Match Report

Altrincham arrived with the worst current form in the Division- just one win in their last fourteen League games but Trinity had also lost their last three matches; the third of these defeats being to a last-minute goal in this week's UniBond President's Cup Final against Barrow. Trinity is a welcoming Club with a well-maintained stadium and a fine playing surface. Alty and Trinity only met at Moss Lane exactly a month ago but Alty showed six changes in their starting line-up today and Trinity five, underlining both sides' injury problems.

Altrincham deservedly won this match after getting a flying start from Rod Thornley's goal inside the first minute, when he completed a fine move involving Rowland, Strange and Daniel. A seven minute period in the second half witnessed three goals. Firstly, Craney shot home superbly from 20 yards following a slick interchange between himself, Strange and Daniel (52 mins), and then Sertori added a third when he headed home a Hawes free-kick from the right (56 mins). Trinity pulled one back when Gowshall scored from close range following a free-kick on the left (59 mins). 17 year-old Youth-team defender Vernum Rowland was named Man of the Match.

Alty centre-back Mark Maddox was ruled out with a rib injury but there was an unexpected return in his place for Gary Scott. Gary has missed the last eleven games through injury and was thought to be out for the rest of the season. Youth team and Trinidad & Tobago U-19 international player Mario Daniel made his first Altrincham league start but Kevin Hulme, who played up-front in the last game, was unfit to play today. However, striker Rod Thornley returned to partner Mario after his duties as England masseur in midweek. Mario's Youth team colleague Vernum Rowland moved from the bench to start at right back, with Lee Poland reverting to the subs' role.

On the bench with Poland were Mark Maddox and Lee Thompson. Steve Hawes was playing his last game of the season, having received a four-game ban after picking up his tenth booking and the punishment also reportedly included a supplementary ban for an alleged incident after he was sent off at Droylsden in March. Trinity were without three players injured in midweek. Defender and captain Neil Allison, Gareth Williams and ex-Robins' striker Lee Ellington were all unable to play. Lee had the consolation of being named his Club's Player of the Year, however. Returning to the home side from suspension was John Reed.

Altrincham kicked off with the wind behind them but almost immediately lost possession and after a mis-kick by Vernum Rowland, Trinity got in a shot at Coburn after only 15 seconds. However, Vernum then played a fine ball forward up the right side to Thornley, who in turn fed Strange, further right. His ball inside found Daniel who did well to lay it off, left, to Thornley whose shot seemed to go into the net off a defender as a tackle came in. Altrincham were ahead comfortably inside the first minute of the game- their fastest goal of the season.

As in the last match, Alty keeper Stuart Coburn was unable to take any goal-kicks due to a leg injury, so Mark Sertori and Neil Ryan shared these duties. Thornley and Murphy soon combined to win a corner on the left off Gowshall. Before Hawes could take this, the referee called over Gore for a lecture, presumably for speaking out of turn. The corner was not cleared and the ball came to Daniel who shot firmly, but at the keeper (4 mins). Reed then won a corner for Trinity which Coburn half got away but he saved the resulting shot comfortably (6 mins). However, Altrincham continued to have the better of the opening exchanges and after a Ryan throw, the same player won a corner on the left, which Ingham gathered from Hawes.

Then Murphy started and finished a move which nearly doubled the lead. After Daniel had fed Craney on the right, the midfielder's measured chip from the right edge of the box found Murphy rising well at the back post to head against the outside of the upright (12 mins). Gainsborough continued to play an offside trap very high up the field and against Alty's paciest front combination in many a year, (Daniel and Thornley), this was a potentially dangerous ploy.

Apart from their shot in the opening seconds, Gainsborough had not threatened the Alty goal at all so far but they won a corner off the impressive Scott through the efforts of Reed on the left. Indeed, the home side's most lively player was the left-sided midfielder Hall but right-back Rowland handled the threat well. However, it was a diagonal ball forward from the left which got behind Ryan at the back post for Lewis but he headed over the bar (20 mins). Altrincham responded with a threat of their own. Murphy got the ball to Hawes as the home defence, not for the first time, misjudged the high bounce off the pitch. Hawes's fine ball forward set Thornley into the box and though he brought the ball down well, he then scuffed his shot to Ingham (24 mins).

After Ryan had fouled Brown, some 25 yards out, Coburn was content to palm Hall's swirling free-kick over his bar for a corner. Coburn then punched the corner kick out only for Hall to shoot back, but well over the bar, from 20 yards (28 mins). After a shot by Daniel had been blocked, Thornley won a corner when his shot was deflected to the left of goal (30 mins).

