Hartlepool United... Rafferty started his career at Darlington but left the club aged 16. Upon leaving, Rafferty had trials at Southampton, Reading and Wigan Athletic but a broken finger left him unable to sign. He went to play part-time for Crook Town and Horden Colliery Welfare before joining Guisborough Town in 2008 and... joined Hartlepool in the summer of 2010... At the end of last season, United offered Rafferty a new extended contract which he rejected in the search of first-team football.

Hartlepool rejected Rafferty's request to be released and activated the option year in his contract for the 2014/15 season. But only a week into the season both parties agreed to mutually terminate the contract...

Gerrard is a young left-back who joins after being released by Aldershot Town and, despite his natural position being down the left hand side, he is equally able to play at centre-back... Saunders is a 25-year-old midfielder who made forty-one appearances for Dagenham & Redbridge between 2012 and 2014, and joins... after leaving Conference South side Whitehawk. Saunders graduated from Fulham's academy, and joined Lincoln City on loan... In February 2012, Saunders joined Dagenham & Redbridge on an eighteen-month contract... He then moved to Whitehawk and made two appearances."

According to Lincoln Vital Football, "Conner Robinson has gone on loan to Boston United and Sahr Kabba has joined Conference South side Whitehawk FC... Kabba is in need of games having failed to get into The Imps Starting XI after joining from Havant & Waterlooville in the Summer. A 24-hour recall clause following the completion of 28 days has been included in the deal".

Cambridge United report that their "striker Dan Holman is set to join Wrexham on loan, after the two clubs agreed a one month loan deal on Friday... Boss Tony Humes said, 'We spoke to Dan and said that we'd like to get him out to play some football, as he wasn't currently in our first team.... Wrexham made contact with us on Thursday and we've agreed to let him go out'".

In the Daily Post, we learn that "Wrexham FC have sold just half of their 1,200 allocation of tickets for Monday night’s derby clash at Chester, with many fans boycotting the match or unable to attend due to the travel restrictions. Supporters have until the end of Friday to buy tickets, with club secretary Geraint Parry confirming that sales had reached the 600 mark yesterday.

The fixture has controversially been designated as a Safe Travel Game, also known as a bubble match, meaning all Wrexham supporters must travel to Chester on a coach organised by the club and escorted by the police. A Football Supporters’ Federation poll of Wrexham fans has revealed that 24% are going to the match, 50% are choosing to boycott it and 26% are unable to attend.

A petition and Burst The Bubble campaign was backed by both sets of supporters when the restrictions were announced in July. It was unable to force a U-turn... North Wales Police and Cheshire Constabulary said the two clubs mutually agreed to retain the bubble match restrictions from last season, with a joint statement saying the measures are intended 'to help to make the event safe and enjoyable for everyone'".

Reports in the Shropshire Star tell us that "AFC Telford United today slapped Wes Baynes, Chris Lever and Andy Owens on the transfer list after their poor start to the Conference Premier season... He held talks with every player in his squad at training last night and has made defenders Baynes and Lever, along with left-sided operator Owens, available to leave.

Ryan Higgins, a 20-year-old free agent after his release from Birmingham City, was put through his paces during the session and has signed non-contract forms today, as an alternative to Baynes.

Watson said, 'I can't accept what I have seen from a few of the players. You want people to dig in and my teams have always done that. I need to deal with these situations now. Everyone has had their chance, I have been loyal to the players who won us the league and I spoke to every one of them last night, to tell them exactly where they stand. I sent a flyer out a month ago, saying that players were available but I didn't name anyone, just to see who would enquire. We got one call and Sam Smith went to Brackley Town. Some have no future here now, others were told they need to kick on or ship out.

Sometimes with younger players, you have to let them come through a bad spell. I intend to with Neill Byrne and Adam Farrell. Potentially, they are good enough to play in this league, so I will stand by them'.

Watson will bring in midfielders Godfrey Poku and Sean Clancy for tomorrow's trip to Halifax Town, with Rod McDonald back from bruised ribs to take Lever's spot in defence.

The Telford chief said, 'Now we have got ourselves into a position where we have to scrap for everything and start fighting to stay in this league. There's an element of luck but, the harder you work, the luckier you become. When you are top of the league, you pick the team. When you are bottom, you battle to manage and that's what I will do. I only want players who will run through a brick wall for me and Telford. I have been fair and honest and given everyone a go, but you can't keep waiting for things to happen and letting it float on. I can accept getting beat, as long the performance is there. Defensively, we have to start trying to shut up shop. We are bottom, we haven't won in 10 games and we are the sixth highest goalscorers in the league, so we have got forwards who are firing'".

A LITTLE CAN ADD UP TO A LOT

We can see the fantastic progress that is being made on the Ccommunity Sports Hall site (pictured, right), but we still need help in raising, approximately, the final £90,000.

Any contribution is most welcome, as we are aware that a lot of people are not in a position to make large donations. You only have to see how lots of small donations have raised staggering amounts of money after the tragic fire at the Manchester dogs' home. If anyone has any ideas on fund raising we would welcome your suggestions or, if you know of any local individuals or companies that may be interested to help, please contact either Peter Foster or Neil Faulkner at the club on 0161 928 1045.

Thank you for your support both on and off the field".

Meil explains that there are several initiatives which are raising funds for the Community Sports Hall that you are invited to support, including...

1. "There is a Just Giving page which has been set up to raise money for the Hall - please make your pledge here.

2. Altrincham FC season-ticket holder James Cram is running the Chicago Marathon in October on behalf of the Altrincham FC Community Sports Hall and he has a Just Giving page for the purpose. James advises the Club that he works for Legal & General who kindly do matched sponsorship up to £500, so "My target is £1,000 (hopefully I'll get more). So far my training is, erm... building up slowly but with a crash diet and smoking patches I'm hoping I'll get a PB for the distance which would be under 4hrs 28 mins".

BEFORE BARNET GAME

Right: Sean Williams.

Following Thursday evening training, Alty manager Lee Sinnott commented that "We play in a style which is pleasing but we need to convert the pleasing stuff into goals". On the contrary, the teams we have played have put away a higher proportion of their chances. "Our oppponents' clinical finishing has underlined that it has been a real step up in leagues for us this season", Lee added.

SATURDAY YANKEE JACKPOT NOW £1,250

For just a £1 stake you could win the jackpot; details are on the Saturday Yankee page.

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Much speculation has surrounded Turley over the past few months, apparently attracting interest from Swindon Town and Yeovil Town, but [he] struggled to find a club after suffering a broken arm earlier this summer... [He] was part of the Whites [Salisbury] team that were demoted due to financial collapse in 2009/10...

Meanwhile, the Spitfires have allowed full back Matt Fry, who arrived as cover for Michael Green just one month ago, to leave".

From Grimsby Town we learn that "York City defender Daniel Parslow is set to join the Mariners on an initial one-month loan deal. The 29-year-old, who has only ever played for the Minstermen in a career spanning 316 games, will join up with former Minstermen team-mates Patrick McLaughlin, Chris Doig, Scott Brown and Craig Clay tomorrow.

Parslow returned to action, after recovering from cruciate ligament damage, in City's final pre-season game against Sheffield United. But he has not stepped on to the pitch in competitive action since then."

The Macclesfield Express tells us that "Ten games in... John Askey's side have started the season well, and the Macc boss is determined not to let it be for nothing... ‘One game at a time’ has been his approach thus far but he has no option to look further down the line, given the injuries that are starting to emerge.

Danny Whitaker's ongoing back problem means he hasn't featured since mid-August's draw at Woking and fellow midfielders Paul Turnbull (calf) and Paul Lewis (ankle) are playing through minor niggles. Lewis will sit out Saturday's home game with Southport after seeing a second yellow card in injury-time against Gateshead...

'We can’t afford to have too many injuries, my concern is that the situation could let a good chance that we’ve given ourselves go by,' said Askey. 'We have had a really good start but we could do with a few more bodies coming in, we’re relying heavily on some young lads and, through sheer endeavour at times, we’re getting some good results. But quite a few didn’t train on Monday. Winning at Dover made a long journey a lot shorter coming home, it was really pleasing. I'm disappointed to have only got a draw against Gateshead after we'd been in front at home...

We knew how they played and we tried to press them high up the park in the first half and I think that worked for us. We got a good goal and in the second half a couple of players ran out of legs and, as you could see, we couldn't close them down and that's why David came off. He did really well in the first half but in the second he just ran out of steam. We worked really hard, we were organised and that's what's getting us results'...

Key to Macc’s success story so far has been a settled, solid defence, with five clean sheets in the 10 outings. And although right-back Andy Halls may yet pull on an England C shirt in Turkey next month Askey reckons Halls should have some company in the squad. 'Andy deserves the call-up, he’s been great this season,' added the manager. 'He’s only 22 and still learning but he can't be decried this year... and I thought we might have had another one in the squad. Paul Lewis should be in there too'”.

In The Times Series, "Barnet player-coach Jon Nurse says... the Bees are in a new position as league-leaders and it is up to the experienced heads within the squad to help the younger members adapt...

He said, 'Teams are now happy to come to The Hive and get a point. People are happy to get a point away from home because we are sitting top of the tree and it is up to us as players and as a coaching staff to help the players find ways to break down teams that are going to come and sit here and try and frustrate us... We will go to the training field and work on Thursday and we will get it right for Saturday'...

Despite throwing on Keanu Marsh-Brown and Luke Gambin in an attempt to unpick the Wrexham backline, Allen saw his side fail to net for the first time this term and Nurse believes the Bees will have to get used to being expected to unlock opposing defences. He explained, 'I think maybe we did not get our wide men on the ball. In previous games the subs came on and really affected the game... It is a learning curve for us all. We have got a lot of young players here at the football club and a lot of players still learning their trade. So we have gone from the beginning of the season where teams have turned up and probably thought "We can have a little go at Barnet".

To go top and play as well as we have done, and especially with the result on the TV the other day, which everyone is probably watching,- teams are now happy to come here and park the bus and come away with a point and play on the counter attack, which they did tonight. It is just something we will work on and we will work on it'".

In the Shropshire Star, "AFC Telford United manager Liam Watson has pledged 'I will sort it out', as he eyes up potential new signings for his rock-bottom squad.

The Bucks boss has two new faces in his sights after his side extended their winless start to the Conference Premier season to 10 games with defeat at fellow strugglers Alfreton on Tuesday...

He said, 'I have got confidence in my own ability to sort this out. I’ve never been relegated before and I don’t want to start now. I will tell it how it is. If players don’t want to roll their sleeves up, dig in, have a right good go and be proud to wear the shirt, they will be told and they know where the door is. There are two players I have been trying to bring in, but they have both been injured. They both trained last week so there could be movement on that but it’s about waiting for the right person.

I don’t want to panic and just bring anyone in. They’ve got to be better than what we’ve got... We need to bring a couple of players in and we need to get some of these out. Five or six are out of their depth'. Watson revealed he has already tried to kick off a clear-out of his misfiring squad, but has struggled to find takers for his players. He said, 'I put a flyer out about a month ago and I’d like to say my phone hasn’t stopped ringing but, trust me, I haven’t had people ringing me up asking for this player and that player. I have had the odd club with a bad injury crisis asking "Have you got anyone available?" But that’s it.

My teams have always been strong, not always the prettiest or the best, but always with a massive heart and will to win. If someone had called me a coward when I was a player, I wouldn’t have accepted it but they’re happy to be called it, which is probably why you get performances like Tuesday'”.

"ARCHITECTS OF OUR OWN DOWNFALL", SAYS LEE

Building on an encouraging 3-3 draw with Eastleigh on Saturday, Alty travelled to Aggborough on Tuesday night and took the game to the highly-rated Harriers for over half-an-hour. But two goals in quick succession, followed by a second yellow card for midfielder Simon Richman early in the second half, left manager Sinnott lamenting:

Left: Jake Moult, who made his 100th appearance for Altrincham at Kidderminster.

'We were the architects of our own downfall. For 35 minutes, we were bright and strong but needed a better efficiency in the final third. Then we lose a player straight into the second half, and all the plans for getting back into the game need completely rejigging. I thought it was two yellows for Simon and, after receiving the first, you have to show a bit more nous and tread the line a bit more carefully.

'That said, I thought Kyle Perry was taken from behind in the first 15 minutes, and Jake Moult (left) was on the end of a hefty, high challenge. You have to mind what you say, so I will be diplomatic and leave it at that.

'I was a bit annoyed at the way we went behind and then conceded again so quickly but, after the way we started, and continued asking questions even with 10 men in the second half, we should have taken something from the game'.

What a contrast, in terms of finishing, on Saturday, when Alty crafted three outstanding goals, including a spectacular first-time volley by Adam Griffin from Peter Cavanagh’s sweeping crossfield ball. 'You could liken that to Robin Van Persie’s goal for Manchester United against Aston Villa two seasons ago,’ said Sinnott. ‘The ball dropping out of the sky, over his shoulder, and needing just the right connection. A millimetre wrong, and it would have ballooned out of the ground, but he executed it perfectly. It was an immaculate piece of skill by Adam, and it is difficult to imagine you will see a better goal anywhere all season'."

SATURDAY GAMES

• At Altrincham P13-W10-D2-L1-F30-A8
• At Barnet P13-W2-D3-L8-F9-A19
• All games P26-W12-D5-L9-F39-A27

"A WIN, WITH STYLE", SAYS WHILD

The game was slow to get going and it was the visitors who showed first with Kyle Perry forcing a save from Danny Lewis while, at the other end, it took Harriers half an hour to get going with a thunderous shot from Jamie Grimes that smacked against David Parton's right-hand post.

Right: David Parton.

The deadlock was broken on 37 minutes with Harriers' best move of the game so far; Jack Byrne found Craig Reid in the penalty area, who deftly laid the ball into the path of Gash who lashed it home for his first goal of the season. Three minutes later, Reid was on hand to double the advantage, firing in from close range after Marvin Johnson's low cross had been parried. Johnson himself could have added another as Harriers came to life but fired over the bar from a narrow angle.

Former Harrier James Lawrie wasted a good opportunity to reduce the arrears early in the second half after Chey Dunkley's header fell at his feet but he blasted well wide. Altrincham were reduced to ten men five minutes into the half when Simon Richman received his second yellow card of the night...

Reid should have done better with a free header from Kevin Nicholson's cross as Harriers began to take control of the game... The visitors were reduced to shooting from distance and Steven Gillespie's shot that flew a foot over the bar was the best that they could muster. Johnson added the third goal in the 71st minute; substitute Reece Styche's clever back-heel found Verma who switched the play to the left to Johnson in acres of space who fired into the far corner. In stoppage time Styche wrapped the scoring up with his first goal for the club; receiving an inch-perfect pass from Nicholson he took the ball aroound Parton before stroking it into the empty net.

Gary Whild in his post match interview said, 'It was important to get a win, with style, and score goals. I was dissapointed to lose the last two games despite creating chances and was delighted the lads bounced back this evening with a win, 4 goals and a clean sheet'".

GATES

• Aldershot Town v Braintree Town 1,295
• Alfreton Town v AFC Telford United 519
• Barnet v Wrexham 1,336
• Bristol Rovers v Nuneaton Town 4,861
• Chester v Southport 1,790
• Dartford v Dover Athletic 1,103
• Eastleigh v Forest Green Rovers 2,108
• FC Halifax Town v Grimsby Town 1,867
• Kidderminster Harriers v Altrincham 1,451
• Macclesfield Town v Gateshead 1,110
• Torquay United v Woking 2,144
• Welling United v Lincoln City 504

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Also from the Football Conference, we learn that "Wrexham defied the odds to inflict a first defeat of the season on Vanarama Conference leaders Barnet at The Hive on Tuesday night.

A Robbie Evans strike in the 49th minute, his first senior goal for the club and his side’s only on-target effort, crowned a tremendous rearguard action by the Dragons, who were under the cosh for much of the game, but defended superbly throughout. The back four withstood a battering, in front of them team-mates were always willing to throw themselves in front of the ball and when the home side did manage to get the visitors’ goal in their sights, goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann proved an impenetrable barrier as he made a string of fine saves, especially from the dangerous Lewis Cook and Luisma Villa".

At the other end of the table, the BBC tells us that "AFC Telford United manager Liam Watson says some of his players need to find another club after Tuesday night's 3-2 Conference defeat at Alfreton Town. Telford's seventh defeat in 10 games left them bottom of the table.

'It was totally gutless. I told one or two in the changing room that they can go. I told them "go and get yourself a club"," Watson told BBC Shropshire. 'It was just cowardly and embarrassing. Five or six of them looked out of their depth. They don't look up to it'.

