MIDWEEK GAMES

CUP PREPARATIONS

Click on the image right, for details of the Burton Albion hospitality available on Sunday.

In Tuesday's Manchester Evening News, "Altrincham FC will be looking to become FA Cup giant-killers once again this Sunday, as they visit Burton Albion in the FA Cup first round proper. The club have a long heritage in the competition, recording more victories over league teams than any other non-league side – sixteen in total.

However, it is more than 18 years ago since the last one, a victory over Wigan Athletic. Lee Sinnott, Altrincham’s manager, is no stranger to drama in the FA Cup either, after playing in the final in 1984, aged just 18. He was part of the Watford team that fell foul to Andy Gray’s controversial goal for Everton. Gray was allowed to head the ball out of the hands of Watford keeper Steve Sherwood to give Everton a 2-0 lead and effectively end the game.

Sinnott told MEN Sport, 'With no replays and no analysis in 1984, it is impossible to know for sure. In my opinion, yes, Sherwood did catch the ball but it happened in a split second. It was difficult for the referee, though, and with it being ’84, we will never find out. It was a great day, and it wasn’t, at the same time, obviously losing the FA Cup final hurts. Apart from that, though, it was a wonderful build-up to the game'.”

Sinnott leads his Altrincham side into the trip to Burton... He said, 'I have to put it into perspective. People might say they are on a poor run of form but they are still near the top of the table, so they must be doing something right'...

The FA Cup is a prestigious competition for Alty. In 1982, they became the first non-league side ever to make the third round of the FA Cup for four consecutive years. Despite twice earning replays at that stage – against Tottenham and Leyton Orient – they never progressed further. [They did reach Round 4 in 1986]

The most recent FA Cup giant-killing came in 1994, when they completed a second-round shock against Wigan at Moss Lane... but were subsequently knocked out of the third round, again, by Tottenham...

He said, 'To the supporters it may be important but we just focus on what comes next. This is the first time the club have made the first round for four or five years and we are just hoping to go and play our own brand of football'...

The last couple of results have been disappointing for Altrincham, losing league games against Solihull Moors and Workington, missing out on the chance to move into the Blue Square North play-off places. However, a nine-game unbeaten run prior to those fixtures gives Sinnott hope.

'Losing two on the bounce is not what we really wanted. But we move on and go from game to game and make sure they don’t overlap'.

In Damian Reeves, Altrincham have a prolific goalscorer at their disposal. Reeves has had the experience of FA Cup success in the past after exploits with Farsley Celtic and Histon... Sinnott said, 'Damian’s record speaks for itself. He fits in perfectly with the style of football we play and the team are providing for him. He is clinical and a finisher, and if you look at his record from when he joined us, he’s scored a goal a game'.

At Farsley in 2006, a squad which involved Reeves held MK Dons to a goalless draw in the first round. The following year, after a move to Blue Square Premier side Histon, he was part of the team which went all of the way to the third round. Reeves started the third-round tie against Swansea which Histon lost 2-1.

Reeves said, 'It was a good experience because it was a bit of an in-and-out season for me but I played a few times prior so I thought I would be playing. We only narrowly lost so we didn’t embarrass ourselves... We are in good form to be fair, so we see it as a winnable tie. I played against them a couple of times when they were in the Conference, and a few of the players are the same, so I definitely see it as one we can win'...

He said, 'I don’t pick the ball up at 50 yards and do all the work, it is down to the players around you. We have always been quite good going forward. The chances have always been created and I have had the knack for being in the right place at the right time'".

The Burton Mail reports that "Albion skipper John McGrath will end an eight-month injury nightmare when he makes his long-awaited return to competitive action following foot surgery. The 32-year-old will play for Albion’s reserves when they travel to take on Shrewsbury Town’s second string, having not played since picking up the injury in February.

The combative midfielder underwent major foot surgery in March... Brewers' boss Gary Rowett said, 'He has been able to train for while and I’m sure he is delighted to be back involved'...

However, Rowett guarded against the midfielder making a swift return to first-team action even if he comes through unscathed this afternoon... In a triple boost for Rowett, central defender Marus Holness and midfielder Chris Palmer are also pencilled in to feature against Shrewsbury... Said Rowett, 'It will be brilliant to have all three of them back as we have been slightly low on numbers'.

However, winger Jimmy Phillips remains sidelined having broken a metatarsal in pre-season, while defender Aaron Webster misses out due to a hamstring problem".

Also, "Albion have confirmed that winger Luke Rooney and central defender Robbie Kiernan have returned to Swindon Town and Wigan Athletic respectively following their month-long loan spells at the Pirelli Stadium".

However, "Gary Rowett has praised his men for clawing their way back onto the victory trail — albeit against 10 men. The Brewers had to wait until the 80th minute for Calvin Zola’s headed winner as Bradford City tried to battle their way to a point after the controversial dismissal of skipper Ricky Ravenhill just after the half-hour mark".

WORKINGTON GAME ANALYSIS

Brian Flynn advises that "The podcast of Tuesday morning's WFM Sports Talk Show on Wythenshawe FM, featuring the Lee Sinnott interview after last week's defeat against Workington", is available here.

BSBN NEWS

Colin Peake writes that "This Sunday - 4th November Gloucester City entertain Leyton Orient in the FA Cup First Round - on Sunday 11th they then entertain Maidenhead United in the FA Trophy The week after due to a large meeting at nearby Cheltenham Racecourse their Blue Square Bet North fixture against Chester FC will be played on Sunday 18th, having been moved from the Saturday on instructions of the police and agreed between the clubs.

To see out the month, if Cheltenham Town are drawn at home in the FA Cup Second Round then the scheduled home fixture that weekend would see the visit of Altrincham moved to Sunday, 2nd December. Of course, the Tigers hope they will not be facing Altrincham that weekend because it would mean that they had snookered League One club Orient this weekend and would be looking forward to another mouth-watering cup tie".

According to BSBN, "Tuesday night's FA Cup fourth qualifying round replay clash between Harrogate Town and Hyde FC has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch... The match will take place at Station View, Harrogate Railway Athletic on Wednesday evening". The Cheshire Senior Cup match between Hyde FC and Northwich Villa is due to be played on Thursday 1 November.

Still with Gloucester City, "Bristol Rovers duo Mitch Harding and Jordan Goddard will stay with Gloucester City for another month after extending their loans. Goddard (pictured), 19, and Harding, 18, are both expected to be involved in the Tigers’ FA Cup clash with Leyton Orient this weekend" .

PItchero Non-League reports that "Gainsborough Trinity have taken promising young goalkeeper Jonathan Maxted on a month's loan from Doncaster Rovers... The 19-year-old did make the first-team bench numerous times last season, and spent part of this season on loan with Goole AFC, although an injury to Rovers' veteran keeper Neil Sullivan saw that loan period cut short".

News in the Times and Star is that "Workington Reds have been given a major boost ahead of [Tuesday's] clash with Droylsden. Gari Rowntree, James Bolton and Joe Mwasile have all made themselves available for the match... The trio missed Saturday's 1-1 draw with Gainsborough Trinity through injury, illness and grief.

But Workington will still be without Mark Boyd, who has a calf injury, and captain David Hewson. Boss Darren Edmondson said, 'It's great to have Gari, James and Joe back. They are three big players for us, and we need them in our squad'".

The Northampton Chronicle says that "Steve Diggin bagged both goals as Brackley Town regained top spot... at Worcester City. In a first half of few chances, Diggin turned home Owen Story’s cross to give the visitors a 16th-minute lead... The hosts grabbed the equaliser 10 minutes after the restart direct from a corner through a defensive gaffe... With 14 minutes remaining...Diggin turned two defenders and fired home from a tight angle high into the roof of the net".

From the Boston Standard we learn that "Jason Lee has told Boston United strikers Spencer Weir-Daley and Ben Fairclough to go out and sign off in style. The Pilgrims travel to face Stalybridge Celtic... and it will mark the final game the pair are eligible to play in before their three-match bans begin...

In the FA Cup loss to Altrincham... Fairclough was sent off for a reckless lunge and Weir-Daley for an off-the-ball altercation... After sticking with the same starting XI for the past two matches, Lee has also suggested he may make changes".

The Oxford Mail reports that "Oxford City’s goalless draw against Stalybridge Celtic was interrupted briefly when visiting fans let off a smoke bomb ten minutes from time. Stalybridge players in the dug-out next to where the bomb was thrown, covered their faces from the smell.

City secretary John Shepperd explained the game was held up for only a couple of momemts. 'The referee came over to speak with our stewards who moved those concerned from the ground', he said...

On the field, City manager Mike Ford felt a draw was the fair result. 'It’s another point on our journey and sometimes you lose these games, but I don’t think we did enough to win', said Ford... 'We’ve got to be pleased with that as it’s a 0-0 against a full-time side and it’s another point towards our target of being safe, which is 40 points. I think we should be winning these, but we didn’t deserve to lose, so a draw was a fair result'...

However, Ford was critical of the playing surface, something he would like to see improve in the future. 'If we want to move on as a football club we need a better pitch. I’m not one to make excuses but that didn’t help', he added".

BURTON GAME

ALTRINCHAM v GUISELEY

As usual there are two ways to keep update with Altrincham's matches...

Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers and Garden Machinery, will be broadcasting live coverage of the game against Guiseley. The match commentators are Paul Salt and Simon Ellis. The match summariser is Ian Wilkinson and the broadcast will start at 7.15pm, with match commentary from 7.40pm.

You can also follow the match via the website's matchday update service, which aims to start as soon as the team news is available after 7.15pm.

You can follow the match via the following quick links...

Mike Garnett kindly provides the historical record between Altrincham and our Tuesday-night visitors, Guiseley:

Alty Mad has a preview of Altrincham v Guiseley. "Altrincham prepare to entertain Guiseley at Moss Lane on Tuesday evening, aiming to preserve their record of never having lost at home to the visitors. The majority of those games have been won by the Robins...

Altrincham's home form is poor, winning just 2 of the last six, and losing the other 4... The away form of Guiseley however, is much more impressive, picking up four victories from the last six...

FootyMad's prediction ... These are testing times at Moss Lane for the Robins and the Madmen are unable to see past Guiseley claiming victory in a close match".

In the Telegraph and Argus we read that "Two headers from former Bantams defender Mark Bower saw Guiseley claim a victory which lifts them to second in the Blue Square Bet North... When the Lions were last beaten, at Solihull, they wasted a host of chances and this game could so easily have gone the same way... Bower came to the rescue two minutes from time when he got on the end of a Rhys Maynell cross to score the winner with a powerful header."

MONDAY GAME

ADAM RECALLED

LEE ON THE RADIO

"Lee Sinnott was interviewed after last Tuesday's 2-1 defeat by Workington by Wythenshawe FM's Kevin Thompson. You can listen to the interview on the WFM Sports Talk Show on Tuesday morning from 11.00am-noon. The interview is scheduled to be broadcast early on in the programme. You can listen on 97.2FM or online here.

SHAUN'S BAN

OLD BOY

BSBN NEWS

The encounter comes around just 48 hours after City emerged impressive 2-1 victors at Boston United where new front man Alex Meechan was a debutant match-winner. The 32-year-old forward, snapped up from Harrogate Town, was plunged straight into the starting line-up and repaid his boss with the decisive 86th minute strike.

Heeley said, 'Alex is a great lad and we’re really pleased to have him on board. I had been talking to Simon Weaver up at Harrogate for some time to see if Alex was available. 'When I was told he was interested in coming, we had a chat and it’s great to get him here. He did really well at Boston, took his goal brilliantly and gave us a real cutting edge'.

The much-travelled Meechan began his career on the Football League books of Swindon Town and then Bristol City and has plied his trade mainly in the upper reaches of non-league football with a dozen clubs since 2000 — including three spells at Forest Green. Now he will be firmly in contention to retain his spot for Brackley’s visit tonight. It’s a match that could see four players return to the fray — centre-half Lee Ayres, defensive midfielder Rob Elvins and midfielder Charlie Reece, all following suspension, plus striker Danny Glover after injury.

Heeley added, 'To go to a place like Boston and then follow up with a match against one of the top sides is always going to be a challenge'".

The Yorkshire Evening Post tells us that "Guiseley left it late to secure a 2-1 win against Vauxhall Motors which should have been wrapped up much sooner. Captain Mark Bower, the former Bradford City skipper, was on hand to grab both goals from set pieces... With the last attack of the game Rhys Meynell swung a ball in for Bower to attack excellently and grab all three points.

Lions' boss Steve Kittrick was full of praise for Bower after the game, saying, 'I think he’s been man of the match. Him and Danny Ellis have been outstanding. They’ve controlled it back there and done what they needed to do. We’ve just got to be a bit more clinical'...

Elsewhere on Saturday, Bradford Park Avenue strengthened their pursuit of a play-off place with a 2-1 success at home to ten-men Bishop’s Stortford... Avenue soon made their numerical advantage count through a James Knowles equaliser a minute from half-time but John Deacey’s side had to wait until the 90th-minute before bagging a winner...

Avenue now sit seventh with boss John Deacey relieved to take all three points on Saturday. 'I thought we played okay for the first 30 minutes and then we lost our way a bit after that', he said... 'Overall it was a battling performance and it’s always difficult against ten men. We are proving to be a difficult side to beat'...

One place above Avenue are Neil Aspin’s FC Halifax Town who had to settle for a goalless draw at third-placed Brackley Town. Boss Neil Aspin said, 'I can’t fault the players for their attitude and their commitment. The main thing is that we haven’t lost and we’ve got a point. We have to see it as a point gained rather than a point lost'.

But Harrogate Town’s pitch problems continued on Saturday with their league hosting of Corby Town postponed. The Harrogate side’s playing surface is still recovering from being waterlogged with Town due to host Hyde tomorrow evening in an FA Cup final qualifying round replay".

Harrogate Town reported on Monday evening that "Due to a steady rainfall in Harrogate today and with the forecast still looking bleak, Harrogate Town AFC have released details regarding the match against Hyde FC due to be played on Tuesday evening. Firstly, there will be a pitch inspection by an FA representative and a match referee tomorrow at approx 1pm. Should the match be called off then it will be replayed hopefully on Wednesday night at Station View, home of Harrogate Railway Athletic. Kick off will be 7:45pm."

Guiseley report that "Lions’ skipper Mark Bower has said he is thoroughly enjoying captaining the Lions after the departure of Simon Ainge. Bower, who notched both goals on Saturday, has had no problems filling the boots of currently on-loan Ainge...

The former Bradford City skipper said: “With the number of chances we had and then with it going 1-1, you just thought it wasn’t going to be our day but Rhys has put a great ball in and all I’ve had to do is get my head on it and there was no way back for them from there.” Speaking about the captaincy, he explained... 'I’m really proud to lead the lads out and hopefully I can lead by example too a little bit, with my experience, although we have a lot of that and a lot of leaders through the team anyway... We’ve got plenty of vocal players out there, so I’m just trying to help out any of the lads if they need it'...

A trip to Altrincham is next up for Guiseley before they entertain Barrow in the FA Cup, and although Bower said the league fixture needs the squad’s full attention, he admitted he fancied his chances against the Blue Square Bet Premier side.... 'We’ve had quite a few teams down here who sit back behind the ball and just let us come on to them, which can get a bit frustrating at times, so hopefully it’ll be a good game where both teams have a good go at each other'".

In the Harrogate Advertsier, we learn that "Harrogate Town are battling both time and the weather this week, hoping their problematic pitch dries up before Tuesday night’s FA Cup replay at home to Hyde (7.45pm)... They are arranging for specialist heaters to help dry out the surface around the goalmouths, but are likely to schedule another pitch inspection on Tuesday. Should the outcome of that be another postponement, Town will attempt to try again on Wednesday night.

If it’s still not right by Wednesday, the cup match will take precedence over Town’s league trip to Chester on Saturday, and for the winners, push back the first round tie away at Torquay United to November 6.

A club spokesman explained, 'Our game on Saturday was called off due to parts of both goal mouths being very wet and it poses a danger to players. Over the weekend our ground staff have covered the wet areas with thin sheeting to enable the areas to dry but keep it free from any further damage from rain we experienced over the weekend'...

Meantime, Town chairman Irving Weaver updated fans... Mr Weaver said... 'The cancellation of our last Tuesday’s match against Hyde was specifically due to surface water along the touchline adjacent the Wetherby Road terrace towards the burger bar, the inspecting referee offered the match referee the opportunity to play the match by ‘switching’ the linesmen, so they ran on the opposite half of the pitch, just as the previous match, but decided to call the game off'".

TROPHY DRAW- ALTY AWAY AGAIN

YOUTH TEAM WINS

SOLIHULL COMMENTARY

FA CUP AT HOME

Well, now’s your chance as we’re giving young fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a sleepover with the world’s most famous trophy. It’s our way of introducing a new generation to the magic of the world’s oldest domestic football competition.

Children attending The FA Cup Trophy Tour – which will visit key cities across the country – ahead of First, Second, Third and Fourth Round fixtures in the 2012-13 season will be chosen at random to win the iconic Cup in their house for the night...

The FA’s Sir Trevor Brooking said, 'No other football competition in the world matches non-League minnows against giants of the game... It’s that sense of occasion and the unexpected that gives The FA Cup such a magical feel. The FA Cup is one of the most recognisable pieces of silverware in world sport and we hope that a new wave of football mad youngsters can fall in love with the competition like generations of children before them'.

The unique FA Cup Dreams initiative kicks-off in Birmingham on Saturday 27 October ahead of the First Round Proper fixtures on Saturday 3 November. That day will see the first winning child announced and The FA Cup trophy delivered to the family home ahead of the games. U12s will be given the chance to enter a prize draw as part of The FA Cup Trophy Tour with four opportunities to win a sleepover with The FA Cup trophy before the Fourth Round Proper comes to a close".

SUNDAY VIEWING

SOLIHULL GAME

Right: Watched closely from the terraces by Alty Club Chaplain, Andy Barclay-Watts, James Lawrie competes for a high ball in Tuesday's match against Workington. Photo courtesy of Gavin Rathbone's GR Photography, whose site has many more excellent Alty images.

Saturday's BSBN Attendances were:

CROSSBAR CHALLENGE

GEE, WHAT A CLANGER!

MIDWEEK

The second half proved to be the story of Guiseley pressure not being converted into goals as Josh Wilson could have had a hat-trick with his last effort being a superb curling shot that ricocheted off the bar. Having absorbed the onslaught Motors went close on a couple of occasions and when they were awarded a free kick twenty yards out and when former Lions midfielder Michael Burns shot rebounded off the wall it was Rutter who steered the loose ball home at the far post to level matters.

However, with the clock ticking down and the draw looking inevitable it was Bower who once again rose claim the win with a thumping header with two minutes remaining...

Guiseley – Drench, Holdsworth, McWilliams, Rea, Ellis, Bower, Brooksby (Holsgrove 63), Boshell, Wilson (Merynell 80), Walshaw (Boshell,N 63) Rothery. Subs not used: Pearson, Giles".

TROPHY APPROACHES

SOLIHULL MOORS 2 ALTRINCHAM 1

Right: Scott Leather wins this aerial duel at Solihull, watched by Jake Moult, Simon Richman and Nicky Clee

BSBN FIXTURES

SOLIHULL v ALTY

Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers and Garden Machinery, will be broadcasting live coverage of Saturday's game against Solihull Moors. The match commentary is sponsored by Whetstone Professional Editing Services.

Whetstone Professional Editing Services provide high quality editing and proofreading of all kinds of documents, for students, businesses and footie fans!

You can find out more about Whetstone Professional Editing Services by visiting their website at www.whetstone-editing.com The match commentators are Laurence Howarth and Brian Flynn and the match summariser is Carl Rodgers. Commentary begins at 2.55pm. You can listen to Radio Robins on www.radiorobins.com

You can also follow the match via the website's matchday update service, which aims to start as soon as the team news is available after 2.30pm.

You can follow the match via the following quick links...

IMPORTANT! SUPPORTERS' COACH TO SOLIHULL

Please advise anyone you know who may be travelling on the coach, in case they do not see this notice.

FOOTY MAD'S ANALYSIS

Solihull Moors' home form is poor, winning just 2 of the last six, and losing the other 4... The away form of Altrincham however, is much more impressive, with 3 victories and just 1 loss from the last six [league games]. Solihull Moors are currently lying in 18th place... FootyMad's prediction ... Robins have been performing with great credit on their travels, and the Madmen see no reason why they should not return from with an easy victory. Away win".

SPORTSMAN'S DINNER AT ALTRINCHAM

DROYLSDEN GAME RE-ARRANGED

VOTE FOR DAMIAN AND SAM BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

The closing date is 5pm on Monday, 29 October".

WORKINGTON HIGHLIGHTS

OLD BOYS

Nearer to home, Flixton-based Northwich Villa have signed a former Alty trialist, Steven Owens.

BSBN NEWS

The Football Conference adds that "James Ellison signed for Droylsden after being released by Liam Watson, manager of Southport. Ellison started his career with Liverpool but left Anfield for League Two side Burton Albion in 2010. He struggled to hold down a starting place with the Brewers and a couple of seasons learning his trade on loan deals at Stafford Rangers, Hednesford Town, Alfreton Town and Chester FC. In December 2011, after returning from a spell with Chester, Ellison had his Burton contract terminated by mutual consent.

A free agent, Ellison briefly joined Hyde FC, from where Watson renewed his interest in the forward, subsequently signing him in January 2012. Ellison, who has made eighteen appearances for Port, joins former Haig Avenue team-mate, striker Michael Bakare, at the Butcher's Arms, Bakare having joined the Bloods on a month's loan earlier this week".

Meanwhile, "Stalybridge Celtic have signed 26-year-old striker Byron Walker from Ryman League Division One South side Herne Bay. The diminutive striker, Bay's leading scorer last season, has been linked for several months with a move to Oldham Athletic and has been training with the Latics with a view to a permanent deal. But he has recently been back in the blue and white of Herne Bay.

He played twice for the Latics in trial games at the end of last season and then featured in two pre-season friendlies... Walker started out at Chatham Town and then joined Dover Athletic in June 2006 as an 18-year-old... but then fell out of favour, eventually moving on to have spells with Ramsgate and Thamesmead Town before joining Herne Bay last year.

Also joining Stalybridge is much-travelled forward Vinny Mukendi. Mukendi only signed for league rivals and Tameside neighbours Droylsden in September, having parted company with Barrow AFC, just a month after his move to Holker Street. The 20-year-old made four appearances for the Bluebirds before joining Tamworth on a loan deal, which was also terminated. Mukendi was released by Macclesfield Town in June with seventy League appearances to his name in all competitions, scoring eight goals.

He enjoyed two loan spells with Barrow's league rivals Southport during his time at the Moss Rose".

From FC Halifax Town we learn that they "have signed 20 year-old striker Alex Johnson from Clitheroe until the end of the season. Johnson, who has previously played for Lancaster City, joins the Shaymen ahead of their long away trip south tomorrow to... Brackley Town. Neil Aspin is boosted by Johnson's arrival in a week which has seen Liam Needham return from his loan spell at Bradford Park Avenue and the signing of Alex Titchener from Fleetwood Town".

Pitchero Non-League reports that "Chester FC have taken midfielder Danny Williams on loan until the end of the year from Kendal Town. Williams, 24, is a skilful winger with pace to burn. He joined Kendal in February 2011 from Clitheroe for an undisclosed fee. Also comfortable at left-back, he earned man-of-the-match accolades in his first three appearances for Kendal, immediately establishing himself as a fans' favourite. Prior to Clitheroe, Williams played for Daisy Hill and FC United of Manchester, where his progress was halted by a broken leg in October 2008".

According to This is Lincs, "Nathan Stainfield insists Boston United will be at full throttle when they return to league combat, despite their agonising FA Cup exit... at home to Worcester City...

And Stainfield is adamant there will be no hangover from the 3-1 cup defeat to Altrincham, a tie Boston ended with nine men. 'We can take a lot of positives out of the match', said Stainfield. 'After the sendings off, that could quite easily have been five or six because Altrincham score goals for fun'... While hugely disappointed at seeing their cup hopes dashed, Stainfield took some pride from keeping highly-rated Altrincham striker Damian Reeves quiet...

'I said to Tom (Ward) at the end, at least Reeves didn't score', said Stainfield. 'He only needs one sniff at goal and his movement is very clever. We're fortunate to mark someone like Newsh (Marc Newsham) in training because he is a similar sort of player. Newsham probably drops a bit deeper and has a bit more to his game while Damian is an out and out goalscorer'...

Youngster Charley Sanders is in [manager, Jason] Lee's thinking after making an impressive impact off the bench against Altrincham. The 17-year-old youth team player came on with nine-man Boston 2-1 down, but still caused problems and almost netted a remarkable equaliser when a curling late effort dropped inches wide.

