an unofficial website
www.altrinchamfc.co.uk

NEWS ARCHIVE
September, 2015


30 September 2015

YOUTH TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights of last week's game between FC United of Manchester and Altrincham's youth teams can be seen here.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

The BBC reports that "Ex-Swansea City, Ipswich Town and Wigan Athletic striker Jason Scotland is training with Wrexham. The 36-year-old former Trinidad & Tobago is a free agent after being released by Hamilton Academical at the end of the 2014-15 season. Scotland scored 53 goals in his two seasons at Swansea and was a member of his country's 2006 World Cup squad.

Wrexham are short of striking options with top-scorer James Gray ruled out with injury. Gray, 23, has undergone surgery on a broken hand he suffered during his side's 0-0 draw against Grimsby Town in the National League".

According to the Gloucestershire Echo "Luke Thomas's rapid progress at Cheltenham Town has not only captured the attention of Portuguese giants Benfica, [but] Southampton and Derby County are also keeping tabs on the 16-year-old.

The attacking talent was named on the bench for Gary Johnson's senior team against Tranmere Rovers last Saturday and if he had gone on he would have become the youngest player in the Robins' history. Johnson has noticed something special in Thomas, who he calls 'Mr Benfica' after the former European champions invited him for a trial after he impressed with his goalscoring exploits during a Cheltenham Town Academy tour in July.

Thomas's older brother Keiran, 20, was close to earning a professional deal with the Robins after joining the club at 14 and he is confident Luke can make the grade, having already had a Premier League club ask to have a look at him. 'Luke was obviously buzzing to be on the bench and he's improved noticeably since training with the first team players for the past month,' Keiran, who is now at Cinderford Town, said.

'He has been playing out wide for the youth team but he can also play as a central striker and he has been on fire since pre-season, scoring loads of goals. I think his attitude is key, he is a likeable lad who has settled in well with the pros and really got his head down, which is important. Gary Johnson has told him he's seen something special in him and all the senior players have been saying he is a "baller" which has helped him too'...

Luke was on the books of West Brom before signing for Cheltenham".

From the Express & Star we learn that "Chairman Rod Brown insists Kidderminster Harriers are taking a 'careful and considered approach' to finding their new head coach, as Tim Flowers departed. A statement on the club’s website claims Flowers departed the club last week, along with Gary Whild. His situation had initially remained unclear after the former Wolves goalkeeper turned down the chance to replace Whild as head coach.

Colin Gordon, the club’s head of development, is currently in caretaker charge. Brown admits... 'It is vitally important for the long-term future of the football club that we get this right and, in that sense, we are in no hurry. We are happy that the team is in good hands in the immediate short-term, as Colin Gordon and the staff have been working hard and the players have responded to that'".

News of Altrincham's next opponents comes from the NW Evening Mail which tells us that "Darren Edmondson has urged Dave Symington to build on his encouraging weekend display and hinted that the versatile operator has a good chance of earning an extended stay in Furness. The 21-year-old joined Barrow on a three-month deal ahead of the season after he [had] recovered from a dislocated knee-cap injury picked up last term.

Workington-born Symington started two of Barrow’s first three National League games, operating in a wide midfield role, but the ex-Carlisle man was struck down by a hamstring problem in the 4-0 defeat at Forest Green Rovers on August 15. He overcame that injury but had to wait until Saturday to be handed his recall to AFC’s league starting-XI, replacing the injured George Williams (foot) at right-back. And Symington produced a solid display, in a defensive role he has performed before, as Barrow were held to a 1-1 home draw by National League bottom club Kidderminster Harriers.

Barrow boss Edmondson said of his performance, 'I thought he did well, he is predominantly a right-back. He gets played further forward at times because his delivery is very good. But I can’t remember too many instances where his positioning was wrong or where he was beaten and he was up against a decent winger to be fair... We’ve seen some indifferent 30-minute displays from him but generally on Saturday he was very good'...

Symington has made four starts for Barrow overall... Edmondson will have a big decision to make if full-back Williams is declared fit for Saturday’s clash at Altrincham...

Asked if Symington still has a good chance of being offered new terms if he continues to make strides forward, Edmondson added, 'Yes, we’re backing him, that’s why we put the deal together very early because we know what he can bring, we know what he does and what you saw on Saturday was more what Dave Symington is about. He was physical in his tackles, he won his headers and in one-on-one situations he was very good. His delivery is always good although there was one or two decisions, in possession of the ball in the first half, which could have been better.

But that’s his first game back, he wants to impress and sometimes you make one or two poor decisions on the back of trying to impress too much'".


29 September 2015

ALTY BATTLE AGAINST THE ODDS

In the Daily Telegraph, Harry Redknapp seeks to explain the indifferent form of Liverpool and Manchester City last weekend. He writes, "It's a big problem to lose four of your best players". He cites the departures of Suarez, Sterling, Carragher and Gerrard, as well as the injury of Sturridge, at Anfield and the absences of the injured Hart, Kompany, Silva and Zabaleta at City. Redknapp continues, "Every team has that few standout players, that extra bit of class, who make all the difference".

So, in that context, you can make a strong argument that Alty's 14 points from 13 games are a very respectable haul for a side which is still without its injured foursome of Coburn, Densmore, Marshall and Clee (who have more than 1200 Alty appearances between them), and which has also had to manage without the likes of Havern and Richman for half a dozen games earlier this season as well.

Add to that, a testing fixture list which has already pitted us against 11 of the top 13 clubs in the league and the points' haul looks a lot more respectable than it may seem at first sight.

NEXT GAME

Altrincham are at home to Barrow this Saturday (3rd October, 3pm). Mike Garnett's statistic summarise the history of matches between the two clubs:
  • Home - p.38 w.20 d.14 l.4 f.79 a.39
  • Away - p.35 w,14 d.9 l.12 f.54 a.45
  • Overall - p.73 w.34 d.23 l.16 f.133 a.84

VANARAMA NATIONAL NEWS

The BBC confirms that "Torquay United have appointed Kevin Nicholson as their new player-manager. The 34-year-old spent seven years as a left-back at Plainmoor, making 312 appearances and scoring 13 goals.

He replaces Paul Cox, who resigned from the role earlier this month because of the financial pressures at Torquay.

'I can see the huge amount of potential here', Nicholson told BBC Sport. 'They're a fantastic set of young lads, they're keen, eager, full of ability and I think I can help'...

'As a player, all my best memories are at this club,' added Nicholson. 'All the best things that have happened to me have happened here. I've seen it when we've been flying and we've averaged 3,000 fans and I've seen people walking away from the ground with smiles on their faces. I knew I'd get this job eventually, I just wanted to be ready for it when it happened, regardless of what age I was and my experience', he added.

Chairman David Phillips told BBC Sport, 'He seems to be cut out to be a good manager'. Nicholson has yet to appoint an assistant manager and Cox's number two John Ramshaw, who was in charge of the Gulls on Saturday as they lost 2-0 to Lincoln, is still offering his services to the club".

Elsewhere, the BBC reports that "[FC] Halifax Town have extended the loan deals of Sheffield United pair CJ Hamilton and David Brooks for another month. Winger Hamilton, 20, has scored three goals in six league games for the Shaymen this season.

Midfielder Brooks, 18, has made five appearances since arriving in August, scoring once".

According to NL Daily, "Macclesfield Town boss John Askey says new arrivals Lindon Meikle and Fisayo Adarabioyo will help ease the injury crisis... Askey swooped to sign the duo after an injury to Paul Lewis last week meant that he only had 11 outfield players at his disposal for the trip to Aldershot.

Former York winger Meikle and ex Crystal Palace forward Adarabioyo signed up with the Silkmen on Friday afternoon and both made their debut in the comfortable 3-0 win over Aldershot 24 hours later. Askey has praised their performance, 'I came in to training on Friday to find out Paul Lewis was injured so we had to quickly sign them up. Neither of them have had a lot of game time but they both showed good attitude when they came on... They ran around and were committed for us.'"

FA CUP

Altrincham enter the FA Cup at the 4th Qualifying Round. The FA announces "The draw for the Third Round Qualifying of The Emirates FA Cup... The designated date for the 40 ties is Saturday 10 October 2015, and the winners each pick up £7,500 from The FA’s prize fund.

The [northern element of the] draw

  • 1 Harrogate Town v Burscough
  • 2 Salford City v Bradford (Park Avenue)
  • 3 Whitley Bay v Chorley
  • 4 Stourbridge v Corby Town or Rushall Olympic
  • 5 Solihull Moors v Holbeach United or Worcester City
  • 6 FC United of Manchester v Buxton
  • 7 Marine or Washington v Northwich Victoria
  • 8 Chasetown v Stalybridge Celtic
  • 9 Newton Aycliffe or North Ferriby United v Nuneaton Town
  • 10 AFC Fylde v Coleshill Town
  • 11 Barwell v King’s Lynn
  • 12 Hednesford Town v Alfreton Town
  • 13 Droylsden v Gainsborough Trinity
  • 14 Sporting Khalsa v Spalding United
  • 15 Brackley Town v Rugby Town
  • 16 Kettering Town v Bamber Bridge
  • 17 AFC Rushden & Diamonds v Ashton United

OTHER NEWS

The BBC reports that former Boston United, Crawley Town and "Rotherham United manager Steve Evans has left the Championship club after more than three years with the Millers. The 52-year-old leaves with Rotherham 20th in the Championship, although they have won their last two games.

Assistant manager Paul Raynor has also departed, with first-team coach Eric Black placed in temporary charge. A club statement on the Rotherham website said that chairman Tony Stewart and Evans 'wished to head in a different direction'", presumably from each other.

"Rotherham gained successive promotions in Evans's first two seasons in charge, but struggled in the Championship last season... Speaking...on Saturday, Evans said there was 'fantastic chemistry' at the club between the chairman, manager and players. 'There was never any pressure on the squad in the relegation zone,' he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

'Let the knockers continue. We're just trying to prove the doubters wrong like we have done for three-and-a-half years'".


28 September 2015

LEE SINNOTT ON BOREHAM WOOD MATCH

Brian Flynn interviewed Lee Sinnott after the game at Boreham Wood and this can be heard here.

The BBC stats, which differ from those in the NL Paper state that possession was 50/50. The stats say that the home side had 12 shots to Alty's six, four on target against six by Alty.

Above: Alty defend a corner in the first half at Boreham Wood.

BOREHAM WOOD VIEW

The Borehamwood Times has a very balanced report on the game with Altrincham.

"Below par Boreham Wood failed to build on Tuesday’s win at Torquay United... A clumsy tackle inside the penalty area after ten minutes from Wood’s Clovis Kamdjo gifted the visitors an early lead, Michael Rankine scoring what proved the decisive goal from 12 yards.

Wood lacked pace, with the visitors defending resolutely, smothering any signs of constructive build-up play and ultimately delivering a perfect away performance...

Altrincham started the brighter of the two sides, yet before any action of note had taken place, Ryan Crowther had his heels clipped by Kamdjo whilst running away from goal and Wood were a goal behind as Rankine successfully scored, the first time Altrincham have scored a penalty since the 2013/14 season.

There were high hopes of a turnaround in Wood’s fortunes after Tuesday night’s 2-1 win at Torquay, yet hero on the night Mustafa Tiryaki lacked the pace of midweek, his groin strain forcing Allinson to replace him after the interval... More half chances came and went for Wood who could not pierce the Robins defence’ from a succession of corners...

With men behind the ball and a flooded midfield the visitors stifled any hopes Wood had until Allinson changed the shape of his side for the start of the second half...

Jake Moult then saw his long range effort gathered at the second attempt by James Russell who was called more into action as the game opened up. He saved a low effort from Rankine before Scott Doe had a header saved by Deasy at the other end... It was the visitors who looked the likelier to score at this stage. Rankine sent a looping header over Russell with Wood saved by the crossbar. The rebound fell for Crowther, whose effort was blocked by Ben Nunn...

In stoppage time Wood had one final attempt to no avail. Moving the ball quickly Montgomery, Shakes and Billy Clifford all had a hand in the buildup, working the ball to Morias whose angled drive from the left curled beyond Deasy only to crash against the right hand post, with Sam Cox unable to keep his header down from the rebound.

Speaking afterwards, Allinson said, 'We spoke about not letting them get in front at length before the game. We lasted ten minutes and gave away a stupid, needless penalty. We were below par in their penalty area and really did not give their keeper too much to think about. We did not hold the ball up at all today, unlike at Torquay. All credit to Altrincham".

LADIES' KEEPER INJURY HALTS GAME

Altrincham FC Ladies' match against FC United of Manchester at Mersey Bank FC was abandoned on Sunday afternoon followed a serious injury to Altrincham goalkeeper Lizzie Brereton. The score at that stage was 1-1. Lizzie suffered the injury in making a fine save from the visitors' number 11. Fortunately, Alty FC physio Alan Ainsley was at the game and he gave Lizzie excellent attention. As she could not be moved from the pitch the game was suspended and it eventually took two and half hours for an ambulance to arrive to take her to Salford Royal Hospital.

Phil Taylor advises that the injury is a "displaced fracture of the wrist" and that it remains to be decided whether the injury needs an operation or not. All at the Club wish her a full and speedy recovery and are grateful to Alan Ainsley for his treatment of the injury.

Michael Ripley has images from the game here.

YOUTH NEWS

Alty Youth were not in action this Sunday. the FA records the other results in the NWYA Premier on Sunday. Altrincham have dropped to fifth but have two games in hand on some of the other teams.

  • HYDE FC 1 - 3 CHESTER YOUTH
  • PRESCOT CABLES 4 - 1 MORECAMBE
  • SALFORD CITY 0 - 4 CURZON ASHTON
  • WARRINGTON TOWN YOUTH 4 - 1 SKELMERSDALE UNITED YOUTH

Alty's next game is away to Morecambe (4th October).

RESERVES' WIN

Alty Reserves team team on Saturday in their 3-0 win at Tarporley was David Brown, Harry Cain, Tom Clarke, Marcus Dibble, William Foster, Craig Goulden. Connor Sutton, Joel Swift, Laurence Taylor, Thomas Westall, Callum Williams (GK). Substitutes: Shaun Arrowsmith, Ryan Barry, Max Pouncey, Ioannis Stouppis. Alty entertain Golborne at Egerton Sports Club next Saturday and the following Saturday Alty are away at Billinge.

VANARAMA NATIONAL NEWS

From the Chester Chronicle we learn that "Steve Burr cut a frustrated figure following the 3-0 defeat at Bromley on Saturday and set out his intentions to ring the changes by bringing in some new signings. Despite being satisfied with the performance, the Chester FC boss was left scratching his head over the personal mistakes that have blighted recent performances.

He will attempt to draft in some new faces via the loan market this week. Burr said, 'There's a point now where we try to bring some players in if we can. We can't carry on as like it is at the minute because players are struggling and it's not getting us the results... but you can't just wave a magic wand and bring them in. These lads have had a fair opportunity and, for me, we need to add some fresh blood in there.'

The Chester boss added, 'We've let a lot of people down. The performance was good but when you've lost 3-0 it doesn't give you any satisfaction. I'd sooner us play awful (and win). Fans look at the result and we're awful... The mistakes we make are costing us. We're getting absolutely crucified for the mistakes we're making'".


27 September 2015

BOREHAM WOOD 0 ALTRINCHAM 1

Altrincham gained their first away win and first clean sheet of the season but should have done so with a clearer margin than Michael Rankine's early penalty in the ninth minute. (Seen above, with Rankine far right).

The goal arrived when Ryan Crowther was upended, left of goal. After that Alty's best period was in the second half when a succession of four corners went unrewarded. A Rankine header hit the bar and a long shot from Jake Moult was only just saved by Russell.

Wood could have snatched a draw in added time when the impressive substitute Morias hit the post with a fierce shot. But the clearest penalty you could ever see was denied Altrincham even later in added time when George Bowerman was tripped and the referee put his whistle to his mouth but he allowed the lack of response from the less well placed linesman to change his mind.

Report here.

LEE'S VIEW ON BOREHAM WOOD GAME

Ryan Crowther was named in the NL Paper's "Team of the Day" on Sunday.

speaking to the NL Paper after the match, Lee Sinnott said, "We ticked a lot of boxes today. It's our first clean sheet of the season and our first away win. It was a bit of a struggle today. A bit of quality on the ball was missing. But, in the end, I should give credit to my boys. They've stuck to the task.

"You could see it was two tired teams out there today and, thankfully, it was us that got the goal that divided the sides". The NLP gave the game two stars out of five for entertainment.

LADIES AT HOME TODAY

Altrincham Ladies are at home to FCUM Ladies today (Sunday 2pm) at Mersey Valley FC, Banky Lane. Spectators are very welcome.

GRIFFITH PLAYS FOR DROYLSDEN

After the EvoStik League had reported the move of "Anthony Griffith from Altrincham to Droylsden", the ex-Alty midfielder who had reportedly retired, played for the Bloods in the FA Cup on Saturday. Droylsden have a copy of the team sheet in which he is listed as a starter.

AWAY WIN FOR THE RESERVES

Altrincham Reserves won 3-0 away at Tarporley Victoria on Saturday, thanks to goals from Joel Swift and Craig Goulden in the first half and Harry Cain after the break.

SATURDAY GATES

  • Att: 1579 Aldershot Town v Macclesfield Town
  • Att: 1323 Barrow v Kidderminster Harriers
  • Att: 351 Boreham Wood v Altrincham
  • Att: 679 Braintree Town v Guiseley
  • Att: 1610 Bromley v Chester FC
  • Att: 2556 Cheltenham Town v Tranmere Rovers
  • Att: 1256 Forest Green Rovers v Gateshead
  • Att: 2467 Lincoln City v Torquay United
  • Att: 1320 Southport v Grimsby Town
  • Att: 653 Welling United v FC Halifax Town
  • Att: 4708 Wrexham v Eastleigh

VANARAMA NATIONAL NEWSS

In its Saturday review, the National League says that "Leaders Forest Green Rovers suffered their first home defeat of the season at the hands of an organised Gateshead side who moved into second place... Cheltenham were beaten 1-0 at home by... Tranmere Rovers...

Promoted Bromley are fourth after a comfortable-looking 3-0 win against Chester FC at Hayes Lane. However, the visitors had plenty of opportunities, especially in an opening 45 minutes which they largely dominated, yet remarkably found themselves 3-0 down at the break!...

Wrexham's unbeaten home record came to an end as they lost 3-2 against Eastleigh, who were playing their first game without manager Richard Hill. Goals from Jai Reason after 20 minutes and Andy Drury 5 minutes before the break gave the managerless Spitfires a 2-0 lead at the interval... Ben Strevens headed home to make it 3-2 to Eastleigh.

Wrexham ended the game with ten-men as centre-back Jamal Fyfield was shown a second yellow card and given his marching orders 3 minutes into stoppage time.

Grimsby Town are now seventh after recording a comprehensive 4-0 victory at third-bottom Southport... {Southport] did have Gary Jones dismissed in the 3rd minute of injury-time for a kick out at Clay.

Lincoln City earned a comfortable 2-0 win over struggling Torquay United at Sincil Bank... The second half was lively without adding to the goal count, although the Imps came close several time to making it an even more comfortable afternoon for themselves.

Tom Craddock's late goal helped Guiseley AFC earn their first away win since winning promotion at the Amlin Stadium against Braintree Town... Kidderminster Harriers have had a busy week off the field and remain bottom of the table, but fought bravely to earn a point from a 1-1 draw at the Furness Building Society Stadium against a Barrow AFC side who missed two penalties!

Barrow made the better start before falling behind after just 5 minutes... Barrow eventually equalised 6 minutes into the second period. Anthony Cook held off his marker and lashed the ball inside the near right-hand post with the ball crashing high into the net. Barrow earned their first penalty on 62 minutes when Cook was bundled over in the area by Jared Hodgkiss. But Cook fired his spot-kick down the middle with Alex Palmer making the save. The keeper then produced more heroics by keeping out the striker's follow-up.

Remarkably, the Bluebirds were awarded a second penalty on 84 minutes when Jordan Tunnicliffe was adjudged to have fouled sub Anthony Wilson. This time sub Ashley Grimes to over spot-kick duties, but his effort was parried away Palmer.

Macclesfield Town returned to Cheshire with a 3-0 win from their visit to the EBB Stadium against Aldershot Town, who ended the game with ten-men... The Shots' chances of getting anything out of the game virtually ended in the 56th minute when they had Jake Gallagher sent-off for a reckless challenge on Rowe...

Welling United earned a third consecutive league win for the first time in almost two years when they eased to a 2-0 success against second-bottom FC Halifax Town at Park View Road. The Wings were pretty dominant throughout and both goals came within a minute just before half-time. The first on 44 minutes... Then Glennon spilled another close-range header from Corne staright into the path of Sahr Kabba, who tapped-in.

Less than a minute later Kabba blasted the ball past Glennon from 10 yards after his first shot had been blocked".

OLD BOYS

Several "old boys" were in action inthe FA Cup on Saturday, including Dale Johnson who hit a hat trickfor Adhton United wjo won at Abbey Hey 5-0. Aaron Burns also scored in this match

Former Alty defender Andrew Smart has moved from Northwich Victoria to Glossop North End.

In Friday's Manchester Evening News, an article on Duncan Watmore includes an interview with his father, Ian.

WEEKEND SCORES

Friday 25 September

  • Dover Athletic 2-0 Woking

Saturday 26 September

  • Aldershot Town 0-3 Macclesfield Town
  • Barrow 1-1 Kidderminster Harriers
  • Boreham Wood 0-1 Altrincham
  • Braintree Town 0-1 Guiseley
  • Bromley 3-0 Chester FC
  • Cheltenham Town 0-1 Tranmere Rovers
  • Forest Green Rovers 0-1 Gateshead
  • Lincoln City 2-0 Torquay United
  • Southport 0-4 Grimsby Town
  • Welling United 2-0 FC Halifax Town
  • Wrexham 2-3 Eastleigh

26 September 2015

PLAYER INTERVIEWS: LUCA HAVERN AND RYAN CROWTHER

Brian Flynn was busy interviewing Alty players before Thursday night's training. Here are his interviews with:

Right: Luca Havern will again captain the side in Shaun Densmore's absence on Saturday. Here we see him with his Man of the Match award (the champagne not the water!) after the game with Braintree last Saturday. Image courtesy of Gavin Rathbone.

LEE LOOKS AHEAD TO BOREHAM WOOD

Alex Sarwar caught up with Altrincham manager Lee Sinnott to get his thoughts on the upcoming Vanarama National League game away at Boreham Wood this Saturday.

"There was good news and bad news regarding the defence. Captain Shaun Densmore will miss the game, however Sinnott was glad to have Andy Parry available after his loan was extended by a month earlier this week:

'Shaun won’t be fit in time for Saturday unfortunately and not having our captain will a big miss. But it’s a boost to have Andy for another month. Obviously we’ve sustained long term injuries with Tom Marshall still out, so it’s important to maintain that continuity and Andy has slotted in well since being with us.'

Sinnott will also face a welcome selection headache with Ryan Crowther further illustrating his desire for another starting berth after his goal on Tuesday night. 'Ryan’s knocking on the door and he’s knocking on the door hard! He found it disappointing not to be involved earlier on but you cannot take anything away from him. You want the players to push each other, Ryan’s grabbing the attention but you want that from all the players.'

Saturday’s opponents Boreham Wood currently lie 20th in the Vanarama National League. But they are coming off the back of a 2-1 win away at Torquay United in midweek and Sinnott is well aware of how important Saturday’s result is to both sides, 'Their tails will be up following their result in midweek but it’s a big game for both teams with our current positions in the table. They are a newly promoted team, it’s about us going there and doing what we’re capable of. You look at reports on players but, if you’re imposing your game plan on other teams and players, then they won’t be doing the same to you. It’s about time we got some maximum points on the road but it’s not going to be easy, as always.'"

BOREHAM WOOD: BEFORE THE GAME

In advance of Saturday's game, the Boreham Wood Times writes that "Boosted by a fine win on the road at Torquay United on Tuesday evening, Boreham Wood will looking for back-to-back wins on Saturday when Cheshire side Altrincham make their first-ever visit to Meadow Park (kick-off 3pm). Just one point and one place separate the two sides who have both found the going difficult this campaign.

The visitors will be looking to go one better than their previous outing last Tuesday. After a 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Dan Cowley's Braintree Town, Altrincham rallied to their first point on the road this season, earning a 1-1 draw at Lincoln City. That result, in contrast to Wood’s 3-1 defeat at Sincil Bank a fortnight ago shows what a tough encounter this will be.

Founder members of the Alliance Premier League, the Robins have spent more years in the fifth division of national football than any other side currently in the National League...

Ian Allinson will have his three recent signings, Torquay goalscoring hero Mustafa Tiryaki, Forest Green Rovers’ Clovis Kamdjo and 19-year-old Luton Town forward Zane Banton available for selection. One player who will not feature is Harry Crawford who was released by the club after the announcement that Wood will now be training full time, a commitment he was unable to fulfill".

And Boreham Wood "announce that centre back Josh Hill, has been allowed to join Hemel Hempstead on a 93 day loan. Josh was an instrumental member of our promotion winning squad last season but has found game time quite limited this season".

COACHING JOB VACANCY

Altrincham FC Community Sports Trust is looking for football coaches..
  • Salary: Dependant on experience.
  • Location: Altrincham and the surrounding local area; it would be desirable if the candidate can drive as some work will not be based at the football club.
  • Contract type: Casual hours
  • Closing date: 18th October 2015
  • Job Description: Altrincham Football Club is seeking dynamic, reliable, punctual and enthusiastic coaches to work within the football club and local community. These coaches need to be able to lead sessions confidently, be pro-active in nature, adaptable and also be willing to learn.
  • You must have an FA Level 1 qualification as a minimum. Coaching sessions include football and multi-sports. You would be delivering to a range of ages and abilities.
  • The coach will also have an up to date DBS (Formerly CRB), Emergency Aid and Safeguarding Children Certificate. Pay will be dependent on experience and qualifications.
  • This role is for a zero hours contract. Work will be on a casual basis, with a possibility to secure permanent hours in the future.
  • How to apply: For more information or to apply for an interview please send your CV by e-mail.

MULTI-TASKING OLD BOY

The BBC has a bizarre video of Duncan Watmore doing a Q & A whilst playing "keepy uppy"!

13 November 2015: SPORTSMAN'S DINNER

Altrincham FC is hosting a Sportsman's Dinner at which Ron Atkinson will be the guest speaker. It will be held in the Community Sports Hall on 13 November at 7pm for an 8pm dinner. Tickets are £35 or £245 for a table of eight. This event will help raise money for the MNDA (Motor Neurone Disease Association). For more details please ring the club on 0161 928-1045.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

Before Friday night's game, Dover Athletic boss Chris Kinnear told BT Sport that his suqad trains on three days a week and that "only a couple" of the players have jobs outside footbb=ball, making them effectively "full-time footballers".

Reports from the National League tell us that "Macclesfield Town have signed former England C forward Lindon Meikle. Meikle was released by York City at the end of August after making twenty-eight appearances for the Minstermen without managing to find the back of the net... Meikle is from Nottingham and began his career with Eastwood Town, where he spent the first five years of his early career.

In 2011 he joined Mansfield Town... and was also part of the Stags' side that won the Conference Premier title the following season... He totalled 113 appearances for Mansfield and scored a dozen goals.

Also joining the Silkmen is 20-year-old former Manchester City youngster Fisayo Adarabioyo. Striker Adarabioyo joined Birmingham after being released by City and then signed for Scottish side St Johnstone. More recently he has been on the books at Crystal Palace where he played regularly for the under-21 side".

The BBC says that "Former Torquay boss Martin Ling says he would discuss a return to the struggling National League club. Ling was sacked in April 2013 having taken time off after suffering from depression. Torquay were relegated from League Two the season after Ling left the club.

'If someone there felt my coming back would be a good thing and wanted to talk about that, I'd certainly be prepared to speak to them,' he said. Ling has not worked managed since leaving Torquay, but has done scouting, youth coaching and worked with footballers to increase the awareness of depression...

Despite being assured he could return to his job Ling was relieved of his duties in April 2013 after the club escaped relegation... Torquay are managerless since Paul Cox resigned last week, followed soon after by director of football Dean Edwards...

'I hear so many stories about the financial plight they're in and the last manger earning no money that it doesn't sound attractive, if I'm honest,' Ling told BBC Radio Devon. 'But if they've got a plan in place to move the club back to where it was when I was there previously then, maybe, I would be interested, but it's really for them to get in contact and tell them [me?] that they've got an interest in me to do that. It's not like I've got to put a CV in.'.

On Tuesday the club said they had had 129 applications for the managerial vacancy with 60 being 'serious'."

Torquay Vital Football adds that "Caretaker manager John Ramshaw has reflected on the defeat to Boreham Wood and previewed the upcoming test against Lincoln City. Dealing with Boreham Wood firstly, another defeat, this time two one, Ramshaw explained to the Official Site that it was certainly an unwanted setback given all the upheaval at the club of late but he felt largely we were unlucky not to have come out with at least a point from it.

'We were desperately unlucky. First and foremost, I thought that we defended very well, a massive improvement on Saturday. In the end we were beaten by two free-kicks; they were absolute worldies to be fair but, other than that, they didn't trouble us too much. I felt that we played some decent stuff at times and created chances, which unfortunately we couldn't take advantage of [them].'"

According to the Halifax Courier we learn that "More than 20 candidates have been interviewed for the manager’s job at FC Halifax Town, but an appointment may not be made before next Saturday’s home game with Cheltenham. Caretaker-manager Gareth McClelland... will oversee tomorrow’s trip to Welling...

[Chairman] Bosomworth says the standard of applicants has been 'very good'... 'So far we’ve had more than 100 applications, which is a lot since last Thursday,' he said. 'We haven’t advertised the position apart from on the website. We’ve tried to do an initial sift of the applications and we’ve started interviewing. We started at 8am on Tuesday morning and did five throughout the day. Starting last Tuesday, interviews commenced at 8am each morning through to Friday. There were eight on Wednesday, eight on Thursday and we have some more after that but, obviously, with Welling on Saturday, we’re hoping to get to second interviews on Sunday but that might not be possible and they might drop into next week'...

Bosomworth took plenty of positives from Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with high-flying Gateshead, which was rumoured to have been watched by some of the applicants, including former Hartlepool manager Colin Cooper and former Stevenage and Preston coach Dino Maamria... 'I think you saw from Tuesday’s performance that the lads are more than capable of putting a game of football together and they performed really well,' he said... 'Sadly I didn’t see our goal because I was speaking to various agents and candidates who were discussing the manager’s job!... We’ve even got a couple of international applicants.'

The level of home support at The Shay fell below 1,000 for the first time this season against Gateshead, a fact which Bosomworth is pragmatic about".

There should be quite a spectacle at the New Lawn where Forest Green Rovers announce that "Specsavers Stroud are the match sponsors at Forest Green Rovers Kids Go Free home clash with Gateshead on Saturday... Staff from Specsavers will be based at the top of the stairs in the East Stand, and supporters will have the opportunity to get some useful advice, and take advantage of some excellent giveaways too".


25 September 2015

ALTY YOUTH GAMES

As previously reported, Altrincham FC travel to Workington in the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Youth Cup. The date for that tie has now been fixed as Thursday, 8 October at 7.30pm. The winners of that tie have an away game, two weeks later (w/c 19 October), in the Third Qualifying Round at either Gateshead or Newcastle Benfield.

Alty Youth's scheduled league game this Sunday against AFC Fylde has been postponed because of the opposition's involvement in a cup competition which takes precedence.

JAKE, ON THE SEASON SO FAR

Last Thursday, Alex Sarwar interviewed Jake Moult (left) who makes his 150th appearance for the club on his next appearance...

"Jake Moult has certainly had an eventful start to the season so far for Altrincham no matter where manager Lee Sinnott has asked him to play. Moult’s original position is centre midfield but, at times, this campaign he’s been asked to take on a makeshift role in the centre of defence, due to injuries to, first, Gianluca Havern and, then, the horrific injury to Tom Marshall.

