NEXT OPPONENTS: SOUTHPORT ON FRIDAY (3pm)

Mike Garnett provides the record between Altrincham and our next opponents, Southport...

• At home: P17-W9-D4-L4-F24-A21
• Away: P13-W3-D3-L7-F16-A22
• All: P30-W12-D7-L11-F40-A43

Earlier this season, Southport won the reverse fixture at Haig Avenue, 2-1, with Steven Gillespie being Altrincham's scorer.

News of Alty's next opponents comes from the Southport Visiter to the effect that "Southport can use their coming matches to virtually guarantee survival. Saturday’s third consecutive win against Torquay United lifted the Sandgrounders nine points clear of the relegation zone with a superior goal-difference on the bottom four...

Paul Carden’s side travel to mid-table Altrincham on Good Friday before hosting bottom club Telford United next Monday, by which time their visitors could already be relegated... Unlike last weekend’s opponents Torquay, the Sandgrounders will not want to let their season drift. Currently on a six-match unbeaten run, Carden’s side now have the chance to finish the season strongly after their recent upturn in fortunes.

One thing Carden has done, which neither Martin Foyle nor Gary Brabin before him were able to achieve, is to address Southport’s home form. Having waited since October for a league win at the Merseyrail Community Stadium, Carden’s team have managed three victories and two draws in their last five home games.

'People ask me about how many points we need to stay up but for me it’s not about that,' said Carden. 'It’s about seeing how many points we can get and seeing how many teams we can climb above... Hopefully we can now reach a stage where we are better on the eye because at times we are showing glimpses of our ability'".

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

This was an incredibly difficult decision but, despite our cup successes, our main priority is promotion back to the Football League and we have not made the progress expected towards that aim. We have therefore made the difficult decision that a change is needed.

Carl Darlington and Gary Mills will prepare the team for the forthcoming home fixtures supported by Michael Oakes and we will make further announcements in due course."

And, nearby, the Football Conference tells us that "Chester FC have announced that defenders Ben Heneghan and Ryan Higgins have both signed new contracts with the club... keeping them at the Swansway Chester Stadium for the 2015/16 season.

The pair are the first players to commit themselves to the club since Blues boss Steve Burr signed his new deal at the end of last week... Heneghan said, 'I’ve played quite a few games this season and hopefully can carry that on into next season. Football League for this club is the main aim in the long term without a doubt. We want to fight for play-offs next year... This season's been really good for me. Last year I didn’t play that much football, so to get the opportunity to play forty-odd games this year has been good. It’s helped my development a lot, especially playing at centre back'...

Full-back Higgins, who signed from AFC Telford United in January, said of his new deal, 'I'm made up with the new deal... It's good to go on holiday and know you're coming back to play football. This season started on a bit of a low after being released from Birmingham but after going to Telford and then moving up to a club like Chester, my confidence has grown from strength to strength. When I first came I knew a few of the lads, and got on with everyone straight away. Knowing that some of the lads who are here now will be here with us next season is a massive boost, so we can push on for promotion'".

The Essex Chronicle reports that "Braintree Town's usually reliable defence had a nightmare first half at Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday conceding three early goals which left them a mountain to climb... They only managed to pull a solitary goal back courtesy of skipper Kenny Davis.

In their four seasons in the Vanarama Conference Premier, the backbone of the Iron's performances has been their solid defence but this was a game the defenders will want to forget and as manager Alan Devonshire admitt...

'You can't give a home side a three-goal start at this level and then expect to overhaul them,' he said. 'I'm really disappointed because defensively we have been really good again this season but we have to learn from it, get over it and prepare to do much better in our two Easter holiday games'. On the back of their disastrous 2-0 home defeat to basement club AFC Telford United last Tuesday the Iron were hoping to get back to winning ways against a side without a win in their previous nine games.

But it all went wrong for the Iron within the first quarter of an hour when they found themselves three goals down. The cause of the problem was the defence couldn't cope with the direct running of Harriers' experienced front duo of Danny Wright and Lee Hughes when both receiving long balls out from their defence... The Iron's cause was not helped either on the half hour when striker Sean Marks was stretchered off with a a nasty looking ankle injury...

The half-time team talk paid off because the Iron came out a totally different side and took the game to their hosts... Had they scored a second goal it might then have seen a different outcome but they were left to return home empty-handed and paying for their terrible first half defending".

According to the BBC "Torquay United manager Chris Hargreaves says captain Luke Young's sending off at Southport was a 'moment of madness'. Young was dismissed in the 12th minute after reacting to a foul by Scott Kay, the first time the midfielder has been sent off in his career. 'It was a moment of madness from our captain. Five years ago, never mind 10 years ago, it would have been a talking to and not even a booking. But in today's game you can't do it', Hargreaves told BBC Radio Devon.

'He's got to learn from that as it's a big error of judgement'".

Also, "Torquay chairwoman Thea Bristow has formally stood down from her role at the club, a month earlier than planned... 'It has become increasingly obvious to me that the interests of the club are better served by allowing the board to continue the plans for the rest of this season', she said in a statement. Bristow will now become lifetime president of the Conference club.

'I am afraid I will continue to be an ever-present sight and sound at Torquay's matches, waving and clacking in what I hope is a presidential manner', she added. Bristow and her husband Paul won a £15m jackpot on the National Lottery in 2004 and he was part of a consortium that took over at Torquay in 2007'".

The Western Morning News adds that "A galling seventh defeat in nine league and cup games has done nothing to weaken manager Chris Hargreaves’ determination to turn Torquay United around. Young, dismissed for his angry reaction to a foul... will miss United’s next three matches, and there are also renewed worries over leading scorer Ryan Bowman, who was taken off for the second successive game because of a groin injury.

Despite those setbacks, Hargreaves stressed, '“I am obsessed with getting this job right. My passion and desire and ambition remains the same... It should have been a fighting 1-1 draw with ten men. The lads were magnificent for 80 minutes and got the equaliser... 'We wanted to stay in the game, and later we took a full-back off with 20 minutes to go because we needed a goal' said Hargreaves...

Torquay looked as if they might win it, until a series of mistakes, ending with goalkeeper Martin Rice’s failure to smother the ball on his line, handed the winner on a plate for Smith. The game featured a debut for new loan signing Kadell Daniel, with Hargreaves saying, 'It wasn’t the best of circumstances for Kadell to go on, but I thought he showed glimpses of what he can do'".

Torquay Fans adds an unofficial view. "Some interesting things to come out of Chris Hargreaves post match interview. He actually admitted that their second goal came about from mistakes made in a couple of areas where we aren’t strong … he didn’t name any names but surely it suggests at least that he feels we need to strengthen not only our centre backs but also our goalkeeper...

As if leaving us a man short against Woking on Tuesday, when the sub wasn’t ready to replace Bowman and we ended up conceding, the very last thing you would expect to happen in the very next game would surely be a repeat! But no, Bowman was injured and comes off to be replaced by Daniel, only for the sub to be refused permission as it appears he is wearing a wristband that he shouldn’t be".

In the Daily Echo we read that "Proud Eastleigh boss Richard Hill saluted his players after Saturday’s 'proficient, professional performance' at Gateshead had kept them in the thick of the play-off chase... making it 16 out of 24 points collected... when that killer sequence started against Chester on February 21.

Two James Constable goals and one from player/assistant boss Craig McAllister saw the Spitfires safely past a gutsy Gateshead side who are themselves on the fringes of the playoffs despite a crippling injury list running into double figures... 'Once again we haven’t lost two on the spin and that’s the way we’ve gone about our business since I’ve had my team around me over the last two seasons,' said the boss.

'It’s the sign of a good team with a lot of resilience and a good attitude. This string of eight games is the hardest I’ve ever experienced in relation to the league I’ve been in. Originally we were supposed to play Halifax too and I told the lads then that our target was 16 points from nine games. I moved that down to 14 from eight when Halifax was called off and, going up to Gateshead, we already had 13. But our players weren’t happy with that, they wanted 16. This win was probably better than Bristol Rovers away. It was a long way to go, the crowd was a lot smaller and there wasn’t a lot of atmosphere, which wasn’t Gateshead’s fault, it’s just how the stadium is.

But Gateshead’s fans clapped us off the pitch at the end, which is a first for me. Normally we come off to a barrage of abuse! “A mention for our fans too. I think there were 51 of them and it’s not a cheap place to go and it’s time-consuming too. We get good support and I told the players to recognise that at the end'...

Hill stuck with the same 11 throughout, admitting, '“I considered a substitution at 1-1 to make us a bit more offensive, but then we scored two goals quickly. I knew they’d end up having a fair amount of possession towards the end and felt it was better to leave players on who were used to the tempo. I’m aware we played Gateshead at a good time. Phil Turnbull, John Oster and Adam Bartlett (all injured) are three big players for them and you’ve got to give (manager) Gary Mills credit, they pushed us all the way'".

The News Shopper tells us that "Dartford boss Tony Burman described his side’s first half display in Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Altrincham as 'awful'...

The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the final minute as Peter Cavanagh was cautioned for a pull back, his second yellow card of the afternoon.

But despite the numerical disadvantage it was Altrincham who almost added a third in stoppage time as Kyle Perry flashing an effort just wide, although Burman believes the real damage was done in the opening period. He said, 'The first 45 minutes was awful for me. We’ve had to change the system to cope with how Altrincham were playing and it is difficult when that happens. You don’t want to change when you are at home. We wanted to cause them problems so they have to change their formation, but we’ve had to change because they’ve played a 4-4-1-1.

We’ve played too deep and the number seven (James Lawrie) was causing us too many problems and was getting the ball too early. From the first five minutes I was telling the players to go out and enjoy themselves, try and express themselves and be brave but they’ve played with a lot of weight on their shoulders for some reason. We showed a lack of belief and confidence which was not right'...

Dartford have won only three league games at home this season... Burman said... 'Their second was a poor, poor goal from our point of view and it is just something that you don’t need. When the going gets tough, and it was, and I take the blame if you like as well, but you’ve got to get the place lifted'".

DARTFORD GAME

Following Saturday's match at Dartford, Lee Sinnott said, "We were a bit late arriving because of traffic issues and, sometimes, you camn be left on the bus. But we started stronger, we showed energy, sharpness and some nice interplay. Sometimes it's too early to score and we scored (again) just after half-time. SUbsconsciously, maybe, we lowered a bit but you've got to give Dartford credit because they plugged at it and brought themselves close".

The three goals in the match are now viewable here.

Kent Online says that "Dartford slipped closer to relegation when they lost at home to Altrincham on Saturday. Goals at the start of each half from Damian Reeves won the game for Alty and despite a deflected strike from substitute Ryan Hayes, the Darts finished empty-handed at Princes Park yet again...

It took the visitors just 10 minutes to break the deadlock - and their goal came from a Dartford set-piece. Lee Noble's free-kick from wide on the left came to nothing and as the yellow shirts streaked forward, Nicky Clee played in Reeves for a shot which drifted across Deren Ibrahim into the far corner...

[It was] a first half which lacked quality and any real fight from the Darts. Central midfielders Jake Moult and Peter Cavanagh were allowed to run the game for Altrincham, with the visitors afforded too much time on the ball all over the pitch...

Things looked bleak at half-time and they got even worse five minutes after the restart. One long ball cut the Darts defence open and with Bradbrook appealing for an offside flag which never came, Reeves steadied himself and scored with a shot which went in via the inside of the far post...

Hayes, who'd been on the field for only three minutes, cut in from the right wing and his low shot seemed to take a deflection before sneaking inside Coburn's left-hand post to make it 2-1... The 10 men of Altrincham negotiated four minutes of stoppage-time and condemned Dartford to their ninth home defeat of the season".

SUPPORTERS' TEAM TO PLAY STAFF

Trials will be held a week on Tuesday (7th April) at Navigation Rec., (next to Navigation Road Metro stop), starting at 6pm. Anybody who can't make Tuesday is welcome down to our Monday supporters' team session today. Please PM me, Facebook message or email me here with a name, age and your prefered position. We'll be looking at getting a squad of 16 together".

JOB VACANCY AT SUPPORTERS DIRECT

This opportunity has arisen to join our team, we are looking for a Junior Casework Officer with a keen interest in football and rugby league to provide vital casework support to the Head of Casework and Constitutional Affairs, helping us strengthen and build our network/membership throughout a range of member organisations and sports.

The successful candidate will have excellent people skills and be comfortable managing their own workload. A commitment to the Supporters’ Trust movement and an understanding of ownership models and knowledge of co-operative values and principles would also be a benefit.

In summary, you will:

• Create new Supporters Trusts
• Member development and ongoing support
• Enabling trust engagement with their Club
• Assisting line manager with regional networks and events

For more information contact Laura Knewstub. To apply, please submit a CV and covering letter and send to Laura Knewstub, 020 7250 8138. Apply by 5.00pm on 13th April 2015".

OLD BOYS

In the FA Vase, Alty old boys Tom Bailey and the Lugsden twins helped Glossop NE reach the FA Vase Final by beating St Austell 2-1 on aggregate. On the bench were two more ex-Alty youth players, Richard Gresty and Sam Grimshaw.

Glossop North End say that "Tickets for the FA Vase final between Glossop North End and North Shields go will go on sale on Monday 30th March 2015 (3pm at Wembley) at 10am. Tickets can be purchased from the FA Ticket website.

Prices for the final have yet to be announced, but we’ll let you know as soon as we find out. We’d advise you hang on until we’ve been to FA for a meeting this Wednesday. We will know a lot more then and can pass on the information".

As Stockport County were deprived of three points by a very late abandonment at Hyde FC on Saturday, defender and former Alty Youth Matt Todd was sent of for County. Likewise, Kevin Holsgrove saw red for Colwyn Bay.

Trafford FC report how "A brilliant performance by keeper Tom Read earned a youthful Trafford side a point in a physical encounter in the Midlands {at Halesowen] on Saturday. Manager Graham Heathcote included seven teenagers in his squad and after just six minutes one of them, 17 year old Liam Blake, should have given his side the lead when he broke clear but was denied by a fine reflex save...

In the dying seconds of the first half the home team and supporters were rocked when Trafford took the lead, Andy Smart floating a free kick to the back post and Adam Jones heading neatly into the bottom corner past the helpless Sargeant.

After a quiet start to the second period Town started to dominate once more but again found Read to be in inspired form. The giant keeper saved full length from Aaron Griffiths in the 57th minute and then tipped a swerving thunderbolt over the bar from the same player... Town were level when a neat move down the right ended with substitute Ben Haseley driving a low shot from 15 yards that appeared to wrong foot Read and fly into the bottom corner...

Town sensed victory and Meese drove just wide before Read produced another great save to deny Ashleigh Granville. The Trafford defence was under intense pressure but with Adam Jones, Andy Smart and Martyn Andrews all performing heroics, the visitors managed to hold on for a point albeit with the help of another magnificent save by Read".

As well as Read and Smart, Trafford's size included other ex-Alty faces in Lewis Chalmers, Jeff King, Jimmy McCarthy and Matt Doughty.

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The Shropshire Star adds that "Jordan Deacey refused come off the bench during his team's 1-0 defeat away to Dover... He said, 'It was 10 minutes into the second half I asked Jordan Deacey to go on and he refused to go on. He's put himself in a very silly situation. This club pays his wages, I have asked him to go on, he's said no.

He added, 'I also had John Disney (on the bench) who fell ill on Saturday morning, he's been physically sick before the game but he was warming up in the last couple of minutes and he said' "'I'll go on". He was sending out the message that he wants to play for this club'.

Kittrick has been outspoken in his criticism of certain players in recent months. Last month he claimed that some of out-of-favour players refused to go out on loan. And he launched a stinging attack on player power following Saturday's match,... He said, 'Managers don't tell it like it is because they are frightened of the PFA and what they can do. The club's had letters from them saying you cant do this or you can't do that, but we are their employers. No one has asked anybody to do something that they can't do and I think it is poor. It is all stacked in the players' (favour)...

It is the only industry where you can go and you can can do what you want. Once you have signed that contract, if you don't fancy playing you don't play and I think it is wrong'".

F|rom the Southport Visiter we learn that "The last time Southport managed three straight league wins was in November 2011, a season which saw them exceed all expectations to finish seventh in the Conference. This year, just finishing outside the bottom four will be regarded as an achievement, and with maximum points against Torquay United yesterday, the Sandgrounders moved themselves to within touching distance of safety.

Leading against the ten men of Torquay following an early goal and a sending off, Paul Carden’s team looked to be on course for a comfortable afternoon. In the end, they needed a goal from Paul Smith five minutes from time to seal the points after making hard work of what should have been a straightforward win.

'It probably should have been shown after 9pm!' replied Carden, the Southport manager, when asked if he regarded this as an ugly win. 'There were parts of our play today which were poor but the one thing our lads do is keep going. When you’ve got that attitude, it can take you further than sometimes your ability can...

People ask me about how many points we need to stay up but for me it’s not about that. It’s about seeing how many points we can get and seeing how many teams we can climb above. There are some clubs who know they can’t go anywhere now and are letting their season fall out. I want to get to a position where we can overtake those clubs'...

Carden himself deserves great credit for the way he has kick-started Southport’s season. A month ago, the Sandgrounders were in the relegation zone, seemingly on a downward curve and suffering a hangover from the departure of Gary Brabin... As a six-match unbeaten run testifies, he has devised a way of getting results. The reward for a bright start from Southport was a lead given to them on 10 minutes by Scott Kay’s 25-yard free-kick which left goalkeeper Martin Rice rooted to his laine.

It was part of a disastrous opening for Torquay, who had captain Luke Young send off three minutes later for retaliating with a push to a foul by Kay... Belatedly, Torquay made a match of it... They did draw level as Toby Ajala reacted first after James McQuilkin’s free-kick had cannoned off the crossbar. Yet the last word belonged Smith, steering the ball home".

the opposition, Torquay United add that "United recovered from an early goal and the dismissal of captain Luke Young to produce a stirring performance at Southport, but it wasn’t quite enough... A brief moment of defensive hesitancy was sufficient for Paul Smith to snatch the Southport winner.

