Match Report

The Carole Nash Stand at Moss Lane.

After the storms of midweek, the main Carole Nash Stand at Moss Lane was lacking all of its glazing from its Golf Road end but the pitch looked in good condition despite the recent deluges. Altrincham started the game having never beaten Bishop Auckland in the UniBond League in six previous attempts. The match referee was Mr Barry Sims, who replaced the official named in the matchday programme. Mr Sims had refereed Alty's match at Colwyn Bay early in this season.

Altrincham paid the price for failing to convert a hatful of first-half chances when Bishop Auckland equalised less than a minute from the end of the fifth minute of added time. Thornley had belatedly given Alty the lead after 44 minutes when his shot was just firm enough to carry into the net after keeper Campbell had half stopped it. Campbell had earlier produced a number of fine stops to keep out Alty and, in particular, Thornley. A home lead of 3-0 or more would not have been an unfair reflection at this stage. In an increasingly tetchy second half, in which referee Mr Sims continued his first-half pattern of bewildering decisions, Altrincham looked to have secured their fourth successive league win till a Maddox slip allowed substitute Brunskill in to steal a point.

After the Alty management had been told to prune the wage bill it was surprising to see a new face in the Altrincham side, left-sided midfielder Barry Shuttleworth, who has arrived this week on loan from Macclesfield Town. His arrival allowed Danny Murphy to rest for much of the game on the bench as he continues to await his hernia operation. Rod Thornley was supported by Kevin Hulme up front, whilst Gary Scott continued in midfield as Neil Ryan retained the right-back spot. Bishop Auckland had been having a poor run recently and had been rocked by manager Tony Lee's defection to Spennymoor over the Christmas break. Their side included Carl Chillingsorth who started the season by scoring regularly for Whitby Town before moving back further North. Former Gateshead manager Paul Proudlock was also in the visitors' side.

Altrincham started very brightly and could have gone ahead in the very first minute. Thornley picked up the ball to the left of goal, not far outside the box. He evaded two tackles before getting in a firm shot which keeper Campbell did well to save with his legs. Then Thornley fed Craney whose shot was deflected out for an early Altrincham corner (90 seconds). Hulme was judged offside before a foul on Thornley underlined the Bishops' desperation at this early stage (4 mins). However, a foul by Maddox on "Snapper" Shaw gave the Bishops a free-kick of their own from 40 yards out but this was cleared comfortably. Paul Taylor was lucky to escape censure when he lunged into a tackle on a Bishops' player near the touchline at half-way but play continued and the ball went forward via Hulme to Thornley. His goal-bound shot was once again beaten out by Campbell (7 mins). Taylor then gave the ball away to the Gateshead's manager's son, Kevin Shoulder, and the short midfielder won a corner off the Alty left-back. Skedd's corner kick went straight to Coburn's arms (8 mins).

The Alty keeper's punt found Hulme who set up Thornley for a fierce volley at goal from 20 yards but, for the third time in the short duration of the game so far, Campbell excelled to keep out the shot from Alty's leading scorer (8 mins). A corner resulted, which Campbell punched clear. The burly Bishops' captain Rowe then fouled Shuttleworth and as the two eyeballed each other, Chillingsworth made an unnecessary intervention which prompted a melee of about a dozen players in almost exactly the same spot of the Moss Lane pitch where a mass brawl occurred in last year's Trophy game between these sides. Mr Sims booked Rowe (10 mins).

Altrincham continued to dominate play but a mix-up at the back led to Maddox having to concede a needless corner to the Bishops after 12 minutes. Following this, Shoulder's shot from Chillingsworth's feed produced the Bishops' third corner off the game, off Maddox. After this had been cleared there was a strong shout from the home supporters when a defender appeared to play a back pass to Campbell, which the keeper picked up (14 mins). Bishops' got in a rare shot, from Chillingsworth, which went well wide (16 mins). Mr Sims then irritated the Altrincham side by first awarding a free-kick to the Bishops when Hulme appeared to have been held and then booking Sertori.

In truth, the Alty centre-back could not complain as he had used his arms to restrain an opponent who threatened to get past him in centre-field (18 mins). There was then a brief scare for Altrincham as Coburn dropped a cross, but then regained the ball. Altrincham had their fourth good chance of the game when Thornley fed Hulme, from the left. Unfortunately, the unmarked Hulme's sidefooted shot was well off target (20 mins). Newcomer Shuttleworth showed some nice touches and he won a free-kick on the edge of the visitors' box when he was tripped by the lanky Hutt. The ball then came out to Ryan who cracked in a fine shot from all of 35 yards which Campbell held (24 mins). Thornley was soon brought down by Hutt, who led a charmed life as he avoided Mr Sim's book for 90 minutes despite a number of questionable challenges. Thornley needed treatment for an ankle injury from which he did not fully recover for the rest of his participation in the game. However, from the ensuing free-kick, the ball came back to the hobbling Thornley and he volleyed a firm shot wide of goal but it clearly hurt him to do so (28 mins). Altrincham were dominating the game but not able to get the goal that their pressure threatened.

Thornley recovered enough to beat two defenders and get in at least his fifth shot at goal, this time his effort being deflected out for a corner on the Robins' left (32 mins). The corner should have led to a second one as an unattended defender very clearly put the ball straight out of play but, bewilderingly, the referee gave a goal-kick to the Durham side. Just as amazingly, Thornley got his sixth clear chance to beat Campbell moments later when, from Craney's pass, he chipped the keeper but the ball went just over the cross bar (33 mins). Then from a Scott cross, a Thornley header dropped for Campbell (36 mins). The one-way traffic continued as Campbell punched out a Ryan cross. Hutt then got the benefit of the doubt over a handball decision before Ian Craney surprisingly found himself booked for an unspectacular foul in the centre of the pitch (39 mins).