But it’s a challenge Moult has relished and one he has been happy to take on for the good of the team. 'Obviously central midfield is my position and where I enjoy playing the most. But it’s been a difficult start with injuries, which means that I’ve had to fill in at centre half to make up the numbers.

'I don’t mind doing it at all, I quite enjoy it to be fair but centre midfield is definitely my preferred position and, once the injuries sort themselves out, then I’m sure that’s where I’ll be rather than at centre back.'

Moult is another player who believes that Alty haven’t got the points on the board that their performances deserved at the start of the season. 'Certain things didn’t go our way early on with the injuries and certain decisions, but we’ve had a tough run and hopefully we can put the points on the board more often as the season kicks on. Naturally, you’re disappointed with a bad result as we want three points every game and we’re always aiming for that against any opponent.'

Moult indicated that there would be more to come from him as the campaign progresses as he assessed his own individual performances so far. 'I’ve done okay but, obviously, I feel there’s more to come from myself. But every player is the same at this stage of the season, we all want, individually and as a team, to hit full throttle, especially with such an important run of games coming'".

ALTY'S CONFERENCE YOUTH ALLIANCE TEAM

News of the Altrincham FC Football Careers, Scholarship & Education Programme team comes from Gateshead. The Heed report that their "U19s maintained their 100% record for the campaign so far with a 4-1 Football Conference Youth Alliance win over Altrincham. After a goalless first-half, strikes from Olly Leedham, Joe Turnbull, and a Tom White brace saw the young Tynesiders cement their place at the top of Division I.

They were made to work hard for it against the Robins, however, who began their own campaign with a healthy win on home soil last week.

Coach Micky Cummins... said, 'We were lethargic in the first-half. Altrincham came and got ten bodies behind the ball, and we struggled to break them down... We still got in behind them a couple of times, but there was no real end product... We made three substitutions at half-time, and that gave us a bit of a lift. Two of the subs, Olly and Joe, came on and scored, and we were a lot better in the second-half.

'We conceded a bit of a sloppy goal, where better communication could have dealt with the issue... Whether it was the 3G pitch, and the ball not running through properly, who knows – but we’ll have to adapt'".

STATS

The National League's weekly "National scene" has Altrincham leading the way in "Shots Per Goal" with 10.7 shots per goal scored. In all the statistics show Altrincham have had 56 shots on target this season and a further 51 off target. The player in the National League with the most shots per goals scored is James Lawrie with 25 shots for his one goal. Obviously there will be worse figures for players who have yet to score a goal.

BOREHAM WOOD MATCH ARRANGEMENTS

The referee on Saturday is Mr D Eaton (Gloucestershire). Howard Watts' Through the Years information is available here.

Saturday's match at Boreham Wood will be segregated. Details are on the Boreham Wood website.

Boreham Wood state that "For segregated matches, away supporters should be aware that they must enter via the South Stand turnstiles only. These turnstiles are located directly off of Brook Road public car park. Please note that seating is available in the away section, located in the West Stand. Supporters wishing to make use of this seating area should also enter via the South Stand turnstiles and make their way to the seats once inside the stadium. Stewards will direct supporters once through the turnstiles.

All supporters are reminded that the Club reserves the right to search all persons entering the ground and to refuse entry or to eject any person refusing to submit to a search, in accordance with BWFC ground regulations.

Nearest Train Station is Elstree & Boreham Wood (Thameslink Line). From station walk through High Street, go straight over first roundabout, at next roundabout go down first exit (Brook road) continue down about 500 yards take right turn after car park (Broughinge Road) Follow Road to entrance.

Admission Prices

  • ADULTS: TO STAND £16.00 – TO SIT £18.00
  • O.A.P: £12.00 (Over 65 only – Photo ID May be required)
  • UNDER 16s: £8.00. (Only applied to persons aged Under 16, any person aged 16 years will be charged at the adult rate – Photo ID May be required). PLEASE NOTE: Boreham Wood FC do not offer a discounted rate for Students or the unemployed. Required Carers are able to attend games free of charge. BWFC operate cash only turnstiles and do not accept card or cheque payments. BWFC has dedicated Facilities for wheel chair bound and less able supporters. These include a viewing area and disabled toilet facilities. These are available via the West Stand.
  • Parking is not available at the BWFC club car park, as this will be reserved for players, officials and guests only. BWFC advise supporters to park in Brook Road Public Car Park. Access to the stadium is available from this car park via the South Stand Turnstiles. Please note that parking charges may apply. Alternative parking is also available via the Civic Car Park, which is less than a 10 minute walk from the club.

    THE ABOVE RESTRICTIONS ALSO APPLY TO SUPPORTERS' COACHES, WHO BWFC ADVISE TO PARK IN EITHER OF THE TWO PUBLIC CAR PARKS STATED ABOVE. PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT A FEE WILL BE APPLICABLE TO PARK, PAYABLE TO HERTSMERE BOROUGH COUNCIL.

BOREHAM WOOD v ALTRINCHAM: RADIO ROBINS

John Edwards and Brian Flynn, Altrincham FC's Press & Media Officers write that "We regret to advise that Radio Robins will not be broadcasting Saturday's game at Boreham Wood. Boreham Wood FC's media policy requires a fee to broadcast live audio commentary, which, for a number of reasons, we have decided not to pay.

We should point out that Boreham Wood are not infringing any National League regulations and are within their rights to implement this policy. Again, we apologise for this break in our usual offering & we look forward to normal service being resumed on Radio Robins for the visit of Barrow on Saturday October 3rd.

We are pleased to advise that the normal matchday updates, available on this website and social media updates are unaffected and will be operating as usual".

BOREHAM WOOD'S "BIGGEST GAME" IS AGAINST ALTY

Boreham Wood add that "Wood manager Ian Allinson spoke to media manager Grant Morris on the team coach, straight after Tuesday night's fantastic win at Torquay Utd. He has issued a heartfelt plea to the Wood fans that he calls 'the stay away home supporters'.

Allinson said 'Our loyal supporters have, as usual, been absolutely fantastic to date and our travelling support, even at Torquay on a Tuesday night, was amazing. It’s vocal, it encourages and it really is helping us. Our home support though hasn’t really materialised in the same way and it still sits at around 300 people. We know that overall our home attendances have gone up but that’s mainly due to the increased away following that teams are bringing. We know we have to give our supporters performances and give them something to get behind but we really are going to need everyone to stay with us through this difficult first season of National League football.

'I’ve gone back to the Chairman, who must be sick of the site of me, asking him to back me with an increased budget. I’ve asked him to give us an infrastructure and extra staff to go to a day-time training programme and, in fairness to him, he’s already done both for me. I now want to ask the town just one question. Do you really want National league football here in Boreham Wood? Is it OK for us to be relegated with a whimper or do we really want to establish ourselves, not only as a club but as a town and become a force who deserve National league football?

'When push comes to shove, does this town's football supporters, really only want to watch football on Sky Sports or at the big London venues? Are Boreham Wood just playing second fiddle to the Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and Watfords of this world? If the answer is no and you want a successful local club, then this town has to finally realise what’s on its doorstep and get behind its only senior club..

'Surely, as a National league club, we can get 500 regular home supporters to regularly come to Meadow Park? I know you love this club because I’ve witnessed it first hand and your passion has helped me win two play off finals as your manager. I’ve seen the pride that you show for the club and for your town but we need you in the ground and in our bars on a regular basis..

'My players need everyone to get themselves down to Meadow Park, to drag someone with them and to show the club your pride in what it is achieving. What the Chairman's vision and money and what the club staff have built here over the last 17 years is the envy of local football clubs like St Albans and Wealdstone who, with respect, both have bigger support bases. We, though, now have a chance and maybe it will be our one and only chance to make our mark at this level and we must take it.

'We have fellow strugglers Altrincham at home on Saturday and it’s not overstating things when I say, it’s by far our biggest game of the season and it's by far our biggest game at Meadow Park since that fantastic play off final win over Whitehawk, when you turned our ground into a ‘Wood’ fortress”.

'After tonight's win, another win on the bounce will get us right back on track and I know, with everyone behind us, we will not only survive we’ll prosper but it can only be achieved if we stick together. The chairman, the management, the players and staff need to know that you are with us through the good times but, more importantly, the bad and starting with Altrincham on Saturday, please make every effort to get down to Meadow Park and make it our fortress, as home form is going to be crucial'".

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

The BBC reports that "Kidderminster Harriers caretaker boss Colin Gordon says he wants to see the National League's bottom side play their way out of trouble. Following the departure of Gary Whild, Harriers' Football Development Director, Gordon, was in charge for Tuesday night's 3-2 defeat at Bromley and he told BBC Hereford & Worcester that he was "very proud" of the performance they put in.

'This football club can't survive playing bish-bash-bosh football,' he said. 'I'm proud of the way we've learned so quickly. One day's training, one day's coaching. We've worked totally on shape and the understanding they showed was remarkable.'"

From the NW Evening Mail we learn that "Darren Edmondson has tentatively set his sights on the play-off spots after Barrow AFC secured their first away-day success of the campaign. The Bluebirds' superb 2-1 win at Macclesfield Town on Tuesday night saw them bounce back from Saturday’s disappointing 3-1 home defeat by Aldershot Town.

But the Barrow boss is not getting over-excited at this stage in firing out the warning that AFC are sure to be hit by further setbacks and his men will need to show similar resilience and character as the season progresses... Barrow are 14th and just four points adrift of fifth-placed Braintree, who fill the final play-off spot.

Barrow will host bottom club Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday, and Edmondson said, 'I think the top five or six are probably where most of them want to be. I think Grimsby maybe want to be higher. But we’ve got to worry about ourselves and, if we can put a couple of back-to-back performances together, then we’re touching the play-offs after what people have said was a poor start for us. We’re evolving as a football club and what the fans have got to understand is there are going to be some setbacks.

'But if the players respond to each setback like that then the fans will start to appreciate how difficult this league is but, on the flip side, we can match anybody when we’ve got all the players right and we’re pulling in the right direction'...

Edmondson praised Grimes’s vital contribution and called on the summer signing to display consistency and to showcase his intelligent play. Barrow have got their away campaign on track with four successive on-the-road defeats being followed by a respectable 1-1 draw at fifth-placed Braintree Town and Tuesday’s triumph at Macc.

Edmondson added, 'I think we probably deserved to win at Braintree so I think we’ve turned the corner with regards to understanding the performances, drive and work ethic that is needed away from home'".

In the Dover Express we learn that "Tom Wynter has departed Dover Athletic. The defender had been at Crabble for five years, making him one of the club's longest serving players, but has left the club after struggling for first team opportunities".

According to Luton Today, "Hatters' boss John Still confirmed he was never looking to sell club captain Steve McNulty to Tranmere Rovers recently. The Prenton Park club, managed for former Luton chief Gary Brabin made an approach for the Town skipper after he was dropped to the bench recently... Still confirmed McNulty remained an important part of his plans."

Luton Today confirms that "Hatters' defender Andy Parry will stay on loan at National League side Altrincham after the club announced they had extended his spell with them. The 24-year-old has made seven appearances since moving to Moss Lane, helping Alty to two wins in that time.

Meanwhile, midfielder Matt Robinson will return to Kenilworth Road after Grimsby manager Paul Hurst confirmed he wouldn’t be renewing his loan deal".


24 September 2015

ANDY STAYS

Altrincham FC is pleased to confirm that agreement has been reached with Luton Town that defender Andy Parry's loan period with the Club has been extended from 24th September to 24th October.

NEW RECRUITS

Altrincham FC announces the latest in its entertaining series of New Recruits evenings on Saturday, 31 October in the Community Sports Hall, from 6.30pm. The guests will be Michael Rankine (right), Josh O'Keefe, George Bowerman and Tim Deasy, plus any subsequent signings that the Club may make.

Tickets are, as usual, just £15 and include a two-course meal provided by Richie Bentley, the club's official caterer. These are always entertaining evenings and you will get to learn what goes behind the scenes at the club!

TOUGH START

The fixture list has meant that Altrincham's first twelve league games have pitted us against ten of the current top 12 in the league table. From these games Alty have taken all 11 of their points gained to date with, paradoxically, a zero return from the only two lower clubs to be played, fellow part-timers Guiseley and Southport. Overall, in their last nine games Alty have taken eleven points, a sequence which would produce a season's total around 56 points if it continued at the same rate.

In addition to the tough opposition, Altrincham have suffered numerous injuries to experienced players, particularly in defence.

  • Goalkeeper Stuart Coburn is currently out long-term after suffering an Achilles injury in game five of the campaign.
  • Centre-back Tom Marshall is out for a considerable time after suffering a double fracture of the leg and a dislocated ankle in the fourth game of the season.
  • Winger Nicky Clee has yet to start a match and has only managed just a total of 87 minutes play in his three substitute appearances to date.
  • Captain and right-back Shaun Densmore is currently sidelined by an injury sustained in game 11.
  • Centre-back Luca Havern has missed six games in 2015-16 with a hamstring injury but is now back in the side.
  • New signing Anthony Griffith never started a match for the club and spent just 5 minutes (plus 4 added minutes) on the pitch before announcing his retirement through injury.
  • Midfielder Simon Richman has missed five matches completely through injury and only managed five minutes of play in a sixth game this season.
  • Josh O'Keefe, Jake Moult and Andy Parry have each missed a match this season through injury while Adam Griffin had to go off early in the second half of one match.

IMPS' MATCH VIEWS

Brian Flynn interviewed Lee Sinnott after the game at Lincoln City on Tuesday evening. His comments can be heard here .

The Radio Robins commentary on the game is here.

After Tuesday's game, the Lincolnshire Echo reported that "Lincoln City striker Matt Rhead believed his second-half effort against Altrincham should have stood. The Imps were drawing 1-1 when Rhead headed an effort at goal which Alty defender Gianluca Havern managed to hook away with an acrobatic clearance on the goal line. Rhead believed it should have been a winning goal, but the officials refused to let it stand.

'I felt the defender was on the line and he's hooked the ball behind him', said Rhead. 'I will have to look at the video and see if it is right. I think the referee's assistant on that side was a bit behind play, so he couldn't make a call on it. He was undecided, so the benefit goes with the defender. We had enough chances to win three games against Altrincham. [The BBC stats say Lincoln had 15 shots to Alty's 14]. If we weren't creating then you would start worrying. If we start getting more clean sheets as well, then we will certainly be capable of winning more games.'"

Imps boss Chris Moyses refused to be downbeat about the draw, despite City taking an early lead through Alan Power. The hosts were in the driving seat at that point, but a heavy challenge on Matt Sparrow by Jake Moult on 15 minutes proved to be the turning point in the game. Moult was only given a yellow card, despite the crowd seething at the ferocity of the foul. Sparrow's absence from the field for treatment allowed Altrincham back in to the game and they forced a corner from which they scored.

'Matt Sparrow's ankle is not looking great,' revealed Moyses after the game. 'Jake Moult has gone in very hard, caught him on the ankle and it might be a while before he will be ready to play again. It looks like it is ligament damage, he has rolled it as it got smashed. I spoke to the referee at half-time. I have a player who has nearly broken his ankle and I felt he's done nothing about it. I felt Moult had to go. We were on top at that point. We had scored a goal, but that moment changed the game. We had to make a change and we were getting set-up again when we conceded from a set-piece. It did affect us after we had built up what was a reasonable head of steam.

'Some of our chances were a bit tame, but we had a lot of chances on goal'".

The same paper adds that "Jake Moult clattered City midfielder Matt Sparrow. Moult ended up in the book... After forcing a corner, City were able to make a change, with Alex Simmons brought on. However, Alty capitalised, with James Lawrie's ball being swept home by Ryan Crowther on 16 minutes to level the scores. While City took their time to get their shape again, Alty continued to up the pressure and Farman was kept busy in the City goal...

Moult was again catching the attention of referee Ollie Yates. This time he hauled back Simmons. After a lengthy talk, he was not shown a card. However, he was substituted on 38 minutes, with Alty manager Lee Sinnott opting to swap him for George Bowerman...

The Imps kept applying the pressure and Rhead nearly had the ball in the back of the net with a great header, but he was thwarted by a superb overhead clearance off the line by Gianluca Haven on 65 minutes... The Imps went 4-4-2. Sadly it could not unlock the Alty defence, despite the heavy pressure they were subjected to".

And more comes from the same source, includes the Sports Editor John Pakey's "five things that he learned from the game.

  • One – Lincoln City do not just hoof and hope... It is far too easy to say Lincoln City are just hoofing it up to Matt Rhead or are one dimensional, to do so is not really seeing the full picture of how they are trying to play. I will not deny they are launching it up to Rhead, but there is a plan to this. When you have players like Bradley Wood, Chris Bush and Lee Beevers who have good long-range passing why wouldn't you? Especially when Rhead will win pretty much every one of those balls.

    What is crucial is how it plays in around him, who makes the run off him. Last night it was Alan Power and bang – City take the lead. When Matt Sparrow had to come off with an injury, Power had to drop back into the holding role in midfield... Some people don't like this approach, personally, I don't care. It is effective"...

  • Two – Referee Ollie Yates needs to have a look at himself... How Jake Moult managed to not get sent off was a complete and utter shock. He could have easily been shown red for smashing Matt Sparrow and bludgeoning his ankle on 15 minutes... What made it worse was Moult continued to make rash challenges and one on Alex Simmons looked like it should have been his last, he could easily have gone for persistent fouling. What did Yates do? He only had a word with the player. Alty boss Lee Sinnott could see he had a lucky escape and acted before it was too late by substituting him for George Bowerman straightaway.

    By that point Yates had lost the respect of everyone in the ground and it made the game a scrappy affair...

  • Three – Craig Stanley impressed in midfield last night with Alan Power... Alongside Craig Stanley, Sparrow brings a wealth of experience and the pair can dominate. They do a lot of the unnoticed work, keeping the possession and making things tick over. Power took Sparrow's role and did well...
  • Four – No Jon Nolan no more? Will we see Jon Nolan again?... However, his recent request to go out on loan and get games suggests that he is not happy being on the bench...
  • Five – Altrincham are no mugs. Right, stop saying City should have smashed them because of their lowly league position. They have had a tough start this season, as tough as Lincoln's. They certainly looked like they had a fair bit of guile about their side and seemed handy on the counter attack. This is a team which has beaten Grimsby, Tranmere Rovers and Cheltenham. They might have lost the others, but they are capable. City will come up against poorer sides this season."

Lincoln City add that, "Sparrow was the victim of a late Jake Moult challenge. The Altrincham man could easily have seen red but referee Yates deemed that a yellow card was sufficient punishment. Sparrow was clearly in some discomfort on the sidelines and it wasn't long before he was replaced by Alex Simmons as the Imps prepared to defend an Altrincham corner. When the corner was played in deep, it was met at the back post by Ryan Crowther who rifled into the roof of the net to level matters.

A couple of minutes after the restart Farman was forced to palm behind a Lawrie free-kick before Moult went in late again, this time on Power, but nothing other than a free-kick to the Imps was the outcome... Ten minutes before the break Moult tugged Simmons back; referee Yates spoke to him and his skipper Havern following this latest offence but kept his cards in his pocket again. Three minutes later Moult was off; substituted by George Bowerman".

GEORGE DELIGHTED

Alex Sarwar writes that "Altrincham Youth Team manager George Heslop had plenty of reasons to celebrate as the final whistle blew at Broadhurst Park on Monday night.

His side had turned around a 1-0 deficit to FC United of Manchester at half time, to go on and win their FA Youth Cup 1st Qualifying Round tie 3-2 following a thrilling second half fightback.

Heslop spoke about how a frank talk with his players at half time led to a brilliant second half showing:

'In the first half certain sections of the squad weren’t performing to the level that I know they are capable of performing. We had a talk with them at half time and everything we said to them they did in the second half, so they can take all the credit. They reacted the proper way and gave it everything they had. We knew how dangerous FCUM are after watching them against Southport in the previous round. The players didn’t deliver our instructions properly in the first half. But they more than made up for it in the second half and I was delighted with their attitude!'

Heslop reserved praise for Dominic Newton after his stunning individual effort to bring the game to 1-1 and his cross, which led to an own goal that ultimately decided the match:

'He is a quality player! He knows what I think about him. Sometimes he doesn’t match his individual quality with the same effort. But when he does, he could go a long way because he’s such a clever player. He needs to learn to do the hard work required on a consistent basis, but tonight he did that and if he keeps it up on a regular basis then people will take note of him.'

Winger Jude Oyibo scored the second Alty goal of the night. His second half performance, along with the Robins’ defence holding firm towards the end of the game also drew credit from Heslop. 'In the second half Jude went hunting for the ball rather than waiting for it, like he did in the first half, and got his reward. It was a great finish and he caused havoc in that second period.

'The defenders all lifted each other towards the end as they tired and pushed themselves to the final whistle. Our goalkeeper (Daniel Havern) made a quality save right at the end of normal time and he was thrilled when I told him what a great save it was at full time. It was a vital stop as I didn’t fancy the idea of extra time!'”

Altrincham Youth will now travel to either Hebburn Town or Workington in the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Youth Cup".

You can listen to the Radio Robins' match commentary here.

CHRISTMAS AT ALTY

All enquiries about the Altrincham FC Christmas Party Nights (above) should, please, be made by phone (0161 928-1045) or by e-mail. Places are limited, so booking in advance is essential.

SPORTSMAN'S DINNER

Altrincham FC is hosting a Sportsman's Dinner at which Ron Atkinson will be the guest speaker. It will be held in the Community Sports Hall on 13 November at 7pm for an 8pm dinner. Tickets are £35 or £245 for a table of eight. This event will help raise money. For more details please ring the club on 0161 928-1045.

BOREHAM WOOD, OUR NEXT OPPONENTS

Our next opponents, Boreham Wood say that "A battling performance served up the perfect antidote to end Boreham Wood’s five-game losing run in the National League as they won 2-1 at Torquay United on Tuesday evening. The three precious points, which came courtesy of goals from Graeme Montgomery and debutant Mustafa Tiryaki, could not have come at a better time, with Wood announcing they were going full time just the previous day.

The timing was also perfect for Tiryaki whose international clearance came through on the team coach en-route to Plainmoor. His contribution was impressive on a night where boss Ian Allinson rang the changes. New loan signing Clovis Kamdjo, who had joined from Forest Green Rovers 24 hours prior to kick off, was handed a start in midfield.

Ben Nunn returned to right-back, with Billy and Conor Clifford and Charlie MacDonald making up a very strong bench, which included a third new recruit since Saturday in the shape of 19-year-old striker Zane Banton, on loan from Luton Town..

Wood took the lead in the eighth minute when a good move involving Tiryaki, Nunn and Ricky Shakes ended with Sam Cox being brought down just outside the Torquay penalty area. From the subsequent set piece, Luke Howell’s dummy was followed by a low shot from Montgomery which found its way through the wall and into the bottom left hand corner of the net...

The second half was a far more open affair with the Gulls breaking forward with pace... Boreham Wood keeper Russell was kept busy... They would not have to wait long for a second as with ten second half minutes played, Marsh gave away a free-kick 30 yards from goal. Debutant Tiryaki stepped up and promptly fired home to give Wood a 2-0 lead for the first time this season. There were still 35 minutes remaining and when Louis Briscoe was introduced three minutes later his impact was immediate. Turning Shakes on the left wing Briscoe sent a curling ball into the penalty area that was glanced home beyond Russell by Fisher...

Speaking afterwards manager Allinson said, 'This evening was all about coming to terms with this league. We have been playing some lovely football and losing. In truth we have missed Jamie Lucas up front since his injury and have not won a game without him in the side. Tonight in Mustafa Tiryaki we had a player who gave us what we have been missing. I was also aware that the key to winning matches can be found in the midfield. We now have the services of Clovis Kamdjo, a player that showed tonight he is a real man who can release those around him to do what they do best. Hopefully now we can push on and put some more points on the board this coming Saturday' [against Altrincham].

Boreham Wood: Russell; Nunn, Devera, Doe, Reynolds (c); Shakes, Cox, Kamdjo, Howell (MacDonald 80), Montgomery (Banton 87); Tiryaki. Subs not used: Morias, C.Clifford, B.Clifford. "

Wood add that "Following the recent training reshuffle at Meadow Park, where the players now switch from an evening to a day time training programme. It has unfortunately meant that our first team coach Mario Noto who occupies a full time teaching position at a private school in Highgate, cannot make the day time change and will subsequently leave the club....

Due to the well documented change in the clubs circumstances, both recent signing Harry Crawford and long standing goalkeeping coach James Courtnage, have been let go... A new first team coach has been appointed and will be announced"

KEITH'S "MANAGER'S MUTTERINGS"

Above: An excellent action shot from the game, courtesy of Tom Green, shows keeper Lizzie Brereton in action last Sunday at Ellesmere Port.

Following a 6-0 defeat, Alty Ladies' manager Keith Edleston entitles his summary of Sunday's game for his side as "Manager's Mutterings"!. He says, "On Sunday we travelled over to Ellesmere Port LFC to play ours, and the club's first ever game in the North West Women's Regional League Div 1 (South). In our short history of four seasons this is now where we mix it with the bigger, more established teams and where we play on better pitches with better facilities which (hopefully) then produce better football.

On Sunday, though, we did have a selection problem, with a lot of girls unfortunately having to work or recovering from injury. It made us have to travel with a squad of just 12 players! The twelve players on show showed lots of desire, commitment and gave everything they had against a very good 'Port team which boasted some quality players from a higher division and a Welsh Premier League player.

Over the 90 minutes, though, we couldn't complain. Yes, the better team won but on desire commitment, etc., I couldn't fault any of my players and we left Whitby Sports Club with our heads held high and some very positive comments from their players and Nigel the manager ringing in our ears.

As manager of this team I, along with the rest of the management staff, was very proud of this achievement; of taking these girls to a new level to compete with the Ellesmere Ports and FC Uniteds of this world and one where, yes, it may be a bumpy ride along the way but you can rest assured that THIS is a challenge we relish.

See you next Sunday 27/09/15 at Mersey Valley Sports Club where we face another tough game v FC United with a 2pm kick off. They are bound to bring a lot of support to this game so we hope to see you all there to cheer us on.

Come on you Red Girls!"

Phil Taylor's match report is here.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

In the last week or so, the National League has lost four managers (Kidderminster, Torquay, Halifax) and the latest is at Eastleigh where "Following a meeting this morning between Richard Hill and Stewart Donald it has been agreed that with immediate effect Richard has resigned from his role as first team manager of Eastleigh FC. Richard feels that the club would benefit from a fresh outlook and has made the decision solely in the best interests of the club, regardless of any personal impact this may have on him.

The club would like to sincerely thank Richard for everything he has achieved for the club in such a short space of time. He has delivered on every target he has been set and has done so within much tighter constraints than is realised... Assistant Manager Chris Todd has been placed in charge of first team affairs for this weekend's fixture against Wrexham".

And in Devon, the BBC reports that "Torquay United's chief executive Steve Breed says 129 people have applied to be the Gulls' new manager. Paul Cox resigned from the financially-troubled club last week after being told they would not be able to pay him. The Gulls have also seen Director of Football Dean Edwards leave and have not won a match in over a month.

'129 managers can't be wrong that Torquay United is still a desirable place to come and ply their trade,' Breed told BBC Sport. Breed says 60 of the applications are being looked at 'seriously' and the club have already made contact with candidates. 'I've met with two managers, I've got another three appointments on Wednesday with other managers, so we're pro-active,' said Breed, who is set to meet a further three candidates on Thursday...

Breed says the situation is improving with the club coming to an agreement with former boss Chris Hargreaves and a number of other employees who have left Plainmoor. Chris Hargreaves was placed on gardening leave in the summer after refusing to take a pay cut 'Myself and Chris are almost at agreement, we're just waiting for paperwork to be signed', said Breed... 'Lee Hodges (Hargreaves' assistant) remains on gardening leave, but there's no real issue with Lee at all. There were two other situations and they have both been abated completely. I would like to thank the two employees, I'm not going to mention who they are, but they weren't really issues brought on by this regime'".

The National League tells us that "Finland under-21 international defender Daniel O’Shaughnessy has joined Braintree Town on loan from Brentford. The 21-year-old will spend the next month at the Amlin Stadium... He had previously spent three years with French side FC Metz. He was born in Finland but holds dual Nationality with the Republic of Ireland". "

Elsewhere "League leaders Forest Green Rovers have freshened up their squad with the addition of two new players. Joining on a month`s loan from Stoke City is goalkeeper Dan Eve, while vastly experienced midfielder Darren Carter has earned a short-term deal at the New Lawn. Eve is a 20-year-old Bermudan keeper who was originally with Derby County before moving to Stoke three years ago. He is a member of the Potters` under-21 side.

Carter, 31, is a former England under-19 and under-20 player who started his career with Birmingham City. He played forty-five times for the Blues and had ten games on loan at Sunderland before moving to neighbours West Bromwich Albion in 2005... He signed for Northampton Town in July 2013 but suffered a bad injury which kept him out for a long period".

In its review of midweek games, the National League reports that ""Forest Green Rovers maintained their three-point lead at the top of the Vanarama National League table after sharing the spoils in the derby at the New Lawn against second-placed Cheltenham Town... A crowd of 3,127 saw a thrilling, typical derby-type encounter...

Wrexham remain third but surrendered their 100% record at the Racecourse Ground when Grimsby Town held them to a goalless draw in front of 4,818. It was a disappointing, albeit fairly even game...

Struggling and now managerless FC Halifax Town produced in their best performance of the season to gain a point against Gateshead at The Shay. The Shaymen should have taken an early lead when Sean Tuton was brought down in the box by Gateshead `keeper Sam Russell. Jordan Burrow took the spot-kick, but his strike came back off the crossbar. Despite their dominance Halifax conceded after 27 minutes. Jordan Cranston showed some good skill and put it on a plate for former Shayman Jon Shaw to head home.

The home side deservedly got back into the game after 53 minutes when James Bolton headed home from a corner...

Braintree Town made it five matches unbeaten as they beat Woking 2-1 at the Avanti Stadium... Simeon Akinola put the iron ahead on 62 minutes. Keiran Murtagh headed home a leveller 5 minutes later from a Bruno Andrade corner. But on 74 minutes Michael Cheek slotted home to restore the Iron's lead and secure a third win in their last five league matches and lift them up to fifth in the table.

Tranmere Rovers moved into seventh place after extending their unbeaten run to six games with a 3-1 win over Aldershot Town at Prenton Park...

Kidderminster Harriers were beaten in their first game under temporary boss Colin Gordon as they went down 3-2 in an entertaining encounter at Bromley...

Eastleigh have really hit the buffers after a great start to 2015/16. Tuesday`s 5-2 home hammering by Dover Athletic made it five games without a win for Richard Hill`s side, having begun the new season with seven unbeaten matches. Ricky Miller gave the Whites an 18th minute lead.. But Ross Lafayette`s header on the half-hour mark made it 1-1 at the interval.

Three minutes after the break Joe Partington was adjudged to have fouled Stefan Payne in the box and Nicky Deverdics scored from the resultant spot-kick. However, Lee Cook's fine free-kick restored parity just 3 minutes later.

On the hour-mark came a crucial decision when Spitfires` keeper Ross Flitney was dismissed for bringing down Miller in the area and Deverdics duly beat replacement keeper Lewis Noice from the spot. Seven minutes from time Tom Murphy made it a 4-2 for Dover from 20 yards, and then Miller scored his second with an even longer-range effort with a minute left on the clock.

A late penalty from Andy Cook saw Barrow AFC leave the Moss Rose with all three points against Macclesfield Town... Barrow went ahead through Cook 10 minutes into the second period... However... just 3 minutes later, David Fitzpatrick crossed to the far post for Paul Lewis to power his header home... In the 85th minute home custodian Shwan Jalal brought down Ashley Grimes in the box, and Cook earned his side victory from the resultant penalty...

Chester FC's bid to register back-to-back wins in failure as a goal in each half condemned them to a 2-1 defeat at Park View Road against Welling United...

Louis Almond struck with 3 minutes from time to give struggling Southport a hard-earned point at Nethermoor against Guiseley AFC. Having twice let slip a lead to draw over the course of the past week, this time the Sandgrounders came from behind to claim a share of the spoils...