'The lads were magnificent for 80 minutes, got the equaliser and looked like they might get the winner', said manager Chris Hargreaves. 'We played ever so well with 10 men and it really is a sickener to lose like that... Southport had two real shots all afternoon and scored twice, but it was a big error from Luke [to get sent-off] and he will have to learn from that'...

Kay then caught Young with a late tackle that warranted a booking but the angry reaction from the captain left referee Ian Hussin with no other option than to issue the red card. Hargreaves immediately withdrew Louis Briscoe in attack to reinforce his midfield with the experience of Ben Harding and the Gulls showed impressive resilience to repel a Southport side backed by a strong wind...

A quiet game in terms of chances saw the introduction of new signing Kadell Daniel for Bowman on 57 minutes... The richly deserved equaliser finally arrived...

United (4-4-2): 1 Martin Rice; 29 Aaron Dawson (14 Ashley Yeoman 74), 26 Ollivier Gueguen, 4 Aaron Downes, 5 Krystian Pearce; 10 Toby Ajala, 8 Luke Young (capt), 22 James McQuilkin, 11 Courtney Cameron; 7 Louis Briscoe (6 Ben Harding 15), 9 Ryan Bowman (20 Kadell Daniel 55). Substitutes (not used): 15 Liam Prynn, 16 Courtney Richards".

Bulls' News reports that "Bristol Rovers fans are mulling over moves to protest at Sainsbury stores over their attempted withdrawal from the plan to build a new stadium for the club. The club and supermarket face court in May over the dispute, with the club calling on any protest to be 'lawful and peaceful'. It has been revealed that the club has taken out a £2m loan at more than 15% interest rate after their bank refused to extend credit terms, with the full sum and interest due at the end of the year."

Kent Online confirms that "Long-serving Dartford player Lee Burns is leaving the club to work overseas. The 32-year-old has made 263 appearances for the Darts, scoring 33 goals, since arriving at Princes Park from Braintree Town in June 2009.

But Burns didn't feature in the 2-1 home defeat to Altrincham on Saturday and manager Tony Burman revealed after the game why the full-back wasn't involved. He said, 'Unfortunately, Burnsie is leaving us now because he’s been offered a contract, work-wise, out of the country. He goes on Wednesday. I knew about it three weeks ago but I needed him to be around... He’s been absolutely brilliant for this club. He’s out of the country for about three months. It’s a work commitment he could not turn down'...

It looks like Burns could return to Dartford next season after Burman said, 'I’m not saying he’s never going to be here again or anything like that. At this moment in time, he’s got to take the job'".

The Football Conference reports that "The fifty-year lease on the Swansway Chester Stadium was formally handed over yesterday by Cheshire West and Chester Council to the Vanarama Conference club.

Following on from Thursday's news of the extension of Steve Burr's contract the Board of City Fans United were pleased to formally accept the extension of the lease on the stadium. The initial lease granted to the club was due to expire next April but following extensive negotiations with the Council we have now secured a fifty-year term lease. This will allow the club to press ahead with plans for improvements to the Stadium and hopefully open up opportunities to secure grant funding to help finance the planned works...

Grenville Millington, CFU Board chairman said, 'What a fantastic two days this has been for our club and it marks a very important milestone in our development. Thanks must go to our past chairman, Tony Durkin, who led for us on this important project for many, many months'...

Cllr Mike Jones, who has been a fan of the club since he was a child, said, 'This also shows the confidence we have in the club after a successful five years getting into the Conference league. For a fan run club it is just brilliant'".

YOUTH GAME POSTPONED

DARTFORD 1-2 ALTRINCHAM

Above: Damian Reeves (far right) sees his shot hit the net for Altrincham's second goal.

Altrincham took a two-goal lead before Dartford scored and Peter Cavanagh was dismissed...

Match report here.

SATURDAY GAMES

• Alfreton Town 1-1 Barnet
• Chester FC 2-3 Woking
• Dartford 1-2 Altrincham
• Dover Athletic 1-0 AFC Telford Utd
• Gateshead 2-3 Eastleigh
• Kidderminster Harriers 3-1 Braintree Town
• Lincoln City 1-2 Forest Green Rovers
• Macclesfield Town 0-0 Bristol Rovers (k.o. 12.30pm BT Sport)
• Nuneaton Town 1-2 FC Halifax Town
• Southport 2-1 Torquay United
• Welling United 0-2 Grimsby Town

DARTFORD v ALTRINCHAM : MATCH COVERAGE

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

Brian Flynn advises that Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, will be broadcasting live coverage of the game at Princes Park.

The match commentary is sponsored by Odin Technology who are industry experts in the delivery of test automation solutions through their Axe platform to clients in the US, Africa, Australia, Europe and India.

You can find out all about Odin on their website.

The match commentators are Niall Finnegan and Mike Reeves with match summaries from Laurence Howarth. Commentary begins at 2.55pm. You can listen to Radio Robins on the internet at www.radiorobins.com

BEFORE THE GAME

Admission Prices:

• Adults £16
• Concessionaries £8
• Youths (13-17 years) £5
• Juniors 5 – 12 years £2

Important Notice: Our car park is on a first come first served basis. Therefore, can we ask all spectators to respect our neighbours when parking and use alternative car parks if Princes Park is full or use public transport? We strongly advise you to use the town centre car parks and use the Fastrack B bus service. Please note that the Champions' bar facility will be closed to the public after 1pm and will only be open for match day hospitality guests. The Golf Course will close at 1:00pm with last tee off midday".

GOAL OF THE SEASON

• Adam Griffin (Eastleigh (H) September 13th 2014).
• Damian Reeves (Eastleigh (H) September 13th 2014).
• James Lawrie (Macclesfield Town (H) September 30th 2014).
• Nicky Clee (FC Halifax Town (A) October 4th 2014).
• Kyle Perry (Barwell (A) October 26th 2014).
• Simon Richman (Lincoln City (A) November 4th 2014).
• Tom Marshall (Forest Green Rovers (A) December 6th 2014.)
• Ryan Crowther (Dover Athletic (H) December 20th 2014.)
• Nicky Clee (Chester (H) January 1st 2015.)
• Damian Reeves (Kidderminster Harriers (A) January 10th 2015.)

We hope to be able to put together a montage of all of the goals, to help fans make a decision on their top three goals. You can vote by completing a form at the Southport game on Good Friday or by e-mail with your first, second & third choices.

The deadline for voting is Sunday, April 12th. The winning goal will be announced during the 'End of Season Awards' which will take place during the 'Race Night' on Saturday April 18th".

JOIN THE "GOAL RUSH"

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Phillips, 25, has made only one substitute appearance for the Brewers under new manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, since recovering from a serious knee injury he sustained towards the end of last season. He is currently Burton's longest-serving player.

It is a second spell with the Reds for former Stoke City player, Phillips, who appeared in pre-season games on loan from the Potters at the Impact Arena prior to the 2008/09 season and was an unused substitute for the first game of the 2008/09 season against Hyde FC.

Meanwhile, Alfreton sent two players out on loan deadline day with central defender Jordan Keane joining rivals Lincoln City and attacking midfield player Lee Stevenson going to King's Lynn Town. Both loans are to the end of the season."

"Keane joined Alfreton last summer following his release by Stoke City, having spent three seasons with the Premier League outfit, captaining their under-21 side prior to his departure. He joined Stoke from Wolverhampton Wanderers having previously been with Derby County and played twenty-eight times for Tamworth in the Conference last season during a loan spell with the Lambs. Midfielder Wallace arrives from Sheffield United.

The former Nottingham Forest and England under-17 international... had been on non-contract terms with Ilkeston FC having been released by Forest last summer before signing for United in November having impressed whilst on trial with the Blades."

Another player moving to Lincolnshire with a loan from a rival club in the same division is "Experienced defender Josh Gowling [who] has joined Grimsby Town on loan from rivals Kidderminster Harriers. The former AFC Bournemouth and Lincoln City man has close to 300 senior career appearances to his name, ninety of those coming for Harriers prior to the 2014/15 season after he first signed Lincoln in late August 2013.

And Grimsby boss Paul Hurst was delighted to get his man ahead of yesterday's 5pm loan deadline. He said, 'It's an area where I don't think we've got too many players;- Danny Parslow, Chris Doig, who hasn't played for a long time. While Doigy is keeping himself fit, he's felt a few little niggles along the way. I'm also a bit conscious, with possible suspensions looming, and he could be needed in the full-back position as well. I felt that it was an area where we would be foolish not to try to do something'".

The Conference adds that "Aldershot Town have signed 18-year-old striker Giorgio Rasulo on loan from MK Dons until the end of the season. The England Youth international, who can play either as an attacking midfielder or support striker, made his first-team debut in November 2012, aged just 15... Born in Banbury to Anglo-Italian parents, Rasulo has made one start for MK Dons and a further dozen appearances as substitute... [He] has just returned from a one-month loan spell with Oxford United.

All three of manager Chris Barker’s loan deals this week, including the extension of agreements on Sean McGinty and Tom Richards, have been facilitated by the Shots "PlayerShare Fund", which earlier this season passed the £100,000 mark in donations to the club. Organised by Nick Fryer, Ian Dawkins and Keith Able, "PlayerShare" has helped the Shots sign many key players in over seven years, including Dan Holman, Tristan Plummer, Jonny Dixon, Jamie Young, Dean Morgan, Jermaine McGlashan and Aaron Morris".

Meanwhile, "Kidderminster Harriers have signed two more players on loan deals until the end of the season. Nathaniel Kelly, 19, and James Fry, 20, have both joined on loan from Birmingham City, while 19-year-old William Boyle has joined from Huddersfield Town. It is Kelly’s second loan spell with the club this season after joining in January and making one appearance, against Altrincham in the FA Trophy. Manager Gary Whild [said] 'Both Birmingham players will be released by the club at the end of the season and so it is a good opportunity for them both here. The fans will know about Nat Kelly from his spell with us earlier this season. With Jordan Tunnicliffe going out to Hednesford Town, and Josh Gowling initially being suspended for us before departing for Grimsby Town, it’s left us a little bit short in that area...

James Fry is a utility player who can play a variety of positions, which will be useful for us over our remaining games'".

According to the BBC "Premier League clubs have agreed to share at least £1bn of their record UK TV rights deal with lower league sides and grassroots football. The money will include parachute payments to relegated clubs and a living wage for all full-time staff.

The Premier League sold the live TV rights for £5.136bn to Sky and BT for three years from 2016. Donations have risen 40% from £700m after TV rights money increased by 70% from £3bn. The £1bn figure, agreed at a meeting of Premier League clubs on Thursday, is dependent on a regulatory challenge from Ofcom and income from international TV rights sales.

In addition to providing parachute payments to relegated teams, the Premier League's member clubs agreed to invest in five key areas:

• Grassroots facilities
• Participation
• Fan engagement and match day experience
• Solidarity with lower leagues
• Supporting disadvantaged groups

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said, 'These are unprecedented levels of redistribution in world sport, let alone football, which will deliver long-term progress for English football whether you are a fan, lower-league club or involved in the grassroots'.

All full-time staff at Premier League clubs will be paid the living wage... by the start of the 2016-17 season. The living wage is currently set at £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 an hour in the rest of the UK".

NL Pitchero reports that "Kidderminster Harriers have signed non-contract terms with Tipton Town striker Gurjit Singh ahead of a move to the Vanarama Conference club at the end of the season. Singh will be training with Harriers during the remainder of the season.

However, he will continue to play for Tipton as they fight relegation from the Midland League Premier Division. The 24-year-old joined Tipton in January, after scoring 21 goals in twenty-five games for Smethwick Rangers. He has scored 6 goals in nine games since making the switch to Tipton.

Manager Gary Whild said, 'Gaz has signed non-contract with us and will train with us as an introduction to full-time football to help and improve him... He is a talented lad who could replicate what many other players have done here; the club think he has the ability to develop and improve'...

Singh said, 'It’s been crazy. I was playing in Division Two of the West Midlands Regional League two seasons ago... My strengths are that I can score goals and beat players using my movement. Looking back three or four years ago, I never thought I would get this opportunity. But a couple of seasons ago I really started to work on my fitness and improving and elevate my game from there... My aim now is to try and earn a contract here and get into full-time football - that’s the dream'".

NEXT GAME: DARTFORD v ALTRINCHAM

For the third time in three weeks, Altrincham travel to Kent on Saturday and from there Kent Online reports that "Manager Tony Burman isn’t convinced Dartford deserve to be staring relegation in the face. Darts are 10 points from safety in the Vanarama Conference ahead of back-to-back home games.

They play Altrincham at Prince's Park on Saturday, followed by Gateshead on Tuesday. It’s more than four months since Darts won at home, a run that has to end over the coming days if Burman’s men are to keep survival hopes alive. Dartford have slipped to second-bottom but manager Burman believes they are better than that.

He said, 'This league is ruthless. There have been good performances this season, regardless of what anyone else has said. We’ve played good football and in some games we’ve been excellent but we haven’t had the results we’ve deserved. We’ve only won seven games, which isn’t right, but it’s the draws that have hurt us. We’ve drawn 12 games but we had the lead in a lot of those games. They say the league never lies but we’re a better group than we were last year. If you change three or four of those draws into wins, the table looks different'".

Dartford's most recent line up was: Ibrahim, Richards (Burns 86mins), Dallison, Noble (Hayes 81mins), Driver, Sweeney, McAuley, Bradbrook, Crawford, Harris, Pugh. Subs not used: Daley, Kessell, Collier."

On Wednesday, Cambridge United reported that "Jordan Chiedozie has joined Dartford on loan for the remainder of the 2014/15 season. The 20-year-old striker joined the 'U's in November 2014 and has made six appearances since arriving at the R. Costings Abbey Stadium.

Jordan was sidelined with a calf injury following the 'U's 2-0 defeat at Plymouth in February. He returned to action in the 'U's development squad last week, scoring a hat-trick in the 3-1 victory over Luton Town".

JOSH AT BAMBER BRIDGE

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

And the combative midfielder, who played 15 games, scoring once for Alfreton in a loan move in 2013, is looking forward to linking up with the Sandgrounders. He said, 'I am looking forward to playing some competitive football where you are playing for points. I have been hoping for a loan move for a while and I have played in the Conference before, so I know what to expect. It is a decent level and I can’t wait to go and play for Southport'".

And, there has been more activity at Haig Avenue where The BBC reports that "Southport have signed goalkeeper Tony Thompson on loan from Rotherham until the end of the season. The 20-year-old had moved from reserve goalkeeper to third choice after Rotherham's recent capture of Emiliano Martinez on loan from Arsenal. He joins fellow goalkeeper Seb Usai, who recently joined the Sandgrounders.

Southport have won their last two Conference games but are still just six points away from the relegation places with seven games remaining. "

Elsewhere, "Torquay United have signed Charlton Athletic winger Kadell Daniel on loan until the end of the season. The 20-year-old could join the club on a permanent basis in the summer when his contract at The Valley runs out. 'There's no point in us getting an aimless loan in, it's got to be with a view to something really,' manager Chris Hargreaves told BBC Sport. Daniel, who is a former Crystal Palace trainee, has yet to make his first-team appearance in senior football.

His signing came after Jordan Chapell left on loan to join Conference rivals Grimsby... 'He's an extremely exciting player, he's someone who wants to get his career going and we hope we're the platform for him to do that', Hargreaves added."

Also strengthening are Welling United who "have re-signed Luton Town striker Ross Lafayette on loan until the end of the season. The 29-year-old scored 17 goals in 41 games for the Wings last season but turned down a new deal in order to join the Hatters last summer. Lafayette has not scored in 14 outings for Luton and spent time on loan at Woking earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Southend have recalled forward Jason Williams from his loan spell with the Wings... Wings' caretaker manager Loui Fazakerley has brought in goalkeeper Ali Axol and is confident of also clinching the signing of Maidenhead United striker Tashan Adeyinka on a deal until end of the season".

We also learn from the BBC that "Woking have signed Brentford midfielder Emmanuel Oyeleke on loan until the end of the season. The 22-year-old had a spell on loan at Aldershot earlier in the campaign, making 10 appearances. Oyeleke, who has featured three times for Brentford, also spent time on loan with the Shots last season, scoring five goals in 35 league outings".

Confirmation comes from Lincoln City that "Defender Jordan Keane has joined the Imps on loan from Alfreton Town until the end of the season. Keane joined Alfreton last summer following his release by Stoke City, having spent three seasons with the Premier League outfit, captaining their U21 side prior to his departure. He joined Stoke from Wolverhampton Wanderers having previously been with Derby County and played 28 times for Tamworth in the Conference last season during a loan spell with the Lambs. Handed the vacant number 20 squad shirt, Keane will go straight into the City squad".

Off the field, Chester FC "are delighted to announce that we have today secured the services of Steve Burr as our Manager for an extended term, which will see Steve staying with us at least until the end of the 2016/17 season...

CFU Chairman Grenville Millington said, 'This is a great day in the development of our Club and the Board’s delight in securing this deal will no doubt be shared by all our fans. The on-field progress this season is there for everyone to see. We are playing exciting attacking football and have secured some tremendous results this season from what is essentially a very young squad. This can only bode well for next season and beyond'...

Steve Burr commented, 'I am pleased with the progress we have made from last season. The Club has got a fantastic supporter base both home and away and I firmly believe we have the potential to take Chester FC back into the Football League. I am not saying it’s going to be easy and we have a long way to go but our progress is in the right direction'".

In the Braintree and Witham Times we learn that "Braintree Town striker Charlie Strutton is set to have an operation on his ankle that will end his season... The 26-year-old forward has struggled to find full fitness this year after joining Braintree last summer from AFC Wimbledon and has made just 12 appearances for the Iron. He has failed to shake off the effects of a broken leg and ankle displacement that he suffered while on loan at Aldershot Town from the Dons last season...