Both Craney and Sertori had gone all season without a league booking until last Saturday at Blyth but now both of them had picked up their second successive cautions in this game. In the final minutes of the half Bishops showed more attacking capabilities than at any point in the game so far. Firstly, a fine tackle by Maddox saw off Shaw's advance at the cost of a corner on the Bishops' left (41 mins) then Middleton got in a shot from the right edge of the box which Coburn did well to block with his legs. Another corner resulted, this time on the right. Coburn punched this kick clear but only to Proudlock whose left footed curler struck the top of the Altrincham crossbar to remind Altrincham that, for all their pressure, they had not yet gained the lead.

Mr Sims continued to annoy the home crowd with some perplexing decisions before Bishops again went close when a cross by Rowe found Chillingsworth unmarked and his weak header, wide, was a disappointment to his side (42 mins). Just when it looked as if Altrincham would reach the interval goalless, a badly directed defender's pass from left to right across the centre of the Bishops' defence, some 25 yards out, led to Thornley gaining possession off Rowe. He advanced and cracked the ball once more at goal. Yet again Campbell seemed to have kept the ball out but this time the shot had enough force to go through the keeper's defences and maintain sufficient pace to cross the goal-line for the opening goal (44 mins). Although their side were leading Mr Sims left the pitch for his half-time break to a resounding chorus of boos from the home supporters who had been angered by a string of controversial decisions.

Altrincham kicked off towards the 20/20 (Hale) End and after a weak effort from Shoulder had run to Coburn, Shuttleworth went past a defender to set up Hulme, whose shot was perhaps too deliberate, and Campbell saved it. Then, Scott put a curling shot wide (49 mins). The one-way traffic continued as Thornley won a corner following a fine ball forward by Sertori (51 mins). Bishops then got in a good shot at Coburn, when Shaw got free from Maddox's attentions (53 mins). Rowe continued to endear himself to the home crowd with a foul on Shuttleworth but the game began to go downhill when its rhythm was broken by a long stoppage for treatment to Shaw. The Bishops then began to enjoy a bit more possession than they had in the first 45 minutes but this was accompanied by an increasingly niggly undercurrent to the game. However, it was Alty's Kevin Hulme who was next to find himself in the referee's book for a foul on Middleton who then required attention from the physio (64 mins). Thornley's fire now seemed to have been lessened by his injury and the chances of the first half were not now coming Altrincham's way so frequently, though Hulme did shoot narrowly wide after a pass from Scott (67 mins).

Sertori and Hawes then fed Shuttleworth whose well-flighted cross was taken off Thornley's head by the keeper. After Scott had been fouled by Rowe, Ryan's 35 yard free-kick produced a corner, which was cleared. Next, a Scott feed for Thornley led to a poor cross before the rhythm of the game was once more broken by another long stoppage for treatment to Chillingsworth. At this point Altrincham surprisingly withdrew the lively Shuttleworth and replaced him with the less than fully fit Murphy (72 mins). Chillingsworth had seemed to be undergoing a near-death experience as he was gingerly rolled over by the physio from his prone position but, quite remarkably as soon as he saw that he was to be substituted, he suddenly recovered sufficiently to overcome his injury and exchange signals with the bench to confirm that he was to be replaced. He then remarkably recovered the full use of his legs to make his exit from the pitch to a chorus of booing. Brunskill came on in his place.

Altrincham nearly gave away an equaliser after this when Coburn came out and kicked the ball to an opponent. This led to a shot by Shoulder which Coburn saved. After Alty had not capitalised on a free-kick, won for a foul by Proudlock on Hulme, the Bishops gained a corner through Bromley on the left (76 mins). Play then switched to the other end and Thornley got free on the right only for his low cross to evade his on-rushing colleagues. A loud ironic cheer for the referee went up when he awarded a free-kick to Craney for holding by Shoulder before Lee Poland came on for Rod Thornley (79 mins).

Play continued with a regular smattering of free-kicks and was reasonably even for the next few minutes before the board indicating that there were five minutes left was displayed. Shaw then went down injured to prompt at least the third long stoppage for treatment to a Bishops' player in this half (88 mins). Just as it looked as if Altrincham would, for the first time this season, record a fourth successive league win, disaster struck. A routine aerial ball forward was missed by Maddox, who appeared to slip as he attempted to kick clear some twenty yards from goal. The ball fell for Brunskill who advanced forward into the box and beat Coburn with his shot from about 12 yards before collapsing inside the penalty area (90 mins). After treatment, a stretcher was summoned and the scorer was carried off. Jones came on for Brunskill but Mr Sims allowed only about 30 seconds more play before drawing a very disappointing afternoon to an end for Altrincham.

Altrincham dropped home points today for only the third time this season. Although the home fans felt that the referee's numerous strange decisions had a major role in the outcome of the game, it has to be admitted that had Altrincham converted even a third of the chances they created in a fine first-half performance they would have won easily. Mark Sertori was named the Threshers' Man of the Match for an impressive performance at the heart of the defence. The Bishop Auckland hoodoo continues; Altrincham have yet to beat them in the seven UniBond League encounters between the sides since Altrincham's first relegation from the Conference in 1997.