Match Report

SUMMARY

The Bishops have been Alty's bogey team since we first left the Conference in 1997; we have never beaten them in a league match. They have also put us out of two Cup competitions in recent years and today beat us yet again though in far less impressive style than earlier this season. Altrincham had much the better of the first half and it was wholly against the run of play when the Bishops went ahead. Smith was allowed to cut in from the left and feed Brunskill for the opener. The second goal, shortly before half-time owed much to bizarre refereeing from Mr Dunn.

Not only did he award the initial free-kick to Bishop Auckland when Murphy had been clearly fouled, he then missed a foul on Ward in midfield and allowed an arguable foot-up decision to go in favour of Bishop Auckland before Smith scored. Altrincham enjoyed the majority of second half possession but just lacked the killer touch in the final third of the pitch, where the effect of the departure of Ellison is clear to see. The cameras of the Non-League Paper were present, recording the goal highlights for next Thursday's transmission of the Non-League programme on Sky Sports 1.

Mark Ward had indicated that a shake up of the defence was again on the cards after Tuesday's fiasco in the first 25 minutes at Frickley, when three bad goals were conceded. He duly dropped both Farley and Glendenning from the squad whilst the new French striker, Gerard Leonard, started on the bench. Terry Bowker made his first League start and, thankfully, a back four was chosen, as Porter and Gallagher flanked Bowker and Maddox, with Scott starting in midfield. The Bishops were more or less at full strength; Brunskill and Foster were added to the starting line-up from the side which played in the league match in Durham, whilst Bell was absent and Gallacher was on the bench.

The pitch was heavily sanded in the centre after a midweek match between Rochdale and Macclesfield Reserves had taken its toll on the surface. Alty kicked off towards the Golf Road end and started the game with three misplaced passes in the first two minutes. Things improved when Murphy went past Lee on the left and fed Craney, whose shot went across goal at an angle, from the left of centre (2 mins). After a Craney foul on Bayles, Shaw and Brunskill conspired but could only get the ball to Coburn in Altrincham's goal (5 mins).

Following a Mark Ward interception, Finney had a shot blocked before Gallagher won a corner from a pass by Craney. Following a delay for treatment to Nelson, Hawes's corner was met cleanly by Bowker's head but as the ball arrowed towards the top-centre of the net, a Bishop's head got it clear from under the bar (7 mins). Altrincham continued to enjoy most of the possession but moves broke down on the edge of the box. Craney, however, did spin well on the edge of the box but his shot went wide (8 mins). Finney was the lone central striker and he looked lively in the opening stages as the Bishops' bench berated its side for "backing off too deep".

After Mr Dunn, not for the last time, missed a foul, Bishops broke forward and Brunskill fed Smith, who shot wide when he should have done better from a threatening position in the box. (11 mins). Altrincham continued to string their passes together without creating any openings and play was stopped for treatment to Murphy (15 mins). Craney made a good interception but could only get in a half-hit shot which Jones saved easily (16 mins).

Following a Steve Hawes pass, Ian Craney chipped a ball into the opposition box but it was cleared. The ball came to Smith on the left wing some 25 yards out. He cut inside and drifted towards goal without being challenged in any meaningful way. As he got to the penalty area, he played the ball forward to Brunskill who scored from six yards from a position to the left of centre (22 mins). The goal was wholly against the run of play. Mark Ward then received a yellow card for a minor foul (23 mins) but almost immediately a more blatant offence by Nelson on Murphy escaped similar censure as Mr Dunn continued to endear himself to the home crowd with his inconsistency. Worse was to come.

Finney soon got behind Nelson and the ball came to Murphy but his snap-shot from 8 yards found only the side netting (25 mins). A fine, long ball forward from Maddox reached Hawes and the ball eventually came back to Ward whose 25-yard shot was only narrowly over the top of the bar (26 mins). Following a Hawes corner, won by Craney, Craney himself put in a cross which was punched out by Jones as the home side continued to enjoy the lion's share of possession. Altrincham's most dangerous defensive moment came when a routine kick clear by Coburn struck Brunskill but went out for a goal-kick (33 mins).

Bowker and Maddox were performing solidly at the back for Altrincham and a Shaw shot at Coburn was the visitors' only threat at this stage. Altrincham, however, began to lose their early impetus and the visitors began to get a bit more possession as the first half entered its last ten minutes. Nevertheless, Altrincham were still pressing and Finney won a free-kick on the Bishops' by-line, which Ward took. He found Bowker's head but the ball went over the bar (39 mins). Following an impressive turn and flick on by Finney on the left, Murphy got deep into Bishops' territory to the left of goal. Salmon was all over the Altrincham flanker but as Murphy tried to wrestle free, to the astonishment of the home crowd, Mr Dunn awarded a free-kick to Bishop Auckland, only some ten yards from their own goal-line. Insult was added to injury when the free-kick reached half way and Mark Ward was jostled out of the way and the ball relayed forward to Brunskill.