After a shaky start to the season since promotion back to English non-league football's top flight in April, part-timers Telford appeared to have turned the corner when they held leaders Barnet 2-2 at the Buck's Head on Saturday. But, after seeing his side go in 3-1 down at the break at Alfreton, Watson labelled it 'the worst 45 minutes since I've been Telford manager, probably of my managerial career'".

He continued, 'They were jumping out of tackles. I've never seen anything like it. It was shambolic, weak defending. They are looking miles out of their depth. They've got no heart'. Having kept faith with a large proportion of the squad that won Telford promotion, Watson has been patient, preferring to use the standard managerial yardstick of not making any assessment until 10 matches have been played. But he added, 'After 10 games there are no excuses. We need to bring a couple of players in and get some of these out'".

Meanwhile, Barnet's "Player-coach [is] confident of bouncing back from Tuesday's defeat to Wrexham. Jon Nurse said that it was good to get back out on the pitch on Tuesday as he made his first start of the season, but admitted... 'The way we started the game you would have thought we would have picked up the three points today but it has been a very frustrating night for us all I think.

That’s football really. We were that dominant for 15 or 20 minutes that they could not get out and they could only get better; they could not get any worse. We just needed to score. Unfortunately we just didn’t get that breakthrough. When you’re that dominant and you’ve got that much pressure, you need a goal to keep you going. You’ve got to take your chances when they come along and we did not take our chances. We were dominant at the beginning and if you give teams a little opportunity, sometimes you get a little sucker-punch'.

Nurse also echoed the thoughts of his manager, suggesting that Barnet were still getting to grips with the added pressure that comes with being league leaders."

From the Times Series, we learn that "Barnet winger Keanu Marsh-Brown did not hold talks with Forest Green Rovers last week, despite being given permission to do so by Barnet. Marsh-Brown, 22, was subject of interest from the Conference side towards the end of the summer transfer window but the Gloucestershire [club] did not make an offer for his services.

There were however offers from Championship side Blackpool and League 2 new-boys Luton Town, both of which were turned down by the Bees. The emergency loan window opened last Monday and The Times Series understands on Thursday, Ady Pennock’s side made an approach to take Marsh-Brown on loan with the view to a permanent move, an offer which was accepted by chairman Tony Kleanthous.

However, despite being given the chance to leave the Bees, the former Arsenal and Fulham youngster opted to remain at The Hive. Marsh-Brown made his return to Barnet’s matchday squad for Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat by Wrexham and was introduced from the bench just before the hour mark. The England ‘C’ international had been left out of Barnet’s last four Conference fixtures and speaking after the Bees’ 1-0 defeat against the Dragons, head coach Martin Allen said... 'Keanu has had a thigh injury that he told me about last week and then I was told that he was going to Forest Green for talks, but that didn’t materialise so he wasn’t really available at the weekend. “He came in yesterday [Monday] morning and said that his thigh had cleared and up and that he was not going to Forest Green, that is what he told me, so I had him in for training with the first team and when I worked out the subs it was natural to give him that slot'.

Allen continued, 'The week before he had a thigh and, after you’ve had a thigh, you can’t just come back into training you have to train to get up to the right fitness levels. There are stepping stones that you have to take before you can actually go in and play, that’s obvious. Then with the ongoing talks with other clubs obviously it is not right to come in and play for our team if you are talking to other people'.

Those claims are at odds with the player, who tweeted prior to Barnet’s 3-0 win over Dover Athletic last Wednesday to confirm he was not injured. The Hammersmith-born wide-man tweeted '@KMarshBrown For everyone asking, no I'm not injured'".

Also "Barnet head coach Martin Allen is hopeful captain Charlie MacDonald will be fit to return in the month after suffering knee ligament damage against Dover Athletic...The Bees' boss was also able to give timeframes for Mauro Vilhete and Jack Saville, who have also missed Barnet's last two. He said, 'Mauro is back jogging now so hopefully he’ll be back soon and Charlie MacDonald should be back within a month. Jack Saville has still got an ankle ligament problem so that is probably another two to three weeks minimum'.

With five league goals, MacDonald is Barnet's second-highest scorer this term and despite the Bees drawing a blank for the first time this season against Wrexham, Allen refused to blame the striker's absence. Said Allen, 'I don’t look at people that are missing, I look at what we’ve got. Charlie is not fit to play. I thought that tonight Nurse played really well to be honest. I think perhaps I should have left him on for longer because he was superb for our team'"

Elsewhere ""Martin Allen says Barnet must get used to being favourites after losing 1-0 to Wrexham... The Bees drew a blank in front of goal for the first time in ten Conference fixtures...

Reflecting on just a second defeat of the season, Allen said, 'It’s too early to look at that league table. It is what happens when you are top of the league, everyone knows it. Everybody is getting used to being the top of the table team. All of the reports, the pictures, the photographs and the television, the radio - everybody saying how fantastic Barnet are. You have to live with it, and you have to learn to live with it and learn to play with it.

'Teams are going to come here and raise their game by an extra yard. I saw this Wrexham team play at Bristol Rovers the other night and they are fully committed. There is no doubt about it, every one of their players has a go. That makes it tough for the opposition to break them down, like it was for us tonight. We didn’t show enough creativity and calmness to open them up'.

Allen continued, 'Every game we play now is a cup final for everybody. Whenever we pull into town we are the top of the table team. Everybody is looking for an upset and everybody knows that they have got to be on their game. Everybody keeps telling us what a good team we are and we have got to get used to it. It is a different kind of psychology. We are certainly not the underdogs anymore, everywhere we go we are favourites. It takes a little bit of time to get used to that, but we will. We’ll get there. They are an honest group of players and we don’t have get to the number of points that we have now by not being good enough'".

KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS 4-0 ALTRINCHAM

Once again in an away game this season, (Southport, Nuneaton, Alfreton come to mind), Altrincham were the better side in the opening stages only to fall behind...

Match report here

Above, Alty defend a corner in the first half.

AGGBOROUGH HOODOO

Before the game, Alty's historical record at Kidderminster was pretty good but it belied a series of misfortunes in the most recent games between the clubs there. Mike Garnett provides the data before last night's defeat...

• At Altrincham: P23-W10-D5-L8-F32-A26
• At Kidderminster: P22-W8-D6-L8-F25-A35
• All matches: P45-W18-D11-L16-F57-A61

But disaster after disaster has hit Alty in recent years at Aggborough as the following extracts from the website's match reports record...

• 1-1 26.12.05 "After the supporters' coach suffered a puncture near Hilton Park services on the M6, many Alty fans arrived at Aggborough just as the home side were taking the lead with a dubious penalty awarded against Maddox for handball when a ball was driven against him from close range (23 mins). But, with their vocal support in place, Altrincham enjoyed the better of the second half and deservedly equalised after 80 minutes when Lugsden was brought down by Jackson in the box and Aspinall, making his first ever Conference start, drove the resulting penalty home".
• 2-3 9.12.06 "Altrincham lost their second successive game 3-2 and are still without an away win this season but it was a very controversial penalty award by referee Vaughan which ultimately cost Altrincham the points"
• 1-1 5.4.08 "Kidderminster's goal depended on a refereeing decision as Mr Creighton awarded them a questionable penalty just before the interval from which Christie scored. It was the third successive time that a spot-kick had been won against Alty at Aggborough - and all three have been converted by Christie. Alty had held a deserved lead from the eighth minute "
• 0-4 23.8.08 "It was referee Simpson from Middlesex who determined the outcome of this game by adjudging Chris Lane to have deliberately handled the ball on the line after 33 minutes, when the defender had been hit on the body from point blank range by a Harriers shot" Lane was sent off and Richards converted the penalty.
• 0-3 29.8.09 "For the second year running, Altrincham had the better of the opening stages only to fall behind after having an early goal disallowed for offside... When Johnson was tripped by last man Riley, the Harriers' man saw a red card... After 36 mins Densmore was sent off ... It got even worse for Alty when Chris Senior was stretchered off with ankle ligament damage".
• 1-2 12.2.11 "Altrincham were very unlucky to take nothing from this game which they finished with eight fit players on the pitch... Just before the break Piergianni was controversially sent off when he made a fine covering tackle which the referee judged to be a foul. It seemed that Piergianni had been dismissed for denying a goalscoring opportunity but it later emerged that the reason given by the referee was "foul and abusive language". Dootson made a fine save from the penalty kick, however... Smith got himself sent off for a petulant spat in injury time - again the reason given was "foul and abusive language". To cap the afternoon Densmore finished the game lame after being fouled, leaving Alty with eight fit men at the final whistle".
• 0-4 16.9.14 Richman sent off.

STATISTICS

• League table
• Alty line-ups
• Alty player stats

---

16 September 2014

TUESDAY SCORES

• Aldershot 1 - 3 Braintree
• Alfreton 3 - 2 Telford
• Bristol Rovers 3 - 1 Nuneaton
• Chester 2 - 0 Southport
• Dartford 2 - 1 Dover
• Eastleigh 2 - 2 Forest Green
• Halifax 1 - 1 Grimsby
• Kidderminster 4 - 0 Altrincham
• Macclesfield 1 - 1 Gateshead
• Torquay 1 - 0 Woking
• Welling 2 - 0 Lincoln
• Barnet 0 - 1 Wrexham

KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS v ALTRINCHAM: MATCH COVERAGE

You can follow the Kidderminster Harriers v Altrincham game on Tuesday (7.45pm) via this website's minute by minute updates or via Radio Robins. Click on the appropriate icon below to go to your preferred means of following the game. For Twitter and Facebook links see the icons on the side panel, right.

Brian Flynn adds that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, will be broadcasting full live coverage of Tuesday night's game at Aggborough.

The match commentary sponsor is Gemma Immobiliare who sell and rent apartments and villas in Italy on the shores of Lake Como and Lake Lugano. Take a look at their superb portfolio of properties here.

The commentators are Ian Wilkinson and Brian Flynn with match summaries from Paul Salt. Coverage starts at 7.35pm with the game kicking off at 7.45pm. You can listen to Radio Robins on the internet at www.radiorobins.com

Leah & Simon Brotherton will be providing regular updates on Twitter (@altrinchamfc) as well as half-time & full time updates on facebook (Altrincham FC)".

KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS v ALTRINCHAM: BEFORE THE GAME

Apart from Macclesfield Town, the current Vanarama Conference team which Altrincham FC has played most often in its history is Kidderminster Harriers, who entertain Altrincham on Tuesday evening (7.45pm). Mike Garnett provides the data:

• At Altrincham: P23-W10-D5-L8-F32-A26
• At Kidderminster: P22-W8-D6-L8-F25-A35
• All matches: P45-W18-D11-L16-F57-A61

Meanwhile, Howard Watts provides details of previous games played by Altrincham on Tuesday's date, 16 September, Through the Years.

"TAKING STEPS FORWARD"

John Edwards, ALtrincham FC joint Press and Media Officer, writes that, "A wonder strike by Adam Griffin (right) lit up the J.Davidson Stadium on Saturday and left Altrincham manager Lee Sinnott likening it to Robin Van Persie’s spectacular volleyed goal against Aston Villa.

Just as Manchester United striker van Persie despatched a Wayne Rooney through ball against Villa two seasons ago, Griffin met a sweeping crossfield pass from Peter Cavanagh with a stunning first-time left- foot volley that flew past the Eastleigh keeper in an enthralling 3-3 Vanarama Conference draw.

As the ground erupted, there was general agreement the Conference goal of the season competition may already have been settled, midway through September, and Sinnott endorsed the view by saying:

‘It is difficult to imagine you will see a better goal than that anywhere all season. It was a wonderful piece of skill, and if you wanted to film an example of technique at its absolute best, you could not do better.

‘It was great vision by Cav, to spot him beyond the far post, and a perfect floated ball for that kind of volley. When it dropped, the execution had to be spot-on. A millimetre wrong, and it would have flown out of the ground, but he caught it perfectly on his left foot, and in it went. An absolutely immaculate piece of skill.

‘It may well have reminded people a bit of Van Persie’s goal against Villa at Old Trafford, the ball coming out of the sky, over his shoulder, and needing just the right contact. Tim Cahill scored a similar goal at the World Cup this summer. It’s quite something placing Griff in that sort of company, but exactly the same technique was required.’

Alty were pegged back three times, with Damian Reeves scoring either side of Griffin’s magical moment, but Sinnott insisted: ‘You can ask whether I’m disappointed, but I would rather concentrate on the positives, and there were plenty of them.

‘All our goals were well constructed, and our football, especially in the first half, was pleasing on the eye. I actually feel there is more to come, in that regard. I was shouting a few times after 20 minutes, because we were going a bit too direct at times.

The game against Eastleigh last Saturday included three well-worked goals from Altrincham, not least a brilliant volley from Adam Griffin. You can see the customary high quality Alty TV highlights, with Radio Robins' commentary by clicking on the adjacent window.

‘We can play through phases and areas of the pitch, and I want us to do that as much as possible. There has to be an end product, of course, and there was. We scored three and could easily have had more. I was proud of the players again.

‘I keep saying it, but it is a fact that we keep on taking steps forward with each game we play, and that is pleasing. You can look back to last season in the Conference North, and maybe over three games, we would take seven points out of nine. Over the past week, we have played three in the Conference National and taken five out of nine, which is good going in my view.

‘They have been good performances, too. We have played well against Dartford, Alfreton and Eastleigh. We always knew this was going to be a testing season for us, at this higher level, but I feel we are learning from every game.

‘When you look at the quality of Eastleigh’s finishing, and the way they came back at us three times, it’s clear they were a dangerous animal. We could maybe have done better with one or two of their goals, but there was so much that was good about how we played and how we are coping with the challenge.

‘It is a new league for a few people, while for others, it’s a case of reacquainting them with it, but there were plenty of positives, not least some of the passing moves we put together and the goals we constructed and finished off.

‘I want us to play football I enjoy watching, and I think we are capable of that. Of course, you need a product at the end of it. It’s not a case of me standing on a soapbox, being all self-righteous about this is the way to play the beautiful game. No, it needs a product at the end of it. You’ve got to execute where it matters, and we did that.

‘We are moving forward, and there’s no doubt they were three exceptional goals against Eastleigh. The first was such good interplay between Simon Richman, Kyle Perry and Sean Williams, and then a top finish by Damian Reeves. We produced a couple more similar moves that didn’t quite result in goals, but that is the kind of football we want from the boys.

‘It’s good to watch. I want them to be inventive. I had a word with the players after the Nuneaton game and said it’s no good having all that possession without something to show for it. You can’t expect every move to end in a goal, but there has to be a percentage. It was pleasing to see such a high percentage against Eastleigh, but it’s no more than me and Tols (Neil Tolson) see every Tuesday and Thursday in training.

‘We’ll doubtless want to see the video of Griff’s volley over and over again, and the third goal was another really good team effort. It was a great crossfield pass from Scott Leather, expertly chested down by Griff and then whipped in with pace and curl for Damian to head home.

‘Earlier in the season, we were hitting the first defender with our delivery from the flanks, but the ball in from Griff was a delight. Unfortunately, Damian took a knock, as did Dave Parton when he came out of his area to volley the ball clear, so we will have to assess them both over the next couple of days.’"

BUCKET COLLECTION

Thanks from Altrincham FC go to those who gave and those who collected a total of £52.07 for Saturday's half-time bucket collection.

YOUTH REPORT

Following their 6-4 win on Sunday there is a report on Altrincham FC Youth's game against Hyde FC Youth here.

Right, we see Altrincham defending a first-half Hyde freekick.

Don't forget that next Monday (22nd, 7.45pm), Alty Youth play Irlam Town Youth at the J. Davidson Stadium in the FA Youth Cup First QR. Spectators are welcome; adults £3, concessionaries £2.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations go to Altrincham FC groundsman and former manager of Altrincham FC Reserves, Neil Brown, on becoming a grandfather. Best wishes also go to Neil's son, Ashley, who used to play for Alty Reserves, and whose partner had a son, to be called Harvey, over the weekend.

FA CUP

The FA Cup 2QR on Saturday 27 September includes the following northern ties. Alty enter in the Fourth Qualifying Round. Sadly, our neighbours Trafford are out of the competition after losing at Warrington Town but, at least, it means that they cannot knock us out of the Cup this season!

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The Gulls have tied up a four-year agreement with a Newton Abbot-based company to call Plainmoor ‘The Launa Windows Stadium’. United chair, Thea Bristow, said, 'We are delighted to have a trusted local brand of Launa Windows’ stature becoming our stadium sponsor for the next four seasons. Stadium naming rights are happening throughout league and non-league football, and this is the next logical step in our move to transform the Club and its home.

The deal is a reflection of the progress we have made as a club in recent times, and we’re looking forward to working closely with Launa Windows'".