The striker has been on loan in recent weeks at Conference South side Maidenhead United, but will now not return to the Iron before the end of the season because of the operation".

More news of The Iron comes from the Essex Chronicle, which tells us that "Braintree Town midfielder Chez Isaac has urged the Iron players not to let the rest of the season just peter out with places up for grabs for the 2015-16 campaign... The 22-year-old insists the Iron must not be complacent.

He said, 'People are still all playing for contracts for next season and places in the squad, so it is never just a case of seeing out the season. You could say that we have nothing to play for now, although we have to make sure that we just don't get ourselves into any trouble... It was just a bad day at the office all round [defeat by AFC Telford United] and we have to put this performance behind us.'

The Iron failed to ignite a bumper crowd of 2,115, the biggest for 25 years at Cressing Road [entry was free for everyone], with the disappointing display also being televised live on BT Sport. Isaac added, 'It was really disappointing with such a great turnout. I don't think that I have ever seen it this full... We just didn't turn up'...

The defeat stopped the Iron's three-match unbeaten run".

The Shropshire Star claims that "AFC Telford United midfielder Mike Grogan wants to extend his stay at the New Buck's Head beyond the end of the season. And the 26-year-old insists he would have the stomach for another Conference North title push if, as expected, the Bucks are relegated.

Grogan, who joined the club in September 2013, was a key member of the Telford side which won the Conference North last year. He is one of several players who will be out of contract in the summer and he said, 'I haven’t spoken about a possible contract for next year as yet'...

Their fate could be sealed this weekend if they lose at Dover and other results go against them... He added, 'If we did go down to the league below I would like to stay. I did well in that league last year and helped Telford win it... I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to do it next year'.

Meanwhile, manager Steve Kittrick has confirmed that midfielder Josh Hancock is set to join Witton Albion. The Bucks chief is aiming to bring in at least one more new addition before the emergency loan window shuts tonight. Hancock’s departure would free up funds to help do that".

The Kidderminster Shuttle says that "Gary Whild hopes to ease a defensive crisis by drafting in experienced defender Clayton McDonald. Kidderminster Harriers’ could be without two first-choice centre backs for Saturday’s home clash against Braintree, with Josh Gowling facing a two-match ban after picking up a tenth yellow card...

Jamie Grimes is expected to play but has not been unable to train after a blow to the head sustained against the Gulls. McDonald is at Redditch United after playing but has featured for Walsall and Port Vale, but his career has stalled in recent years. He was acquitted on rape charges in 2012, the same case in which former Sheffield United forward Ched Evans was found guilty.

The defender also featured for Southport on a non-contract basis for 13 games. Whild said, 'Clayton is someone looking to get back into full-time football and would fit into our price bracket at the moment. We need an experienced player, we can’t afford to throw a young lad in'...

Kidderminster have lost four games in a row and have not won in nine games. At the end of Saturday's the game, the manager and Gowling thanked the 216 fans for their efforts... Meanwhile, Whild said at last week’s fans' forum he will have to decide on the future of mis-firing strikers Craig Reid and Reece Styche, who have bagged just six goals between them for the Reds. The pair have one more year to run on their contracts... He added, 'It hasn’t worked out, we’re scratching our heads as to why, we’re disappointed and they are as well. We’ve got to rectify that and either come to an agreement where they find another club or get their heads down and contribute because we can’t afford to have two guys on their wages not contributing'".

NEXT GAME: DARTFORD v ALTRINCHAM

• Home: P4-W3-D1-L0-F6-A2
• Away: P5-W1-D0-L4-F4-A8
• All: P9-W4-D1-L4-F10-A101

Details of the TASC supporters' transport to this game are on the Away Travel page.

We are told by Kent Online that "Dartford couldn't believe they left Alfreton with only a draw to show for their efforts. The visitors were by far the better side in Tuesday's night relegation battle. They created a series of good chances in Derbyshire but were up against in-form keeper Jason Mooney, who was named man-of-the-match for the hosts.

Poor finishing also hit Darts, with Tony Burman's side 10 points adrift of safety with only seven games left. Burman said, 'For me, we were in control for long parts of the game. We played very well and created a lot more chances than we did at Southport. The fact their keeper was man-of-the-match tells you everything. We've obviously got to put the ball in the net and we haven't done that but I really can't believe we haven't won that game. It's a crazy situation...

The players were down having played that well and not won. It's staring them in the face the situation we're in and it's a bitter bill to swallow to only come away with a point. We've just to keep going, though. There's a lot of strange results at this time of year'. Harry Crawford, Danny Harris and on-loan Brighton youngster Tom Dallison had Dartford's best chances but there was no way past Mooney".

SAM SIGNS CONFERENCE FORMS

OLD BOY

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The tricky winger progressed to the fringe of the first-team at Sheffield United and was sent out on loan to Burton Albion in the autumn of 2012 to gain experience. He later joined Torquay in a loan spell toward the end of last season and played his part in changing their poor run of form, as results improved to keep United in League Two. Although he was recalled early when Sheffield United had a change of manager, Torquay boss Alan Knill kept tabs on Jordan and the youngster decided to make a permanent move to Plainmoor, despite originally agreeing a new deal with the Blades.

Chapell was said to be tremendous in the early stages of last season and ended up United’s top goalscorer, but a desire to return home to the north saw him placed on the transfer list. A strong pre-season, however, saw his return to Plainmoor".

Elsewhere, "Alfreton Town have released striker Paul Clayton early from his contract so that he may take up the offer of a two-year deal with Harrogate Town, where he has been on loan since Christmas Eve, 2014. Clayton, 30, was out of contract with the Reds at the end of this season but club chairman Wayne Bradley explained the decision to let him go early.

What Harrogate have offered Paul is exceptional and we have let him go early, without a fee, for the good of the lad so he can take them up on their offer. Paul has got a young family and we are not stepping in his way, but we have also let him go early as a way of thanking him for his sterling efforts for Alfreton Town over the past eight seasons. 'Harrogate are long-time admirers of Paul and they have offered him a deal for the next two years which we could not get anywhere near matching'".

The Football Conference reports that "2014/2015 Football Conference Play-Off Semi Final & Promotion Final scheduling is as follows:

Vanarama Conference

• 5 v 2 Semi Final 1st Leg Wednesday 29 April 2015, at 7.45pm LIVE on BT Sport
• 4 v 3 Semi Final 1st Leg Thursday 30 April 2015, at 7:45pm LIVE on BT Sport
• 2 v 5 Semi final 2nd Leg Sunday 3 May 2015, at 1:00pm LIVE on BT Sport
• 3 v 4 Semi Final 2nd Leg Sunday 3 May 2015, at 4.00pm LIVE on BT Sport
• PROMOTION FINAL - Sunday 17 May 2015 at Wembley Stadium, Kick Off -14:00, LIVE on BT Sport

Vanarama Conference North

• 5 v 2 and 4 v 3 Semi Finals 1st leg Wednesday 29 April 2015 at 7.45pm
2 v 5 and 3 v 4 Semi Finals 2nd leg Saturday 2 May 2015 at 3.00pm PROMOTION FINAL - Saturday 9 May 2015 at 3.00pm (to be played on the ground of the higher placed team left from the Play Off Semi Finals)

Vanarama Conference South

• 5 v 2 and 4 v 3 Semi Finals 1st leg Wednesday 29 April 2015 at 7.45pm
• 2 v 5 and 3 v 4 Semi Finals 2nd leg Saturday 2 May 2015 at 3.00pm
• PROMOTION FINAL - Saturday 9 May 2015 at 3.00pm (to be played on the ground of the higher placed team left from the Play Off Semi Finals)"

NL Pitchero confirms that "Welling United have signed pacey striker Tashan Adeyinka from Maidenhead United. Adeyikna was with Southend United's youth team and also spent some time on loan at Harlow Town whilst on the books at Roots Hall. He moved on to have spells with Hendon, Thamesmead Town, Carshalton Athletic, Harrow Borough and with Finnish sides AC Oulu ad FC Jazz. Adeynka, 23, who has also spent time at the Nike Academy, joined Maidenhead in the summer of 2014 and spent time out on loan at Hampton & Richmond Borough earlier this season."

Bulls News says that "The fear of being relegated out of the Football League has seen Cheltenham Town agree to an extension of their ground share deal with Gloucester City. Robins' chief Paul Baker told the press, 'This was a very difficult decision for us. In an ideal world we would not have agreed to extend the arrangement due to the impact it is having on the pitch which, frankly, looks well past its sell-by date, when compared to the fantastic award winning playing surfaces of the past.

But we are not in an ideal world, Gloucester City need to have an arrangement in place for next season by the 31st March, if we were assured of our Football League status by now it is highly unlikely that the arrangement would have been extended, but we are not and, as we all know the financial consequences of relegation are dramatic, we therefore have to maximise all our revenue streams to cater for the worst case scenario.'

The new deal includes an increase in rent on the current deal, and limits Gloucester to only one pre-season game on the Whaddon Road pitch."

From Macclesfield Town comes "A statement from the Marjority Shareholder. 'First thing to say is I’m keenly aware that this is only the third statement that I have made this season... I must thank John and his team for the truly wonderful season they have given us so far. It’s fair to say that everyone’s expectations have been surpassed...

Operating a club at this level is not easy; in fact it’s very difficult, but it’s our responsibility to ensure the club is run in a sustainable manner. Having said that, we have made every effort to meet John's requirements for squad additions throughout the season. We have missed out on a couple of well publicized targets, but John still managed to add 4 or 5 players since the turn of the year, which has definitely given the squad more depth.

The team is going through a bit of a difficult period at the moment. That happens in football during a long season. The important thing is how to bounce back and I have full confidence that JA and the team will be up for the fight in the last few games of the season.

Off the field, I want to thank our volunteer Chairman Mark Blower. He really is doing a remarkable job. The endless hours being put in by the team of volunteers to run the club are greatly appreciated too. The biggest thanks of course goes to our supporters... Amar Alkadhi."

In the Kidderminster Shuttle we read that "Harriers' board of directors made the unprecedented step to apologise for mistakes they have made. At last week’s fans’ forum, chairman Ken Rae admitted replacing Steve Burr with Andy Thorn in the Harriers hot-seat in January 2014 was a ‘mistake’... He was sacked in March last year and replaced by Burr’s assistant Gary Whild, who had been put on gardening leave.

'We, as a board, have made mistakes, we don’t deny we have made mistakes,' conceded the chairman. 'Andy Thorn was a mistake, his assistant Craig Knight wasn’t, if I am being honest, but they came as a package. One of the reasons that Gary was put on gardening leave was that he met with Andy and he didn’t want him part of the management team. We apologise unreservedly'.

Rae revealed the board had been summoned by chairman Mark Serrell, who presented Thorn and then ratified appointment. He also said that it was not a unanimous decision to leave Whild in limbo. Serrell and wife Ruth, who was company secretary, left in February 2014 blaming abuse [from] a minority of disgruntled fans. But director Gino Ruffinato launched a staunch defence of the former chairman.

He said 'When Mark joined, the club was over £350,000 in debt and he worked his butt off to the point that the club did not owe any money. His wife worked 40 hours a week and she never got paid. He worked many hours and never got paid, he turned the club around'. He added, 'There is nobody who can take one penny out of the club without it being passed by the board'".

Torquay Fans says of Tuesday's game, "The good, the bad and the ugly: Woking 3-2 Torquay United. Wasn’t that our season in a nutshell?

Bright start by a vibrant attacking young team playing some good stuff, look imperious before something goes wrong and then it all caves in? The first 20-25 minutes was as good as i’ve seen from us in a long long time, our two wingers helped stretch the game, the two central midfielders were getting on the ball making things happen and 2 v 2 up front Briscoe and Bowman were ripping them apart, we could easily have been 4-0 up at half time but for two good saves, 1 of them outstanding by their keeper. It wouldn’t have flattered us...

Telford, FGR twice, Dover, Alfreton all games off the top of my head we were in front or in control of only to collapse and again last night, it was almost inevitable once the first one went in. This group simply doesn’t have the leaders, the fight, the concentration and the discipline to cope with and deal with a setback, one thing goes wrong and all of a sudden 2/3/4 things go wrong and we fold... The injury to Bowman didn’t help but you could tell he was struggling before that".

More comes from the Torquay Herald Express, where we learn that "Torquay United are counting the cost of Tuesday's 3-2 defeat at Woking... With injuries already cutting into Chris Hargreaves' squad, United also lost leading scorer Ryan Bowman to a groin injury midway through the second half.

Hargreaves said, 'We were in a great position, but couldn't see it through. I thought we were magnificent in the first half and could have come in 4-0 up. But we showed a bit of naivety in the second half and were overpowered...

I just didn't feel there was enough "nous" to see the game out. And we made a couple of mistakes in key areas'...

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that a comprehensive financial deal cleared the way for Conference Premier promotion-chasers Grimsby Town to sign Torquay's young winger Jordan Chapell on loan today. The Mariners have been on the trail of the 23-year-old former Sheffield United player for some time. Chapell's contract at Plainmoor is up at the end of the season, and United were reluctant to let him go to Blundell Park and then see him return to Torquay's wage-bill once the campaign was over.

But the move has now gone ahead, with Grimsby agreeing to keep Chapell beyond the end of the season if they reach the Play-Offs... He has scored seven goals in 62 appearances, 42 of them starts, but injuries... have restricted him to 29 appearances this season. Bowman, fellow striker John Campbell (hamstring) and centre-back Angus MacDonald (knee), as well as left-back Levi Ives (international duty), will all miss Saturday's trip to Southport.

It is not clear whether Chapell's saved wages will free up any money for Hargreaves to make a loan signing of his own."

At Forest Green Rovers "chairman Dale Vince has called for Football Conference rules to be 'harmonised' with the rules of the Football League, after FGR’s final appeal to replay the club’s opening match opening match of the season at Southport was dismissed.

An independent arbitrator dismissed Forest Green’s appeal against the FA’s decision not to order a replay after FGR fielded an ineligible player in the match. FGR chairman Dale Vince said, 'we’re disappointed in the ruling and we think it’s an error. It leaves the Conference rules on replays in a state of confusion. The FA clarified that there should be a replay if the non-offending club (Southport) would otherwise be at a sporting disadvantage and we can’t see what circumstances would qualify if these ones don’t, since Southport gained no points from the game and an adverse goal difference; a replay would have reset the clock for them.

We call on the FA to harmonise Football Conference rules with the rules of the Football League, it makes no sense to have different rules at this level of the game. Perhaps if the Conference had more "grown up" rules like those in League football, a move to three up three down between the Conference and the League might be more palatable to League clubs'".

From Gateshead comes news that "Josh Gillies struck a second-half equaliser and was later sent off, as Gateshead earned a deserved share of the spoils in an entertaining encounter at FC Halifax Town... The Tynesiders made all of the early running against Neil Aspin’s Halifax... Gillies was given his marching orders in the last minute of normal time after a two-footed lunge on Boden".

NW NEWS

The News & Star claims that "Celtic Nation have just 11 days to find a new investor or they will be wiped off the football map because of a financial crisis. Manager Mark Boyd is appealing for a new backer after the family running the Northern League club ended their involvement.

In a shock twist, Northern Alliance neighbours Carlisle City have taken over the lease of Nation’s Gillford Park ground and will play their home games there from next season. Nation hope to groundshare but Boyd today admitted without fresh investment, which has to be found by the end of the month so the club can continue playing in the Northern League, they will be unable to survive.

The club was previously bankrolled by USA-based multi-millionaire Frank Lynch and his decision to walk away last summer sparked Nation’s demise... Lynch left enough money to cover the running of the club until the end of this season, and handed over control to former chairman Steve Skinner, who later put it in the hands of his wife Faye, father-in-law Geoff Andrews and secretary Mike Linden, but all three have now ended their involvement"

SUPPORT THE YOUTH TEAM ON SUNDAY!

A further indication of the excellent job done by Alty Youth manager George Heslop and his coaches over the years is that, last Saturday, both of Stockport County's defenders were ex-Alty Youth players, Matty Todd and Connor Hancock.

PETER WARBURTON R.I.P.

Former Alty chairman and current Witton Albion chairman, Mark Harris, delivered an excellent eulogy, which accurately captured the essence of Peter's character. Courtesy of Mark, the text of the eulogy is reproduced below.

"Good morning everyone.

Great to see a capacity crowd – I’m sure Peter would have suggested we made this all ticket.

Firstly, I should point out a small change to your programmes.

Although I am Mark Harris, I am actually chairman of Witton Albion FC, and not Altrincham – whose chairman Grahame Rowley is one of Peter’s pallbearers today.

However, I was chairman at Alty when we persuaded Peter to join us, 15 years ago. But more of that in due course.

Today isn’t about clubs – rivals or otherwise. It’s about someone who loved everything about football regardless of the club involved.

The old saying goes that someone has football in their blood. Peter didn’t just have it in his blood, it was in his brains, his bones, his DNA.

Today I have the privilege of paying tribute to Peter on behalf of his friends and colleagues in football.

Seeing so many of them, not only from the clubs that he served, but the Cheshire FA, the Mid Cheshire District FA, and from other clubs too, that the phrase ‘a football man’ was never better applied. Peter Warburton was a true football man, and over the next few minutes I’d just like to explain how and why he is such a huge loss, not just to Madeline, Tina and the family, but to his other family – the football family. Wherever he went – even on family holidays abroad – Peter had that un-erring knack of bumping into someone he knew through football. He knew literally everybody on the non-league scene in the North West, and they all knew him.

As well as chairmen and managers, his fellow club secretaries including Dave Baldwin – his counterpart at Altrincham for over 25 years, and the late Dave Leather at Witton Albion –loved and respected the man they all knew as ‘Warby’. This high regard applied to players too. Take former Everton and Wales international goalkeeper Neville Southall, who started his career at Winsford. Peter used to collect the young Southall from Chester station in his car and ferry him to home and away games. Until, that is, someone threw a brick through the window of the train in which he was travelling, causing Nev not to arrive at the match he should have been playing in until half time.