Supporters of Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City came out to support troubled Torquay United, but even they couldn`t prevent the managerless Gulls from slipping to a 2-1 defeat to newcomers Boreham Wood which stretches their winless run to nine games".


23 September 2015

LINCOLN CITY 1 ALTRINCHAM 1

Altrincham secured their first away point of the season with a performance which was much improved on their poor showing last Saturday...

Match report here.

Above: Neil Tolson laid out the markers as Alty carried out a new half-time warm-up routine at Lincoln.

TUESDAY'S FIXTURES

Tuesday 22 September
  • Braintree Town 2-1 Woking
  • Bromley 3-2 Kidderminster Harriers
  • Eastleigh 2-5 Dover Athletic
  • FC Halifax Town 1-1 Gateshead
  • Forest Green Rovers 2-2 Cheltenham Town
  • Guiseley 1-1 Southport
  • Lincoln City 1-1 Altrincham
  • Macclesfield Town 1-2 Barrow
  • Torquay United 1-2 Boreham Wood
  • Tranmere Rovers 3-1 Aldershot Town
  • Welling United 2-1 Chester FC
  • Wrexham 0-0 Grimsby Town

LADIES DEFEATED

Altrincham FC Ladies lost their opening match of the season 6-0 at Ellesmere Port.

LANDMARK

Midfielder Jake Moult's next appearance for Altrincham will be his 150th for the club. To date he has 125(+24) appearances and 14 goals to his name.
22 September 2015

ALTY ADVANCE IN FA YOUTH CUP

Alty leave the pitch at the end of the game.

Altrincham FC Youth beat FC United of Manchester Youth 3-2, away, in the FA Youth Cup on Monday night. In a very entertaining game, Alty fell behind when they conceded a penalty which Tinning converted (17 mins). But two goals in three minutes around the hour mark put Alty ahead. Firstly, Dominic Newton scored from left of goal following a freekick. Then, from the impressive Knowles's knock down, Oyibo made it 2-1 (63 mins). With Alty on top, United levelled when substitute Ward scored with his first kick after coming on (74 mins). But an own goal by another FCUM substitute, Shawcross, from a Newton cross settled the outcome in the 79th minute.

Alty are away again in the next round, to either Hebburn Town or Workington, who meet on Wednesday.

Match report here.

Right: Alty celebrate their opening goal.

LINCOLN CITY v ALTRINCHAM: MATCH COVERAGE

You can follow this fixture via this website's minute by minute text updates by clicking on the icon below. Alternatively Radio Robins' coverage of the game is outlined below as well.

updatesPC updatesMOBI radiorobins

Brian Flynn advises that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, is providing full live commentary of Tuesday night's game at Sincil Bank. The match commentary sponsor is SKkits, a major independent sports brand in the North West, supplying Altrincham and a further 8 leading semi-pro clubs including Warrington Town, Buxton, Kendal Town and Lancaster City. SKkits is a well established company, owned and run by Ian Senior, with a reputation for supplying high class products at unbelievably low prices to sports clubs the length and breadth of the UK and, due to their unique relationship with their suppliers, they guarantee that they will not be beaten on price and service. All products delivered within 14 days of order FREE OF CHARGE to mainland UK. Have a look at their website or call Ian Senior directly on 07960 137232.

The commentators are Ian Wilkinson and Brian Flynn and the match summariser is George Heslop. Coverage starts at 7.40pm".

LINCOLN CITY v ALTRINCHAM: BEFORE THE GAME

The Lincolnshire Echo syas that "Liam Hearn emerged from his cameo role against Kidderminster with a clean bill of health. The Lincoln City striker, who has been out with a hamstring injury was introduced to the game with 15 minutes remaining at the Aggborough Stadium.

Despite limited time, the 30-year-old was able to get a shot away and generally appeared to be moving freely. Two weeks ago the former Grimsby Town man returned to action before being fully fit and had to be withdrawn from the game. This time, however there were no such problems. 'I felt fine, I just needed that week', said Hearn after warming down...

'I've been doing some extra running and it felt fine. Hopefully I'll be back in the team on Tuesday (against Altrincham) and get more minutes under my belt. It's always good to get on the pitch. I love playing football. I've had a couple of bad seasons but I'm back now... I have to realise that I am 30 now and I don't heal as well as I used to. I have had to look more into the fitness side of things and stretching and I have also looked more into Yoga. I hope it will help me to play a lot of games this season.

'On Saturday, it was important to get three points. I was delighted for the two lads that got on the scoresheet. Alan Power hasn't had much of a chance recently and it was great to see him grab it with both hands. And with Jack (Muldoon) that was his second goal of the season and hopefully he can kick on now'".

OLD BOYS

Sunderland under-21s beat Manchester City under-21s 3-0 recently, with a hat-trick from Duncan Watmore.

NL Pitchero reports that "Warrington Town have strengthened their striking options with the signing of experienced centre forward Ben Deegan from Trafford."

BUCKET COLLECTION

Altrincham FC thanks the collectors and those who contributed towards Saturday's half-time bucket collection, which raised £78.80.

LEE SPEAKS ABOUT THE BRAINTREE GAME

Dave Stringer and Jack Wylie interviewed Lee Sinnott after Saturday's game. Dave started as follows...

Were there any positives to take from the game?

I thought Ryan Crowther tried to make an impact. I thought Simon Richman, his first game back for a few weeks, got through a lot of leg work which Simon always does for the team. But apart from that, no.

Both teams started brightly but you quickly found yourselves a goal down. Do you think starting with 3-5-2 contributed to that early setback?

No. Let’s examine the first 45 minutes. Their two goals came from our rank bad defending. Once the first goal had gone in after eight minutes... I have to be very careful here because I have to protect my players. I’ve said certain words in the dressing room and I think to myself why should I protect the players? They didn’t protect me today. But no I’ve got to protect my players. So I’ll take everything on the chin. If people want to think this or that about that game then that’s fine. If they want to think it was our naivety tactical-wise or their genius tactics then carry on, fine. Not a problem.

You’ve got no excuses... with injuries or anything?

No. After they scored in the eighth minute, we kind of disappeared to the hills. I never realised there were that many hills in Altrincham. But we have a game on Tuesday so we move on.

You must have had a few stern words to your players at half time. Did they react to what you said? Did they follow your instructions?

Your overall sense of feeling of the second half...I’d have to watch the first ten minutes. Were the same things in the game in the first half, in the second half, I’d have to watch the DVD. I’d have to watch the first ten minutes of the second half again. We have not performed today in any department in any way. We have not performed today. I’ve got a thousand quotes in my head but I’ve got a game on Tuesday. I’m a little bit surprised. I could use the word shell-shocked. But I’m a little bit surprised with the performance today. We’ve had Forest Green, Grimsby, Cheltenham, Tranmere and Eastleigh here. As a manager sometimes you just want to vent your spleen because you don’t want to protect what’s on the other side of that wall and not being funny after a performance like that, they deserve no protection, but as a manager you have to front up and vent your fury some other way. So that’s all you’re gonna get I’m afraid, Dave.

Jack Wylie continues the interview...

Following a performance like that, I guess you can only use that as motivation, looking ahead to the next set of games.

Good question. Excellent question actually, Jack. No I mean that, honestly. You find out about people and this is what I said at half time. You find out what people are all about. And we have a game on Tuesday that comes very close. Sometimes you have a week break and that can be a good thing but a bad thing in a way. With a game on a Tuesday you can get straight back out there in the action and try mentally to put things a little bit better than they were on Saturday. If they care, they remember about the game, if they don’t, they won’t.

Lincoln are unbeaten at home this season. How do you assess your chances?

We haven’t won away. Records are there to be broken, both ways. I’m sure they’ll watch the game today so let them chew their bones out of that one. You can be unbeaten but it’s not going to last forever. That’s the mentality you’ve got to go into it with. Our record away from home won’t last forever so let’s make sure it’s Tuesday. Things like that don’t bother me. That’ll play on their minds more than it will on mine.

Shaun Densmore went off just before half time, what’s the latest on him?

He said his hamstring was starting to pinch so that’s unfortunate. We may have to make a change for Tuesday as it’s a short turn around, so we’ll have to monitor that."

SUCCESSFUL SPORTSMAN'S DINNER

Stacey Rowley, General Manager of the Community Sports Hall at Altrincham FC writes...

"I would like to, on behalf of the AFC Community Company, say a big thank you to everyone who came to our Roy Keane sportsman's dinner on Friday night. The evening was a huge success and we managed to raise over £10,000. This will make a significant impact on the remaining build costs. We would also like to make a special mention to Roy Keane for donating his time and going above and beyond what we ever imagined, answering questions for over an hour and a half, signing autographs and having his picture taken with everyone who asked. Thank you to everyone who had a part in our most successful event to date".

SCOTT ON ENGLAND "C" BACK-UP LIST

The NL Paper confirms that the back up squad for the upcoming England C international match includes Alty's Scott Leather as well as ex-Alty midfielder Sean Williams. The players concerned are "Dion Charles (AFC Fylde), James Montgomery (AFC Telford United), Scott Leather (Altrincham), Matthew Wade (Blyth Spartans), Andrew Cartwright (Blyth Spartans), Jack Holland (Bromley), Brandon Hall (Ebbsfleet United), Jordan Burrow (FC Halifax Town), Connor Hughes (FC Halifax Town), Kingsley James (FC Halifax Town), Sean Williams (Hednesford Town), Oliver Sprague (Hendon), Adam Dawson (Kidderminster Harriers), Callum Howe (Lincoln City), Aaron Williams (Nuneaton Town), Andrew Coughlin (Southport), Connor McCarthy (Southport), Wesley York (Wrexham)."

NEXT SATURDAY'S OPPONENTS GO "FULL-TIME"

Altrincham travel to Hertfordhsire next Saturday from where Boreham Wood "having spent just six weeks as a National Premier League side, wish to make an important announcement; As of tomorrow Monday, 21st September, the first team squad will no longer train two evenings a week but will revert to a day-time training programme, with sessions on a Monday, Thursday and a Friday. The sole purpose is to give the club every chance of survival at this level of football and it is thought that the extra contact time between the coaches and players, will improve our fitness, our organisation and our understanding to remain at this fantastic level of football.

Chairman Danny Hunter said 'I spoke to my management team of Ian Allinson and Luke Garrard about the pros and cons after the defeat against Bromley. They felt it was the only way to go if we are to survive and prosper. Of course it is not ideal to do this in September but, after five losses on the spin, performances have dipped and results don’t lie. This club costs me a lot of time, money and considerable effort and it’s at times like this that our supporters can expect their chairman to lead but lead with clear goals and clear objectives. Some of our players, especially those who have been used to daytime training and full-time football, have struggled with two evening training sessions a week and are hugely under performing. Some have struggled with doing a day job then rushing home, grabbing a bite to eat, rushing across London to train and are emotionally spent by the time they get here'.

'Others who don’t even have a day job, have struggled simply by being idle all day and just want to feel like they are full-time footballers again.. Either way, whatever the reason, this change will give them all and our coaches the time to get out on the training pitch, to prepare properly in an unhurried scenario and to concentrate on winning football matches which is there [their] job. After speaking with the staff, the majority of our players and management team are hugely in favour of the switch. Even those amongst them who cannot commit to it all agree it will improve and help us considerably. Of course only time will tell if that is correct but, on the downside, it will almost certainly lead to some casualties and some players and staff will depart. I feel desperately sorry to lose players and staff, who have been with us for so long...

'The ones who depart do so because they have great jobs and they cannot afford to go to day-time training and wish to remain part-time footballers... Going to a day time training programme three days a week, is tantamount to turning Meadow Park and Boreham Wood into a full-time football club for the first time in our history. There are going to be the obvious additional costs and expenses to take into account, from catering and catering staff, to additional coaches, playing personnel, cleaners, kit managers and of course the very important medical staff.

'I now need to go away, revamp the budget in the correct way and see how best to move the club forward. I need to see how much more I can give the first team budget personally and I need to find a way for the club to move forward commercially to increase our budget across the board... This is not a game we’re playing where we can afford to get it wrong... We still need to bring in a few experienced but more importantly, hungry players into this group to improve us.

'We will now see if the club I’ve rebuilt these last 17 seasons and these players, will stand up to the rigours of being full time or if we’ll fall flat on our faces. To succeed we must all work harder than ever before but things must be and will be done properly from top to bottom. The players and coaches will need feeding, they will need specialist coaching and will also need to be looked after medically. They will need the proper facilities to train and rehab in everyday. We are lucky though that our facility now boasts recreation rooms, kitchens, medical rooms, 3G astro pitches and a rehab gym. We’ll also need the study suites to analyse games and that again is complete and in place'.

Hunter concluded 'It sounds silly but we’ll also need a very good kit manager and staff to clean up after the lads and wipe there [their] noses. Players do love a whinge and moan up if things aren’t exactly as they want and any excuse will do. Again. this is all in place”. This all takes sustainable finance and that will be the key to our success. As such I will need to find the money and ensure it is workable without putting the club in any danger of overspending...

'We will begin day time training at the club as of tomorrow morning and the aim this week is to win on the road at Torquay on Tuesday, then follow that up with another win at home against Altrincham on Saturday. If we can do that then the whole club and the world will suddenly feel just a little bit rosier'".

And on Monday evening the BBC reported that "Boreham Wood have signed Luton Town striker Zane Banton on a one-month loan deal. Banton has made two appearances for the Hatters since signing his first professional deal with the League Two club in September 2013. The 19-year-old could make his Boreham Wood debut when they travel to Torquay United on Tuesday". Presumably, Alty's own loanee from Luton, Andy Parry, will know him well.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

The National League has lost three managers this week. Following Neil Aspin at FC Halifax Town and Paul Cox at Torquay United, Kidderminster Harriers "confirm the departure of Gary Whild from the managerial team at Aggborough after more than five seasons with the club. This extremely difficult decision has been taken by the Board of Directors in view of the team’s current position and run of results.

The Board, on behalf of everyone connected with the club, would like to place on record their most explicit thanks to Gary for everything he has contributed... The club can also confirm that Tim Flowers was recently offered the position as Head Coach of the team but has declined that offer. However, we are hopeful he will remain at the club in a coaching capacity...

Football Development Director, Colin Gordon, will take the team for the forthcoming week and for the two games against Bromley on Tuesday night and against Barrow on Saturday. The club hopes to have a new, permanent Head Coach in position for next Saturday’s home match with Welling...

Gary is credited with ‘unearthing’ close to £1 million worth of talent over five years, including Jamille Matt, Matty Blair, Joe Lolley, Jack Byrne, Callum Gittings, Nathan Blissett, Marvin Johnson, Chey Dunkley and many others. As a result, the Board are keen to retain Gary’s knowledge as an asset and have made an offer for him to take up another position within the club, which he is considering...

Chairman, Rod Brown, said, 'This has been very difficult decision to take, for nobody more so than myself... Colin will take charge of affairs for the next week or so... We are not in a position to recruit a ‘Manager’ in the conventional sense and give him a pot of money to spend; at this stage that would be reckless and irresponsible. Our priority is to find someone with a proven record of working with young players and getting the best out of them on the training field and match situations...

You cannot reduce your playing budget by more than 50% in comparison to what the club has been used to, and not expect a serious impact to be felt by the team... and it’s not a job that is going to get any easier'".

At another managerless club, "Torquay United have confirmed that Director of Football, Dean Edwards, has resigned from his position. Edwards himself thought that owing to the financial restraints of the club, the position of Director of Football was unsustainable... He was, of course, instrumental in forming the consortium that saved the club from closing in June of this year... He will continue to help the club in the future as a consultant.

Meanwhile, the club will be actively seeking a new manager. John Ramshaw will continue as caretaker-manager for Tuesday's game against Boreham Wood".

More comes from the BBC which says thaT "Torquay United chairman David Phillips has assured fans the club is financially sound after cutting costs... Manager Paul Cox, who was not paid a salary, left on Friday and director of football Dean Edwards resigned on Sunday 'owing to the financial restraints of the club'. 'the books are in order,' Phillips insisted to BBC Sport.

Edwards warned last week that outstanding legal claims by former employees against Torquay United 'could finish the club'. but Phillips said he was confident about their future. 'By the end of this season we'll be in a lot healthier financial position than we were when we took over,' Phillips added. 'As far as I'm concerned this club [IS] going along fine, apart from the results on the field, and Paul Cox and Dean Edwards leaving'.

Phillips, who still works as a bookmaker, has seen four of the original 10 directors leave the board since the summer takeover, while the club has not won a game for over a month... 'It's been tumultuous,' he said of his time at the club so far... 'We took over a club, which we thought was debt-free, and it wasn't. We've had to adjust those books, a lot of people have left, some we're very sorry to see go, but we're getting it together'".


21 September 2015

FA YOUTH CUP ON MONDAY

FC United say that "The FA Youth Challenge Cup 1st Qualifying Round match against Altrincham Youth has been confirmed for Monday 21st September 2015, kick off 7.45pm. Admission will be by cash payment only at the turnstile (season tickets CANNOT be used for this match).
  • £5 Adults
  • £3 Concessions (Over 60s, students with a valid NUS card)
  • £1 Under 18s

The function room bar will be open before the match, at half time and after the match with full facilities; alcoholic refreshments, teas and coffees, soft drinks and hot food. On sale will be a chicken curry and a vegetarian curry option from Kabana, as last week against Southport Youth."

Brian Flynn advises that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, is providing full live commentary of the FA Youth Cup, First Round Qualifying game at Broadhurst Park on Monday. The commentary team is Paul Salt and Alex Sarwar with match summaries from John Edwards. Coverage starts at 7.40pm with the game kicking off at 7.45pm and you can listen to Radio Robins on the internet here".

ALTRINCHAM FC RESERVES

The Reserves won on Saturday, 3-1 away, at Daten. After going 1-0 down they were ahead 2-1 by half time and went on to win 3-1. The scorers were Connor Sutton, Shaun Arrowsmith and Iannis Stuoppis. They are now fourth in the league but are level on points with the team in second position. Wythenshawe Town remain top!!

SUPPORTERS' TRANSPORT

TASC is running supporters' transport to Alty's next two away games, at Lincoln City (Tuesday 22nd) and Boreham Wood (Saturday 26th). Details are here.

NEXT GAME

Alty are away to Lincoln City on Tuesday and Mike Garnett kindly provides details of our record against Lincoln City...

  • At Altrincham: P3-W1-D1-L1-F4-A4
  • Away: P2-W1-D0-L1-F2-A6
  • All: P5-W2-D1-L2-F6-A10

RADIO ROBINS

The recording of the Radio Robins commentary from the Altrincham v Braintree Town game is here.

THE IRON'S VIEW

Braintree Town report that the "Iron finally found their shooting boots at Moss Lane on Saturday and, having comfortably controlled the whole match throughout, it was only the woodwork and goal line clearances by home defenders that denied them the bigger winning margin they deserved with such an impressive performance.

Had the Iron won by six or seven clear goals it would have been clearly warranted on this impressive 90 minute display, their best of the season, which was against a side that has already beaten promotion favourites Cheltenham Town, Grimsby Town and Tranmere Rovers on their own turf.

Admittedly the Iron were helped by two superb goals from substitutes Anthony Edgar and Miles Taylor, both in added on time at the end, to give the final score a true reflection of the game. Manager Dan Cowley was still disappointed his players weren't more clinical in front of goal when they had chances.

'Yes, it was a fantastic result for us and one fully deserved but we were so much in control throughout and had so many chances to score we should have put the game to be much earlier on', he declared. 'We also stuck to our core values which the players know is hard work, show commitment all the game, be positive and competitive all the time and out-run the opposition.

Cowley had clearly done his homework beforehand on the home side adding, 'We knew what to expect and planned accordingly and all the players responded as I knew they would and again to come away and win so comfortably is a credit to all of them'.

In some matches so far the Iron have struggled to compete in the final 15 minutes or so of the game but Cowley believes they have worked on that and also bringing on two late substitutes paid dividends in this game. 'We also don't want players becoming too contented when they win well like in this match because that breeds laziness and sloppiness,' he explained. 'It's a question of always keeping our feet on the ground, having competition for places and looking ahead to the challenges of the next match because this is a really tough league.'

It was Cheek who opened the scoring on nine minutes... Four minutes before the interval he was the instigator of the second goal when he was holding the ball up in the home area only to be brought down by Gianluca Havern [it was Andy Parry] for a penalty which skipper Kenny Davis duly dispatched to give the Iron a 2-0 half time lead.

Cheeks could easily have had a hat-trick because Iron continue to pull the home defence to pieces in the second half. On 63 minutes he sprinted through, rounded keeper Tim Deasy, but then saw his first time shot come back off a post. 'I should have steadied myself a bit more and controlled the ball before sliding it into the empty net and I also had two other chances when the ball was whipped across the goalmouth to me and I was only inches away from connecting,' said Cheek...

Several goal chances went begging with the home defence all at sea and three times they had to clear the ball off the goal line and twice the woodwork came to their rescue... keeper Will Norris having to make only one real save all afternoon".

PIKESLEY ON THE HEATHCOTES

Barry Pikesley's particle on the Heathcote family's performances for Altrincham is reproduced from the Robins' Review, here.
20 September 2015

ALTRINCHAM 0 BRAINTREE TOWN 4

  • Match report here

    Above left, Simon Richman battles in the Alty midfield against Braintree Town. Image courtesy of Mike Ripley. Right, Adam Griffin plays the ball upfield. Image courtesy of Gavin Rathbone. Click on images to enlarge them.

    The Braintree & Witham Times reports that "Braintree Town enjoyed more away-day delight as they completed another Vanarama National League three-point haul on the road at Altrincham.

    Their 4-0 victory meant they have now taken 13 points from their last five away games... Manager Cowley made three changes to his side from the one that drew 0-0 at Dover Athletic in midweek as Mitch Brundle, Miles and Sean Marks all dropped to the bench.

    That allowed Remy Clerima to step back into the back line, while Alex Woodyard celebrated his call-up to the England C training squad this week with a recall for the Iron as he returned from a two-match suspension. Braintree full-back Sam Habergham has also been included in Paul Fairclough’s England squad, while Michael Cheek was the third change that Cowley introduced back into his starting line-up...

    In just the ninth minute, the former Chelmsford City striker fired home from close-range to put Braintree in the driving seat and it was a position they never relinquished. That lead was doubled just before half-time and Cheek was involved again when he was fouled in the penalty area by Altrincham’s Andrew Parry in the 42nd minute...

    Substitute Anthony Edgar... gave the scoreline the look that Braintree’s dominance had merited when he chipped the home keeper Tim Deasy from fully 35 yards. However, they weren’t finished there as another of Cowley’s substitutes – Miles – added a fourth goal even deeper into injury-time at the end".

    NEXT OPPONENTS: LINCOLN CITY

    Alty play Lincoln City next and The Imps won at Aggborough on Saturday. According to Harriers Online "The depression continues... Harriers are still rock bottom of the league. Gary Whild is still running things while Tim Flowers is taking a back seat. The team still look disorganised with no pattern and no leader on the pitch. Poor teams are still taking us to the cleaners and the fans are even more disenchanted.

    Still, at least we're not Torquay, yet. Not until we play Bromley on Tuesday... The fans spirits were being raised and it looked good until a killer blow, and slack defending, allowed Lincoln to take a surprise lead. Jack Muldoon took the ball into the area and crossed for Alan Power to slam the ball home from close range. Six minutes later and City had doubled the lead...

    I don't know which one of our managers had the brainwave to make an early change but made it was. Tahvon Campbell came on to replace the, again, ineffectual Calvin Dinsley and straight away he began to use the ball to run straight at the City defenders...

    We live to find that elusive win another day. Will that win come at seven goal Bromley on Tuesday evening?"

    On the same game the Kidderminster Shuttle adds that "Two first half goals shot down winless Harriers as their woes continued at Aggborough... Once again, the hosts produced some bright moments but paid the price for errors at the back... Aston Villa under-21 skipper Kevin Toner, who joined on a month's youth loan, made his debut at left-back...

    But two goals in five minutes stunned the hosts. City opened the scoring in the 22nd when Alan Power rifled home after a scything run from Muldoon into the hear[t of] the home defence. Muldoon then made it 2-0 in the 27th when keeper Alex Palmer allowed Luke Waterfall's head[er] to squeeze out of his hands".

    After the game Kidderminster Harriers reported that "Gary Whild labelled the 2-0 defeat to Lincoln City at Aggborough on Saturday afternoon as the story of the team's season. Harriers had begun well against the Imps but firmly turned the gun on their own feet...

    Speaking after the game, the Head of Football Operations commented that, 'It was too easy. It's disappointing because the preparation [was there] and we knew what to expect from the lad Rhead and the long throws and directness... The league table doesn't lie at this moment in time'".

    Lincoln City add that "Craig Stanley, Alan Power and Jack Muldoon replaced Kegan Everington, Conner Robinson and Alex Simmons for this Vanarama National League game against bottom-placed Kidderminster Harriers... Robinson and Simmons finding themselves on a bench which saw the return of Liam Hearn

    LINCOLN CITY: 1 Paul FARMAN, 2 Bradley WOOD, 4 Craig STANLEY, 5 Luke WATERFALL, 7 Jack MULDOON, 8 Alan POWER, 9 Matt RHEAD, 12 Terry HAWKRIDGE, 18 Lee BEEVERS, 21 Matt SPARROW. Subs: 10 Liam HEARN (for POWER 75), 14 Conner ROBINSON (for MULDOON 62), 16 Alex SIMMONS (for HAWKRIDGE 90+2), 23 Nat BROWN, 13 Aidan GRANT"

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    In its review of Saturday's games, the National League reports that "leaders Forest Green Rovers suffered their second consecutive defeat after losing 4-1 at the Moss Rose against Macclesfield Town...

    Rovers suffered a massive blow when Sinclair was then sent-off for a bad challenge in first half stoppage time. And on 64 minutes Paul Lewis made it 3-1...Whittaker completed the scoring with number four...

    Connor Jennings scored the only goal as third-placed Wrexham beat Boreham Wood 1-0 at Meadow Park...

    Braintree Town completed another three-point haul on the road at Moss Lane against Altrincham. Their 4-0 victory meant they have now taken thirteen points from their last five away games...

    Ben Heneghan's first half header secured Chester FC all three points at home against Eastleigh... despite the visitors' bossing the possession stats.

    Gateshead slipped down to fourth in the table after they lost 2-1 at the International Stadium against Welling United, who moved out of the bottom four...

    Bromley came from behind to hammer managerless Torquay United 7-3 at Plainmoor. It was the Gulls biggest home defeat for almost 20 years and came 24 hours after the resignation of manager Paul Cox.

    Assistant-manager John Ramshaw and director of football Dean Edwards took the helm and saw James Hurst give the Gulls an early 5th minute lead before Moses Emmanuel scored a hat-trick in 22 first-half minutes...

    Lincoln City pushed surprise strugglers Kidderminster Harriers to the foot of the table after winning 2-0 at Aggborough. Harriers are now without a win in eleven matches...

    Aldershot Town moved up to eleventh in the table after a 3-1 at the Furness Building Society Stadium against Barrow AFC... Dover Athletic drew 0-0 for a second time at Crabble in four days as they were held by a spirited Guiseley AFC, stretching the hosts' winless run to four games...

    FC Halifax Town came from two goals down to rescue a point in this bottom of the table battle. Mike Phenix was shown a straight red card for Southport for a reckless challenge on Connor Hughes after 25 minutes but Matty Brown’s own goal gave the visitors the lead... before new loan signing Cole Stockton’s cool finish on the hour-mark made it 2-0.

    Then began the Halifax fight back. They were awarded a penalty when Julian Banton was brought down by Josh Thompson at the back post, and up stepped Jordan Burrow who slotted it under ‘keeper Andy Coughlin. With a minute left to play, Josh MacDonald’s cross was met by Burrow’s head as he directed it past Coughlin once more to salvage a point for the Shaymen."

    SATURDAY'S GATES

    • Att: 861 Altrincham v Braintree Town
    • Att: 1564 Barrow v Aldershot Town
    • Att: 685 Boreham Wood v Wrexham
    • Att: 1922 Chester FC v Eastleigh
    • Att: 823 Dover Athletic v Guiseley
    • Att: 1211 FC Halifax Town v Southport
    • Att: 822 Gateshead v Welling United
    • Att: 1581 Kidderminster Harriers v Lincoln City
    • Att: 1311 Macclesfield Town v Forest Green Rovers
    • Att: 1653 Torquay United v Bromley
    • Att: 2035 Woking v Cheltenham Town

    ENGLAND "C"

    The National League reports that "England C manager Paul Fairclough has named his squad to attend a training camp at Warwick University...

    The full squad: Jake Gallager (Aldershot Town), Joel Dixon (Barrow AFC), Billy Clifford (Boreham Wood), Kaine Felix (Boston United), Sam Habergham (Braintree Town), Alex Woodyard (Braintree Town), Ben Heneghan (ChesterFC), Ryan Higgins (Chester FC), Sean Raggett (Dover Athletic), James Bolton (FC Halifax Town), Kurtis Guthrie (Forest Green Rovers), Jonny Maxted (Forest Green Rovers), Daniel Johnson (Gateshead), Omar Bogle (Grimsby Town), Jack Lane (Nuneaton Town), Will Beesley (Southport), Michael Ihiekwe (Tranmere Rovers), George Porter, Sam Corne (Welling United), John Goddard (Woking), Kadell Daniel (Woking), Dominic Vose (Wrexham)".

    OLD BOYS

    Kyle Perry was on the mark on Saturday for Hednesford Town on Saturday.

    Ex-Alty players on the move in the EvoStik League include Ben Deegan from Trafford to Warrington Town, Jeff King from Kendal to Ashton United, ex-youth player Boris Melingui from FC United of Manchester to Sheffield FC. In the game which ended Stamford 3 - 3 Ramsbottom United, Sam Grimshaw got two for Ramsbottom.


    19 September 2015

    ALTRINCHAM 0 BRAINTREE TOWN 4

    Above; Tim Deasy makes a first-half save.

    This was Altrincham's worst performance since a similar 4-0 home defeat by Welling last season...

    Match report here

    WEEKEND GAMES

    Friday 18 September
    • Grimsby Town 1-1 Tranmere Rovers

    Saturday 19 September

    • Altrincham 0-4 Braintree Town
    • Barrow 1-3 Aldershot Town
    • Boreham Wood 0-1 Wrexham
    • Chester FC 1-0 Eastleigh
    • Dover Athletic 0-0 Guiseley
    • FC Halifax Town 2-2 Southport
    • Gateshead 1-2 Welling United
    • Kidderminster Harriers 0-2 Lincoln City
    • Macclesfield Town 4-1 Forest Green Rovers
    • Torquay United 3-7 Bromley
    • Woking 0-1 Cheltenham Town
    • Howard Watts's Through the Years.

    LEE'S FITNESS UPDATE

    "On Thursday night, Alex Sarwar spoke to Alty boss Lee Sinnott who gave us an update on the first team, while looking forward to the match tomorrow against Braintree Town at the J Davidson Stadium.

    There was injury news regarding Josh O’Keefe, Simon Richman, Jake Moult and Nicky Clee ahead of the game. 'Josh was on the bench on Tuesday and is now fit to play, I also expect Simon to be involved this coming Saturday. We’ll have to have a look at Jake due to the proximity of the cut on his head. He also took a fair whack on the knee so we’ll have to make a decision late on but it’s important that we’re sensible about it.

    Hopefully, Nicky (left) shouldn’t be any later than the Barrow game in two weeks. It’s been a troublesome one for Nicky but it’s one that needs to be sorted rather than it getting worse week by week. When he’s good and ready then Nicky will be back, hopefully that will be in the coming fortnight.'

    Sinnott spoke about the importance of seizing the initiative at home against a Braintree side coming off the back of their 0-0 draw away at Dover in midweek. 'They’ve had a very good start and are unbeaten in three games after that Dover draw. They look very tight, judging by how many goals they’ve conceded this season. But it’s about what we can do and, if we push that button like we have done at home already this season, then we’re confident that we can open them up and cause them problems.'"