According to the Grimsby Telegraph, "One new striker is the 'absolute minimum' Grimsby Town manager Paul Hurst wants today. The Mariners' boss lost two-thirds of his strike-force in the weekend's desperately disappointing home defeat to Torquay United. Jon-Paul Pittman lasted just 12 minutes, and is facing a long spell on the sidelines after apparently tearing his hamstring.

Target-man Lenell John-Lewis joined him on the treatment table after he limped off the field with an ankle problem. That leaves Ross Hannah as Town's only fit frontman ahead of tomorrow evening's tough trip to high-flying Halifax, and Saturday's equally-tricky clash at Kidderminster. And Hurst admits he is desperate to add an attacker to his squad before that away double-header.

'We're going to have to look at a loan', the frustrated boss remarked. 'I'm going to see about potentially adding to the squad to give us an opportunity to pick something up from those games because we're certainly looking a bit light at this moment in time. I've got some players in mind, but the position is the problem. Losing two centre-forwards is not an ideal scenario by any stretch and I'm going to be hoping and praying that Lenny is okay. There was no hiding the fact that I was looking for a centre-forward anyway, so to lose two, you could argue that I need three. That won't be happening but I certainly need one in as an absolute minimum'.

Hurst also remains hopeful that John-Lewis's injury isn't too serious. He added, 'I think JP has probably torn his hamstring, so that will be a long absence. And Lenny has, I think, jarred his ankle. At this moment, there's no real swelling but he was getting shooting pains in it and was clearly struggling. Having used the subs, he partly wanted to stay on, but I think we would have just made it worse, especially with a game coming up tomorrow. I don't think he would have been much use to us and would have done more damage. Hopefully, that might settle down, but we're not going to know until today at the earliest whether or not he's got a chance for tomorrow night'".

"On Tuesday Forest Green Rovers head south to Vanarama Conference new boys Eastleigh who have announced they are throwing open their doors and allowing both home and away fans in for free entry to Tuesday's game.

The Hampshire side have confirmed that both home and away supporters can attend the two side's meeting without charge".

We learn from the Essex Chronicle that "Braintree [are] back to winning ways... The Iron made it four 2-0 wins out of their last five games on Saturday as they overcame a strong full-time Harriers' side, who were three times denied a goal by the woodwork and twice saw home keeper Nick Hamann pull off great saves to keep his side in the lead.

The Iron also had to survive a tricky final 15 minutes with only 10 men when skipper Kenny Davis was sent off for a second yellow card which left manager Alan Devonshire fuming.

'Kenny committed two fairly innocuous fouls in the game and was given two yellow cards', he declared. 'Two of their players, Kyle Storer and Marvin Johnson, had already been booked once and they then both commit appalling, vicious tackles on two of our players Ryan Peters and Chez Issac and they get away with it and are not even booked; both those tackles deserved straight red cards. All I am asking is referees to be consistent with their decision making and, unfortunately, we didn’t see it again in this game,' he continued. 'It’s not sour grapes because we won and deservedly so but there must be more consistency by the officials'”.

Davis will now miss Tuesday’s tough away game at Aldershot leaving Devonshire with a headache over team selection with five players already out through injury from his wafer-thin squad. 'We’ll have a roll call on Monday and see who is fit and I may have to bring in some of the Academy lads in to make up the squad', he added.... They [Kiddy] are a good side which is why they are high up in the league but my boys showed so much grit and determination, rolled their sleeves up and got on with it which is why we won. Our passing and high pace of the game throughout also paid off'...

SALISBURY'S "ACHIEVEMENT NEVER DONE BEFORE"

Club Director and Shareholder Hasan Albaqali commented ... 'Everything is in place at Salisbury City FC in order to compete and play football this season, we had a long debate as to where we should play our first match and we decided it was best to play it away to show our fans that it is real and actually happening and to prepare the team for its next big match at the Ray Mac stadium in Salisbury very soon which we are planning to play with a surprise opposition and hopefully win and bring some long awaited joy to our fans and supporters'.

Club Chairman A.S.Outail M.Touzar added 'I don't know what to say, today is a historic day, since day one I always believed that the best way to silence critics is to let our actions speak for itself and no other action is better than finally putting eleven men on the pitch and play football, for myself it is an honor to carry another record on my shoulder after accepting the club decision to appoint me as Interim Coach and make me youngest Chairman/Head Coach in the world also I had the honor to participate in the match for few minutes and I will tell you a secret,the last time I played a football match was actually in Dubai couple years ago with global football legend Diego Armando Maradona in Dubai whom I send my regards to and since that day I decided that I will not play football again unless it is a very special occasion which makes it more memorable for me, now I want to thank the players, the coaching staff, my partners Hasan, Rachid, Aziz and the others for making this day a reality and I would like to inform the fans that we have all the necessary ingredients for success, a good squad, qualified coaching staff to assist me until a full time coach in appointed and we have a series of top quality friendly matches in the works, home and away, I understand most of the supporters had special bond with Coach Mikey and the the lads from last season but in football world, players and people come and go no matter how special they are but organizations has to always stay first'.

Club will publish a series of photos and videos on its official website for coverage of this historic event soon and major announcements will follow especially with the ownership case now scheduled in the end of October."

INSIDE THE COMMUNITY SPORTS HALL

Progress on the Community Sports Hall at the J. Davidson Stadium is now such that interior views are possible. Here, courtesy of Grahame Rowley we see the new space, looking back towards the Carole Nash Main Stand.

MOBILE SITE

EASTLEIGH VERDICTS

The teams we are playing in this league are different animals to those in Conference North".

The Radio Robins commentary on Altrincham v Eastleigh is available here.

Also, Eastleigh have highlights here and a post-match interview with manager Richard Hill.

DANNY'S AFFINITY TO ALTY

But it just didn't work. I was trying to chase something that had gone. It wouldn't have been fair to take money off them and it wouldn't have been fair to the team. Some people would have gone along with it and taken the money but I wasn't prepared to do that.

I've said I'm going to do an after dinner speaking event with them to help raise money for the club and their community hall.

when I was younger I probably stopped them from making quite a bit of money by sneaking in through little gaps in the fence! All things you do as a kid. I'll always remember big games in the FA Cup against the likes of Chester, Port vale and Spurs.

It's a great club. My brother, Paul, played for Alty and one of my best mates's dad, Graham Heathcote, was the manager there for a long time.

My idols, growing up, were all Altrincham players; Ken McKenna, Paul Showler, Chris Sharratt, John Brady, the list goes on and on.

And I was behind the goal when Clive Freeman scored an absolute screamer against Chester in the FA Cup. Even when I was playing in the Premier League, I would get down when I could. It's a club very close to my heart and I hope they do well this season.

It's always difficult when you're promoted and aren't financially as well off as some clubs. But what you can say is FC Halifax broke the mould last season".

YOUTH TEAM WINS HIGH-SCORING MATCH

Alty's scorers were Arrowsmith (7 mins), Foster (22), Clancy (45), Mc Grath (55), Dwyer (61) and Cain (88).

The lads' next game is at the J. Davidson Stadium on Monday 22 September when Irlam Town are the opposition in the FA Youth Cup, 1st Qualifying Round.

RESERVES WIN

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The full squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Jamie Butler (Concord Rangers), Mitchell Walker (Dover Athletic)

Defenders: James Bolton (FC Halifax Town), Lee Brown (Bristol Rovers), Cheyenne Dunkley (Kidderminster Harriers), Joe McNerney (Woking), Tom Parkes (Bristol Rovers), Marc Roberts (FC Halifax Town), Christopher Stokes (Forest Green Rovers)

Midfielders: Dan Bradley (Alfreton Town), Elliott Frear (Forest Green Rovers), Jack Mackreth (Grimsby Town), Jon Nolan (Lincoln City), Josh Payne (Woking), Matthew Pearson (FC Halifax Town), Jordan Roberts (Aldershot Town), Louie Theophanous (Staines Town), Andy Yiadom (Barnet), Luke Young (Torquay United)

Strikers: Ryan Bowman (Torquay United), Jordan Burrow (Lincoln City), James Norwood (Forest Green Rovers)

The Contingency squad comprises the following players:

Goalkeepers: Andrew Coughlin (Wrexham), Daniel Lloyd-Weston (Southport)

Defenders: Gareth Dean (Nuneaton Town), David Fitzpatrick (Southport), Luke George (Southport), Andy Halls (Macclesfield Town), Jordan Keane (Alfreton Town), Joe Maguire (Ilkeston), Joe Oastler (Aldershot Town)

Midfielders: Courtney Cameron (Torquay United), Ollie Clarke (Bristol Rovers), Craig Clay (Grimsby Town), Micah Evans (Southport), Jonathan O’Donnell (Gateshead), John Rooney (Chester), Daniel Sparkes (Braintree Town)

Strikers: Connor Jennings (Wrexham), Keanu Marsh-Brown (Barnet), Louis Moult (Wrexham), Matthew Taylor (Bristol Rovers)"

Our next opponents, on Tuesday night are Kidderminster Harriers. They lost to Braintree last time out and their line up was Lewis, Hodgkiss, Dunkley, Gowling, Nicholson, Storer, Verma (Obeng 62), Byrne, Johnson, Styche (Reid 72), Blissett (Gash 56). Subs not used: Singh, Grimes...

Harriers fell to a second defeat inside a matter of days as goalkeeping and the woodwork combined to see them downed 2-0 at Braintree Town... Braintree broke the deadlock on 15 minutes thanks to a fantastic if speculative effort from James Mulley; he took aim from 25 yards with a shot that looked set to curve around the far post but, with a real bend and wind behind it, Harriers were helpless in watching it rise past Lewis and into the very furthest and highest reach of the net...

Harriers began the second in nightmare fashion as they gifted Braintree a second, a corner drilled towards the far post where an unmarked Kenny Davies steered the ball gleefully beyond Lewis. Gary Whild did his bit in quickly introducing some fresh impetus into the attack in the form of Michael Gash and Ahmed Obeng around the hour mark.

The visitors then climbed back into the ascendency just as they did near the end of the first half... There was a red card for Braintree as Davis saw a second yellow for a foul on Obeng, while time still remained within five of added for Obeng's shot to find the post as Harriers struck the woodwork for a third time."

Harriers Online adds that "For the second game in a row the Harriers returned from an away trip without the points and more worryingly without scoring. Just the one goal on our travels this season, at Dover, is no way to win games...

Starting the game, with a bit more squad rotation, we had Craig Reid dropped for the first time, going to the bench, and Nathan Blissett returning to the starting eleven... Aman Verma also came in for Jamie Grimes as the Harriers manager Gary Whild looked to get away from the defensive tag that he's been getting attached to him lately. On the bench was Michael Gash following his non appearance there at Southport with Callum Gittings being the one to go AWOL this time round...

[Against] ten men, the second game in a week for us after Southport lost a player in midweek, we needed to capitalise on this... We have now dropped down to eleventh in the table after being in fourth place just two weeks ago. We now have the chance to regain some of that ground at home to Altrincham this coming Tuesday and we need to take it or drop further".

Meanwhile the Kidderminster Shuttle adds that "HArriers endured a miserable trip to Essex as they came back empty-handed after a 2-0 defeat at Braintree Town made it back-to-back defeats on the road... Boss Gary Whild... commented., 'It was too easy and there was no sign of that in the first five or six games when we were looking solid at the back'...

Perhaps surprisingly, he sent striker Craig Reid to the substitutes' bench after eight successive starts, Nathan Blissett coming in to replace him along with midfield man Aman Verma who moved back in to the line-up in place of Jamie Grimes. It was Blissett's strike partner, Reece Styche, who kept his place in the 11".

ALTRINCHAM 3 EASTLEIGH 3

Match report here

Right: Simon Richman and Eastleigh's Michael Green compete for the ball.

ON THE ROAD WITH ALTY

You can book at Saturday's match or by ringing the club on weekday office hours on 0161 928-1045.

TASC chairman Brian Flynn adds that "TASC are pleased to announce the introduction of a discount for Junior/Student TASC members who travel on the Supporters' Coach. From Tuesday night's trip to Kidderminster a £1 discount will be available for each trip until the end of the season."

Supporters can join TASC at the TASC Table in the Noel White Suite on matchdays.

YOUTH NEWS

Before then, today (Sunday) Alty Youth play a NWYA league match at home to Hyde FC at Clay Lane (2.30pm).

NEW BADGE

KIDDERMINSTER ARRANGEMENTS

• Adults £14
Concessionaries £8 Juniors (U16) £5 Under 5s Free

• Adults £17.00
Concessionaries £11 Juniors (U16) £8 Under 5s Free

Disabled supporters are charged £10, with one adult helper admitted free. All visiting supporters pay on the gate excluding free under 5 tickets which must be obtained from the ticket office.

Parking is available for visiting supporters at £5.00. Parking is available for visiting coaches at £15.00 (per coach)

How to find us by Car:

From Birmingham, Wolverhampton and North (M5)

Exit M5 at junction (signposted A456) and follow towards Kidderminster (approximately 12 miles). At roundabout on Kidderminster Ring Road, take first exit (signposted A451 Stourport). At next roundabout, take first exit (signposted A448 Bromsgrove), then take first turning on right (Hoo Road). Aggborough Stadium is approximately half a mile along on the left hand side"

BARNET MATCH ARRANGEMENTS

Accommodation The West Stand blocks F, G and the North Terrace (behind the goal) are allocated to visiting supporters. Ticket prices as below:

• West Stand Block F & G (seating): Adults £20, Concessionaries (u-19 and 64+) £12, (u-14) £5
• North Terrace (standing): Adults £17, Concessionaries (u-19 and 64+) £12, (u-14) £5 (U19 & Over 64) Under 14s

Tickets

E-tickets can be purchased via the online box office at www.barnetfc.com. Please note e-tickets must be printed off by the supporter and the barcode downloaded by the right click on the mouse.

Disabled Supporters: Wheelchair and ambulant tickets are available at a cost of £20.00 with the helper going free of charge. These seats are situated on the front rows of the West Stand blocks F and G.

Please pre-order tickets, otherwise buy from the ticket office on the day.

Food and drink

We have an exclusive bar available where away supporters can purchase refreshments. This opens 2 hours before kick-off and is located inside the stadium. Tea huts are available serving hot and cold food and drinks. The ground opens 1 hour before kick-off.

Parking

We do have a supporters’ car park available at a cost of £5 per car. This is on a first come, first served basis.

Coach/minibus parking is available behind the North Terrace of the stadium. Supporters’ coaches are charged at £25 per coach; minibuses are charged at £10.00 per minibus. There is no charge for the players’ coach.

Programmes

A match day programme will be available from various sellers situated around the ground.

Getting to the Ground

Vehicle access is from Camrose Avenue. Pedestrian access is from either Camrose Avenue or Whitchurch Lane.

By Car:

From the North M1:

Exit at Junction 4 of the M1 on to the A41 toward Harrow/Edgware. At the roundabout take the 3rd exit onto Spur Road/A410.

At the next roundabout go straight . After 300 metres turn left at the traffic lights on to Honeypot Lane.

Continue straight along Honeypot Lane through traffic lights to next roundabout. Turn left at roundabout and after 300 yards turn left into site.

From the North A1:

At Apex Corner roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Selvage Lane/A5109 signposted Edgware Continue through 2 roundabouts on to Dean’s Lane.

At the next roundabout take the 3rd exit onto Deansbrook Road/A5109. Go straight over the traffic lights on to Camrose Avenue.

Continue straight along Camrose Avenue and The Hive will be on your right just after the width restriction.

From the West M40:

From the M40 continue on to Western Avenue / A40. At Hanger Lane roundabout take the 2nd exit on to A406.

Take the 1st exit left at Staples Corner roundabout onto the A5 / Edgware Road. Follow the A5 straight for 3 miles. Turn left onto Camrose Avenue. Continue straight along Camrose Avenue and The Hive will be on your right just after the width restriction".

By Train MP> Canons Park Underground Station on the Jubilee Line is a 1 minute walk from the entrance of The Hive. Turn left out the station on Whitchurch Lane and after a couple hundred feet the pedestrian entrance to The Hive will be on your right.

Queensbury Underground Station, also on the Jubilee Line, is a 12 minute walk from The Hive. Turn left out the station on to Turner Road. Walk to the end of the road, turn right and the entrance to The Hive will be across the road.

Edgware Underground Station on the Northern Line is about a one mile walk to The Hive. See below for a list of buses running from Edgware Station to The Hive.

By Bus

The 340, 186 and 79 all run from Edgware Station to Canons Park. You can also take the 288 and 688 from Edgware Station to Camrose Avenue. Coming from West of The Hive you can take the 114 and get off at Turner Road. It is then a short walk up to Camrose Avenue.