After over 700 games in the professional game and representing Wales, Neville Southall still remembered the man who had helped him in the earliest stages of his career. I know Peter was touched and proud that the incident I’ve just mentioned was included in the player’s autobiography.

Peter’s first introduction to football came when, at the tender age of just 4, he attended a game with his grandmother, who was a Winsford United fanatic. The young Warby lapped up the atmosphere as Winsford took on Northwich Vics, only for the game to be stopped when Peter’s grandmother was so enraged by the performance of the match referee that she set about him with her umbrella, forcing the game to be abandoned.

This was Peter’s first encounter with the refereeing fraternity in a relationship that thrived throughout his life. Any match official arriving at Winsford United – and later Altrincham - was certain of three things. A warm welcome, plenty of abuse when they came off at full time and no shortage of ‘advice’ in the bar afterwards over a pint. But the banter was never malicious or aggressive. Just passionate, and always delivered with a smile. Football is nothing without passion.

Peter’s involvement with Winsford United spanned over 50 years. During that time he devoted so much time to the football club that his frequent absences were the cause of plenty of disagreements between himself and Madeleine. Significantly, during Peter’s 15 years at Altrincham, Madeline says that there were no such rows, at least not football-related. Altrincham being a tad further than the 300 yards from the Warburton family home to the Barton stadium might have something to do with that. Marking the pitch, cleaning the dressing rooms and working on the ground were just three tasks that, together with his secretarial duties, made Peter known universally as Mr Winsford United. During this period the football club progressed from the Cheshire League into the Northern Premier whilst Peter served both the Cheshire and Mid Cheshire District Football Associations with great distinction.

It’s always very sad when someone has given so much to a club they support only to be moved on amidst seemingly little appreciation of services rendered. The circumstances surrounding his departure from Winsford were very painful for Peter. But these things happen in football, and in 2000 a new chapter opened in Peter’s footballing life.

I was chairman of Altrincham at what was a very difficult time for the club off the field. George Heslop and I were in Blackpool for the annual awards dinner of the (then) UniBond League when we encountered Peter (not unusually for any of us) in the bar.

'What are you doing now, Peter?' we asked. 'Nothing', he replied. You are now' came our response.

Unfortunately it wasn’t quite that simple. It would have been easier to persuade David Beckham to sign for £50 a week.

In fact, despite Altrincham being three divisions above Winsford in the football pyramid, Alty nearly didn’t capture Warby’s signature at all. Ironically, he had a choice of Witton Albion or the Robins and, despite the increased travelling distance, he chose Altrincham.

Ironically, because I myself wound at up Witton just 18 months later. I think Alty probably got the best of that swap deal.

The problem was that Peter just couldn’t understand why we wanted him at Altrincham. We didn’t ask for any money; all we wanted was for Peter to bring that knowledge, warmth and ability to make people feel welcome. Not that we didn’t already have those qualities, but I have always believed that you can never have enough Peter loved being at Altrincham. His job was to welcome visiting club officials and – yes – match officials too. The referees and linesmen could always be assured of being told that they’d been 'bloody rubbish.'

Slightly more disconcerting was his habit of calling anybody taller than him – and to be fair that’s more than most – ‘Big Boy’. I assume he was referring to their height anyway…

Volunteers – especially volunteers like Warby – are like gold dust to non-league football clubs. Over the next 14 years Peter became as interwoven into Altrincham’s fabric as he has at Winsford.

Once again cleaning the stand, painting, welding and more besides, Peter knew he was appreciated at Moss Lane.

Although that didn’t stop him asking Alty chairman Grahame Rowley at the end of every season whether he was still required the following year. Every year, the chairman would say 'of course' and the partnership would be renewed. Peter never took his position at the club for granted, and the measure of affection in which he was held by Robins’ officials, fans and fellow volunteers is reflected in their numbers here today.

It was mutual too – Madeline tells me that whenever Alty won, Peter was in his best-ever moods.

I never managed to prise him away to Witton, although it wasn’t for the want of trying. In the end I stopped because I knew he was happy with people who became close friends, such as Barry Pond and Phil Jones.

More than that, like any great family club, Peter felt truly part of the Alty family. In fact, it was one of his proudest moments in football when Peter was made a Life Vice-President – even if he couldn’t work out why they’d done so. Such was the man’s humility.

All in all, Peter gave over 60 years of his life to football. In return, football gave him friends, colleagues, joy, despair and a few tears too. I bet you he wouldn’t have changed it for the world.

All in all, not too shabby Warby. God bless you.

Thank you".

TUESDAY MATCHES

• Alfreton Town 0-0 Dartford Att.490
• Braintree Town 0-2 AFC Telford Utd Att.2115 (free entry)
• Dover Athletic 0-1 Grimsby Town Att.911
• FC Halifax Town 2-2 Gateshead Att.1073
• Nuneaton Town 2-0 Wrexham Att.818
• Woking 3-2 Torquay United Att.1506

SUPPORTERS' MATCH PHOTOS

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

McGinty, a former Manchester United trainee, had a spell at FC Halifax Town earlier this season. The Hampshire club have won just one of their last six games."

Elsewhere, "Woking have signed Ipswich Town goalkeeper Michael Crowe on loan until the end of the season. The 19-year-old came through the Suffolk club's youth system but is yet to make his first-team debut".

We learned on Tuesday from the Shropshire Star that "AFC Telford United goalkeeper James Montgomery is ready for the Conference Premier spotlight ahead of tonight’s televised clash at Braintree Town.

The 20-year-old, who was snapped up by Bucks boss Steve Kittrick on non-contract terms last month, is set to make his debut in the division as cover for Freddy Hall. The Telford No 1 is currently in the Caribbean on international duty with Bermuda against the Bahamas in a two-legged World Cup 2018 qualifier. It will see him miss this evening’s match at Cressing Road and Saturday’s trip to Dover.

And Montgomery, who has worked with Kittrick when both were at Guiseley earlier in their careers, said, 'I have been waiting for an opportunity like this. I am just looking forward to playing. It should be a great experience. I have played men’s football lower down the divisions but this will be my first time playing in the Conference. It’s a step on the ladder for me'...

Montgomery, who was once on the books at Middlesbrough, could have made his league debut for Telford at an easier time. The Bucks will start the game 16 points from safety at the foot of the table... But Montgomery said, 'I have played for Telford in the second-half against Shrewsbury Town (in the Shropshire Senior Cup final). I kept a clean sheet in that game so hopefully I can continue that tonight and Saturday'...

The game will have the added glare of the TV cameras as BT Sport will broadcast it live, but Montgomery is not fazed about the extra scrutiny that will bring. He said '[my family] haven’t been able to get to watch games so it is always a good thing that family and friends can see it tonight... I don’t really see it as pressure'...

He's the grandson of former Sunderland and Birmingham goalkeeper Jim Montgomery... He has been on trial with Championship side Millwall recently and the Lions are keeping tabs on the player ahead of next season".

AFC Telford United have also announced "a drop in match day admission and season ticket prices for next season as the club launches its early bird ticket scheme. The club have also announced new initiatives to encourage younger supporters to attend matches with free season tickets and match day admission for Under 8s and free season tickets and match day admission for Under 16s to those season ticket purchasers who also hold a Telford Loyalty Card.

Club Chairman, Ian Dosser, said 'As ever the club have tried particularly hard to produce an offer that provides value for money for its loyal supporters, whilst at the same time trying to build the long term future of the club...This current 2014/15 season has been bitterly disappointing and we apologise to you for that. We very much value your continuing support at this time and we thank you for this...

Adult and Concession Season Ticket prices are reduced. Adult season ticket prices are based on a revised match day price of £14 per match... Each full paying adult or concession season ticket holder can claim two free Under 16 season tickets too".

At Gateshead the club has "signed Sunderland U21 goalkeeper Joel Dixon on a loan deal until the end of the season. Dixon, 21, will be available to make his debut in tonight’s key game at FC Halifax Town. His arrival will compensate for the loss of Adam Bartlett, who suffered an internal injury during Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Dover Athletic.

Manager Gary Mills admitted yesterday that it is 'unclear' as to how long he will have to do without the Heed’s regular stopper. Dixon had a brief spell on loan at Hartlepool United earlier this season, while he has also enjoyed two stints with Boston United in the last 12 months. Midway through the previous campaign, Dixon also made eight appearances for then Conference North side Workington. [He was in goal against Alty for Workington in February, 2013].

The young goalkeeper has made a number of appearances for the Black Cats’ U21 side this season. He is the second youngster to arrive at the International Stadium from Wearside in the last month, joining American U20 international Lynden Gooch."

Confirmation comes from the FA to the effect that "An arbitrator appointed pursuant to Rule K of The FA’s Rules has dismissed Forest Green Rovers' appeal against a decision not to order a replay of its opening game of the season against Southport FC. The appeal resulted from Forest Green Rovers fielding an ineligible player in the match and sanctions being applied under Rule 6.9 of The FA Standardised Membership Rules 2014-15 for the Football Conference Limited."

We read in the Leader Live that "Centre-back Blaine Hudson and winger Wes York look set to miss out when Wrexham face Nuneaton Town at Liberty Way tonight [Tuesday]. Hudson is recovering from a knee injury while York has a fractured toe, although he should be available for Sunday’s FA Trophy final against North Ferriby at Wembley

'I don’t think either will be able to take any part at Nuneaton,' said Wilkin, pictured. 'Wes should be okay to enter calculations for Sunday, Blaine will be left as long as we can to see if he can take any part. It is very much up in the air for Blaine. There are other bumps and bruises, Ross White has got a niggling injury, Manny Smith could do with a rest but it doesn’t look like we are going to be able to offer him that. Luke Waterfall is being assessed, I am hoping more niggles than anything else but it is not ideal.

We have got one or two returning, Rob Evans should enter calculations as does Connor Jennings after his suspension so it is not all bad but it would have been better and easier not to have had the game'. Wilkin considered resting players at Nuneaton, although injuries have forced a rethink. 'It is fresh in my mind, Sunday being a massive game as is Nuneaton,' said Wilkin. 'What do you do for the best? You look back at Forest Green, we made numerous changes, struggled through the game and had no cohesion. I don’t want to put us in that position again if I can help it. If it means one or two playing with little niggles, that might have to be the case, but clearly I want as many fit, strong and able as I can going into Sunday.

You are only a few days away from Wembley, if anybody was to get suspended or injured there is very little time to do anything about it and that is a concern that clouds the whole view on what we do at Nuneaton'".

From the other side, the Nuneaton News informs us that "Liam Daish admits he has never known a few months like it after Nuneaton saw goalkeeper Max Crocombe fly off for international duty yesterday. The on-loan keeper, the fifth the Boro have used this campaign,is set to make his debut for New Zealand at the weekend as they take on South Korea...

The Boro boss said, 'I have had to deal with more in the last few months at this club than I have ever dealt with in my career as a manager to date. There has been so much go against us at this club, there has been all sorts... losing Max like this is just another one of those obstacles that we have to deal with now'...

Crocombe is set to miss the game against Wrexham tonight as well as the game at home to Halifax at the weekend. After failing to concede a goal in his five league games for the club, as well as the Birmingham Senior Cup game he played in, the on-loan Oxford man is hopeful of making it a journey to remember this week. The giant goalkeeper... admitted that ironically his form for the Boro has been the reason he is set to miss out for them in their next two crunch games.

He said, 'Yeah I think that has got a lot to do it with to be honest'".

In the Western Morning News we learn that "Torquay United have lost their talented teenage defender Levi Ives to international duty with Northern Ireland, so manager Chris Hargreaves will have to find someone else to do the left-back job against promotion-chasing Woking at Kingfield tonight (Tuesday).

The Gulls tried to get Northern Ireland to release Ives, 17, from an Under-19 training camp and two friendly matches this week, but Hargreaves reported, 'Levi has gone back, and he will miss the Woking and Southport [away on Saturday] games. In fairness, Levi wanted to go back anyway, because playing for them is a big thing for him, but it’s a shame for us. It does leave us really short'...

Ives, who has declined to sign the senior contract which the Gulls offered him earlier this season, has joined his Plainmoor Academy colleague Josh Lynch, a midfielder selected by his country for the first time, in returning to Belfast. Hargreaves, who has senior left-back Tom Cruise recovering from knee surgery, revealed, 'I’ve looked at two or three possible left-back loans, but none of them have come off for different reasons. I would rather make one change to cover for Levi than two or three in a reshuffle.'”

It looks as though Krystian Pearce, primarily a centre-back, might come in for Ives, leaving former Exeter City youngster Aaron Dawson to continue at right-back... United are also without on-loan striker John Campbell, who picked up a hamstring injury against Kidderminster, and Jordan Chapell (groin), but Hargreaves will stick with a two-winger attack at Woking, saying, 'I thought that having Toby Ajala and Courtney Cameron out wide helped us on Saturday. Courtney has been in and out of the side, but he really turned it on this time last year, and if he can do that again, he can hurt any defence at this level and above'...

Garry Hill’s Cards’... defence features ex-Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Jake Cole and former Torquay centre-back Brian Saah, currently on loan from Dagenham and Redbridge. Woking’s leading scorer is another former Torquay player, Scott Rendell".

SUPPORT THE YOUTH TEAM ON SUNDAY!

A further indication of the excellent job done by Alty Youth manager George Heslop and his coaches over the years is that, last Saturday, both of Stockoport County's defenders, were ex-Alty Youth players, Matty Todd and Connor Hancock.

GETTING TO PETER WARBURTON'S FUNERAL

It has been proposed that, to minimize car parking problems, mourners may wish to meet at Altrincham FC at 10am, with a view to leaving at 10.15am. The idea is that car occupancy be maximized and lifts offered to those without transport.

LEE'S Q & A

And John Edwards, joint Press and Media Officer at Altrincham FC spoke to Lee after the game last Saturday.

"Lee Sinnott admitted his Altrincham players were beginning to feel the pace after they battled their way to a hard-earned point in a goalless draw with play-off hopefuls FC Halifax at The J.Davidson Stadium on Saturday.

New appearance record-holder Stuart Coburn pulled off two spectacular second-half saves to thwart Halifax, while, at the other end, James Lawrie might have had a hat-trick after clipping the outside of a post with one shot and just clearing the bar with two others.

The point took Alty’s Vanarama Conference tally to 50 and left manager Sinnott with mixed feelings, as he said: ‘You couldn’t fault the players for effort, but I just thought we began to look a bit tired.

‘There are five weeks to the end of the season, and that was our 40th game. We both played on Tuesday night, and it looked like two tired teams out there. We virtually went to France and back, with the trip to Dover, so it’s no surprise we probably appeared the more tired.

‘When that happens, carelessness in possession creeps in, and there tends to be fewer options. Players are hurting a bit and haven’t got the usual spring in their step. That said, Stuart made a couple of outstanding saves, and James went close a few times.

‘We are third in the league for shots at goal, which means our approach play is getting us into positions where we can pull the trigger. Unfortunately we are third-worst for missing the target, which means we need to improve our accuracy. We are clearing the bar too many times and need to do something about that.’

Alty are on their travels again on Saturday and are hopeful Nicky Clee can shake off a tight hamstring for the game at Dartford. Simon Richman faces a test on a dead leg, but Shaun Densmore is out with a knee injury".

HALIFAX MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Above, Alty TV has its usual excellent highlights of last Saturday's game. Amongst other things it proves that Halifax's Adam Smith dived and that the referee was right to book him and not award a penalty.

Alty TV also has a video interview conducted by Brian Flynn with manager Lee Sinnott.

BIG WELCOME FOR HALIFAX VISITORS

"On-field rivalries were put to one side on Saturday, as a group of AFC Halifax walkers were given the VIP treatment by Altrincham chairman Grahame Rowley after completing an all-night trans-Pennine charity hike.

Weary, hungry and foot-sore, the Halifax marathon men were greeted by Rowley on arrival at The J.Davidson Stadium and shown into the away changing room, where hot showers were followed by an equally-welcome hot breakfast, served by club chef Richie Bentley.

The gruelling 35-mile trek from The Shay to Alty’s ground was a fund- raiser to honour the memory of former Halifax commercial director Debbie Charlton, who died recently in a road accident, with proceeds split between Macmillan cancer support and the local St Gemma’s Hospice.

‘In a way, it was a happy coincidence, because we were doing our bit for cancer awareness against Halifax that afternoon by wearing pink shirts and then selling them to raise funds,’ said Rowley. ‘Hats off to those guys who did the walk. It was an absolutely superb effort, and I was only too happy to make them feel welcome and tend to their needs when they arrived.

‘It’s great to see that sort of comradeship between clubs at our level, and to go the extra mile for each other. It was just bacon and sausage butties, hot drinks and showers, but it seemed to be appreciated.

‘Five of them then turned out for the supporters’ team against our supporters a couple of hours later. I couldn’t quite believe that, after what they had already been through. Good on them, though. It’s a great cause, and they did brilliantly to keep going right through the night.’

Alty dented The Shaymen’s play-off hopes by holding them to a goalless draw, but there was nothing but praise from the charity walkers, with one of them posting on the Halifax fans’ forum, under the name max’n’ paddy:

‘Can I just say what a fantastic club Altrincham are? The chairman Grahame Rowley gave the lads free tea and coffee. We were then shown the away team dressing room, where we all had showers. Then the club chef came in with sausage and bacon butties.

‘The chairman was constantly checking everything was OK and we were being looked after. A credit to his club. Every member of staff, including the stewards, seemed to put themselves out to speak to us. I’m sure I speak for all the lads in saying thank you very much. It was greatly appreciated.’"