    Mike Garnett kindly provides details of our record against Braintree Town...

    • At Altrincham: P1-W1 D0 L0 F3A3
    • Away: P1-W0-D0-L1-F2-A4
    • All: P2-W1-D0-L1-F3A-4

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    The National League reports that "Paul Cox has resigned as manager of Torquay United following a meeting about off-the-field issues. Cox replaced Chris Hargreaves, who remains on gardening leave, after the summer takeover by the consortium led by the now director of football Dean Edwards. Cox had a meeting with Edwards yesterday afternoon. "

    NL Pitchero says that "Woking have confirmed that Craig Braham-Barrett has joined on a one-month loan from Ebbsfleet United. [He is a] London-born full back who began his career in non-League football after coming through the Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday youth systems.

    After playing for Aveley, Eastleigh and Welling United amongst others, Peterborough paid £10,000 for his services. Although he didn’t make the breakthrough at London Road [he] turned out for Havant & Waterlooville, Sutton United and Farnborough. A move to Macclesfield Town re-ignited his career and led to a return to the Football League with Cheltenham. In League Two he racked up more than eighty appearances in two seasons with the Robins before being released in July 2015 and promptly signing on at Stonebridge Road in the summer".

    NL Pitchero also states that "Southport have taken young striker Cole Stockton on a three-month loan deal from league rivals Tranmere Rovers. Twenty-one-year-old Stockton has made four appearances for Rovers so far this season but has recently been out of the side."

    Elsewhere, "Kidderminster Harriers have completed the loan signing of highly-rated Aston Villa under-21 captain Kevin Toner on a one-month youth loan".

    OLD BOYS

    According to NL Pitchero, ex-Alty trialist and now "Boston United`s midfielder, Jordan Deacey, has joined Matlock Town on a month’s loan."

    And the NW Counties Football League confirms that Nelson have signed former Alty defender George Melling, whilst Winsford United have acquired former Alty Youth player Osebi Abadaki.


    18 September 2015

    ALTY AGGRIEVED OVER GRIFFITH

    Joint Press & Media Officer, John Edwards, writes that "Grahame Rowley has expressed his disappointment at the manner of Anthony Griffith’s departure from Altrincham and admitted he feels let down by the experienced midfielder’s conduct.

    A hip injury forced the 28 year-old to retire from football earlier this month, and, following discussions involving the player and the PFA, Alty were forced to make a severance payment to him.

    Rowley admitted that, if the club were guilty of anything, it was taking Griffith at his word over his fitness, when he joined Alty two months ago. The Alty chairman added, however, he was very unhappy at the way that trust had been abused.

    ‘I do feel disappointed and let down by the player because, when he signed for us in July, there was no mention of what was a pre-existing medical condition,’ he said. ‘It was not brought to our attention by the player and we proceeded in the belief we had significantly bolstered our midfield.

    ‘It was quite late in the close-season when we got to hear Anthony might be available. We had already played three pre-season games and were keen to get another signing in. Someone of his calibre seemed ideal, so, with time running out, we took him at his word that everything was all right.

    ‘That’s where we have to hold our hands up and say, in this instance, we got it wrong. You live and learn, and it is certainly a harsh lesson.

    ‘But when you consider how the medicals that take place higher up the football pyramid cost thousands and thousands and are way beyond our reach, there has to be an element of trust in these situations. In this one, it was rather one-sided, and that does leave a sour taste.

    ‘We only realised the extent of the problem when our physio (Alan Ainsley) received a letter from Anthony’s consultant, saying the player had a degenerative condition and he had advised him to retire from football.

    ‘To say it was a bolt from the blue would be an understatement, and it soon became clear he was expecting a pay-off. We could have gone down the long road of a potentially expensive legal battle, but a contract had been signed and, for the good of the club, we had to bite the bullet and reach an agreement.

    ‘It’s difficult not to feel aggrieved, because we thought we were getting someone who would do us some good. Instead, we got someone who chose not to tell us about a medical problem and has now walked away with a severance package that leaves us a player light and with little scope for funding a replacement, as things stand'".

    RYAN HAPPY WITH HIS IMPACT

    Alex Sarwar writes "We caught up with Altrincham midfielder Ryan Crowther to talk about the start both he and the team have made this season. Most notable for Ryan was his goal against Cheltenham Town, after coming on as a first-half substitute for Josh O’Keefe.

    'I wasn’t expecting to come on so soon with Josh [O'Keefe] getting injured but, once I got on, I felt really comfortable down that right-hand side. I went on a run to win a free kick and just kicked on from there. Scoring was fantastic! I think I took the keeper by surprise shooting so early rather than taking an extra touch. I think if I had taken that touch the keeper might have been able to set himself and react faster than he did.'

    The season is now ten games in and, with Alty on ten points, Crowther is confident in himself and the side’s ability to kick on in the upcoming games.

    'There’s a good atmosphere around the squad with everyone pulling in the right direction. We’ve had some good results at home against good teams but we’ve not done that away from home and we’re doing everything we can as a unit to change that.'

    On a personal level Crowther is hoping to impress the manager with his cameos on the pitch in the hope of securing a run in the first team.

    'That’s certainly the main aim for myself. Last season I was in and out a bit with injuries and never really had a full run of games. But I feel like I’ve done okay so far this season and with the injuries we’ve had, if you get your chance you have to try and take it. Hopefully I can do that and the gaffer gives me the opportunity to play'".

    SIMON ON WAY BACK

    Following Thursday's training session, Altrincham hope to have midfielder Simon Richman (right) available for selection on Saturday after he has missed the last three matches through injury. Fellow midfielder Jake Moult took a couple of knocks on Tuesday night but, again, it is hoped that he will be fit for the match against Braintree on Saturday.

    LEE SINNOTT ON THE EASTLEIGH MATCH

    Brian Flynn advises us that "Jack Wylie, a Sports Journalism undergraduate at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) is helping the club out on the media side of things". Below is his interview with Lee Sinnott after Tuesday's draw with Eastleigh.

    "How do you assess your team’s performance tonight?

    I thought if you split the first half into two halves, I thought the second half of the first half...I thought we got our passing game going and we were moving the ball around better. For the first half of that first half I didn’t think we did and then in the second half I didn’t think we really got it going as much as I like to see.

    I had a dig at the players at half time. we can do better than that. We found ourselves one nil up. It’s always a precarious position, I mean if you remember when we played Eastleigh at home last season we drew 3-3 and we took the lead every time and they pegged us back three times. Now they’ve pegged us back again tonight, so I’m a little bit frustrated if I’m totally honest. I wanted to push on and get three points but it’s not to be but then it’s a strange animal is managing.

    You’ve got to keep the players on side and in the right kind of mood and you look at our first five home games; we’ve won three, we’ve drawn one and we’ve lost one and, if you look at those five teams that we’ve played here I think, I bet the five of them are in the top seven or eight and so it’s been a big ask in that aspect. We know that we need to address the away form so, a little bit frustrated because I thought we could’ve pushed on.

    It must give you a sense of pride and confidence in the team that you can compete with these richer clubs in the league?

    Yeah well, me being a manager I look at it differently. The results will come I believe against more or less any team in the league if you start to step up levels and I’m waiting really for the team to step up to the next level. I’m not being big-headed here at all, honestly, about the results from the ex-League teams that we’ve played and the teams that are higher because I know, on their day, these players can ask questions of any team and that’s why I’m frustrated in getting to the next level.

    And that’s to show a little more consistency, grabbing hold of games a little bit better, holding onto games a little bit better. I mean game management is a big thing. That game would have been seen out by Chelsea last season with ten minutes to go, they’d have just picked the right ball.I had a word with a couple of players afterwards and I think our decision-making of our ball playing in the last maybe 15 minutes could have been a little bit wiser. The more you can play the game in the opposition half when the game’s more or less coming to an end the better it is for you. I just thought that we invited a bit of pressure onto ourselves by maybe trying to play a little bit too much football. We could’ve took it into our arsenal just to turn them a little bit, just to probe down the flanks a little bit, but it wasn’t to be.

    On a positive note, the goal was a fantastic strike and provided that moment of star quality to give you the platform to kick on.

    Yes, it was a bit of a different goal but not such a dissimilar goal to the one against Wrexham on Saturday, a lovely passing move to set Jimmy away and then it’s a wonderful finish just like Michael finished lovely, so that’s what I’m saying, that’s what the players are capable of. They’re a different animal to last season in my opinion, they look completely different. We’re approaching ten games and, at the end of 12 games last season we had eight points. After ten games we’ve got ten. I’ve said to the players what I’m looking for in those next two games is to push us away from what we achieved at this stage last season.

    But, yeah, I think it’s coming out in this interview that I’m frustrated because I’m waiting for them to step up to that next level. Is it a bit of experience; is it a bit of know-how? That game could’ve been seen out 1-0. I can look at this DVD when I get home and can more or less guarantee that there’s more red and white bodies in our penalty box than theirs. And it’s a wonderful strike by their player, an absolute wonderful strike but, if you’ve got bodies back there and they’re not doing anything... I mean I did a graph for the players of where the goals are coming from that we’ve conceded. But, if you’re back there and you’re not doing anything, you’re a waste of a body and that’s the bit of frustration where I can tie that into knowing how to see out games. It’s how to manage games.

    Do you pick the right ball; do you just turn and ask questions of the defenders? What’s the harm in the last ten minutes in probing down the channels and, if it goes out for a throw-in right next to the corner flag, then who gives a damn. It’s an art to win 1-0 and I just thought we had an opportunity to secure that.

    We haven’t got a clean sheet yet and that’s frustrating as well. I’ve used frustrating quite a few times so you can probably term my mood from that but I felt it very early on if I’m honest. I just have a sense with them. I just smell it straightaway if I feel that they’re on the job or not and the first 20-22 minutes I don’t think we were on our job. The next 25 minutes, yeah we came alive. Half time, you break the sequence; things stop and then start again and I don’t think we really picked it up again in the second half

    You had a great chance to go 2-0 up; do you feel that was a big moment in the game?

    I thought it was a tight game. If I’m looking at it really, although I think we should have seen it out, a draw may be a fair result. You’d have to look at the whole 90 minutes again because these interviews are always done in the heat of the moment straight after the game.

    Jimmy’s not done a lot wrong apart from it not going in the back of the net. If he had’ve raised it into the roof of the net it probably would’ve been a goal but who knows somebody might’ve just stood tall and whatever. We did a couple of great blocks; it’s a great block by themselves. But yeah, it’s disappointing that that didn’t go in.

    There were a few contentious challenges, particularly at the start of the second half. Some of the crowd were vocal in their opinion that there may have been a case for a red card or two. How do you assess those decisions? Not from my view. That’s what the referee is there to do, isn’t it? Certain players are cleverer than others. Certain players can do something and it looks so obvious that they get themselves in trouble. Some players can do something and are very sly about it and it ends up working their way. I thought Eastleigh had a few wise heads in their team tonight and that will be a good experience for us, as we are quite a younger team.

    Looking ahead to the weekend you’ve got another home game. I guess you must feel confident of picking up more points.

    I said to the players everyone wants six points from two fixtures. We’re all the same, home and away or home and home or away and away, but I said to the players afterwards if we can attain four points out of these two fixtures it won’t be bad return. So obviously, just like any game we’re looking for three points. That’ll be no different on Saturday. That’s the message out to the players. The players will be disappointed...86th minute, so four minutes and a bit extra time to go, so they’ll be disappointed but there’s no time for that there’s another three points on offer on Saturday".

    EASTLEIGH'S VIEW

    Eastleigh report that "A last ditch Yemi Odubade strike rescued a point for the travelling Spitfires, whose dozen or so supporters arrived late at the ground despite the delayed kick-off. The second half was definitely the better of the play for the Spitfires and a point was probably fair on a chilly night in Manchester...

    Eastleigh were slow to respond and favoured bringing their play down the wing... Constable was quiet for the majority of the first half as he was a victim of tight and clever coverage by the Altrincham back-line.

    The rest of the first half was relatively quiet, with Altrincham having the lion-share of the possession. The Spitfires were looking relatively sloppy...

    Early in the second half Eastleigh looked to be in better shape... Altrincham were quietly having decent spells of their own though and it took a marvellous block from Jamie Turley to keep the home side out of the Noice’s goal for what would have been a game winner.

    But, as it happened, Eastleigh’s persistence paid off and following a positive looking spell for the away side which included several corners, Richard Hill’s men finally had a break-through. One final corner was cleared, but only as far as the waiting Yemi Odubade, off the bench, who produced a peach of a first time volley which flew past the helpless Deasy (himself at full stretch) and straight into the back of the net to spark scenes of on-the-field celebration amongst the players, more out of relief than jubilation...

    Both sides looked content with a point, and it was a fair result."

    VANARAMA NATIONAL NEWS

    FC Halifx Town have "confirmed they have parted company with first-team manager Neil Aspin. Neil Aspin was currently in his sixth season with the Club. The decision was sadly and reluctantly taken following a prolonged period of indifferent results stretching back to February 2015.

    That said, the Club wishes to place on record sincere thanks to Neil for his contribution to the Club's great success over the last few seasons.

    The Board and everyone involved with the Club, wish Neil every success in the future. We are sure he will be back in football very quickly."

    Halifax have now advertised the vacancy.

    In the Grimsby Telegraph we learn that "Grimsby Town boss Paul Hurst expects new signing Ben Tomlinson to make himself a nuisance for opposition.

    The Barnet forward joined the Mariners on a one-month loan deal after signing for the Bees in the summer. The 25-year-old scored 32 times in 85 league appearances for Town's rivals Lincoln City during a two-year spell with the club...

    'We've obviously been looking for another striker', said Hurst. 'Whilst he isn't perhaps the out and out target man that I said I was looking for, he is a nuisance, he does put himself about. He is obviously someone who will be known to the Grimsby Town fans and knows this league, from his time at our local rivals.

    'I've known him from before then and I think he will give us something slightly different to what we've got in the three lads at the club. He can play in different positions, and if we went to a front three, he would have no problems fitting in one of those wider areas. Realistically, if you asked him, he would say that he is a striker. Really that's why I've brought him in'".

    According to the Essex Chronicle "Braintree manager Danny Cowley said he was proud of how his players stood up to a brutal and physical Dover Athletic side in midweek. The Iron earned a hard-fought and bruising point in a 0-0 draw at Crabble on Tuesday in the Vanarama National League in a game that lacked quality but certainly not commitment...

    [Dover] had Jack Parkinson sent off 12 minutes from time for flailing an elbow at Mike Phillips. Dover striker Duane Ofori-Acheampong had to be restrained by team-mates at half-time after something unpleasant was allegedly said in his direction by an unknown Iron player as well...

    Cowley said, 'I think we were the better side for most of the game and my players really stood up to what was being dished out by Dover... The way they play is difficult to play against as well, I think the ball was bruised as well with the amount of whacks it took from their players booting it long...Dover is never easy'...

    Whites' manager Chris Kinnear was up in arms at the antics of Cowley, his staff and his players afterwards, saying, 'Every time on the sideline, they [Braintree] are up in arms, complaining about decisions... It's football, it's a game of bloody football and with all that rubbish from them, we don't need it'...

    Not that Cowley was bothered as it's just two defeats in eight now for Braintree... Cowley says budget constraints mean he is unlikely to bring in a new face before the game with Altrincham at the weekend".

    Next Tuesday, Altrincham are away at Lincoln City from where the Lincolnshire Echo reports that "Lincoln City boss Chris Moyses has revealed Jon Nolan has handed in a transfer request. The Imps midfielder put in the request after he was dropped from the squad... almost two weeks ago.

    Nolan, 23, who joined the Imps from Stockport County, has not yet been able to secure a regular place in the City starting line-up. He signed a contract extension during the summer until the end of the current campaign.

    'Jon played six out of the first eight games and then we rested him for the Wrexham game. He wasn't particularly happy about that and, in fact, put in a transfer request,' Moyses revealed. 'We circulated his name around various teams in the Conference and in League Two but there hasn't been a response for him yet. But Jon is very much in our plans, we are not going to cast him aside because he wants to go somewhere else, but we want to make sure he wants to play for Lincoln City.

    'You can never pre-empt what deal might come for Jon, it would have to be whatever was best for the club. But, having no response yet might serve as a wake-up call for Jon. Sometimes players have agents who put too much smoke in their heads about getting a move somewhere but it doesn't materialise'".

    The Kidderminster Shuttle reports that "Gary Whild is hoping to bolster his Kidderminster Harriers squad ahead of Saturday’s clash against Lincoln City...

    With Adam Dawson joining Tranmere Rovers until December because of personal reasons and Andrew Fox returning to parent club Peterborough United, a youthful group of players is close to breaking point. Defender Jordan Tunnicliffe is expected to have shaken off an injury for the visit of the Imps.

    While the Aggborough outfit’s budget restrictions mean money is tight, Whild has vowed to keep searching diligently for new recruits. He said, 'We are looking to do a few things and bring a few bodies in because at the moment we are down to the bare bones... and we’ll do our best to get over the line before Saturday'...

    The club were hoping that a back room staff restructuring might have helped to kick-start the season. Whild was named Head of Football Operations, with Tim Flowers promoted to Head Coach, while Mark Creighton has left by mutual consent.

    Flowers will focus on training and he and Whild, who also has a wider overseeing role, will work together on a match day. He said, 'I don’t know so much about titles, I’ve heard people say I’ve been shoved up stairs but I am not into that type of thing. As far as Tim and myself are concerned we’re working as hard as we can with the lads...

    He added, 'Mark was a great servant to the club and a favourite, I don’t think anyone’s pointing a finger at him. He came as a young coach and worked tirelessly for the club but unfortunately in football people make a change and somebody is a casualty and in this case it was him'".


    17 September 2015

    TUESDAY GATES

    Attendances on Tuesday night were:
    • 1256 Aldershot Town v Welling United
    • 677 Altrincham v Eastleigh
    • 1233 Barrow v Lincoln City
    • 364 Boreham Wood v Bromley
    • 1962 Cheltenham Town v Macclesfield Town
    • 1964 Chester FC v Grimsby Town
    • 638 Dover Athletic v Braintree Town
    • 1113 Gateshead v Wrexham
    • 1184 Guiseley v FC Halifax Town
    • 1493 Kidderminster Harriers v Torquay United
    • 2827 Southport v Tranmere Rovers
    • 1775 Woking v Forest Green Rovers

    ALTY 1 EASTLEIGH 1

    Above, courtesy of Gavin Rathbone of GR Photography we see the head injury suffered just before half time by Jake Moult in the game against Eastleigh, as physio Alan Ainsley arrives to treat the Alty midfielder.

    Match report here.

    Mike Ripley also has images from the game, here.

    Brian Flynn has kindly provided a link to Tuesday night's Radio Robins commentary on Altrincham v Eastleigh, here.

    Hampshire's Daily Echo reports that "Super sub Yemi Odubade popped up just in the nick of time to rescue Eastleigh a well-deserved 1-1 draw at Altrincham tonight.

    With the final whistle fast approaching at Moss Lane, it looked as if the Spitfires were heading for an unheard of third straight defeat in the Vanarama National League. But, following a late flurry of corners, the ball was headed out to Odubade on the edge of the box and he returned it with interest, planting a stunning volley into the top corner...

    They arrived late due to a hold-up on the M6, forcing kick-off to be delayed by 15 minutes, and lined up without injured trio Paul Reid, Andy Drury and on-loan Portsmouth ’keeper Michael Poke, while Ben Strevens was suspended and Jack Midson was only fit enough to join Odubade on the bench.

    Despite their problems, the Spitfires were the better side early on... Eastleigh remained untroubled until the 29th minute when Altrincham stole the lead with a quality finish. Adam Griffin set James Lawrie away down the left and the Northern Ireland international cut inside and unleashed a cracking left-foot strike that young goalkeeper Lewis Noice had no chance of keeping out of the top corner...

    The visitors temporarily lost their rhythm as the game got niggly. Altrincham had a ‘goal’ disallowed before Spitfires boss Richard Hill rang the changes... Eastleigh took a late stranglehold on the game and forced that stunning 87th-minute leveller".

    EASTLEIGH MATCH STATS

    The not always reliable BBC statistics from Tuesday's game are:
    • Possession: Altrincham 51% v Eastleigh 49%
    • Shots 7 v 13
    • On target 2 v 2
    • Corners 7 v 7
    • Fouls 14 v 16

    OLD BOYS

    The EvoStik League tells us that an Alty trialist this summer, Josh Green, has moved from Fleetwood Town to Market Drayton Town whilst former Alty midielder Adam Carden has moved from Stalybridge Celtic to Witton Albion.

    NEXT OPPONENTS: BRAINTREE TOWN

    Braintree Town visit Altrincham on Saturday. The Dover Express reports on the Iron's last match. "To say Dover Athletic boss Chris Kinnear was less than impressed with the tactics employed by Braintree Town on Tuesday night could be the understatement of the year.

    Whites were held to a 0-0 draw by the Irons in a brutal game at Crabble that lacked much quality but certainly not full-blooded tackles.

    Dover were no angels themselves but Danny Cowley's men came to town with a gameplan to wind up Whites to the point of boiling over, which it did when Jack Parkinson was sent off for violent conduct ten minutes from time.

    The midfielder lashed out at Mike Phillips when waiting in the box for a corner to be delivered by Nicky Deverdics. After the half-time whistle, Duane Ofori-Acheampong had to be held back by his team-mates after something more than unpleasant was said to him walking off for the break.

    And Kinnear, who warned his players what to expect from a team managed by Cowley, previously with Concord Rangers, did not hold back in his assessment of how the visitors played their part. He said, 'It was always going to be [brutal]. You know as well as I do, that's what they are like and want to do. We told the lads that's how it would be. Concord were the same, these are the same, they [the management] will get everyone at you and in your face.

    Every time on the sideline, they [Braintree] are up in arms, complaining about decisions. Referee this, referee that. It's football, it's a game of football and with all that rubbish from them, we don't need it'.

    Kinnear, who labelled the first-half display as the worst since he returned to the club, was distinctly unimpressed with the actions of Parkinson, the second time Whites have had someone red-carded in four days following Stefan Payne's two yellow cards at Cheltenham Town on Saturday.

    The boss added, 'It was stupid. He [Parkinson] knows it, he's apologised for it but it's no good apologising after, he shouldn't have done it. He wanted to get in the side, was knocking on my door saying get me in, he did, he's done well and then he goes and does that. He's committed but use that commitment winning tackles, not punching people. Why would you do that?'

    Kinnear also praised Ofori-Acheampong who did restrain himself despite an initial bloodrush to the head. 'Duane did well to restrain himself in the second half as they were pretty unpleasant to him,' Kinnear said. 'Duane is such a nice bloke but I am not surprised, that's the way they do it [Braintree] so fair enough'".

    You would not think it was the same match when you read the view from the other side, as Braintree Town reported that "The Iron deservedly returned from the Crabble Stadium on Tuesday evening with a hard earned point against a physically strong home side but the problem remains of them not taking their chances and scoring goals to win matches.

    They had three or four decent scoring opportunities in a first half in which they were the dominant side... But admitting that scoring goals remains a problem manager Dan Cowley was full of praise for every player adding... 'We knew that Dover would be stronger than us as they are a big side and they would play direct football,' he explained. 'But we coped with all that and tried to play our passing game as we knew we had to out wit them, out run them and out think them which we did'...

    Cowley made two changes from Saturday's draw against Barrow with Mitch Brundle coming in for the absent Remi Clerima and Taylor Miles for Jordan Chiedozie who has returned to Cambridge United after his loan spell...

    Overall a neutral observer would say it was an entertaining if at times fiesty encounter and a draw probably a fair result but, in essence, Iron should have won with the numerous chances they had throughout the evening...

    Next up for the Iron is the away game at Altrincham Saturday when influential midfielder Alex Woodyard is back after suspension.

    Braintree Town: Norris; Brundle, Phillips, Paine, Hagergham; Issac, Davis, Miles (Cox 81), Sparkes (Edgar 82); Marks (Cheek 61), Akinola. Unused subs: Maybanks, Haigh (goalkeeper)".

    Last Saturday Braintree drew at Holker Street and The Iron reported that "For the Iron this was two points dropped rather than a point gained... after they conceded a poor equaliser nine minutes from time leaving manager Dan Cowley 'disappointed and frustrated'.

    Having taken a deserved 56 minutes lead through a superb Simeon Akinola strike from the edge of the area the Iron paid the penalty for not adding to their lead as chances went begging before they allowed their Cumbrian visitors to grab a late equalising goal".

    Manager Cowley said "Failing to get that second goal is our Achilles heel at present... We know it's tough at this level and you have to compete against teams like Barrow, who have now gone full-time and fresh money behind them, but for us to do so well for such long periods and then concede a poor goal so late on is really annoying. We played this game with a second attacker and I think our tactics paid off".

    and "Manager Dan Cowley confirmed after Saturday's match that defender Tom Dallison will return to Brighton and Hove Albion after his month's loan with the Iron expired at the weekend... Defender Matt Fry, who was carried off injured against Tranmere Rovers last month, said on Saturday he hopes to be back in full training within the next two to three weeks and then resume playing."

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    And the following Saturday, Alty visit Boreham Wood, from where NL Pitchero tells us that "Boreham Wood have signed free agent Joe Devera. Portsmouth signed Devera from Swindon Town in May 2013 on a two-year contract... and made sixty-six appearances for the club.

    Devera began his career with Barnet, where he went on to play 177 times as well as gaining experience in loan spells with Welwyn Garden City and Northwood".

    The Halifax Courier tells us that the Shaymen's manager "Neil Aspin accepts the pressure is on after his FC Halifax Town side lost 2-1 to West Yorkshire neighbours Guiseley. CJ Hamilton put Town into a deserved lead, but the hosts fought back with a goal in either half from Will Hatfield and a Liam Dickinson penalty.

    The defeat leaves Halifax with one win from their first 10 games, but Aspin wants his players to stay focused on their performances. 'We're in the bottom four and we need to get out of it,' he said. 'Of course there's pressure, there's pressure on me, but the players have got to try and relax and get on with playing the game. They can't worry about results, they've just got to try and get their performance levels right'...

    Aspin was satisfied with his team's display at Nethermoor, but said Matty Brown's rash tackle in conceding the penalty was a costly error. 'I'm very disappointed because I thought some of our play in the first 30 minutes was excellent,' he said. 'I thought we made some good chances, didn't take them, and then obviously we've not kept a clean sheet this season and again that's been a failure...

    "It was a mistake and that's cost us the game, a bad decision to go for a tackle in the box and at the moment when you're down at the bottom then those things go against you... I don't think for most of the game we looked like a bottom-of-the-table team...

    We haven't started well in games and tonight we did,' he said. 'It was a fantastic goal and I thought for 30 minutes CJ was absolutely tremendous'...

    Town started with a 3-5-2 formation, which Aspin felt worked well. He said, 'We've had four games away and in three of those we've conceded three goals so you've got to try something different.. It's difficult for anyone coming into our side at the moment with the position we're in but the young lads who are playing are doing a good job.'

    One of that back three was debutant Julian Banton, another Sheffield United loanee, who impressed the Town boss. 'When you take lads from under 21s some are not as physically made up as other lads in the league,' he said. 'But Julian is a physically strong lad and he showed his strength tonight'...

    He added, 'The statistics don't lie and if you've played 10 games and let in 20 goals then you know you haven't defended well and that has been the reason we're down there, there's no doubt about that'".


    16 September 2015

    ALTRINCHAM 1 EASTLEIGH 1

    Altrincham came within three minutes of defeating the ambitious visitors from Hampshire...

    Match report here.

    TUESDAY SCORES

    • Aldershot Town 1-0 Welling United
    • Altrincham 1-1 Eastleigh
    • Barrow 1-0 Lincoln City
    • Boreham Wood 2-3 Bromley
    • Cheltenham Town 2-0 Macclesfield Town
    • Chester FC 1-1 Grimsby Town
    • Dover Athletic 0-0 Braintree Town
    • Gateshead 2-1 Wrexham
    • Guiseley 2-1 FC Halifax Town
    • Kidderminster Harriers 2-2 Torquay United
    • Southport 2-2 Tranmere Rovers
    • Woking 2-1 Forest Green Rovers

    SUPPORTERS' TRAVEL TO LINCOLN

    TASC is running supporters' trasport to Sincil Bank for next Tuesday's game against Lincoln City. Details are here.

    LINCOLN CITY ARRANGEMENTS

    Lincoln City advise that on Tuesday next (22nd) when Altrincham are their opponents, "Visiting supporters to Sincil Bank Stadium will be housed in Stacey West Stand which is located at the north end of the stadium.

    Category Early Bird Match Day:

    • Adult £16 £18
    • Concession (60+ / disabled) £12 £13
    • Junior (under 18) £6 £7
    • Student (18-21 with valid photo ID) £6 £7

    Early Bird prices will be in operation until 4.00pm on the last working day before the day of the game (12 noon for Internet purchases). If you have any queries regarding ticket information please contact Dawn Cussens, Ticket Office Manager, on 01522 563781 or email dawn.cussens@redimps.com.

    Car Park Access:

    Access to the Stadium/Stacey West car park is via South Park Avenue. Sat Nav use postcode LN5 8EL.

    Match Day Programmes cost £3.00 each".

    FA YOUTH CUP TIE CONFIRMED

    FC United say that "The FA Youth Challenge Cup 1st Qualifying Round match against Altrincham Youth has been confirmed for Monday 21st September 2015, kick off 7.45pm. Admission will be by cash payment only at the turnstile (season tickets CANNOT be used for this match).
    • £5 Adults
    • £3 Concessions (Over 60s, students with a valid NUS card)
    • £1 Under 18s

    The function room bar will be open before the match, at half time and after the match with full facilities; alcoholic refreshments, teas and coffees, soft drinks and hot food. On sale will be a chicken curry and a vegetarian curry option from Kabana, as last week against Southport Youth."

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    According to the BBC "Aldershot Town have signed Fulham goalkeeper Andrew Dawber on a one-month loan deal. The 20-year-old will provide cover for Dan Thomas while Shots number one Phil Smith recovers from a groin strain. Dawber signed a one-year contract with Fulham this summer, joining their under-21 squad, after leaving League Two side Accrington Stanley.

    He made a total of six senior appearances for Stanley after making his first-team debut in 2012."

    Lower down the pyramid, BUlls' News reports that "Bath City's shareholders say they will have to seek alternative solutions to save the club after the Big Bath Bid raised only £300,000 of their £750,000 minimum target to take over the ailing side. The National South side have debts of £1.25 million, some of which are due to be repaid soon, and the shareholders will now open talks with other interested parties and creditors regarding the future of the club."


    15 September 2015

    EASTLEIGH INJURY CRISIS

    The BBC reported before Tuesday's match that "Eastleigh manager Richard Hill admits he has little idea what team he can name for his side's trip to Altrincham. Injuries and a sickness bug have decimated the Spitfires squad, leaving as many as eight players unavailable...

    'I really, really don't know where we'll be with which side I can play at Altrincham,' he told BBC Radio Solent. 'I'm going to have to play players who are half fit and others who aren't in the best physical condition either.'

    Eastleigh's list of absentees is headed by the suspended Ben Strevens... Goalkeepers Michael Poke and Ross Flitney are long-term injury absentees, while Andy Drury, Jamie Turley, Jack Midson and Dan Harding have all picked up knocks in training. Paul Reid has an infection in his leg which has required antibiotics and the defender may be admitted to hospital if his condition fails to improve.

    Hill is reluctant to use the loan market to help his crisis... He said, 'You have to sign the player for a month minimum, pay the wages. It has to be to strengthen the side'".

    As noted below, Altrincham continue to be severely depleted themselves.

    ALTRINCHAM v EASTLEIGH: MATCH COVERAGE

    Altrincham are hosts to Eastleigh on Tuesday, 15th September (7.45pm).

    You can follow the fixture via this website's minute by minute text updates by clicking on the icon below. Alternatively Radio Robins' coverage of the game is outlined below as well.

    updatesPC updatesMOBI radiorobins

    Brian Flynn advises that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, is providing full live commentary of Tuesday night's game at The J.Davidson Stadium. The commentators are Simon Ellis and Tim Ainsworth. The match summariser is Stewart James.