SATURDAY GATES

• Att: 1492: AFC Telford Utd v Barnet
• Att: 945 Altrincham v Eastleigh
• Att: 751: Braintree Town v Kidderminster Harriers
• Att: 754: Dover Athletic v Macclesfield Town
• Att: 1005: Forest Green Rovers v FC Halifax Town
• Att: 1336: Gateshead v Dartford
• Att: 3300: Grimsby Town v Torquay United
• Att: 2933: Lincoln City v Bristol Rovers
• Att: 803: Nuneaton Town v Aldershot Town
• Att: 832: Southport v Alfreton Town
• Att: 1629: Woking v Chester FC
• Att: 2857: Wrexham v Welling United

'THUMBS UP' FOR NL DAY

Core to the campaign was a 'call to arms' to recruit personalities who love the game, to put their 'thumbs up' for Non-League day and raise awareness of the event. The reaction across social media was incredible with a number of Barclays Premier League Clubs, and current players including Charlie Austin, Remy Cabella, Curtis Davies and Frazier Campbell supporting the initiative. Messages of support were also received from Football legends including Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Robbie Savage, Chris Waddle, Jeff Stelling and Chris Hughton, and from The Premier League itself, and its domestic broadcast partners BT Sport and BSkyB.

The campaign also transcended football with Darts players, European Tour Golfers and even ex-World Snooker Champion Steve Davis tweeting photos with ‘Thumbs Up’. In total over 4,600 tweets were made using the hashtag thumbsup4NLD. The publicity push, which encouraged fans to go and watch their local team on Non-League Day, resulted in a combined attendance across the Vanarama Conference of 38,675.

Prior to the campaign launch Vanarama pledged to donate 10p to Prostate Cancer UK on behalf of every fan who attended a Vanarama Conference match on the day. Vanarama have decided to double this to 20p per fan, and will donate a total of £7,735 to the charity".

COMMUNITY SPORTS HALL GENERAL MANAGER

Information about the project is on the Community Sports Hall's website. Pictured, right, is the building work on the Community Sports Hall in progress, earlier this month.

TUESDAY FIXTURES

• Aldershot Town v Braintree Town
• Alfreton Town v AFC Telford Utd
• Barnet v Wrexham 8pm k.o.
• Bristol Rovers v Nuneaton Town
• Chester FC v Southport
• Dartford v Dover Athletic
• Eastleigh v Forest Green Rovers
• FC Halifax Town v Grimsby Town
• Kidderminster Harriers v Altrincham
• Macclesfield Town v Gateshead FC
• Torquay United v Woking
• Welling United v Lincoln City FC

SATURDAY FIXTURES

• Aldershot Town v Lincoln City
• Alfreton Town v Nuneaton Town
• Barnet v Altrincham
• Bristol Rovers v Woking
• Dartford v Forest Green Rovers
• Eastleigh v Braintree Town
• FC Halifax Town v AFC Telford Utd
• Kidderminster Harriers v Grimsby Town
• Macclesfield Town v Southport
• Torquay United v Dover Athletic
• Welling United v Gateshead

CITY TICKET UPDATE

ALTY 3-3 EASTLEIGH

Match report here

Right, Adam Griffin receives the congratulations of his team-mates after his stupendous volleyed goal; his first goal for Alty in his 38th start. <

RESULTS

JOIN THE TASC GOAL RUSH!

Whilst the season has already kicked off, it is still possible to help the club by joining the scheme and being eligible for the first 10 goal benchmark draw to win one of three fantastic prizes.

The Altrincham Supporters' Club (TASC) Goal Rush scheme, which was introduced three seasons ago, has proved to be a popular and important fund raiser for the club.

The scheme is simple, anyone can sponsor the mighty Robins any amount they wish in multiples of 25p per goal for each goal they score throughout the 2014-15 season in all competitive Conference Premier League and play off matches, FA Cup, FA Trophy and Cheshire Senior Cup matches.

For example – If Altrincham score a total of 75 goals in the 2014/15 season for each 25p sponsored goal you would be paying £18.75 for the whole season.

For every 10th goal scored, each sponsor will be entered into a free draw based on one entry for each 25p sponsored, i.e. If you agree to donate 50p per goal, you receive 2 entries, £2.00 per goal receives 8 entries etc.

The lucky winner of each draw for every 10th goal will have the choice of one of three prizes. These are (1) TWO FREE TICKETS for a forthcoming home league game, (2) FREE AWAY TRAVEL for one person to any away game on the TASC organised coach or (3) A SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH of the winner with their favourite Altrincham player

In addition there will be still be the end of the season draw for TWO PRIZES of a signed shirt and matchball.

Should the total amounts pledged exceed £30.00 and Altrincham score 100 goals in the 2014-15 season, the Chairman has again agreed to provide a free season ticket for the 2015-16 season in addition for the end of season draw.

Forms are available from the TASC desk in the Noel White Suite on all match days.

ALTRINCHAM v EASTLEIGH

This is the first-ever visit to Altrincham for Eastleigh, who are located near Southampton. The Eastleigh News reports that "Richard Hill’s Spitfires will look to get back to winning ways as they travel to newly promoted Manchester side Altrincham...

After winning at home to Southport 2-1 last weekend, Eastleigh travelled to Dartford on Tuesday and it looked to be back to back victories for Hill’s men going into the break... Eastleigh went in to the break with a two goal lead and it looked plain sailing for the Spitfires until Elliot Bradbrook got one back... And with just minutes left on the clock Harry Crawford earned Dartford a share of the points leaving Eastleigh seventh place in the Vanarama Conference.

Tomorrow’s opponents Lee Sinnott’s Altringham [!!] have got off to slow start this season having just picked seven points from eight games".

TASC CHAMPIONS' LEAGUE COMPETITION

Alternatively if you would like a form e-mailing then please contact Paul Salt with your e-mail address and he will gladly forward a copy. The entry fee is just £5.00 with the winner, second and third places picking up 20%, 15% and 10% of the total pot respectively. Regular updates will be provided throughout the competition on the Fans' Forum".

OLD BOY

A powerful left-back, Smart played in the Football League with Macclesfield Town before moving into the non-League game with Northwich Victoria, Stalybridge Celtic, Hyde United and Altrincham. He signed for a second spell with Trafford in 2012".

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

According to NL Pitchero, "Chester FC have signed Gambian defender Ibou Touray, who was released by Everton after the expiry of his one-year contract in June. The 19-year-old full-back, who became the latest Everton academy graduate to sign a professional contract with the Liverpool-based club last August, made thirty-seven appearances for the club in the Under-21 Premier League and Reserve League. But he did not make a single first-team appearance during the 2013/14 campaign...

He was recently on trial with Tranmere Rovers".

Also, "Welling United have signed goalkeeper Jonathan Henly on loan from Reading until January 1st. Henly has recently been on loan with Basingstoke Town. Basingstoke boss Jason Bristow signed Henly`s Reading team-mate Stuart Moore on a season's loan in August, but he was suspended for the first three games of the season, so Bristow offered 20-year-old Henly, who has plenty of experience in the Conference, the opportunity to move temporarily to the Camrose as well.

Although he is yet to make a first-team appearance for the Royals, Henly has had loan spells with Bromley and, last season, Aldershot Town and Maidenhead United".

At the other end of the country, "Gateshead have signed former Newcastle United reserve and academy striker Carl Finnigan until the end of the season. The club are still awaiting international clearance for the 27-year-old, who was released by South African side Chippa United in June.

Jarrow-born Finnigan has also enjoyed spells north of the border with Falkirk, St Johnstone and Dundee. Finnigan scored 59 goals in 102 appearances for Newcastle's reserve side but failed to make a first-team appearance... He moved to South Africa last year and signed for Port-Elizabeth-based side Chippa United".

ALTY'S "STEPPING STONES"

‘You have to say it was justice in the end. I thought Alfreton started very brightly for the first 15 minutes, but then we worked our way into it. If you look at the game overall, we have seen the whites of the keeper’s eyes probably seven or eight times. On six or seven of those occasions, we did not work him. We could do that again in another game, and I’m quite sure the stats would be quite different. It is our first point away, so we can tick that box, and it is the first time we have come from behind. But what we have to take on board is that when you play the sort of football we did, and create that many opportunities, you have to be more clinical.

We have spoken about that before, and it has cropped up again. It is the sole reason for us not leaving here with three points, though we could have left with none but for the players sticking to their guns and not giving up. I thought I might be trotting out that old line about playing until midnight and not scoring, the way we kept creating and kept missing, and it did look like it wasn’t going to be our night.

But we kept knocking on the door, which was another plus, and we finally managed to force it open. We are learning as we go along, but there is no doubt we need to toughen up a bit. I’m not talking about physically, but making the most of opportunities we create.

Damian Reeves could have had a hat-trick, and he acknowledged that in the dressing room, because he’s that sort of lad, honest as the day’s long. But I want to say that we can’t rely on him all the time. That would be totally unfair. Other people have to be weighing in with goals as well. Thankfully, Kyle Perry got one tonight, and even the centre- halves have had chances. Luca Havern (left) had one tonight, and Tom Marshall had one against Gateshead. We just have to be more clinical, or it will cost us otherwise.

That is the difference in this league. I would say Dave Parton hasn’t exactly been overworked, but we have only drawn 1-1. It was a great delivery from the corner for the equaliser, and a good header, and we are playing some nice stuff. But I can’t be happy when we are chasing the game so much of the time, instead of getting our noses in front. It is slightly mixed feelings, but it is stepping stones, and we are moving forward. We created a lot of opportunities with good approach play, but there is a ceiling to break through, and after that, there will be another to break through. That’s how it is in this league.

How many should Alfreton have scored? You could argue not even one, because we allowed their lad to turn inside the area and get his shot away. What about us? Five? Six? We had the chances to rack up that sort of score. We talked about it in the dressing room, and, of course, there is going to be some frustration. It would be more of a concern if we were not creating such good chances, but we are. We are creating them, but we have to stick them away.

I thought Saturday (Non-League Day against Dartford) was just a great day all round. It was a great crowd, and we put on a really good show for them. I thought the players rose to the occasion and showed everyone what kind of football we are trying to produce. The boys are encouraged to keep the ball on the deck and play football, and they are showing they are up to it. The public seem to like it, I’m glad to say. They did on Saturday, and again our supporters were magnificent here tonight. It looked like about 100 travelled over, and the players really appreciated the applause that rang out at the end.

I believe in the style of football we are playing, and it is why we created so much tonight. We had seven or eight really good openings, because we were knocking the ball around and playing constructive football, rather than just lumping it forward in hope. Even at the end, when time was running short, we kept bringing the ball out from the back and looking to pass it. We were increasingly in the ascendancy as the game wore on, and that was another pleasing aspect. The fact that we could keep going like that and finish the game quite strongly was another encouraging sign.

There are fitness problems for Saturday’s home game with Eastleigh, but that will happen as the season progresses, and you just have to ride with it. Simon Richman (right) took a knock tonight, while Nicky Clee was still feeling his ankle from last Saturday. Ryan Crowther has gone down with food poisoning, so his availability depends on how long that takes to leave his system. Damian Reeves was the other to take a bit of a knock tonight. We will assess all of them on Thursday night.’"

MEET THE NEW RECRUITS

For just £15, guests will be served a two-course meal prepared by the Club's expert caterer, Richie Bentley. Drinks orders can be placed from your table and the drinks will be brought to you. All five new recruits will be in attendance (i.e. Peter Cavanagh, left, Ryan Crowther, Steven Gillespie, David Parton and Sean Williams). After the meal, the format involves Brian Flynn compering an informal Q&A of the five players, who have joined the Club for 2014-15. These evenings are always both very entertaining and informative so don't miss your chance to get a ticket. At a bargain £15, tickets may be ordered from Grahame or Karen Rowley via e-mail.

COLLECT YOUR TASC CARD

CHAIRMAN HOPES FOR NL DAY BENEFITS

Above, Gavin Rathbone captures Damian Reeves's second goal against Dartford. More of Gavin's excellent Alty images are on his GR Photography website.

Altrincham FC Joint Press and Media Officer, John Edwards, wrote the following for the Sale & Altrincham Advertiser

"Chairman Grahame Rowley is hoping for a lasting benefit from the Vanarama Conference’s afternoon in the spotlight after hundreds of local football fans responded to Altrincham’s Non-League Day initiative at the J.Davidson Stadium on Saturday.

Alty officials did their bit to make the occasion a success by distributing free tickets to schoolchildren in the area and offering £5 admission for their parents, as well as the same entry price for holders of Premier League or Championship season tickets.

It had the desired effect, with a bumper 1,571 turning out for the Vanarama Conference fixture against Dartford and scores still queueing to get in shortly before kick-off.

With Lee Sinnott’s side seizing the opportunity to impress, and turning on the style in a thoroughly-entertaining and richly-deserved 2-1 win, Rowley is hopeful they might have added one or two converts to the ranks of Alty supporters.

Alty are at home again this Saturday, against Eastleigh (3pm), and Rowley said: ‘The day couldn’t have gone any better, and I hope those who took advantage of our various offers saw enough to be tempted back again on Saturday.

‘It exceeded expectations, to be honest. We wanted to encourage people to come along, so we could showcase the game at this level, and I hope we demonstrated that the quality of football in the Conference is as good as, or at least comparable to, the Football League.

‘At about 2.30, the thinking was we might have to settle for an average gate, but when I looked out at 10 to 3, people were queueing to get in. It was a great reward for all the hard work that went in to promoting our club, and it was lovely to see the main stand almost full.

‘Of course, the team then had to deliver. You can sometimes shoot yourself in the foot a bit, if you get a big crowd in and don’t perform, but the lads were magnificent. It was a great performance and deserved victory, and I hope those who don’t normally attend will become regulars after that.’

The schools’ initiative worked particularly well, with 207 under-12s, 189 accompanying parents and 75 12-16-year olds helping boost the gate".

ALFRETON'S VERDICT

It was becoming a lively encounter and, two minutes later, former Alfreton striker Damian Reeves drew a superb save from Cameron Dawson in the Reds' goal. Another two minutes later, McDonald turned on the edge of the area before firing over but Altrincham were beginning to cause problems and Lawrie went close with two efforts. After 27 minutes, Reeves somehow missed from close range when it looked easier to score...

Joe Ironside turned to thump in a Shaw cross off the underside of the bar from 12 yards... Alfreton made it to half-time but were under pressure again six minutes after the break. Reeves looked certain to score when he broke free but, once more, Dawson was equal to the situation, saving low to his left after narrowing the angle. Reeves was continuing to be a thorn in the Reds' side. He again went close from Lawrie's 66th-minute pass...

Alfreton defended stoically as Altrincham threw everything at them, a confident Dawson snatching the ball off Reeves' head from Kyle Perry's 78th minute cross. Hearts were in mouths when Steven Gillespie fired a great chance wide, then a blocking tackle by Jake Sheridan thwarted Lawrie and Perry fired over from distance.

The visitors were looking increasingly frustrated and it looked as if Alfreton might hang on for all three points but Perry was able to power home a close-range header from a Gillespie corner in the 89th minute. A first point of the season seemed small consolation."

YOUTH EDUCATION PROGRAMME TEAM

OLD BOY

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Highlights of Eastleigh FC’s away game vs Dartford FC and an interview with manager Richard Hill can be found here.

Meanwhile, the Daily Echo informs us that "Richard Hill was left rueing two key officiating decisions after his Eastleigh side surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Dartford... The Darts snatched the most unlikely of points through Harry Crawford’s injury-time leveller, but the Spitfires boss refused to be too downcast, writes Paul McNamara.

Talking about the second-half penalty he felt the Spitfires should have been awarded for a Mat Mitchel-King handball, and the Darts late equaliser which he believed was offside, Hill said, 'Goals change games. I’m not saying we’d have scored it, but we had an opportunity to go 3-0 ahead. The score’s anything then. Then, to concede a goal two minutes later is a double blow. I’m not blaming the referee. I don’t think he’s been helped by his assistants tonight'.

Eastleigh recovered from the shock of seeing sub keeper Lewis Noice stretchered from the field during the warm up to begin proceedings in authoritative fashion... James Constable stole in to nick possession from a dithering Elliot Bradbrook and rounded the ‘keeper in the box before being hauled to the ground. The yellow-carded [keeper] Brown was powerless to prevent Jamie Collins’s exquisitely struck penalty rattling low into the left corner to put the Spitfires 1-0 up...

On 22 minutes, Eastleigh doubled their advantage. Dan Spence galloped forward from right-back, linking with Midson on his way, with the ball eventually arriving in the middle for Reason. The attacker’s effort was pushed out to his left by Brown, where Constable was swiftly on the scene to knock in his third competitive goal in Eastleigh blue...