'I like the fact, although he's only 17, he's got aggression and he looks after himself', said Lee... 'We had Scott Dawson, a centre-half from the reserves, on the bench on Saturday too. We will try and blood youngsters when we can'".

Confirmation comes from the Examiner that "Striker Jamie Rainford has gone out on loan from FC Halifax Town. The 24-year-old has linked up with rivals Colwyn Bay for a month... Colwyn Bay... hope Rainford can give them a nudge in what is his second loan spell of the campaign follow a stint at Marine".

In the Nuneaton News, "Caretaker-manager Carl Heggs is calling for Hinckley United’s board to decide on his future ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Gloucester City. Heggs has overseen consecutive defeats against Colwyn Bay since Dean Thomas's resignation, but he feels an upturn in performances shows he is the man they need.

He said, 'I’d like to get everything sorted. I feel I’m the right person for the job. The players want me to get it. Their performances show that. There’s uncertainty at the moment so it would be better if that were addressed'.

Hinckley could be without forward Danny Newton — on loan from Nuneaton Town — due to an ankle injury. The Knitters, who remain under a transfer embargo for unpaid wages, have the rest of the squad available.

Meanwhile, Heggs has hailed the work rate of his young players, the oldest of whom is 21. 'It’s frustrating in that we’ve played well but not got a result. I’ve only been in charge for two weeks but we’ve made great strides. We’ve spent the week working on the defence to try and stop conceding goals. We’ll score goals the way I play, we just need to learn to grind results out.

The application of the lads has been tremendous. They came to us lacking confidence having seen their dreams shattered by being released by pro clubs. I’m trying to build that up. The players are buzzing at the moment. Sometimes they can struggle against physical sides, like Gloucester, but I’m trying to educate them that no matter how big the opposition, the ball always wins if you move it quickly', he said".

RODGERS... AND OUT!

Subject to any late reactions, the rest of the squad should all be available for selection, following training on Thursday night.

IMPORTANT! SUPPORTERS' COACH TO SOLIHULL

Please advise anyone you know who may be travelling on the coach, in case they do not see this notice.

Full details of the trip and the journey to Burton, the following week, are on the Away Travel page.

Mike Garnett reminds us of our record against Solihull Moors:

It is hoped to resume the Live Matchday Update service on Saturday. For the first time in three years a hardware fault prevented the service from operating last week. Hopefully, all will be well on Saturday!.

LADIES' GOOD WIN

Altrincham Ladies' manager, Keith Edleston, reports on his side's excellent result last Sunday...

Ladies harvest three points down at 'The Farm'

Right: Photo, courtesy of Keith Edleston, of the match against Irby.

Sunday's game versus Irby was a great advert for women's football, as the two teams fought out an entertaining game in the sunshine, which ended in a 3-1 win for Alty.

Rob had brought his Irby team down from the Wirral to Manor Farm, looking to build on their last two victories, the latest being an away win versus AFC Stockport which, in itself, is no mean feat. On their arrival at Ridgeway Road we noticed that they looked a young team but, once the game had started, we soon found out that they were a team full of energy and skill and who made us work very hard for our win.

A brace of goals from Faye Howard and one from Hannah Shufflebotham sealed the win for the home team, which has now pushed us into fourth position in the league with two games in hand. After the game Rob, (their manager), came over to our girls and gave them a massive compliment by saying how good our style of football was and that it was a pleasure playing a team like us, which just goes to show how far we have come in such a small space of time.

We are making great strides at Altrincham FC to make a Ladies' team that we, as a club, and you, as our supporters, can be proud of. With compliments from other teams like that, it only goes to show we are on the right track.

There's no match scheduled for this coming week, which is a shame, but it will give the players a week's rest now to get over any niggling injuries or illness that they have and be fighting fit for the next game versus Wilmslow Town, away on the 4 November.

Up the Alty!"

CONGRATULATIONS

NO GOOLES GET PAST ADAM

DANNY'S BAN

BURTON NEWS

The 21-year-old summer recruit from Kidderminster Harriers found himself on the bench when a side strain ruled regular no. 2 Ross Atkins out of Tuesday’s Staffordshire derby against Port Vale. And Lyness was thrown into the thick of the action when first choice stopper Stuart Tomlinson came off with a knee injury picked up as he tried to prevent Ben Williamson’s 75th minute equaliser for the high-flying Valiants...

Rowett said, 'I’ll admit I was worried at the time but I’ll have no real concerns if Deano has to play against Bradford.. Full marks to him, I thought he was excellent in the way he coped with the pressure they tried to put him under'...

Rowett said, 'We’ve said all along that we signed Dean as one for the future, but I will have no fears about playing him on Saturday'... However, Rowett has not yet ruled out the possibility of one or both of his senior keepers being available for the Bradford game, despite Tomlinson leaving the Pirelli Stadium on crutches after Tuesday’s game.

The Brewers' boss said, 'Tommo said he got a bang on his knee and it just locked on him so it will be question of assessing the injury over the next couple of days. As for Ross, our physio (James Rowland) says he’s had this type of injury in the past and he’s usually made a quick recovery'".

On the same topic, Burton Albion report that "Goalkeeper Stuart Tomlinson could be facing an extended spell on the sidelines, with the knee injury he picked up against Port Vale more serious than first thought. Burton Albion Head Physiotherapist James Rowland said, 'He’s had a scan today but that has come back a bit inconclusive. We are going to see the specialist tomorrow (Friday). However it does look like there is the possibility of a serious injury to his knee'.

Gary Rowett said 'His presence and performances have been a huge part of our current run of good form'".

BSBN NEWS

Another arrival at the Butcher's Arms is reported by BSBN, from whom we learn that "Southport FC have confirmed striker Michael Bakare has joined Droylsden on a month's loan. The 25-year-old joined the Sandgrounders on a one-year deal after a successful trial at Haig Avenue in the off-season. He was contracted to Macclesfield Town for the second-half of the 2011/12 campaign after starting the season on the books of Chelmsford City. Bakare also counts Bishop's Stortford, Thurrock, Welling United and Leyton amongst his former clubs".

FC Halifax Town "have signed striker Alex Titchiner on a month’s loan from Fleetwood Town. The 21 year-old Welsh frontman started his professional career at Crewe Alexandra and has had loan spells with Chester and Witton Albion. He joined Fleetwood in May 2012 after scoring 39 goals for Witton Albion. Titchiner will be in the squad to face Blue Square North leaders Brackley Town at the weekend".

And "FC Halifax Town have confirmed that striker Jamie Rainford has joined Colwyn Bay on a month's loan this week after the Welsh side have received international clearance for him. Rainford has already been on loan this season after re-joining his former Club Marine in September. Meanwhile Town have also confirmed that Liam Needham has returned to the Shay following his loan spell at fellow Blue Square North side Bradford Park Avenue".

According to Pitchero Non-League, "Goalkeeper Matt Ingram has joined Oxford City on a three-month youth loan from Wycombe Wanderers to gain valuable first-team experience. The 18-year-played four games at Hayes & Yeading United earlier this season, but his stay at Kingfield was cut short because of a minor knee injury.

Now fully recovered, Ingram has spent the last four games on the Wanderers' bench as understudy to Nikki Bull. Ingram is a highly-rated keeper who signed his first professional contract at Adams Park in May 2012 after impressing much as a youngster including being selected for an England goalkeeping training camp in January 2011.

As well as Hayes & Yeading, he has also spent time on loan with Lewes".

News of Saturday's opposition comes in the form of a report from the Solihull News, which tells us that "Moors' boss Marcus Bignot has revealed ambitious plans to build the club up from the foundations. And the emphasis will be on developing the young talent that is already bursting through into the senior ranks at Damson Park.

Last week’s stunning and well deserved victory over Guiseley saw three teenagers blooded, with youth team product Dior Angus winning man of the match. However that match was only watched by 245 supporters and, for Bignot, the drive to encourage the youngsters goes much further than first team performances.

'We are starting to lay the foundations for vibrant youth and junior teams', he said. 'We have got to be forward thinking and produce our own supporters, people who from an early age have been involved with the club and have fallen in love with it. We’re already engaging with the kids, getting them playing over at Solihull Moors, creating a welcoming, family atmosphere, I want a family football club'.

Bignot is also under no illusions of the task ahead of the Blue Square North outfit, particularly with ambitious newly promoted teams like Brackley Town and Chester already dominating the league. 'These are teams that have come in and aren’t focusing on this league, their aiming for the one above it, they’ve come in with financial backing and it’s got harder and harder. But we’re not pushing the panic button yet, we’re pro-active, both on and off the pitch and we’ve got to be or else we’ll fall short'.

Key to this has been the decision to give youngsters like Reece Fleet, Omar Bogle and Dior Angus an opportunity to show what they can do, particularly as the team last week were coming in off the back of four defeats. 'I wanted a reaction, something we could build on; I felt the team needed freshing up and we tinkered with the system and the players responded well'. Solihull are at home to Altrincham this Saturday, kick off 3pm".

At Gloucester City, "duo Sam Rawlings and Matt Liddiard have joined Bishop's Cleeve on loan... Manager Dave Mehew said... 'I’m keen for both of them to play a bit more, with Sam I need him ready for when Jordan Tillson’s loan comes to an end and with Lidds it’s a bit more long term to get him playing on a more regular basis'"

Guiseley are to "host Vauxhall Motors at Nethermoor Park this Saturday... Guiseley, who lost to Solihull Moors 2-0 in the last league match, are currently 3rd in the table but have played a game more than the side directly above them, Chester FC.

The Lions have played two games at Nethermoor since then, winning 2-0 against Buxton in an FA Cup qualifying round match and beating Bradford Park Avenue 4-1 in the West Riding County Cup thanks to goals from Nicky Boshell, Josh Wilson, Kevin Holsgrove and Luke Robinson... Following this fixture, the Lions face an away trip to Altrincham on Tuesday in the league."

And in the Telegraph & Argus we read that "The Lions look towards taking three points that could take them back to the summit of the Blue Square Bet North Division on Saturday... They romped to a big win over a league rival in midweek to start their defence of their West Riding County Cup. That victory, against neighbours Bradford Park Avenue, will have been a fillip for Steve Kittrick’s men...

Guiseley announced a significant sponsorship deal with former Bradford City backers JCT 600 this week and are looking forward to a home tie against Blue Square Premier Division strugglers Barrow in the FA Cup a week on Saturday".

The Boston Standard reports that last Saturday "Nine-man Boston United were hard done by, but they didn’t help themselves. There are some footballers so seemingly fuelled with rage that they could start a fight in an empty room... The game also has its fair share of hard men...

Two players that fall into neither category are Ben Fairclough and Spencer Weir-Daley. Perhaps that is why Saturday’s FA Cup defeat to Altrincham was so hard to take for many fans. Two laid-back lads who hadn’t earned a red card between them in a combined 151 appearances for the club are not the ones you’d expect to be in the showers first... and definitely not in the same game.

After Saturday’s defeat, Lee said he would review the match video before deciding whether to appeal [against] Adrian Holmes' decisions. Having now seen the video, I’m sure he knows the Pilgrims would be laughed out of FA headquarters. The manager has previously referred to Fairclough as 'big, bad Ben' with a smirk on his face, after a rash challenge or two saw him pick up a yellow card. Once or twice this season... Fairclough has ridden his luck. But not on Saturday.

Both Lee and Marc Newsham have suggested that, with just 12 minutes played, Fairclough could probably have escaped with a booking. Some officials don’t want to be blamed for ruining a game early on and duck out of a red card or penalty decision in the opening exchanges. Holmes bravely did the opposite. Goals don’t count as half if they happen early on, so neither should offences. On this occasion the ref took a stance. I’m not saying he got it right, but he didn’t get it wrong.

I didn’t see Weir-Daley’s clash. Perhaps Holmes didn’t see it all. But he saw enough to decide the player’s match was at an end, even if Jake Moult’s reaction was over the top. Both players have every right to feel hard done by. Neither are thugs or cheats, but both were guilty of giving the ref enough of a reason to justify a red card. Quite simply, you don’t fly in like that and you don’t go head-to-head...

Their judgements helped cost the club £12,500 in prize money".

The Boston Standard also confirms that "Jason Lee has hinted that midfielder Matt Thornhill may be in line to secure a deal with Boston United. The ex-Nottingham Forest player, who spent last season with Hibernian, turned out for the reserves in their midweek 3-3 draw with Skegness United.... He told The Standard, 'There’s one player who may get an opportunity with us. He’s done well and will train with us and may get another game'.

Lee says there is room in the squad for Thornhill, after winger Joe French and defender Travis Munn were both released this week, neither making a first-team appearance. Meanwhile, Matt Wilson has played his last game for United. The midfielder, on loan from Alfreton, needs an operation on his knee".

FAC HIGHLIGHTS

The FA fee for designated highlights is £6,325 per club".

MP SUPPORTS NL

Responding to the BBC Sport's recent Price of Football survey 2012, Farron issued the following Commons motion, 'That this House recognises BBC Sport's Price of Football survey 2012; commends the research into the various costs of going to see football at each club across the English, Scottish and Women's leagues; notes that the average cost of the cheapest adult ticket in the top four divisions of English football has risen by 11.7% in the last 12 months, which is more than five times inflation.

Further notes that the cheapest match-day ticket at Chelsea FC costs £41 and at West Ham FC costs £36 which is unaffordably high for many fans; and calls on honourable members to encourage people to go and see local non-League teams like Kendal Town or Barrow in the South Lakes, where ticket prices are 60-80% cheaper; and believes that switching to support non-League clubs will boost community football whilst also bringing collective consumer pressure on the top teams to reduce their prices".

FREE PREMIER SPORTS TV

"Diversified technology company 3M has announced a second year sponsorship arrangement with Premier Sports in appreciation of auto-industry customers and trade partner patronage for trusted 3M products, including vehicle wrapping films, car care products, injury supports, personal device skins and high-strength bonding tape. As a result of the sponsorship, a selection of live and delayed motorsports, football, Rugby Union and League, NHL, and mixed martial arts (MMA) events will be screened free-view from Friday 26 October to Monday 29th October during a 60 hour free-view period promoting both 3M products and Premier Sports content.

Richard Webb, Operations Director at Premier Sports commented, 'Following the success of 3M’s sponsorship of Premier Sports’ NASCAR coverage last year, we are thrilled to have renewed our cooperation in 2012. UK Sky viewers are in for a real treat and will not only get a taste of a normal weekend on Premier with lots of live sports action but will also get to see some of the best moments we have broadcast over the last 12 months with the finals of the NHL, NRL, Championship Rugby League and Blue Square all being repeated'.

Premier Sports on Sky channel 428 is the only UK channel showing complete NASCAR Sprint Cup events from start to finish live from the US. 3M TV advertising and sponsorship will run throughout the weekend’s programming with the highlights including live NASCAR racing from Martinsville, Top 14 Rugby from France with Stade Francais v Toulouse, live Blue Square Premier Football from England featuring Mansfield’s trip to Dartford, the first airing of Cage Contenders MMA, the Superclásico from Argentina featuring River Plate v Boca Juniors and a chance to see last season’s NRL, Blue Square and Championship Rugby League finals. On top of all that, HBO’s acclaimed fly on the wall series NHL 24/7 'Road to the Winter Classic' will be broadcast back to back as well as the 2012 Winter Classic between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia.

The free-view weekend on Premier Sports, Sky channel 428 is only available to Sky platform users with a valid card inserted in the box".

THANK YOU!

PLANS FOR RADIO ROBINS

Trying to Strike a Balance!

"When we were setting up Radio Robins in March last year, one of the first decisions that we had to make was:- Should the service be free or paid for?

Our decision was that we would launch as a free service and seek to raise funds for the club through sponsorship and donations and we would then review things at an appropriate time.

In the early part of last season, I became aware of "Tigers' Radio", which provides a similar service for Gloucester City supporters. I was interested to find out that they charged £2 per game but, consequently, only had an audience of about 25 listeners. In the middle part of last season, they partnered with a local community radio station to provide free commentary for Saturday home games, whilst still charging £2 per match for Tuesday night home games and any away games covered.

From the club’s point of view, we really do want Radio Robins to be available to as many people as possible and it’s pleasing to report that listening figures are increasing, with recent games typically attracting between 100-175 listenerS. The data that we use only gives us the number of I.P. addresses (computers) and, of course, more than one person could be listening to any computer, therefore listening figures have to be estimated.

Sponsorship is going well. All matches have been sponsored, to date, this season and Ashley Mowers, our main sponsor, have adopted cult hero status on matchdays in the Radio Robins Chatroom. Whenever things aren’t going well on the pitch, we often get comments such as "Bring on Ashley Mowers, we need a better cutting edge in the midfield

The other method of supporting Radio Robins is by donations, which can be made online or by sending a cheque to the club, made payable to Altrincham F.C.

Whilst we had two or three very generous donations last season, this season hasn’t been as successful and, at the last count, we had only had two donations this season totalling £11!

We would like to strike some sort of balance now, by offering Altrincham fans the opportunity to buy a Radio Robins Season ticket for £10.

We feel that this offers excellent value for money and is a really good way of helping the Football Club financially, whilst getting a good service in return. Remember also, that it is not just live match commentaries that we provide, there is also the facility to listen to recordings of match commentaries and manager and player interviews via the club website, services that many other clubs charge for.

Season Tickets for Radio Robins can be purchased online via the following methods:-

1. The donate button on the Radio Robins website (www.radiorobins.com) where you can pay using Paypal or a number of credit cards or charge cards.
2. Sending a cheque for £10 to the Club, payable to Altrincham F.C.
3. Emailing the Football Club requesting bank details to pay online.

Radio Robins will still be a free service for the remainder of this season but, if we could get 100 season ticket holders donating £10, then each season ticket holder will have helped the club raise another £1,000!

Do it now, you know it makes sense!

Brian Flynn, Radio Robins".

The SoundCloud commentary files from Tuesday night's game against Workington can now be reprised as follows:

"WORKINGTON SHARPER IN MIND AND FOOT", SAYS LEE

"Lee Sinnott remained philosophical and insisted he still trusted his Altrincham players after Workington ended their nine-match unbeaten run at Moss Lane on Tuesday night.

Just 48 hours after being drawn away to Burton Albion in the FA Cup first-round proper, following a 3-1 win at Boston United, Alty’s promotion play-off hopes were hit by a 2-1 defeat to Workington.

‘I said at half-time and again afterwards that it could have been a blistering the paint job, but you have to have trust in your players,’ said Alty boss Sinnott. ‘They are essentially a young squad, and they have to grow and develop together, which they have been doing.

‘You could trot out things like the number of away games we’ve had or a hangover from our Cup exploits, but I won’t go down that road. Quite simply, Workington were sharper in mind and foot, and we conceded too much ground to them, especially in front of our back line. That put us on the back foot, and a couple of errors contributed to the first goal going in.

‘The biggest blow was conceding right on the stroke of half-time. Workington acquitted themselves well in the first half, but that penalty really was a sucker punch that hit us hard. Don’t get me wrong, I still felt we could get back in it, and we did look brighter at the start of the second half. But we lacked he final killer ball that might have put them to the sword, and we just fell short.

‘We didn’t set out not to be at the races for the first 45 minutes, but it can happen. You have to make sure you learn from it, and then move on, and that’s what we will do.

‘There were one or two changes that had to be made, as well. Carl Rodgers felt some stiffness in his calf from the Boston game, and though Buzz (Matt Doughty) was on the bench, I didn’t want to play him, because he was still suffering some soreness from a few knocks in the same game.

‘It was similar with Duncan Watmore, because he is still getting a few twinges from his ankle. The other thing with Duncan is, he’s only 18, and you can’t expect wonder performances from him every single week. At his age, it is important to manage him carefully.’

Alty face a fourth successive away tie in the Cup but can take heart from the way they bounced back from going behind at Boston to emerge worthy winners.

‘Make no mistake, Boston is always a difficult place to go to, and they started brightly,’ added Sinnott. ‘They got their goal, but I thought our reaction to it was extremely positive.

‘I haven’t got a crystal ball, so I don’t know whether it would have been a different outcome, if they had kept 11 on the pitch instead of picking up two red cards. We still had a lot more possession than they had in the first half, but they were set up well, so I stressed at half-time that we had 45 minutes plus added time to score one goal. That would have been enough to stay in the competition, and there was no need for any panic.

‘Of course, they went down to nine men, and we exploited it by scoring three. I was really pleased with the way we stuck to our task. I always expected opportunities to come our way, and I was confident we would take them. It was just a case of being patient.

‘I don’t think they could complain too much about the first red card. If it had been the other way round, and it was one of my players, I think I would have expected him to walk. He jumped in and caught our player. Maybe it was a rush of blood. He may have been trying to win the ball, but he was woefully late.

‘The second one, I didn’t see, and I have asked the referee for an explanation, just out of curiosity. I haven’t heard back yet, but I’m interested to know exactly what happened.

‘It’s always a matter of getting the job done in the Cup, and making sure you are in the hat for the next round, and that will be the aim at Burton. You have to accept whatever comes your way in the Cup, and if we have to hit the road again, so be it. We have acquitted ourselves really well on our travels so far, and that is great credit to the players as a group.

‘Burton are a League Two side, and quite high up in the table, but a Sunday should be workable for our supporters, so let’s get there in numbers and give it a really good go. In the meantime, there are two important league games coming up, and we have to focus fully on trying to put points on the board.’

With Alty already having had seven away games out of eight prior to [last] Tuesday night, chairman Grahame Rowley has recognised the commitment of travelling supporters by subsiding coach travel for Saturday’s trip to Solihull Moors.

‘The supporters are always superb at getting behind the team, wherever we play, but this run of away games has meant putting in a lot of time, money and effort,’ he said. ‘As people know, money is always tight at Altrincham, but the recent FA cup prize money has come as a welcome boost.

‘The board and I wanted to make a gesture and have contributed to the cost of the coach, allowing fans to travel for half price.’ Supporters can check availability on 0161 928 1045".

FROM THE OTHER SIDE

Spraying the ball around, finding the spaces and creating chances from the first minute Reds were full value for their 2-0 interval lead. They just never let the Robins settle into any form of rhythm in the opening 45 minutes, closing them down and competing with a willingness and enthusiasm that has been their trademark when on top of their game. It was probably as good a 45 minutes as Reds have produced for a long while and the only disappointment was that they hadn’t a bigger lead when they left the field for the break...

Altrincham, by comparison, looked sluggish in thought and deed and created only one serious opening when top scorer Damian Reeves had a shot on the turn well blocked by Aaran Taylor’s legs. Workington won new admirers among the Altrincham faithful, and at half-time the talk among the Moss Lane regulars was of the Reds’ Zambian winger Mwasile. Clever control, good balance, lots of trickery, an ability to take on defenders and a player who could also pick a pass, it was an impressive first start by the teenager.

For good measure it was the Morecambe loanee who opened the scoring for Reds after 23 minutes... Reds crucially had the cushion of a second goal in the 44th minute. Again Mwasile was involved with a superb pass behind the central defenders for Gareth Arnison to sweep onto and step inside full-back Shaun Densmore [actually Gianluca Havern]. Committed to the tackle it was late and sent the Workington striker with the referee immediately pointing to the spot.

Arnison dusted himself down, got up and beat the diving Coburn with a well-placed spot kick. We expected a reaction from Altrincham after their jaded opening half show – and we got it. Instead of doing their best work in Altrincham territory Workington were having to dig in and defend in their own half. The pressure mounted but still Reds stood firm.

When Altrincham did get their goal on 66 minutes it owed a lot to good fortune. Substitute, 18-year-old Duncan Watmore, believed to be the reason for four Football League scouts being in attendance, tried a shot from the edge of the area. It was going well wide but found the unmarked Reeves, looking suspiciously offside. But, like the efficient goal poacher he is, Reeves wasted no time in quickly drilling the ball into the bottom corner for his 19th of the season..

In the last 15 minutes Workington broke the shackles and could have gone clear. Mwasile had a fierce shot turned onto the bar by Coburn and then the little Zambian hit another screamer which Coburn never saw until it rebounded off the angle of post and bar".

And the same paper says that "Winger Joe Mwasile could be an incredible asset to Workington Reds, insisted boss Darren Edmondson after the loan star scored on his full debut... Edmondson said, 'Joe’s pace is terrifying, and when you have that attribute, it is an incredible asset at this level. But Joe isn’t just a flier, he’s a very good attacking footballer, who plays the game very positively... He’s dynamic, and will be a huge player for us during his three-month spell'".