The Alty back four continued to perform well and the visitors were still good value for their lead in a game as yet uninterrupted by any injury stoppages. Alty, however, continued to give away a few needless free-kicks for minor offences and from one of these Hall's 25 yard effort bounced comfortably to Coburn. Loan player Gareth Strange was also getting involved for Alty on their right and he is beginning to settle down into the side. Daniel continued to impress, too, as he harried for the ball and won a corner. Hawes's corner from the left found Sertori's head but the Alty captain could not find the target (39 mins).

Daniel impressed again soon afterwards when he turned well inside the box but his shot ran to Ingham, the former Stalybridge keeper (41 mins). Murphy then prompted a move which saw Daniel lay the ball off for Craney, whose good shot was well saved low down by the Trinity keeper (43 mins). The half ended with Altrincham only the one goal in front having failed to convert several other chances in the first forty-five minutes.

Just as in the first half, Alty could have opened the second period with a goal inside sixty seconds. Indeed, they went close twice in this period. Firstly, an excellent ball over the top from Ryan, inside his own half, set Daniel running freely at goal. However, Ingham raced out of his box and Mario's shot hit the keeper's legs. Then Thornley crossed from the left and found Strange at the back post, but he was unable to hit the target (46 mins). Wright then got in a toepoked shot at Coburn before Coburn had to come out of his box to head clear. Soon afterwards, Trinity brought on Bray for Archer (51 mins). Within a minute, however, the home side had gone further behind. A superb, slick passing movement involving Craney, Strange and Daniel ended with a great shot from Craney, from just outside the box which gave Ingham no chance (52 mins). Two minutes later, Gary Scott played a defence-splitting pass forward to the right flank where Strange advanced, only to be brought down towards the touchline by Ingham, who had raced out of his box.

As Strange received treatment Ingham was perhaps fortunate only to be shown a yellow card. Justice was done, however, for Hawes's free-kick from the right, 22 yards or so from goal, found Sertori unmarked in the box and the Alty central defender sent a glancing header into the back of the net, to make it 3-0 after 56 minutes. For the Alty fans who had seen only two wins in their side's previous fifteen games, this was heaven! They were soon brought down to earth, however, when Sertori conceded a free-kick on the Trinity left, some 12 yards out towards the touchline. Reed's free-kick found Gowshall unmarked and he converted the chance from close range with a shot past Coburn (59 mins).

An excellent ball from Hawes enabled Thornley to win a corner on the right (62 mins) but Ingham caught Sertori's resulting header. Daniel then got into the box but was bundled off the ball by Gore as play was allowed to continue. Scott's fine tackle saw off any potential danger from Wright's advance on the right as Gainsborough, buoyed by their goal, began to enjoy more possession than Alty. The visitors now replaced Mario Daniel up front by Lee Poland, making his 31st appearance as a league and cup substitute this season (68 mins). Scott then stopped Reed before a mix-up, a few minutes later, when he collided with Coburn but Trinity failed to capitalise as the Alty keeper was marooned to the left of his goal (72 mins). Altrincham remained on the back foot but Gainsborough were unable to create clear chances.

Altrincham then began to reassert themselves as Rowland played a pass long, up to Thornley, whose challenge on Ingham seemed unfair but play continued as the ball dropped for Thornley. He relayed it to Poland who shot into the side netting from close range (76 mins). Rowland then got in a fine tackle on Brown as he was about to shoot, but only a corner resulted. Sertori next fed Murphy who advanced fifty yards from his own half but under a challenge he could not quite steer the ball to Thornley, to his right, inside the box (83 mins). At this point the Trinity public address system - one of the best in the UniBond both for clarity and informativeness- announced the Men of the Match as Vernum Rowland for Altrincham and Ian Gore for Trinity.

At this point, too, Danny Murphy gave way to Lee Thompson, another very promising product of George Heslop and Neil Thomason's Altrincham Youth system. Very soon afterwards, as a Bray long throw was cleared by the Alty defence, Lee Poland got clear of the defence but played his pass to the left a little behind Thornley whose effort was blocked. However, the ball came through to Thompson, to the left of goal, but from an acute angle, Lee's shot went behind the upright (87 mins). Altrincham saw out the closing minutes to record only their third win in fifteen league games, all of them away from home (Blyth, Gateshead and Gainsborough). They will now try to win their first home game in eight attempts on Monday against Emley.

This was a well deserved win against a Gainsborough side which seemed to lose a lot of its forward threat with the absence of Ellington. Mario Daniel had an impressive first league start and combined well with Rod Thornley, whilst the surprise return of Gary Scott was another bonus. Mark Sertori, as ever, was authoritative at the back and rounded off his display with his first league goal for the Robins. In midfield Ian Craney and Steve Hawes gave good accounts of themselves and Gareth Strange seems to be getting better with each game. Danny Murphy also had a good first half as he comes back to fitness after his operation.