For all their huffing and puffing, there seemed little chance of a home equaliser until, as the action entered four minutes of stoppage time, Paul Reid could only head clear as far as substitute Danny Harris, who returned the ball into the box. Crawford pounced and snapped a terrific finish across Flitney and into the far corner.

It was a cruel blow, but Hill said, 'We did well tonight. We passed it well. I’m not down, not at all. On another night, we’d have come away with a win and sailing in the right direction. If we’d have scored a penalty to go 3-0 we’d have probably gone on and scored a few more. It rarely happens that you can replicate a first-half performance of that quality in the second-half. They were always going to come out and have a go after half-time'".

Before that game, the Daily Echo had reported that "Ben Wright is out of the Eastleigh reckoning for tonight’s trip to Dartford. And the bad news for the Spitfires is that he could be sidelined for a while. Wright was part of a bold triple substitution by manager Richard Hill against Southport on Saturday, but he lasted only seven minutes before succumbing to a knee injury...

Hill confirmed, 'We don’t know the extent of Ben’s injury yet, we need to send him for a scan. But his knee’s very sore and I’d be surprised if we see him in the next month'. With midfielder Craig Stanley and left-back Matt Fry still struggling, young striker Tony Lee, currently getting games with Wessex outfit Lymington, is added to the Spitfires’ travelling party...

Hill explained, 'I like to take 18 players and this just brings Tony into the squad. I’m not saying it will be the case next week, but Craig (heel ligament) is still injured and Matt (sore Achilles) is still not right. Craig’s been doing basic running, but we’re not going to rush him'...

Hill reckons Eastleigh have had 'an unbelievable start' in non-League’s top flight. They have lost their last two games on the road, at Dover and Macclesfield".

Next Tuesday, Alty are away at Kidderminster where the Harriers report that "Boss Gary Whild didn't hide his disappointment at Tuesday's defeat at Southport but stressed his team must get themselves 'back on the bike' at Braintree next time out.

A first-half goal from the Sandgrounders was enough to condemn Whild's charges to a first defeat of the campaign... While the visitors could have been three or four goals ahead before the break but for some inspired goalkeeping, the boss confessed the showing after the restart just wasn't up to scratch.

Speaking after the game he said, 'I don't think it was anywhere near good enough. In terms of the standards we've set ourselves this season, there wasn't the enthusiasm or enough desire to get on the ball, pass it forward and influence the game... We've lost one in eight so the positive, I suppose, is that we've got to get back on the bike on Saturday'".

In the Kidderminster Shuttle we learn that "Harriers have stopped their legal action against Kath and Ernie Lane as attempts to find a solution to the club’s cashflow problems continue. The Aggborough outfit had originally threatened to sue the former directors over funds the club claimed they were contractually owed.

But talks between the two parties have been encouraging, with the Lanes also contributing a five-figure sum to help Harriers pay the most recent wage bill. Reds chairman Ken Rae said, 'At the moment we are not continuing our legal action against Ernie and Kath because of the dialogue we’ve opened with them. I can confirm they have also contributed an amount of cash. The club can continue legal proceedings if the dialogue breaks down but at the moment we’re talking'.

Kidderminster still face a number of financial challenges, including paying off former manager Andy Thorn and assistant Craig Knight. They are also still searching for new investors to help give the club a financial boost. Meanwhile, shareholders Barry Norgrove, Jane Murrant and Neil Savery were also looking for new backers, with the aim to get the club through until the end of the season.

'Kath and I are back involved at the club and we’re working with the board,' confirmed Ernie Lane, who is not set to return as a director... 'What we do not want is Harriers to experience the same problems that our friends at Hereford United are going through'”.

On the field, according to the Kidderminster Shuttle, "Harriers were beaten for the first time this season after a showing of contrasting halves saw them downed at Southport...

Harriers made one change to the starting line-up for this game and it was something of a surprise when manager Gary Whild drafted in striker Reece Styche for his first start as a Harrier while Nathan Blissett, fresh from netting his first goal of the season against Gateshead a few days prior, made do with a spot among the substitutes.

If Styche was of the mindset of wanting to pay back Whild for the faith shown in starting him, he certainly set about that business well in the early stages, forcing two good saves from home goalkeeper Daniel Lloyd-Weston within a couple of minutes...

Southport's talisman Richard Brodie had an eventful first quarter of an hour; shown an early yellow for a late lunge on Johnson, the hit-man came within inches of opening the scoring just after... And after a spell of control they took the lead just after the mid-way point of the half, a corner whipped into the box and met by a powerful header from Joe Connor which eventually found its way into the back of the net...

It was perhaps inevitable that Brodie would end up in hot water after being booked so early on and so it proved in the final moments as he was sent off for a second bookable offence, having left an elbow in on Gowling.. A frustrated Whild [commented] 'We hadn't got that enthusiasm or a desire to get on the ball and influence the game, so it was disappointing'...

Harriers: Lewis, Hodgkiss, Storer, Dunkley, Byrne (Gittings 77), Johnson, Reid, Styche (Verma 64), Grimes (Blissett 54), Nicholson, Gowling. Subs not used: Obeng, Singh".

We learn from the Football Conference that "Following a serious injury to keeper Aaron Howe during Tuesday night’s match at Aldershot Town, Woking have reached agreement with AFC Wimbledon for the one month emergency loan signing of former favourite, Ross Worner. Worner started his career at Woking before earning a move to Charlton Athletic in the summer of 2010.

After making nine first-team appearances for the Addicks, he joined Aldershot a year later and featured twenty-three times for the Shots in the Football League and also had loan spells with Eastbourne Borough and Farnborough. He moved to the Dons in the summer of 2013 and has added forty-five games to his tally.

Howe’s injury has been diagnosed as a broken pelvis, and he is due to be released from hospital tonight."

From the Chester Chronicle comes news that "Steve Burr has reaffirmed his belief there will be no repeat of the season-long struggle that the fans endured in 2013-14. Five defeats in eight games will be a concern to some but context should be added to that statistic.

Barnet, Forest Green Rovers, FC Halifax Town, Gateshead and Torquay United, who won 2-0 at the Swansway Chester Stadium on Tuesday, have been too good for the Blues but all five have greater resources. Based on perceived budgets, the Vanarama Conference can be split into three mini-leagues with Chester failing into the bottom group, albeit at the top end.

Braintree Town and Macclesfield Town are in the same mini-league and both have been beaten...

Burr said, 'I’m happy with the commitment the lads are showing and I’m sure we will be all right'...

Chester gained some confidence from the 1-0 win over Macclesfield on Saturday with John Rooney scoring a splendid free kick against his former club. A second home game 72 hours later provided a chance to build some momentum but Torquay..., put paid to those plans. Burr had no complaints about the result and rates the Gulls as the best side he has seen this season.

He said, 'I felt our effort, work-rate and commitment was fantastic and I praised the lads for that but we were beaten by a better side... Tuesday was one of those nights where we just fell short because they were better than us'. Referee Karl Evans [who oversaw our game at Southport] provided the two biggest talking points of an otherwise routine win for the Gulls, with Burr admitting post-match he felt the official 'lost control'.

Kieran Charnock was wrongly sent off after a Michael Kay foul before Mr Evans corrected his mistake and he then missed a clash between Angus MacDonald and Craig Hobson, who alleged the Torquay defender spat at him. Chester head to unbeaten Woking on Saturday and the manager hopes to have Peter Winn and John Disney back in contention but captain Matty Brown will be out for another two-to-three weeks.

Burr said, 'The likes of Matty Brown and Peter Winn have been a big miss but I must say Kieran Charnock’s gone in and done a great job alongside Michael Kay. Ben Heneghan at right back is doing well and everybody is doing okay it’s just on Tuesday we came up against a side that were better than us'".

According to the Tamworth Herald, "Former Tamworth manager Marcus Law has emerged as one of the favourites for the vacant Nuneaton Town job... Bet Victor, the on-line bookmaker, has got current assistant boss Mark Noon as favourite for the job, but the Herald understands that Noon does not want to take on the role full-time.

Law was at the Boro game versus Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday night and is known to be interested in the role. Other names in the frame include Gary Waddock and Ronnie Moore. Robbie Fowler has been listed as a 25/1 outside bet, while Dean Saunders and Garry Flitcroft are both in at 12/1".

FA YOUTH CUP

The Alty v Irlam match will be played on Monday 22nd September, at 7.45pm.

Above, courtesy of Mike Ripley, we see the Altrincham FC Youth squad before their win over Colne last Monday (click on image to enlarge). This and more of Mike's excellent Alty photos are on his website.

KYLE PERRY INTERVIEWED

Kyle scored his first goal of the season with our late equaliser and was a consummate professional throughout the interview, despite plenty of high quality interventions from players & management... As you can see from the picture on the link, Kyle did superbly well to wriggle free from some very tight marking at the corner to score in the 89th minute!"

SATURDAY YANKEE

ALFRETON BOSS'S VIEW

Just three days after returning to the dugout for the first time following a six-game stadium ban, Law saw his side take a 42nd minute lead courtesy of a sharp goal from man-of-the-match Joe Ironside but then have to hang on in the second half before conceding another late goal as Alty equalised on 89 minutes to deny the Reds a much-needed victory.

The draw saw Alfreton finally get their season under way, following seven straight defeats, but Law felt his side didn’t find the level of performance which saw them more than match then league leaders Barnet last Saturday before falling to a cruel injury time defeat.

Law reflected on the Reds finally gaining some points reward. 'On the balance of play we started the better. The goal we've conceded was poor defending. If I'm honest we've come out second half and we've spent the game on the edge of our 18 yard box. 'We weren't like how we were on Saturday tonight, I thought we were excellent on Saturday and never even in danger. To be fair, we've missed Dan Bradley from Saturday. Lathaniel Rowe-Turner [suspended] gave us balance at centre-half, and I think defensively we looked naive tonight.

We're having to come up with some magic formula to protect the back four. We haven't supported the front men but it’s a point; we're off and rolling and we've got to take that into the next two or three games. It’s a poor corner that we've given away. Up until then we defended them OK. I asked in the changing room for who was marking (Kyle) Perry but we all knew. I wouldn't mind if teams were working for them (goals) but they're not, they're gifts.

We're really pleased with Joe Ironside. I think Massiah found himself doing things we didn't ask him to do. We're disappointed in tonight. If we'd scraped the three points we'd have been delighted but we're still off and running', ended Law.

The Reds now face a crucial three-game period with fixtures against sides all sat in the bottom nine in the table, starting with a trip to Southport on Saturday. That is followed by home games against next-to-bottom AFC Telford United next Tuesday and another home game against Nuneaton Town a week on Saturday."

Brian Flynn adds that "Last night's Radio Robins Commentary is here.

LANDMARKS

Also three starts more will take Simon Richman to 100 starts for Alty.

And Damian Reeves is just three matches from his 200th appearance for Altrincham FC - 177 starts and 20 sub appearances. The only players ahead of him in the current squad are Stuart Coburn (651 games), Shaun Densmore (263) and Nicky Clee (218)

To see who has played the most minutes this season visit the Line-Ups page.

SPECTATOR VIEW

TUESDAY'S ATTENDANCES

• Aldershot Town 0-1 Woking (gate 3567)
• Alfreton Town 1- 1 Altrincham (562)
• Bristol Rovers 1-0 Wrexham (5082)
• Chester 0-2 Torquay United (1954)
• Dartford 2-2 Eastleigh (806)
• Gateshead 4-1 AFC Telford United (1093)
• Lincoln City 3-2 Grimsby Town (5209)
• Macclesfield Town 1-1 FC Halifax Town (1509)
• Nuneaton Town 1-0 Forest Green Rovers (789)
• Southport 1-0 Kidderminster Harriers (769)
• Welling United 2-1 Braintree Town (506)

CITY v CHELSEA TICKETS

The current highest bid for the tickets for the City v Chelsea game is £150. If you are interested, the closing date is midnight September 14th. As a reminder, details are as follows:

The Club has been given two places in the 1894 Club Bar at the Etihad Stadium for the Manchester City v Chelsea fixture on 21st September 2014, kick off 4pm, which, even at this stage of the season, looks to be a very important game.

The tickets are available to the person who makes the best offer for the tickets by midnight on Sunday September 14th. Offers to be emailed to Altrincham FC. The Club has kindly agreed to donate the proceeds to the Community Sports Hall appeal. Our thanks to Andrew Shaw and Manchester City Football Club for the donation.

The package will include:

• Executive Bar Facility
• An array of dishes (to purchase on the day)
• Dedicated Match seat, located on the halfway line in the East Stand, Level 2
• Betting Facilities
• Match day programme for each guest
• Car parking facilities
• Dress code: smart casual, no tracksuits, caps, or shorts

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Watson’s winless side were beaten 4-1 for the second game running and had Sean Cooke sent off...

'We were well and truly beaten by a side that are far better than us', said the Bucks boss. 'None of the heads dropped, though, and they carried on working and showed great togetherness. They (Gateshead) are by far the best side we have faced in a long, long time.

Bizarrely enough I think we maybe scored too early (Sean Clancy netted on two minutes) and I think the second goal was the killer for us. There is only one thing that can put things right and that is us.The morale in the dressing room at full-time was all right, they players never downed tools even with 10 men.

They could have done that but they didn’t. We could have actually lost eight or nine one but we kept going until the end'.

Telford now return to Shropshire on Saturday to host the manager’s tip for the title in non-league’s top-flight, relegated Football League side Barnet... He said, 'Saturday is not a game where I am expecting us to just go out there and turn it on. We will have to work our socks off to get anything. I think Barnet will win this division'".

In Wednesday's match, Dover's defeat leaves Altrincham seventeenth, whilst Barnet returned to the top of the Vanarama Conference Premier.

• Dover Athletic 0-3 Barnet

ALFRETON TOWN 1-1 ALTRINCHAM

Match report here.

Apologies for the technical problems at the website's provider's end, last night, which affected the Matchday Updates.

• Aldershot Town 0-1 Woking
• Alfreton Town 1- 1 Altrincham
• Bristol Rovers 1-0 Wrexham
• Chester 0-2 Torquay United
• Dartford 2-2 Eastleigh
• Gateshead 4-1 AFC Telford United
• Lincoln City 3-2 Grimsby Town
• Macclesfield Town 1-1 FC Halifax Town
• Nuneaton Town 1-0 Forest Green Rovers
• Southport 1-0 Kidderminster Harriers
• Welling United 2-1 Braintree Town

DAMIAN INTERVIEWED

FOOTBALL HOUR

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

On the announcement of the award Stack said, 'I must admit that I am a little bit shocked but I am over the moon. To be completely honest I couldn’t have done it without the rest of the lads and the management staff as well. As much as this is an individual award, it has been a team effort and I think that the whole team deserve a lot of credit because had it not been for all of them defending as well as we have done there is absolutely no way that I would have been chosen. To be given this award is a real highlight during a good run of form, so I am absolutely delighted'.

The official awards panel said, 'Though his manager may have been literally pipped at the post the recipient of this August award identifies the part this member of his squad has played taking his club to top spot. Only conceding two goals in all six matches was a great return but away from home he is still to pick the ball out of his own net. A worthy winner indeed'.

Also, "the winner of the August Vanarama Conference manager of the month award is Neil Aspin of FC Halifax Town... Aspin said, 'I am delighted to have been selected as the Vanarama Conference manager of the month. I feel that this award reflects the hard work undertaken by both my players and backroom staff'.

The official awards panel said, 'A number of contenders came to the fore, with four of those managing clubs remaining unbeaten after six matches. In the end though it came down to a straight decision between those managing the clubs in the top two spots. There was not much to separate them but we decided in favour of Neil. His great start to the season is suitably recognised'".

Also, from the Football Conference, we learn that "An appeal to the Football Association, lodged by Forest Green Rovers against a decision of the Football Conference, that upheld an original appeal by player Andrew Mangan against his dismissal from the club in January, was rejected by the Governing body at Wembley Stadium yesterday. During the course of this process Mangan was transferred to Shrewsbury Town in the summer. "

According to NL Pitchero, "Southport have signed 6`6” defender Clayton McDonald. The defender graduated out of the Manchester City youth academy in 2008, and spent the 2008/09 season on loan at League Two sides Macclesfield Town and Chesterfield. He spent the start of the 2009/10 season on loan at Walsall, before the deal was made permanent in December 2009.

He was released by the Saddlers at the end of the 2010/11 campaign, at which point he signed with Port Vale. He joined Bristol Rovers on loan in January 2013 but after Port Vale secured promotion out of League Two in 2012/13, McDonald was released. McDonald signed a one-year deal with Grimsby Town in the summer of 2013 and made seventeen appearances for the Mariners before being released by manager Paul Hurst.

In August 2014, McDonald joined...Tranmere Rovers on non-contract terms. However he left Prenton Park later in the month after making just one first-team appearance."