    Coverage starts at 7.40pm and you can listen to Radio Robins on the internet at http://www.radiorobins.com/

    The match preview will be available to watch via Periscope, which is a live video streaming App. Viewing of the match preview will be by a link on twitter from @altrinchamfc, which will be available as the broadcast starts at 7.40pm.

    Mike Garnett kindly provides details of our record against Eastleigh...

    • At Altrincham: P1-W0-D1-L0-F3-A3
    • Away: P1-W1-D0-L0-F2-A0
    • All: P2-W1-D1-L0-F5-A3

    Howard Watts's Through the Years records for today's date are here.

    BEFORE THE GAME: ALTRINCHAM v EASTLEIGH

    For Tuesday's game against Eastleigh, Altrincham are expected again to be without goalkeeper Stuart Coburn, winger Nicky Clee, central defender Tom Marshall and midfielder Josh O'Keefe, whilst Anthony Griffith left the club this week.

    Alex Sarwar adds that "Manager Lee Sinnott spoke about the upcoming game where he hopes Simon Richman will make an appearance. 'We’re hopeful that we’ll have Simon back for the game and Josh O’Keefe back for the Braintree match on Saturday but we can’t make any assurances as you know things could easily change... Eastleigh are another strong side with some very good players and yet another team in the top half that we’ll be playing at home. It’ll be another big examination for the players, but you play the eleven on the pitch and we believe that we can cause them problems and hopefully come out with the three points.'

    Be sure to come down to the J Davidson Stadium and support the lads as they aim to win their fourth consecutive home fixture".

    In the Daily Echo "Eastleigh manager Richard Hill ruefully surveyed his growing injury list and declared, 'In the last two-and-half years there has never been a better time to play Eastleigh'.

    The sixth-placed Spitfires hit the road to Greater Manchester tomorrow (Tuesday) looking to flush two straight Vanarama Conference National defeats out of their system against Altrincham. But there will be some notable absentees from the squad in the wake of Saturday’s crippling 2-1 home defeat by Gateshead.

    On-loan Portsmouth keeper Michael Poke is out for the foreseeable future with a shoulder injury sustained in trying to prevent the Heed’s first goal, while midfielder Ben Strevens has been hit with a three-match ban after being red-carded following an incident in the tunnel at half-time.

    To deepen Hill’s headache, skipper Paul Reid, who has been playing on with a deep gouge above his ankle, now has an infection in the wound and has begun a course of antibiotics. If those don’t work, he may need hospital treatment.

    Also definitely out is midfielder Andy Drury whose new baby girl arrived over the weekend, but he is still in discomfort from a tweaked groin picked up in training.

    Reid’s central defensive partner Jamie Turley is doubtful with a shin muscle problem that saw him subbed after 45 minutes on Saturday, as is ex-Saints' [Southampton] left-back Dan Harding who lasted only 20 minutes before succumbing to a sickness bug.

    With first-choice goalkeeper Ross Flitney still at least three weeks away from fitness, his young understudy Lewis Noice is due to play tomorrow and left-back Michael Green may fill in at centre-half. 'There’s also the option of a loan player, but I’m not prepared to go into the loan market just to fulfil a fixture', said Hill. 'I’d rather take a bit more time and get the right player. We’ll go to Altrincham and try and win the game, but it may mean a couple of players who are only 50 per cent fit sharing and playing half a game each. We're down to the bare bones'.

    Assistant manager Chris Todd will be on the bench and youngsters Tony Lee and Jack Alexander may also get the call".

    FA YOUTH CUP DATE

    FC United of Manchester report that "Supporters may wish to note that a date has provisionally been arranged for the upcoming FA Youth Cup 1st Qualifying Round tie against Altrincham Youth. This match is expected to be played at Broadhurst Park on Monday 21 September 2015, kick-off 7.45 p.m. Full details of this fixture will be advised/confirmed in the next few days."

    WREXHAM VIEW

    After Saturday's match, the Daily Post reports that "Wrexham AFC know better sides won't let them off the hook like Altrincham did. The Dragons are on the right track to success, but they'll need to be more ruthless when tougher tests arrive. Another home game, another win as Wrexham made it five successive victories at the Racecourse to kick off their season with a more than deserved 3-1 win over Altrincham on Saturday.

    Wrexham dominated throughout and in every aspect of the encounter... Yet while they were in control of the contest, and very really looked like losing, they will know this could have been such a vastly different story. Wrexham were on top, had the better of the early running, but then one slip at the back and needed to call upon Cameron Belford, the goalkeeper who has been a spectator for large spells throughout this season, to bail them out as James Lawrie beat the Dragons’ poorly executed offside trap.

    Belford was called into action again moments later to deny George Bowerman, while the left-sided player saw an effort seconds later cleared off the line by Robbie Evans as Altrincham sensed a route into the game. Up until then Wrexham had dominated, made all the early running and missed three very good chances to have taken the lead.

    Yet one error at the back and Altrincham were so close to being ahead. A gift of an opener was to come as Scott Leather put through his own goal, while Blaine Hudson doubled Wrexham’s advantage before the break... Yet Alty were soon given a lifeline as Jordan Sinnott was allowed far too much time and space to run from deep and pick out the ever alert Michael Rankine to fire into the roof of the net.

    It was a soft goal to give away, as decent as the finish was from Rankine, yet another effort to add to the growing list of avoidable ones conceded this season. Altrincham visibly grew in confidence at this stage, they had been under the pump[??] for so long yet all of a sudden were back in the contest, only a solitary goal behind and very much within touching distance of a share of the spoils...

    James Gray stepped up to slot home a vital third for the Dragons, just at a time as the visitors were starting to enjoy a little more possession and territory than perhaps they had deserved for their endeavour... This was a game that should have been out of sight early on, it was a game that should have been over with by half time, and it was a contest that certainly should not have been reignited by Rankine’s avoidable effort shortly after the interval".

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    The Dover Express informs us that "Long-serving defender Tom Wynter has been made available for transfer by Dover Athletic. The left-back, who has been at the club for more than five years, has found first-team opportunities limited this and last season, with Tyrone Sterling preferred at left-back and scooping two player of the year awards.

    New signing Aswad Thomas is also a left-back and Wynter has often found himself on the bench and reduced to only substitute appearances, making three of them this season. He joined the club from Gillingham in 2010 and played 28 times in the 2014/15 season".

    Kidderminster Harriers report that "Tim Flowers has confirmed that defender Andrew Fox has returned to Peterborough United following the expiry of his month’s loan at Aggborough. The talented left-back has enjoyed a good, busy month with Harriers since making his debut in the home game against Wrexham in August. He’ll now head back to the Posh to try and force his way back in to the first-team picture.

    Flowers commented, 'Barry Fry had said that if anything happens to the first-choice left-back at Peterborough then [Fox] is the next one in, so wanted to get some football in to him'".

    ASHTON REPORT

    Ashton Athletic report that "Athletic 18s faced a tough test this afternoon against Altrincham, which in the end saw them come through with flying colours. Before today Altrincham, were unbeaten and it turned out to be a real contest for the Young Yellows, as 2nd played 3rd.

    The setting at Hale Country Club and Spa was superb and the Cheshire set surely have an excellent facility to be proud of. Unfortunately, the hospitality wasn't extended to their visitors, but that's another story. [Actually, the Club and Spa are not open to Altrincham FC either].

    The game was played at a high tempo... with two top sides working hard. Altrincham took the lead with a contentious goal, as Lewis Goulding made a great save down to his left, dragging the ball away from the line. Unfortunately the linesman said the ball had crossed the line, and gave the score, despite not being level with play.

    Ashton got on with it and continued to work hard. Just before half time they evened it up with a superb goal from Jaime Charnock, who deftly chipped the keeper, after a great assist from Charlie Middlemore. The second half saw plenty of changes from the Ashton coach, which helped to strengthen an already dominant team.

    The quality of play from both sides even had the Cheshire set sat up in their elevated view from the spa/swimming pool, as the away side took control.

    Ashton always looked the stronger unit and, inevitably, as the game went on there was only going to be one winner. Dec McLoughlin got more and more involved with his quality and got us the second goal. We took a well deserved lead, 2-1 to Ashton. Once that second goal went in, we always looked like we could score more and the third was a great finish once again by No. 9 Charnock, from the assist by Alex Ashby, again working tirelessly for the team.

    Although Altrincham tried hard to get back on terms they couldn't match the desire of the Ashton lads to hold on. A penalty awarded looked a certain game changer, but Goulding saved down to his right to keep the scores as they were. The last 10 minutes had the heart rates sky high, especially with a disallowed goal from Altrincham, heavily disputed by the home contingent, but we held on and bagged the 3 points...

    Well done to all the players once again for a superb display, that takes us to the top of the league!"

    FA CUP

    The FA Cup draw for Saturday, September 26th includes the following ties which include northern National League sides (capitalised)...
    • CHORLEY v Frickley Athletic
    • Salford City or Whitby Town v CURZON ASHTON
    • Workington v HARROGATE TOWN
    • Kendal Town v STALYBRIDGE CELTIC
    • FC UNITED of MANCHESTER v Witton Albion
    • HYDE UNITED v Northwich Victoria
    • Consett v BRADFORD PARK AVENUE
    • AFC FYLDE v STOCKPORT COUNTY
    • Newton Aycliffe v NORTH FERRIBY UNITED
    • Holbeach United or Stourport Swifts v WORCESTER CITY
    • Halesowen Town v NUNEATON TOWN
    • Kettering Town v AFC TELFORD UNITED
    • GAINSBOROUGH TRINITY v BOSTON UNITED
    • CORBY TOWN v Shepshed Dynamo or Rushall Olympic
    • SOLIHULL MOORS v Oadby Town
    • HEDNESFORD TOWN v Holwell Sports or Bedworth United
    • TAMWORTH v ALFRETON TOWN

    14 September 2915

    ANTHONY GRIFFITH DEPARTS

    Altrincham FC confirms that "Due to an ongoing hip problem, Anthony Griffith has been forced to retire from professional football forthwith. Following advice from the PFA, an agreement has been reached on settling his contract".

    Since joining Altrincham in the summer, the midfielder has played just five minutes of football for the club, as a late substitute against Tranmere Rovers.

    WREXHAM 3 ALTRINCHAM 1

    Match report here

    There are video highlights of the game here.

    Brian Flynn interviewed Lee Sinnott, following yesterday's 3-1 defeat at Wrexham. It can be heard here.

    Yesterday's Radio Robins commentary can be heard here.

    DISAPPOINTMENT FOR YOUTH TEAM

    Above: Alty Youth's Callum Fisher (3) clears as Harry Dulson (5) and keeper Daniel Havern look on.

    Altrincham FC Youth surrendered three points on Sunday as they lost 1-3 at home to Ashton Athletic, who have now gone to the top of the table. There is a report here. Other results today were..

    • PRESCOT CABLES 1 - 1 SKELMERSDALE UNITED YOUTH
    • WEST DIDSBURY & CHORLTON 2 - 0 CURZON ASHTON

    NEXT OPPONENTS: EASTLEIGH

    Eastleigh visit Altrincham on Tuesday. Gateshead "manager Malcolm Crosby was thrilled as his side ended Eastleigh’s unbeaten home record with a 2-1 victory at Ten Acres. Danny Johnson gave the Heed a 20th-minute lead in the Hampshire sunshine, beating goalkeeper Michael Poke to a loose ball only to injure himself in the process.

    Matty Pattison doubled the visitors’ advantage as his cross from the left flank dropped in at the back post, before the hosts’ Ben Strevens was dismissed for his part in a half-time altercation. Eastleigh rallied late on, and halved the deficit through Simon Ramsden’s unfortunate own-goal on 79 minutes...

    Crosby said, 'To go down to Eastleigh and pick up three points was fantastic. They were unbeaten at home going into the game, and I can’t praise the players enough for the performance. We should have been more than two goals up at half-time, but all credit to Eastleigh in the second-half, they had a real go at us'".

    The Daily Echo reports that "It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. Richard Hill’s third anniversary as Eastleigh boss should have been a day of celebration at the Silverlake. Instead the season's best 'community' crowd of 3,264 were left flat and somewhat bewildered by a truly bizarre game of football.

    Two freakish first-half goals sent the Spitfires tumbling to a 2-1 defeat by Gateshead. Not only did it bring their unbeaten home record to a premature end, but it was the first time for two-and-a-half years that they had tasted back-to-back league defeats. Adding to their woes was a shoulder injury to on-loan Portsmouth’ keeper Michael Poke, picked up in conceding the first goal and disadvantaging him for the second, and a red card dished out to experienced midfielder Ben Strevens following a half-time bust-up in the tunnel...

    Hill reflected, 'A couple of early decisions went against us and we let it affect us. On another day we might have expected a penalty and perhaps been a couple goals up before we conceded.' Following a misunderstanding with defender Jamie Turley, Poke hurt his shoulder as he tried in vain to prevent Danny Johnson getting a 20th-minute shot away. Johnson’s effort went in off the far post but the goalscorer was in no fit state to celebrate, needing lengthy treatment after colliding with the ’keeper before being stretchered off.

    Poke played on in clear discomfort and soon signalled to the bench that he needed to come off. Young understudy Lewis Noice was readied, but the Spitfires couldn’t get him on the pitch before Pattison’s hopeful left-wing cross was deflected into the far top corner on 34 minutes.

    Hill, who had already replaced unwell ex-Saint Dan Harding with Michael Green, said, 'I don’t think even a fit goalkeeper would have stopped it, but I’d informed the fourth official we wanted to make a substitution when the ball went out of play and he said the referee couldn’t hear him. Jai Reason’s had a shot cleared off the line, it’s hit the post and gone straight into the keeper’s hands. It was that sort of day. I didn’t see what happened in the tunnel at half-time, but the ref said he saw everything and chose to send Ben Strevens off'...

    Hill reflected, 'That’s two games running that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I had to make two substitutions pretty early and was limited for what I could do for the rest of the game. I thought at times we were still pleasing on the eye but we didn't have enough punch in the final third. Back-to-back defeats won't kill our season'...

    The Spitfires now face two away tests at Altrincham on Tuesday and Chester on Saturday.

    Eastleigh: Michael Poke (Lewis Noice, 35), Joe Partington, Dan Harding (Michael Green, 21), Josh Payne, Paul Reid, Jamie Turley (Will Evans, 46), Ben Strevens, Jai Reason, James Constable, Jack Midson, Yemi Odubade. Subs: Ross Lafayette, Lee Cook.

    WREXHAM'S MANAGER'S OPINION

    The Daily Post informs us that "Gary Mills was delighted to get another three points on the board for Wrexham, and keep alive their 100% home record following a win over Altrincham, but reiterated the fact his side need to find an air of ruthlessness about them.

    Wrexham yet again dominated proceedings, and could have gone ahead inside the opening 10 minutes, however, Altrincham were gifted three glorious chances in quick succession shortly after as the game threatened to open up. Jamie Lawrie beat a poorly executed offside trap to race through on Cameron Belford, the keeper standing up to deflect the effort away, before the stopper was called into action to deny George Bowerman moments later, the forward then seeing an effort cleared off the line by Robbie Evans from the resulting corner.

    Mills’s men did take the lead on the 20 minute mark, a Connor Jennings through ball was intercepted by Scott Leather only for his intervention to loop over Tim Deasy and nestle in the back of the net.

    Wrexham then missed a succession of chances to have doubled their lead before Blaine Hudson, recalled to the starting XI since the opening day loss at Bromley, headed home Dominic Vose’s free kick just before the break...

    The Dragons should have been out of sight at this point, yet were way too open on the counterattack as Michael Rankine slotted home Jordan Sinnott’s pass to pull one back for the visitors five minutes after the restart.

    James Gray did restore the Dragons two goal cushion to calm any nerves, yet Mills accepts the game should have been put to bed much earlier.

    'I think the game could have been over at half time,' said the Dragons chief. 'They might disagree a little bit, they had a one-on-one, it was poor defending from us, but I think generally we could have gone three or four, maybe even five up at half time with better finishing. This is what I am talking about the ruthless side, but we finished with three, and a lot of clubs could be saying that. Let’s not think that every chance you create you are going to score, but if we create like we did then we are going to score goals, and we have scored three, so that is good for any team to be honest.'

    Mills added...'We didn’t come out second half and they started slightly better. We were too open for their goal, there is no doubt about that, and it put us on our back foot for a while, but we got the goal back quickly which was important...

    I know big Ranks (Rankine), I’ve had Ranks at three of my clubs and he is always liable to put himself about and get a goal and he has done that, and it has put us on or back foot for a bit'".


    13 September 2015

    WREXHAM 3 ALTRINCHAM 1

    Match report here

    Right: Michael Rankine rises highest for this corner-ball at Wrexham.

    RESERVES WIN

    Altrincham FC Reserves won 2-0 on Saturday at home (Egerton Youth Club) against Tarporley Victoria. The goal scorers were Shaun Arrowsmith and Paul Williams. The win moves them up to fourth on the same points as the third-placed team but with inferior goal difference.

    NL PAPER

    The NL Paper previews its Sunday issue, saying "We get Altrincham legend Graham Heathcote and son Sam together for a family album picture to mark the teenager’s dream debut goal for the Robins [a week] last Saturday".

    DRAGONS' VIEW

    Wrexham report that they got "back to winning ways after a comfortable home victory against Altrincham. It was Wrexham who dominated this game at a sunny Racecourse from the off... The Reds’ continued to mark their dominance, with Wes York causing real havoc on the right-wing. Wrexham might have scored earlier if someone could have connected with his endless supply.

    Altrincham weren’t completely out of the game themselves and almost took the leader when James Lawrie broke through the Wrexham defence, with only a great save from Cameron Belford denying him.

    It wasn’t long before Wrexham finally scored however, captain Connor Jennings stormed through the middle and his powerful pass deflected off Jake Moult [actually Scott Leather] and left Tim Deasy merely spectating as the ball looped over his head and into the net.

    Wrexham... could have had another if it wasn’t for keeper Deasy pulling off a superb range of saves to deny James Gray and Dom Vose. With the half-time whistle looming closer Wrexham decided to treat the home fans to a moment of relief, when Blaine Hudson powered a header home...

    Altrincham found their way back into the game straight after the second half whistle blew. Michael Rankine fired the ball into the roof of the next from close range after a precise through ball from Sinnott.

    Last season Wrexham let a two-goal lead slip at home against Alty and lost 3-2. A lot has changed since then however, and it turned out to be only a minor blip on an otherwise good performance... The two-goal cushion was restored. In-form James Gray finally found the back of the net from close range...

    In the end Wrexham got the win they deserved, they might have to up their game against some opponents".

    ALTY'S NEXT OPPONENTS

    Altrincham's next opponents are Eastleigh, who visit the J. Davidson stadium on Tuesday night (7.45pm).

    Gateshead report that they "recorded their most impressive victory of the season so far by seeing off Eastleigh in an incident-packed encounter at Ten Acres.

    Goals from Danny Johnson and Matty Pattison, both in peculiar circumstances, had given the Heed a commanding advantage against the second-placed Spitfires at the break. Their cause was then given an unexpected boost heading into the second-half, as the hosts’ Ben Strevens was given his marching orders for his part in a confrontation in the tunnel during the interval.

    Their backs to the wall, Eastleigh rallied late on but, despite pulling one back through Simon Ramsden’s unfortunate own-goal, they failed to deny the Tynesiders a fourth win on the road this campaign.

    Looking to bounce back from last Saturday’s disappointing defeat at Bromley, Gateshead began brightly in the Hampshire sunshine... The returning Malcolm Crosby did not have to wait long to see his side get their noses in front, however.

    On 20 minutes, Johnson capitalised on a mix-up between Eastleigh duo Jamie Turley and Michael Poke to find the far corner of the net via the woodwork. The frontman was stretchered off just seconds later, however, having collided with ‘keeper Poke in the build-up.

    Despite that setback, the Tynesiders continued to make all of the running, and deservedly doubled their advantage after the half-hour mark, as Pattison’s cross from the left flank caught out Poke and dropped in at the back post.

    The Eastleigh stopper was then substituted after picking up an injury of his own, with deputy Lewis Noice doing well to deny Rob Ramshaw a third for the Heed on 41 minutes.

    Moments before his bizarre sending-off, Strevens had stung the palms of Gateshead ‘keeper Sam Russell with a vicious effort from range...

    But, with nothing to lose, Eastleigh began to throw bodies forward as time progressed... And the hosts were rewarded for their endeavour ten minutes from time, when Joe Partington’s 20 yard effort flew into the back of the net after clipping Ramsden en route...

    Eastleigh: Poke (Noice, 35), Partington, Turley (Evans, 46), Reid, Odubade, Payne, Constable, Reason, Midson, Strevens, Harding (Green, 21)".

    NEW ALTY MUGS

    Gavin Rathbone has produced a 2015-16 season Alty mug incorporating the club's fixtures (see right). The mug costs £7 and is available from Tuesday night from the Club Shop.

    VANARAMA NATIONAL GATES

    • Att: 710 Braintree Town v Barrow
    • 955 Bromley v Macclesfield Town
    • 2021 Cheltenham Town v Dover Athletic
    • 2264 Eastleigh v Gateshead
    • 1128 FC Halifax Town v Kidderminster Harriers
    • 1535 Forest Green Rovers v Southport
    • 3869 Grimsby Town v Aldershot Town
    • 643 Guiseley v Woking
    • 2272 Lincoln City v Boreham Wood
    • 7433 Tranmere Rovers v Chester FC
    • 659 Welling United v Torquay United
    • 4628 Wrexham v Altrincham

    12 September 2015

    WREXHAM 3 ALTRINCHAM 1

    With an injury weakened side (Clee, Richman, Griffith, Marshall and O'Keefe were missing and Havern only fit to start on the bench), Alty gave a decent account of themselves against an impressive Wrexham...

    Match report here.

    SATURDAY, 12th SEPTEMBER

    • Braintree Town 1-1 Barrow
    • Bromley 1-0 Macclesfield Town
    • Cheltenham Town 3-2 Dover Athletic
    • Eastleigh 1-2 Gateshead
    • FC Halifax Town 1-1 Kidderminster Harriers
    • Forest Green Rovers 2-1 Southport
    • Grimsby Town 4-1 Aldershot Town
    • Guiseley 4-4 Woking
    • Lincoln City 3-1 Boreham Wood
    • Tranmere Rovers 2-0 Chester FC
    • Welling United 1-1 Torquay United
    • Wrexham 3-1 Altrincham

    WREXHAM v ALTRINCHAM: MATCH COVERAGE

    Altrincham are away to Wrexham on Saturday, 12th September (3pm).

    You can follow the fixture via this website's minute by minute text updates by clicking on the icon below. Alternatively Radio Robins' coverage of the game is outlined below as well.

    updatesPC updatesMOBI radiorobins

    Brian Flynn advises that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, is providing full live commentary of Saturday's game at Wrexham. The match commentary sponsor is SKkits, a major independent sports brand in the North West, supplying Altrincham and a further 8 leading semi-pro clubs including Warrington Town, Buxton, Kendal Town and Lancaster City.

    SKkits is a well established company, owned and run by Ian Senior, with a reputation for supplying high class products at unbelievably low prices to sports clubs the length and breadth of the UK and, due to their unique relationship with their suppliers, they guarantee that they will not be beaten on price and service. All products are delivered within 14 days of order FREE OF CHARGE to mainland UK. Have a look at their website or call Ian Senior directly on 07960 137232.

    The commentators are Joe Barry and Niall Flynn and the match summariser is Paul Salt. Coverage starts at 2.55pm.

    ANDY PARRY INTERVIEW

    Brian Flynn interviewed loanee defender Andy Parry after Saturday's win over Cheltenham Town. It can be heard here.

    BEFORE THE GAME: BOTH SIDES' VIEWS

    "Alex Sarwar spoke to manager Lee Sinnott who gave us an injury update ahead of the game including potential good news for centre back Gianluca Havern.

    Today Altrincham are back on the road in the Vanarama National League as we travel to the Racecourse Ground to play Wrexham. 'Hopefully we’ll have Luca back for part of the Wrexham game, we’ll have to see what part that is. Hopefully against Eastleigh we’ll have Simon Richman back and hopefully next Saturday we’ll have Josh O’Keefe back.

    'It’s always a plate spinning exercise being a part-time club. We have to cut our cloth accordingly and it’s been a challenge having so many players injured, considering our squad is already small. But the players know that if we can just work through this situation we find ourselves in, then the picture will look different for us once we get three or four bodies back in the squad.'

    The Robins came out on top against Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground last season in a thrilling game and Sinnott will be hoping for the same points return this time around. 'It was a bizarre game last season to say the least, but we’ve won there before and know what to expect from Gary Mills and his team. We know what kind of football he likes to play and how he sets up, so it’s vital that we use the ball well when we have it, plus we keep our shape when we don’t have the ball. But there is no reason why we can’t ask them questions.

    'We know we need to start putting points on the board in our away fixtures. We’ve given ourselves a platform with our home form and it’s vital that we now use that to kick on away from home and put ourselves in a strong position in the league. While certain things haven’t gone our way on the road, that’ll change eventually so we’re looking forward to the challenge that we face'”.

    The Leader reports that "Gary Mills could be forced into two changes against Altrincham at The Racecourse but the Reds' boss expects whoever comes into the side to step up to the plate. Mills has named the same side for the last six games but right-back Javan Vidal picked up a hamstring injury in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Lincoln City while midfielder Adriano Moke hasn’t trained this week because of a tooth problem.

    'If Javan is injured then there is going to be a change there,', said Mills, who could turn to Mark Carrington or Liam Walsh. 'We are going to leave it till the last minute but, obviously, we won't take risks, I have got two or three options and it gives somebody an opportunity. We haven’t seen Adriano all week because he has had a problem with his teeth which has made him very ill so he might be a doubt and someone else will get a chance there if that’s the case. We are not going to be a team that doesn’t get any problems like that through till April, we have to address it and the players that come in when need be know exactly what their jobs are'.

    Wrexham boast a 100 per cent home record and, although he isn’t getting complacent, Mills has his sights on a sixth successive Racecourse win.. 'Any successful side wins their home games and complements that with points away', said Mills... 'We have got to continue to make The Racecourse a difficult place to come. But winning games and picking up points is not just going to happen and the danger is that people think that. I have got to make sure I do my job and the players go out tomorrow knowing that we will hopefully win the game if we do our jobs well and we work hard. Altrincham have had a couple of good wins but we have got to continue our form. It is about us, it is about what we do'".

    Later, the same source reported that "Gary Mills confirmed Javan Vidal is a definite absentee for Saturday’s visit of Altrincham... Mills also confirmed Adriano Moke would be in contention for the match after returning to training on Friday after having an infected tooth removed earlier in the week... Mark Carrington played at right-back for the reserves in midweek, while the boss also suggested Manny Smith could move out to the right with Blaine Hudson starting at centre-half.

    'I have got options there, we have got two or three options', said Mills. 'I think Jav might be back for Tuesday (at Gateshead), he is very, very close to being fit, but with hamstrings you have to be very careful. The options are that Carra played there in the reserves the other day, Manny could step in there which would mean Blaine coming in at centre-half'... Another potential option would be to use forward Connor Jennings at right-back, something Mills eluded [i.e. alluded] to in the immediate aftermath of the Sincil Bank stalemate.

    Jennings played at left-back in pre-season at Gresford Athletic, and Mills was genuine in adding it was another option open to him. Mills added, 'Seriously, he (Jennings) is a good player and good players can play anywhere, and that is why I feel he could fill in there. I know we have had a joke about it this week between us but if I said to him tomorrow there you go, that is where you are playing I know what I would get from him. He would be another option for me, but I don’t think he has slept two or three nights thinking about that but you’ll have to wait and see what I decide on'".

    And the Daily Post states that "Altrincham... visit the Racecourse on Saturday while the Dragons will be looking to get back to winning games after picking up a solitary point on their travels from their last two games...

    It is a disappointing fact that Wrexham have lead {i.e.led] twice in their last two games, yet their efforts have yielded only a solitary point... Mills suggested in the week Wrexham need to be more ruthless and kill sides off when in control... Wrexham seem incapable of keeping a clean sheet at present and, if they are a bit jittery at the back, then they need to make it count more at the other end, and kill sides off when they have control of games...

    Javan Vidal is a big loss for Wrexham... Liam Walsh is potentially the only recognised right-back within the ranks at present, the youngster performing well in pre-season run outs, while Ross White is still on the road to recovery following an ankle injury. Mark Carrington himself is searching match fitness after finally shaking off a groin injury, and has played a lot at right-back for the Dragons, including a run out for the reserves in midweek...

    While Mills does like to work with a smaller squad than most managers, he has built a group of players with a huge amount of versatility which could be vital as the season progresses. Fours wins from a possible four at home has seen the Racecourse turn into something of a fortress for the Dragons this season, a facet that has been sadly missing for the past couple of terms as Wrexham dealt with mid-table mediocrity".

    More from the Leader includes a report that "Sean Newton believes teams fear coming to The Racecourse and Wrexham have got to continue to take advantage of that!... Left back Newton admits he wouldn't like to be an opponent facing Gary Mills's side.

    'That’s exactly what it is at the minute, a fortress,' said Newton. 'Teams maybe used to like coming here to play because it's a nice stadium and nice pitch in front of a few thousand fans. But if I was playing against Wrexham, I wouldn't want to be coming here because you are not going to kick the ball and you have got 5,500 fans rooting for their team. It is not a nice play [i.e. place] to come if you are the opposition. We have got a fantastic home record so hopefully that can continue.'

    Wrexham are the joint second highest scorers in the division, with 10 of their 16 goals coming at home... 'I think teams show us a lot more respect at our place,', said Newton... 'Teams give us time on the ball when we are at home and it is only a matter of time before we hurt them. We have been hurting teams early which has helped us. Apart from Welling we have scored quite early and then teams have to come at us, and that is when we punish them the most. I think getting the early goal has helped us massively at home...

    For some reason people think they've played against the gaffer’s old teams like Gateshead and it is just pretty football, they don't go anywhere,' said Newton. 'I don't understand that because, whenever I have played against the gaffer’s old teams, you don't get the ball, and you can be 2-0 down... With the players we have got in the front three, midfield and with me and Javan Vidal getting forward, it's impossible not to hurt teams with the quality we have got'.

    Wrexham go into tomorrow's game on the back of Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Lincoln City... Lincoln's direct style of play caused problems but Newton was pleased with a point... 'I think a lot of teams will go to Lincoln and struggle to get all three points because of what they do', said Newton".

    FA YOUTH CUP

    Altrincham FC Youth are away to FC United of Manchester Youth in the FA Youth Cup in the week commencing 21 September. The winners of that tie will away to either Hebburn Town (Tyne & Wear) or Workington Youth.

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    Kidderminster Harriers report on "details of a restructure of the first team management at the club after a positive week of discussions at Aggborough...

    After a difficult beginning to the current season, the Board and Directors and management team have reviewed its options over the last week and believe that a certain level of reorganisation is required. Effective immediately, Tim Flowers will take up the position of Head Coach of the first team. Tim’s remit will cover work on the training ground throughout the week as well as team selection and management. Meanwhile, Gary Whild will assume a role of Head of Football Operations.

    Gary will retain an extensive involvement in first-team affairs both during the week and on match days, working closely with Tim and the team, as well as taking charge of other aspects within the club, including player recruitment and scouting. It has also been agreed, by mutual consent, that Mark Creighton will leave the club...

    Reflecting on today’s changes, Chairman, Rod Brown, commented, 'We’ve worked incredibly hard this week to find the best way to get the most out of what we have here and how we can best allow those who are here to do their job to the best of their ability. For me, Gary retaining a substantial interest in team affairs was of absolute paramount importance. You only have to spend a short time with him to learn about his knowledge of the game and it was crucial this wasn’t lost but I think the change to his role will also energise and excite him.

    Tim has an unquestionable reputation within the game and his experience is second to none, and I know all of the players respect that and enjoy learning from him'...