More on this comes from the Sale and Altrincham Messenger, which says that "Altrincham FC were pretty in pink at the weekend, after swapping their famous red and white stripes for a fetching new shade to raise money for St Ann’s Hospice.

Meanwhile, Halifax fans put their best foot forward for good causes, walking the 35 miles across the Pennines to The J. Davidson Stadium, where club officials were ready and waiting to reward their fundraising efforts.

Neither group knew of the other club’s plans until fans started discussing it on a website forum but, when Altrincham found out, they were eager to help.

'We told them that we'll be happy to open up the showers for them and give them a bacon buttie when they get here!' said Altrincham chairman, Grahame Rowley. 'It just typifies the comradeship between non-league clubs'.

John Barker, a sales executive from Halifax, was among twelve fans who set off from the club’s home, The Shay, at 8.30pm, walking through the night to make it to Altrincham in time for kick off. They then took part in a supporters’ match against Altrincham fans, before the Robins' first eleven earned a hard-fought nil-all draw with Halifax.

Money raised by Halifax went to Macmillan Cancer Support and St Gemma's Hospice in memory of Debbie Charlton, the late FC Halifax Town commercial director.

Altrincham FC auctioned 16 pink kits worn during the game in honour of club stalwart Peter Warburton, with money going to St Ann's Hospice. So far, 60 replica shirts have been sold as part of the fundraiser, with an estimated £2,000 raised.

While the limited edition shirts were eagerly snapped up by Alty fans, goalkeeping coach Ian Senior joked that there were still some items left available. 'One last auction,' he said. 'The set of pink socks can be bought by the highest bidder. All 16 pairs worn. Any bids?'

Interested parties can contact the club on 0161 281045, or by e-mail".

BEER FESTIVAL

LATEST FUN WEEK

Details of the latest Fun Week and an application form are shown above (click to enlarge). For further details contact either Karen Rowley or Chris Bullock on 0161 928-1045 or by e-mail as soon as possible, as these are always popular events.

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Ahead of Tuesday’s game, manager Neil Aspin says his side are still in contention. He said, '“I have looked at Gateshead’s fixtures and they have still got to play Eastleigh, Forest Green and Barnet. When you draw you tend to write off your chances and we haven’t moved forward with the four draws we have had in a row, but we are still in contention'. Although unbeaten in their last five games, Town are also winless and Aspin knows the team needs to convert them into wins. He said, 'We want to be going to the end of the season still in contention and if we can do that then I will be happy. To do that we have certainly got to win some games. Draws won’t be enough but in terms of confidence, we can get confidence from drawing games but we know we have to turn them into wins'.

Richard Peniket came off at half-time on Saturday with a knee injury and he is unlikely to feature against Gateshead... 'It looks like he is going to be doubtful for the next few games'" said Aspin.

In the Shropshire Star, "AFC Telford United could make a beat-the-deadline signing before Thursday’s cut-off date but admit it would be a matter of quantity over quality. Boss Steve Kittrick has a couple of calls to make, with a view to adding to his small squad as he prepares the players for two long trips this week.

The Bucks return to action in Essex at Braintree Town tomorrow night after a free weekend, followed by Dover away on Saturday. But Bucks' staff reckon it’s likely to be a case of fleshing out the numbers rather than adding vastly better players at this stage of the season. Coach Andy Pryce said, 'It’s numbers we need and I think it will be a case of adding quantity rather than quality, because we’re only running with an 18-man squad. There might be something, but with the loan window closing it will be the early part of the week. But, if not, then we’re hoping with what we’ve got, we’ll have enough for the rest of the season'.

Kittrick added, 'We have to be very careful what we take. I’ve got to talk to one or two people to see where we are, but we’re only looking at extra numbers'.

Telford are hoping to get a protective mask for defender Rod McDonald to play in, after he suffered what looks like a second broken nose in three months. Sam Smith could be fit for the Dover game following a hamstring injury, after his knock was revealed to be not as bad as first feared...

They are 16 points adrift with only seven games left after the weekend games".

From Dover Athletic we learn that "Athletic are pleased to announce the signing of central defender Joe O'Cearuill. The 28-year-old has won two caps for the Republic of Ireland and signed his first professional contract for Arsenal... The defender was loaned out to Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2007 and was then called up to Ireland’s squad for the end-of-season tour of America, making his senior debut as a substitute against Ecuador and then starting the following game against Bolivia.

He went on to play 15 times for Barnet and had a spell with St Patrick’s Athletic in Dublin before returning to England to play for a number of teams, including Forest Green Rovers and Bishops Stortford. Most recently, O'Cearuill has been playing for Heybridge Swifts but his move to Crabble underlines his desire to return to the professional game."

The Gazette Series tells us that "Time will tell if Forest Green Rovers’ three-point Vanarama Conference deduction for fielding an ineligible player this season will come to bite them, but manager Ady Pennock's side are now looking over their collective play-off shoulders.

Rovers lost an initial appeal against the deduction in December after they fielded Luke Oliver in their opening day victory at Southport when he was ineligible. The New Lawn top brass had hoped to have the fixture replayed, but that was declined by the FA appeal board. Now independent arbitrators have ratified the FA appeal board decision...

'This was a long-shot, but fairplay to Dale (Vince) and the directors as they had a right old go with the appeal', said Pennock. 'We move on and put it to bed now, but human nature makes you look at the table and think what if we had the three points, but I hope it doesn’t comeback to bite us at the end of the season and we miss out by a goal or a point'. His side fell to their first defeat in 13 games at bogey side Woking on Saturday with former Forest Green player Scott Rendell scoring a contentious penalty in the second half.

'I didn’t think there was anything in it, but the referee’s given it so you have to move on'...

Key midfielder Rob Sinclair (calf) missed the defeat at Woking along with James Norwood (groin) and Pennock admits he is in the dark on a time scale for Sinclair to return to action. Rob has been fantastic this season, but felt a pop in his calf and we don’t know how long he will be, but the bonus is we had Sam Wedgbury back against Woking; full credit goes to the work Maxi (Paul Maxwell) has done with him.'"

According to the Western Morning News, "Torquay United want to pull teenage defender Levi Ives out of the Northern Ireland Under-19 squad so he can play in this week’s two first-team games, away to Woking tomorrow night and Southport on Saturday.

The highly rated Ives, 17, had been selected for training and two friendly games for his country in Holland, along with his Plainmoor Academy colleague Josh Lynch... They need Ives to stay with them to make his 19th and 20th senior appearances this week. With Tom Cruise currently recovering from a knee operation, Ives is the only fit left-back on United’s books.

United have asked if Ives, an established age-group international, can play at Woking tomorrow and then link up with his international team-mates the next day... Said United manager Chris Hargreaves, 'They are playing friendlies, and we’re hoping that they might release him, because he’s an important player for us at the moment'...

The Gulls’ boss has insisted that expectations have outstripped reality this season, and he returned to the subject after Saturday’s victory... 'I am not making an excuse, I am giving a reason. We are going to Woking [seventh] on Tuesday night, a club which is going for it. Our team today had an average wage of £375 a man; you are not going to win a league on that.' Saturday’s team included trainee Ives, two non-contract players (Aaron Dawson and Ollivier Gueguen) and one, midfielder James McQuilkin, who was recently upgraded from non-contract to a modest deal.

Although United had to survive a tense last 20 minutes, few doubted that they deserved to beat Kidderminster. The loss of on-loan striker John Campbell to a hamstring injury after only 14 minutes proved to be Ryan Bowman’s gain, for United’s leading scorer rose off the bench and took his tally for the season to 18 with both goals...

'It’s funny how fate works', said Hargreaves. 'He’d scored 16 goals, but when I take him off [against Braintree], he’s booed. His reaction then was a sign of his age. He didn’t so much have a point to prove, but he wanted to show everyone that he does care and he is a fighter... Toby [Ajala] is like my dog. When I take him to the beach and let him off the lead for half-an-hour, you don’t know what he’s going to do. Toby can be frustrating, but when we get him into the right areas, he’s very dangerous'".

BIG WIN

SHAKY DOG GIG ON FRIDAY AT CSH

CANCER AWARENESS DAY

Ian Senior writes, "Thank you for your magnificent support, around 60 replica shirts were sold, and all the squad's playing shirts had bids accepted. There should be in excess of £2000 raised, which is amazing. One last auction, the set of pink socks can be bought by the highest bidder, all 16 pairs worn. Any bids??",

Please contact the club on 0161 28-1045 or by e-mail

VIEWS ON SATURDAY'S GAME

FC Halifax Town report that "Neil Aspin was left with mixed emotions after a heroic goalkeeping performance from Altrincham’s Stuart Coburn denied FC Halifax Town two crucial points in the race for the play-offs at Moss Lane, although the 0-0 stalemate closed the gap to fifth-place Forest Green Rovers to six points.

After a fourth successive draw, Aspin revealed to Shaymen Player. 'When you draw you tend to write-off your chances and we haven’t really moved forward with the four consecutive draws but we are still in contention and that is the main thing – we want to be going into the end of the season still in contention...

But we have certainly got to start winning games as draws won’t be enough. And it was really frustrating today... There wasn’t a lot in the game in the first half but, when you go away from home and you’re level at half time, then you have got to be quite happy; the important thing is being in the game and we were.

I felt that we did then create chances in the second half, we worked really hard, we put Altrincham under a lot of pressure and we forced the play all of the time. I thought we dominated the second half but in front of goal we needed to take the chances when they came but unfortunately we didn’t'...

Coburn was in inspired form as he made countless saves throughout an engaging encounter but Aspin pointed to the double-save the Alty stopper made with ten minutes remaining to deny Jamie Jackson and Scott Boden as the key chance to gain all three points. He said, 'It was the Jamie chance [that sticks out] because when he was going through I was hoping that he was going to score but the keeper made a good save. But he palmed it out to Scott Boden; I put him on because he is a goalscorer and a couple of chances fell to him. On another day he would put have them chances away. Unfortunately it wasn’t the case today...

If we are going to create something, a lot of the time it is down to Adam [Smith] to provide some width and get some crosses in. He has had games where he has blown hot and cold and not lasted the full 90 minutes. But today I kept him on because he can create something'".

Defender James Bolton said, “I think they had the better of the first half, but second half we dominated really. We had a few chances towards the end that we should have scored but the keeper has pulled off unbelievable saves".

"FC Halifax Town forward Jamie Jackson spoke... after the game, Jackson praised home keeper Stuart Coburn after he kept Halifax at bay. 'You just can’t legislate for the keeper. He’s pulled off some really, really good saves today and we were all talking about it in the changing rooms after. I think for the most part, we’ve done everything right and gone across the keeper but he pulled some really good saves off.'

From a more local perspective Quays News also has a match report.

YOUTH SUCCESSES

• Youth graduate Duncan Watmore was on the bench for Sunderland in the Premiership.
• Altrincham under-17s represented Altrincham & District FA in the Cheshire County FA District Cup. They beat Stockport 6-0 at Cheadle to reach the final.
• Altrincham FC under-18s beat Witton Albion 4-0, away, to reach the final of the Neil Thomason Trophy, a competition named after the late Altrincham FC Youth coach.
• Glossop North End won their FA Vase semi f-nal first leg 2-0 at St Austell with five ex-Alty Youth players in the squad - Kieran and Kelvin Lugsden, Tom Bailey, Sam Grimshaw and Richard Gresty.
• Four Alty Youth players were in the squad as Cheshire FA beat Northumberland 2-1 to reach the FA Northern Counties final. James Clancy scored the first goal, Harry Cain laid on the second and James Campion played the full game whilst Sam Heathcote was on the bench.

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

After the stunning late win over Chester in midweek, Darts began the day looking for their first back-to-back wins of the campaign... However Tony Burman’s players sank to their knees on the final whistle after defeat saw them fall 12 points behind Southport, albeit with a game in hand, with eight games to play...

The opening goal arrived shortly after the hour when Richard Brodie turned in from close range after Darts failed to clear a corner... The hosts put the gloss on the victory in the final minute when late sub Paul Rutherford headed the clincher to make it consecutive wins for the strugglers.

A terrible day for Darts saw them slip to second-bottom after Nuneaton’s surprise 1-0 win at promotion-chasing Macclesfield, while fifth-bottom Alfreton’s 1-1 draw at home to Chester means Darts are 10 points from safety with an inferior goal difference."

The<0/a> Southport Visiter adds that "The ability to grind out results at this stage of the season is crucial and in recent weeks Southport have shown exactly how to do it. At the end of February, the Sandgrounders conceded five goals to lose at Forest Green Rovers as they tumbled into the relegation zone.

'We won at Aldershot last week and we spoke before the game about how back-to-back wins can propel you into good positions', said Carden... 'We have always said about the middle of the park being important for us and on this little run we’re on that area has been won by our midfield three every game... Our two centre halves today were immense and if you don’t concede, you don’t lose'.

Key to Southport’s improved form has been their new-found resilience. This was the Sandgrounders’ fourth clean sheet since the heavy loss at Forest Green and in central defender Tom Davies they had the game’s stand-out player...

Against a Dartford side who posed little threat, Southport’s lead was never at risk".

OLD BOYS

It was a fine all-round performance by Chris Willcock's side, who were the better side throughout... They opened the scoring in the 12th minute... and after Kieran Lugsden had an effort well saved by the keeper, Jason Carey beat the keeper with a shot only to see it cleared off the line.

Glossop maintained the pressure as the half wore on, with further efforts from Lugsden and Carey missing the target before the break.

The pattern carried on after half time, with Tom Bailey finding the back of the net only to see the goal ruled out for offside... Tom Bailey curled a shot goal wards from the edge of the box that rebounded off the bar, and Richardson followed up to side-foot home a second goal from six yards to send the travelling band of Glossop supporters into noisy delirium".

AFTER THE GAME

ALTRINCHAM 0 FC HALIFAX TOWN 0

Above: Altrincham in their Cancer Awareness pink kit defend their goal in the first half.

Until the closing stages, FC Halifax Town had the better chances to score, but then Crowther forced a good save and Lawrie and Reeves could both have won the game for the hosts in the final minutes...

Match report here.

HALIFAX PERSPECTIVE

The Shaymen created a host of chances throughout but they could not discover a way past Coburn who thwarted Town at every opportunity...

They came immensely close to claiming their just rewards when Smith’s superb acrobatic volley from a meticulous Richard Peniket cross called Coburn into action again; the fizzing effort was destined for the top corner but the veteran goalkeeper somehow tipped the ball onto the post. Smith stung Coburn’s palms with a great left-footed drive from 18 yards after cutting in from the right-wing but Town still could not breach a defence which had only kept one clean sheet in seven games.

The Robins, who had only secured one win in those seven games, ended the half the stronger...

Smith, yet again, was the instigator as he rekindled his battle with his nemesis Coburn but, yet again, the home keeper was on top form. The electrifying winger dazzled down the left-hand side before executing a delicious, audacious chip which Coburn did well to turn over the bar... Whilst Coburn was turning it into a one-man mission to deny Neil Aspin’s men, his defenders in front of him were far from poised as they struggled to deal with the physical threat from set-pieces...

It was pressure that should have resulted in a 67th minute penalty after Smith dazzled the Alty defence before driving into the area and going down under the challenge of Gianluca Havern but the referee, John Brooks, adjudged the winger to have dived and was subsequently booked. It looked a stone-wall penalty.. They nearly got the goal they deserved when Jamie Jackson sneaked in at the far post only for Coburn to produce a stunning reflex save...

Jackson stole in behind a static Altrincham defence only to find Coburn in the form of his life, with the rebound falling at the feet of Scott Boden... but he could not convert from six yards out. And, just like in the opening period, it was the home side who finished the half on the front foot, as former Shayman Ryan Crowther, who had replaced Clee, saw a rasping drive tipped over by Glennon and Reeves fired wide...

The Shaymen had to be content with a fourth successive draw as their winless run in the Vanarama Conference stretched to seven games".

STUART AIMS FOR 1,000

There were near enough 7,000 at Bristol Rovers the other week and I was getting some right abuse from behind the net but it was good banter.

I thought, 'I could be in Tesco with the missus' . Instead I am playing against a club like Bristol Rovers and I'm doing myself justice. I'm doing all right so I'll try and keep fit and keep going'".

The Evening News adds, "If Alty choose not to keep Coburn for a 17th year, the father of two from Sale has been offered a back-up plan by former Alty boss, Graham Heathcote [now manager at Trafford]...

'I told him [Alty manager Lee Sinnott] I'd promised my little lad I'd do 1,000 games, that I'll need another year to do that and he just started laughing at me! But I saw Graham (Heathcote) the other week and he said, 'Well, you started at Trafford, so you can finish there! At least I've got a get out of jail card if Altrincham don't want me'".

SATURDAY SCORES

• Alfreton Town 1-1 Chester FC
• Altrincham 0-0 FC Halifax Town
• Barnet 5-0 Welling United
• Dover Athletic 1-0 Gateshead
• Grimsby Town 2-1 Eastleigh
• Macclesfield Town0-1 Nuneaton Town
• Southport 2-0 Dartford
• Torquay United 2-1 Kidderminster Harriers
• Woking 1-0 Forest Green Rovers
• Wrexham 1-1 Lincoln City

IN THE PINK FOR CANCER AWARENESS

To date the bids for the players' shirts are as follows, with a bid of £100 securing the shirt of your choice. So, those shown below with £100 are no longer available.

• Coburn - £30
• Densmore - £20
• Griffin - £100
• Moult - £25
• Havern - £37
• Leather - £30
• Lawrie - £100
• Richman - £50
• Gillespie £25
• Reeves - £100
• Clee - £40
• Perry - £100
• Marshall - £100
• Parton - £20
• Williams - £25
• Crowther - £30
• Cavanagh - £35
• Sinnott - £25

You can bid by phone on Saturday morning (0161 928-1045) or anytime by e-mail

ALTRINCHAM v FC HALIFAX TOWN: MATCH COVERAGE

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

Brian Flynn advises that Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, is providing full live commentary of Saturday's game.