Elsewhere, "Following hot on the heels of Welling United`s loan signing of Aristide Bassele from AFC Bournemouth comes the re-signing of forward Tobi Sho-Silva, also on loan, from neighbours Charlton Athletic. The forward enjoyed a successful spell at Park View Road last season, making seventeen appearances for the Wings and impressing everyone with his team ethic and attitude to improve... Sho-Silva will join the Wings initially for a month".

ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH 3 COLNE FC YOUTH 0

In tonight's FA Youth Cup Preliminary Round match, Altrincham earned a home tie against either Irlam Town or Glossop North End in the next round of the FA Youth Cup. After a goalless first half, the lively Harry Cain finished off a well-worked freekick routine to give Alty a 55th minute lead. Joe Coffey's back-post header from Jake Foy's cross made it 2-0 after 67 minutes. Substitute Ben Reid completed the scoring with a fine shot from Cain's pass in the 85th minute.

Match report here

Above, Alty warm up before the match with Colne.

ALFRETON TOWN v ALTRINCHAM

ALFRETON ARRANGEMENTS

Alfreton Town report that they are "in Vanarama Conference action on Tuesday night when they entertain Altrincham at the Impact Arena. Kick-off is 7.45pm.

There is no segregation in place for this fixture but Altrincham fans are kindly requested to enter the stadium via the Alma Street turnstiles. Catering and toilet facilities as well as match day programmes are available at both ends of the ground.

Ordinary admission at the turnstile on the day of the game is £18 for adults and £12 for concessions (over-65s). Under-16s is just £2 per child so long as they are accompanied by a paying adult.

Alternatively, Early Bird Match Tickets and Group Saver Match Tickets both offer discounted admission if ordered prior to the match. Early Bird Match Tickets for adults and senior concessions priced at £16 and £11 respectively can be purchased between Monday and Friday by contacting the Ticket Office on 01773 830277 between 9am and 3.30pm or via e-mail.

Early Bird Match Tickets can also be purchased by calling into the administration office at the Impact Arena between 9am and 3.30pm each day. Early Bird Match Tickets ordered by visiting fans via the Ticket Office via telephone can be collected from the Alma Street turnstiles on the day of the match. No Early Bird Match Tickets are available on the day of the match.

ALTY v DARTFORD GAME

Excellent video highlights of the game, from Alty TV, with Radio Robins commentary, can be seen by clicking on the screen, right.

In the News Shopper we read that "Dartford boss Tony Burman believes his side’s lack of concentration is letting them down after their latest defeat at Altrincham on Saturday...

He said, 'In the first five minutes I think, on another day, we could have been two goals up. We played all right for 20 minutes and then just a little lapse in concentration at a set piece and we go a goal down. Unfortunately, that’s what happens in this league.

You have to take your chances when you get them, especially away from home. We have shot ourselves in the foot yet again when we came out in the second half and conceded a goal early on and it’s very disappointing when that happens....You have got to play for the full 45, 48 minutes or whatever it is, and you have to be alert and ready. Unfortunately, the performance was very lacklustre from us again.

I was disappointed with the result, simply because Altrincham are a part-time side, we are a part-time side and they are the games you need to get something from. Even if it is a draw away from home, that is something, but to lose it is very disappointing... Telford were near us and we beat them at home and we have got to Altrincham and I think we should be looking at a minimum of coming away with a point... I am looking for a response to the result'".

NON-LEAGUE DAY BRINGS IN THE YOUNGSTERS

"A ROSE BETWEEN TWO THORNS"

Caroline is pictured (left) with club Press & Media Officers, John Edwards & Brian Flynn on the Alty TV gantry before the game.

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

A fans' forum saw Nuneaton Town announce that Reid had left the club by mutual consent, an agreement that brought to an end an unsuccessful period at the club for the former Ayr United man.

His former skipper Dean, who has been injured for the last two games, is hoping the club can bounce back quickly after the decision – and do what they used to do best.

He said... 'Players who play here have to have passion, desire and commitment. These are qualities we have not seen enough of recently. I am not saying that is down to Brian Reid, sometimes in football things do not work out and this was one of those. That could be for any reason, all I know is there a good group of lads at the club and the bond just did not materialise like everyone hoped. I am sure Brian will go on and have a good career. He was a very professional manager and one who was very disciplined. As I said, for whatever reason that style did not work out here at Nuneaton, football is football, though, so he will be a good boss somewhere else I am sure'...

Dean added that he was no surprised with the timing of the parting of the ways. He said... 'I am a Nuneaton lad... so I do hear rumours and know that a lot of people thought something was going to happen soon. In that sense I can’t say I am surprised'". Reid's only win this season was against Altrincham.

The Chad reports that "Alfreton Town have lost all seven of their opening league matches after they were beaten by Barnet in injury time. It cannot be a coincidence that Alfreton performed confidently and competently with manager Nicky Law back in charge after serving his six-match stadium ban, striker Massiah McDonald relishing his opportunity of a first start as he teamed up with Joe Ironside.

Law also offered appearances off the bench for young defender Lawrence Gorman and striker Bennie Igiehon, who was at last able to take the field after his protracted wait for international clearance.

Dan Gray was given only his third start, filling in at left back with Lathaniel Rowe-Turner switching to the centre of defence, and the former Lincoln City defender caught the eye with a solid performance.

Undoubtedly the highlight of a first half, largely dominated by Alfreton, was Dan Bradley’s determination to prove a point against the club that he briefly joined during the summer, bothering Barnet repeatedly with speedy runs down the right. However an injury to the midfielder forced a change at half-time, with Jake Sheridan replacing him".

Bristol Rovers have "signed free agent Angelo Balanta, subject to medical. The 24-year-old winger has signed a deal until the end of the season. Manager Darrell Clarke said... 'He is a talented player with a good pedigree. He can play as a left winger or a striker, and will offer us some creativity in the final third. He is a player who can unlock defences and help us create the goals we have been lacking.

Born in Colombia, Balanta moved to England and progressed through the QPR youth system, before breaking into the first team in 2007... In November 2008, Balanta moved on loan to Wycombe Wanderers for three months. In June 2010 he moved on loan MK Dons for the entire season, before going back for a further two spells with them. After returning to QPR he moved to Yeovil on loan in March 2013, where he saw out the rest of the 2012/13 season.

In July 2014 Balanta was released by QPR after seven years with the club".

According to the Shropshire Star, "AFC Telford United boss Liam Watson has questioned if some of his players are good enough to play Conference Premier football after losing 4-1 at home.

Watson... has already added eight new players to the squad that was crowned Conference North champions in their previous campaign. Jordan Deacey, Josh Hancock, Sam Smith, Jonathan Hedge, Steve Akrigg, Rod McDonald, Kristian Platt and Josh O’Keefe have all joined the Bucks this summer. The latter five all featuring against Dover on Saturday at the weekend, with Watson said, 'There are people who, obviously, do stand out. But you’ve got to be honest and say they’re good Conference North players and this isn’t Conference North.

It’s a huge gulf between the two levels and, after people win the league, they probably deserve the right to step up but you do quickly find out whether they can make the step or whether they can’t and, at the minute, there’s more not making the step than there is (making it)'.

The former Southport manager has already loaned out two of his summer signings after letting winger Josh Hancock return to Witton Albion and Sam Smith join Brackley Town. Watson has also bolstered his options in midfield by signing O’Keefe from Kidderminster Harriers on a one-month loan deal. Telford, who have now conceded 16 goals in seven league games, will continue searching for that all elusive first win when they take the long trip to Gateshead United tomorrow night".

A BBC Wales four-part series on Celtic Manor started BBC Wales at 8pm on Tuesday night. Part Three includes some coverage of the Football Conference AGM.

FA YOUTH CUP TONIGHT (MONDAY)

Colne recently reported that their "Under 18s' unbeaten record in the NWYA came to an end with a 4-2 defeat at Stockport Georgians. The Reds went into the game missing a number of key players forcing Steve Harker and Mick Molloy to make a number of positional changes.

The reds started on the back foot and had keeper James Beck to thank.. Colne began to settle... [and at 2-0 down] pulled a goal back on 37 minutes when another left wing move saw Daniel Stanners beat his defender and cross into the penalty area where the ball fell to Perry Jepson who knocked it into the net... Five minutes into the second half and Colne drew level. A ball from full back Perry Jepson played in Scott McConnell who beat his defender and centred for Daniel Stanners to lift over the keeper and into the net...

With 15 minutes remaining the home team retook the lead with a stunning strike from Jordan Milne which flashed into the bottom corner giving Beck no chance. They made the game safe only 2 minutes later when they extended their lead after the reds lost the ball in midfield and gave away a penalty which was converted by Joe Bevan....

The Reds Under 18s next hit the Wembley trail with a David and Goliath fixture away to Conference team Altrincham on Monday the 8th September with a 7.45pm kick off".

TAKE THE COACH ON TUESDAY TO ALFRETON

ALFRETON TOWN v ALTRINCHAM

• At Altrincham: P3-W1-D0-L2-F6-A3
• At Alfreton: P3-W2-D1-L0-F5-A0
• All games: P6-W3-D1-L2-F11-A3

In their most recent match, Alfreton Town report that they " were desperately unlucky not to gain their first Vanarama Conference point of the season away at league leaders Barnet on Saturday. With manager Nicky Law back in the dugout after serving a six-man stadium ban, the Reds put in their best performance of the season and looked like they were heading home with a point until they were undone by a goal in the second minute of added time at the end of the game.

Alfreton took the lead when Massiah McDonald headed his first goal for the club on 47 minutes. Lathaniel Rowe-Turner then became the third Reds player to receive a red card in the last four games, on the hour, after conceding a penalty when he felled former Alfreton striker John Akinde in the area and Charlie MacDonald equalised for the Bees from the resultant spot-kick.

Alfreton's ten men stood firm until the second minute of stoppage time when Barnet substitute Luisma Villa fired home a superb free kick into the top left corner to condemn the battling Reds to an oh so cruel seventh successive defeat...

Alfreton Town return to action on Tuesday night with a Vanarama Conference home game against Altrincham at the Impact Arena. Kick-off is 7.45pm".

DARTFORD GAME REVISITED

I am pleased that the players put into practice today what we had worked on in the week. There is still room for improvement as I thought we started sluggishly and took our foot off the pedal too early but three points will breed confidence".

Match report here

Pictured right, Kyle Perry competes with Dartford's Luke Daley, as Sean Williams awaits the outcome.

The Radio Robins commentary from Altrincham v Dartford, including a half-time interview with Caroline Barker from BBC Radio Five Live's 'The Non League Football Show', can be heard here.

Also, Michael Ripley has images from Saturday's game between Altrincham and Dartford.

In Saturday's "Robins' Review", Mike Garnett wrote of Dartford, "The Town. The problem with our guests’ base is essentially one of word association; if you say ‘Dartford’ most people will respond either ‘Tunnel’ or possibly ‘Bridge’, as the place is almost universally identified with the M25 river crossing. The London Orbital Car Park is of course a worthy thing, but it would be nice for those of us who live a long way from the area to have a different point of reference for the town. The Bluewater shopping development which lies a couple of miles east of Dartford may be another ‘hat’ on which a stranger can hang the town’s name, but again it’s not perhaps the most flattering of associations. I have to confess that it’s just over 25 years since I last visited this part of Kent and no particular memory has survived!

The ground is one I hope to visit later in the season!

The memories. We first met the Darts at their old Watling Street ground in an FA Trophy quarter-final tie in March 1981. At the time the home side were challenging for promotion from the Southern League (which they duly achieved) and proved their worth by winning 3-1 before a bumper crowd of 3,511; Barry Whitbread was the Robins’ scorer.

Alty gained some revenge by recording a League ‘double’ the following season as the Kentishmen found the transition to the Alliance Premier League too severe a challenge. A couple of years later they were back and their record against the Robins in this second spell was rather better; two wins at Watling Street and a draw and a loss on this ground before they once again suffered relegation. Our last meeting, like the first, was in Kent in the Trophy 4th Round, eight years after that initial encounter, and ended in defeat for Alty, by a single goal on this occasion in front of 1,629 spectators.

Watling Street sadly disappeared a few years later, sold off for housing development in the aftermath of the demise of Maidstone United in 1992 (for younger readers, Maidstone went into the League in the late 1980s and ended up playing at Dartford; when financial problems reared their ugly head the Stones dragged their erstwhile landlords down with them). My recollection is of passionate home supporters in a tight enclosure with a tall black and white stand covering half of one side, two narrow ends and a covered terrace on the other side.

Mercifully, although a period of reorganisation and retrenchment was necessary, the club survived to fight another day and climb the ladder back up to the top level of non-League football. It is good to have the opportunity to renew acquaintances!"

RESERVES WIN

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

LUCA EVER-PRESENT

ALTRINCHAM 2 DARTFORD 1

Match report here

After Saturday's game, Kent Online reported that "Dartford left it too late to stage a dramatic comeback as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Altrincham.

The Darts were made to pay for not capitalising on a promising start against their fellow part-time opponents and were once again stung by the pain of conceding close to the half-time interval.

The opening goal came just four minutes before the break, when keeper Jason Brown could only parry a low cross into the path of striker David [Damian] Reeves, who made no mistake.

Despite a half-time pep-talk from boss Tony Burman, the lead was 2-0 just two minutes after the restart as a cut-back from Ryan Crowther was not cut out by the Darts' defence and Reeves was able to convert his second.

The visitors did improve in the final 20 minutes and, nine minutes from time ,a deep cross from substitute Ryan Hayes was headed back across goal by Harry Crawford where Elliot Bradbrook was on hand to bundle home.

However despite applying late pressure, the hosts held on to claim their second win of the season and leapfrog Dartford, who are fifth-bottom.".

SATURDAY'S GAMES

• AFC Telford United 1-4 Dover Athletic (att.1515)
• Altrincham 2-1 Dartford (1571)
• Barnet 2-1 Alfreton Town (1815)
• Braintree Town 2-0 Bristol Rovers (1621)
• Chester 1-0 Macclesfield Town (2612)
• Eastleigh 2-1 Southport (1309)
• FC Halifax Town 1-0 Aldershot Town (1837)
• Forest Green Rovers 0-1 Wrexham (1401)
• Grimsby Town 2-0 Welling United (3785)
• Kidderminster Harriers 2-1 Gateshead (2607)
• Torquay United 4-0 Nuneaton Town (2177)
• Woking 3-1 Lincoln City (2160)

ALFRETON ARRANGEMENTS

"Admission by payment at the turnstile for each Vanarama Conference League fixture at the Impact Arena during the 2014/2015 season (excluding Group Saver Tickets and Early Bird Match Tickets (see below) is as follows:

• £18 for each adult (aged 16 upwards)
• £12 for senior citizens (persons aged 65 and over) and children 15 and under who are non Junior Reds members
• £12 for students upon production of a student card at the turnstile.
• £2 for children aged 15 and under, provided that they are accompanied through the turnstile by a paying adult.

GROUP SAVER ADMISSION TICKETS

The Group Saver Admission Ticket requires a total of five or more supporters per ticket in order to be eligible for purchase and to take advantage of these excellent rates, but these can be a mixture of adults at the lower price of £15 each and over-65s at just £10 each. Usual admission prices at the turnstile on match day are £18 for adults and £12 for concessions.

The Group Saver Ticket is available by calling in at the ATFC administration office at the Impact Arena between the hours of 9am and 2.45pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively, these admission-saving tickets can be purchased via telephone by contacting Lisa Towerzey on 01159 392090 extension 107 between 9am and 2.45pm Monday to Friday, or via e-mail.

The deadline to purchase Group Saver Tickets for any league fixture is 2.45pm on the last working day prior to each home league fixture.

EARLY BIRD MATCH DAY TICKETS FOR HOME LEAGUE GAME

Early Bird Match Day Tickets for the 2014/2015 league season, are available on a match to match basis, and are priced at £16 for each adult and £11 for concessions meaning discounts of £2 and £1 respectively on normal admission prices for home league games at the turnstile on the day of the game.

VISITING SUPPORTERS can also take advantage of the Group Saver Tickets and Early Bird Match Tickets discounted prices by calling The Early Bird Match Ticket Administration Office on 01159 392090 extension 107 between the hours of 9am and 2.45pm Monday to Friday. These tickets can be reserved for collection from the away turnstiles at the Alma Street end of the stadium on the day of the game".

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The former England C international has not played for Neil Aspin's side this season following a pre-season injury and the Town boss will be hoping that he can get some minutes under his belt at Nethermoor in the coming month."

ALTRINCHAM 2 DARTFORD 1

Match report here

Right: Alty celebrate their opening goal.

Today's results..