ADAM AND SAM

Meanwhile, Ian has slipped further behind in the season-long Charity Crossbar Challenge with assistant manager Neil Tolson. Neil now leads 12-9 after winning 2-1 on Tuesday night. Ian has responded by saying that "It's a marathon, not a sprint, there is plenty of time to claw it back. Roll on Saturday at Solihull". Watch out for the duo in action before the game on Saturday.

CUP ARRANGEMENTS

"Main Stand (seated); away fans will be in the South Stand accessed via Turnstiles A,B,C, and prices are as follows:-

Terraces (standing) away fans will be in the East Stand, accessed via Turnstiles T,U,V,W and prices are as follows:-

Admission on the day will be via cash at the turnstiles. Car parking for away supporters will be at the Rykneld Industrial Estate on Derby Road, which is a two minute walk from the Pirelli Stadium. Parking will be charged at the rate of £2.00 per car.

Match day programmes are charged at £3.00 each and will be available to supporters once inside the ground.".

GIVE RON YOUR SUPPORT!

"Ron MacLeod (right), one of our newest fans, who wrote a short piece about himself in Tuesday's Robins' Review programme, has been told that he must lose weight. He is starting a diet at the beginning of November, after being weighed, and will donate £50 per stone he loses, to Altrincham Football Club. As an incentive to him, he is asking fellow Robins to sponsor him to lose weight. If you'd like to help Ron and help the club by sponsoring him, please feel free to contact me by here. We'll be following Ron's progress in the Robins' Review and all sponsors will have their name mentioned in each programme. Many thanks, Grahame Rowley."

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS?

BSBN NEWS

The extended wet Summer delayed our start and progress, resulting in our first match in August being played on a pitch which had had less than 6 weeks to grow, having been reseeded and over seeded to compensate for extreme weather damage. Worse was to follow by playing our first two home games against Altrincham and Bradford Park Avenue in torrential rain. The surface from that scenario has not recovered, with only one league game against Oxford City and the Charity game having been played in dry conditions. The top soil layer has been reconstituted by cut and filling the pitch and will take time to settle down, the biggest factor is that the grass roots never had the opportunity to grow deep enough and therefore easily kicked into mud.

Deeper roots act as drainage to surface water and a full and established grass surface would have prevented exposure to top soil, which would have prevented creating a "pudding" effect. To try to alleviate our problems we have, following advice, as soon as the pitch was dry enough after the Bradford game we used a Quasi machine which injects compressed air into the ground to allow it breath and aid drainage, followed by verti- draining, creating drainage holes over the whole surface.

Since the pitch has been lowered, particularly at the hospital end, the heavy rainfall has run off the tarmac area, collecting and free falling down the new gradient, flooding the top goal area. Last week we completed the installation of a Aco drain along the top end which now collects all the surface water from the hard standing. We have had similar circumstances adjacent the Wetherby Road terrace, creating water ponding along the touchline.

This week we completed the installation of a French drain to capture that run-off water. In the original plan, as standard practice, is to sand slit the pitch next Spring, having allowed the grass to consolidate and firm up. The slits act as a conduit for top surface water to reach the comprehensive drainage system which now exists below the top soil. Until that process is completed, successfully draining the pitch is at risk. It is not uncommon for a troubled first season to ensue, we have had unprecedented levels of rain fall, but even more damaging has been intense rain on match days.

The cancellation of our last Tuesday's match against Hyde was specifically due to surface water along the touchline adjacent the Wetherby Road terrace towards the burger bar, the inspecting referee offered the match referee the opportunity to play the match by 'switching' the linesmen, so they ran on the opposite half of the pitch, just as the previous match, but decided to call the game off.

Decent weather for a period would really help, but we are where we are are, although frustrating, the under drainage is very effective, so in the long term we will have a playing surface that will be up to standard".

Meanwhile, "Jason Lee, manager of Boston United, is ready to explore the transfer market with suspensions set to rule out two of his key players. Winger Ben Fairclough and striker Spencer Weir-Daley will both miss three games after receiving straight red cards during Saturday's stormy FA Cup defeat to Altincham...

With the pair set to miss three important games, Lee will look to reinforce his squad. The Pilgrims boss has also challenged his fringe players to stake a claim. 'We'll look. If we can strengthen the side we'll do that', said Lee, who will have Fairclough and Weir-Daley available for Saturday's home clash with Worcester City. 'If we can't, there are some people, who have not had an opportunity, who will get the chance to come in and show us what they're about'" he told This is Lincs.

And the BOston Standard adds that "Fuming Marc Newsham believes nine-man Boston United were 'conned' out of a place in the FA Cup first round. The Pilgrims looked to be coasting in their clash with Blue Square Bet North rivals Altrincham on Saturday. But red cards for Ben Fairclough and Spencer Weir-Daley turned the tie on its head.

Fairclough was sent off in the 12th-minute, with United comfortably 1-0 up against the Robins. Chasing down a loose ball he rashly slid in and crashed into opponent Matt Doughty, referee Adrian Holmes brandishing red. The second came at the scores deadlocked at 1-1. Holmes again flashed the red after Jake Moult dropped to the floor following an off-the-ball altercation with Weir-Daley.

And it was this clash which left Newsham enraged. 'The second sending off is a disgrace', he said. 'Spencer’s not that type of player. I’ve seen it, they’ve gone past each other with a few verbals and both put their heads in together. He (Moult) has gone down embarrassingly'. The Pilgrims striker believes his opponent’s reaction was what saw Weir-Daley dismissed, rather than his action. 'The ref saw that, he saw them both put their heads in', Newsham added. 'I can’t believe it. He’s conned the referee and that’s ruined the game'".

CHESHIRE SENIOR CUP

ALTRINCHAM 1 WORKINGTON 2

DANNY HALL

BURTON GAME

TASC is arranging supporters' transport to the Burton game and details of this are on the Away Travel page, along with details of this Saturday's BSBN trip to Solihull Moors, for which prices have been subsidised by the Club.

YANKEE

TUESDAY GAMES

BSBN

Apologies about the absence of the Matchday Update service during the above game. The hardware was malfunctioning, forcing it to "hibernate" when, in fact, it was fully charged.

FA CUP

The Wetherby News tells us that "Harrogate Town have had to postpone [Tuesday]’s FA Cup fourth qualifying round replay against Hyde, after the Wetherby Road pitch failed a pitch inspection on Tuesday afternoon... The pitch at the CNG Stadium has been deemed unplayable once again. Only a week ago, the league match against Bishop’s Stortford was postponed for a third time, because of the surface.

A statement on Town’s official website said, 'Harrogate Town AFC are very disappointed that the game has been called off, but have to abide with the FA judgement. Our groundstaff have worked really hard over the last week and the new drainage system has been working overtime to cope with the volume of water thrown at it. However, again we have to concede that the weather has beaten us again!'. They will try again on Tuesday October 30, the FA Cup taking precedence over the West Riding County Cup second round tie at Ossett Albion".

Pitchero Non-League reports that "The FA Cup competition got one of the First Round Proper ties it really wanted – with no disrespect to Ilkeston FC – as AFC Fylde beat their Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Premier Division rivals at the New Manor Ground on Monday night... AFC Fylde`s victory not sets them up with a First Round tie against Lancastrian neighbours Accrington Stanley on Saturday, 3rd November – and it`s the sort of romantic tie that could well attract the live television cameras".

However, the TV companies clearly are unmoved by romance as, according to the NL Paper, "Three non-League clubs will receive plenty of national exposure and £63,800 after having their FA Cup First Round ties selected for live TV broadcast.

Southern Premier Division club Cambridge City will host MK Dons in the first fixture on Friday, November 2. The game, which kicks off at 7.30pm, will be screened on ESPN. Two days later Braintree Town take on Tranmere Rovers at Cressing Road... That fixture is being aired on ITV and kicks off at 12.30pm.

The final televised tie of First Round weekend sees Blue Square Bet South high-fliers Dorchester Town face Plymouth Argyle at the Avenue... ESPN viewers can see [the game] at 4.30pm a week on Sunday.

Clubs progressing through the First Round Proper will also receive £18,000 from The FA's prize fund".

OLD BOY

NEW NON-LEAGUE BOOK

Now David has published "Love Not Money: Non-League Football Portraits", (175mm x 246mm, softback, 84 pages, full-colour throughout, ISBN 978-0-9560458-1-2, £12 + postage and packing).

The publishers describe the volume as follows...

"Over two seasons David Bauckham photographed and interviewed volunteers at the various non-League football clubs he visited on his travels [including Altrincham]. These individuals, and many like them, are the 'lifeblood' of the National Game, without whom many clubs simply would not survive. Their words reflect the general views of 'non-League people'; what football at this level means to them, why they do what they do and, just as importantly, the challenges they face, and continue to face, on a weekly basis.

With over 70 interviews and portraits, from Club Presidents and Secretaries, to programme sellers and turnstile operators, 'Love Not Money' is an essential purchase for anyone who cares about non-League football, whether they are a club official, player, supporter ... or volunteer".

For full details, see here

FA TROPHY ON THE HORIZON

BSBN NEWS

After almost four years at the helm at Gainsborough and after investing around £1.75m into the club, Swann says that without having a tangible asset, he can no longer continue to invest. 'I have heard in the past that the Blues Club have not considered a sale because I have never actually put a figure to them', said Swann. 'So I am now planning to do just that. I will not reveal a figure in the press but only to the Blues' Club, who I hope will then discuss that offer with its members.

I also believe that the Blues' Club think I want to buy the ground just to sell it down the line, but I can tell the Blues' Club that is not the case. I want us to be playing football here at the Northolme for the foreseeable future. I am sure the Blues' Club will moan that I have made this public, but I have done that because I sincerely believe it is in the best interests of the football club.

If I can get the Blues' Club to at least put this issue on an agenda for a meeting, I will be happy. Up until now, we have never sat down and discussed the possibility of selling the facility and I hope that we can at least do that'.

As Swann plans to move away from the day to day running of the football club after this season, he is also planning to set up a committee which will take over much of the work...

Swann added, 'My health issues have to take priority and I have to put less time into the football side of my business. I also plan to enlist four members who could bring a cash investment of £1,500 each to the club, for which they would get shares and become directors... Even with a reduced playing budget next season, I believe the club would be in a stronger financial position if the football club owned its ground'".

London 24 says that "Orient boss Russell Slade admits his side's FA Cup draw at non-league side Gloucester City could be tricky. The "O"s have to travel to the Blue Square Bet North Club on the weekend of November 3 and Slade admitted, 'These are always tricky fixtures as we have discovered when playing Bromley and Droylsden in recent seasons. Playing away at non-league sides is never an easy task'".

News of our opponents this Saturday comes from the Solihull News in the shape of a belated report from Solihull's last game. "After a run of three league defeats, you could have expected Moors to struggle against high flying Guiseley, a team second in the Blue Square North and a club Solihull have lost to on every occasion the two sides have met since the Yorkshire outfit won promotion three seasons ago.

However, when manager Marcus Bignot says his is a team that can bounce back, perhaps an upset was on the cards and so it proved to be. It was the first start this season for Dior Angus, a product of last year’s youth team, and the youngster took his chance with both feet adding pace to attacks and getting the Man of the Match Award for his efforts...

Solihull opened the second half with some dominating play and took a well deserved lead on 51 minutes when Omar Bogle crossed to Angus whose shot, although spilled by Drench fell perfectly for Jay Denny to volley low into the back of the net... Moors doubled their tally on 61 minutes when Tom Kemp’s head met a long throw from Dom Langdon, giving the keeper no chance...

Moors held out for the much needed three points in a game they thoroughly deserved to win. Despite the victory the Solihull side still sit uncomfortably close to the relegation zone with 10 points. They are next in action on October 27 when they play high flying Altrincham at home, kick off 3pm".

The Moors website tells us that Dior Angus "is another success of the Solihull Moors Youth team and the son of former Nuneaton and Rugby Town player Terry Angus... He also honed his skills with spells at Leamington and Banbury Town. A tall, strong goal scorer now ready to step up to playing in the Conference".

OLD FOES

The Poppies have not played since 6 October, with games called off due to a lack of players and the electricity being shut off at their ground. The club are bottom of the Evostik Southern Premier on -5 points after they suffered a 10-point deduction.

That punishment was applied when the club entered a CVA (company voluntary agreement) - an arrangement to repay part of their debts to creditors - but it is understood that repayments are not up to date and the club faces the possibility of having a winding-up petition lodged against them. The Nene Park outfit does not have enough players registered to field a side and are unable to register more squad members because of a transfer embargo enforced by the league, meaning Saturday's scheduled fixture at St Neot's is unlikely to go ahead.

Kettering have until 17:00 BST on Tuesday to 'respond to a number of questions' put forward by the Southern League board".

TUESDAY: ALTY v WORKINGTON

Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers and Garden Machinery, will be broadcasting live coverage of Tuesday night's game against Workington. The match commentary is sponsored by Leck Construction Limited.

Leck Construction Limited has over 60 years' building experience and is one of the largest construction and development companies in South Lakeland and Cumbria. You can find out more about Leck Construction at their website.

The match commentators are Simon Ellis and Ian Wilkinson, with match summaries from Paul Salt. Commentary begins at 7.40pm. You can listen to Radio Robins here.

You can also follow the Alty v Workington match via the website's matchday update service, which starts as soon as the team news is available after 7.15pm.

You can follow the match via the following quick links...

In advance of Tuesday's clash at Moss Lane, the Times & Star says that "Workington Reds must stop prolific striker Damian Reeves scoring or face defeat at Altrincham tonight. Ending last season with 44 goals, Reeves has hit the ground running again with 15 strikes to his name already – just one less than the entire Workington team...

But motivating his side will not be a problem, insists boss Darren Edmondson. 'We’ve put Saturday’s FA Cup defeat to Mansfield defeat behind us now', he said. 'We were all bitterly disappointed in the changing room afterwards, but we must not dwell on it. Of course, it would have been nice to get to round one but it wasn’t to be and, now, the league takes precedence again.

Altrincham are a good team, like everyone else in this league, and there’s no doubting Damian’s goals. He's been prolific over the last two years and he's definitely one we'll have to watch closely'. Altrincham are the league’s form side, winning four and drawing two of their last six games.

Phil McLuckie is unavailable to travel with Joe Mwasile set to make his first start since joining from Morecambe last week".

PRICES FOR BURTON

An announcement will be made when these tickets go on sale".

OUR TUESDAY OPPONENTS

In their last match, according to the Times & Star "Workington Reds were desperately unlucky not to be in the first round of the FA Cup. Adam Murray, Mansfield Town’s assistant boss, said, 'Workington were really good. Their work ethic and attitude were top class. They caused us a lot of problems, and created decent chances, but didn’t put the ball in the net'.

The ex-Carlisle United midfielder... was suspended for the match, but added, 'Fortunately, we had a striker who put away his chances, and that was the difference'... Gareth Arnison netted a late penalty, with Jonny Wright and Will Vaulks missing last-gasp chances to level the tie.

'If Workington had taken their chances, they would have won', said Murray".

The Times & Star's match report agrees that"Darren Edmondson’s brave team outplayed and outclassed their higher-ranked opposition. The true figures that outline Workington’s heroics... are:

For large spells, Workington dominated possession, playing some beautiful football. It was a stark contrast to Mansfield’s direct brand of play that saw their midfield redundant...

Will Vaulks, who was again outstanding in the middle of the park, saw his vicious strike blocked on the line as time ran out...

Workington Reds: Taylor, Cowperthwaite, Rowntree, May, Bolton, Hewson (Connterton 75), Boyd (Mwasile 66), Vaulks, Wright, Arnison, McLuckie. Subs (not used): Brown, Wordsworth, Dixon, Wraighte, Scott. Star man: Jonny Wright was a constant handful for the Mansfield defence... he was instrumental in everything good about Workington’s attack".

And from This is Nottingham we learn that "As a couple sat on the concrete-stepped terrace behind the goal, their little wiry poodle sporting a Workington red bow, it was clear this was no ordinary afternoon. It's not every day an animal is allowed into a ground to watch a professional game unfold but then, Saturday was no ordinary game. It was FA Cup day.

Workington, with a real non-league ground that oozed memories of yesteryear, were out to cause an upset at Borough Park. And all the locals wanted in on it, even the pets...

But in true FA Cup fashion, [victory] did not come easy. Going in a goal to the good, there was no wonder a Stags dignitary on his way to the hospitality room raised a smile as a fan jokingly pointed out the police were waiting for him. Apparently, he stated, there had been a robbery...

In the end, it was the poodle that went home with its tail between its legs... One thing is certain in the FA Cup, expect the unexpected. Even a little white dog with its own red bow taking in the action on the terraces behind one of the goals".

When they previewed Alty's match last Saturday, Alty Mad believed we were entertaining Halifax that day rather than travelling to Boston but, at least, they have got the opposition right this time as they predict the outcome on Tuesday against Workington. They write, "Altrincham prepare to entertain Workington at Moss Lane on Tuesday evening, aiming to preserve their record of never having lost at home to the visitors. The two sides drew on their own previous meeting. The only previous meeting between Altrincham and Workington at Moss Lane was just last season, in August 2011, where the two sides shared the spoils".

Actually Mike Garnett's statistics reliably tell us differently that the outcome of previous matches is as follows:

Alty Mad adds that "Altrincham have managed to pick up just two wins from their last six home games, losing three... Workington have an average recent record on the road, winning 2 of the last six, but losing the other 4... FootyMad's prediction... Altrincham are not exactly setting the world alight at Moss Lane at the moment, but your FootyMad team are quietly confident that they can ease past Workington in this game. Home Win".

The Burton Mail adds that manager "Gary Rowett was delighted to finally have a home cup tie to look forward to after Burton Albion were drawn against Altrincham in the first round of the FA Cup. The Brewers have not welcomed a team to the Pirelli Stadium in either the FA Cup or the League Cup since their famous victory over Middlesbrough in the former, two seasons ago...

Rowett said, 'It’s a kind draw, in that sense, and you don’t want to play a side from your own division either'. The Robins ply their trade two divisions below Albion, in the Blue Square Bet North, but Rowett will not be taking the game lightly, having been on both sides of cup upsets in the past.

He said, 'If you’re at home, you’d hope to go through, but it’s not going to be easy. Whatever you do, you have to respect the opposition. I’m sure Altrincham will be pleased to come to our place and they’ll be motivated and hope to ruffle our feathers... Any side in our league is always looking for a good cup run to improve morale and finances. For the players it’s a terrific opportunity to get through to the next round'.

Rowett knows a little about the Greater Manchester side, having played against them during the Brewers’ non-league days, and having helped former boss Paul Peschisolido from the sidelines in a pre-season friendly prior to their debut season in League Two back in 2009. He said, 'I know what they’re all about and I even know a couple of their players individually. We’ve got a good pitch here so they’ll enjoy coming to our place. We’ve just got to make sure we do our job on the day'".

YOUTH TEAM GAME

Alty Youth lost on Sunday and their opponents, FC United report that "The lads returned to action after a five week break against Altrincham at the Hale Sports Club at Clay Lane Timperley. A crowd of around 100 which included those who appeared to be watching from a hot tub on the balcony of the sports club, was kept entertained as they left with a 2-0 win after a stiff examination from the host club, whose form, particularly in the first half was fully in keeping with their third position in the league table.

[The Alty match report and a photo of the spectators in the infinity pool are in the Youth section].

The home side were unfortunate not to be ahead at half time as they took advantage of any ring rustiness the lads were suffering from and dominated possession, with probably half a dozen shots fired wide. Indeed as half time beckoned had two excellent chances, where tight offside decisions came to FC’s rescue...The second chance was put in the net and looked a very tight call from the FC bench...

The game was decided in a couple of high octane moments midway through the second half. In the 67th minute, Andy Lee and Josh Smethurst worked a short corner routine for Lee to cross to Mike Taylor on the edge of the box. His drive must have had the keeper unsighted as he never moved. Barely a minute later the lead was doubled, substitute Kane Hughes released Yousif for another run towards goal. He managed, whether through the run or a parried shot, to bundle the ball past Bullen before slotting home".

Right: "It's spelt H-E-S-L-O-P"; in this image from before kick-off in last Sunday's game, Alty Youth manager George Heslop claims he was just giving the referee a late team-change and not receiving a caution!

MARK'S MAGNIFICENT FEET

Running the marathon with him was former Alty team-mate Gary Scott. Quipped Mark, 'Gary was the only one of the ex-Alty lads to do it with me. As soon as I mentioned it to them, all the others were suddenly going away for the weekend... We had a great laugh going round although I did keep asking whose bloody idea it was! We raised around £5,000 but, more importantly, we helped increase awareness for MNDA Merseyside'".

The NLP adds that "Next year Mark will cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats... He adds, 'The marathon was tough. I was jogging and walking but I got to 16 miles and tried to run again but my legs just wouldn't do as they were told.

I went to the hospital on Wednesday and the docs are made up with me. They are baffled because it's two years since I was diagnosed and they can't believe I'm still walking in to see them, let alone completing marathons. I'll keep plodding on making the most of every day I have with the family. My little girl is three and I know I won't get to walk her down the aisle but there's plenty I can still do, and I will carry on setting myself little goals.'

You can still sponsor Mark's marathon run by clicking here.

NEXT GAMES

Alty Ladies' next match is on Sunday 4 November, at 2pm, away to Wilmslow Town Ladies at the Jim Evison Playing Fields, Wilmslow, SK9 5NW.

SHIRTS OFFER

As some people have queried this, this means a £10 reduction not that the shirts are £10!

BOSTON WON'T APPEAL

Fairclough received his marching orders... wildly lunging into a challenge with Matt Doughty. And Weir-Daley saw red with the match poised at 1-1 in the second half, for an off-the-ball altercation with Jake Moult. Despite the match being filmed by the club, Weir-Daley’s clash was missed by the camera. Pilgrims' forward Marc Newsham was on the spot and believes Moult hit the deck softly after he and Weir-Daley went head-to-head...

Left: Jake Moult, seen closing down an opponent during the game at Boston.

'I believe there was a little bit before', the manager said. 'Obviously, the ref’s missed what’s happened before, and Spencer’s reacted to something. (The ref’s) seen Spencer’s reaction. I missed it myself. “The reality is you rarely get a referee’s decision overturned. Sometimes you can get a game (suspension) on top for questioning the powers that be'.

Fairclough’s challenge was rash. It was his first red for Boston, but after a few let-offs already this season, the winger was riding his luck. However, Lee says... 'You won’t change Ben. He travels at speed and his desire to close the ball down is a plus for us... He needs to be more careful, but normally you get a yellow card and a warning. He hasn’t had that opportunity'".

BSBN NEWS

He told Worcester News, 'Matt (Gardiner, assistant manager) and I need to try and find out why we are conceding goals in the last minute because it has got to the point where something is amiss. Concentration, fitness, whatever it is, we cannot keep getting into positions where we are by far and away the better side but lose the game. It has cost us dearly this season. We're all devastated but this will spur us on. If it doesn't then players will be moved on and I'll get some more in, that's not a threat, it's a fact. I cannot have sulkers, I want winners around me so, anyone who is won't be sulking for long'".

BSBN also says that "FC Halifax Town striker Jamie Rainford has failed to secure a loan move to Blue Square Bet North rivals Colwyn Bay in time for Saturday's rearranged tie at Hinckley United... Colwyn player-manager Jon Newby will be forced to wait a little longer to secure the services of Rainford after FIFA denied them international clearance... He said, 'There is a new rule where everything has to go through FIFA and they have now told us they can't get it through in time for the Hinckley game'".

OLD BOYS

Radcliffe Borough lost heavily (4-1) at Trafford on Saturday, with the visitors including six ex-Alty faces. "Poor Boro play allowed Trafford a easy win in which Boro never even tried to look like getting into the game. Within 5 minutes Radcliffe were 3 goals down... The Boro had 1 good chance in the first half. A dragback allowed Lewis Chalmers to pass into Mark Jones before leaving Jamie Baguley an opportunity that skimmed the side netting... A long range attempt from Griff Jones and an in swinging corner from Chadwick just clipped the head of Baguley in front of the goal mouth... The scoreline could have been easily printed in the cricket section tomorrow morning". Also in the Radcliffe team were goalkeeper James Coates, defender Richard Battersby and substitute Simon Carden.

BURTON GAME

On the now vacant Saturday, our neighbours Trafford host Goole, the club at which Alty's Sam Grimshaw and Adam Reid are on loan. However, their loans are currently set to end on 1st November.

LEAGUE FORM

SPONSORS

ALTY YOUTH BEATEN

In the NW Youth Alliance Premier League, Sunday's results were:

Next Sunday's fixture is:

BOSTON MATCH VIEWPOINTS

Brian Flynn reports that the Radio Robins' commentary files from Boston United v Altrincham can be found as follows:

In a video interview Boston United report that "United full-back Conor Marshall admitted he was heading home in a ‘bad mood’ following the Pilgrims’ FA Cup exit. It was a bittersweet afternoon for the young right-back who made his first start since August 25 in the absence of the injured Gary Silk.