    With regards to Creighton’s departure, the Chairman added, 'We felt that this was the best decision for us at this time but, perhaps more importantly, the best one for Mark as well. He has worked incredibly hard here but it’s going to be good for him to find other opportunities within the game and he’ll go and do that with our very best wishes'.

    Following the conclusion of these discussions, the Chairman also confirmed that, after dialogue with the former Coventry manager, it would not be in best interests of the management team, in light of the above changes, for Steven Pressley to join the club in an advisory capacity, noting that the timing is best suited to those presently at Aggborough being able to focus 100% on their duties.

    Rod concluded, 'We were explicit in what we said in the summer when we talked about how difficult this season was going to be and with the restraints we were working under. What’s important now is for everyone at the club and for all of our supporters to solidify and get together in their backing of Tim, Gary and the team,for the future of the club'”.

    According to the National League, "Southport have taken young defender Ben Davies on a month`s loan from Preston North End... his one appearance for Preston this season coming as a substitute against Crewe Alexandra in the Capital One Cup last month.

    The 20-year-old academy graduate has previously had loan spells with York City and Tranmere Rovers. After starting last season as Preston's first-choice left-back, Davies’s progress has stalled somewhat".

    On The Wirral, "Midfielder Adam Dawson has joined Tranmere Rovers on a three-month loan from rivals Kidderminster Harriers... Bury-born Dawson left his home-town club to join Liverpool aged 14 for a reported fee of £100,000 before signing his first professional contract with Wigan Athletic. He joined Leicester City in 2013 and had a loan spell with Bristol Rovers at the end of last season".

    FC Halifax Town "have announced the signing of 19 year old Julian Banton from Sheffield United on a month's loan. Banton, who will wear squad number 37, joins the Shaymen and will link up with two other loanees from Bramhall Lane as David Brooks and CJ Hamilton joined the Club on loan at the end of August. He had a loan spell with Bradford Park Avenue last season and has also had a loan spell with Matlock Town."

    We read in the Gloucester Citizen that "Former Forest Green Rovers player Andrew Taylor has been jailed for seven years and six months for the manslaughter of a Liverpool police officer. Taylor, 29, was jailed alongside co-defendant Timmy Donovan, 30, who was given a term of six years and 10 months". Taylor was also at Vauxhall Motors and has played against Altrincham.

    In the Daily Echo, we learn that "When Richard Hill took his first game in charge of Eastleigh, he oversaw a 4-2 victory over Maidenhead United in front of 506 Silverlake Stadium crowd. On Saturday there could well be four times that number converging on Stoneham Lane as Hill marks his third anniversary as manager with a top-five showdown against Gateshead...

    Given the Spitfires’ meteoric progress under Hill, it’s wholly appropriate that his milestone day should be celebrated with one of, if not the, biggest crowd of the season as the club opens its doors for another ‘community fixture'...

    Reflecting on his time at Eastleigh, Hill, who had spent the bulk of his career assisting the likes of John Gregory and Andy Hessenthaler in the Football League, said, 'It’s flown by quite quick, but it does when you’re having fun. I still believe that when Stewart (Donald, chairman) appointed me, it was a brave decision. He could have gone with a ‘horses for courses’ manager, one that was fully versed with this level of football at the time. I’d just come back from Kazakhstan and Stew could have gone for an easy choice, but he didn’t'...

    'Our fans are always saying access to Stoneham Lane isn’t big enough now and you wouldn’t have imagined that three years ago!' smiled Hill. 'For the club to reach this level of support in such a short space of time is quite a story and look at the squad we've got. A supporter said to me not long ago that he pinches himself looking at the calibre of player we've got... We've had a lot of fun in three years and we need to try and make sure it carries on that way'".


    11 September 2015

    TIM TALKS

    Alex Sarwar writes, "Due to Stuart Coburn’s injury suffered at Dover Athletic, new summer signing Tim Deasy has been forced to step up in goal for the Robins.

    Filling shoes as big as Stuart’s was never going to be an easy task for Deasy but speaking to the vastly experienced keeper, it’s been a challenge he’s taken on with relish. 'I was disappointed I didn’t start the season but, considering how long Stu’s been here and everything he’s done for the club, it was fully understandable. I’ve had to bide my time and wait for my turn but I’ve worked hard to be ready to step up when needed and hopefully I can take my chance.

    'Me and Stu have pushed each other hard since I joined the club and he started the season really well. Now I need to keep up the high standard that he’s set before his injury'.

    Deasy’s first game was against Tranmere Rovers back in August at the J Davidson stadium. Since then he’s appeared against Southport and Cheltenham Town and knows just how capable the team can be on their day. 'It was a great experience to play my first game in front of such a large crowd. It spurred me and lads on and it showed what we can achieve when we all play as a team to a high standard. Since then we’ve followed it up against Cheltenham and now we need to take this momentum into our away games.

    'If the luck had swung more in our favour then we might not have suffered the results we have against Southport, Dover and Guiseley. But we need to forget about it now and make our own luck away from home. We’re looking onwards and upwards and are determined to start taking points on the road to go with our home form'".

    TICKETS AND TRAVEL FOR WREXHAM GAME

    Altrincham are away at Wrexham this coming Saturday.

    A £2 discount on matchday prices at Wrexham can be obtained by purchasing in advance, here. Tickets ordered in advance can be collected at the ground before kick off.

    To ease your travel concerns, TASC is running supporters' transport to Wrexham. Details are here. As usual please book via the Club on 0161 928-1045 during normal office hours.

    ALTY'S FA YOUTH CUP OPPONENTS DETERMINED

    Altrincham's FA Youth Cup opponents were determined in a preliminary round match on Wednesday. FC United of Manchester report that their "youth team hit Southport for six when they advanced into the First Round Qualifying of the FA Youth Cup with a comprehensive 6-2 win over their Merseyside opponents at Broadhurst Park on 9 September.

    A hat trick from Cameron Horner, two goals from Jack Tinning and one from Keenan Tuck did the damage as a rampant FC United side won their first ever home tie in the FA’s premier competition for youth sides. The 294 supporters who turned up to watch were rewarded with an eight-goal thriller and some quite scintillating forward play by Rhodri Giggs’s side.

    Urged to set a high tempo from the start the Reds exceeded expectations, scoring after just 18 seconds... It was 2-0 little more than five minutes later as Horner scored his second...

    Southport recovered from that initial blast and began to pose a threat of their own. They had much of the possession for the rest of the half but the home defence dealt capably...

    The second half started in the same manner as the first as Horner completed his hat-trick inside a minute and Jack Tinning made it 4-0 with not much more than five minutes played. That seemed to be enough to close the game... Southport had other ideas though as Tom Grimshaw scored direct from a corner kick and Leon Townley broke clear of a hesitant defence to make it 4-2.

    That livened up the visiting support and it seemed that we might have been in for a nervous last few minutes but somehow we should have known better. Tinning got his second and United’s fifth with a free kick from the corner of the box... Horner turned provider in the closing minutes as he bamboozled a Southport defender in the right corner and ran in to cross. Keenan Tuck was on hand to supply the finish.

    The draw for the First Round Qualifying stage of the competition has already been made and sees FC take on Altrincham at home, so the youth team will have another night under lights at Broadhurst Park to look forward to. The match will be played in the week beginning 21 September".

    FIRST CLASS DUNCAN

    The Daily Mail reports that former Alty forward, "Duncan Watmore has become only the second Premier League player to collect first-class honours degree. Former Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds and Bradford defender David Wetherall was the first...

    The Sunderland forward has already been celebrating this season with goals on his Premier League and League Cup debuts but made it a hat-trick when he picked up the results for his economics and business management degree on Thursday afternoon... Watmore, 21, has been studying for the degree at Newcastle University while coming through Sunderland’s academy. Last season, he won the Under-21 Premier League Player of the Year award.

    He was revising for exams while playing for England Under-20s in the Toulon Tournament this summer. The University allowed him to postpone his final two exams due to the tournament, which he then completed in July. Watmore took his studies wherever he has played, starting at Manchester University while playing for non-League Altrincham, where he was nicknamed the ‘Ginger Messi’ by fans for his performances, switching to Newcastle when he was picked up by Sunderland and his books travelled with him to Edinburgh Library when he went on loan to Hibernian last year.

    Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat described Watmore as a ‘natural goalscorer’ at the end of last season and has handed him a chance this campaign. He has produced two goals in three matches. It earned him a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s recent England Under 21 side, where he set up James Wilson on his debut for the winner against USA Under 23s. After picking up his results, Watmore will return straight back to training with Sunderland and hopes to be in contention to face Tottenham on Sunday".

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    The National League tells us that "Woking have taken Scottish under-19 international striker Harry Cardwell on a month's loan from Reading. Reading paid Hull City £75,000 for the then 16-year-old Cardwell in the summer of 2013 after he had impressed for the Tigers during their run to the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals".

    Also from the National League we learn that "Macclesfield Town have announced that experienced goalkeeper Shwan Jalal has signed a new deal which will see him stay with the club until the New Year. The Iraqi international keeper has been in great form since his arrival at the Moss Rose last month, having featured in all but two of the Silkmen's games so far this season.

    The former Woking, AFC Bournemouth and Northampton man marked his home debut with man-of-the-match display and saved a penalty to help John Askey's ten-men to a draw with Southport and has been a consistent performer for the side so far this term".

    "Under New FA Guidelines, Welling United's Sahr Kabba has been charged by the Football Association for allegedly exaggerating or feigning an injury which directly led to an opponent being dismissed. The incident happened in Welling’s home fixture against Tranmere Rovers screened live on BT Sport on Saturday, September 5th. The player has until 6pm on September 11th to respond.

    The FA introduced this new policy prior to the beginning of this season", reports the National League.

    Meanwhile, also according to the National League "Aldershot Town have extended the loan of Preston North End left-back Nick Anderton until Wednesday, 7th October. The 19-year-old has made four appearances for the Shots since joining on August 10th, and will now be available for a further seven matches".

    Off the field, the chairman of the National League, Brian Barwick, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Buckinghamshire New University in recognition of his extensive career in sport and broadcasting. Barwick, who held the position of Chief Executive of the FA from 2005-2008... was also involved in the appointment of the national team's senior coaches on two occasions.

    The distinguished football figure accepted his Honorary Doctorate at... the Wycombe Swan Theatre. Barwick was appointed chairman of the National League this summer and also took up a position as an FA Councillor" states the National League.


    10 September 2015

    SATURDAY'S REFEREE

    On Saturday for Wrexham v Altrincham the referee will be Mr Wayne Barratt of Halesowen, Worcestershire. His previous games involving Alty include:
    • Woking 2 Altrincham 0, 20 January, 2007
    • Histon 1 Altrincham 0, 3 November, 2007
    • Rushden & Diamonds 0 Altrincham 1, 3 October, 2009
    • Southport 1 Altrincham 0, 24 August 2010
    • Altrincham 2 Cambridge United 2, 2 April, 2011
    • Altrincham 0 Welling United 4, 27 September 2014.

    NEXT OPPONENTS

    Mike Garnett kindly provides details of our record against our next opponents, Wrexham.

    • At Altrincham: P7-W1-D3-L3-F5-A10
    • Away: P6-W2-D2-L2-F6-A8
    • All: P13-W3-D5-L5-F11-A18

    From Howard Watts come details of previous Alty games on Saturday's date, in his historical Through the Years data.

    HERBERT KITCHENER BLACKSHAW

    Herbert Kitchener Blackshaw, an Altrincham left-winger from the 1930s, features in one of Terry Rowley's excellent Alty Legends profiles. A chance encounter with a relative of Herbert's has produced a photo of the former Altrincham player (right). It is believed to date from his time with Oldham Athletic, though even experts at Boundary Park have been unable to identify the venue.

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    The Western Morning News tells us that "Dean Edwards has issued a stark warning to some of Torquay United’s former employees, 'Take us to court and we could go out of business'.

    United’s director of football helped oversee a takeover of the financially-stricken club in the summer and warned then that the Gulls’ situation was perilous. But with attendances dropping below the 1,800 figure that new chairman David Phillips stated was the club’s break-even figure, things only seem to have got worse at the Launa Windows Stadium as the new regime swim[s] against the tide and the rising costs of running a football club.

    These are desperate days for the National League Premier club, who were forced to lay off a number of staff when the new regime took over, while the-then manager, Chris Hargreaves, and his assistant, Lee Hodges were placed on gardening leave. Now, Edwards has said... 'We have a couple of people now who are trying to take us to court,', Edwards told BBC Sport. 'It’s a problem for us. Ultimately it could finish the football club'.

    One person has already won a case for unfair dismissal against the National League club, who could face a bill of up to £250,000 if all the cases went against the Gulls. 'I understand their situation,' Edwards added. 'They felt they’ve probably been wronged and they have every right to do it and, if I was honest, I’d probably do it myself but this is where we are. It’s a problem that gives the club not much time to put things right because, if it does go the proverbial pear-shaped, the club could be closed down'...

    Their playing budget is comparable to the smallest in the division...

    Edwards added, 'What we really need is some experienced non-league players who really know this league and can get us to a stage where we can get more fans through the gate. We’ve got to try to get these players who are experienced, but that’s where we have a problem because they’re looking at the high end of our budget and we’ve already got high-end players. You couldn’t account for [midfielder] Luke Young injuring his cruciate knee ligament, which has put him out for the season. [Striker] Waide Fairhurst has an injury and he’s another high earner. We’ve had a bit of bad luck in the fact that we have got those players'".

    The Football Conference confirms that "Dover Athletic have announced the signing of Toby Ajala, who scored 5 goals in forty-five appearances for league rivals Torquay United last season. The winger has also played for Bristol City and AFC Wimbledon.

    Ajala appeared for Whites in the pre-season victory over Wealdstone, and subsequently went to Scottish Premier side Inverness Caledonian Thistle on trial. The 23-year-old began his senior career with Ilford in 2008, and played for a number of clubs before having a trial with Doncaster Rovers. He ended up joining Championship club Hull City, before playing in the Conference National for Hayes & Yeading United in the 2011/12 season... Ajala joined Bristol City for the 2012/13 season... Ajala joined League Two side AFC Wimbledon on a short term loan deal in 2012...

    He signed for Welling United on in January 2014 and played fifteen times for the Wings, before leaving at the end of the season and joining Torquay."

    FC Halifax Town "have confirmed that defender Graham Hutchison has joined AFC Telford United on a month's loan... Hutchison joined the Shaymen from Worcester City at the end of the January transfer window and has made 5 appearances for Town this season so far".

    At Southport "Secretary Ken Hilton is still awaiting for the international clearance to come through for Dutch striker Alfons Fosu-Mensah from Holland. However after thirty days Alfons has been given permission by our FA. The Dutch striker impressed in pre-season and Paul Carden can now add Alfons Fosu-Mensah to his squad."

    The National League's weekly National Scene compilation has plenty of statistics but how reliable they are is open to question. Having first released issue six with a statement that Altrincham had beaten Halifax 3-2 last week (it was actually Aldershot who did this), the publication was reissued. But in its list of the League's leading scorers we still read that Sam Heathcote has apparently scored twice for us in the National League this season. There is also an explained entry headed simply "Substitute Being Substituted: Ryan Crowther 63:20" which presumably means he is the only substitute who has himself been subbed this season.

    HELPING MARK AND MND

    Chester FC reports that their club "legend Paul Linwood is hoping to raise awareness for Motor Neurone Disease by completing a ‘Tough Mudder’ course for his friend, Mark Maddox. Since being diagnosed with MND four years ago, former Altrincham footballer Maddox has run over 100 miles in marathons and Linwood is keen to help out his friend.

    He said, 'Mark has done a lot of fundraising. He’s one of the only people with Motor Neurone Disease to complete over 100 miles in marathons. 'He’s done one and a half London Marathons and completed his 100th mile on a local track in front of all his friends and family. It’s really touching stuff and something everyone can get on board with. He’s done some great work'.

    Thus far, the former Blues centre back has raised around £1,300.... Linwood said, 'Compared to what Mark’s been through, me doing Tough Mudder is a little drop in the ocean! Even if I can raise a bit of awareness; as you can see on his video he sends out, there’s no cause and there’s no cure, so people need to know about this disease...

    'Tough Mudder is 13 miles, 13 obstacles, predominantly in mud. The obstacles range from rings of fire, to electric fences, just general hell to be honest! Me and a friend, who is an ex-marine, have signed up and decided to go for it'...

    Linwood, 31, is now based at Connah’s Quay Nomads... You can donate to Paul’s ‘Just Giving’ page here.

    BARRY PIKESLEY GOES DOWN MEMORY LANE

    Barry Pikesley's article "Down Memory Lane" is here.
    9 September 2015

    NEXT OPPONENTS: WREXHAM

    On Saturday, Altrincham travel to Wrexham.

    We learn from The Leader that "Mark Carrington is prepared to play a waiting game while Wrexham are picking up results but the midfielder is ready to answer Gary Mills’ SOS call this weekend. The 28-year-old missed the back end of the 2014-15 campaign with a groin injury which eventually required surgery when he returned for pre-season.

    Carrington made his comeback as a late substitute in the 3-1 victory over Halifax Town on August 29 but he has been unable to force his way back into the starting line-up...

    'I just need to be patient at the moment', said Carrington. 'The lads are doing really well, we are playing well and looking strong... It is a team game, I am happy that the lads are doing well'...

    Carrington could fill in at right-back when Wrexham face Altrincham at The Racecourse on Saturday as Javan Vidal is sidelined with a hamstring injury... Although a midfielder by trade, Carrington is familiar with a defensive role having operated there during the 2013-14 campaign when he scooped the Player of the Year award. 'I am seen as a midfielder this season but I have played at right-back for the club over the years', said Carrington.

    'It has not been mentioned, I think the gaffer only sees me as a midfielder but, if he came to me and asked me to play there, then I am comfortable to slot in there for a couple of games if need be. Obviously I prefer midfield'...

    Said Carrington, 'I thought I would come back flying ready for pre-season but that wasn’t the case, it was no better. I went to see the top surgeon, he told us what it was and got it sorted. I had an operation about seven weeks ago, I am back fit now, back in the squad and raring to go... We have played really well at home too, we haven’t just scrapped out results,', added Carrington. 'The big pitch suits us to get the ball down and play, hopefully Saturday can be no different and we beat Altrincham.'

    The Leader adds that "Manager Gary Mills has hinted that the versatile Connor Jennings could fill in at right-back rather than bring in a loan replacement for the injured Javan Vidal... Ross White is recovering from a foot injury and is unable to deputise for Vidal while Mason Watkins-Clark has returned to parent club Stoke City after only playing one league game during his loan spell at The Racecours...

    'It is a big blow because the position is not one we are gifted with at this moment in time so that has got to be addressed,', said Mills...

    Vidal has started all eight league games since his move from Tamworth and is gutted to be ruled out of action. 'It is a definite pull', said Vidal. 'I am very disappointed, I don’t want to miss any games and I don’t want to miss any minutes, I had to come off today and I didn’t want to'...

    It was an end to end game... 'It was very open', said Vidal, 'Lincoln were a physical, long ball side that put us under a lot of pressure but in the end we took a good point'.

    Wrexham have taken the lead in all four away matches this season, going on to beat Kidderminster Harriers but losing at Cheltenham Town and Bromley... Vidal admits Wrexham need to kill teams off when they are ahead on their travels...

    'It just seems to be one of those things, we always take the lead and then find ourselves under great pressure', added Vidal. 'When we dominate and go 1-0 up, we would just like to dominate further and go and kill teams off; go and get a second goal and a third'".

    RADIO ROBINS' COMMENTARY

    Brian Flynn advises that commentary from Radio Robins on last Saturday's game against Cheltenham Town is here.

    JUNIORS' COACH HONOURED

    The Cheshire FA says that "A variety of grassroots champions from across Cheshire have been named as this year’s winners of The Cheshire Football Association Awards. Cheshire FA’s annual awards look to recognise and reward those involved in grassroots football across the county who make a real difference to how the game is played and developed. This year's Cheshire FA Winners include... Coach of the Year (5-12 Age Group) Award - Nick Priestley (Altrincham JFC)".

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    The BBC reports that "Forest Green Rovers chairman Dale Vince has revealed how he is using his experience of statistical analysis in energy trading to help recruit players. There are similarities to the 'Moneyball' model used initially in baseball, with players being recruited using computer-generated analysis. It has since been adopted by Championship club Brentford.

    'We take an approach to player development', said Vince, whose side are top of the National League. He told BBC Radio 5 live's Non League Show, 'We've used some of the skills from Ecotricity (Vince's company) in terms of trading of energy using statistical analysis. We thought we would have a bit of a gamble on a couple of young players and see if it boosted our fortunes on the pitch. One didn't come off, the previous one did. We are not the only people that do it in football, it's done in the higher leagues. So we do a statistical analysis of a player's history, games played, we look at his strength and weaknesses'.

    Rovers' 100% start is a 30-year record for their division and Vince is hopeful the longest-serving* 'Conference' club can finally earn promotion to the Football League. [*FGR are currently the club who have been in the division for the longest continuous period, but Altrincham are by some distance the club with most seasons in that division since its formation].

    'We are having a good time. We are ambitious to go up but we want to do it in the right way,' he said. 'We are the longest-serving club in the division, but for a lot of that time it was about avoiding relegation. This is a new place for the club to be. We've spent the past five years building the infrastructure of the club and have changed a lot of things and it has all come together. (Manager) Ady Pennock brought in five new players, we have a great backroom staff, a great bunch of lads and fantastic facilities.'

    And Vince, who has introduced vegan-only food for supporters at the New Lawn this season, says fans are enjoying the new menu on offer. Since taking over the club in 2010, Vince has introduced:

    • An organic pitch, the first in the world, which is spread with cow manure
    • 180 solar panels which generate 10% of the electricity at the New Lawn
    • A red meat ban for players and vegan-only produce sold on matchdays
    • Plans a new £100m sports facility and stadium"
    • <

    NL Pitchero reports that "Former Colwyn Bay manager Frank Sinclair has been appointed to take temporary charge of Vanarama National League North club Brackley Town until a replacement for Jon Brady can be found".

    NL Pitchero also says that "Midfielder Jordan Wynter [has] joined Farnborough on a one-month loan deal from Cheltenham Town. Wynter, who has just recovered from knee ligament injury, signed in time to make his debut in last night's 3-2 home defeat by Staines Town. Wynter joins fellow Robins' players Bobbie Dale and Harry Williams on loan at the Hampshire outfit".


    8 September 2015

    LEE SINNOTT ON THE CHELTENHAM GAME

    "Here are Alty manager Lee Sinnott’s thoughts on Saturday’s dramatic 2-1 win over Cheltenham, in a post- match interview with joint Press and Media Officer, John Edwards.

    JE: Have you caught your breath yet, Lee? Incredible finish, wasn’t it?:

    LS: We’ve had a few of these games before, haven’t we, though I have to say, looking at the game overall, there wasn’t too much quality on show. I thought it was a bit of a hard pull for both teams. I was looking round my team as the game unfolded, and we did look a bit tired. But I asked for one thing from them beforehand, and that was battling qualities. They showed that in abundance, and really I couldn’t have asked for any more. That was the message before the start, because I was just mindful a few key decisions had gone against us and we had lost players to injury.

    When that sort of adversity happens, you either face it front on or you turn away from it. There’s no doubt we fronted it up. But these are hard games for supporters to watch and quite excruciating for managers and coaches, because you know the outcome is going to be pretty much the flip of a coin. I firmly believe that if we’d got our passing game going, we would have asked them a lot more questions, but we didn’t, for whatever reason. Cheltenham are a very big, strong, competitive side, but I thought we stood up to them really well.

    JE: Our fortunes seemed to improve when you made a change midway through the first half, when Ryan Crowther went on for Josh O’ Keefe. Was that tactical or injury-enforced?

    LS: Josh got a knock on his hip and had to come off. We did come into it more after that, but, to be fair, systems look good when players are playing well. When they’re not, they don’t look so clever. But, yes, James Lawrie did seem to benefit from moving inside and running at people from a more central position. He has got good energy, and he showed that throughout the game.

    JE: Substitutions certainly worked well, with Ryan claiming the first goal and Sam Heathcote the second, but I imagine you’d be pleased with the contribution of Tim Deasy at the other end?

    LS: He has done well for us, and, yes, they were three crucial saves he made when Cheltenham players found themselves pretty much clean through. Late on, as well, he came off his line, and those big white gloves plucked something out of the sky. As a defender, it is such a great sight when a ball is floated in too high for you to get your head on it, and you turn to see your keeper coming out and wrapping his hands round it. It lets you regroup, get up the pitch and put the ball in areas where it can’t do you any harm. That is vital, as were those blocks when he was the last line of defence.

    He stood up well and didn’t commit himself too early. There is an art to that. It’s about holding your nerve a little bit and making the other guy think he is going to have to make the decision.

    JE: Who else took your eye?

    LS: Well, I thought Scott Leather (left) was immense. He got a bang in his face, and there was a lot of blood from his nose. But, typical Scott, he got patched up and was right back in the thick of it. I don’t know whether there is a break or not, but, knowing Scott, it probably won’t make any difference. He’ll carry on regardless next week.

    I thought the whole back four did well, and we really stuck in there and showed the battling qualities I was asking for. Because of that, maybe we earned the bit of luck that went our way at the end. It looked like being a point apiece, but the lads had other ideas, and good on them for that.

    Ryan (right) showed what a good outlet he can be. Pitches at the moment may not be perfectly suited to players like him, because they are a little bit lush and the ball is not running as quickly as a dribbler like him would want. But I thought the movement for the goal he scored was excellent. Our nice passing phases were limited in general, but, in that instance, there was some lovely inter- play in the build-up, and it was a wonderful finish by Ryan. I was pretty much in line with the shot, and I can tell you there was not much margin for error in the way he swivelled and hit it with his right foot. From that angle, the ball was always going to curl away from the keeper, but the danger was, it could have curled away from the far post as well. It had to be spot-on, and it was. You want players to make an impact when they come off the bench, and he certainly did that.

    JE: Did you fear it might be difficult even hanging on for a point after they equalised?

    LS: The pressure was building, I must say. I was speaking to Tols (Neil Tolson) and racking my brain for what to do next, because I was thinking: “I know what I want to do, but have we got the personnel to do it?” We made the call to go to a more regimented 4-4-2, with a narrow four in midfield. They were going for the kill when they equalised. You could sense that from Gary Johnson in the away dug-out. They brought on new bodies, and we were thinking of how to counter it with what was available.

    JE: What a finale, with Ryan going off injured and Sam entering the fray and scoring the winner with his second touch of the ball on his debut!

    LS: It’s what football is all about. I’ll be entirely honest with you – it was an inspirational decision by myself! No, all joking apart, it was a bit like Greg Wilkinson in the play-off final against Guiseley. I sent Greg on purely and simply to take part in what seemed certain to be a penalty shoot-out. Twenty seconds later, he scored the winner, and we were promoted. I was honest about that, and I’ll be honest about this. Sam was sent on to the pitch, with injury-time ticking away, with the sole purpose of preserving a point.

    I just thought he’s a big lad and defensive-minded, he can give us a bit of energy on the left-hand side and extra height in the area. Never underestimate the value of a point, but, to be fair to Sam, he showed the wide men how to attack the box by getting into position on the left and being ready for the ball coming in. It was great work by Michael Rankine on the right, but it was a fierce cross he drilled in, and Sam had to show exceptional technique to steady himself and connect the way he did. It was lovely feet, because it would have been so easy to shank it or balloon it yards over.

    Daft as it sounds, you start thinking to yourself, 'OK, as one door closes, another opens.' Quite a few clubs have employed the tactic of using a big man in a wide position, not least Cheltenham with Harry Pell. It gives you food for thought. It was an outstanding finish, and I would imagine it might have taken some of our supporters back to bygone days, hearing Altrincham goalscorer Heathcote over the tannoy. Nice one, that.

    JE: What can you tell us about Sam?:

    LS: Well, he is a quiet-ish lad, for the time being, at least. You look at him out there among some of Cheltenham’s bigger players, and there’s no doubt Sam is one of the big guys. He is very composed as well, as he showed with his goal. There could yet be a debate about what proves to be his best position, whether it will be central defence or maybe midfield. His technique on the ball is very assured, and he certainly couldn’t have asked for a better way to launch his first-team career. People around the club have said he could be wasted at centre-half. I’m not building the lad up to be something he’s not, but we will see how that pans out. But it is a measure of his ability on the ball that people are talking in those terms, and as he fills out, we will see where he ends up.

    He will be more confident in himself, because it’s easy to get knocked around by seasoned pros when you are just starting out. With experience, he’ll be able to handle that, no problem. What he has got at the moment is a very composed head on young shoulders when he is in possession. I’ve just heard, as well, that he got an ovation when he walked into the Community Sports Hall bar afterwards. That is excellent, well deserved.

    Another thing I noticed was how he dealt with one of their players after his goal. It was the number nine (Danny Wright), and he had been putting himself about all afternoon. When Cheltenham, restarted, they both went up for a ball, and the number nine came off worse. Sam was strong enough to win the battle, and I just thought:, 'Yeah, good lad'”.

    VANARAMA NATIONAL NEWS

    The National League highlights show was broadcast on Sunday evening. It is now available on the internet, here.

    NL Daily reports that "Jon Brady has resigned from his position as manager of Vanarama National League North club Brackley Town. Brady resigned following yesterday`s 4-2 home defeat to North Ferriby United.

    Brady said,'After much consideration, and with heavy heart, I have made the decision to resign as manager of Brackley Town Football Club. I can say I have given absolutely everything to the club during my six and a half years tenure. The profile of the club has certainly been raised, especially after our FA Cup run two seasons ago which generated much needed revenue and certainly helped to grow the infrastructure of the club.

    To win seven trophies and gain promotion to the Conference North, then reaching the play-off final after finishing third in our first season at this level was a real achievement. It was then extra special to go on to have the FA Cup run beating Gillingham live on national TV and reaching the Second Round proper for the first time at the club.

    I am immensely proud of what Darren Collins and I together with all my staff, players and all at the club have achieved. I feel that the time is right to move on and who knows, in time when the dust settles, I may take on a fresh challenge whether that be focusing on my business or another opportunity in football management. That lies in the future'".


    7 September 2015

    STUART TALKS ABOUT HIS INJURY

    John Edwards, joint Press & Media Officer, has spoken to goalkeeper Stuart Coburn about his recent injury.

    "Stuart Coburn adopted a defiant stance and vowed to be back between the posts for Altrincham after receiving the shock news that he faces months out with a ruptured Achilles.

    Alty’s record-holder for appearances thought he would be on the sidelines for no more than six weeks after it was initially believed he had injured his calf in the closing minutes of a controversial 2-1 defeat at Dover.

    But a scan revealed the true nature of the problem and forced the Alty legend to accept he faces a long haul back to fitness at 40 year-old. Ever the realist, Coburn readily acknowledged many will fear age may count against him and that a career worthy of comparison with any in the club’s history may be over.

    He was having none of it, though. In an interview with joint press and media officer John Edwards, moments after Saturday’s dramatic 2-1 win over Cheltenham, he made it clear he is thinking of nothing other than adding to his record tally of Alty appearances.

    Here is the interview in full.

    JE: We were thinking six weeks, Stuart, so what happened to change it?

    SC: When I first did it, I was able to walk off the pitch. We weren’t sure what the problem was, but that suggested it wasn’t too serious. It still needed a scan, though, which I had last Thursday, and the specialist told me I’d ruptured 90 per cent of my Achilles. As soon as you hear that word, Achilles, you know it’s a big problem. I knew straightaway that, for any footballer, it’s one of the worst things you can do. The choice was I could have surgery or go down the construction path, where I have a boot fitted with wedges inside it, which you take out one at a time on a weekly basis.

    The specialist said if I was a full-time professional, they would have operated on me straightaway, but I’ve got work to think of. I can’t just write off six weeks, being laid up doing nothing. I’ve got my own business and have to be able to work every day. Fortunately, with the boot on, it’s easy enough to get around, albeit at a slightly slower pace, so that was the route I decided to go for.