• AFC Telford United 1-4 Dover Athletic
• Altrincham 2-1 Dartford
• Barnet 2-1 Alfreton Town
• Braintree Town 2-0 Bristol Rovers
• Chester 1-0 Macclesfield Town
• Eastleigh 2-1 Southport
• FC Halifax Town 1-0 Aldershot Town
• Forest Green Rovers 0-1 Wrexham
• Grimsby Town 2-0 Welling United
• Kidderminster Harriers 2-1 Gateshead
• Torquay United 4-0 Nuneaton Town
• Woking 3-1 Lincoln City

ALTY'S NON-LEAGUE DAY OFFER

FA YOUTH CUP ON MONDAY

ALTRINCHAM v DARTFORD: BEFORE THE GAME

Harris, 28, almost left the club on loan last week after quizzing manager Tony Burman over his lack of game time in the Vanarama Conference. Several clubs did come in for Harris but he decided to take his place on the bench against Telford. It paid off as he helped the Darts come from behind to win 2-1.

Harris said, 'I haven’t had many minutes this season. I was a bit frustrated and had a word with Tony in the week. I thought I did well in training and he gambled on me, first sub this time. Usually, I’ve been sitting on the bench, not coming on but I did all right when I came on. As soon as I came on, it lifted the team a bit and we got the goals.

As soon as we got the first goal, you could feel the stadium lift. A goal changes football. I know it’s a cliche but it takes the pressure off the defence, it gives everyone a lift and you could hear the crowd get behind us. They got us over the line'...

Burman said, 'I know what Danny can do. He’s been with me a long time and done brilliantly for this club. But this club have treated him well as well; it’s a two-way thing. I don’t think Danny was in the right frame of mind when he’s been left out'.

Saturday’s cameo role has certainly pushed Harris’ case for selection. He said, 'That’s what (the manager) probably doesn’t like because he’s got to make a decision! But if I’m on the bench again, so be it. I’ll just have to work hard and force my way back into the team. We’ve got a quality squad this year. Tony’s said to me "It’s so difficult to pick the team".

I’ve been starting in previous seasons and this year, I just didn’t feel I had my chance... but he’s been good as gold to me. I respect his decisions and have to take it on the chin'".

PREDICTION COMPETITION

Following the success of the TASC World Cup Prediction Competition during the summer, TASC are pleased to announce they will be running a similar competition based on the UEFA Champions League Group Stage matches, running between the first round of matches on 16/17 September and through to the final round of qualifying matches on 9/10 December.

Entry forms will be available at Saturday's home match versus Dartford from the TASC Desk located in the corner of the Noel White Suite and at the home match versus Eastleigh on September 13th.

The competition will run on similar lines to the World Cup Competition, with everyone invited to predict the correct scores of selected Group matches on each of the six match days, with points for each correct home and away score and result.

Regular updates will be provided on the Fans' Forum after each Match Day. The entry fee will be £5, with the eventual winner picking up 20% of the total pot, 15% for second place and 10% for third place.

The final deadline for entries will be 15 September, the day before the first matches take place on 16 September. Anyone unable to pick up a form from the club can e-mail me with your e-mail address and I will gladly forward a copy of the entry form.

Good luck to everyone who enters".

OLD BOYS

Commenting on the news, Marginson said, 'We have a large squad at FC United and we do need to encourage younger players from the college and youth teams to step up into the first-team set up... It inevitably means that others will move on to make room for those coming through... It's always a very tough decision to let players go and Astley and Lee [Neville] in particular have been magnificent servants to FC United over many years. Releasing them means that they are free agents to find other clubs. Their contribution to the history of FC United will not be forgotten'".

Elsewhere, "Marine AFC have confirmed that striker Aaron Burns has left the club to rejoin rivals Nantwich Town. Burns, 26, left the Weaver Stadium in the summer to join the Mariner... The former Manchester United trainee scored 28 goals last season for the Dabbers and was the leading scorer at Ashton United for three seasons. The hot-shot, pictured playing last season, has also had spells at FC United of Manchester, Northwich Victoria, Droylsden and Altrincham".

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The Reds' boss has signed two strikers on one-year deals with former Notts County and Torquay United Karl Hawley joining alongside summer trialist Bennie Igiehon.

Hawley, 32, has recently been snapped up after being released by Torquay United He began his career with Walsall but after several loan spells, made his name with Carlisle United where he netted 47 times in 118 appearances.

Whilst with the Cumbrians, he won both the Conference and League Two titles... He moved to Preston North End and more loan spells followed before he moved on to Notts County, Scunthorpe United and finally Torquay...

Igiehon, 20... had successful trials with the Reds in the summer. A powerful front runner with a good turn of pace, Benny has most recently been playing with FC Langenthal in Switzerland but also a member of the FC Halifax Town Academy side in 2012".

From the Derby Telegraph, we learn that "Nicky Law will be back in the Alfreton Town dug-out this weekend... Law has served his six-match stadium ban for improper conduct and is set to lead the Reds once again tomorrow away to early Vanarama Conference Premier pace-setters Barnet...

In stark contrast, Alfreton are rock bottom of the table after six straight defeats... 'Obviously, we are really disappointed with the start we have had', said the manager... Barnet's squad includes John Akinde, who was Alfreton's top scorer with 19 goals last season...

Law remains hopeful of adding to his squad, despite the transfer window closing on Monday night. Clubs can still sign free agents outside the window and that is something Alfreton are looking to do".

In the Grimsby Telegraph, we learn that "Grimsby Town goalkeeper James McKeown can only benefit from training with Hull City. That’s the view of Mariners' boss Paul Hurst after revealing that his number one stopper has been heading across the Humber for extra sessions with the Tigers.

That link-up sees the 25-year-old working once again with former Town goalkeeping coach Steve Croudson, who left Blundell Park in the summer... Explained Hurst, 'He’s still more than involved in our training and will get extra work over there... It’s been difficult trying to find a new goalkeeping coach because of the nature of the position. It’s something I’m conscious of, so James can improve'".

According to the Daily Echo, "Chairman Stewart Donald says non-League Eastleigh are well on their way to establishing themselves as 'a proper football club'.

The Spitfires are less than a month into their maiden Vanarama Conference season but, already, their fame is spreading, with season tickets now topping the 700 mark and the all-ticket September 30 visit of former Football League outfit Bristol Rovers heading for a sell-out. Eastleigh... have averaged over 1,300 for their three home games so far. It’s a dramatic improvement on the 680 average who watched Richard Hill’s men soar to the Conference South title last term.

But the ambitious Donald believes it’s only the tip of the ice-berg for Eastleigh... He is targeting an average gate of 1,500 this season, including several of 2,000-plus. To mark Non-League Day the Spitfires are preparing to welcome FA chairman Greg Dyke and former referee Howard Webb, now technical director of the Professional Game Match Officials Board, to tomorrow’s home game against Southport...

Admission is FREE for Forest Green Rovers’ visit on Tuesday week (September 16) and it will be ‘Kids for a Quid’, with under-16s getting in for £1 with a paying adult, for the Braintree Town game on Saturday, September 20.

'We did a free admission game last season and loads of our new season-ticket holders came for the first time that night, so it will be interesting to see if it happens again', said Donald. 'We’re hoping the steels for the roof of the new stand will be in by then so people can come in for free and see the progress the club’s making. We’re trying to get a theme going for all our home games'...

Such is the heightened interest in Eastleigh these days that they have taken on three new employees to help cope with the demand. 'The club’s gone up a notch and we needed help dealing with clubhouse bookings etc. and also matchday and ticketing promotions and school liaison work', the chairman explained...

'We’re averaging about 1,350 at the moment, putting us above some better established Conference teams, and we’ve only just begun. It looks as if we’ve got 950 home fans on a Saturday, but we’ve never been good at getting schools, academy teams etc involved and, if we can do that, it would add another 200-300 and all of a sudden we’re knocking on the door of 1,500. We’d feel like a proper club then'".

LEE'S UPDATE

A third defender, David Brown, who has been gaining match experience with Ossett Albion, is also once again training with the Altrincham squad.

The Alty boss is looking for his side to "create more opportunities" after seeing some promising build-up play in recent matches being undone by disappointing work in the forward third of the pitch. Lee, like many Alty supporters, believes that Alty should have taken at least a point from the recent games at Southport and Nuneaton.

FA YOUTH CUP

TASC MEMBERSHIP CARDS

LADIES START THEIR SEASON

ALTY'S NON-LEAGUE DAY OFFER

Also "BBC Radio Manchester are supporting 'Non League Day' by having Altrincham v Dartford as their featured non-League match on Saturday in their 'Manchester Sports' programme between 2-6pm. Ian Burke will be reporting.

Joint Press & Media Officer, Brian Flynn will be a studio guest on the Radio Manchester breakfast programme on Friday morning around 8.45. Brian will be promoting Saturday's game & Altrincham Football Club's efforts to support Non League Day.

You can listen to Radio Manchester on 95.1FM or online here.

NEXT OPPONENTS

Almost a third of the Varanama Conference fixtures will have been played by the end of September and four of the Darts’ seven games during that time look pivotal. Having beaten AFC Telford on Saturday, Tony Burman’s side are away to another of the league’s newly-promoted clubs this weekend. They host Dover later in the month before crucial trips to Nuneaton and Welling.

Dartford captain Elliot Bradbrook said, 'September is a big month for us as we play a number of teams that are likely to be in and around the mid-lower-table, so it is here that we need to stand up, be counted and start picking up points consistently. The first five games of the season are now out of the way, five tough games all against teams that are likely to finish in the top-10 this year.

They all have aspirations of getting into the play-offs and, for the most part, we have matched them and could have picked up more points'.

Altrincham have lost five of their first six games but Burman isn’t putting too much stock by that statistic. He said, 'Do you look at the league? Every game is going to be tough. We’ll travel up to Altrincham on Saturday morning and try to perform after a four or five-hour trip. There’s no wrong way or right way. Whether we stay overnight or not, it’s just about trying to get a result'.

Lee Burns may feature after missing four games with a rib injury although Nathan Collier has deputised well at right-back."

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The actual photo-calls to each award recipient will take place on the pitch pre-match, for those who will be at a home match.

In the case where the respective club(s) is playing away, clubs will be requested to arrange to take a photograph on the day/day before.

Clubs will be required to publish photos and press releases on their own club websites on Saturday, and distribute to regional media, Vanarama and the Football Conference as soon as practicable thereafter".

BT Sport has revealed its September and October games for live TV coverage:

• Wednesday 10 September: Dover Athletic v Barnet - 7.45pm (BT Sport 1)
• Monday 22 September: Chester v Wrexham - 8pm (BT Sport 2)
• Wednesday 8 October: Kidderminster Harriers v Welling United - 7.45pm (BT Sport 1)
• Saturday 11 October: Alfreton v Torquay United - 5.30pm (BT Sport 1)

Reports in the Worcester News tell us that "Kidderminster Harriers have issued a warning that the squad could be broken up unless new investors are found to help alleviate their cash flow problems. The Aggborough outfit issued a statement last Friday asking for potential new backers to join the board of directors. The club cited their current worries on the departure of Mark Serrell and wife Ruth, and Ernie and Kath Lane.

Harriers are in the process of taking legal action against the Lanes, who quit the board in June, over a financial issue. The Reds have also been further rocked by the departure of finance director Joe Hancox on Tuesday night. They have been hit in the pocket by last season’s increased playing budget of £700,000 as well as pay outs to former managers Steve Burr and Andy Thorn.

However, they also enjoyed one of their most lucrative seasons, with a run to the FA Cup Fourth Round generating £125,000 in prize money alone as well as a sizeable windfall from their clash against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The sale of Joe Lolley for £250,000, a figure paid in instalments, to Huddersfield also boosted Harriers’ coffers.

Chairman Ken Rae said, 'We’ve a number of directors in the space of six months and we’re looking to fill those gaps which gives us some financial support. There’s no set figure but we’re looking for any interested parties to get in touch and we’ll open a dialogue and go from there. We’d been looking for £10,000 as a minimum and, you never know, there might be somebody out there interested in taking over Harriers lock stock and barrel.

We’ve had a good start to the season and the best time to press support into the business is when you’re doing well'...

Harriers’ statement says they have no substantial debts and that PAYE and VAT are paid up... Supporters are concerned that they may lose the likes of Chey Dunkley in January unless more cash is found.

Rae added... 'The FA Cup and Joe Lolley money have supported the playing budget over the last two years. We had a playing budget which was in excess of what the club generates from its commercial activities'...

Kidderminster Harriers Independent Supporters Trust (KHIST) issued a statement on Saturday, expressing their disappointment at the club’s situation.

Former chairman Norgrove was also critical of the board’s financial management. Current directors put in £10,000 each season. 'When we were on the board, we would have to put our hand in our pocket and put in £20,000 or £50,000 if needed,' commented Norgrove. 'But the club has been spending more than it has been bringing in, which is unsustainable. If that’s the case, you have to cut your cloth accordingly, it’s no point having a good team if you can’t pay the bills'.”

According to the Shropshire Star, "AFC Telford United will be looking to sign one or two more players on loan... The Bucks have bolstered their options by bringing in 25-year-old midfielder Josh O’Keefe from Kidderminster Harriers on a one-month temporary deal.

The club play host to recently-promoted Dover Athletic on Saturday... and assistant Dominic Morley said, 'We’re confident, but we’re always on the lookout for new players and we’re still looking to bring in one or two more on loan... We’re not a million miles away and we’re always looking to improve all over the pitch'...

Morley said, 'It’s an important game on Saturday and it makes it even more important as we’re still after our first win. We’re only playing well for 20 minute spells in games so far so we need to start playing for longer periods in the game. We didn’t turn up in the second-half against Dartford after dominating the first, but I think a draw would have been a fair result overall.

I’ll be talking with Liam this week and we’ll discuss how we approach the game, but we have to look to take the game to them'".

Sky Sports tells us that it "understands Halifax boss Neil Aspin is in the frame for the vacant manager's job at Carlisle... following the sacking of Graham Kavanagh...

Aspin is earning himself a reputation as one of the best managers outside the Football League after guiding Halifax to three promotions since taking charge in 2009... The former Port Vale and Darlington defender has shown he has a good eye for players, having scouted and sold the likes of Jamie Vardy and Lee Gregory to Championship clubs during his time in charge at the Shay."

At Dover Athletic, "Defender Yado Mambo, who was signed last month on a non-contract basis, has been released"

MEET THE NEW RECRUITS

For just £15, guests will be served a two-course meal prepared by the Club's expert caterer, Richie Bentley. Drinks orders can be placed from your table and the drinks will be brought to you. All five new recruits will be in attendance (i.e. Peter Cavanagh, Ryan Crowther, Steven Gillespie, David Parton and Sean Williams). After the meal, the format involves Brian Flynn compering an informal Q&A of the five players, who have joined the Club for 2014-15. These evenings are always both very entertaining and informative so don't miss your chance to get a ticket. At a bargain £15, tickets may be ordered from Grahame or Karen Rowley via e-mail.

ALFRETON ARRANGEMENTS

"Admission by payment at the turnstIle for each Vanarama Conference League fixture at the Impact Arena during the 2014/2015 season (excluding Group Saver Tickets and Early Bird Match Tickets (see below) is as follows:

• £18 for each adult (aged 16 upwards)
• £12 for senior citizens (persons aged 65 and over) and children 15 and under who are non Junior Reds members
• £12 for students upon production of a student card at the turnstile.
• £2 for children aged 15 and under, provided that they are accompanied through the turnstile by a paying adult.

GROUP SAVER ADMISSION TICKETS

The Group Saver Admission Ticket requires a total of five or more supporters per ticket in order to be eligible for purchase and to take advantage of these excellent rates, but these can be a mixture of adults at the lower price of £15 each and over-65s at just £10 each. Usual admission prices at the turnstile on match day are £18 for adults and £12 for concessions.

The Group Saver Ticket is available by calling in at the ATFC administration office at the Impact Arena between the hours of 9am and 2.45pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively, these admission-saving tickets can be purchased via telephone by contacting Lisa Towerzey on 01159 392090 extension 107 between 9am and 2.45pm Monday to Friday, or via e-mail.

The deadline to purchase Group Saver Tickets for any league fixture is 2.45pm on the last working day prior to each home league fixture.

EARLY BIRD MATCH DAY TICKETS FOR HOME LEAGUE GAME

Early Bird Match Day Tickets for the 2014/2015 league season, are available on a match to match basis, and are priced at £16 for each adult and £11 for concessions meaning discounts of £2 and £1 respectively on normal admission prices for home league games at the turnstile on the day of the game.