Marshall was pleased to play but his delight quickly turned to despair as United saw their 1-0 lead overturned as Ben Fairclough and Spencer Weir-Daley were both sent off".

Meanwhile, "Boston United boss Jason Lee was proud of his side’s battling display against in-form Altrincham on Saturday". In a video interview, "Lee reflected on red cards handed to Ben Fairclough and Spencer Weir-Daley".

FA CUP ROUND 1

Last Saturday, the Burton Mail reported on Gillingham 4, Burton Albion 1, saying "Albion’s faltering form was fully exposed as League Two pacesetters Gillingham brought their eight-game unbeaten run to an emphatic end at Priestfield Stadium on Saturday...

Albion rarely matched the tempo, pace and movement of their hosts... It was a probably a result waiting to happen for the Brewers, whose form of late has not been as good as their lengthy unbeaten run might suggest..

BREWERS: Tomlinson; O'Connor, Diamond, Kiernan, McCrory; Dyer, Bell, Weir, Maghoma (Taylor, 77); Zola (Richards, 68), Paterson (Kee, 68). Substitutes: Atkins, Corbett, Stanton."

Prize money for the winners in the FA Cup First Round Proper is £18,000.

OLD BOY'S CAP

LADIES WIN

BSBN NEWS

ALTY'S DRAW

The full draw for the FA Cup with Budweiser First Round Proper follows.

ROBINS SALUTE TRAVELLING FANS

"With eight out of the last nine games being away from Moss Lane it's been an expensive time for Altrincham fans who follow their team around the country.

Altrincham chairman Grahame Rowley saluted the supporters who have travelled nearly 1500 miles in recent weeks to back the Robins.

'The supporters are always superb at getting behind the team wherever we play around the country but this run of away games has seen them put a lot of time, money and effort into getting behind the lads. The management and club are appreciative of the support and it gives the players a real boost. As people know, money is always tight at Altrincham but the recent FA cup prize money has come as a welcome boost to the club. The board and I wanted to make a gesture to the fans and have agreed to make a contribution to the cost of the coach hire for our next away game at Solihull Moors on Saturday. This will allow our fans to travel for half price and we hope will help them out a little with the expense they have gone to in recent weeks. Another large support can lift us again as we aim for three points to keep our push for promotion going'.

TASC have booked a full size 49 seater coach for the game and seats can be booked at the Workington game on Tuesday or on 0161 928 1045".

Full timings and fares are on the Away Travel page.

BOSTON VIEWS

Alty match report here.

Right: Danny Hall gets up for a back post header in the first half against Boston. Also seen are Alty's Duncan Watmore and Gianluca Havern.

After Saturday's game, Boston United commented that they "crashed out of the FA Cup with Budweiser after having two players red-carded in their 3-1 defeat to Altrincham... Mark Jones gave the Pilgrims the dream start at The Jakemans Stadium, but Ben Fairclough was quickly red-carded for a challenge on Matt Doughty.

James Lawrie equalised after the break and once Spencer Weir-Daley had been sent off for apparent violent conduct, United were up against it. Jake Moult and Nicky Clee scored late goals to book Altrincham's place in round one and end the plucky efforts of the nine-man Pilgrims".

The Pilgrims also have amatch report which includes... "Boston had started off in fine form and must be wondering what the outcome may have been if they had kept a full quota of players on the pitch. Fairclough’s early downward header was miraculously clawed to safety by the evergreen Stuart Coburn, while Nathan Stainfield also headed off target following an Ian Ross delivery. United’s bright start was rewarded in the 11th minute when JONES lashed the ball home at the second attempt following a forceful run into the box.

The Pilgrims’ joy was cut short when referee Adrian Holmes brandished his first red card two minutes later after adjudging Fairclough to have recklessly challenged Doughty...

Stainfield was responsible for a terrific block to deny Reeves at the start of the second period, but Altrincham equalised on 58 minutes. Reeves played a neat interchange with LAWRIE, who angled a neat finish across Haystead and into the far corner. United’s afternoon well and truly fell apart two minutes later when Moult writhed around in agony after an alleged spat with Weir-Daley who was punished with the game’s second red card...

Their crucial goal arrived on 70 minutes when MOULT smashed home a swerving shot from distance... Altrincham survived and capped their victory when CLEE fired home with a minute to play".

And This is Lincs adds that it was "a controversial fourth qualifying round tie at the Jakemans Stadium... The contest was turned on his head a minute later when Ben Fairclough was sent off for a rash challenge... The home side were then reduced to nine men when Spencer Weir-Daley saw red following an off-the-ball incident.

With United two men down, there looked to be only one winner and Altrincham duly took control. Jake Moult gave his side the lead when his 20-yard drive took a massive deflection and beat keeper Dan Haystead... The visitors secured their place in the first round proper when Nicky Clee drove home a minute from time".

YOUTH HONOURS

TODAY

NEIL EXTENDS HIS LEAD

BSBN NEWS

Rainford re-joined Marine from Prescot Cables in March 2009 and was the club’s leading goalscorer in 2010/11. He was subsequently signed by Chester FC in May 2011 for a fee of around £15,000 and did well enough to earn a trial with Notts County. Rainford joined Halifax in February 2012 but has struggled to force himself into the starting line-up this season".

Former Alty defender Andy Pearson has moved from Hyde to Guiseley on a month's loan.

BOSTON UNITED 1 ALTRINCHAM 3

Alty's win and Workington's defeat today means that the Robins have their first home match since 15 September when the Cumbrians visit Moss Lane this Tuesday at 7.45pm. Meanwhile, Alty's win also means that the BSBN match against Droylsden on 3 November is now postponed as that clashes with FA Cup Round One. The draw for Round One is on ITV on Sunday (21st) from 1.30pm.

Right: At the end of the game, Stuart Coburn, Danny Hall and Patrick Lacey salute the strong away support at Boston on Saturday.

FA CUP4QR

BSBN SCORES

BOSTON v ALTY

The PPI Claims Office can help you claim the payment protection insurance that you are owed plus compensation. This is from loans, credit cards and mortgages you have taken out in the past or currently have running. To find out more visit their website or call 0161 850 1635.

The match commentators are Ian Wilkinson & Tim Ainsworth with match summaries from Brian Flynn and commentary begins at 2.55pm. You can listen to Radio Robins here

Alternatively you can follow the match via the live matchday update service.

TV ACTION AT MOSS LANE

BSBN NEWS

He is no stranger to non-League football, having had loan spells at Harrogate Town and Southport under his belt".

Meanwhile "A statement has been released by the Board of Blue Square Bet North club Hinckley United...

'Following the mayhem that was created with the changes on the board a lot of work has been done to identify the extent of the financial demise of Hinckley United Football Club Limited.

Many creditors had been left unmanaged and debts had spiralled totally out of control. Since July 2012 over £105,000 has been paid to aged creditors to avert the threat of legal action whilst still maintaining our cost of operation. This not only reconfirms that Hinckley United Football Club has been operating a football wage bill that it could not afford for far too long but it also emphasises the lack of regard to the normal business financial controls expected into a limited company with assets.

Within this overall sum, over £30,000 has been used to pay-off unpaid players wages from the 2011/12 season. It should also be noted that from that clutch of players from last season four players are still in dispute over unpaid wages which has resulted in the club being placed under a transfer embargo by the Football Conference.

Last month we broke the back of the HM Revenue & Customs arrears by paying over £15,000 and this month we have paid off over £18,000 to the utilities companies and another £5,000 to local tradesman and key suppliers that should not have been treated like this. On top of this circa £40,000 we then had to pay a monthly instalment of nearly £3,000 for a debt which clearly is not the clubs as well as what can only be described as a £2,166 ransom payment to keep the main stand open which is now the subject of a very complex legal investigation.

Today we are faced with the dilemma of finding £6,000 to remove the transfer embargo as well as meet September’s football wage bill which is circa £13,000. As we need our players they will take precedence with a view to paying them all by Monday. Only then can we take stock and look at the best approach to resolve the transfer embargo by generating another £6,000 as fast as possible whilst maintaining the clubs cost of operation and managing our creditors.

Despite the horrendous financial journey of the last four months there is now definitely light at the end of the tunnel because we know our cost of operation is now affordable. However, what is required as soon as possible is another £80,000 of additional working capital to pay off all remaining aged creditors. So until we have raised this additional working capital it is going to be a long hard winter and some brave decisions will have to be made to keep Hinckley United Football Club afloat.

Wherever possible the Board of Hinckley United Football Club Limited will aim to be as transparent as possible and provide as much information on our survival battle as we can without compromising the on-going legal investigations'".

Also from the Conference, we learnt that "Brackley Town have taken experienced defender Ryan Austin on a month`s loan from Kidderminster Harriers. Harriers swooped to land vastly experienced central defender in the summer of 2012. The 27-year-old spent the last eight seasons with Burton Albion and has amassed well over 250 appearances with the Brewers in both the Conference and the Football League... ,p. Austin follows hot on the heels of the Saints completing the signing of goalkeeper Lauire Walker from Kettering Town. The 23-year-old former Morecambe stopper goes straight into the squad for Saturday`s home fixture against Gainsborough Trinity. Meanwhile, Polish keeper Kryzsztof Zylski has left St James` Park to join neighbours Banbury United".

Meanwhile, "FC Halifax Town have signed former Chester defender Shaun Kelly upon his return from Australia. Kelly is a strong defender who is also something of a free-kick expert... He joined Vauxhall Motors on loan to gain first-team experience and eventually left Chester in early 2010...

He joined Port Vale on trial in March 2010 and ,,, impressed then Burton boss Paul Peschisolido enough to offer him a contract until the end of the season, but after just four games, he was released... Last July Kelly joined South Melbourne from fellow Aussie side Shepparton United, where he had played after leaving Bala in 2012".

BSBN says that "On-loan Tranmere Rovers defender Will Vaulks will remain at Workington for a third month".

SPECIAL OFFERS

"Take advantage of this great offer (right) and watch some proper football at Moss Lane this October. For a reduced entry of only £5 per game you can see Alty take on Workington on 23rd October and Guiseley on 30th October. Whether your a regular, haven't been for a while or want to sample the Alty atmosphere for the first time, we encourage you to get a group of mates together and enjoy some Tuesday nights with a difference!

Offer valid on production of a valid NUS card. Entry must be through turnstiles 5 and 6 to redeem this offer.

As we struggle to attract attendances for midweek games, the Club is running a number of offers for the two home games in the coming weeks.

Click on the adjacent image for a larger version which you are invited to display in your place of work, local pub etc (with appropriate permission of course).

SHIRTS OFFER

As some people have queried this, this means a £10 reduction not that the shirts are £10!

OLD BOY

New Mills also confirmed that coach Roy Soule, who joined Pickering's staff at Church Lane at the start of current campaign, takes charge of first team affairs... Pickering leaves New Mills in fifth spot having won six and lost once in the league this season. He was appointed caretaker manager of New Mills in March 2010 and guided the Millers to the North West Counties Premier Division crown in his first full season in charge".

BSBN NEWS

The Chester boss said, 'It was bitter-sweet. It was sweet that we went top of the table but I just hope that it doesn’t turn out to be two points dropped come the end of the season. But elsewhere we’ve picked up points where we probably shouldn’t have so we’ve got to look at the positives. It’s our first draw of the season, we’ve played lot of difficult games, and I can’t fault the effort of the lads. The ball just wouldn’t go in the back of the net on the night'" he told the Chester Chronicle.

Alty's next opponents, "Boston United have released defender Travis Munn and winger Joe French. Munn and French joined the Pilgrims in the summer, following spells with Mansfield Town and Burton Albion respectively. However, they have failed to make an impact on the senior stage and have been allowed to move on in search of regular first team football elsewhere" reports NL Daily.

And Boston United confirm that "'The Pilgrim' will be back on sale ahead of Saturday’s crunch FA Cup with Budweiser clash against Altrincham. Issue 6 of the club’s popular, glossy covered matchday publication features defender Tom Ward on the front. Priced £3 per copy, the programme provides all the latest news and views from The Jakemans Stadium after three successive away matches.

‘The Big Interview’ features midfielder and vice-captain Ian Ross and ‘My Best XI’ profiles striker Mark Jones, while ‘My Favourite’ focuses on winger Kallum Smith. ‘Action Replay’ looks back on recent matches against Kettering Town, Bradford Park Avenue and Tadcaster Albion".

And the BOston Standard tells us that "There’s something to be said about being in the right place at the right time... For the third week running, the Boston United striker has got his name on the scoresheet...

You could point at the opposing keepers and do that ‘ha-ha’ laugh made famous by Nelson in The Simpsons. But a hat-trick of tap-ins, in three consecutive matches, is far too regular to be classed as a fluke... I asked him whether the secret was a Gary Lineker-esque ability to read the game.

He said not. He said it’s his job as a striker to be in the mix, just in case a ball comes his way. If he wasn’t, manager Jason Lee would ‘hammer’ him".

The Football Conference says that "Goalkeeper Laurie Walker has swapped the traumas of Kettering Town for the top of the Blue Square Bet North after signing for leaders Brackley Town.

The 22-year-old talented keeper signed for the Poppies in July 2011 after impressing during pre-season. A strong, commanding shot stopper, he earned many plaudits for his performances last season and also for sticking with the beleaguered outfit until earlier this week when he finally had enough of the soap drama currently being played out at Nene Park.

Bedford-born Walker was previously on the books at MK Dons and Cambridge United before joining the Shrimps".

Droylsden report "New signings. Jimmy Derbyshire, fullback and Sam Minihan, defender on loan from Rochdale".

RACE NIGHT AND 'NEW AND OLD' EVENT

The night will comprise a Race Night with, in the middle, the chance to meet 'The New and The Old', for which we have asked five fans' favourites to appear.

This part of the event will be in the form of a questions and answers session with Stuart Coburn, Damian Reeves, Nicky Clee, Duncan Watmore and Scott Leather. To try to get maximum numbers along, entry is free, complimentary race cards will be provided, and bacon and/or sausage sandwiches will be available to purchase in the bar after the game.

We hope to be under starter's orders for the first race at 6.30pm. Before the event, races can be sponsored for £15 and horses individually named for £5.

On the night, betting on the races costs 50p per ticket and you can buy as many (or as few) tickets as you like. Come along, support your club and have an enjoyable night!

WANTED! MANAGERS/COACHES FOR ALTRINCHAM FC JUNIORS

"If you were not already aware, the Club have a thriving Junior Section with some 30+ teams(under 9-18), boys and girls, playing in local Leagues. The teams are all run by volunteers who give freely of their time to encourage and promote football at grassroots level.

Each team must have an FA qualified coach but assistants do not need to be so qualified. In a perfect world we would like ALL our teams to have a manager AND assistant but with our team numbers increasing year on year we are looking to recruit more \volunteers as some of our managers are currently looking after two teams!

What do you need?

What do you get?

This is a great opportunity to involve yourself in the wider Altrincham FC footballing community and play your part in the development of young players who, with the right potential, may progress into the first team!

If you are interested or want more information please contact Bernard Begley (Secretary Junior Section) on 07748157601 or by e-mail.

WEDNESDAY GAME

BOSTON EXPECT TO WIN GAMES

The match followed hot on the heels of their 1-0 loss to Bradford Park Avenue, although they had beaten second-placed Chester a week before. And Ward is adamant his side can now consider themselves play-off contenders, despite their position of 10th place with 15 points from their 10 games played so far.

He told The Standard, 'It was a massive result. It will make other teams think about what we can do, but we're a big club and people should be taking note already. Who we play doesn't matter. We're Boston United and we expect to win games'".

In similar vein, "Boston United manager Jason Lee feels his side are well placed to defeat Altrincham in Saturday's FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie... Boston have won five of their last six games in all competitions - but it will be no mean feat with Altrincham having thumped Corby 5-2 in their last match...

Lee told This is Lincolnshire, 'It's good draw at home, but they won 5-2 on Saturday so from their point of view they'll be very confident. On our day, if we're right mentally and physically and do the right things, we're a good test for anybody in our division. We have beaten Halifax and Chester so we don't fear Altrincham, but we respect them. They are going to cause us a few problems. Let's hope that we cause them more problems'".

And from This is Lincs we learn that "centre-back Tom Ward, who superbly repelled high-flying Halifax last weekend, is relishing the cup showdown...

'It's one of my career aims to reach the first round', said the former Sleaford Town defender. 'It would be fantastic to get there and Altrincham will not want to play us at the moment... We've got a fantastic team here... Earlier in the season we were too easy to beat', added Ward. 'We're now hard to beat and with the quality we've got up front we're going to win games'".

Meanwhile, in the Boston Standard, we learn that "Boston United captain Gareth Jelleyman has pledged his future to the club - saying he wants to end his career at York Street...

The left back is curently in his third season with United. He has also had two previous loan spells at York Street, competing in League Two.

'I love it here', Jelleyman added. 'It’s the most I’ve enjoyed my football since I was starting my career... There’s a great bunch of lads here and we’ve got such a strong team spirit... It’s a great club to play for. It’s so friendly. It’s just great being here'”.

TV ACTION AT MOSS LANE

Meanwhile, Ian Senior advises that, "Anyone fancying watching a game, and not travelling to Boston, could go to Warrington Town, as Goole are there on Saturday", with Adam Reid and Sam Grimshaw likely to be in the visitors' squad.

OLD BOY

OLD FOES

Keyte warned earlier this month they may go part-time as they are losing money at a rate of over £8,000 a week. The Blue Square Bet Premier side's board budgeted for home gates of around 2,400 this season, but have so far averaged just 1,793...

They are averaging barely half what they did six years ago".

LEE'S "SELECTION ISSUE"

"Lee Sinnott called for more of the same from his in-form Altrincham players after they continued to put miles on the clock and points on the board with a stunning performance at Corby Town.

Alty's FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie at Boston United on Saturday will be their seventh away trip in eight games, but there was no sign of fatigue as they blitzed Corby with a first-half onslaught that yielded five goals and a missed penalty.

Damian Reeves had an early spot-kick saved and promptly handed over to Matt Doughty, when Alty were awarded another soon after. Despite it being his third miss of the season, Alty's prolific striker will continue as penalty-taker, if he wants to, Sinnott confirmed.

'If we get another pen, and Reevesie feels confident about taking it, he will,' said the Alty manager. 'If not, he will step aside for someone else. Buzz (Doughty) would be an obvious choice, but there are two or three others who would step up and take one. I've no worries on that score. I trust the players to know how they feel at the time and make the right decision between them.

'Fair play to Buzz at Corby. One penalty had been saved, and if another had been missed, with the score still 0-0, we might have started wondering if it was going to be one of those days. There was a bit of pressure on him, but he knew what he was doing and stuck it away really well.

'It was quite a first half. In fact, I can't remember one like it. Once we went ahead from the spot, we just caught fire and cut through them at will. We started really brightly, and I was particularly pleased with that, after having a chat with the players beforehand and addressing that particular point.

'I just felt that, after our FA Cup win at Shildon, we started a bit slowly at Bishop's Stortford the following week. We came on strongly after that and could easily have taken all three points, rather than just one, but that opening 20-25 minutes didn't do us any favours. I didn't want progress in the Cup to come at a cost to our league position, so, after coming through a tricky tie at Leek seven days earlier, I just stressed the need for a strong, positive start at Corby.

'Full credit to the players, they took it on board and came flying out of the blocks. Seven away games out of eight is a tough ask, but it seems to have toughened them up. They seemed to realise that if they didn't do something on the road, they were going to be out of the Cup and slipping down the league. That's the scenario that was facing them, and they reacted exactly how I hoped they would.

'Now we need more of the same at Boston. They may be favourites, with home advantage but, if we perform as we can, we will cause problems for any team in our division. We have built up some momentum during our unbeaten run, but that does not guarantee anything at Boston on Saturday. No one has a God-given right to a result. You have to earn it, and that means doing all the things that have served us so well in recent weeks.

'It's the Cup, and anything can happen on the day. Jason (Lee) will be confident about his side's chances, but I am about ours, as long as we keep doing what we've been doing on the road. In other words, sticking together as a unit, creating opportunities and scoring goals. It goes back to what I keep saying - if we perform to our capabilities, we can pick up results wherever we go.'

With Duncan Watmore expected to be fit, and Simon Richman back from suspension, Sinnott appears to have a tricky selection problem on the right of midfield. It is one he welcomes, however.

'I don't see it as a problem, not at all,' he insisted. 'I spoke to the physio last night (Monday), and it seems Duncan felt a bit of tightness in his lower calf near the end on Saturday. He hadn't played a full game for a while, so it was normal enough, but he should be fine for Boston.

'Anyone who has followed us on the road would surely agree that Simon's form was good, prior to his suspension. So there is a decision to be made, but I certainly wouldn't describe it as a problem. It is a selection issue, and it's a great one to have. I will chew it over during the week before making my mind up'".

ADAM IS MAN OF MATCH AGAIN

CUT-PRICE KIT

It's not only Alty who have fresh supplies of football shirts, but also our opponents on Saturday as This is Lincs reports that "Size 8XL replica shirts have been made available for supporters at Boston United, following a request from a number of supporters.

The club has made 30 of the shirts available so far with a chest size measuring 54 inches. In total 12 shirt sizes are on offer, ranging from youth extra small to 8XL, with the new larger size asked for by a number of fans.

Boston was crowned 'Fat Capital' of the UK in 2006 with almost one in three people in the town being rated as clinically obese.

Despite the shirts being suitable for the larger fan, the club says it isn't necessarily the size of the fan but the die hard supporters wanting to show the club's colours during the winter.

John Blackwell, General Manager at the club said, 'One of the reasons supporters asked for the size is because they put them over jackets and jumpers. These shirts are Italian Performance Shirts so sizing is different to English brand shirts, a number of people have returned shirts because they got the wrong size'."

KEEP FIT

CUP DRAW

JACKPOT GROWS

OLD BOYS

26 year old midfielder Lewis Chalmers joins the club from Macclesfield Town. Lewis started his career at Altrincham before joining Aldershot Town where he was an integral part of the Conference title winning and Conference Cup double side in 2008. Loan moves to Crawley and Oxford United followed before joining Macclesfield Town in 2010 where he spent two years in League Two making 55 appearances before leaving in July 2012. He is the brother of former Woodley Sports and now Southport player who the ‘Boro’ tried to recently sign on loan, Aaron Chalmers.

Former Manchester City youth goalkeeper James Coates joins the club from New Mills, the 27 year-old counts Bradford PA, Altrincham, Worcester City, Vauxhall Motors, Northwich, Boston United and Welsh side Rhyl as his former clubs. He is a former Wales U17, U19 and U21 goalkeeper".

Borough explain their activity... "The ‘Boro’ have been busy over the weekend with a number of changes on the playing side at the club. Major shareholder Bernard Manning explains the change in policy on the playing side in full detail in the November issue of the ‘Boro’ magazine, be sure to purchase a copy.

Bidding farewell to the club are Ally Brown, Nick Culkin, Chris McDonagh and Tom Brooks as the ‘Boro’ agreed to release all four players as the club look to push forward with their new playing strategy... 'The club have recently made the decision they have in relation to how they now want to run the football side which the players are now fully aware off and we on the management side have to fit into those decisions made', said Benny Phillips".

BSBN NEWS

The Football Conference reports that "Bishop`s Stortford have signed experienced forward Blair Sturrock. Sturrock, now 31, started his career north of the border with Dundee United where his father Paul, the ex-Scottish international was managing, but it was whilst on loan with Brechin City that he finally made his senior bow, going on to make twenty-seven appearances and score six goals.

He was signed by his father Paul for the second time at Plymouth Argyle in 2001... Spells with Kidderminster Harriers and Rochdale followed before he signed for his dad again, this time at Swindon Town in November 2006... and had loan stints at Torquay and AFC Bournemouth before moving to Mansfield Town in September 2009.

He was then signed again by father Paul at Southend... before being released at the end of last season".

BSBN confirms that "Workington are set to secure the services of Morecambe winger Joe Mwasile on a short-term loan deal. The highly-rated 19-year-old will link up with the Reds for a period of three months...

Mwasile, who made his debut for Morecambe in... March, joins former Shrimps defender Niall Cowperthwaite at Borough Park".

More on this comes from the Times & Star, which says that "Workington Reds have moved quickly to replace stricken winger Andre da Costa by snapping up Morecambe flier Joe Mwasile.

Macclesfield loanee Da Costa snapped a bone in his foot during training with his parent club last week, and is now in plaster. He is expected to be out for 10 weeks... Mwasile is good friends with Workington full-back Niall Cowperthwaite, who signed from Morecambe in the summer.