    Even so, when someone tells you what you thought was a calf injury is actually a ruptured Achilles, it still comes as a shock to the system. It was not good, but I’m getting my head round it and want to assure everyone it’s not the end of my days here. Not if I can help it, anyway.

    I’m certainly not intending hanging up my gloves and boots, that’s for sure. We will know more as the months go on – and it is going to be months, rather than weeks – and we will take it from there. But I’m not saying that’s it. I don’t want my last game for Altrincham being Dover away, where we’ve lost to a controversial last- minute goal, I’ve ruptured my Achilles and that’s me done. I’m determined to get myself fit again, which I will do, and then get playing again. That’s my intention. Whether it pans out that way remains to be seen, but I will be doing my level best to make sure it happens.

    JE: So when the time does come to bring the curtain down, you want it to be in better circumstances?

    SC: Of course. I said at the beginning of the season this could possibly be my last one. I’m 40 now, but the thing is, I started the season really well. I was enjoying my football and feeling good. I was having a really good time. It was only five games, but I felt I was playing really well and I was happy with my form. Basically, I want to go out on my own terms, not be forced out by something like this. As the months go on, and we see how the Achilles is repairing and how the rehab is unfolding, we will know more. But I’m that type of character who, if he gets his teeth into something, will see it through. I enjoy playing too much to call it a day. That is the big thing, and I am determined to get back out on the pitch again. Whether the injury allows me to is another matter, but I will do everything in my capabilities to get there. I’ll certainly give it my best shot.

    I have spoken to the gaffer and the chairman. They know my feelings on the matter, and I know the club are behind me 100 per cent, so that’s what we are going to try and do.

    JE: We’ve certainly eulogised, up on the Radio Robins gantry, about some vintage Coburn saves this season. Do you feel the reflexes are as sharp as ever, and how important is that, from the point of view of carrying on at your age?

    SC: It means a lot to be making saves like that and showing you’ve still got something to offer. Last year, after promotion, I was questioning myself and wondering whether I could still do it at this level. There were a few games where I got left out and Dave Parton came in, and I was like 'Well, I will just have to prove I can play at this level', and I think I did prove it. In my view, I played really well.

    I was determined to carry that on this season, and it helped that I knew I had Tim Deasy pushing me all the way. I knew I had to perform week-in, week-out, if I was going to stay in the team. I think I’ve done that, but then a setback like this happens, and, of course, people look at my age and go 'Well, he’s 40 now, 41 at the end of the season', but that’s not how I look at it. The way I see it, I’m looking at possibly five or six months out, I don’t know. You can’t be specific about that at the moment, but what I do know is, I’m going to do everything in my power to get back playing again, because when I do call it a day, it’s going to be on my terms, not some injury’s terms.

    When I walk off the pitch for the last time, I want to be able to say 'I’ve had a great career, but that’s it – time to go.' I have had a great career, but I don’t want it ending in circumstances like these. I’m not ready to call it a day yet, and I think the way I’ve played the last couple of seasons underlines that. I just enjoy playing football, and people I know, as well as lads from the past, have all told me to play as long as I can. I intend following their advice.

    JE: Have you had a lot of support in that respect?

    SC: Yes, people rallied round and urged me to overcome the injury as soon as I did it and again when I had the scan. I must admit when I first heard I’d ruptured the Achilles, I thought that was me done. You do, you just think the worst, and because of the age thing, people just go 'Ooh, that’s not good'.

    But, to me, age is nothing but a number. If you feel good, that’s what counts, and I know I’ve got plenty left inside me. I know it’s going to take some getting over, but I’m determined to do it. If I was in my 30s, people wouldn’t be thinking the worst, and that’s just the point. I still feel like I did in my 30s.

    JE: That positive, upbeat outlook is half the battle in these instances, isn’t it?

    SC: It has to be, and I’m sure it is. It’s an explosive position as a keeper, because you read a situation like the one at Dover and react to it by putting your foot down and pushing off. That’s how the damage was done, but, really, it can happen to anyone at any time. You hear of people walking down the stairs and their Achilles goes. It was one of those things, the worst injury I’ve ever had but not one that’s going to get me down. It’s not the end of me as an Altrincham player, and, as you say, that positive mindset can only help.

    JE: Even so, it must have been a bolt from the blue when the specialist sat you down and delivered the news?

    SC: It was. Al (Ainsley, left) said initially the Achilles seemed to be intact, but, when I did it, the pain was intense. The first thing I did was look behind me, because I thought someone had thrown an object on and hit me on the back of the leg or one of their players had stood on me. I knew that was the prime reaction to an Achilles tear. It’s how it feels, like an explosion in the back of the leg, so straightaway I thought 'Oh no, don’t say I’ve done my Achilles'.

    But I was able to walk off, and Al said every test was showing the Achilles was OK. We needed a scan to be sure, though, and that’s when the diagnosis came. You have to keep a sense of perspective. I’m at a great club who have looked after me, so I’m going to do everything I can to get back playing again. It’s going to be a long journey, I realise that. It’s OK now, but I know there are going to be days when I’m on my own and the lads have perhaps set off on an away trip, and it’s going to be hard. But it’s just one of those things, and I’ve got to get my head round it.

    JE: Long coach trips might not be a good idea, but will you be coming to some home games?

    SC: I’ll be coming to all of them to support the lads, and I’ve told them what I expect while I’m out. I’ve told them that by the time I’m fit again, I want us to be safe. I don’t want to come back to any relegation battle, so they’ve got to carry on putting points on the board, then hopefully I can get back for a couple of games towards the end of the season.

    That’s the plan, anyway. I will be back as soon as I can, pushing Tim for a starting place. I can’t put a time scale on it. It will be what it will be. First of all, I’ve got to get myself fit, just to get about, and then the football will come after that.

    JE: Is everything mapped out for the rehab? How will it go?

    SC: To begin with, I will be in this boot for five weeks. It’s like an air cast, with wedges in it. Every week, I take a wedge out, so the Achilles and foot lowers each time, allowing the Achilles to settle and stretch. After five weeks, hopefully, the boot will come off, and we can assess it from there. From then on, I’m in Al’s hands. He did the rehab for Willo (Mike Williams). It’s a long process, but Al goes above and beyond everything he needs to. He’s my best mate, anyway.

    I come in to see him during the week, even when I’m fit and playing, to get a rub off him, so I know he’ll be there for me every step of the way. I will do everything he says I need to. I will go above and beyond, and we will get it right. I’m sure of that. At the moment, he’s saying we need to get me right for general life, then the football will take care of itself. That sounds spot-on to me.

    JE: It has created an opportunity for Tim Deasy (left), who has taken it well. We’re fortunate to have such a capable deputy, aren’t we?

    SC: For sure. I’ve known Tim for a long time, playing against him and now with him. From the moment he walked through the door, we’ve been best mates and got on really well. At the outset, he said, 'I’m going to push you, but I’ll be happy to be behind you as well, pushing you from there.’ That gave me even more determination in the pre-season build-up, because I knew that, if I wasn’t doing it, he would be in the starting line-up.

    Now he has come into the team, and, touch wood, I hope everything stays good for him, because we know we are in safe hands, and that is a big factor. If the lads know they’ve got a good keeper behind them, we can push on from there. That was evident against Cheltenham. It was another great result, and Tim certainly played his part".

    INJURY LIST

    Altrincham FC have played eight matches this season but already have nine players injured! Saturday's "Robins' Review" included physio Alan Ainsley's updates on several of these. (The maximum number of playing minutes for any player so far this season, excluding added time, is 720 - only Shaun Densmore and Jake Moult have achieved this.)
    • Luca Havern: Gently warmed up before the game on Saturday. Alan says "Luca has made tremendous progress with his hamstring injury... We will not be missing him for the six to eight weeks feared". Minutes played this season: 120
    • Tom Marshall: Suffered a broken leg and ankle dislocation against Grimsby Town. It was great to see him in the stands at Saturday's game. Minutes played this season: 357
    • Simon Richman: Injured at Southport, he "has a tear in his upper hamstring" He faces "a minimum two week period from involvement" with the squad. Minutes played this season: 365
    • Nicky Clee: Nicky is on a "total shut down [from exercise] till next week" says Alan. Minutes played this season: 88
    • Anthony Griffith: "Has been struggling with a hip complaint and may well be rested for a short period" says Alan Ainsley. Minutes played this season: 5
    • Ryan Crowther: He apparently suffered a cut foot on Saturday but it is expected he will be fit for next Saturday. Minutes played this season: 128
    • Josh O'Keefe: Went off with a hip injury on Saturday; believed to be sidelined for two weeks or so. Minutes played this season: 307
    • Scott Leather: Suffered a bad nose injury last Saturday but it is expected he will be able to continue to play. Minutes played this season: 612
    • Stuart Coburn: See above for full details. Minutes played this season: 450.

    In addition loanee Andy Parry picked up an ankle injury and missed the game at Southport, but returned to action last Saturday.

    ALTY YOUTH WIN AGAIN

    Altrincham Youth won 5-0, away, against Hyde FC on Sunday afternoon. There is a match report here. The FA has the NWYA Premier Division results and table. Leaders Chester beat Curzon Ashton 3-2. The next game for Alty Youth is at home to Ashton Athletic next Sunday at Partington Sports Village (2.30pm).

    FA YOUTH CUP

    In the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday 9 September, in the Preliminary Round Southport are scheduled to host FCUM Youth at 7pm. The winners play Altrincham in the next round. However, FC United report that "FC United’s FA Youth Cup Preliminary Round tie away at Southport on Wednesday 9 September 2015 has been switched to a home tie and will now take place at Broadhurst Park on 9 September with a 7.45pm kick off. The match, which will take place on the main pitch at the ground, has been switched following a request from Southport. They are having floodlight work undertaken on their Haig Avenue ground which won’t be completed in time for them to host the match.

    This is only the second time that the youth team has competed in the FA Youth Cup and this match will be our first ever home tie in the competition... The match offers a great chance to see the progress of the FC United Youth team and manager Rhodri Giggs is keen for FC supporters to turn up in numbers to support his side. 'The FA Youth Cup is the premier cup competition for youth teams and we’re really looking forward to taking part this year, even more so now that our opening match will be played in front of our own supporters on the Broadhurst Park pitch...

    Admission details for the match are as follows: -

    • Adults: £5
    • Concessions £3
    • Under 18s £1

    Admission to the match is by cash payment and you are reminded that season tickets cannot be used for this game."

    SATURDAY'S COMMENTARY

    Brian Flynn advises that "Yesterday's Radio Robins commentary is here.

    ALTY TV NEEDS YOU!

    "Alty TV advise us that the IMAC used to produce and edit the normal match highlights has sadly failed, leaving Mark without a way of getting these done at present. Donations to the crowdfunder scheme are picking up speed now from some of the hundreds of people who enjoy the highlights.

    Can you help? Any donation, however small is welcome to assist Mark with his project of getting the professional-quality highlights out to the world. to showcase our club, all run by volunteers. Your donation goes straight to the fund for new equipment.

    If you can help, the link is here. A huge thank you is extended to all who have given so far".

    NEXT OPPONENTS: WREXHAM

    News of Alty's next opponents (on Saturday) comes from the Daily Post. It says that "Wrexham could be missing Javan Vidal after the right-back was forced off in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Lincoln City with a hamstring problem... The potential loss of Vidal provides a problem for manager Gary Mills ahead of next Saturday’s visit of Altrincham. Right-back isn’t an area that Wrexham are blessed with at present, with only youngster Liam Walsh as recognised cover for that position.

    Mills dipped into the loan market in pre-season to bring in under-21 player Mason Watkins-Clark from Stoke City, although the move did not work out for the youngster.

    'It is a big blow because the position is not one we are gifted with at this moment in time so that has got to be addressed,' said Mills. 'Either someone from within the club, we have tried the loan market [for] one but if it has got to be that, then it has got to be definitely right... If I play Connor (Jennings) at right-back, it might be the better thing to do than go and get an under 21'...

    Mills had a work of praise for James Gray, the striker putting Wrexham ahead with his fourth effort in eight games... Mills added, 'He (Gray) has done well... We had chances to win it and they had chances to win it... There is a tinge of disappointment but wherever you go away in this league, a draw is a good result, particularly here,' was the summation of Wrexham boss Gary Mills after seeing his side claim a draw at Lincoln City...

    Said Mills, 'If you analyse the last two away games we have been 1-0 up in both and only ended up with a point... I don’t know where they get these long throws and stuff from! No matter what people say it is hard to defend against, Matt Rhead up there wins every header and you have got to make sure you are switched on to the second one'... He added, 'We have played four away games and got four points, and we have won every home game so looking at that scenario you’d say you win your home games and draw your away games and at the moment it is two points a gam... Absolutely it is where I want to be'".

    CHELTENHAM BOSS UNHAPPY

    According to the Gloucestershire Echo "Frustration was the order of the day for boss Gary Johnson as Cheltenham Town's unbeaten start to the National League season came to an end at Altrincham. Alty have become specialists at beating the teams demoted from the Football League in recent years and the Robins became the fourth recently-relegated side in succession to lose at Moss Lane.

    The visitors bossed large parts of the game and had a succession of half chances, but Johnson felt his side lacked the necessary cutting edge to gain three points...

    Johnson admitted that he will have to go back to the drawing board during the next week and try to find a way to ensure his side can power past some of the more stubborn sides at this level. He said that he may have to have some harsh words in the analysis room early in the week before building confidence back up for back-to-back home games against Dover and Macclesfield.

    'If we are to have aspirations of winning the league then you have to go on and look for the win,' Johnson said. 'But we didn't find that final ball and we had eight or so minutes to get another and they were looking as though they were flagging, but we got caught... There will be a few things that we have to work on, I wish there was only one or two. We will keep those private but we will be working on a few things... We will have rally the troops later on in the week, but first of all we have to hit them over the head and work out why we haven't performed right'".

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    Eastleigh visit Alty a week on Tuesday and the Daily Echo reports that their manager "Richard Hill was left ruing two key refereeing calls after his Eastleigh side suffered a first defeat of their Vanarama National League campaign at Barrow on Saturday.

    The game’s decisive moment arrived as early as the third minute when centre-half Paul Reid was adjudged by referee Richard Wigglesworth to have fouled home attacker Jason Walker in the Spitfires’ box, writes Paul McNamara. Walker emphatically slammed the resultant penalty high into the net for the afternoon’s only goal, but Eastleigh boss Hill was convinced that the eventual scorer was offside prior to winning the penalty.

    Hill was further dismayed by the man-in-the-middle’s decision-making when Barrow 'keeper Joel Dixon escaped with a caution in the second-period for hauling down Yemi Odubade, so preventing the Spitfires’ sub from having a clear run at goal.

    'There were two big decisions that he’s (the referee) made today and that’s affected the outcome of the game,' said Hill. 'It’s a tough job for them, but their job is to officiate the game , not to affect the outcome of the game. Today the referee has affected the outcome of the game. I was looking right across the line (leading up to the penalty decision) and two of them (Barrow attackers) were clearly offside. And should the goalkeeper be sent off? He’s clearly taken Yemi out and he’s the last man. Sometimes when you come to the north of England the laws can seem a bit different to those in the rest of the country'...

    Hill added, 'I don’t think we deserved to win the game, although we probably didn’t deserve to lose it, either... At times today, I don’t think we were allowed to play. That comes down to the referee. But we didn’t do enough with the ball to warrant winning this game'...

    Barrow boss Darren Edmondson’s position had been the subject of some conjecture last week after the club’s millionaire owner Paul Casson flew in from the USA following a mixed start to the Bluebirds’ campaign... 'I give Barrow a lot of credit,’ said Hill. 'They’ve closed us down and worked very, very hard. Eastleigh are in town. Their manager has said a few things over the last few days that will have perhaps put himself under pressure. But he’s said he’s the right man for the job and, on today’s evidence, he obviously is the right man for the job.'

    Concerned that his own side’s work was 'hurried and forced,' as they tried to play at '100 miles per hour,' Hill made a triple change with 25 minutes to play, sending on Michael Green, Lee Cook and Odubade... 'I had to make a change to try and get back in the game. I thought it was an ideal time to try and force them back with a bit of width, especially with Michael Green... We were trying to pick passes out at the end and there must have been 16 or 17 players in the box, so it was difficult... wE didn’t have the cutting edge that we have been seeing. But you’re not going to win every game, are you?'"


    6 September 2015

    ALTY 2 CHELTENHAM TOWN 1

    Match report here.

    Above, left: Mike Ripley captures Ryan Crowther's celebration after the opening goal against Cheltenham Town and, right, Gavin Rathbone records Sam Heathcote's delight after scoring the late winner on his league debut. Gavin has more photos of the game here whilst Mike has his match images here.

    After the game, Lee Sinnott told Dave Stringer of the NL Paper, "Sam [Heathcote] was put on to preserve a point, with a little more height, and he ended up scoring the winner. You know what they say about a manager. It's better to be a lucky one than a good one".

    THE HEATHCOTES' HAPPY DAY

    John Edwards, joint Press Officer at Altrincham FC, writes, "Graham Heathcote was beaming with pride after seeing teenage son Sam (below, left) go on as an injury-time substitute and score a dramatic winner with only his second touch as an Altrincham player against high-flying Cheltenham.

    With the scores locked at 1-1, and Alty under pressure, 18- year old centre-back Heathcote replaced the injured Ryan Crowther with instructions to try and shore up an increasingly stretched defence in the couple of minutes that remained.

    Seconds later, he found himself unmarked on the edge of the Cheltenham area, as striker Michael Rankine bustled his way along the goalline on the right and cut the ball back to him.

    Without a moment’s hesitation, the former Manchester United junior drilled a first-time shot into the bottom corner to seal a third straight home win over opposition with a recent League history. It sparked euphoric scenes, as Heathcote disappeared under a pile of celebrating Alty players in front of the J.Davidson Stadium Dunne & Gray Family Stand, where dad Graham looked on from his usual seat.

    Heathcote senior was a goalscoring inside-right in the famed Cup giantkilling team of the 70s and 80s and went on to serve as secretary, coach and manager in a 40-year association with the club.

    Reflecting on a fairytale debut that earned Sam a spontaneous ovation when he stepped into the Community Sports Hall bar afterwards, Graham said, 'Just seeing him go on for his Altrincham debut made me proud. It was a wonderful moment for me, given my history with this club, and, like any dad, I was just hoping he didn’t do anything wrong.

    ‘Of course, it was the opposite. What he did was completely right, and it was great to see the ball hit the back of the net and Sam celebrating with the other players right where I was sitting.

    ‘There were some women near me actually crying. They remember seeing him coming to the ground with me basically from being a baby. They remember him coming to the Fun Weeks as a kid. Now he’s running them with (assistant manager) Neil Tolson. It got very emotional.

    ‘I have to say it didn’t surprise me to see him finish like that. He was a centre-forward at United up to 11 years old, and a decent one at that. I’ve seen him score some terrific goals. One of his assets is he does strike a very good ball, and he certainly caught that one cleanly.

    ‘Football is like everything else. There are ups and downs. I lost my brother (in the Tunisia beach attack) a couple of months ago, so you keep things in perspective. Sam still has a long way to go, but he couldn’t have wished for a better start.

    ‘I had a quick word after and said “well done, son – just another 152 to go!” I don’t know exactly how many goals I scored for Altrincham, but it was somewhere in that region, so he needs a few more to catch me up.

    ‘I was just so pleased for Lee Sinnott and Neil and all the lads who put so much effort in and deserved something. And, yeah, of course I’m a proud dad that Sam contributed to making that happen.

    ‘You need a long memory to recall hearing “Altrincham goalscorer Heathcote” over the tannoy at this ground. It was a good while ago - but it was nice hearing it again.’".

    CHELTENHAM'S VIEW

    Cheltenham Town report that "their unbeaten start to the season came to an end away at Altrincham after Sam Heathcote's 95th minute winner for Altrincham settled a game that looked destined for a draw...

    Altrincham grew in confidence as the half went on and thought they should have had a penalty when Ryan Crowther, on for the injured Josh O'Keefe, fired a shot inside the box which appeared to hit the arm of Jack Barthram. However neither the Referee or linesman seemed to think so and waved play on, much to the dismay of the home players and fans...

    James Lawrie did well inside the box to tee up the on-rushing Ryan Crowther, who swept the ball home into the far corner to put Altrincham 1-0 up.

    Following the goal, Cheltenham struggled to get a foothold back in the game with Altrincham piling on the pressure... Eventually the visitors managed to assert some pressure of their own... Finally though the goal did come for Cheltenham, with skipper Aaron Downes, still up in the box following a corner, rising highest to meet a whipped Jack Barthram cross to head home and level the scores.

    Just when it looked destined to be a draw, Sam Heathcote popped up at the back post to smash home the winner following a cross from the right in the 95th minute to win the game 2-1".

    Gloucestershire Echo has a video interview with Cheltenham Town manager Gary Johnson after the 2-1 defeat at Altrincham

    He said, "It was a frustrating afternoon and that's a good word as it was really frustrating for all of us,' Johnson said. 'Frustrating because we had a lot of opportunities and a lot of the play without being sharp with our play... We just looked a bit slovenly...

    We've lost a football match and we have to make sure that we put it right and turn it around quite quickly".

    Midfielder Kyle Storer added, "We started quite brightly for the first 20 minutes and had the upper hand but we lacked quality in the final third... We got caught with a sucker punch. Altrincham deserved to take the lead, but we responded yet again".

    Captain Aaron Downes' added, "It's infuriating. The boys put in an incredible amount of hard work but to no avail. It's a tough one to take as one the face of things we were the better side and the only side looking to win it. We could have won three games with the amount of chances we created but it's the old cliche that you have to close the back door...

    We were on the front foot and put them [under] pressure and my thinking during the game was that it was only a matter of time before we went on and scored the second goal... "We've got a bad habit of going behind in games and coming back to win it, but today we've paid the price for a few poor finishes and some poor defending."

    The Vital Football statistics say that Alty had 10 goal attempts, 5 on target compared with Alty's 10 (6 on target). Alty had 5 corners against 8 from Town and commited 4 fouls to Town's 9. Each side had one caution. As for possession, it was Alty 57% to Cheltenham's 43%.

    MONTHLY DRAW

    The winners of the latest Altrincham FC Monthly Draw are as follows:
    1. Alison Pennycock #97
    2. Hilary Moore #104
    3. Geoff Morris #15
    4. David Meadows #60

    TUESDAY, 15th SEPTEMBER

    • Aldershot Town v Welling United
    • Altrincham v Eastleigh
    • Barrow v Lincoln City
    • Boreham Wood v Bromley
    • Cheltenham Town v Macclesfield Town
    • Chester FC v Grimsby Town
    • Dover Athletic v Braintree Town
    • Gateshead v Wrexham
    • Guiseley v FC Halifax Town
    • Kidderminster Harriers v Torquay United
    • Southport v Tranmere Rovers
    • Woking v Forest Green Rovers

    FRIDAY, 18th SEPTEMBER

    • Grimsby Town v Tranmere Rovers on BT Sport

    SATURDAY GATES

    • 1603 Aldershot Town 3-2 FC Halifax Town
    • 1206 Altrincham 2-1 Cheltenham Town
    • 1448 Barrow 1-0 Eastleigh
    • 1293 Boreham Wood 1-3 Grimsby Town
    • 1411 Bromley 3-0 Gateshead
    • 2163 Chester FC 1-2 Forest Green Rovers
    • 1670 Kidderminster Harriers 0-1 Braintree Town
    • 2678 Lincoln City 1-1 Wrexham
    • 1285 Macclesfield Town 2-1 Woking
    • 957 Southport 0-0 Dover Athletic
    • 1558 Torquay United 1-1 Guiseley
    • 1012 Welling United 1-1 Tranmere Rovers

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    The National League reviewed Saturday's games... "Forest Green Rovers maintained their 100% record on Saturday but left it late to make it eight wins from eight games! Aaron O'Connor's goal came with only 12 minutes to go to record a 2-1 win over Chester FC at the Deva Stadium...

    The Bluebirds bounced back from Bank Holiday Monday's 3-1 defeat at FC Halifax, thanks to Jason Walker's early penalty [against Eastleigh]. Barrow made a great start, taking the lead after only 3 minutes after Walker earned his side's spot-kick.

    The striker was bundled over by Paul Reid, before Walker dusted himself down and blasted his penalty into the centre of the net...

    And Woking, who went into their game at Macclesfield Town in third place, also lost on Saturday. The Cards were beaten 2-1 at the Moss Rose...

    Wrexham are fourth but had to be content with one point from their trip across country to Sincil Bank against Lincoln City...

    Bromley earned a second win since gaining promotion, beating Gateshead 3-0 at Hayes Lane....It wasn`t until the 76th minute that the breakthrough came when Louis Dennis set-up Moses Ademola... Five minutes from time Bromley crucially doubled their advantage when Dennis netted from 12 yards out. And they wrapped up an ultimately comfortable win when Ademola scored his second of the game...

    Welling United took a point late on against ten-man Tranmere Rovers in the day's early kick-off live on BT Sport... Tranmere took the lead immediately after half-time after King failed to get a strong punch on a corner and the ball fell kindly for Lois Maynard, who headed the ball past several Welling defenders on the line.

    The game took a turn in the final 15 minutes when Tranmere`s Ritchie Sutton was sent-off for an off-the-ball incident. The Wings piled on the pressure and it finally paid off 3 minutes from time when Sam Corne smashed the ball home off the post from around 30 yards.

    Bottom-markers Kidderminster Harriers' search for a win goes on as they went down to a 1-0 defeat to Braintree Town at Aggborough. Kenny Davis`s penalty 2 minutes before half-time was to prove enough... Both sides were reduced to ten-men within a minute of each other.

    Harriers` Luke Maxwell was the first for an early shower in the 81st minute for a second yellow card offence and he was swiftly followed by the Iron`s Alex Woodyard for violent conduct.

    Southport put distance between themselves and Kidderminster as they battled out a goalless draw at home against Dover Athletic.

    FC Halifax Town slumped to their sixth defeat in eight games this season as they lost 3-2 at The Ebb Stadium against Aldershot Town. Two goals from Charlie Walker either side of half-time after Jim Stevenson had opened the scoring in the 18th minute put the Shaymen 3-0 down and with a mountain to climb.

    But half-time substitute Danny Hattersley scored his first goal in 2015 on the hour-mark, with David Brooks adding a second 7 minutes from time as Town almost turned a three-goal deficit around.

    Grimsby Town moved into ninth spot in the fledgling table after recording a 3-1 win at Meadow Park against newly-promoted Boreham Wood. The Mariners went ahead in bizarre circumstances after 8 minutes when Scott Doe sliced a clearance over his own keeper... Omar Bogle rifled home a second from 20 yards... Nathan Arnold made certain of the win 7 minutes later...

    Former Barnet striker Charlie MacDonald came off the bench to head home a consolation for Wood with 10 minutes remaining.

    Guiseley AFC returned north with a point from their long trip to Devon to take on Torquay United. The visitors had the perfect start when they were awarded a penalty on 26 minutes when Exodus Geohaghon brought Will Hatfield down in the box and Liam Dickinson tucked away the resulting spot-kick.

    But the lead lasted just 8 minutes, big defender Geohaghon making up for his earlier misdemeanour to equalise for the Gulls".


    5 September 2015

    ALTRINCHAM 2 CHELTENHAM TOWN 1

    With the game well into injury time, Alty lost substitute Ryan Crowther to injury, bringing to nine the number of their first team squad currently injured. They had started the game with six players sidelined (Havern, Coburn, Marshall, Richman, Clee and Griffith), then lost Josh O'Keefe in the first half of this match to a hip injury and had Scott Leather playing for more than half of the match with a suspected broken nose!

    But, out of adversity, came a great outcome. 18 year-old centre-back Sam Heathcote, son of former Alty player and manager Graham, came on to make his debut as the injured Crowther's replacement and, in the fifth added minute, he calmly converted Michael Rankine's low cross from the byline to give Alty a trio of home wins this season against former Football League opposition...

    Match report here.

    Above, right: Sam Heathcote is buried beneath his team-mates after scoring the winner.

    APOLOGY!

    Altrincham FC chairman, Grahame Rowley, apologises to supporters at today's game for the failure to remove the segregation barriers which had been put in place at the J. Davidson Stadium for last week's game against Tranmere Rovers. It had been intended to remove these but, with being away from the Club for much of last week, this action was not taken.

    SATURDAY 5th SEPTEMBER

    • Aldershot Town 3-2 FC Halifax Town
    • Altrincham 2-1 Cheltenham Town
    • Barrow 1-0 Eastleigh
    • Boreham Wood 1-3 Grimsby Town
    • Bromley 3-0 Gateshead
    • Chester FC 1-2 Forest Green Rovers
    • Kidderminster Harriers 0-1 Braintree Town
    • Lincoln City 1-1 Wrexham
    • Macclesfield Town 2-1 Woking
    • Southport 0-0 Dover Athletic
    • Torquay United 1-1 Guiseley
    • Welling United 1-1 Tranmere Rovers (k.o. 12.30pm on BT Sport)

    ALTY v CHELTENHAM TOWN: MATCH COVERAGE

    Altrincham are at home to Cheltenham Town on Saturday, 5th September (3pm).

    You can follow the fixture via this website's minute by minute text updates by clicking on the icon below. Alternatively Radio Robins' coverage of the game is outlined below as well.

    updatesPC updatesMOBI radiorobins

    Brian Flynn advises that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, is providing full live commentary of Saturday's game. The match commentary sponsor is Sale Fencing & Surfacing, a driveway and fencing company providing FREE, no obligation quotes for any sized jobs, with options to suit all budgets. Whether you are looking for a new driveway, beautiful patio, garden fencing, walls or gates, make Sale Fencing & Surfacing your first choice for exterior home improvements.

    A quality job is not just promised, it is guaranteed. Have a look at the Sale Fencing & Surfacing website.

    The commentary team is Alex Sarwar and Ian Wilkinson. John Edwards is the match summariser. Coverage starts at 2.55pm with the game kicking off at 3.00pm.

    The match preview will be available to watch via Periscope, which is a live video streaming app. Viewing of the match preview will be by a link on twitter from @altrinchamfc, which will be available as the broadcast starts at 2.55pm."

    ALTY RESERVE SIGNS NATIONAL LEAGUE FORMS

    Altrincham FC Reserves' midfielder Iannis Stouppis has signed National League forms and been assigned squad number 25. Iannis was with the Reserves last season in their inaugural season after re-formation. Ioannis is a former student at Ashton on Mersey School in Sale but hails originally from Cyprus.

    RICHMAN OUT OF SATURDAY'S GAME, SAYS LEE

    Alex Sarwar writes, "This Saturday it’s a battle of the Robins as Altrincham take on Cheltenham Town at the J Davidson stadium in the Vanarama National League. Alex Sarwar caught up with Alty manager Lee Sinnott at first team training to get his thoughts on the game.

    Sinnott gave a positive update on the fitness of Andy Parry whom he expects, barring any late problems, to be fit for the game. However midfielder Simon Richman (right) won’t feature after tweaking his hamstring against Southport on Monday:

    Right: Simon Richman in action against Tranmere Rovers recently.

    'We believe, right now, that Andy will be okay for Saturday but Simon won’t be available. It will have only been five days since his hamstring twinge so we’ll need to err on the side of caution. Hopefully we’ll be able to welcome him back into the fold next Saturday at Wrexham.'

    Alty have won their last two games at the J Davidson Stadium and Sinnott is looking forward to being back on home turf.

    'The home form, so far, hasn’t been bad at all with two wins in three and we need to maintain that against Cheltenham. We need to seriously address the away situation but, right now, our only focus is on Saturday’s game.'

    Sinnott spoke highly of Cheltenham and their manager Gary Johnson and knows how difficult a challenge his team will be:

    Gary’s an excellent manager and it’s no surprise that they’ve had a very good start to the season. It’s another team that are right up there in the table that we’ve come across already, so it’s a very examining time for one reason and another but we have to work through it.”

    'We know that, if we play to our capabilities, we can ask every team questions in this league and Cheltenham will be no different. My message to the players has been that, if you can play as well as you did against Grimsby and Tranmere, where we deservedly won both games, then there’s no reason why you can’t put up another good home performance against a strong side in Cheltenham.'"