The match commentary sponsor is SKkits, a major independent sports brand in the North West, supplying Altrincham and a further eight leading semi-pro clubs, including Buxton, Kendal Town and Lancaster City.

SKkits is a well established company, owned and run by Ian Senior, with a reputation for supplying high-class products at unbelievably low prices to sports clubs the length and breadth of the UK and, due to their unique relationship with their suppliers, they guarantee that they will not be beaten on price and service.

All products are delivered within 14 days of order FREE OF CHARGE to mainland UK. Have a look at their website or call Ian Senior directly on 07960 137232

The commentators are Simon Ellis and Brian Flynn, with John Edwards as match summariser. Coverage starts at 2.55pm with the game kicking off at 3.00pm. You can listen to Radio Robins on the internet at www.radiorobins.com

TASC SUPPORTERS' TRANSPORT

In addition, there will be lists for the games at Gateshead (6 April), Torquay United (11 April) and Braintree Town (25 April). These are for supporters to express an interest in travelling with TASC to these games so that plans can be made for the appropriate size of transport to the end of the season.

As usual the lists will be on the TASC table in the Community Sports Hall.

TASC "EASTER DRAW"

Prizes are as follows:-

• Jazzy Blue hudl 2 Tablet Computer
• Brother Multi-Function Printer/Scanner
• VIP Hospitality Package for 4 People at Manchester Phoenix Ice Hockey
• Four-Ball Round of Golf at Heyrose Golf Club
• Any item from the Altrincham F.C. Merchandise/Clothing Range
• 2 Tickets for an England International Match at Wembley Stadium
• Matchday Hospitality for 4 People at an Altrincham F. C. Home game & a signed home shirt
• Hugo Boss Man Aftershave
• Four Ball Round of Golf at Davyhulme Golf Club
• George Foreman Grill - PLUS MANY MORE!

Tickets are 50p each or a book of 4 for £2. The draw will take place on Good Friday (April 3rd) in the Community Sports Hall, after the game with Southport".

MARATHON FOR THE CSH

Andrew adds, "Altrincham FC put a huge amount of time and resources into the local schools and community, with over 1,000 children connected to the club. It has a proper family feel about the club and this is important for everyone. So I have decided it is time to give something back and try and raise some funds to help fund the Community Sports Hall that has been built at the club to host community events and various children's and adult clubs".

BEFORE THE GAME: FC HALIFAX TOWN

• Home: P2-W1-D1-L0-F3-A1
• Away: P3-W2-D0-L1-F10-A10
• All: P5-W3-D1-L1-F13-A11

FC Halifax Town say that "James Bolton believes if the side can notch up a couple of wins in their next two games then they will be back in the hunt for the play-offs... Despite picking up two points against the two table toppers in the space of a week, Town are without a win in six games and have fallen down to ninth...

'I think if we can get a couple of wins in the next couple of games then that puts us right in the mix of the play-offs'...

Last time the two sides met, Town suffered their first home defeat as the Robins took away all three points from the Shay. Bolton expects the hosts to play a similar game to last time and he insists that the team must play with the same intensity that they have been playing at in their last two games. 'When they came here, I didn’t play but they played really well and passed us off the pitch so they will try exactly the same but we need to get in their faces and make sure that they can’t play their passing game'.

After two games at the ‘Sandy Shay’ the team may be relieved to move on to a flatter pitch with a bit more bounce... 'It’s nice to play on different pitches but sometimes this pitch can work in our favour. In the last couple of games against Barnet and Bristol Rovers, there is no way that they have enjoyed playing on pitches like that. They didn’t like it when we got in their faces and when we play the way we have been.

At Altrincham we will want to try and get it down and play it a bit more, whereas here it is impossible to do that so we just do what we can'.

Although a lot has been said about the team’s games in hand, the team aren’t feeling any pressure to race into those play-off places. Neil Aspin’s side have only lost one of eight league games this year".

Elsewhere the Shaymen report that "Neil Aspin’s team will be looking to avenge the 3-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of Altrincham earlier this season. Ahead of the game, Neil Aspin admitted their recent record against The Robins has not been the best. He said, 'Our performances against Altrincham have been poor. Nobody knows that more than me. They were the only team to beat us twice in the year we got promotion and we lost to them this year at home. It was very disappointing but you can’t underestimate anyone in this league, it will be a very difficult game. We need to be better though'.

Scott Boden and Will Hatfield are two of the names who have found first team chances difficult to come by of late, but Aspin says 'The lads who played on Saturday put in a great effort for me in terms of commitment and work rate, and they deserved another chance against Barnet. There are lots of games to go though and everybody will play a part. Everybody at the club has had a chance and they have all played games. It is up to them that, when the chance comes, they have got to take it. You don’t leave anybody out if they are playing well so when the chance comes, they have to take it'.

The Town manager also says the condition of the pitch at The Shay is the reason for the players’ tiredness. 'There are areas of the pitch where the ball does bounce and there are areas where it doesn’t bounce at all. It is obviously tiring when you try and play at a high tempo on that pitch for 90 minutes. It does drain you and we have now had two difficult games on that pitch'".

Also, "Neil Aspin’s side have managed four draws in a row and haven’t won in nearly a month... Altrincham have also failed to find some form and like Halifax, have only managed to win one game in seven attempts".

The Halifax Courier adds that "FC Halifax Town will be aiming to turn their recent run of draws into a win at Altrincham... The Shaymen have failed to win in their last six games. Town boss Neil Aspin is expected to have a fully-fit squad to choose from for the trip to Moss Lane and could name an unchanged line-up for the third successive match...

Aspin is expecting Reeves to return to the team after he was named on the bench in Altrincham’s 2-1 defeat at Dover on Tuesday".

OLD BOYS

Watmore had been on loan at Shawbridge, home of Clitheroe Football Club, as manager Carl Garner had gave [sic] him his first chance to play senior football, in the seventh tier of English football. The man that put Watmore in touch with Garner four years ago was Altrincham FC coach Ian Senior, who has subsequently played a huge part in Watmore’s development from non-league hopeful to premier league whizz kid.

As Senior reminisces about seeing the current Sunderland player burst onto the scene against FC United, 'Duncan came on as a substitute [for Altrincham] against FC United, following his loan spell at Clitheroe. We were getting beat[en] in the FA Trophy clash so the gaffer threw him on. 'Even from his fifteen minutes you could see he had something special. He had the lot, two quick feet, pace and unreal skill... He grew of age in six to seven weeks in the Blue Square North. Duncan went from a nobody to somebody that was being ear-marked by opposition teams as a key player. Teams were lining up to defend against him but he never let it get him down.

He’d get himself up after every foul and keep going, he took tough challenges and learnt from it. He really is a credit to himself and his family on and off field. Even though he’s at Sunderland he’s maintained his studies and has something to full back on, although I’m sure he’ll never have too'.

After time playing for Altrincham, Senior received a call from Clitheroe manager Carl Garner about a possible loan move and Watmore moved to BB7 to continue his growth as a player, picking up the man of the match award on his Blues' debut ... 'Carl spoke to me and asked if Altrincham had any players he could loan. I spoke to George Heslop and Duncan’s name came up. No disrespect to Clitheroe or the division but, even at a young age, Duncan stood out head and shoulders above every other player on the pitch. He took everything in his stride and did great. Everytime I watched him at Shawbridge I could tell he was set for a career in football at a higher level than Clitheroe and even Altrincham'.

[Ian] is not worried that he will get too big for his boots and instead can’t wait to see the exciting winger get his chance playing on the world stage watched by millions. 'He’s yet to play in the Premiership so he still has plenty to prove. If you watch AltyTV you’ll see his compilations and see he is a joy to behold when playing. If he gets going he could take the footballing world by storm. If it happens (his debut) I know everyone at Altrincham and Clitheroe will be chuffed.

Clitheroe played a massive part in his development. Duncan has got to go into games the way he always does, in a level headed manner. He will be focusing on making his debut and then we’ll see how he does after ten, twenty and thirty games. He’s not someone that will play one game and say he’s going to play for England. All we can say at the moment is we are all so proud of him and he deserves all the success he gets'".

NL Daily tells us that "Marine AFC have announced the signing of striker Andy Owens on loan from AFC Telford United. The Liverpool based player, 25, joins until the end of the season and can also play in central defence. A former member of the Glenn Hoddle Academy, he won the Conference North title with the New Buck's Head club last season... as well as having had spells at Stafford Rangers, Altrincham, Rhyl, Accrington Stanley and Southport".

The NW Counties Football League reports that Max Pouncey has moved from Abbey Hey to 1874 Northwich and confirms that goalkeeper Russell Saunders has signed for Glossop North End.

YOUTH NEWS

The Cheshire FA reports that "The FA County Youth Cup Final is at 2pm, Sunday 12 April 2015 at The Hive, Barnet FC. Middlesex...will take on Cheshire, who themselves claimed County Youth Cup victory in 1984. After starting in the 1944-45 season, the competition is celebrating its 71st year and comes to Barnet's impressive new home for the very first time.

Middlesex came through four games to reach the Final... Cheshire have faced one more match, starting in the first round and playing four back-to-back ties at home. West Riding (3-2), Northumberland (4-3), East Riding (1-0) and Worcestershire (4-1) all succumbed before they travelled to Liverpool's Walton Hall Park ground in the last-four. The semi-final ended 1-1 after extra-time but the Cheshire side came through 4-2 on penalties to secure their visit to Barnet for the Final."

Alty Youth players who have featured for Cheshire are James Campion, Harry Cain, Sam Heathcote and James Clancy.

BRISTOL GO BACK TO THE TOP

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Long-time assistant Dominic Morley will be Watson’s number two, having worked closely together both at Southport and Telford... A delighted Gorski said, 'Liam was full-time with AFC Telford and was part-time with Southport. Since his departure from AFC Telford, Liam has found himself employment and so our hope is that Sully will continue to coach the players. There will be a complete review of the club, from top to bottom, in the close season but Liam’s sole focus is on ensuring survival in the remaining games of the season.

I thought that it would be hard to top the managers that we have employed in the past eight years, but we have, and I cannot hide my excitement! Liam’s records speak for itself and I am absolutely thrilled that he and Dom have joined us. Task number 1 is to ensure safety this season and then we prepare for next season. It is exactly the lift that everyone at the club needs'".

Elsewhere, "Alfreton Town have strengthened their squad ahead of Saturday's home game against Chester FC by bringing in striker Jake Speight on loan from Harrogate Town to the end of the season. It will be a second loan spell with the Reds for the former Bradford City, Wrexham and Mansfield Town striker... after joining Alfreton on a month's loan back on November 12th, 2013".

NL Pitchero says that "Lincoln City have announced that Nat Brown has agreed terms on a one-year extension to his current contract. Fast approaching 200 first-team appearances for the Imps, the experienced defender has been a virtual ever-present for City this season having first joined the club almost ten years ago from Huddersfield Town before returning to Sincil Bank after stints with Wrexham and Macclesfield Town.

News of his new deal comes hot on the heels of teenagers Alex Simmons, Kegan Everington and Elliot Hodge who have also agreed contract extensions running until the end of the 2015/16 season."

Southport "were beaten in the Liverpool Senior Cup semi-final on Tuesday night as they conceded five goals to lose against Skelmersdale United. The visitors scored four times in the second half... [Ex-Alty man] Danny Mitchley, a one-time Southport striker, hit a hat-trick as Skem... proved too strong for a Port team which featured a mix of first-teamers, fringe players and youngsters.

The Sandgrounders gave starts to four players from the club’s youth set-up, while Louis Almond began his first match in a Southport shirt and Micah Evans also featured following time on loan at Worcester City. David Fitzpatrick played in the centre of the defence alongside Tom Davies, the recent loan signing from Fleetwood Town...

The Sandgrounders, under the guidance of assistant manager Alex Russell, made three half-time substitutions, as Charlie Joyce, Paul Smith and youngster Steven Wilson entered the fold... Southport: Lavelle, Chrisikho, Beesley, Kay (Joyce 46), Davies, Fitzpatrick, Rutherford (Smith 46), Jewell (Wilson 46), Almond, Evans, Mahamotho. Sub not used: Cavanagh".

PINK KIT

Brian Flynn, joint Alty's Press & Media Officer, writes that "Altrincham Football Club is aiming to increase Cancer Awareness by wearing a one-off pink kit on Saturday, when they take on F.C. Halifax Town in The Vanarama Conference at The J.Davidson Stadium (3pm kick-off).

Sixteen unique shirts, supplied by SK Kits, including white goalkeeper shirts, are available to be bid for and replica shirts are available for £20, with all funds raised going to St.Ann’s Hospice. There will also be a half-time bucket collection to help boost the amount raised.

To bid for a player’s shirt that will be worn on the day, please either call Altrincham Football Club (0161 928 1045) or send an e=mail.

BETTER NEWS

Left-back Adam Griffin's work commitments had prevented him participating at Dover but he will be available for Saturday, whilst the injured duo of midfielder Simon Richman (right) and goalkeeper Stuart Coburn are likely to be fit for the game. However, Shaun Densmore's injury will keep him out not only on Saturday but, quite possibly, till the end of the season.

EASTER DRAW TICKET SELLERS NEEDED

JOIN THE MINI-KICKERS

• (NEW) TUESDAYS: 4 and 5 year-olds 4.00pm-5.15pm
• SATURDAY: 4 and 5 year-olds 9.00am-10.15am

ATTACKING PLUSES AND MINUSES

On the positive side, only two clubs in the Vanarama Conference have had more shots on goal this season; Grimsby Town have had 457, Barnet 444 and Alty 443. And only three clubs have had more shots on target this season than us. Alty have had 210, Barnet 241, Grimsby Town 239 and Torquay United 212. But Altrincham also have had the most shots off-target, 233, of any club in the division.

Another measure of entertainment is the fact that only two teams have played more games without a goalless draw than Alty (24 games).

For some weeks, Steven Gillespie has been listed in the Conference statistics as the player who has had the most shots at goal per goal scored; he has scored once and had 35 shots. But he has now lost that record to Nuneaton's Adam Walker. Unfortunately, instead, Alty have just acquired another record as the player in the Conference who has not scored a league goal but has had the most shots is now declared to be Jake Moult, with 37 shots. At least we are having plenty of shots even if we aren't converting enough of them!

Altrincham are the side caught offside least - just 57 times, 14 fewer than anyone else. Along with Southport we are the only team not to have converted a penalty this season; both Alty and the Sandgrounders have missed two spot kicks this campaign. We are currently third bottom of the form guide with four points from the last six games.

Other Conference statistics include:

Alty goals scored...

• When: First half 14 [33 conceded], second half 33 [30 conceded].
• From: Open play 38[45], crosses 1[1], corners 3[5], penalties 0[3], direct from free-kick 1[1], free-kicks 1[7]

HALIFAX'S CHARITY WALK TO ALTY

It is with Debbie's family’s permission that we are honoured to take up this challenge and raise money for their nominated charity too, one which was very close to Debbie’s heart and she also did a lot of fund raising for. Our challenge is to walk from The Shay, home of FC Halifax Town on the evening of 20th March 2015, leaving at 8.30pm, to Moss Lane the home of Altrincham FC. Once we arrive at Altrincham there shall then be a full football match between AFC Halifax [supporters] and Altrincham supporters’ team

The distance is 35 miles, and we aim to complete the walk within 12 hours. The walk promises to be a tough ask, but I am sure it will be very rewarding and a few laughs will be shared along the route. If you would like to join us please speak to any member of AFC Halifax. If you cannot take part in the walk we would be pleased if you could spare any amount of money to donate to these two fantastic charities. AFC Halifax has worked closely with Macmillan over the last 6 years raising in excess of 25 thousand pounds... If you would like to donate you can visit our fundraising page here".

SATURDAY'S REF

LADIES PLAY WELL

Altrincham FC Ladies, with only ten players for the entire game, played well but bowed out of the County Cup, with a 4-0 defeat to Winsford Ladies. Phil Taylor's match reports is here.

OLD BOY

Former non-League prospect Duncan Watmore, 21, is yet to make a senior start for the Black Cats in almost two seasons at the Stadium of Light.

Indeed, he has made just ONE appearance for the first-team, seeing 27 minutes of action as a sub in their FA Cup third-round win over Carlisle in January last year.

Sunderland beat a host of rival clubs to land the speedy winger from Cheshire club Altrincham in May 2013, when he became the first signing of Paolo Di Canio’s ill-fated six-month Stadium of Light reign at age 19.

Watmore has regularly caught the eye for the Under-21s this season, and has been fast-tracked to train with the first team in new boss Advocaat’s two sessions in charge so far this week. That has been largely on the advice of Paul Bracewell, the former England midfielder, who is Sunderland’s youth team coach, and will work closely with Advocaat during the 67-year-old’s nine-game rescue mission.

Watmore is in line to finally get a taste of Premier League action when Dutchman Advocaat takes charge for the first time at West Ham on Saturday... Watmore, whose father Ian was FA chief in 2009-10, transferred from Manchester University to Newcastle University to continue his degree studies when joining the Black Cats almost two years ago. He had a spell on loan at Scottish side Hibernian last season, scoring once in nine appearances, but was largely overlooked for the Black Cats during Poyet’s turbulent 16 months in charge".

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The Football Conference says that "Play-off hopefuls Gateshead have taken their former midfielder Josh Gillies on loan from Carlisle United for the remainder of the season. The Sunderland-born former Sunderland Nissan, Newcastle Blue Star, Blyth Spartans and Whitley Bay attacking midfielder enjoyed an excellent 2012/13 season as he bagged 15 goals for The Heed.

Highly-rated in non-League circles prior to his move to Brunton Park in June 2013 he can also boast a strike in the FA Vase at Wembley as he helped Whitley Bay to retain the trophy... After earning two England C caps, Gillies signed for Carlisle on a two-year deal, he spent the second half of last season on loan with Cambridge United. Earlier this season the 24-year-old spent time out on loan with Gateshead`s league rivals FC Halifax Town."