Edmondson said, 'Joe might not be very tall, but he’s a flier, and gives us something extra since Andre was injured'".

Regardless of Alty's FA Cup match's outcome, a draw for Workington would put paid to Alty's home BSBN game next Tuesday against The Reds. For those wishing to check on Workington's form, Oxford City have highlights of their 5-0 win here.

Stalybridge Celtic report that Kristian Platt's winning goal on Saturday was the 200th league goal they had scored since Jim Harvey took over in February 2010. Alty have scored 116 league goals in 52 league games under Lee Sinnott's managership, during which Celtic have hit 104 league goals in one more match than the Robins have played.

BSBN says that "Chester boss Neil Young has revealed he is poised to sign a full-time contract with the club...

Young told Chester First, 'The club have sent me a contract and I've obviously had someone look at the contract for me. As people may understand, contracts do contain a lot of legal jargon, but I have made a few amendments and there is nothing contentious apart from it not mentioning me being awarded a 10-year contract!

The contract has been returned to the club's solicitors and I'm sure that I'll get something back this week'.

Young is still employed by Merseyrail but has been on an 18-month sabbatical. 'I'm due to finish at Merseyrail on November 23, so we're still aiming for that date and I don't see any issues whatsoever', he said...

'We have moved very quickly overall. To win back to back titles was probably beyond most people's expectations, but it has happened and we've now got to start planning for the future... We've got to ensure that in 10 or 20 years the football club is still functioning at the highest possible level it can with a finance structure that the Chester board and fans can manage".

HALIFAX DATE

Altrincham will complete a sequence of seven away matches in eight fixtures this Saturday. After that, all of their next three scheduled home matches are Tuesday night affairs; Alty's next scheduled Saturday match is not until 17 November, nine weeks after their last Saturday game at Moss Lane.

CORBY PART 2

As previously reported the Radio Robins commentary on the Corby First Half is also available.

LADIES' GAMES

PILGRIMS' PRICES

All children (16 years and under) must purchase a ticket from the ticket office prior to entering the stadium. Call (01205) 364406 for further details".

BSBN NEWS

'We have a full week now and an opportunity to iron out some of those mistakes', he told Northamptonshire Telegraph... 'The key for our boys is to not get too down. We have lost the game and we will lose more during the season. We said right at the start that there has to be a bit of realism... we were disappointed with the first-half performance'".

Right: Duncan Watmore receives congratulations for his fine goal at Corby from Luca Havern. Also seen are James Lawrie, Nicky Clee, Damian Reeves and Jake Moult.

And in the Northants Telegraph we read that "Plummer’s side shipped five goals inside the first 40 minutes as the Robins ran riot at Steel Park before the Steelmen recovered with a better second-half display... Plummer, who revealed skipper Jason Crowe missed the game due to twisted ankle, did have a word of praise for new signing Carl Piergianni, who was given a baptism of fire in his first appearance for the Steelmen.

'I thought Carl was steady, he was up against their best player (Duncan Watmore)', the Corby boss said. 'Carl isn’t a natural left-back but he can play there and I don’t think he did anything particularly wrong. It’s obviously not an easy one coming in as a defender and then all of sudden you have shipped five goals in the first half. But we can’t lay too much blame at his door'”.

News of our next opponents comes from the Boston Standard, which reports how "Goals from Mark Jones and Marc Newsham granted Boston United a thrilling 2-1 victory at FC Halifax Town. The win made it five wins from six for the Pilgrims, who stuck to the game plan to smother one of the promotion favourites. Manager Jason Lee bravely opted to start with four strikers – Jones, Newsham, Spencer Weir-Daley and Ben Fairclough on the pitch. While Fairclough and Newsham were sent out on the flanks, they had dual jobs: helping Ian Ross and Ben Milnes smother the Shaymen’s midfield and also bursting forward to play their part in counter-attacking football.

And it was a plan that worked to near-perfection, although the visitors had to ride their luck and pull off some cracking stops along the way".

Oxford City beat Workington 5-0 and, from the Times & Star, we learn that "Workington’s first visit to the quaintly named Court Place Farm won’t linger long in the memory... Much of the various after-match inquests centred around Saturday’s attractive FA Cup tie with Mansfield, and whether this had been at the back of the players’ minds.

Manager Darren Edmondson said, 'As a player I know that it’s very difficult to rid yourself of thoughts of a big game coming up and it probably was a factor in our performance. But at times you have to give some credit to the opposition and on this occasion City were strong, well organised and late-on were able to pick us off as we went chasing the game'...

Last season’s player of the year Anthony Wright hasn’t kicked a ball so far and he’s been a massive miss for the Reds and, with both skipper Dave Hewson and Phil McLuckie also absentees on Saturday, there was a serious shortage of athleticism, drive and energy in the midfield area. Andre da Costa, who might have produced a trick or two out wide and sparked some problems for Oxford, had pulled out on Friday after breaking a bone in his foot at training with Macclesfield...

The last 15 minutes were a disaster – a defeat became a hammering".

In the Worcester News, "Manager Carl Heeley reckons the rules of football need to be looked at after seeing two of his players sent off against Stalybridge Celtic. Lee Ayres and Rob Elvins were both dismissed during last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at St George’s Lane, City’s first home defeat of the season.

Centre-half Ayres was given his marching orders seven minutes into the second-half for a foul on sub Corey Gregory which led to Celtic’s equalising penalty. Elvins was shown a second yellow card late on in the contest by referee Michael D’Aguilar, who also sent off Stalybridge’s Mitchell Austin for a challenge on keeper Matt Sargeant.

Heeley says he understands why both of his players were dismissed but feels common sense has to prevail to stop games ending up 'seven versus eight'... 'I think it will get to a point when you’re having seven versus eight if the laws are applied like they were on Saturday because it was getting to the point of ridiculous. By the letter of the law, it was denying a goal-scoring opportunity (Lee Ayres), but a goal-scoring opportunity at the moment is if the player is inside the penalty area and you’re the last defender... To the letter of the law, I’ve got no complaints it was a red card if he made the foul, but I thought the player went down very easily... In my opinion, the game’s becoming a non-contact sport. I don’t think anyone will agree with the way the game's going with the FA — every tackle is a booking if you don't get the ball. It’s getting to the point of ridiculous. Within the rules it’s correct, but I think the rules are wrong'".

A more sanguine manager is quoted in the Wirral Globe, as Vauxhall "Motors came back from Cambridgeshire empty handed following an ill-tempered game which featured three red cards and a 20-man brawl at the final whistle... The talking point of the game was the mass brawl at the end which saw Vauxhall’s Andy Nicholas and Histon’s Omar Folkes both sent off for picking up second yellow cards..

The game changed nine minutes into the second-half when Motors’ defender Leon Clowes clashed with Histon’s new signing Ben Coker and was duly shown a red card. The home side still struggled to break down ten-man Motors but they eventually took the lead on 65 minutes... The lead was doubled 13 minutes later...

Commenting on Clowes's sending off after the game, manager Carl Macauley said, 'There was no real force behind the contact, however it was a daft thing to do. I have got no complaints about the red card'".

OLD FOES

The club were served with a winding-up petition relating to a loan made to the club by former joint owner Andy Perry. Andy Perry - together with Steve Middleton and Andy Saunders - bought the football club from Keith Haslam in 2008 with each of the three directors injecting money into the club. It has been revealed that legal efforts are being made to recover that loan, £85,000, plus interest. None of the other former directors have asked for repayment of their loans".

In 2009 Perry was chairman of Mansfield Town and instrumental in the post-match video-based ban on James Smith of Altrincham after an FA Cup game at Field Mill.

MARK'S MARVELLOUS MARATHON

"I'm going to sleep till Friday", Mark told his supporters after completing the race!

Mark has confirmed that he and his band will be performing in the Noel White Suite at Moss Lane on 17th November (7.30pm) after Alty's game against Hinckley United. Tickets are just £10, with the audience limited to 100 people. Hot sausage/bacon barm cakes will be provided to all ticket holders and there will be a raffle in aid of the MNDA. To get your tickets either ring the club on 0161 928-1045 or e-mail the club as soon as possible.

CORBY GAME

YOUTHS' FIVE-GOAL WIN

Above: Adam Bezzina nets his second penalty against Curzon Ashton.

A report on Alty Youth's 5-0 win over Curzon Ashton is here.

The next game for Alty Youth is at home to FCUM, next Sunday 21st, at 2.30pm at Hale Country Club, Clay Lane, Timperley.

FA CUP 4QR

Overall summary:

Broken down by competition:

In all matches the record is:

FA Cup 4QR, Saturday 20 October.

BSBN GAMES

Wednesday 17 October

Saturday 20 October

OLD BOY

BSBN NEWS

Guiseley spokesman Stuart Allen said, 'It was just one of those things, one of those days. We got the feeling that we could have played while midnight and not scored... They defended well and took their chances'".

Burnley report that "Young central defender Alex Coleman joined Droylsden on a month's loan on 7th September and that deal has now been extended by a further two months... and that allowed him to play yesterday in their away game at Gainsborough Trinity. It ended in a 3-0 defeat with former Claret Dominic Knowles scoring the first goal for the home side.

Adam Evans is also at Droylsden. He's currently out injured but it is expected that his loan too will be extended once he's back to full fitness".

FC Halifax Town report that "Neil Aspin was left disappointed and frustrated with his team’s performance in the 2-1 home defeat to Boston United on Saturday afternoon... their first defeat in seven matches and second home loss of the season...

Aspin said, 'Of course we don’t have a divine right to win any game, we must do better, and the performance and tempo was just not good enough to win the game... The players weren't exactly full of running but we can’t be making any excuses of being tired. We are more than capable of playing on a Tuesday then a Saturday. Credit must go to Boston, they worked very hard, and it was only the last 10 minutes when we've really put them under a considerable amount of pressure'".

Meanwhile, our next opponents, Boston United record that "Mark Jones and Marc Newsham struck the decisive goals as Boston United recorded a fantastic 2-1 win at FC Halifax Town... United had to withstand a strong Halifax onslaught. United stood firm in the main part and only conceded when Gareth Seddon netted with five minutes of normal time to play. The result was arguably deserved on the balance of play — despite the home side’s late bombardment...

Spencer Weir-Daley was re-instated to United’s starting XI in a three-pronged support line-up to central striker Jones. Kallum Smith was the man to make way...

Boston (4-2-3-1): Dan Haystead; Gary Silk, Tom Ward, Nathan Stainfield, Gareth Jelleyman; Ben Milnes, Ian Ross; Ben Fairclough (Kallum Smith 71), Spencer Weir-Daley, Marc Newsham; Mark Jones. Subs (not used): Conor Marshall, James Reed, Sam Craven, Ricky Drury (gk)".

DON'T DELAY

CORBY TOWN 2 ALTRINCHAM 5

Right: Alty's central midfielders had fine games at Corby. Here, Carl Rodgers goes for an aerial ball as Jake Moult and the Alty bench await the outcome..

From the other side, Corby Town report that "Town were punished to a 5-2 defeat at Steel Park on non-league day, proving that they weren’t so pretty in pink on what was still a great day put on by the club. Altrincham were awarded a penalty after just six minutes as August player of the month Paul Walker brought down Jake Moult in the box, and somehow only picked up a yellow card. The league scorer, who has already scored 16 goals in all competitions for Lee Sinnott’s side, was denied by the stopper that realistically should have been in the changing room at such an early stage in the game, but the fortunes of the visitors were due to change.

A second penalty, for what seemed to be a soft tackle on Nicky Clee was taken by Matt Doughty, and found the net... which was probably justice from the referee, making it 1-0 after just 12 minutes.

Following a quiet 15 minutes, the second goal of the afternoon came on 27 minutes as that man Reeves made amends by tapping it at close range. Some bad defending from The Steelmen resulted in a poor first half display...

Left: Pretty in pink at Corby on Saturday were vice-chairman Andrew Shaw, chairman Grahame Rowley and club secretary Derek Wilshaw.

On just the half an hour mark, Duncan Watmore curled the ball into the top left hand corner with his left foot, leaving Walker with no chance, questioning whether there is a curse of the player of the month award for the former Northampton Town man between the sticks... Two goals in 2 minutes from Moult and Reeves made the scores 5-0 before half time...

Corby somehow found a slight way back into the game ten minutes into the second half as debutant Carl Piergianni found the back of the net following a goal mouth scramble... The scores remained the same in a relatively quiet second half... In added time Kaziboni this time found the net".

And the Northants Telegraph adds that "Corby Town were given a first-half rude awakening as they eventually went down to a 5-2 defeat at the hands of a rampant Altrincham side... And, to be honest, no one would have seen it coming after Chris Plummer had seemingly steadied the ship with just one defeat in seven games before this one...

Nothing should be taken away from the visiting Robins who were excellent as they missed a penalty before storming into a 5-0 lead inside an incredible first 40 minutes. Their movement, desire and finishing was first class while Corby were, at best, lacklustre and a far cry from the performances of recent weeks.

There was an improvement after the break as a mixture of the visitors taking their foot off the gas and the Steelmen finally turning up ensured it didn’t get any more embarrassing...

Jake Moult was sent clear by Damian Reeves and skipped past goalkeeper Paul Walker, who hauled him down. Walker was perhaps fortunate to receive only a yellow card and he rubbed salt into the visitors’ wounds by brilliantly diving to his right to save the prolific Reeves's spot-kick... They earned a second penalty when Evans was adjudged to have tripped Nicky Clee. This time it was Matt Doughty who stepped up and he made no mistake by hammering home from 12 yards...

When Watmore took aim from the edge of the area. Walker could only parry his strike and Reeves did what he does best as he finished it off from close-range. Watmore caused all sorts of problems for Piergianni, who was playing at left-back, but everyone was powerless to stop the third and the winger cut in from the left and brilliantly curled his shot into the corner...

Moult made it four as his shot squirmed under Walker and no sooner had the game started again, a long punt over the top released Reeves who beat Walker with a low shot... The Steelmen produced a vast improvement in the second half but, ultimately, it was too late after that miserable opening period".

OLD BOYS

CLOSING THE GAP

BSBN NEWS

Our next opponents won at The Shay on Saturday, from where FC Halifax Town report that "Town failed to recover from a poor start as they slumped to a first defeat in seven games despite dominating against a Boston United side that ran out 2-1 victors... Town bombarded the visitors penalty area in the dying stages, and twice could have found the equaliser through Dale Johnson and Seddon, but Boston escaped with all three points.

Neil Aspin has rarely tinkered with his starting eleven this season, but was forced into a change as influential midfielder Jason Jarrett was serving the first of his three match suspension, meaning Simon Hackney was gifted his first start in an FC Halifax Town shirt... Boston clearly had the ascendancy in the opening encounters as Town looked bewildered by their lively start and thus, they were rewarded with an early goal...

The Boston goal was living a charmed life, and somehow escaped one more in the closing stages as... Johnson bravely headed at goal to see it deflect off the bar and out".

CORBY TOWN 2 ALTRINCHAM 5

Right: Damian Reeves's penalty is saved at 0-0.

SATURDAY'S GAME AT CORBY

The match commentators are Laurence Howarth and Brian Flynn with match summaries from Joe Barry. Commentary begins at 2.55pm. You can listen to Radio Robins here".

Right: Jamie Greygoose joined Altrincham recently and is expected to be Alty's reserve goalkeeper again tomorrow at Corby.

Mike Garnett advises us of Altrincham's competitive record against our opponents...

Corby Town entertain Alty after four successive home victories since Chris Plummer took over as manager; the teams they have beaten are Colwyn Bay (league), Leamington (FA Cup), Droylsden (League) and Histon (FA Cup).

Now Corby Town report that "Saturday is 'Turn Steel Park Pink' day, as the club urges supporters to partake in the fun activities on offer and raise money for the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity as part of the Non-League Day festivities.

However, amid everything else on offer there is an important Blue Square Bet North fixture taking place, pitting two in form sides against each other in what is expected to be a fantastic advert for non-league football.

Steel Park had become somewhat of an unhappy place for Corby Town fans, who had witnessed their side pick up just four league points at home during the whole of 2012 upto September. No matter what team or manager was in place it seemed as though there was a dark cloud hanging over Jimmy Kane Way and it was refusing to lift...

Fast forward a month and Plummer has not only managed to win at home, his charges have won four consecutive matches at Steel Park in all competitions, scoring 12 goals in the process. The feel good factor is back at Corby Town and with the the Steelmen having lost just one of their last eight fixtures, they will be hoping to extend that record on Saturday.

The hosts are not the only side with an impressive record however, with Saturday’s visitors currently 7th in the league and unbeaten in their last five league matches. Only Brackley Town, Chester and Vauxhall Motors have got the better of Lee Sinnott’s men so far this campaign.

The Robins also possess the league’s most prolific marksman Damian Reeves, who has netted 13 league goals already this campaign. This form has seen him this week nominated for the North West Non-League Player of the Year".

And in the Northants Telegraph, "Chris Plummer has welcomed the competition for places that has emerged in the centre-half position at Corby Town. The Steelmen have added former Stockport County defender Carl Piergianni to their squad...

With Paul Malone and Stefan Galinski also vying for the central defensive role, it means a welcome selection headache for boss Plummer, who admitted he was impressed with Malone’s performance in Wednesday’s 2-1 home win over Histon in the FA Cup. The Steelmen manager said, '“It is a very good signing for us. Carl was pretty much an ever-present at Stockport last year and he came through the Peterborough United youth set up. We have a lot of competition there now and the other guys in the team have stepped up. There is a selection headache but that’s a good thing to have...

Paul was great. He was left out of the team a week ago and his last two performances have been excellent. He has responded in the right way'...

Plummer, meanwhile, knows his perfect record at Steel Park is in for a stern test at the weekend. Wednesday’s win made it four home victories out of four since he took the job but he knows Altrincham will provide his side with a thorough examination.

'We have had Altrincham watched and they are a good side', he added. 'They are near the top end of the table and it is going to be a big test for us. But our home form is good and if we are at our best then we can match anybody'".

More on former Alty loanee Piergianni comes from the Northampton Chronicle which says "The 20-year-old defender has arrived at Steel Park and will go straight into the squad to face Altrincham ... 'It is a good signing for us', Plummer said. 'I did some homework on him and I was aware that he had become available a couple of weeks ago and we tried to bring him in then. He did train with us and I know there were other clubs interested in him. But it is great that he has joined us'".

Putting a different angle on things Alty Mad claims that "Corby Town's home form is poor, winning just 2 of the last six [league games], and losing the other 4. While Steelmen have scored 12, a worringly large 16 have been leaked at the other end. The away form of Altrincham however, is much more impressive, with 3 victories and just 1 loss from the last six. Those games have seen the Robins pummel[?] 16 goals, and let in 9...

Robins have been performing with great credit on their travels, and the Madmen see no reason why they should not return from Rockingham Triangle Stadium with an easy victory. Away win". It should be recalled that the "Madmen" have rarely predicted a correct Alty result this season.

HOME GAMES

Matt writes: "After a stuttering start Alty have clicked into gear, hitting a patch of great form. With the goalscoring exploits of a certain Mr Reeves continuing, fantastic team performances and a great FA Cup run to date, we've got a lot to shout about at the moment. Midweek games have always been tricky for us to attract the attendances we do at weekend games. As we continue our push for promotion it would be great to have as much support as possible for our two Tuesday night games in October vs. Workington (23rd) and Guiseley (30th).

Please can you print off and display this poster in your workplaces, local pub, community facility etc. or encourage others to do so. Please also use the power of retweeting and sharing the poster on Facebook to get the Robins' message out there and encourage current, new or returning fans to watch some proper football at Moss Lane".

SATURDAY FIXTURES

MARK'S GREAT FIGHT

The dad-of-three, who is a former manager of Formby FC and is well known in Merseyside footballing circles, was diagnosed with the condition in November 2010. At the time he was told to make the most of that Christmas but, nearly two years on, he continues to fight the disease, which attacks the nerves and causes muscles to waste away.

The 39-year-old from West Derby admitted his running days are behind him but he will jog and walk the 26-mile course with friends and family on Sunday. He said, 'When I told the nurses that I was planning to do the marathon they said "No you're not". I just want to raise awareness and money but, mainly, awareness because not many people know about it. I've been able to do training in moderation'.

And the race is simply the latest on a list of challenges he set himself at the beginning of the year. Having already completed a 10K race and recorded an album and played a gig with his band, Last of a Dying Breed, Mark has plans to up the ante after this weekend. He said, 'Next year I'm cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats. I'm not walking because it will take me about two years'.

Mark said he refuses to let MND win without a fight. The former Dads' Worker at Walton's Children's Centre wants to leave the Merseyside branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) in a stronger position. He told a meeting of the charity, 'I know for a fact that I will never, ever walk my little girl up the aisle. But that is something I have to deal with'.

MNDA is an organisation run by volunteers, who help provide essential support for sufferers in the region, as well as raising money and awareness. Mark has raised around £15,000 for them so far and hopes to see the MNDA Charter passed through government. The Charter aims to ensure all sufferers of MND receive the right level of care, regardless of their circum-stances. Mark said he is inspired by the fight shown by other people suffering from the disease.

He said, 'When I was diagnosed it was racing through me. I lost loads of weight, I could feel myself going but I fought it. Everything now is part of my bucket list and I hope to keep it going as long as I can'. Mark has three children with Jayne, his partner since the age of 15. Vinnie, six, and Beau, three, are too young to understand the illness, but the couple took the decision to tell 11-year-old Sonny this summer before he moved to senior school.

He said, 'I either let it beat me or I fight it. I'm fighting against it'".

BSBN NEWS

Reports from BSBN say that "Carl Heggs hopes to guide Hinckley United through a difficult period as caretaker manager, although he admits the idea of taking charge full-time is tempting. Heggs took up the post as the Knitters' joint-caretaker boss following Dean Thomas's resignation earlier this week... Heggs, who served as Thomas' last assistant coach, is keen to do his former superior a good service by turning around Hinckley's fortunes, and maybe taking up the mantle on a permanent basis in the future.

'The most important thing for me is that Dean gets the credit he deserves for 15 years of great service', Heggs told the Nuneaton News. 'I'm an ambitious ex-manager of teams like Notts County and King's Lynn so, if the chance came up to manage Hinckley, then yes, I would of course be interested. It's a great club and Dean has given me his blessing'.

Heggs' first test as the Knitters' mentor will be a trip to Colwyn Bay on Saturday... 'I get on with all the players and they know I want the best for them', he added. 'I want them all to go on play for bigger clubs. I would say if they want me to get the job then go out and show it'".

As Alty get on with a sequence of seven away games out of eight fixtures, we learn from BSBN that "Guiseley are faced with a long journey for a fourth consecutive Saturday as they journey to Solihull Moors in the Blue Square Bet North this weekend. Lions' supporters must be digging deep in their pockets to watch their side and manager Steve Kittrick feels it has been a difficult period...

Manager Kittrick said, 'We have had some very tough fixtures just lately but I think our fans have been marvellous in getting behind us. We went to Bamber Bridge in the FA Cup, down to Oxford, all the way to Wales in the cup again last Saturday and now down past Birmingham again... Our confidence is high as we go back to the league this weekend'” reports the Telegraph and Argus.

News of a Guiseley player comes from Pitchero Non-League, which says that "Luton Town have confirmed they have extended defender Simon Ainge’s loan from Guiseley until the end of December with a view to a permanent transfer in January. The 24-year-old, who began his career at Bradford City, has started all three games since his arrival and netted his first goal in the 3-2 defeat to Braintree Town on Tuesday night.

Luton manager Paul Buckle said, 'When somebody comes in you’re not going to give everything away straight away. It was a month's loan but we always intended on taking the boy. We had a look and it was evident straight away that he was everything we were looking for in a centre half'. Guiseley confirmed that they have agreed in principle to a permanent transfer subject to the clubs agreeing a fee as well as personal terms being settled between the player and Luton".

Green'Un 24 reports that "Colchester United have loaned left-back Ben Coker to non-league club Histon for a month. The 23-year-old made 20 league appearances in both his first two seasons with the U’s having been signed from Suffolk non-league side Bury Town.

However, new manager Joe Dunne has decided to send him out to the Blue Square South club he started out his career at on a temporary basis...providing cover for the injured Ian Gayle".

In the Times & Star, "Workington Reds' boss Darren Edmondson will launch an audacious bid to snap up loan star Will Vaulks. The 19-year-old has fallen out of favour at Ronnie Moore’s table-topping Tranmere Rovers side, and it is believed he will be allowed to leave Prenton Park in January.

Edmondson is a keen admirer of the talented midfielder, who has starred for Workington since joining in August. But he will have to move quickly to tie Vaulks down with a host of Football League side considering making a move when he becomes available..