VISITING SUPPORTERS can also take advantage of the Group Saver Tickets and Early Bird Match Tickets discounted prices by calling The Early Bird Match Ticket Administration Office on 01159 392090 extension 107 between the hours of 9am and 2.45pm Monday to Friday. These tickets can be reserved for collection from the away turnstiles at the Alma Street end of the stadium on the day of the game".

TASC Supporters' Travel

TASC is running a supporters' coach to Alfreton. Details are here.

'TOUGH MUDDER' VOLUNTEERS WANTED

"Macc Mudslinging Anyone?

Altrincham fans have been invited by 'Tough Mudder' to take part in their North West event which takes place on September 13th & 14th. Details of the event which starts at 8am on the Saturday and 10am on the Sunday are here.

Event Location: Cholmondeley Estate, The Estate Office, Cholmondeley Malpas, Cheshire, United Kingdom SY14 8HA.

'Tough Mudder' is a world renowned endurance challenge, a team race where you have to overcome 10 obstacles across a course of 10-12 miles. Find out all about it here.

Three to five Altrincham fans would be in a team with supporters of Macclesfield Town or Chester F.C. The event is all about camaraderie and cooperation amongst Mudders; you cannot complete the course without the help of your team-mates.

Alty fans' involvement could be on either or both days but, with having a home game on Saturday September 13th, we assume that Sunday September 14th is likely to be a better date.

If you are interested in getting involved in this, please email Brian Flynn. There is no charge for this event and a fantastic experience is guaranteed!"

RAISING THE ROOF

BTEC SIDE LOSES OPENING GAME

CITY v CHELSEA TICKETS

"The Club has been given two places in the 1894 Club Bar at the Etihad Stadium for the Manchester City v Chelsea fixture on 21st September 2014, kick off 4:00pm, which, even at this stage of the season, looks to be a very important game.

The tickets are available to the person who makes the best offer for the tickets by midnight on Sunday September 14th. Offers to be emailed to Altrincham FC. The Club has kindly agreed to donate the proceeds to the Community Sports Hall appeal. Our thanks go to Andrew Shaw and Manchester City Football Club for the donation.

The package will include:

• Executive Bar facility
• An array of dishes (to purchase on the day)
• Dedicated match seat, located on the halfway line in the East Stand, Level 2
• Betting facilities
• Match day programme for each guest
• Car parking facilities

Dress code: smart casual, no tracksuits, caps, or shorts".

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Law has sat out the start of the 2014/15 campaign after incurring a six-match stadium suspension following a charge of improper conduct last season and he returns to the fray with his side sat bottom of the table, yet to pick up a point, and facing a trip to league leaders Barnet on Saturday.

But, despite the August transfer window deadline closing on Monday night, Law says he still has plenty of irons in the fire.

'We spent two or three weeks, prior to the window, trying to strengthen but everywhere we have been looking, we have been knocked back or offered Academy lads who might be technically good enough, but sometimes are not strong enough for this level of football. It comes as a bit of a culture shock to them' explained Law.

'The only other option now is to look at the free agents (players out of contract) and, fortunately, there are still plenty around... and, all being well, we will have one, maybe two coming in to the club in time for the weekend. It may mean a couple might have to go out on loan to subsidise the deals, but that’s where we are at right now.'

Law’s return could not be more difficult with his side sat rock bottom the Conference Premier Division table and travelling to face a Barnet side who are hot favourites for the title following a summer of impressive captures including former QPR and Fulham winger Lee Cook, who is currently the second highest goalscorer in the division.

'Obviously we are really disappointed with the start we have had', said Law. 'We have had a tough first six or seven fixtures. That said, I don’t think anyone expected the results we have had. They don’t come much harder than Barnet, I have seen them and they are a proper side, a really good team. They are a real good outfit and everyone I have spoken to about them says they are on a different level and think they are better team than Luton last season, which is saying something. They resemble more of a League team than a Conference team...

We will be going down there with a specific game plan and see if we can get something out of it'".

Background on Alfreton comes from Barnet-Mad, where we read that Alfreton "finished 15th, 13th and 11th respectively in their first three seasons at this level. Alfreton were formed in 1959 out of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfreton United...

Alfreton are managed by Nicky Law, who took control in 2007".

The next visitors to Altrincham are the subject of a piece in Kent Online, which says that "Dartford manager Tony Burman praised Andy Pugh after the former Gills striker scored the winner against AFC Telford United on Saturday. Pugh's first goal since joining Dartford from Cambridge United in the summer earned his new club their first win of the season...

'Pughy’s a really intelligent player', he said. 'He’s been full-time at Cambridge and it’s done him the world of good. He doesn’t mind dropping off in the hole. When you’re playing 4-4-2 and you’re playing against teams who play three in the middle of the park, sometimes you can get a little bit overrun. What we do is that the forward has to come in deeper in the hole and try to pick that third man up. Pughy’s decent at it and when he gets the ball, he’s intelligent'...

Last week, Burman spoke out in support of his strikers, who have lacked confidence in front of goal at times this season. Pugh, Tom Bradbrook and Harry Crawford have netted just twice between them in six games so far. Burman said, 'I think we’ve done all right but we’ve lacked a little bit of killer instinct. It’s all right playing all right but you’ve got to win games. We’ve got to do it with a bit of fight and I thought we did that in the second half (on Saturday).

I want them to be like that in every game. You can’t keep saying to the forwards 'You were unlucky to miss a chance', it’s got to start going in. Once they start going in, hopefully it can flow and you wonder what the problem was in the first place'".

Kent Online's report on Dartford's last game says "Two goals in 12 second-half minutes took Dartford to their first win of the season against AFC Telford... Winger Luke Daley, who had his best game so far in a Dartford shirt, brilliantly brought them level before Andy Pugh's first goal of the season sank the visitors...

Dartford manager Tony Burman made two changes to the team he picked at Barnet on Bank Holiday Monday. Ryan Hayes returned on the right wing and Peter Sweeney also started for the home side. The two players to make way were Lee Noble and Max Cornhill... Sweeney's inclusion in central midfield had the Darts ticking straight away. Their passing was crisp, even if the final ball left a little to be desired on occasion...

Burman introduced Harris for Tom Bradbrook and within a minute of coming on, the forward had helped Dartford restore parity. Harris drove towards the penalty area and when the ball reached Daley, he arrowed a brilliant shot into the bottom corner from 25 yards. Harris was everywhere...

Dartford: Brown, Collier, McAuley, Mitchel-King, Green, Hayes (Noble 69mins), E Bradbrook, Sweeney, Daley, Pugh (Crawford 76mins), T Bradbrook (Harris 52mins). Subs not used: Cornhill, Ibrahim".

TAKE THE COACH TO ALFRETON

Fares, times and pick-up arrangements for the coach are on the Away Travel page.

ALTY'S NON-LEAGUE DAY OFFER

THUMBS UP FOR NON-LEAGUE DAY

"Sponsors of the Vanarama Conference launch campaign to break Non-League Day attendance record on September 6th

Core to the campaign is a “call to arms” to recruit personalities who love the game, to put their “thumbs up” for Non-League day and raise awareness. Van leasing business Vanarama will take to social media to encourage managers, players, media, celebrities and, of course, fans, to post pictures of their support using #thumbsup4NLD.

The campaign will raise awareness of Non-League football with ALL football fans and ask them to go to support their local club on Saturday 6th September 2014, a day when there are no Premier League or Championship fixtures. The target is to achieve a Non-League Day attendance of more than 50,000 at Vanarama Conference games on the day, breaking the existing record of 39,210 (2012).

Vanarama will make a donation on behalf of every fan attending a Vanarama Conference fixture to Prostate Cancer UK, the event’s charity. Based on last year’s attendance this will be a donation of £4,000. If the matchday attendance across the Vanarama Conference is higher than 50,000, Vanarama will donate at least £10,000. Full details can be found at their website".

To help raise awareness for the campaign, join Matt Le Tissier and others, and post pictures of you and your friends with ‘thumbs up’ to @Vanarama and using #thumbsup4NLD, or Facebook.

Matt Le Tissier, Thumbs Up for Non-League Day Ambassador said, 'Non-League Football is close to my heart and the lifeblood of the beautiful game in this country. I am excited to be supporting this campaign and encourage everyone to tweet their thumbs up photos and get down to their local club this coming Saturday. Let’s break the record and raise money for Prostate Cancer UK'.

Andy Alderson, Owner & Managing Director, Autorama Group said, 'As a company of football fans, we are excited to be sponsoring the Vanarama Conference and delighted to be supporting Non-League Day and Prostate Cancer UK at the same time. We hope to help the clubs attract fans from the wider football family on this special day in the Football calendar. Thumbs Up for Non-League Day!”.

OLD BOYS

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

'The club gave me my break in football and have always been there to help me', he told the club website. 'At the moment it is going well, so I just want to do well for the club and help them get to where we should be'".

And "Defender Connor Essam has signed a one-year deal at Dover Athletic following his release from Crawley Town. The 22-year-old started his career at Gillingham and enjoyed a loan spell with the Whites in 2011. He signed for Crawley last summer and played 12 games for the League One club before having his contract cancelled by mutual consent on Monday.

Meanwhile, midfielder Solomon Taiwo and [ex-Boston United] striker Ricky Miller have joined for an initial one-month loan from Luton".

DARTFORD GAME

• At Altrincham: P3-W2-D1-L0-F4-A1
• At Dartford: P5-W1-D0-L4-F4-A8
• All games: P8-W3-D1-L4-F8-A9

Howard Watts provides the Through the Years record of previous Altrincham games on 6 September.

YOUTH TEAM'S BIG WIN

Reece Dwyer netted six times, the other goals coming from Harry Cain, Sam Heathcote (penalty), Will Foster and Shaun Arrowsmith. The win was achieved despite injuries; Will Foster suffered a broken arm and Aaron Goldman received a fiercely struck ball in the face.

The team was: 1. Jamie Burrows, 2. James Campion, 3. Jake Foy, 4. Cole McGrath, 5. Sam Heathcote (capt), 6. Laurence Taylor, 7. Shaun Arrowsmith, 8. William Foster, 9. Marc Bellingham, 10. Reece Dwyer, 11. Harry Cain. Subs, all used: 12. Tryevon Simpson, 14. Obajimi Folagbade, 15. Joseph Coffey, 16. Aaron Goldman, 17. Benjamin Reid.

LEE REMAINS CONFIDENT

"Altrincham are looking to hit the heights on and off the pitch after drawing up plans to make the most of Non-League Day at the J.Davidson Stadium on Saturday.

A gap in the Barclays Premier League and Championship fixture list, caused by midweek internationals, has given non-League clubs the chance of a day in the limelight, and Alty are determined not to miss out, as they prepare to host Dartford in the Vanarama Conference (3pm).

Left: Lee Sinnott.

They are offering £5 admission for Premier League or Championship season-ticket holders, on production of their season tickets, and are targeting youngsters in the area to try and ensure Non-League Day is marked by a carnival atmosphere inside the ground.

Club bosses have already distributed tickets to many local schools but are still encouraging anyone interested in the scheme to contact the office, on 928 1045, to discover how parents can gain entry for £5, with under-12s admitted free.

On the field, manager Lee Sinnott is urging his players to respond to the anticipated bumper turnout by rediscovering their ‘spark’ after slipping to a 2-1 defeat at Nuneaton last Saturday.

‘We have had plenty of possession in just about every game so far, but outcomes are decided by what you do with it,’ he said. ‘We fizzled out once we got to the final third at Nuneaton, and that was disappointing.

‘The game was there for the taking, but we failed to ignite. There was a lack of spark. For all the link-up play we’ve been producing, we’ve got to be more decisive in the final third.

‘We managed to reduce the arrears with what was a well-crafted goal, but it was too little too late. Offensively, we didn’t get out of second gear. We had enough of the ball to have been able to ask questions of them, but you have to go through the gears.

‘These players are better than they are showing at the moment. Whether it is psychological or not, I don’t know, but we are going to have to work on that and start producing what we are capable of. Once we get into our groove, we will pick up points and improve our position in the table.’"

NUNEATON COMMENTARY

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

He has been signed for one month due to the Bucks having a number of injuries and suspensions to their current central midfield players."

Elsewhere "Alfreton Town`s manager Nicky Law has strengthened his squad ahead of his return to the dug-out after serving a six-match suspension. The Reds' boss has signed former Nottingham Forest central defender Lawrence Gorman on non-contract terms. Gorman, 19, began with Forest as a youngster and progressed to be capped by England at both under-16 and under-17 levels.

As well as playing in central defence, Gorman has also played right-back on several occasions. Law is hopeful of adding more players to his squad ahead of the transfer deadline".

And, "Macclesfield Town have taken a second player on loan from Stoke City, who play under-21 matches at the Moss Rose. Joining 20-year-old winger Adam Thomas is Manchester-born defender Alex Grant, also 20, who actually began his career at Joondalup Soccer Club in Western Australia but returned to join Portsmouth as a 16-year-old.

Although never playing for the Pompey senior side, he spent time on loan at both Havant & Waterlooville and Eastleigh as a teenager. Released from Portsmouth he joined Stoke in 2013 and has been a regular for the club’s under-21 side as well as having attracted attention of Australia at under-17 level... Both [players] join until the end of December."

According to the BBC "Johnny Hunt is returning to Wrexham on loan until January. The 24-year-old left Wrexham in the summer for Cambridge United, but has yet to play for the League Two outfit. Now the Dragons have swooped to bring back the player who made more than 100 appearances for the club before his departure. Liverpool-born Hunt can play across the midfield or at left-back and scored 11 goals in 42 Conference Premier games last season. "

He played against Altrincham at the weekend and was booked but Nuneaton Town Meanwhile, "Defender Delroy Gordon has agreed to join Hereford United on loan. He will be with the Bulls for an initial one month loan to get some games under his belt after which he will hopefully return to Boro".

The Times Series reports that it "understands that contrary to reports by Sky Sports News, Blackpool have not made an offer for Barnet's Keanu Marsh-Brown. Marsh-Brown, who was subject of several bids at the end of last week, has been linked with a move to the Tangerines this afternoon but The Times Series understands the Championship side have not submitted an offer for the 22-year-old.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's game, head coach Martin Allen revealed Marsh-Brown had been left at home after the club received offers which needed to be 'considered' by chairman Tony Kleanthous. He said, 'I had a chat with the chairman on Thursday; some offers have come into the chairman that he feels need to be considered. They’ve not been finalised yet but on Friday morning we had another meeting and we thought it would be the best interests for the football club, the team and also, of course, considering Keanu’s position, that he would be left at home this weekend, with the view to something maybe happening at the beginning of the week'.

Marsh-Brown has made one start and three substitute appearances for the Bees this season, scoring goals against Chester and Lincoln City."

On Monday at Bristol Rovers When the window shuts I am still out looking at players; managers don’t stand still. The window opens in a loan capacity after a week anyway. My players have to be at it, as I won’t wait round and I will always be looking for players to improve the team'.

The manager also confirmed that “Jamie Turley is still training with us, and that is still on the cards for when he is fit... I think it is important that we have a bit of a settling down period now, and start building momentum in the league and get focussed on winning football matches... There was such a turnover of players in the summer and it takes a bit of time to gel, but we were very disappointed as a group with how the first week went.

I treat every game as a new project. The last three games I haven’t had to make too many changes, that is not because we have done well, but it was the fact that I thought it was the best system and team to win that football match... We have two players away on international duty now, but it is great for the club that we have some internationals in the team'.

And... Darrell said, 'We have got a behind-closed-door friendly with Newport County tomorrow morning for some of the boys who need to get some minutes under their belts".

From the BBC we learn that "Gateshead have signed former Forest Green Rovers and Wrexham and striker Danny Wright. The 29-year-old has signed a contract until the end of the season after featuring in Gateshead's 2-1 win over Chester on Saturday.

Wright was released by Forest Green Rovers on Friday and becomes the Tynesiders' 10th signing this summer. 'It was disappointing not to play for Forest Green but I feel sharp and ready to hit the ground running', he said. Wright left the New Lawn 12 months into a two-year deal after scoring eight goals in 40 games".

LADIES WIN

The Altrincham Ladies' goals came from Georgina Plant, Tracey Blanchard-Webb (2) and Aimee Gibson. Goalkeeper Lizzie Brereton saved a penalty which ensured the victory. A report on the game from Phil Taylor will follow in the near future.

NEXT SATURDAY

• AFC Telford Utd v Dover Athletic
• Altrincham v Dartford
• Barnet v Alfreton Town
• Braintree Town v Bristol Rovers
• Chester FC v Macclesfield Town
• Eastleigh v Southport
• FC Halifax Town v Aldershot Town
• Forest Green Rovers v Wrexham
• Grimsby Town v Welling United
• Kidderminster Harriers v Gateshead
• Torquay United v Nuneaton Town
• Woking v Lincoln City
• Through the Years by Howard Watts.