Torquay Fans reports that on "Saturday we welcome Kidderminster Harriers to Plainmoor, Conference home of charity, bargains and free to all hand outs to all visiting teams. Kidderminster a club very much in a similar position to our own, put out a public appeal for new investment back in August after the resignation of previous chairman Mark serrell , I’m not sure whether Harriers have gained the new investment they’re looking for, however have recently appointed Rod Brown as vice-chairman.

Kidderminster arrive at Plainmoor on the back of a worse run of current form, than Torquay are currently experiencing, bizarre, to some this will be totally unbelievable but absolutely true. In what I consider a brave move Harriers assistant manager Mark Creighton accused the squad of ‘taking the mick’. By and large, many around Harriers believe the players are already on their holidays...

From a Torquay point of view, it’s now confirmed that Angus MacDonald will miss the rest of the season, and joins defenders Thomas Cruise and Dale Tonge who also look set to miss the rest of this season... Torquay currently sit in 17th position in the division and lined up for Tuesdays 1-5 home defeat by Braintree as follows; 1 Rice, 8 Young, 6 Gueguen, 4 Downes, 16 Richards, 9 Bowman, 25 Ives, 10 Ajala, 29 Dawson, 32 Campbell, 5 Pearce".

Burton Albion tell us that "Dominic Knowles has been recalled from his loan spell with Kidderminster Harriers. Knowles joined Kidderminster back in January to gain match experience and was due to stay until the end of the 2014/15 season".

According to the Chester Chronicle "Steve Burr has warned players thinking there’s nothing left to play for this season that doing so could cost them a future at the club... the grim home defeat to Dartford on Tuesday suggesting a few players might have end-of-season syndrome, something Burr won’t tolerate.

All but a few of the squad are out of contract in the summer... Burr said, 'I’ve always said the players will determine their destiny... If we think that we’re safe and we’ve done enough this season then they’ll have a bit of a rude awakening because you never want to rest on anything, especially in football. If the players think they’re in a comfort zone then they certainly won’t be here next season because you can’t afford to be in a comfort zone'...

Chester’s performances over the past month have been erratic... 'We were all disappointed because we expected to win, everybody in the ground expected us to win and that’s the sort of thing we’ve got to deal with pressure wise so it’s disappointing that it didn’t turn out like that', said Burr...

Chester cannot afford another slack showing on Saturday at Alfreton (3pm), who have hauled themselves out of the relegation zone with four-match unbeaten run. George Thomson remains out but Gareth Roberts should return... Craig Hobson will deputise for Oliver McBurnie should he be unable to rearrange his departure for international duty."

SHAKY DOG GIG ON FRIDAY AT CSH

"PLAYERS GAVE THEIR ALL" SAYS LEE

After berating his side for a lack of urgency in Saturday’s 4-1 home defeat by Wrexham, Sinnott was far happier with a battling away performance that looked to have yielded a point when stand-in skipper Luca Havern made it 1-1.

But Dover snatched a last-gasp winner, much to the dismay of the Alty boss, who said, 'I had a word with the players after Saturday’s game, because I was a bit annoyed. I told them they had a test of character coming up, travelling down to Dover and getting back home at some god-forsaken hour. The response was certainly what I was hoping for. I couldn’t fault their effort or endeavour, and if they keep showing that, we will win more than we lose over the remainder of the season.

‘The pedal was pressed fully down on the floor, and it was particularly frustrating to be denied after scoring so late. The players gave their all, and those hardy souls who travelled to support us would, I’m sure, back me on that.

‘I don’t want it to sound like sour grapes, but it’s a bitter pill to swallow. Did Dover do enough to win it? I’d say not. Did we do enough to take something? 100 per cent.

‘Some of the lads will have got home and taken the milk in with them, but that’s the lot of the part-time player at this level. We’ve got to take it on the chin and come back strongly against Halifax.’

Alty will wear one-off pink shirts against Halifax at The J.Davidson Stadium on Saturday in a fund-raiser for cancer awareness. The shirts will be sold to the highest bidders, with replicas also available at £20 each.

Shaun Densmore faces several weeks out with what is thought to be a grade one medial ligament injury, but Stuart Coburn (hamstring) and Simon Richman (dead leg) hope to be fit and Adam Griffin (above) is available after missing Dover through work commitments".

Apologies for the absence of any images of the game at Dover on Tuesday, which is the first time this has ever been the case at any ground in 15 years of the website's coverage of Altrincham matches. Dover have a policy that only pitchside photographers can take match images but, as I was providing match updates from the stand, I was not permitted to take photos from there, despite having a valid Conference photographer's licence.

DOVER'S PERSPECTIVE

Deverdics opened the scoring with a sweet strike from the edge of the box, in a first half that lacked a lot [of] quality. Deverdics then netted late in the second half to secure the Whites all three points.

Gianluca Havern (right) had equalised for the visitors when he struck home a rebound after Kyle Perry had an effort cleared off the line by Connor Essam. Chris Kinnear was able to name the same side that sealed Dover’s first win in six matches and it was Dover who managed to fashion the first opportunity on goal but Deverdics fired a volley well wide of the target in the fourth minute.

Altrincham then nearly took the lead in bizarre circumstances as a Jake Moult [Tom Marshall?] free kick from long distance almost caught Andrew Rafferty out and the Dover stopper had to tip the ball over the crossbar.

After surviving that scare, Dover took the lead in the 11th minute through Deverdics’s first goal in eight games. After a period of play where the ball spent a lot of time in the air, Deverdics latched on to the ball and drove towards the edge of the box before striking it left-footed across David Parton and into the bottom corner of the goal...

Altrincham should really have levelled... but Perry was unable to make good enough contact with a header at the back post from a long free kick... The rest of the first half lacked any quality and the Whites went into the break with the goal advantage.

The second period began the same way as the first half ended, with very little to shout about for fans of both teams as both defences were able to subdue each other’s long ball attacks...

Perry picked up the ball on the left wing and played a pass into the near post which found substitute and top-scorer Damian Reeves but his flicked effort went wide of Rafferty’s goal. The visitors began to put more pressure on the home defence and eventually got an equaliser in the 79th minute. After forcing a succession of corners, Perry managed to get a shot away that was cleared off the line by Essam but the ball fell straight to Havern and his shot deflected in off Richard Orlu...

Dover did finally take the lead in the 86th minute after a very good team move. Chris Kinnear Jnr had a shot from distance which was push wide by Parton but only as wide as Essam whose dinked ball back across the box found an unmarked Deverdics and he nodded home into an unguarded net.

Poole had another effort from distance that was saved by Fulton [Parton], while Marshall had an effort from distance that flew wide of Rafferty’s goal. The visitors had a chance to grab a point in added time but Sean Francis’ header nearly found his own net but Dover held out to claim all three points."

Dover have Video highlights of the game.

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The 26-year-old signed a permanent deal with the Reds after Barnsley and Telford agreed an undisclosed fee. The 6`1” striker netted six times so far this season whilst operating both up front and from out wide. Phenix has penned a contract at Oakwell that will run until 30th June 2016".

Elsewhere, "Striker Louis Moult has become the latest player to add his name to Wrexham`s squad for next season. Moult has agreed a new contract for 2015/16. After arriving from Nuneaton Town in the summer of 2014, Moult has played forty-two times, ten of those as a substitute, and notched 17 goals, including one on Saturday at Altrincham...

'I`m delighted to be staying, as this club has been fantastic to me since the day I signed', Moult said. '“If I’m honest, it’s really felt like homE'... The 22-year-old moved to Wrexham after a year at the Liberty Way ground. A former apprentice with Stoke City, he appeared with the Potters in the Premiership, but then had extended loan spells with Bradford City and several Conference sides before joining Northampton Town in 2012.

He was reunited with his former manager Kevin Wilkin after turning down the offer of a new deal with Nuneaton".

Meanwhile, "Loui Fazakerley, caretaker-manager of Welling United, has extended the loans for Jonathan Henly and Sam Berry until the end of the season. Goalkeeper Henly, who also enjoyed a loan periodaS with Basingstoke Town, Bromley, Maidenhead United, Aldershot Town and Hungerford Town, originally joined the Wings until January 1st from Reading...

Berry came to Park View Road last month from League One side Sheffield United. He was formerly with Derby County, and whilst with the Rams spent time out on loan with Mickleover Sports."

Close by, "Tom Dallison has extended his loan with Dartford from Brighton & Hove Albion until the end of the season. The 6`4”, 19-year-old central defender has been playing with the Seagulls' under-21s for the past two years after signing from Arsenal. He initially joined the Darts last month"

Closer to home, "Kidderminster Harriers have announced that Rod Brown is to join the Board of Directors as vice-chairman, subject to approval from the Football Association. Brown recently stepped down as manager of Stourport Swifts after almost three years in charge in his second spell at the club... he and then-assistant Gary Whild guided Stourport to two promotions in Brown’s first period with the Swifts, they both made the move to Redditch United in 2001...

Brown also managed Halesowen Harriers, Bromsgrove Rovers, Rugby Town and Stratford Town, while outside of football he has gained extensive expertise from owning his own businesses... Brown said, 'The Board at Kidderminster approached me as it was felt that I could make a contribution to the board through my combination of football experience and knowledge of owning and running my own businesses commercially, and I am hoping to bring this to the club to help move it forward to the next stage...

I will particularly be focusing on the commerciality of the club as a whole. I think I’ve got a lot to offer in that area. “Over the next six or seven weeks I will observe the club and speak to all members of staff to get a feel of everyone’s roles and responsibilities, compile an overview of all the facets of the club and provide recommendations to the board to help move the club forward... it's important that we manage the expectations of the club as a whole in its current position and that's what I'm hoping to contribute towards'".

From Chester First, we learn that "Steve Burr described last night’s 2-1 home defeat against lowly Dartford as 'An awful result and, if you analyse it, then we're still scratching our heads and wondering why we didn't win it', Burr said. 'I am really disappointed that we lost after taking the lead. They were hard to break down and they put their bodies behind the ball. It was really hard to get behind them and get round the side of them, but we expected that... To see us score an own goal at the end summed up that it was not going to be our night'".

According to the Western Morning News, "Manager Chris Hargreaves has described Torquay United's 5-1 home defeat at the hands of Braintree Town as "'embarrassing'. In front of a new lowest crowd of the season of only 1,103, the Gulls were swept away in the second half at Plainmoor on Tuesday night, suffering their heaviest home league defeat for nearly 20 years.

After falling behind as early as the fourth minute, United equalised through on-loan John Campbell in the 22nd minute. But Braintree regained the lead just before half-time, and then scored three goals in the last 18 minutes, with left-winger Dan Sparkes scoring a spectacular hat-trick ahead of late strikes by Matt Paine and substitute Ryan Peters.

In the process, Alan Devonshire's 'Irons' completed a 'double' over Torquay, following up a similar feat for the Conference Premier's bottom club AFC Telford recently.

Hargreaves did not speak to the media after the game for he, United's players and the club's entire coaching staff did not emerge from the home dressing-room until well over an hour after the final whistle.

But Hargreaves eventually said, 'Nothing like that ever happened to me as a player at this club; it was embarrassing... Our defending all night was unacceptable... What we have in the squad at the moment is what we've got. There are only so many rollickings that people like me can give, and you also have to encourage players, especially youngsters, to get the best out of them. Of course, I feel for our fans and for everyone at the club'...

United have taken only one point from four games. There was a 'spy' at the Launa Windows Stadium on Tuesday night, former Gulls' stalwart Kevin Nicholson. Left-back Nicholson, who now plays for Kidderminster but still lives in Torquay, was compiling a scouting report for Harriers manager Gary Whild".

Ans the Torquay Herald Express adds that "Chris Hargreaves's non-appearance from the dressing room where he was still carrying out a post-mortem after Torquay United's 5-1 defeat at home to Braintree Town spoke volumes tonight... and by 10.45pm it was decided the manager wouldn't be talking to anyone else until tomorrow.

Torquay's season had just plumbed new depths when they were routed by Braintree in front of barely 1,100 stunned fans. Sparkes was the hero for the visitors, who included several part-timers in their side, scoring a spectacular hat-trick... In an abject display during the last 20 minutes, Sparkes completed his hat-trick, and Braintree helped themselves to further goals by midfielder Matt Paine and substitute Ryan Peters".

FRIDAY FIXTURE

• Bristol Rovers v Aldershot Town

DOVER ATHLETIC 2-1 ALTRINCHAM

Match report here.

MIDWEEK GAMES

• AFC Telford Utd 1-2 Gateshead
• Alfreton Town 0-0 Lincoln City
• Chester FC 1-2 Dartford
• Dover Athletic 2-1 Altrincham
• Eastleigh 2-2 Wrexham
• FC Halifax Town 1-1 Barnet
• Torquay United 1-5 Braintree Town

BAR STAFF WANTED

ALTY v WREXHAM MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Above are highlights of the Wrexham win at Altrincham on Saturday, courtesy of Alty TV. There is also an interview by Brian Flynn with Stuart Coburn, after the game.

TRIBUTES TO PETER WARBURTON

Formerly secretary of Winsford United, Peter joined Altrincham’s small band of volunteer helpers in 2000 and soon became a familiar figure at The J.Davidson Stadium on weekdays as well as matchdays.

He believed he had won a typically courageous battle with cancer but died at home after it returned. ‘Peter was a lovely man, very engaging and always ready with a smile and handshake whenever I walked through the door,’ said Sinnott. ‘He battled so hard with his illness and, in his heart, he really thought he had cracked it. What a terrible blow it was to hear it had come back.

‘It’s just so sad. In many ways, Peter epitomised what this club is all about. He did a lot of unsung, and even unseen, things to make sure everything kept ticking over smoothly. Without the Peter Warburtons of this world, clubs like ours would be nowhere.

‘The players all wore black armbands against Wrexham on Saturday for Peter. They wanted to do it, because they all thought that much of him.’

'Rowley reflected on 15 years of unswerving service from the former Winsford steel worker, and said, ‘His smiling face is one of the things I will miss most. It didn’t matter what had happened in a game, or what the score was, he’d greet you with a big beaming smile, then get on with whatever job he was doing.

‘I can’t speak highly enough of him. He would be the face of Altrincham FC on matchdays, meeting and greeting visiting directors in suit and tie, then doing the dirty jobs in between, sweeping the main stand, cleaning the toilets and dug-outs and even turning his hand to welding.

‘One of the quirkier things about him was, at the end of every campaign, he’d come up to me and ask if he was still wanted next season. I’d wrap an arm round him and tell him of course he was. He’d give me a big smile and say, 'Great, thanks'. As if he had to ask.

‘I think that showed how much the club meant to him, as well as the other way round. He was a lovely chap, a real club man, and he will be sadly missed by all of us.’

The funeral for Peter, who left a wife Madeline, and daughter, Tina, is at Winsford’s Salvation Army Christian Church next Tuesday at 11am, with a reception afterwards at The J.Davidson Stadium".

THANK YOU

CHARITY RUN

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

From the Football Conference we learn that "Nuneaton Town have signed young midfielder Josh Rees on loan from Nottingham Forest until the end of the season. The energetic Rees was given his first-team debut by Gary Brazil against Brighton and Hove Albion on the final day of the 2013/14 season...

He had joined Forest's youth team from Arsenal and, whilst on the Gunners' books, he had a spell on loan with Brentford without making a senior appearance...

Meanwhile, Nuneaton had released defender or midfielder Ben Starosta. The former Sheffield United, Darlington and Poland under-20 international made a dozen appearances for Boro after arriving at Liberty Way last May".

According to the BBC, "Torquay United defender Angus MacDonald says his season is over after injuring ankle ligaments in the Saturday's 0-0 draw at Nuneaton in the Conference. The 22-year-old centre-back was stretchered off after an hour and taken to hospital, although he travelled back with the team.

'Safe to say my season is over,' MacDonald posted on Instagram. 'Knock backs only make you stronger'... MacDonald returned to the side after a two-match ban and the appearance was his first since being fined by Torquay for swearing at a fan during the 3-0 FA Trophy semi-final second-leg loss to Wrexham.

Torquay changed their system against Nuneaton, playing three centre-backs and two wing-backs. They kept a clean sheet for the first time in six games, although they went a fourth game without scoring a goal.

Manager Chris Hargreaves told BBC Radio Devon, 'Plenty of managers change system, we've conceded some goals recently and we changed it to have three centre-halves. I thought, apart from a couple of erratic five minutes, I was looking to their goal most of the time and that tells me it was a strong performance. We're not quite having that quality in front of goal that we did earlier in the season, we're just snatching at things'".

Torquay United add that "Angus MacDonald will be out for up to six weeks after suffering a severely sprained ankle and damaged tendons... The initial fears of a broken bone were thankfully allayed by the results of an X-ray...

The injury occurred when Angus cleared a ball with his left foot and his right ankle gave way underneath him, with a large cracking sound raising concerns of a serious injury."

We learn from the Halifax Courier that "Neil Aspin said his FC Halifax Town players did him proud after they drew 2-2 with high-flying Bristol Rovers at the Shay. Town raced into a 2-0 half-time lead but succumbed to a late fightback by Rovers....

He said, 'We gave it a good effort, I’m really pleased with the players. I thought they did me proud as manager. Obviously when you’ve got a 2-0 lead and the opposition score late goals you’re disappointed. But I’d like to take more positives from the game than negatives... We’ve got to try and play at that level for the remainder of the season if we can'...

'In the second-half, Bristol could afford to gamble and push men forward. They were taking a chance of getting caught on the break but they’ve got three players in midfield who’ve all played in the Football League so they got on the ball and were trying to create something. As a part-time team we do compete fitness-wise very well but we did tire a bit, certainly in the last half-hour where I would have liked to have tried to press higher up...

They probably had a bit more fitness at the end and we sat back a bit and showed a bit of tiredness...