Edmondson confirmed.... 'The noises coming from Tranmere is they don’t see a future for Will with them, which could fall nicely into our hands. There are professional clubs looking at him, but hopefully we can come to an arrangement that sees him move to Workington full time. Will is enjoying his football here. He’s playing regularly, his performances have been outstanding and he’s fitted into our dressing room nicely. I am always talking to him, and his agent, but I know Will has aspirations of staying in the professional game'...

Workington must make the 568-mile round trip to play-off chasing Oxford City, whose mixed home form gives Edmondson hope of three valuable points. Workington will be without captain David Hewson, who is recovering from a knee injury".

We learen from This is Glos that "Midfielder Matt Liddiard is set to miss his big chance to shine for Gloucester City when the Tigers make their first-ever visit to Bradford Park Avenue tomorrow. With playmaker Lewis Hogg serving the first game of a two-match ban, Hartpury College student Liddiard was set to replace him in the Tigers' engine room.

But an approach from Hellenic League Premier Division club Cheltenham Saracens has put that move on hold and forced City boss Dave Mehew into a rethink. 'Saracens have put seven day's notice in for Lidds and he's expressed an interest in going there, which is disappointing from our point of view', Mehew said. 'It's disappointing, especially with what's going on in the next few weeks. He was pencilled into start at Bradford with Hogg's ban. But that's been put on hold after what has happened as his head won't be right. He's a Gloucester player until Monday anyway. I understand that he wants to play regular first-team football, and we can't offer him a place every week, but it's still a blow'.

With two defensive midfielders out, Mehew may move the versatile Jack Harris into a midfield role for the trip to the Horsfall Stadium... With City on a two-match run of victories since adding defender Chris Holland and Bristol Rovers loan pair Mitch Harding and Jordan Goddard to the squad, the City boss is in confident mood.

'We don't know a great deal about them. We've had them watched and have a report on them, other than that were going into the unknown a bit', Mehew said. '"We have had a bit of a new start with the players we've brought in... After we brought the three lads in, there is now a bit of strength in depth in the squad and it's keeping those that are in the side on their toes'...

With Will Morford set to return from injury in Monday's Gloucestershire Senior Cup tie at Mangotsfield United, Mehew is looking forward to having selection problems up front. 'There was a spring in Darren Edwards' step last week and perhaps hadn't been there this season and that's good to see', he said".

GOING THE EXTRA MILE

After training on Thursday, manager Lee Sinnott confirmed that everyone is available for selection except for the suspended Simon Richman. Scott Leather had a modified training programme after tweaking his calf in the gym during the week but he will be fine for the weekend.

Meanwhile, Alty goalkeeper Adam Reid and left-sided defender/midfielder Sam Grimshaw will again be in the Goole AFC squad on Saturday as they seek to gain more first-team experience after their successful debuts for the Yorkshire club last week.

EXTENDED VIEW

"Lee Sinnott has backed Damian Reeves's prodigious scoring feats to earn him a fitting reward after the prolific Altrincham striker was shortlisted for Non-League Player of the Year at next month’s Northwest Football Awards ceremony.

Reeves has become an Alty legend, with his remarkable output over the past 12 months or so, and supporters can show their gratitude by voting for him in sufficient numbers to see off competition from fellow-nominees Tom Hannigan, of Vauxhall Motors, and Stockport County skipper Joe Connor.

Though the shortlist for each category was decided by a panel, the winners will be determined solely by votes cast by the public here or via Facebook at www.facebook.com/northwestfootballawards. The closing date is Monday, October 29 (5pm), and the awards night is at Old Trafford cricket ground on Monday, November 12.

Right: From James Lobley's Alty Flickr page comes this image of Luca Havern against Leek.

‘It would be a big plus for Damian, and for Altrincham Football Club, and I wish him all the best with that,’ said Alty boss Sinnott. ‘You only need to look at his record over the calendar year to see how much he deserves to win it.

‘It must be pretty much a goal a game, and to maintain that over the course of a full year is exceptional, quite astounding. It has been well documented what happened in the summer, when we all thought he would get an opportunity in the Football League, and there could easily have been a reaction to that.

‘There could have been a bit of a hangover, but, instead, he hit the ground running. The team continued to create chances for him, and he continued to stick them away. You could say he’s had a few penalties, but to be fair, most have come from fouls on him. Credit where it’s due, he has done well and would be a worthy player of the year.’

Sinnott refused to bemoan his luck at being handed a third successive away tie in the FA Cup, at Boston United, after a disciplined performance saw off Leek Town on Saturday.

‘You can put yourself in a negative state of mind, if you start wishing you’d had this or that,’ he said. ‘You can get anything in the Cup, and you take what you are given. People might not fancy going to Boston, but I would imagine Boston might not fancy us going to them, either. Whoever you draw, it’s an FA Cup tie, and you get on with it.

‘That’s what we did at Leek. It was different from the tie at Shildon, where we started like a house on fire and put ourselves in a position where it would have taken something out of the ordinary to prevent us going through.

‘It was the other way round at Leek, where we had to bide our time, keep our composure and wait for chances to present themselves. It was a potential banana skin, in front of a partisan crowd, but Neil Tolson got it spot-on at half-time when he told the lads to remain patient. Keep at it and patience will pay off, and it duly did.

‘I didn’t think we looked in any real danger at any time. We dealt with everything they threw at us, and when we got our opportunity to finish them off, we made the most of it. That was pleasing. Now it’s Boston, and we need to put in the same sort of performance as we did there last season, when we played well and came away with a draw.

‘But we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves. Corby away is next up on Saturday, and you only need to look at how they have been going lately to see we are in for a tough game.

‘There seems to have been a hell of a sequence of away games, but the players have acquitted themselves superbly, both individually and collectively. They have drawn on each other, to keep this unbeaten run going, and it’s great to be able to take that into the trips to Corby and Boston. It’s just the way it has bounced. You can’t legislate for Cup draws keeping you on the road, but the way the players have responded has been a credit to them.

‘There has been a real sense of belief, and that has played a part in the run of results we’ve had. We had Corby watched the other night, and we will chew over what the report says. But there is a lot of confidence among our group at the moment. There are never any guarantees on how a game might go, but it looks to me like we’ve got a set of players who know they are capable of attaining points.

‘They have put in a lot of miles lately, so we decided to give them Tuesday night off. Sometimes, a rest can be good for body and mind, so we will reconvene on Thursday and prepare for the Corby game then.’

Simon Richman serves a one-match ban on Saturday".

GRAHAM HEATHCOTE ON RADIO MANCHESTER

CORBY'S UNBEATEN RUN

Corby were forced to hang on in the final 10 minutes after Stefan Galinski was sent off for a professional foul and the Stutes pulled a goal back from the resulting free-kick. But they saw the game out to make it four wins from four home matches since Plummer took over.

The Steelmen boss said, 'I was very pleased with the performance overall. It was uncomfortable viewing towards the end and I felt we were in complete control until the final 10 minutes. Obviously the sending-off changed things. I think the referee got it right because Stefan has pulled the guy back and, by the laws, it was a straight red. Having said that, when we got our second penalty their defender got away without a booking. It wasn’t consistent'...

Corby will be hot favourites to book a place in the first round proper for the third year in a row ... 'But we have got to be very careful that we don't become complacent and think we are already through', he added...

The Corby boss also confirmed after the game that defender Carl Piergianni has joined the club having been at Stockport County last season. He goes straight into the squad to face [former club] Altrincham at Steel Park".

The Cambridge News adds that "A spirited late fightback against 10-man Corby was not enough as Histon bowed out of the FA Cup... Histon got themselves back into contention when substitute Claudiu Hoban scored direct from a free kick in the 83rd minute, moments after Stefan Galinski had been sent off...

Neither side was able to string successive passes together in the opening quarter of an hour but it was Histon who enjoyed most of the possession...

The breakthrough finally arrived for Corby moments before half time. Mills was adjudged to have pushed Moreman as he went for a header and referee Antony Coggins was quick to point to the spot. Mellings saved Moreman’s initial effort but there was nothing he could do to stop him burying the rebound... Later, Vieira surged into the penalty area and rounded Mellings before being bundled over by Clerima... the Histon captain remained on the pitch. And there was more for Dennis Greene’s men to be happy about when Moreman stroked the spot-kick wide of Mellings’ right-hand upright.

The reprieve did not last long though, and in the 64th minute Moreman again got behind the Histon defence and crossed for Semple to smash the ball home... Corby began to play with a swagger while Histon...luck began to change when Galinski was shown the red card for hauling down Sear when he was clear on goal in the 82nd minute, and from the ensuing free kick Hoban scored...

Histon manager Dennis Greene said, 'It was a missed opportunity. Corby took their chances when they came along and when we had ours we didn’t show any decisiveness and they got tackles in... I’m disappointed with the attitude and performance of the players'...

Corby Town: Walker, Briand, Crowe (Fox, 65min), Malone, Galinski, McGowan, Semple (McKenzie, 70) , Wedderburn, Vieira, Ives, Moreman (Webb, 84). Subs not used: Richardson, Kaziboni, Manga".

NEXT YOUTH GAME

NON-LEAGUE DAY

"The President of the Football Conference, Bill King (pictured), together with his wife Jane, will be climbing aboard the Blue Square Bet Battle Bus on Saturday to lend weight to national 'Non-League Day'. Sponsors of the Conference Blue Square, have laid on an amazing treat to those groundhoppers who wish to take advantage of three cracking Premier matches specially arranged to spread the message that the game at non-League level is alive, vibrant and worth getting involved in. Without the game at local level there would be no base on which the top could survive and flourish.

Mr King will commence his ride with other lovers of our great game by firstly watching Macclesfield Town play Newport County (12 noon) at the Moss Rose, before taking his seat to journey on to Edgeley Park for a 3.30pm kick off as Stockport County host Kidderminster Harriers. The third and final leg will see them all back aboard for the short journey to Ewen Fields, the home of Hyde FC where Tamworth will be in opposition at 6.30pm.

On conclusion the bus will finally return everyone back to Macclesfield. We are sure by then that everyone will be on first name terms with Bill and Jane. Those having booked will be charged the princely sum of just £5 to grab this great opportunity to see three top class matches and Blue Square are making a donation to 'Marie Curie Cancer Care', which is a tremendous statement from a company now in their sixth season of sponsoring the top flight of non-League.

If you wish to see if any spaces are still available then email sponsorship@bluesq.com

The President commented 'This is a wonderful and innovative way to spread the great message of all that is exemplary about the game at our level. Having been associated with the competition since its inception in 1979, it just shows the camaraderie which exists between our clubs that they gladly agreed to change kick off times this Saturday to coincide with Non-League Day. Well done to all involved, whatever your club is doing to recognise and promote the day. Best wishes to you all and I hope you enjoy the day wherever you celebrate it'".

BSBN NEWS

Stuart Storer had previously stated that he could not commit to full-time team management. Training will continue as normal... No decision has been made on when the vacant position will be advertised so in the interim.

The Board of Directors were saddened by Dean Thomas's decision to resign but have thanked him for all of his efforts over the last fourteen years with many high points over this period. A statement from the Board reads, 'We wish Dean every success in his future career. Our main aim as a Board is to secure the long-term future of the club and we will be working hard to ensure that the right people are put in place to take the club forward. As a Board, we would like the shareholders and supporters of Hinckley United to know that we have the club’s interests at heart, and will work to the best of our ability to secure the future of the club, within the parameters of the financial restraints the club has historically been placed under'".

Brackley Town, "announce that goalkeeper Billy Turley has left the club by mutual consent after discussions with manager Jon Brady at midweek training".

In the Banbury Guardian we read that "Brackley Town boss Jon Brady is demanding a huge response from his players ahead of Saturday’s long trip to Harrogate Town. The unbeaten Blue Square Bet North leaders were knocked out of the FA Cup by Evo-Stik League Southern outfit Arlesey Town in Saturday’s third qualifying round tie and Brady is still fuming from the 4-3 exit.

Brady will be hoping to have Gary Mulligan and Owen Story fully fit for the Saturday’s game. The pair were on the bench at Arlesey and Brady hopes another week will be enough for them to be considered for a return to the starting line-up. Saints go into Saturday’s clash with a slender one-point advantage over Guiseley but with a game in hand over their rivals. Top scorer Chibuzor Chilaka, who was at Bradford City last season, is Harrogate’s main threat but Brady believes his side should have too much pace for the Yorkshire outfit".

From Gainsborough Today comes news that "Gainsborough Trinity boss Steve Housham has confirmed his playing budget next season will be reduced... [as] chairman Peter Swann has announced he will walk away from the club at the end of this season.

'Yes our playing budget will be lower next season', said Housham. 'It will be considerably less. But it was always likely to be lower whether Peter Swann is here or not. Many of the players will not be offered the sort of money they are currently paid. But I firmly believe that money does not automatically bring you success. This is one of the reasons we are already looking to bring in younger players.

None of the existing playing staff have contracts which take them into next season... They will have to work hard to earn themselves a deal and hopefully, we will get that sort of commitment'.

Trinity chairman Swann announced at the end of August that he would stand down from his role when this season comes to an end... 'I am always optimistic and I believe Gainsborough Trinity will be competitive next season at this level, possibly even higher', Housham added. 'And who's to say that, if we win the championship and get promoted, we wouldn't be able to change the chairman's mind... I have seen a lot of clubs fold, but I am confident Gainsborough Trinity will not be one of those. At the end of the day, we are a non-league club and we have non-league players. Most of my lads here have other jobs. Yes, it's great to get a bit of money, but in non-league this should not be your main income'".

LEE TAKES FA CUP DRAW IN HIS STRIDE

Reeves has become an Alty legend, with his remarkable output over the past 12 months or so, and supporters can show their gratitude by voting for him in sufficient numbers to see off competition from fellow-nominees Tom Hannigan, of Vauxhall Motors, and Stockport County skipper Joe Connor.

Though the shortlist for each category was decided by a panel, the winners will be determined solely by votes cast by the public at www.northwestfootballawards.com or via Facebook at www.facebook.com/northwestfootballawards. The closing date is Monday, October 29 (5pm), and the awards night is at Old Trafford cricket ground on Monday, November 12.

'It would be a big plus for Damian, and for Altrincham Football Club, and I wish him all the best with that', said Alty boss Sinnott. 'You only need to look at his record over the calendar year to see how much he deserves to win it. It must be pretty much a goal a game and, to maintain that over the course of a full year is exceptional, quite astounding. It has been well documented what happened in the summer, when we all thought he would get an opportunity in the Football League, and there could easily have been a reaction to that.

There could have been a bit of a hangover but, instead, he hit the ground running. The team continued to create chances for him, and he continued to stick them away. You could say he’s had a few penalties, but to be fair, most have come from fouls on him. Credit where it's due, he has done well and would be a worthy player of the year'.

Sinnott refused to bemoan his luck at being handed a third successive away tie in the FA Cup, at Boston United, after a disciplined performance saw off Leek Town on Saturday. 'You can put yourself in a negative state of mind, if you start wishing you’d had this or that', he said. 'You can get anything in the Cup, and you take what you are given. People might not fancy going to Boston, but I would imagine Boston might not fancy us going to them, either. Whoever you draw, it’s an FA Cup tie, and you get on with it.

'We can’t get ahead of ourselves, anyway. Corby away is next up on Saturday, and it is going to need all the qualities we have shown on the road recently to get something there'. Simon Richman serves a one-match ban on Saturday."

FA CUP REPLAY

DERRYN'S FIVE-GOAL WEEKEND

After going behind in the 18th minute, the Altrincham striker put the Cheshire team on level terms in the 24th minute, by slotting home after a good run and cross from Chester FC's, Tom Peers. Ofori then put the visitors in front on the half hour following some fine individual work.

The Cheshire team were forced to use all three of their substitutes within the first 35 minutes of the game, due to sickness and injury, and in an evenly fought second half Shropshire equalised on 72 minutes taking the game into extra time. After 105 minutes Derryn Ofori stuck again to complete his hat-trick with a fine turn and strike from 10 yards.

The visitors put the game beyond doubt in the 118th minutes when hard working centre forward Dylan Glass fired home, after being put through by Jonathan Jones. Cheshire are now away to Leicestershire FA in the second round, on a date to be confirmed".

Other Alty Youth players in the Cheshire team were centre-back, Alex Weatherby, who completed the full match, and Oliver Riley, who was a used substitute.

Derryn completed his weekend by scoring twice for Alty Youth last Sunday!

LADIES' NEW SIGNING

Kathryn is pictured, right, courtesy of Keith Edleston.

OLD BOYS

Another ex-Alty man is in the news from the NW Counties Football League, which reports that "After an inconsistent start to the season, Stockport Sports assistant manager Joey Dunn believes that the squad is now geared up to mount a serious promotion challenge in the North West Counties League Premier Division...

Said Dunn, 'It’s a man’s league and we had a lot of boys in so we knew we needed to bolster the squad up and get more experience in'..

Since joining the club as assistant to Peter Withe, Dunn says his role has been a mixture of passing on his knowledge of Non-League football to the players, and using his contacts to bring in players who have the right qualities to help progress the club...

The subject of the artificial pitch at the Stockport Sports Village is always likely to generate debate... 'I brought teams to play on the old pitch that was here when I was manager at Warrington Town and it was a case of, if you knocked it long, it would bounce. But on this surface it doesn’t, it will sit down and you can put backspin on the ball, almost like a golf driving range so from that perspective, for me it does replicate a normal grass pitch'".

BSBN NEWS

"I would like to bring to your attention that Corby Town, the Club and its Supporters' Trust are organising a charity event on the day of your visit to Steel Park. The event is in aid of Breakthrough, which is a national charity for breast cancer. We have a lot of 'off the pitch' activities on the day. October is 'THINK PINK' month for Breakthrough and we are going to turn Steel Park PINK for the day!

We have been given permission by the league to wear our away kit which is pink shirts and black shorts...

The idea is to encourage our home supporters to wear something pink on the day, and I would like to invite your travelling supporters and officials to embrace the occasion and join in, and wear something pink to the game. The whole afternoon will be geared towards raising awareness for Breakthrough and the tremendous work it does.

I have attached an e-flyer (adjacent) for your information which we will be advertising on our website, Facebook and Twitter pages. We are trying to reach as many non-footballing fans in the local community to come along and support the event...

I look forward to meeting you and your fellow officials in the Board room for a glass of Pink Lemonade and a Pink Cup Cake!!"

News of our next opponents comes from the Northants Telegraph which states that "Chris Plummer is refusing to take his eye off the job at hand as Corby Town prepare to take on Histon in tonight’s FA Cup third qualifying round replay at Steel Park. The winners will host... Hendon...

Plummer said, 'No one can allow themselves to look too far ahead and we have a big task on our hands if we are to progress. I am sure both clubs would agree that the draw could have been a lot worse... [Histon] are a committed team and it was a proper cup tie on Saturday... I am expecting a real blood and thunder battle'".

Meanwhile, Corby Town have signed free agent Carl Piergianni. The 20-year-old defender came through the youth ranks at Peterborough United but only made one first team appearance for Posh, although he did gain experience during a 'work experience' spell with Spalding United. He spent the second half of the 2010/11 season at Altrincham, also on 'work experience', making twenty-one appearances for the then Conference Premier side. In August 2011 he joined Stockport County and, although he was offered terms by the Hatters for this season, opted to leave at the end of his contract after appearing forty-four times for County".

Like Altrincham the Worcester News reports that "When the FA Cup fourth qualifying round draw was made on Monday, Worcester City must have been cursing their luck once again. Having not received a home tie in the competition since September 2009... City might have thought the law of averages would finally be on their side.

Instead, their reward for overcoming Weston-super-Mare in a replay at St George’s Lane is a trip to Bromley — the seventh time in a row the draw has sent City on their travels. But, when you consider City managed to dodge every team in the Blue Square Bet Premier, it might not be the worst draw in the world. Indeed, if history is anything to go by, they might actually be better off away from the Lane...

City are currently on a run of one defeat in 13 and riding high in sixth place in Blue Square Bet North... Worcester have already banked £12,000 from beating Gornal Athletic and Weston and there is another £12,500 for the winners on Saturday week. Add to that, the potential of drawing the likes of Sheffield United or Coventry City in the first round, and Worcester could be in the money.

It won’t make much of a dent into affording a new ground but, in the short-term at least, it would go a long way to keeping them in business once they leave the Lane. With that in mind, Heeley is leaving no stone unturned in his pursuit of success with the club’s supporters’ trust paying for the team to stay overnight in Kent ahead of the match...

Right-back Tyler Weir knows they have to keep their emotions in check. He said, 'we’ve got to keep our feet on the ground. We want to get in that first round, draw a big league club here and beat them'".

Hinckley United "can confirm that first team manager Dean Thomas has resigned this morning following last night's FA Cup exit at Ossett Albion. A Club statement will follow".

And the Football Conference adds that "Hinckley United begin the search for a new manager after Dean Thomas resigned after sixteen seasons in charge. The 50-year-old former Wimbledon, Fortuna Dusseldorf, Northampton Town, Notts County, Bedworth United and Hinckley striker took up the reins at the Greene King Stadium in 1997 following a three-year stint with neighbours Bedworth United".

More on this comes from the Nuneaton News, which confirms that "Dean Thomas today resigned after 16 seasons and 972 games in charge. Thomas took over the Knitters when they were formed in 1997 and guided to them to the brink of the Conference at one stage. However, after three years of financial problems he has quit with the club bottom of Blue Square Bet North and out the FA Cup following the defeat to Ossett Albion on Tuesday night.

He said, 'We have all experienced some wonderful times and also battled through some dark days. We've seen some fantastic, proper non-League footballers pull on the HUFC colours with pride and who have been a pleasure to watch and manage. I believe I have been backed and supported throughout by the majority of our band of loyal supporters, for which I am extremely grateful. But it is with great sadness that I feel I can no longer take this club forward.

The last three seasons have been seen as a constant battle against massive financial problems both for me personally, the players and the club, which has been well documented. A large percentage of the board voted I remain as manager for the coming season. I tried tirelessly to improve this squad but, unfortunately, our reputation has gone before us and that has seen many non-League players through the summer refuse to join us and go elsewhere.

The young players I have signed have given it a go and I don't blame them. The North Conference is a tough place to learn their trade but, unfortunately, it is a bit too big at the moment for some, but I hope in time they all cut it at this level and higher, and take with them a little of what we have taught them.

I would like to thank everyone personally throughout the club at every level. This club has been a big part of my mine and my family's life and I have made some life long friends through all this and taken away some wonderful memories".

According to Dunstable Today, "Guiseley AFC are expecting Luton to extend Simon Ainge's loan into the new year – but Town boss Paul Buckle will not be rushed into a decision despite warnings from the Blue Square Bet North side that he could go elsewhere. The 24-year-old centre-half is on an initial month’s loan at Kenilworth Road and has impressed with his no nonsense defending.

Buckle said, 'He’s here for a month. As much as it is for us to look at Simon, it’s for him to look at us as well. I’m pretty easy where that’s concerned. I think we’re a fabulous club and I’d want to join Luton if I was in his shoes'".

CUT-PRICE KIT

VOTE FOR DAMIAN REEVES - AND SAM GRIMSHAW, TOO!

Damian Reeves's goal against Leek is pictured, right, in Gavin Rathbone's image. More of Gavin's Alty images are on his GR Photography website.

Although no names are mentioned in the press release sent to Altrincham, one of the candidates in the "Rising Stars" section of the NW Football Awards vote is Alty left-back/midfielder, Sam Grimshaw. So, as well as voting in the Conference North section for Damian Reeves, as outlined below, vote for Sam, too! Sam was the Manager's and Players' Player of the Season for the Alty Youth team in 2011-12.

"Altrincham striker Damian Reeves has been nominated as Non-League Player of the Year at the forthcoming Northwest Football Awards. Reeves, who was in prolific form last term, faces competition for the accolade in the form of Vauxhall Motors' Tom Hannigan and Stockport County skipper, Joe Connor.

After a year when clubs from the North West have dominated the headlines, with both Manchester clubs battling it out for the 2011/12 Premier League title in one of the most dramatic seasons in living memory, the judges on the panel for the 2012 Northwest Football Awards have completed the difficult task of shortlisting the region’s Player of the Year nominations for the top five divisions.

Supporters can now cast their vote to back their heroes and help decide which players will receive the various accolades. Visit the website to cast your vote, or cast your decision via Facebook (www.facebook.com/northwestfootballawards) and Twitter (@NWFAwards).

All supporters who vote for their chosen Player of the Year will also be entered into a free prize draw to win a pair of tickets for the Northwest Football Awards ceremony.