His ball forward led to Smith raising his foot high to control the ball under a challenge near the edge of the box but Mr Dunn allowed play to continue and the Bishops' number eleven finished well from just inside the box to give his side a wholly undeserved two-goal lead (42 mins). As well as Mr Dunn's decisions, Altrincham were once more rueing missed chances.

Mr Dunn's peculiar interpretation of the rules of the game continued as he allowed Hutt's off the ball challenge on Ward to go without a booking. Ward responded with a superb ball forward to Murphy who was in a one-on-one situation inside the penalty area. However, the ex-Mossley man's control let him down and the ball was cleared (43 mins). The final action of the half saw Bishop Auckland's Hutt playing in a ball from the right which Gallagher only headed back across his own penalty area. However, the ball was cleared before the half-time whistle went to end a promising Altrincham display but a disappointing scoreline for them.

Altrincham continued to enjoy possession but play stopped for Hutt to be booked for a foul on Leonard (57 mins). Finney and Gallagher next combined up the right flank and won a corner. After Finney's shot was blocked, the ball came to Hawes and Finney again, the move ending with Leonard's header over the bar. Stuart Scheuber now replaced the out of sorts Hawes (59 mins), to make his 41st consecutive appearance this season for Altrincham. Almost immediately, the substitute lost possession before a fine diagonal ball from Porter found Finney. He fed Gallagher, who got up the right but had his cross cleared. At the other end, Smith and Mellanby combined for the latter to shoot from 25 yards at Coburn; it was easy meat for the keeper. Brunskill had a similarly tame effort from 25 yards at the other end (62 mins) before Maddox responded by blasting over the Bishops' bar from 20 yards.

David Gallacher replaced Snapper Shaw for the visitors (66 mins) as Altrincham laboured ineffectually for a goal against a physically larger side. A crude lunge by Maddox on the centre-line brought him a booking (67 mins) as the sides slugged it out with very few chances being created. Scheuber, Finney, Leonard and Craney combined well but Craney's shot was blocked at source just before Mairs replaced the on-loan Chester City striker, Finney (72 mins). The Bishops, sitting on their comfortable lead, were largely limited to breakaways and from one of these, Coburn raced out and dribbled his way to a position on the left touchline, fully forty yards from his goal-line, before clearing the ball.

A Scott cross from the right was left by the Bishops' defence only for Murphy to ghost in at the back post. However his flying header went wide (75 mins). Leonard and Porter then contrived to win a free-kick some twenty yards from goal on the left but Nelson headed clear both this ball and the follow-up from Mairs. Altrincham were unable to convert their possession into clear chances and the game became something of a stalemate as the Bishops held on to what they had. After Bayles had fouled Craney, Scheuber's free-kick won a corner off Nelson, as Murphy closed in (80 mins). Jones caught Scheuber's corner well. Gallagher then won a free-kick near the right corner for Altrincham. Scheuber's flag-kick was flicked on by Maddox but evaded his colleagues in the box. At this point, Riatt came on for Bayles for the Bishops (83 mins). After Leonard had done well to wriggle free of an illegal challenge, Mr Dunn blew his whistle for a home free-kick when play-on was the correct decision to be made. A rare excursion by the visitors saw Coburn drop the ball but recover possession (85 mins). The Bishops posed a late threat when Brunskill and Shaw progressed up the left and Lee's ball gave Riatt a free header which he planted wide of goal (85 mins). The final five minutes saw Altrincham still pressing but never looking likely to score; this was their first blank score-sheet since the match at Leek on 16 December.

This was a much better performance than the Frickley game in midweek, where horrendous errors in defence left Altrincham chasing the game. However, without Kevin Ellison and with Steve Hawes currently not at his best, the side lacks any real punch when going forward other than through Murphy who tends to fade after the opening stages. The back-four formation gave the side greater stability but Bishop Auckland were far less impressive going forward than they had been in their three earlier games against us this season.

Whilst it is always easy to blame the match officials, Mr Dunn did make some genuinely odd decisions during this game, one of which led directly to the second goal. Nevertheless the Bishops deserved to win. Altrincham now need to arrest a run of seven games without defeat when they take on Hucknall next Tuesday. Jason Gallagher was named Man of the Match but to be honest no one player particularly stood out for The Robins and he was as worthy a recipient as anyone especially for his second-half display.