    "WE ARE NOT A NON-LEAGUE CLUB" SAYS GARY JOHNSON

    The Gloucestershire Echo reports how "Seven games into the new season Gary Johnson is able to look at a completely transformed Cheltenham Town team to the one he inherited with seven games remaining last term. Johnson takes his new-look side to Altrincham on Saturday with the Robins looking to strengthen their position [nearly] at the top of the National League table...

    Gone are the weak of mind players who finished the season with just one win from their last seven games and in their place have come a new group made of sterner stuff. The connect[ion] with the supporters from both manager and players has returned and the feel-good factor that seemed so distant during the first part of 2015 is back. The club appears transformed.

    Asked what the major change has been between those two seven-game stints and Johnson's reply came back as quick as a flash. 'It's a completely different team now and that's the important thing', he said. 'Once you get a team of characters who are giving their all for the football club and for each other that's what you get. I had to work very hard to try and motivate the group that we had last year and unfortunately that was never going to happen. Now, four heart attacks later we have a group that are performing and this isn't a non-League club. None of us feel that we are at a non-League club, we all feel that we are at a Football League club, but one that's in the National League at the moment.

    'As long as we're up there competing we know that it's going to be a fun season. There is a connection between the fans and players now... They know the teams that are giving their all'...

    Doing just that may be vital at Moss Lane on Saturday, with the Robins facing a team who are perennial upset merchants. One of the most famed non-League FA Cup battlers, Altrincham have made it their speciality to upset some of the National League big boys on home turf. Victories against Bristol Rovers, Grimsby Town and Tranmere Rovers have come the way of Lee Sinnott's side in the last two years, and Johnson admits that the game will be a test of attitude.

    'It will be an attitude game, but we won't leave anything to chance', Johnson said. "'We will not go there with the attitude that we just need to turn up to get the win. You have to treat every club like a big club at this level as they will have dangerous players. When we look at the scouting reports it will say that he is dangerous, he is quick, he scores goals. We want to go there and play our game as any team can beat you in this league if you are not on your game. I like it when I hear a manager say that we bullied a team and I don't mean like being a schoolboy bully.

    We demoralised a team at Torquay and, to do that, you have to put in a lot of work and a lot of effort and then you should see the quality shine through. Altrincham have done well against Tranmere and then not so well against Southport and that doesn't quite add up. We will have to see which team of theirs turns up, and more importantly which team of ours turns up as well'".

    CARD COUNT

    After five fixtures, Altrincham had collected just seven yellow cards. Two matches, and nine more bookings later, they now top the card-count in the National League, jointly with Aldershot Town, on 16 cautions.

    Those cards have been collected by 12 different players:

    • 3: Shaun Densmore (5 fouls in total)
    • 2: Josh O’Keefe (8)
    • 2: Scott Leather (3)
    • 1: Jake Moult (14)
    • 1: Michael Rankine (13)
    • 1: James Lawrie (8)
    • 1: Adam Griffin (5)
    • 1: Tom Marshall (4)
    • 1: Andy Parry (3)
    • 1: Damian Reeves (3)
    • 1: Jordan Sinnott (2)
    • 1: Tim Deasy (the NL stats say 0 fouls but it must be 1!)

    Saturday's referee is Mr Jason Whiteley (West Yorkshire). His previous games involving Altrincham include:

    • FC UNITED OF MANCHESTER 2 ALTRINCHAM 1, FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round, 27 November, 2011,
    • ALFRETON TOWN 1 ALTRINCHAM 1, Vanarama Conference, Tuesday, 9 September 2014.

    TRAVEL TO WREXHAM

    Details of the TASC supporters' travel to Wrexham on 12 September are here. You can book at Saturday's game or by ringing the office on 0161 928-1045 during normal office hours.

    VANARAMA NATIONAL NEWS

    Halesowen Town report that they "are pleased to announce the double loan signing of striker Reece Hales and winger Keyon Reffell from Kidderminster Harriers... Reece is aged 19 and was originally with Birmingham City.... Keyon Reffell signed for Kidderminster Harriers from Port Talbot Town on a pre-contract deal in December 2014".

    The National League reports that "FC Halifax Town have confirmed that midfielder Elliott Whitehouse has joined Nuneaton Town for an undisclosed fee. Whitehouse, 21, joined the Shaymen in the summer having been released by Notts County. The midfielder won plaudits for his performances while on loan at Liberty Way last season".

    According to the Gloucester Citizen, "Forest Green’s incredible start to the season has been recognised by National League sponsors Vanarama, with Ady Pennock and David Pipe scooping the respective manager and player of the month awards."

    Macclesfield Town "confirm that striker John Marsden has left the club, following negotiations with Colwyn Bay FC, where he has now signed. The striker was on non-contract terms at The Silkmen".

    We learn from the NW Evening Mail that "Paul Murray has left his role as coach at Barrow AFC... The former Hartlepool boss was brought in by Bluebirds' manager Darren Edmondson during the summer to work alongside him and assistant Alex Meechan. He has stood on the sidelines for the opening fixtures of the campaign, working alongside Meechan during Edmondson's five-match touchline ban at the start of the season.

    Edmondson would not elaborate on the reasons behind Murray's departure, making only a brief statement. He said, 'Paul Murray has left the football club. We wish him all the best for his future projects and we thank him for his help and his time at the club'. There are no plans currently in place to find a replacement for Murray".

    Also in the NW Evening Mail we learn that "Darren Edmondson is remaining positive amid AFC’s early-season struggles and insists he is still the right man to lead the club to National League success. The Bluebirds head into tomorrow’s tough home clash with second-from-top Eastleigh sitting in a lowly 18th position having recorded two wins, four defeats and one draw so far this term.

    Barrow owner and chairman Paul Casson continues to back Edmondson, but the US-based millionaire has felt it necessary to fly to England to hold a meeting with his manager tonight, while he will also be present at the Eastleigh game. Speaking ahead of those discussions, Edmondson said, 'That’s something that is natural. The chairman has concerns over certain things and myself and him sit down and we go through each player and discuss where everybody is at a particular point. They are just normal talks between a manager and a chairman. I’d obviously liked to have won a few more games but, at this moment in time, we are where we are.

    We are evolving as a football club. The fact that the chairman has continued to back me is neither here nor there really. What matters is that the football club evolves and moves in the right direction. I’m sure that I’m the man to do that. I believe in my own abilities and the players are responding'...

    This season Barrow’s cause has not been aided by their squad being hit by injury and illness... But Edmondson has also been left to rue his team’s inability to kill teams off, after going a goal ahead, and instances of sloppy defending have proved costly...

    Added Edmondson, 'There is pressure as a player, a coach and a manager... But that’s the type of pressure that you’ve got to thrive on, and use it as a tool to improve yourself... Pressure in real life is dealing with cancer. I’m trying to help evolve a football club that’s ambitious, wants to go in the right direction and has an unbelievable fanbase that’s so passionate about their football club. So, no, the emotions that I’m feeling are continued excitement and positivity that we can still have a successful season...

    Without doubt, I’ve got the backing of the chairman. Yes, fans are disgruntled at the moment, but they’ve got to continue to believe... They are good footballers and they will help us take this club in the right direction'".

    The National League says that "After last week's inaugural Highlights Show from The National League, BT Sport will screen the next edition this Sunday at 10.30pm on BT Sport 1".

    ISSUE TWO OF MAGAZINE

    Brian Flynn reminds us that "Issue 2 of 'The Non-League' [magazine] will be available for sale at Saturday's game at the special promotional price of £3 (normal price is £4.50), £1 of which goes straight to the Football Club. There is a special feature on Tom Marshall in this issue".
    4 September 2015

    JOIN THE ALTY GROUND COMMITTEE!

    Peter Foster writes, "As Grahame Rowley mentioned in last week's programme, the Club recognises that there may be many areas within the Football Ground where there are improvements and changes required, both small and large, that may be beneficial to the Club and its supporters. This is probably to be expected after 100 years, however the Club would like to set-up a small group who will collate and review these areas of development so we can see what improvements can be made and how these can be done without any significant impact on the playing budget.

    To establish this group we would like to get three or four volunteers from the Club's supporters who are interested in this topic and who would be prepared to give up a small amount of their time. Hopefully, we can get representation from both terrace and stand-based supporters. Those involved in the group will be Neil Faulkner, our Safety Officer, Tony Mossman, and the ‘volunteers’.

    If you are interested in getting involved in this initiative please e-mail the club".

    RHAIN SIGNS NATIONAL LEAGUE FORMS

    Altrincham FC are pleased to announce that Altrincham FC Youth midfielder Rhain Davis has signed National League forms for the Club. Rhain, who was born in Brisbane, Australia, will be eighteen years old in a few weeks' time. He has been allocated squad number 24 after impressing in several pre-season games for Altrincham.

    Goalkeeper Josh Ollerenshaw, who also recently signed forms for Alty as potential emergency cover for Tim Deasy, has been assigned squad number 23.

    ALTY v CHELTENHAM TOWN: SPECIAL OFFER

    As it is an England international weekend, Altrincham FC will be admitting holders of valid Premier League and Championship clubs' season tickets, (on production of the season ticket) entry for £5 to Saturday's match between Altrincham and Cheltenham Town. To take advantage of this offer, please enter via turnstiles 5 & 6 (on Moss Lane).

    CHELTENHAM TOWN BOSS ON THE ALTY GAME

    Cheltenham Town report that Gary Johnson, their "Manager sat down with the press to discuss the start to the season and looking ahead to Altrincham away on Saturday...

    'I think it's important to get back-to-back wins for your confidence and for your points, it has helped us to get above 'credit' as far as our two points per game target. We're on seven games, 15 points which normally is good enough to be right near the top but obviously Forest Green have done very well and they'll take some catching but we need to get some more wins on the trot and hope that they fall flat...

    We've said we've got to get promoted, I've said how we're going to get promoted. I've told the boys in no uncertain terms what they are going to need to do to get promoted. You can't turn up in any league and get promoted because you are one of the bigger teams who just got relegated. If you get promoted out of this league you've really deserved it and to deserve it you need to do a lot of work...

    When we get the first goal we normally settle down and normally come on strong like we did in the Southport game. The three points are the most important, not how and when the goals are scored'".

    JOhnson remarked about Altrincham, "They showed what they could do against Tranmere but it's a funny one because then Southport went and beat them quite heavily on Saturday. So we'll have to wait and see which one of their teams turns up, but we obviously have to make sure that our team turns up as well".

    As for injuries, the manager said, "It's only Eliot Richards now that isn't training, he's not quite ready to join in fully yet. The physio has only just started working with him today but it's looking good. Jordan Wynter is another one that has had this long injury at the end of last year and he's got to get that fitness back, just like Lee Vaughan. It's always difficult when you don't have reserve team football but we'll work them in training". More comes in the Gloucestershire Echo, which reports that "'Our best is still to come' is the ominous warning to the National League high-fliers from Cheltenham Town boss Gary Johnson...

    In each of the last three wins the Robins have had to bounce back from what Johnson called being 'given a punch on the nose' before earning three points. Johnson's boys went a goal down to both Barrow and Wrexham before hitting back to win 2-1, while they had to play for 83 minutes at Torquay with 10 men after George McLennan's red card. McLennan's suspension led to the second team change of the season with Asa Hall starting against Wrexham in a re-jigged XI and Johnson admits the quality in reserve has given him food for thought...

    'People like Asa, Rowey and Josh Cooke have come in and Billy Waters now is raring to go... but I don't feel we've had a 90 minutes where we've been at the level we were at in pre-season... There are lads that have to up their individual efforts in terms of quality, but they are still giving their all'" he said.

    The Echo continues, "Johnson has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the game, with suspended defender George McLennan and striker Eliot Richards the only professional players completely ruled out. Johnson said that the whole squad had been boosted by news of Richards' all clear from testicular cancer earlier in the week and the forward is already doing a small amount of training".

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    The Football Conference reports that "Macclesfield Town have announced the signing of former Southport left-back David Fitzpatrick. The 25-year-old has agreed a deal keeping him with the Silkmen until January... Fitzpatrick has been a regular with Southport over the last two seasons after previous spells with Stockport County, Northwich Victoria and New Mills.

    He made forty-four appearances in his first year with Southport and his impressive displays earned him a call-up to the England C squad. He followed his successful debut season with Southport with another forty-one appearances for the club last season and will now look for more success in a Macclesfield shirt."

    According to the Chester Chronicle, "Dale Tonge will remain with Chester FC for at least another month while boss Steve Burr is considering further additions to his squad this month. Tonge, who signed a short-term deal in August after spending pre-season on trial, has been included in the squad for each of the seven games so far but has made just two substitute appearances.

    However, the 30-year-old has impressed Burr with his professionalism and his ability to cover several positions is welcome given the size of the squad. Burr said the Barnsley-born defender or midfielder would be with the Blues until the end of September, when the situation will be reviewed again.

    Burr said, 'We've extended Dale's deal, how long we'll be able to extend it for I don't know yet... I know he hasn't played a part yet and Ryan Higgins has been doing quite well. We've all being doing well because we've lost one in seven so that's been good'...

    Burr made one signing before the summer transfer window closed at 6pm on Tuesday, bringing in striker Josh O'Hanlon on a month's loan from AFC Bournemouth. Another potential loan move did not come to fruition, but the manager might revisit that when the emergency loan window on September 9 and is running the rule over an experienced free agent who is on trial too.

    But with O'Hanlon on board, Luke George available again and Ross Hannah nearing a return, there's no real rush on Burr's part to add to his squad, although Craig Hobson could be sidelined until mid-September after injuring his ankle... The retention of Tonge and the loan move for O'Hanlon have been made possible thanks to the club's Crowdfunder project, which raised £25,500.

    Burr... said, 'We can't thank the fans enough for their efforts to get that sort of money in over such a short space of time'".

    From the Grimsby Telegraph we hear "Grimsby Town director John Fenty on Mariners' start to the season... Fenty insists 'Now is not the time for change' despite what he acknowledges has been a disappointing start to the season... Sections of the support have voiced their disapproval, with some fans calling for drastic early changes after only seven games...

    Fenty said, 'We're obviously really disappointed that we haven't amassed more points and as a result, we are a long way behind the leaders as it stands... My opinion is that we have played well by and large, and there has only been one games in which the overall performance has been sub-standard... We've got a fantastic team and staff here and we don't want to break that up... We're all very much focused on retrieving the situation and building on what will hopefully be a win on Saturday at Boreham Wood'.

    The Mariners will travel to Hertfordshire seeking their first win in five games... Mr Fenty continued, 'A season isn't determined in August... Some of our plight comes down to individual errors, refereeing decision and the fact that we haven't always finished off the chances that we are creating... The players want it so much and they're very much together. They've got an incredible belief amongst themselves... I'm sure it will come good in the long run'".


    3 September 2015

    ALTY v CHELTENHAM TOWN: SPECIAL OFFER

    As it is an England international weekend, Altrincham FC will be admitting holders of valid Premier League and Championship clubs' season tickets, (on production of the season ticket) entry for £5 to Saturday's match between Altrincham and Cheltenham Town. To take advantage of this offer, please enter via turnstiles 5 & 6 (on Moss Lane).

    On the pitch, Alty welcome Cheltenham Town to the J. Davidson Stadium for the first time since 1990-91 season.

    Mike Garnett's record of games between the two clubs is below:

    • At Altrincham: P8-W5-D1-L2-F18-A6
    • Away: P8-W3D-L2-3-F10-A7
    • All: P16-W8-D3-L5-F28-A13

    Howard Watts's Through the Years shows who Alty have previously played on 5th September.

    LEE COMMENTS ON SOUTHPORT GAME

    Alex Sarwar caught up with Alty manager Lee Sinnott who spoke about the game on Monday against Southport.

    "The gaffer spoke about his disappointment regarding the twelfth-minute penalty decision and the game itself. 'It was a bitter pill to swallow because that’s the third away game in on the trot not where match changing calls have gone against us (Guiseley, Dover, Southport). The players are adamant the contact was outside the box and if that’s the case then it was another bad decision that’s not gone our way. The second goal I pulled my players up because we are detailed from corners for and against, we were light on the edge of the box and we got hit on the break.

    That annoys me because of the way I like to set things up. We were chasing the game from then on. Unfortunately we were toothless in the final third all game and we paid the price'.

    Sinnott also gave us an update on the injuries sustained before and during the Southport matches. Regarding Simon Richman Sinnott said, 'It’s difficult to say at this point, I’ll have a much better idea by the end of the week. Obviously it was very annoying with the injury to Simon occurring so early on in the game.'

    There was hopefully better news on the horizon for Andy Parry. 'As soon as Andy said he had a bit of soreness in his calf area you just can’t take the risk with it. We’ll assess him again later in the week and hopefully he’ll be fit for Saturday'" he said.

    The Manchester Evening News reports that "Altrincham manager Lee Sinnott was once again left to rue a contentious refereeing decision on Bank Holiday Monday, along with another injury. The Robins earned a morale-boosting win over Tranmere on Saturday but then lost 3-0 away to a Southport side which was bottom of the Vanarama National League.

    Sandgrounders striker Mike Phenix appeared to go down outside the box but referee Martin Coy pointed to the penalty spot amid furious protests from the Altrincham players. Gary Jones duly converted the 12th-minute spot-kick and Sinnott could hardly hide his frustration...

    More worrying for Alty was the addition of Simon Richman (right) to a steadily-mounting injury list. The midfielder was forced off with a hamstring problem after only three minutes. 'It’s annoying with the injury to Simon', Sinnott added. 'I’ll have to ask if he was feeling any problems in the warm-up because we should have known about it if he was. We’ll have to wait and see how he is but I shouldn’t have to lose a player after three minutes!'

    There was better news regarding Luton Town loanee Andy Parry, who could only make the bench due to a slight calf issue, after playing a starring role in Alty’s 2-1 win over Tranmere. Sinnott expects the defender to be fit for the game against Cheltenham Town this coming Saturday".

    ISAAC MALEY

    Graham Houghton, Chairman of Altrincham FC Juniors writes, "It is with the deepest of regret and sadness that I make this announcement. On Saturday 22nd August 2015, Isaac Maley, a player for Altrincham Juniors tragically died following an asthmatic attack. Isaac was only ten years of age and had represented Altrincham (Tigers) since his team was formed two years ago. This has been a massive shock for his team mates, team managers and everyone connected with the Club who knew him. Our thoughts go out to his family at this very difficult time. We have lost one our little stars.

    In memory of Isaac, there was a minute's silence at our Reserves and our Youth Team games over the weekend and black armbands were worn. A funeral service will be held at Bowdon Parish Church on Friday 4th September 2015 at 1.30 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend but the family have specifically asked people not to wear black".

    Isaac's death was also commemorated in the minute's silence held before the first-team game against Tranmere. As announced at the game, that mark of respect was both for Isaac and the victims of the Shoreham air accident.

    OLD BOY

    The EvoStik League reports that "Colwyn Bay have announced the sale of club skipper Wes Baynes to Welsh Premier neighbours GAP Connah’s Quay... The club have negotiated a four-figure fee for Baynes, who was under contract. He has played thirty-four times for the Bay since coming initially on loan from Telford last season, and turned down an approach from Brackley Town in the summer. A statement released by the club said... 'The transfer fee reflects how highly rated Wes is'...

    Baynes said it had been a very tough decision, 'I’ve loved my time at the Bay, but feel the time is right for a new challenge'".

    VANARAMA NATIONAL NEWS

    The NL Paper reports that "Striker Craig Reid has left Kidderminster Harriers after a tough 15-month spell at Aggborough. Reid, 29, signed a two-year deal with Kiddy in May 2014 after making his name with fruitful spells at Newport County, Stevenage and Aldershot Town.

    However, his contract was cancelled by mutual consent yesterday after a disappointing time in which Reid scored just five times in 35 league appearances. The Coventry-born forward, thought to be one of Harriers’ highest paid players, had yet to score so far this campaign and has made three of his four appearances off the bench.

    Kidderminster chairman Rod Brown said, 'I’d like to thank Craig for his professionalism while these discussions have been taking place. I think it’s obvious that we needed to do something that would enable him to go on and play his football elsewhere and continue his career, as well as taking care of the club’s interests, which I’m happy to say we have done'".

    Closer to home, Macclesfield Town "confirm that Will Boyle has returned to his parent club Huddersfield Town. The defender, who joined the club in early August failed to make an appearance during his time with the Silkmen."

    Meanwhile, Woking "confirm that scan results have revealed that Ismail Yakubu has ruptured his anterior cruciate, and will be out for 12 months. Ismail has been in outstanding form this season, and as you can imagine he is absolutely devastated to know that his season is over before it’s hardly begun. This is the third serious cruciate injury in less than a year that the club has suffered, Scott Rendell and Mike Cestor suffering the same unfortunate fate".

    In the Gloucestershire Echo we learn that "Matching the performance levels of their Bank Holiday weekend double will ensure Cheltenham Town don't end up with egg on their face at Altrincham on Saturday, according to Daniel Parslow. The two sets of Robins are already placed at different ends of the National League table after contrasting starts to the season.

    Parslow's first Robins goal in Monday's televised tie with Wrexham helped the side bounce back from going a goal behind to record a third consecutive victory. Hours before, Alty had suffered their fifth defeat in seven games as they were thumped by, Southport the team who had started the day bottom of the League, 3-0...

    'There really are no mugs in this league as we've seen from some of the results elsewhere, so we will go up to Altrincham and give them the respect they deserve', he said. 'They beat Tranmere the other week and we are aware that it's going to be another tough game, and one where we will need to be at our best to get something'...

    [On Monday,] "The Robins had to hold on with Parslow, central defensive partner Aaron Downes and goalkeeper Dillon Phillips forced into desperate action at times to keep the score down... And the cherry on the cake for the 29-year-old was a rare appearance on the scoresheet. The last time he ruffled the net was way back in August 2012...

    'The celebration was a bit of a joke. The lads have given me a bit of stick about my nose. It's been broken a couple of times and they think it's a bit on the large side, so that was giving them some back'".

    Elsewhere, "Lincoln City have signed former Gainsborough Trinity winger Terry Hawkridge from Scunthorpe United on loan until January. Hawkridge has been with Scunthorpe since the summer of 2013 when he joined from Trinity for an undisclosed fee. The 25-year-old, who was with Barnsley and Tranmere Rovers as a youth, had spent just a solitary season at Trinity having made his mark at Hucknall Town and Carlton Town... A virtual ever-present in 2013/14 as Scunthorpe finished runners-up in League Two, Hawkridge found first team opportunities limited at Glanford Park during the second half of last season and, as such, finished the campaign on loan at Mansfield Town. Nottingham-born Hawkridge will be with City until January 4th 2016."


    2 September 2015

    RICHIE SPONSORS CHESHIRE UNDER-21 COMPETITION

    Altrincham FC is grateful to its official caterer, Richie Bentley of Richie Bentley Catering, who is sponsoring the Cheshire FA's under-21s' cup competition this season. The teams will compete for the Richie Bentley Catering League Challenge Cup, the Richie Bentley Catering League Premier Cup and there will be a showcase final for the Richie Bentley Catering Championship Trophy. This will be held at the J. Davidson Stadium, Altrincham in May 2016.

    The competition was won by Malpas against Wythenshawe Town last season, with a good crowd in attendance, and all catering monies going to Altrincham Football Club.

    THE VIEW FROM THE PORT SIDE

    The Southport Visiter reports that "They say good things come to those who wait and at the seventh time of trying Southport were finally able to celebrate a victory on Monday... as Paul Carden’s side registered a convincing win to lift themselves off the foot of the table...

    The last time Southport scored a penalty in a league match was October 2013, so when Jones opened the scoring with a calmly-struck spot-kick on 12 minutes, it was perhaps a sign that this would be the Sandgrounders’ day.Southport tend to enjoy playing against Altrincham at home and, just as it was last season, it took a visit from the Cheshire team on Bank Holiday weekend for the Sandgrounders to belatedly register their first win of the campaign...

    Although Altrincham had their share of the play and the chances in the early stages, the Sandgrounders showed a resilience that has often been absent from their early performances...

    Southport took the lead when Jones sent a penalty down the centre of the goal after Mike Phenix, perhaps fortuitously, was judged to have been fouled by Adam Griffin. The Sandgrounders increased their lead midway through the half as the excellent Louis Almond played the ball into Paul Rutherford and his pass was converted by a side-foot finish from Nolan, who had been left unattended on the edge of the area.

    At that stage, the scoreline was probably harsh on Altrincham, with Southport’s second goal coming against the run of play. Only minutes earlier, Josh O’Keefe, the former Port midfielder, should have done better than to head over George Bowerman’s cross from a central position. A swerving shot from Bowerman was also parried unconvincingly by Southport goalkeeper Andy Coughlin, before Ryan Crowther placed the rebound wide...

    McCarthy added the gloss, stabbing home the rebound after a shot from Nolan had been pushed into his path by goalkeeper Tim Deasy".

    VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

    NL Pitchero reports that "Chester FC have confirmed that a loan deal has been agreed to bring in forward Josh O’Hanlon. The 19-year-old will move to the Lookers Vauxhall Stadium on a one-month youth loan from AFC Bournemouth. The Irishman joined the Cherries from League of Ireland side Longford Town in January 2014 and had loan stints last season at Oxford City, Poole Town and York City".

    Elsewhere, "Matt Young has left Dover Athletic by mutual consent. The defender only joined Whites in August but failed to start any games, only making a couple of substitute appearances. The 21-year-old was a product of the Southampton Academy before having spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Carlisle United".

    Meanwhile, "Woking have confirmed that Dan Holman will remain with the Cards on loan up to and including 2nd January 2016. Former Braintree Town striker Holman initially joined Woking on loan from Colchester United on August 15th. Central defender Terrell Thomas has joined on a youth loan from Championship outfit Charlton Athletic. In May, Thomas signed a new two-year contract at Charlton... The promising 19 year-old... a commanding centre-back, who has also shown his versatility in the centre of midfield for the under-21s, Thomas was named on the first-team bench for the first time for the Addicks' trip to Fulham last October...

    Meanwhile, 18-year-old Academy player Andrew Mills and midfielder Jimmy Keohane have been added to the first-team squad."

    At Wrexham, Gary Mills, the "Boss remained upbeat and took a long-term view after seeing his side's winning run come to an end at Cheltenham. 'I thought we were unbelievable for 60 minutes. We were excellent; that’s how we’ve been playing', he said. 'But you can’t give away free kicks to a team like Cheltenham who send the big men forward and create problems. The game was lost with a free kick. We talked about giving away set pieces, but we gave away a couple of set pieces after we scored and we were punished.

    My players have been magnificent for me since I’ve been here. We’ve played some good stuff today and we’ll continue to play that way... maybe one or two of us got tired; we’ve had a lot of games but, sometimes, it’s difficult when a team get the ball forward early, but I’m still smiling. We go again on Saturday... It won’t change the way we do things'.

    There was a controversial moment at the start of the second half when Aaron Downes blocked a goalbound Wes York shot with his left arm, and the BT Sport commentators called it as a penalty and red card. Mills was not willing to ascribe too much importance to the incident though... 'The referee didn’t give it so it doesn’t matter'" he concluded.

    From the other side, Cheltenham Town report that they "came from behind to notch another hugely impressive win against high-flying Wrexham...

    Amari Morgan-Smith popped up six minutes from time to deliver a goal that will live long in the memory to take all the points. The Welsh side are attempting to reach the Football League at the eighth attempt, proof if needed that this division is competitive and on this evidence, they won’t be far away come May.

    But Gary Johnson’s side are starting to put something special together here and are still unbeaten after six matches, matching big spenders Eastleigh and Forest Green Rovers. It's a good time for those missing fans to make their way back up Whaddon Road. Next stop, Altrincham.

    Johnson was forced into one change following George McLennan’s early red card at Torquay United Saturday. Asa Hall was handed his first start since the opening day of last season... He was drafted into central midfield, nudging Harry Pell out to the right with Jack Barthram deputising at left back...

    The Robins reacted well to going behind and pulled themselves level within five minutes of the goal to square the match through Parslow... Johnson immediately swapped James Rowe for Munns, and later introduced Billy Waters for Hall and the chances kept coming... Morgan-Smith saved the best for last, producing a goal of real quality to snatch all the points six points from time...bending a precise 20 yarder inside the right post to send the damp home faithful into delirium.

    CHELTENHAM TOWN (4-4-2): Phillips; Dickie, Parslow, Downes (c), Barthram; Pell, Storer, Hall (Waters 73), Munns (Rowe 59); Morgan-Smith, Wright (Cooke 83). Subs not used: Vaughan, Lovett (Gk)".

    Like Alty, Kent's newcomers to the National League are suffering through multiple injuries as we learn that Bromley "were without the services of Max Porter, Lee Minshull, Louis Dennis and Rob Swaine, due to injury on Monday. Ben Chorley was named on the bench as was not fully fit for the fixture. Aaron Tumwa is currently away on international duty with Antigua and Barbuda until the 9th September for their 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. To add to the absentees, Pierre Joseph-Dubois was forced off the field in the first half of Monday’s fixture and the full extent of his injury is currently unknown.

    Meanwhile as mentioned on Saturday morning, Adam Birchall has joined Maidstone United on a season long loan."


    1 September 2015

    SOUTHPORT 3 ALTRINCHAM 0

    Bottom club Southport secured their first win of the season against an Alty side which enjoyed plenty of the ball but rarely threatened. With five players injured before kick off, (centre back loanee Parry had been added to the list after Saturday's game), Alty then lost Simon Richman to injury inside the first five minutes. Things got worse when Griffin was penalised and Jones converted the resulting penalty despite Alty protests that it had not been a foul and was outside the box (12 mins).

    Nolan made it 2-0 after 24 minutes when Alty had been opened up on the Port right wing. Sub McCarthy completed the scoring five minutes from time after Deasy had beaten out a Nolan shot. Five bookings compounded an unhappy afternoon for the visitors, Deasy being relieved to see only yellow after handling outside his box.

    Match report here.

    Pictured, right, James Lawrie gets close attention from a Southport opponent. Image courtesy of Mike Ripley.

    PORT VIEW

    Southport report that they "scored twice in the first half to put themselves on course for their first win of the Vanarama National League season, at the seventh attempt, against Altrincham.

    Early goals from Gary Jones and Liam Nolan were added to by substitute Connor McCarthy as the Sandgrounders put a disappointing start to the campaign behind them in convincing fashion... Southport took the lead on 12 minutes, Jones sending a penalty down the centre of the goal after a foul by Adam Griffin on Andy Bishop. The Sandgrounders added to the lead midway through the half as Mike Phenix played the ball into Paul Rutherford and his pass was converted by a side-foot finish by Nolan, who had been left unattended on the edge of the box.

    That goal, however, had come against the run of play, and only minutes earlier Josh O’Keefe, the former Southport midfielder, should have done better than to head over George Bowerman’s cross from a central position. The visitors saw enough of the ball in the opening half and a swerving shot from Bowerman was parried unconvincingly by Port goalkeeper Andy Coughlin, before Ryan Crowther placed the rebound wide.

    Yet with the confidence brought by a two-goal lead, Southport’s play after the re-start was more assertive... And three minutes after his introduction as a substitute, McCarthy added the gloss, stabbing home the rebound after a shot from Nolan had been pushed into his path by goalkeeper Tim Deasy".

    GAMES ON MONDAY 31st AUGUST

    • Braintree Town 1-2 Aldershot Town (att. 707)
    • Cheltenham Town 2-1 Wrexham (ko. 5.30pm - on BT Sport)
    • Chester FC 1-1 Guiseley
    • Dover Athletic 2-1 Boreham Wood
    • Eastleigh 3-2 Torquay United (att. 1490)
    • FC Halifax Town 3-1 Barrow
    • Forest Green Rovers 2-1 Bromley
    • Gateshead 2-0 Lincoln City
    • Grimsby Town 0-2 Macclesfield Town (att. 4251)
    • Southport 3-0 Altrincham (att. 1143)
    • Tranmere Rovers 2-2 Kidderminster Harriers (att. 4622)
    • Woking 2-0 Welling United (att. 1675)

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