Consisting of professionals across all aspects of the game, including PFA Chairman Gordon Taylor OBE, Editor of FC Business Ryan McKnight and former FA Chief Executive Mark Palios, the panel have announced the finalists that will be competing for various honours at the awards ceremony, which takes place on Monday 12 November at Lancashire County Cricket Club’s ‘The Point’ and will be presented by BBC Sport's Dan Walker.

The awards also celebrate achievements across all areas of professional clubs – from the Premier League to the Blue Square Premier Division, including the best community initiatives, marketing campaigns and sponsorship engagement.

Special categories on the night will also recognise the Northwest Football Journalist of the Year, Manager of the Year, Goal of the Year, as well as a Lifetime Contribution to Northwest Football and an Unsung Hero Award...

Tickets and tables for his year’s Northwest Football Awards are still available, for more information visit www.northwestfootballawards.com".

MORE PHOTOS

FA CUP 3QR REPLAYS

Tuesday 9 Oct.

Wednesday 10 Oct.

"SLUGGISH" LADIES

Right: Courtesy of Keith Edleston comes this image of the Ladies' game last Sunday.

Keith Edleston, manger of Altrincham FC Ladies, reports on his side's game last Sunday...

"Ladies' sluggish weekend!

On Sunday, we travelled down the M6 for a reversed fixture, owing to our Manor Farm pitch being waterlogged. With some late calls from unavailable players and with Rosie, our keeper, being poorly, we only had 14 players available for selection, but our main concern was the goalkeeper crisis. However, that was averted when Kate Rawthore stepped in and said she would have a go.

Both teams started off quite well without really testing either goalkeeper and, with both Crewe and ourselves playing our normal passing games, it was turning into a very even, entertaining match to watch. It took until the 43rd minute for us to make the breakthrough, when a lovley cross into the box from Lauren Thorneycroft found the head of Sam Jones and she despatched it firmly into the bottom corner... 1-0. We just had to hold on for a few minutes so we could enjoy a nice drink at halftime.

Half time 1-0

With the team-talk done, we went back on, hoping we could add further goals and finally put the game to bed. Alas, Crewe had different ideas and, whenever we had the ball, pressurized us into giving too many silly balls away or just not being quick enough to get out of trouble. On 50 minutes the equalizer came and, from then, it was a backs to the wall game, with Crewe well on top.

On a couple of occasions when we did manage to break away, Hannah Shufflebotham hit the crossbar (for the second game on the trot) and a Hayley miskick, from the edge of the six yard area, just about summed up our second half performance. Just as we thought a point on our travels was OK, in the 80th minute a strange decision by the referee gave them a free kick inside the area, which we defended well, only for the resulting corner to be headed into our net by a Crewe defender!

Full time 1-2

Squad: Kate Rawthore, Louise Edleston, Sam Briggs, Gail Simpson, Caroline Moran, Brogan Walsh, Lauren Thorneycroft, Heather Scott, Nat Thornley, Sam Jones, Sarah Macmanus, Hayley Macardy, Tasha Nolan, Hannah Shufflebotham

All in all, we were a bit disapointed with our performance. We seemed to be sluggish today and not on our usual game but, with all the call-offs and a stand-in keeper (who did extremely well considering she was thrown in at the last minute), we can take positives from the game. It's another game for the new players to bed in and gell and, for me and the staff, we can see how the team is starting to take shape.

Also, on a plus note, a big thank you goes to Hannah Shufflebotham, who drove all the way from the Lake District to Crewe just to play in the game. That shows me true commitment to her team mates and the club.

Onto the next game up on the Wirral against Manor FC Ladies.

Up the Alty!"

BSBN NEWS

Corby Town "will go head to head with a familiar Histon side tomorrow night in a replay of Saturday’s FA Cup third qualifying round tie. The original clash ended 1-1 in Cambridgeshire, where Jordan Ivey-Ward cancelled out Paul Malone’s opener, with The Steelmen’s lead lasting just six minutes. The fourth qualifying round draw has been drawn and the winner of the tie will host either Eastbourne Borough or Hendon...

Manager Chris Plummer told John Dunham from the Northamptonshire Telegraph that a draw was probably a fair result...

On loan defender Stefan Galinski, who brushed off a knock to play the full 90 minutes on Saturday, is likely to feature, but Alex Brown, who joined alongside team mate Jack Evans from Gillingham, has returned to his parent club. The midfielder damaged his medial ligament during the 5-0 win over Droylsden last week and scans have revealed that he will be out for as much as 8 weeks. Other than that, there are no new players on the injury list".

According to the N Wales Weekly News, "Colwyn Bay player-boss Jon Newby admits the draw for the next round of the FA Cup may influence his team selection for tomorrow's tough replay at Guiseley. The winners tomorrow will be at home to Hednesford Town or Buxton (both from the Evostik Premier Division), providing a huge opportunity to reach the first round proper.

Newby was seriously considering making changes to rest tired legs and give a couple of squad members a game ahead of a huge league fixture against bottom of the table Hinckley next Saturday. But he says today's draw in London may have changed his thinking.

'It is a great draw for Guiseley or ourselves, especially with a place in he first round proper at stake. We have to sit down and decide now whether we stick with an unchanged side that did well on Saturday or not', said Newby... 'We are also aware that next Saturday is a massive game for us in terms of trying to pull away from the foot of the table and that has to come into our thinking'.

Northern Ireland under-21 international Jonathan Breeze and former Liverpool reserve David Mannix are both in line for a possible start at Guiseley if Newby decides to make changes. Guiseley manager Steve Kittrick described last Saturday's 1-1 draw at Colwyn Bay as a 'poor quality game" and was hugely disappointed with his own side's performance. He said, 'We may change one or two things around, because that was not good enough. If we want to be successful in this league and in this competition we've got to play better'".

Droylsden report that "Ryan Hopper's loan period has expired and he has returned to Accrington".

OLD FOES

Owner Imraan Ladak had hoped to deregister a number of youth players in order to free up squad spaces for the Leamington game. And Saturday's visit of Bideford is also in doubt, with the club looking to hire a generator to power Nene Park, after electricity was turned off when the club could not afford to pay a deposit to the supplier.

Despite all those hardships, Ladak is confident the club has a future, with three prospective buyers interested in launching a takeover bid. 'We're in talks with different people to take the club over', Ladak told BBC Radio Northampton. 'Non-disclosure agreements have been signed with two of those. Hopefully, one of the buyers can reach a conclusion sooner rather than later. The way things are progressing with at least one of the parties, it does look good'.

One of the offers includes the possibility of buying Nene Park, the former home of now defunct Rushden & Diamonds. Ladak, who is attempting to recoup £422,000 in a dispute with sponsors, has also assured supporters that the £3,000 required to meet the conditions of a company voluntary agreement and thus avoid a winding-up petition will be paid".

LEEK MATCH COMMENTARY

LADIES' NEXT GAME

ALL CHANGE FOR ADAM AND SAM

Reed was the Vikings' first ever manager following their formation in 1997 and successfully managed the club for two and half years. He went on to take charge at Harrogate Town, Stalybridge Celtic and Buxton before returning for his second spell with the Vikings in July.

Goole are currently second from bottom in the league having lost seven of their eight games so far this season... Chairman O’Hearne takes charge of team affairs until a new manager is in place after Reed's assistant manager Clive Freeman also left the club on Monday",

As for the game on Saturday, Clitheroe report that "The visitors made a bright start to the second period with Sam Grimshaw rifling over before the match became disjointed as both sides were reduced to ten men".

OLD BOY

FA CUP OPPONENTS

In the previous round, the Boston Standard tells us that "Boston United overcame a ‘terrible’ first half to beat Tadcaster Albion in the FA Cup. That was the opinion of captain Gareth Jelleyman... Mark Jones prodded home from close range after 47 minutes. Marc Newsham doubled the advantage with a 60th-minute penalty...

'In the end, it wasn’t too bad but, in the first half, we were terrible', said Jelleyman. 'They dealt with the conditions a lot better than us. It was a real boggy pitch and they put us under a lot of pressure. We were trying to get it down and play the perfect ball... In the second half we did what they were doing', Jelleyman added. 'We shuffled in behind them and put them under pressure... We were doing the wrong things and trying to play too well. This side’s due a cup run'...

Assistant boss Graham Hyde was in good mood following the victory... He added, 'We were lucky not to go in a goal behind at half time. There were a few choice words in there at half time. We dusted ourselves down and bossed the second half. We’re a good passing side but Tadcaster came out and closed us down early'".

AWAY AGAIN

YOUTH TEAM'S GOOD WIN

MATCH POSTPONED

FA CUP

Of local interest in the same competition...

The draw for the FAC4QR takes place on Monday (today) and will be published here when known.

LEEK'S VIEW

In front of a bumper 962 crowd, Blues more than matched a Robins’ side from two leagues higher for 70 minutes by turning in a gritty performance that frustrated their visitors reducing them to shots from outside the box. But, after Altrincham took a fortunate lead, they pressed forward and wrapped the game up with a second goal after impressive defender Dan Smith was sent off for a second bookable offence...

Blues’ job was made much harder in the final 15 minutes after Smith was dismissed for a second caution by a whistle-happy referee. The visitors then won three corners in quick succession before Lloyd-Weston punched the last one clear and then a shot from Moult thudded into the Leek keeper who gathered at the second attempt.

In the 87th minute Leek were denied a penalty when Shaun Densmore appeared to handle inside the box but the appeals were turned down. Altrincham went on to ensure their victory in the final minute after Lloyd-Weston had finger-tipped away a shot from Lawrie but the ball fell to Richman beyond the far post and he returned it back into the six-yard box where it fell inside the opposite post".

OLD FOES

"An exodus of players was to be expected, but more optimistic supporters might have at least predicted that they would be able to field a team of some description for their forthcoming matches. This afternoon, they couldn't even manage that. The team sheet listed only eleven players including two goalkeepers but, after one of those goalkeepers decided that he could probably think of a better way to pass his Saturday afternoon than by getting humiliated on a football pitch in front of several hundred spectators, they were forced to start their match against Bashley with just ten players... The final score of 7-0 provided a fittingly dismal coda to perhaps the worst day in the entire history of the club.

At the full-time whistle, several of the Kettering Town players were seen to be in tears, as was manager Alan Doyle, the former chief scout drafted in following the completely unsurprising resignation of John Beck a few days before.... This is a club that has been dragged to the point of extinction by incompetent, inept management from the boardroom...

The chances of saving this club, effectively insolvent and tied to a ruinous lease on a stadium miles from its home town for almost a quarter of a century, have sunk to next to nil, barring a miracle... Expulsion from the League will surely follow swiftly should they fail to fulfil a fixture, and the fact that the club was unable to field a full team for a League match today suggests that this apocalyptic scenario is now only a matter of time".

FINE RUN CONTINUES

LEEK TOWN 0 ALTRINCHAM 2

Right: Leek fans threw a beach ball onto the pitch before kick off yesterday; here Shaun Densmore tries to get rid of it.

In Saturday's FAC3QR, ten teams drew their games: Chester FC, FC Halifax Town, Colwyn Bay, Guiseley, Workington, Hinckley Utd, Histon, Corby T, Bishop's Stortford, Worcester City.

There were wins for the following BSBN clubs; Bradford PA, Stalybridge C., Harrogate T., Boston U., Altrincham, whilst the following exited the competition: Brackley T., Solihull Moors.

50TH APPEARANCE COMING UP

His footballing career began in Port Vale's youth system. Whilst at the Potteries' club, at which Alty boss Lee Sinnott was manager in 2007-08, he went on to make his first League appearances and recorded his first League goal for Port Vale in January 2009. He scored the team's Goal of the Season in 2008-09 and went on to make 27(+2) appearances for the club. A troubled Port Vale transfer-listed its entire squad in summer 2010 and, so, James left at that time.

But, previously, he had had a trial at Everton (2009-10) and spent a period on loan at Kidderminster Harriers from February 2010 till the end of that season. For the Harriers, he made 12 appearances - one of which was against Altrincham at Moss Lane. After leaving Port Vale, James had trials at Exeter City, Stevenage and Morecambe before he signed a year's contract at AFC Telford United. There, his progress was hampered by an ankle injury.

Having played at various age-levels for Northern Ireland, the six-foot striker gained his first senior international cap against Italy in June 2009 and made two further international appearances. James's spell at Port Vale coincidentally overlapped with Altrincham player Simon Richman's time there. He made his Alty debut as a sub, away to Gloucester City, on 3 September, 2011 and scored on his full debut a week later. James, who played on both flanks as well as in a central striking position, finished last season as the club's second highest scorer.

SATURDAY'S GAMES

News of Alty's next opponents comes from the Northants Telegraph, in which we read that "Corby Town will play Histon again on Wednesday night after the two teams drew 1-1 in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup. Paul Malone gave the Steelmen the lead after 47 minutes, but his goal was cancelled out by Jordan Ivey-Ward for the hosts".

ADAM AND SAM GET 90 MINUTES

BSBN NEWS

There were just two minutes on the clock when a small group of Halifax supporters jumped over the hoardings in the West Stand and ran on to the pitch to confront Chester fans in the Harry McNally Terrace. Punches were thrown before stewards arrived to break up the fighting.

Less than 20 minutes later a further flashpoint erupted in the corner of the East Stand at the opposite end of the ground. All the while the shocking scenes were taking place the officials were allowing the game to continue, much to the surprise of Blues boss Neil Young who felt it should have been stopped.

The ill feeling spilled on to the pitch as Chester captain Horan and Shaymen striker Johnson were sent off in the 52nd minute for raising their hands. Five minutes later the increasingly impressive Sarcevic broke the deadlock with a wonderful effort that swerved and dipped on its way into the top corner.

That was the way it stayed until the 82nd minute when substitute Hackney brought Halifax level with a long-range screamer of his own. Hackney’s equaliser means a replay will take place at the Shay on Tuesday (7.45pm). Both clubs will be hoping there is no repeat of the unsavoury incidents that completely overshadowed what developed into an enthralling contest high on commitment...

What could go wrong, did go wrong for the Blues in the opening period. They lost full-backs Matty McGinn and Wes Baynes to injury and they were replaced by midfielders Levi Mackin and Dave Hankin. The home team’s defence took on an even more makeshift look about it when centre-back Horan was given his marching orders along with Johnson seven minutes after the restart. The pair pushed and grappled with each other and their actions gave referee Anthony Tankard – whose performance drew criticism from Young – the justification to reach for his red card.

Sean Clancy immediately came on for full debutant Tony Gray and took over the left-back position from Mackin, who moved in to the centre with the excellent Dom Collins".

LEEK TOWN 0 ALTRINCHAM 2

Above: Simon Richman, (far right) receives the plaudits from James Lawrie, Damian Reeves, Duncan Watmore and Carl Rodgers, after scoring a fine second goal in the match at Leek.

Altrincham took 70 minutes to break down Leek Town and when they did so it was through a controversial goal...

FAC3QR GAMES

Sat. 6 Oct.

Sun. 7 Oct.

NEXT WEEK'S TRIP

SATURDAY'S GAME

The match commentators are Tim Ainsworth and Paul Salt, with match summaries from Simon Ellis. Commentary begins at 2.55pm. You can listen to Radio Robins here.

Leek Town report that manager "Lee Casswell says powerhouse striker Matt Haddrell is hungry to put a few noses out of joint after being teased about his weight by Altrincham fans. Leek Town take on Altrincham at Harrison Park tomorrow hoping to reach the FA Cup fourth qualifying round for the first time in seven years. And with main man Haddrell relishing the prospect, Casswell warned, 'You don't want to make him angry'.

The manager explained, 'Altrincham fans have put a photo of Matt on their internet forum talking about how he might be a regular customer at Leek's chip shops. I've made sure to point it out to Matt. If he ever needed any extra motivation, there it is. One thing is certain, their two centre-halves will know when they walk off the pitch on Saturday evening that he can throw his weight around when he wants to'...

A £7,500 bonus is on the cards for the winners, but the Evo-Stik League Division One South Blues will go in as underdogs... The match could generate Leek's first home gate of more than 1,000 since a festive Conference fixture against Doncaster Rovers in the late 1990s. Casswell hopes that atmosphere, and players performing at top gear, will help get one over Altrincham, who are managed by former Port Vale boss Lee Sinnott.

He added, 'We had the pressure in previous rounds of being expected to win but, now that hard work is done, we can really enjoy ourselves. There is a great buzz around town. I've been getting texts and Tweets for a couple of weeks about the game. There should be a big crowd. Being at home will make a big difference and we need to make sure the occasion doesn't pass us by. We want to come off having given it everything, win, lose or draw. There are lads in our team who could play at a higher level and this is a great opportunity to test themselves'.

Dan Lloyd-Weston, who was on the books at Vale under Sinnott, will continue in goal for Leek, while Danny Roberts continues his recovery from a broken finger. Roberts and striker Dan Cope (knee) returned to training this week, but both are short of match fitness. Former Altrincham captain Anthony Danylyk (ankle) is out long-term.

The Robins... have Damian Reeves, the division's player-of-the-month for September, in their front line... He has started this term by bagging 15 in nine matches. 'We've got a plan. We're going to kidnap him on the way to the ground', joked Casswell".

BSBN NEWS

Plummer is targeting another good cup run for the club... The Steelmen boss said, 'It is the best club knockout competition in the world and the reason for that is it gives clubs like us and Histon a chance to put their names up in lights. The club has made it to the first round for the past couple of seasons and we want to do that again... It is a winnable game for us'".

According to the Football Conference, "Dean Thomas, manager of Hinckley United, has added another new loanee to his squad prior to Saturday's FA Cup game against Ossett Albion. Joining Ryan Coleman, who came to the club last week and made his debut at Workington, and Bury`s Max Harrop, is Tom Sharpe from Kidderminster Harriers. Sharpe joined the Harriers after being released from Nottingham Forest in May 2009. At the City Ground he made it as far as the reserve side.

Loan spells at Bury and Halifax Town achieved just the one appearance for the latter and he eventually found his way to the pre-season trials at Aggborough in July 2009... During Sharpe`s career at Aggborough he has been continually hit by bad injuries with the most recent being a cruciate ligament injury... he has gone to Hinckley to aid recovery".

And, at Histon, "There has been a further addition to the squad... Joining the club is goalkeeper Andrew Plummer who arrives having spent a short time at Leiston following a spell at Wroxham and previously in Northern Ireland with Glenavon and Bangor City. Manager Dennis Greene is expecting to send young stopper Calum Kitscha out on loan in the near future to get game time due to the outstanding form of current number 1, Joe Mellings, and Plummer joins the squad to add cover and competition.

A number of scholars have recently signed dual registration forms with other clubs in order to gain first-team experience. Jack Uttridge and Casey Logan are at Harborough Town, Harry O’Malley and Casper Irso-Coombes at Peterborough Northen Star, Ashley White and Ryan Baxter at Ely City and Hayden Bream is at Sawtry. All remain very much Histon FC scholars and all will continue to be regularly involved with Youth Team games as usual whilst their progress will be closely monitored".

From the Cambridge News, we learn that "Dennis Greene has moved to cancel Ian Gayle’s loan at Histon after the defender picked up another injury while playing for parent club Dagenham & Redbridge... Histon boss Greene had planned to include Gayle in his starting line-up but, unbeknown to him, Dagenham included him in a practice match on Wednesday and he suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury that had kept him out for the past four weeks.

'It’s disappointing because I’ve gone into training and learned that Ian Gayle played for Dagenham and has done his hamstring again and will be out for another month', said Greene. 'Dagenham have these practice matches and they try to fill their numbers so they throw Ian in. I don’t agree with it. The bottom is line he’s on loan to us and should be our player. He shouldn’t be playing for them at all, so I’m really disappointed. He should be our player until the loan period ends and we should decide when he plays and when he doesn’t because we’re paying his wages. Now we’ve lost him for four weeks and he’s gone for another four weeks. The bottom line is he might as well go back to Dagenham while we find someone else.

I’ve tried to phone Dagenham and I’ve sent a text to Dagenham that I want to cancel his loan. We’ll only have six weeks left of him if he comes back fit and I want to nail down a settled side, so I’d rather cancel his loan and use the money to get a settled side'.

With Gayle ruled out of tomorrow’s third qualifying round tie, Greene is left with a dilemma over whether to include Remy Clerima, who has only recently recovered from injury himself...

'It would be a bit of a gamble (to play Clerima) because he could play and injure himself again, but it’s a risk I may have to take because I’m left short with no other options', said Greene... 'It’s a risk I don’t want to take but a game of this magnitude is massive for the club'".

LEEK GAME

Altrincham will be playing in their home kit (red and white stripes) on Saturday.

ADAM AND SAM GO ON LOAN Altrincham FC have arranged for two of their teenage first-team squad members to go on loan to get match practice. 18 year-olds Adam Reid and Sam Grimshaw, both graduates from the Altrincham FC Youth team, will cross the Pennines to play for Goole AFC in East Yorkshire, 82 miles from Moss Lane. Goole play in the same division as our neighbours, Trafford, the EvoStik First Division North. Goalkeeper Adam made three starts for the Altrincham first team in 2011-12 but has yet to appear this season; he has been on the bench for every game except last week at Bishop's Stortford. Left back/midfielder Sam has made two appearances from the bench for the first team this season. Both players remain registered with Altrincham for the BSBN.

FOLLOWING IN FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS Altrincham FC welcome goalkeeper Jamie Greygoose (d.o.b. 27 March 1993) to Moss Lane. Jamie's father, Dean, was a loan keeper at Altrincham from Northwich Victoria in 1999-2000 season. Now 47, Dean recently left Kettering Town where he was assistant manager. Jamie has most recently been with Cambridgeshire side Ely City and has played for their first team throughout September 2012. Ely City play in the Eastern Counties Premier, (Step 5, the same as the NW Counties Premier). Jamie is expected to be in Alty's squad on Saturday for the FA Cup match at Leek Town. Pictured left at Hednesford in 2000, Dean is seen fielding warm-up shots from fellow Alty 'keeper in 1999-2000, Ian Senior, who is now Alty's coach.

WORK-RATE IS THE KEY, SAYS NEIL

"Neil Tolson has urged his Altrincham players to be on their guard for a Leek side ‘guaranteed’ to play above themselves in Saturday’s FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round tie at Harrison Park.

Alty matched Northern League Shildon stride for stride in the previous round on Tyneside and will need more of the same to clear another tricky hurdle, according to assistant-manager Tolson.

‘What we can expect from Leek, and what we will need to combat it, was mentioned straight after the game at Bishop's Stortford on Saturday and again in training last night (Tuesday),’ he said. ‘The one thing you can guarantee is that they will play 15-20 per cent above what you might normally expect from them.

‘With a big crowd packing the ground, opponents from just up the road and a place in the next round of the FA Cup at stake, you can be sure of that, and we have to be ready for it.

‘Whatever they throw at us, we have to make sure we deal with it. Every single time I see the players, I emphasise the importance of work-rate. You get nothing without it, and if we don’t match them in that respect, we will be in for a difficult afternoon.

‘One other guarantee is that we will get a good, enthusiastic following. I would say about 40 per cent of the crowd at Bishop's Stortford were Alty fans who had travelled three-and-a-half hours to support the team. If it wasn't, it certainly felt that way. It’s about 40 minutes to Leek, so, with a bit of luck, we could have 400-500 there, cheering us on and making a huge difference, as usual.

‘In my 18 months at Moss Lane, they have given Lee (Sinnott), myself and the team magnificent support, and it really is massively appreciated.’

Alty return to Cup action boosted by a thoroughly-deserved Blue Square Bet North player-of-the-month award for Damian Reeves, who scored 12 goals in six appearances in September.

‘He is a great lad, and I do believe he is actually getting better with age,’ added Tolson. ‘He is getting in better positions to finish chances off, and his record this season endorses that.

'Of course, you don't get a player-of-the-month award without the rest of the team doing their bit, and Damian would be first to acknowledge that. He has taken the plaudits, and rightly so, but he knows how much the likes of James Lawrie and Duncan Watmore have contributed.

'It is a team effort, and he is 100 per cent behind that sentiment. You've got to be in the right place to stick chances away, of course, but if someone has put one on a plate for him, he is always quick to say cheers in the dressing room afterwards. He’s that sort of lad.’

There were no complaints about a sending-off for Simon Richman (right) at Bishop's Stortford, just heartfelt praise for a spirited performance that maintained Alty's unbeaten run.

'It's not the easiest place to go, by any means, and the gaffer and I both felt the team showed a lot of character,' said Tilson. 'If we can keep that in our armoury, it is only going to stand us in good stead for the rest of the season.

'As for Simon, it was two bookable offences. He has held his hands up to that, but, fair play to him, he has no need to reproach himself. Speaking on behalf of everyone at the club, I think he has been magnificent this season.

'He is a genuine, honest, good lad, and he tried to win the ball on each occasion. Unfortunately, for him and us, he was a fraction late each time. But it was typical of his wholehearted approach that his only thought was trying to win the ball and get possession back for us.'

Matt Doughty is Alty's only injury doubt for Saturday. The popular left-back missed training on Tuesday with a groin problem but is hopeful of being fit".

CHEHSIRE SENIOR CUP

BSBN NEWS

Corby didn’t always have things their own way but they weathered the storm from the visitors before finishing them off in clinical style as Wedderburn’s goal and Moreman’s penalty to complete his treble came in stoppage-time. And while the size of the victory made boss Plummer content, it was a first clean sheet of the season that pleased him the most.

'We got the all-important early goal and, to be fair to them, they tried to play from the back and through midfield and they weren’t too bad at it at times', the Steelmen boss said... 'Maybe it flattered us a bit towards the end... and it was great to get that first clean sheet of the season as well'...

Plummer confirmed that loan signing Alex Brown is set for a “lengthy” spell on the sidelines. Brown and right-back Jack Evans signed on loan from Gillingham ahead of the game and both made their debuts and performed well. But Brown suffered a knee injury...

'Jack made a difference for us at right-back and he looked a class act', [the manager] added. 'Unfortunately, Alex looks like he has damaged the ligaments in his right knee and it’s not looking great... It is looking like it will be a lengthy one. He will go back to Gillingham... but I don’t think he will be back with us in the foreseeable future'...

There was also the worrying sight of another loan signing, centre-half Stefan Galinski, limping off but Plummer believes his knock is one that can be managed... 'We don’t want him playing through injuries and I am sure Derby won’t want that either. It is a slight concern but I don’t think it is a bad one'", said Plummer”.

WEDNESDAY GAME

LEEK STANDPOINT

'We have been under pressure against sides in lower league to make sure we get through', said Casswell. 'This week we are almost in a no lose situation. The one thing we're saying is "make sure you're not disappointed with your own performance when you come off the pitch". If they all do that and Altrincham have a bit of an off day, then, who knows?.

(Matt) Beeby says before each round "There's always one who makes the first round, why can't it be Leek?" I know we are up against it but I'm really looking forward to it and so are the fans and the board of directors'.

Casswell has also taken on board some words of wisdom from former Kidsgrove Athletic boss Pete Ward, who joined Town's managerial set-up in the close season. He said, 'Wardy spoke about Kidsgrove last season, who got knocked out in the round after this one. The team were deflated and went on a poor run and never got their season going after that'".

Another motivator for Town's players to perform this weekend is the potential for attracting interest from clubs further up the league pyramid. Former Crewe Alexandra midfielder Dan Shelley, who made his debut in last weekend's FA Trophy win over Radcliffe Borough, is one of a number of players targeting higher level football.

'If you do well against higher league opposition it bodes well for players', added the Blues boss. 'I'm not saying I want to lose players but we have players who have aspirations of playing higher than the level Leek are currently at'.

Shelley was one of a handful of players to impress Casswell in Saturday's 'lacklustre'" FA Trophy victory, which sets up a derby clash with Evo-Stik Premier outfit Matlock Town on October 27. Casswell said, 'He (Shelley) did really well. He's not played a lot of football recently. He did a lot of excellent work defensively. He proved his willingness to work, to get down and graft for the club. He missed a couple of good chances but once he's had a couple of games I'm sure he'll be putting those away'".

GOOD LUCK, ROB!

SPECIAL OFFER!

Techknowledgey Ltd, who were the match commentary sponsors on Radio Robins, for the Bishop's Stortford game last Saturday, are offering a 5% discount to all Altrincham supporters, on all of their IT support services. They will also make a 5% donation to Altrincham Football Club for all bookings made by Alty fans.

You can find a list of Techknowledgey Ltd's IT support services by going to their website and clicking on 'Services'. Alternatively, call Dan Jones on 07415 961014.

SUNDAY VIEWING

If there is enough interest then the bar will stay open for...

Everyone is welcome.

BSBN NEWS

Tuesday night's attendances in the BSBN were:

CONDOLENCES

£900 TO BE WON

LUCKY NUMBERS

MIDWEEK GAMES

Tue. 2 Oct.

This week's FA Cup replays involving BSBN clubs are:

Mon. 1 Oct.

Tue. 2 Oct.

OLD FOE

BSBN NEWS

Midfielder Ahmed can play out wide and has been at MK Dons since he was 12, progressing through their Academy. Both go straight into the squad... Junior Konadu-Yiadom and Harry Agombar have both returned to Macclesfield Town after their loans deals ended at the weekend. Javlon Campbell, Antone Douglas and Stefon Hayles meanwhile have all signed for Waltham Forest although the Club retains their Conference registrations".

Droylsden have made another signing in the shape, as they put it, of "Ashley Dunn, midfield, ex-Kendal Town".

Just days after he joined the Crosby side on loan, Marine announce that manager "Kevin Lynch has advised FC Halifax Town manager Neil Aspin that Jamie Rainford will return to them at the end of the 28-day loan period. This is due to the player's non attendance at training and other issues and, as such, Jamie Rainford will not be considered for selection by Kevin during the remaining period of the loan".

A player leaving the BSBN is the subject of a report by NL Daily to the effect that "Rushall Olympic have announced a further two signings as Jordan Fitzpatrick and David McDermott become the latest players to check in. Fitzpatrick is a 24-year-old Stourbridge-born, 6ft tall central midfielder who joins the Pics from Solihull Moors, following a brief loan spell with Redditch United".

Likewise, :PItchero Non-League confirms that "Witney Town have announced they have signed Kynan Isaac from neighbours Oxford City. Isaac is a left-sided player with blistering pace, a great engine and is very skilful player. He was originally on the books at Reading and after being released he joined Oxford City".

The Boston Standard says that "Pilgrims' boss Jason Lee believes his side have already overcome their worst spell of the season. Boston United got off to a rocky start this season, suffering four straight defeats. After kicking off the campaign with victories over Droyslden and Histon, a spell of defeats followed with Hinckley, Workington, Bishop’s Stortford and Oxford City all claiming three points.

However, things have improved since then. On Saturday, United lost 2-1 to Bradford Park Avenue. But with this coming on the back of three straight victories, Lee believes his side have turned a corner. He said, 'I’m just hoping that’s our worst spell and worst patch of the season. The boys have turned it around and showed great character. The ability is there and the effort’s there. People can grow up very quickly'”.

According to the Northants Evening Telegraph, "Paul Malone believes the good point earned by Corby Town at Gainsborough Trinity on Saturday will look even better if they follow it up [on] Wednesday night. The Steelmen... get the chance to move out of the bottom three when they take on Droylsden at Steel Park.

And centre-half Malone believes if he and his fellow team-mates show the same attitude they did at the weekend then a third successive home win could be on the cards. Corby have suffered just one defeat in five matches since Chris Plummer took over as manager with their latest return being a 2-2 draw in Lincolnshire.

And Malone said, 'It was a tough game. To be honest, we were probably a bit surprised to go 2-0 up because they battered us early on but we showed how dangerous we can be on the break and the strikers did their job by putting the ball in the net. We were disappointed to concede a couple of goals but Gainsborough are one of those sides who will probably be knocking on the door of the play-offs...

There just seems to be a lot more confidence in the squad... But we have to stay realistic. We had a bad start to the season and we have started to turn it around'".

From yesterday's Yorkshire Evening Post we learn that "Guiseley boss Steve Kittrick is calling on Tuesday's opponents Stalybridge Celtic to 'get real' regarding the fee they are demanding for midfielder Jack Rea. The former Celtic player, who could feature against his former club at Nethermoor this evening, moved to the Lions last month, despite the two clubs being unable to agree a fee, which will be set by an FA tribunal.

The Bower Fold outfit are demanding in the region of £100,000 for Rea’s signature, which Kittrick has labelled as ridiculous. He said, 'Instead of going to a tribunal, I’d like to think there will be a bit of sense in the Stalybridge boardroom and we can get a deal done and compensation package sorted out for Jack Rea. “I think Stalybridge view the fact that because they got £100,000 for Connor Jennings, they want the same sort of money for Rea. But what they have got to understand is that a transfer and compensation package are two totally different things. We were hoping as a club that common sense would prevail. We have made a sensible offer, but they are adamant they want £100,000, it’s a ridiculous situation'.

Despite the impasse between both clubs, Kittrick has scotched talk of bad blood between both sides, which sees home players Rea, Andy McWilliams and ex-Celtic skipper Rhys Mennell take on their old club tonight. The fixture has proved combustive in the past, with James Walshaw controversially sent off in the league fixture across the Pennines last April, with several others also red-carded over the years.

New Lions striker Kevin Holsgrove, who could make his belated debut for the Lions tonight, has also received his marching orders against Jim Harvey’s side – having just served a ban for being dismissed against them while playing for former club Colwyn Bay on August 28.

On tonight’s clash, Kittrick added, 'There will be a bit of spice with us having three of their players and, having watched them, they are a good, young side who are full of enthusiasm. They got beat 6-2 at the weekend and will want to come back fighting, [while] the three lads who play for me here will want to get one over their old club. I don’t see the rivalry as anything different, though. We took two players who became available and with the third, offered decent money in a compensation package and they didn’t want it'".

Meanwhile, the Halifax Courier reports that "Town defender Ryan Toulson is desperate to avoid a repeat of the last time Vauxhall Motors visited the Shay as the two sides prepare to lock horns again... On that day to forget last September, Town were beaten 5-1, in what was one of the worst defeats for the club since Neil Aspin took charge.

Motors are currrently ninth in the table after winning four and losing four of their nine games to date. However, Town are on something of a roll having won their last four games in all competitions - as well as keeping clean sheets in all those matches - with their latest success coming in the 1-0 victory at Histon last Saturday.

'We know what they did to us last year at home so the Gaffer will be having us up for this game', said Toulson... 'We have to prepare right and keep our decent little run going... The first priority is to make sure we don’t concede and to keep a clean sheet', he added. 'We know we can do that if things start from the front. Obviously it is good for Matty Glennon too and it gives everybody confidence going forward. We also know that we are going to create chances and we have got lads up there who will score goals for us as well as midfielders who will chip in'".

Concerning their plans for a new stadium, Gloucester City say that "Following the statement issued on the 7th of September, the Club can advise that representatives of GCAFC met on the 12th September 2012 with Paul James (Leader of Gloucester City Council), Julian Wain (Gloucester City Council’s Chief Executive), Phil Staddon (Director of Regeneration), Mick Thorpe (Group Planning and Economy Manager) and Gavin Jones (Development Control Manager).

The purpose of this meeting was to review certain aspects of the planning application process, seek further clarification in respect of the precise nature of additional detail that Gloucester City Council required and to outline GCFC’s concerns and frustrations in relation to the suggestions that they had not provided the correct information. Following this meeting, Gloucester City Council wrote to GCAFC and have provided a position statement in terms of the City Council’s approved resolution and the additional information that they require.

Separate to these matters, GCAFC have recently received a detailed quotation from their hydrological/flood risk consultants relating to the costings for the additional work. Before any further work is sanctioned and/or commissioned, GCAFC wish to clarify certain points of detail which we hope will be resolved by the end of October. Once GCAFC are satisfied that they have certainty and clarity on these detailed matters, the Executive Board will then be in a position to make an informed decision. A further update will be provided at the end of October"

FIXTURE POSTER

DAMIAN IS PLAYER OF THE MONTH

In the Blue Square Bet North the 'Manager of the Month' award for September goes to Brackley Town manager Jon Brady. The young Australian boss makes it an early season double with his side having helped him take the August honours too. Brackley remain unbeaten for the season and have only dropped two points during the whole league campaign so far. Brady’s side have scored 16 goals in 6 matches during the period and remain top of the league as well as progressing to the next round of the FA Cup with a 4-0 win over local rivals Daventry".

SIMON'S BAN CONFIRMED

CHESHIRE SENIOR CUP

In arranging this game, Derek Wilshaw, Club Secretary, says he has changed the day from our usual Tuesday to Wednesday to give Neil Brown, the groundsman, the opportunity to carry out the necessary work on the pitch following a Manchester United reserve game to be played at Moss Lane on Monday, 5th November. Both Altrincham and Congleton Town were willing to play the game on Tuesday, 13th November and a request was made to the Cheshire County Football Association to play the game during the week commencing 12th November. Unfortunately, the rules for the competition, although permitting a game to be played a week earlier, do not state a game can be played a week later and therefore they were unable to agree to the request. The next round of the competition is scheduled for January, 2013.

The Bears are on a good run as the NW Counties Football League reports that "Fourth placed Congleton Town made it four successive wins with a 4-2 win at Runcorn Linnets, the result making it 19 goals on the road in six games for [ex-Alty player] Jim Vince's men. Matthew Worrall put the Bears ahead in the 9th minute with Matty Jones heading in Matty Atherton's corner ten minutes later to level matters. Five minutes before the break Chris Smith tucked away a penalty following a foul in the box, before the two Matty's linked up once more for Linnets, Jones scoring again from Atherton's cross.

Congleton retook the lead with nine minutes remaining when Matthew Worrall shot home from distance, and the tie was settled two minutes later with Smith breaking clear before crossing for Jamie Turner to score".

SATURDAY'S GAME

And Mike Garnett advises us of Altrincham's competitive record against our opponents, this Saturday, Leek Town...

Reporting on their win last weekend, Leek Town explain how they "progressed to the next round of the FA Trophy following a hard fought victory over Radcliffe... Blues did not play well but they ground out a victory... Leek on the other hand, were content to soak up what the visitors had to offer and took the lead 10 minutes into the game. But they had to wait until the final 20 minutes to secure victory...

Casswell made two changes to his side giving new signing Dan Shelley his debut at the expense of Rob Stevenson whilst Sam Hall was preferred in midfield to Ash Woolliscroft...

Haddrell got his name on the score-sheet when Peter Wright played him in and the big striker fired a shot over the keeper and into the bottom corner.. Later Leek doubled their advantage when Sanders drove in a corner and Charlton rose highest to plant a header into the back of the net off... Radcliffe piled forward and Leek conceded three corners in quick succession before hacking clear but they held out through four minutes of added time to claim a hard fought victory".

LOCAL HOPEFULS

A professional playing contract is up for grabs and the boys wills now take part in the first-round trials of the Samsung-sponsored competition. This year is the first time that two clubs are involved and the winners will be signed up for either Swindon Town or Leyton Orient. Danny and Nick are through to the skills testing sessions but Orient manager Russell Slade warned that hopefuls will ‘need to give it their all if they want to go on and live the dream’. Competitors will take part in a series of trials and matches and the two winners will be chosen in January 2013".

Danny was briefly involved with Altrincham Youth a couple of seasons ago.

IAN'S COMPANY GETS A BOOST

SKkits currently supply over 30 different designs of sports kits, tracksuits and training equipment, with something to suit everyone’s tastes and budgets. All kits and accessories are made to the highest of standards and are available in a broad range of sizes.

Based in Bury, the company now has the country’s leading County attached, with Lancashire FA joining a growing number of clubs that have signed up with the brand – including Clitheroe, Kendal Town, Lancaster City and Radcliffe Borough to name a few clubs in the LFA region, along with Altrincham in the Football Conference North...

David Burgess, LFA Chief Executive, commented, 'We are absolutely delighted to be working with SK Kits, and Precision. We are excited to see the excellent ranges and kits, and offers that will become available to our members'. The partnership will see SKkits and Precision supply the County FA staff and teams with their Kit, Trainingwear & equipment for the next three seasons.

Ian Senior (pictured, right), owner of SKkits, added, 'I am looking forward to the new partnership with Lancashire FA. This will give SKkits added exposure throughout the county and, with a great range of kit at good prices, we will be an excellent partner for the Association'.

For more information please visit the SKkits website".

FA TROPHY

The northern section of the draw is:

BSBN NEWS

'They are two massive games for us', he said. 'Droylsden are down there with us and had a good win at the weekend so they will be feeling better about themselves... We want to do well in the FA Cup this season so it is important that the lads recover well and be ready for a key few days'" he told the Northants Telegraph

According to the Huddersfield Examiner, "Ben Futcher won’t return to FC Halifax Town. That was confirmed by manager Neil Aspin after the 1-0 win against Histon on Saturday. On-loan Futcher left to help out his parent club Bury as temporary assistant manager in August.

Dale Johnson scored the only goal in Cambridgeshire to land three more Blue Square North points for Aspin’s side, who had Jason Jarrett sent off in controversial circumstances. Aspin said the decision was incredibly harsh...

'I’m not happy with the performance but, obviously, pleased with the win', he said. 'You can go back to the Chester game where we played exceptionally well and got nothing and then we’ve come here and not played well but got the three points. I know I’m a lot happier with the three points than I was after the Chester game... I must give credit to Histon. It’s all right saying we didn’t play well but Histon worked exceptionally hard, they matched us up, stopped us passing. So instead of always being negative about ourselves, I think we have to give the opposition credit and I thought they did very well'.

Match-winner Johnson almost didn’t start. 'He’s not trained because he’s had a virus and he’s not felt very well, so it was touch-and-go whether he would be able to play', Aspin revealed".

OLD BOY

With no keeper on the bench - number-two stopper Ben Woodhead was ruled out with a dislocated finger - Barrow right-back Flynn took over between the sticks... Cambridge, however, grabbed a third goal six minutes into stoppage-time when Andy Pugh scrambled the ball in at the back post after a mistake by emergency keeper Flynn".

OLD FOES

Already operating with a reduced squad and budget, Bogie’s hands are tied to some extent. 'The crowds are disappointing', he said. 'The fans will say we haven’t been winning but we need their support – it’s as simple as that. The finances aren’t there to go out and buy players and I haven’t had any joy in the loan market... We have been down to the bare bones'".

YOUTH TEAM WINS

Right: Ollie Riley captained Alty Youth to their win on Sunday.

In wet and windy conditions, Altrincham FC Youth overcame Abbey Hey Youth 3-1 at Clay Lane on Sunday. The Alty goals came from Derryn Ofori and Adam Bezzina (2). There is a match report in the Youth section

OLD BOYS AND OLD FOES

Joseph, 35, made his international debut back in 2008 and could win caps number twelve and thirteen if selected to play. Antigua and Barbuda are currently bottom of the North, Central America and Caribbean Group B, which also contains leaders Guatemala. The defender, who joined Kendal in the summer of 2011, started his career at Cambridge United before moving onto Cambridge City, Coventry City, Peterborough United, Hull, Bristol City, Blackpool and Rotherham United before joining Altrincham in Non-League."

According to the Northants Evening Telegraph, "Alan Doyle admits the issues at Kettering Town go way beyond football after he was thrust into the limelight on Saturday. The problems at Nene Park seem to have reached fever pitch after manager John Beck was escorted away from the stadium ahead of the 3-0 defeat to Concord Rangers in the first qualifying round of the FA Carlsberg Trophy.

Rumours had surfaced in the morning that Beck had either been sacked or resigned but he was at the stadium as normal expecting to take the game. Instead, after a series of phone calls and meetings, he left the ground and chief scout Doyle was told to prepare the depleted Poppies for the match. The controversy came at the end of a week that had seen players Ed Palmer and Ben Gerring leave the club along with assistant-manager Dean Greygoose.

The Kettering squad are still awaiting their full wages for September and the next pay day is due to take place on Friday this week. Majority shareholder Imraan Ladak also revealed last week that he is in talks with two potential investors but it now seems the club’s future is in more doubt than ever after just 215 people came to watch the Poppies in action on Saturday.

Doyle revealed he was told at 12.30pm that he would be taking the team and, after witnessing a poor display, he... admitted that what is happening on the pitch is the least of their problems... 'I was told that if I couldn’t take charge then there wouldn’t be a game', the former Histon manager said. 'I got here and John had the same text message and I just said that I didn’t want to get involved in it all. John said that he had come to an agreement with Imraan Ladak and then at around 1.50pm he gave me the team he picked... I don’t really know what is going on. There are some players being paid and some aren’t and I have heard that at least three more have put in 14-days notice..

I haven’t even been paid in full for July and I haven’t received anything for August. The club made a mistake staying full-time, we should have gone part-time but it is easy to say that in hindsight now... We have kids playing in a man’s league and that is why we are doing so badly... I am not interested in the politics. I have had that for the last three months. I feel sorry for the supporters but there is no doubt that the issues here are bigger than just football'".

BISHOP'S STORTFORD REVISITED

Meanwhile the Herts & Essex Observer reports that "The Blues came from behind to salvage a point against 10-man Altrincham... Altrincham had midfielder Simon Richman sent off on 77 minutes for his second yellow card offence, a foul on Stortford left back Johnny Herd.

Stortford were without former Crystal Palace midfielder Lewwis Spence (flu) and the suspended central defender Phil Anderson. Blues boss Rod Stringer brought in central defender Lynvall Duncan and he gave a debut to winger Olayinka Ladapo who has been signed on a three-month loan from Colchester United.

Ladapo, who can also play as a forward, almost put Stortford ahead in the 17th minute when his swerving left-footed shot from the left hit the far post. The Cheshire side went ahead against the run of play in the 22nd minute. A quickly-taken free-kick set James Lawrie clear on the right and his curled shot beat Stortford keeper Jorg Stadelmann at the near post.

Stortford continued to play attractive football... When Altrincham went down to 10 men, Stringer brought Bertie Brayley on for Duncan as the Blues manager sacrificed a defender for a forward. The equaliser came in the 85th minute when a long throw by Johnny Herd was flicked on by Sean Francis and Sappleton finished from five yards.

There was still some drama in the closing minutes. Blues' skipper Reece Prestedge kept out goal-bound shot from Damian Reeves before a shot from Altrincham’s Danny Hall was kept out well by a diving Stadelmann".

LEEK PREPARE

He commented, 'I’m really pleased to have got through to the next round although... we were lack-lustre and seemed to wait for things to happen but then we went on to score two goals so, credit to the lads for digging in to grind out the result. The players have set themselves a high standard over the last few weeks but on Saturday we failed to reach those heights – there is more to come from a few who played today.

We are going to need to be better than that next Saturday but the players wont need any motivation with Altrincham visiting Harrison Park in the FA Cup', he added".

Leek's website adds that "Prior to kick-off there was a tribute to legendary former skipper Chris McMullen as the Harrison Park faithful showed their appreciation with a minutes applause. When the game got underway it was Leek who were fast out of the blocks with Matt Haddrell having a great chance early on... In the tenth minute however, Haddrell made no mistake when in a similar position he lifted the ball over Culkin and into the far corner to give Blues the lead.

The visitors were putting together some decent approach play but their finishing was generally off-target. Debutant Dan Shelley had a great chance to extend the lead but he shot just over the crossbar... Sam Hall crashed a shot against the post just before the break...

Town extended their lead from a corner as Karl Charlton rose highest to head in Tim Sanders's ball off the crossbar... Boro pulled a goal back on 82 minutes when Laquain Esdaille lashed the ball into the roof of the net from close range following a corner. That triggered a spell of intense pressure from the visitors who pressed hard for an equaliser with a succession of corners and it was from one of these that Sanders cleared off the line.

In the end, Blues hung on and claimed another £2,550 to take their FA competition winnings this season past the £14,000 mark. The draw for the second qualifying round will be held on Monday morning.

Team: 1. Daniel Lloyd-Weston, 2. Tim Sanders, 3. Ricky Bridge (12. Matt Bell, 55), 4. Danny Smith, 5. George Melling, 6. Sam Hall, 7. Peter Wright, 8. Ross Davidson, 9. Matt Haddrell, 10. Karl Charlton, (14. Ashley Woolliscroft, 83), 11. Dan Shelley (16. Tom Urwin, 87). Unused subs: 15. Rob Stevenson, 17. Tim Grice. Yellow cards: George Melling, Sam Hall. Attendance: 281"

BSBN NEWS

Talks have been ongoing with the Blue Square Bet Premier outfit for some time and... City need to secure a temporary home by March 31... and Aggborough is of the required standard for Blue Square Bet North and above.

Bromsgrove Sporting’s Victoria Ground is another option but Worcester would have to spend money on improving facilities. Harriers chairman Mark Serrell said, 'I can confirm that negotiations with Worcester regarding a possible ground-share agreement are continuing and we hope to be in a position to make an announcement in the coming weeks'.

City vice-chairman Colin Layland said, 'Over the last few months I have been in negotiations with other clubs trying to get an agreement for us to ground-share. It is important we find a ground that is capable of hosting football at a Conference level. As part of this, we must inform the league by March 31, 2013, where we will be playing'.

Planning permission for a new ground at Nunnery Way was granted by Worcester City Council but the process has been delayed because a bridle path needs to be moved before any work can start. But City have publicly stated they cannot afford the move with developers St Modwen, who have a contract with the club until 2017".