As a team we’ve not managed to score many so it was nice to see that [first] goal... We have to try and play like we did in the first-half for as long as possible in games and if we do that we’ve shown we can compete with all the teams in the league'".

The Times Series reports that "Barnet can go clear at the Conference summit if they beat FC Halifax Town on Tuesday evening but could be without Elliott Johnson for the trip to The Shay.

The left-back was withdrawn in the second-half of Saturday’s 2-1 win at Eastleigh... Johnson was substituted with an injury after Barnet conceded a penalty with little over ten minutes remaining and, asked what was wrong with the defender, head coach Martin Allen replied, 'I don't know what is up with Ells'.

Skipper Charlie MacDonald will also miss the trip to north Yorkshire with a calf problem but took the warm-up at Eastleigh alongside player-coach Jon Nurse. The 33-year-old remains on course to return to action within two to three weeks.

Halifax could be without striker Danny Hattersley after he picked up a knock in the goalless draw with Dartford at the beginning of the month. The forward has missed The Shaymen’s last two fixtures...

Boss Neil Aspin acknowledges his side could play a decisive role in the title race... 'We have to play Barnet twice so we will feature heavily, then the boot will be on the other foot and Bristol will be hoping we can take points of Barnet. We owe it to every team that we put in the same amount of effort and commitment as we have done today in every game'".

In the Coventry Telegraph we learn that "Manager Liam Daish has urged his players to ‘sharpen their teeth’ in front of goal or risk slipping deeper into the relegation mire after Nuneaton Town drew another blank on Saturday.

Although a goalless draw against Torquay United extended their unbeaten record to five games, wins for relegation rivals Alfreton, Southport and Welling have seen Boro slump eight points adrift of safety. And Daish admitted his side, who have scored just three times since the turn of the year, must overcome their goal-shyness in their battle to avoid the drop.

'You have got to take your chances at this time in the year and unfortunately we didn’t,' he said. 'There was a lot of effort and endeavour, but when the chances presented themselves we didn’t take them. I am always concerned about the lack of goals. We even changed the system to put some more forward bodies in areas we thought we might score. We have to look forward to the next game (against Macclesfield), but we will need to sharpen our teeth in front of goal.'

However, Diash insisted a point against Torquay was 'not the end of the world' and vowed to keep fighting until the end... We can’t do anything about the other teams' results, but what we can do is work on our own performances'".

SHAUN OUT "FOR WEEKS"

His fears that he may be out of action for a few weeks were shared by Lee Sinnott, though the Alty manager stressed the club would only know the full extent of the damage after tests on Densmore's injured knee. 'The medial ligament seems to have opened up a bit,' he said, minutes after the final whistle. 'We will know more over the coming week, but I don't think it's going to be a short one. It depends what grade it is, as to how many weeks he may be out.'"

RESERVES WIN`

DOVER PRICES

• Adults: £15
• Over 60s: £12
• Under 18s: £6
• Under 11s: Free

Transfer to the seated stands:

• Adults: £1.50
• Over 60s & Under 18s: £1
• Under 11s: Free

SUPPORTERS' TRAVEL TO DARTFORD

As the change of date and time for last week's visit to Welling United and for next Tuesday's trip to Dover Athletic have made it difficult for many supporters to get to those games, this Saturday afternoon kick-off at Dartford, who have moved to a new ground since our last visit there in 1985-86 season, provides a great opportunity to support Alty on the road and visit a new stadium. And, of course, it is far easier to let the coach take the strain for this 400-mile (plus) round trip than to drive yourself or take the train! As usual, a refreshment stop will be made en route.

Details of the coach times and fares are on the Away Travel page.

FRIENDS' MONTHLY DRAW

• *79 Mark Eckersall £100
• *33 Graham Muir £50
• *35 Andrew Shaw £35
• *55 Phil Jones £15

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

'It was nice to make my 200th appearance. I’ve been here five years now and had a season out with injury during that, so it was nice to finally get there', Lewis said. 'But that takes a back seat with the result and the losing run continuing; it’s just disappointing all round. It could have been a good day and it would have been great to mark my 200th appearance with a clean sheet and that all-important win we’ve been searching for, but that goes out of the window with the result'.

After eight games without a victory, Lewis feels that conceding early on against the Whites, in similar circumstances to last week’s defeat against Alfreton Town, did nothing for his and his team-mates’ confidence. 'It was the worst possible start with the way things are going', he admitted.

'We said in the dressing room that we need to stay in games if we’re not scoring many; just hold it for 0-0 as long as we can and be hard to score against. That just wasn’t the case today, a simple ball over the top, 1-0 and straight away you’re thinking "It’s not going to be our day". We had a go and had a lot of chances in the first half but, in the second half, Dover played the game well, got behind the ball and it was hard for us to break down'...

With just seven games left until the end of the season, Lewis knows that Harriers need to ‘stop the rot’ sooner rather than later. 'We don’t want this to roll into next season and we can’t think there’s nothing to play for because things like can continue and we don’t want to be going into next season on the back of such a terrible run', he said... 'Everyone’s down and we’re going to be with the way things are going, but we’ve all got a contract to play for and it’s up to us to get our fingers out, prove ourselves and get a few wins towards the end of the season'".

We read in the Worcester News that "Gary Whild won't rush youngsters into the side as he tries to blood the club's young guns. The Harriers' manager is keen to use the likes of Kennedy Digie and Luke Maxwell and other academy prospects, but is not willing to throw them in the deep end too soon. But he is looking at the club's younger squad members and in yesterday's 2-0 defeat to Dover, handed a first league start to Jamie Spence.

Ahmed Obeng also was drafted in for a rare start and produced an industrious display. 'The danger is that you don't want to put too many youngsters in at once because you've got to look at 18-year-olds and confidence', said Whild. 'Having said that some of the senior lads are a little low on confidence at the moment... The league is also tight and [we] don't want to be accused of fielding academy players'...

Worryingly, Kidderminster were easily opened up by long balls forward and the pace of Murphy... 'If you look at experienced guys like Josh Gowling and Jamie Grimes and you would think they would be able to deal with a bit better. The likes of Josh, Jared Hodgkiss and Kevin Nicholson are low on confidence and that can quickly spread through the team'...

Meanwhile, the club looks set to announce [a] former Redditch United, Bromsgrove Rovers and Stourports Swifts manager as vice chairman. Brown, who was Whild's manager at Redditch, is an experienced businessman and his position set to confirmed once he passes the necessary FA scrutiny this week".

Harriers Online report that "The Harriers slumped to yet another defeat to make it eight games without a win and only one goal of their own in that time... when Lee Hughes scored on his second debut for us. Today he found himself pushed down onto the bench to make way for Jamie Spencer, a player who has never scored for us and on today's example never will.

Back in the side following illness was Aman Verma along with Ahmed Obeng in for his first start since our last win at Aldershot at the beginning of February... Craig Reid was no where to be seen following his non performing appearance against Eastleigh so maybe he was the one left carrying the can. As usual the game started scrappily with both sides guilty of hoofing the ball and misplaced passes. It took Dover less time than us to adjust to the, somewhat, frantic pace of the opening period... The deathly run continues...

Dover: Rafferty, Essam, Francis, Kinnear, Raggett, Orlu, Poole, Modeste, Deverdics, Sterling, Murphy, Payne. Subs: Wynter, Cogan, Mekki, Taiwo Poole".

ALTRINCHAM 1 WREXHAM 4

Match report here..

LEE ANNOYED

Tuesday's match at Dover will be a big test of character. I am not allowing my players to coast to the end of the season "

Right: A rare moment of light relief for Altrincham on Saturday came when physio Alan Ainsley surprised Stuart Coburn as the goalkeeper was honoured for having broken the club appearance record. Apparently, Stuart has nicknamed Alan "The Elf" - hence the outfit. Sadly, Alan later had to escort captain Shaun Densmore off the pitch as he suffered an injury early in the game.

Meanwhile Wrexham reported that they "ran out comfortable winners at Moss Lane, scoring three times in the first half through Kieron Morris, Ross White and Louis Moult. After the break Alty gave themselves [a chance?] via James Lawrie's strike on 51 minutes, but Connor Jennings wrapped up the result late on..

There was a late shuffle to the Wrexham line-up with Steve Tomassen picking up an injury in the warm up and needing to be replaced by Mark Carrington"

And Wrexham add that manager Kevin Wilkin was "Happier, but still not happy, after this win at Altrincham. 'We created numerous chances again and took one of them, then scored some good goals the second and third were on the back of set plays and we got in a comfortable position at half time. I don’t think we great when we came out for the start of the second half and for parts of the first half. Yes we won the game 4-1, at a canter, but there were parts of the game which I felt we let get too open'".

Wales Online adds that "Connor Jennings’s late goal rounded off an afternoon to remember as Wrexham beat Altrincham 4-1 for their first away win in the Conference since Boxing Day... The result means Wrexham leapfrog their opponents into 14th place in the table by virtue of a better goal difference.

It was Wrexham who started the game with purpose... Their early pressure told on seven minutes though as Morris pounced on a loose clearance on the edge of the box before firing into the bottom corner. Altrincham’s afternoon went from bad to worse when they lost their captain Shaun Densmore to injury on ten minutes, with Sean Williams coming on in his place...

But Wrexham doubled their lead on 40 minutes... And Hudson was at it again on the stroke of half-time, flicking Morris’ corner back across goal for Moult to nod in from close range to give the visitors a 3-0 lead at the break.

In fairness to Altrincham, they took the game to Wrexham after the break, Sean Williams’s low shot testing Andy Coughlin within a minute of the restart. Lawrie gave them a foothold in the game when he directed Ryan Crowther’s low cross in after 51 minutes. And four minutes later Reeves beat the offside trap to tee up Kyle Perry but his fierce strike went over.

Having blown a two-goal lead in the reverse fixture at the Racecourse, Wrexham responded to the pressure by bringing on Jay Harris and Sam Finley in midfield. Jennings earned his tenth yellow card of the season, for persistent fouling on 74 minutes – his two-match ban now due to end before the FA Trophy final, while Altrincham continued to threaten.

But the Wrexham striker got himself back into the manager’s good books as he raced onto a long ball on 85 minutes to score."

SATURDAY GATES

• AFC Telford Utd 1-3 Woking (att.1265)
• Aldershot Town 1-2 Southport (1646)
• Altrincham 1-4 Wrexham (1525)
• Chester FC 2-2 Grimsby Town (2916)
• Dartford 0-1 Alfreton Town (913)
• Eastleigh 1-2 Barnet (2034)
• FC Halifax Town 2-2 Bristol Rovers (2248)
• Forest Green Rovers 1-1 Braintree Town (1313)
• Gateshead 2-1 Macclesfield Town (1052)
• Kidderminster Harriers 0-2 Dover Athletic (1484)
• Lincoln City 0-2 Welling United (1935)
• Nuneaton Town 0-0 Torquay United (862)

OLD BOY

BALL BOYS AND GIRLS

STUART'S SIGNING SESSION

Packed from cover to cover with photographs and tributes, including a moving personal eulogy by Mark Maddox and message of congratulations from Davison, it will be on sale inside the ground, priced £3. The one-off 50p increase is to cover additional work and production costs. To make it even more of a must-have for all those who have marvelled at his heroics down the years, Stuart is making himself available in the Community Sports Hall, between 5.30 and 6pm, to provide personalised autographs for this special edition.

At Stuart's request, there will be a donation bucket alongside his signing desk after he made it clear he would appreciate supporters having the opportunity to make a modest contribution towards the Community Sports Hall Fund, in return for a personal message and signature on their programme".

And this Sunday's Non-League Paper has a feature in which "Altrincham legend Stuart Coburn looks back on a week in which he became the club's record appearance holder".

STUDENTS' FINE WIN

ALTY RESERVES

ALTY DAMNED WITH FAINT PRAISE

November’s encounter between these two was in my eyes the worst defeat of the season, at least Telford played really well against us in our embarrassing four-goal defeat, whereas Altrincham were underwhelming and still managed a three goal comeback, with ten men as well!

Key in Altrincham’s success was the poor discipline of Wrexham however, with both Andy Bishop and Louis Moult being shown red cards either side of the half-time whistle, although Alty’s captain[!] Scott Leather had already been [red-]carded too.

A misconception is that Wrexham’s discipline has been awful throughout the season but that isn’t entirely correct. Yes, before Christmas we had a record that even Don Revie’s Leeds side would have been ashamed of, but since December 2nd we have not had a single red card, and Kevin Wilkins’ philosophy of good discipline is finally taking shape.

Prior to the Altrincham defeat it is also crucial to remember that it was a period in which we were leaking goals for fun, with the club only keeping two clean sheets out of their last ten previously. If you compare it with our record going into this game it is a staggering seven clean sheets in our last ten, Andy Coughlin take a bow!

The management were heavily criticised that day as Wrexham let a two-goal lead slip into a 3-2 defeat within the last quarter of an hour of play. Kevin Wilkin looked tactically inept as he shuffled what remained of his squad into a rigid 4-4-0 formation, with no attacking outlet to the long balls that we pumped perpetually up the pitch...

Peculiar changes along with medieval tactics culminated in the Reds’ catastrophically throwing away what should have been a comfortable lead... It is very important to clarify that since mid-January things have really picked up, and Kevin Wilkin has greatly improved his tactics, with Wrexham’s switch to a front-three resulting in the Robins’ actually playing exciting attacking football...

Damian Reeves is a man very familiar with the Wrexham fans, and it was he who came off the bench to score twice as Altrincham staged their late heroics, he has five goals in his last nine, and it will be a key battle between him and Manny Smith if we are to collect the three-points.

The lads will be looking to gain revenge on their Cheshire opponents this weekend and a win against the side lying 13th in the table could catapult us into a more flattering position, with Wrexham having a superior goal-difference".

DRAGONS' BOSS HAS "NO IDEA HOW WE LOST" TO ALTY

‘We owe ourselves one’ was the curt answer from Wrexham boss Kevin Wilkin when quizzed if Saturday’s trip to Altrincham was any kind of a revenge mission.

Wrexham head to Moss Lane amidst a mixed run of form, and perilously only 12 points above the relegation zone. The Dragons have a Wembley final to look forward to at the end of the month... but before then have four games in which to climb the standings and move away from the drop zone.

Wrexham’s up and down form saw them claim a well-deserved 1-0 win over Chester last Saturday... but then falter as they managed only a 0-0 bore-draw in Tuesday’s clash with strugglers Southport... Wilkin added, 'I‘d like to think we would get a better level of performance, we need to show a reaction to the level of performance we put in and certainly the quality we showed on the day against Southport, it was far from acceptable, as I said at the time.

We want to bounce back, but Altrincham are doing okay and, us going away, we have not done bad away from home, with one or two additions to the side, hopefully, we can bounce back and get the win. Passing the ball, our technical quality wasn’t there (against Southport) and this is from players who should be capable. Tuesday night had nothing to do with tactics, when you can’t pass the ball over 10, 15 or 20 yards you are going to struggle.

If you can’t get it and move it quickly enough (you will struggle), and Southport pretty much camped in and defended the edge of the box and made life difficult for us and we struggled to show a way to break them down'...

Wrexham will have an eye on revenge in Saturday’s game after going down to a 3-2 loss in the home league clash in November... That was a particular low point in Wrexham’s season, and Wilkin is keen to make up for the loss.

'I think we owe ourselves one from the game earlier in the season,' said the Dragons boss. 'Being 2-0 up and them with a man sent off, to then lose the game takes some understanding. It was a disappointing day, you get yourself in a great position and get two goals up and they lose a man and then to somehow contrive to lose the game is really disappointing, but we have to forget about the negatives of that day and focus on what we are going to do tomorrow and make sure it is positive...

We have picked up a lot of red cards, not for dissent reasons, but for some of the tackles we have put in'...

He added, 'You look at who you have got coming up and where they are league-wise and where we are league-wise and I will be the first to hold my hands up and say we are not where we want to be... I would like to think we are not in a relegation battle, that is why tomorrow is a big game for us... and we need to put some points on the board and then extinguish any fears that people do have on that front'.

Wilkin will be boosted by the return to fitness of midfielders Jay Harris and Mark Carrington, the duo both training yesterday, but will still be without injured goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann (thigh) while Andy Bishop will be absent after sustaining a concussion in the final moments of Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Southport.

ALTRINCHAM (from): Coburn, Densmore, Havern, Leather, Griffin, Sinnott, Crowther, Richman, Cavanagh, Moult, Lawrie, Reeves, Williams, Perry, Gillespie, Parton.

WREXHAM (probable): Coughlin; Tomassen, Smith, Waterfall, Stephens; Storer, Finley; Jennings, Evans, Morris; Moult.

REFEREE: Ben Toner (Lancs)."

In its "scouting report", the Daily Post identifies Damian Reeves, Nicky Clee and Gianluca Havern as the men to watch in Alty's team. It adds that "It’s perhaps unsurprising that Altrincham have only taken one win from their last five games given they have faced four of the Conference’s current top five teams in that period".

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

According to the Football Conference, "Top scorer Stefan Payne has agreed a new contract with Dover Athletic, and will now stay at Crabble until the end of the 2015/16 season. The summer signing from AFC Hornchurch has scored 16 goals so far this season.

He came to Crabble on the back of a prolific season in Ryman Premier with the Urchins, where he scored 31 goals in forty-six appearances. He first came to prominence as a teenager when he was signed by Fulham after an impressive start to his career with Croydon and Sutton United.

In 2010 he moved to Gillingham, where he made 27 first team appearances in League Two... and, after a short spell with Aldershot, he returned to Sutton. Maccesfield Town were the next Football League club to sign him in 2012 but opportunities were again limited and Stefan came back to Kent in 2013 to join Ebbsfleet United.

He came close to becoming a Dover player in 2013 and manager Chris Kinnear retained his interest in the player during his successful season at Hornchurch, finally signing the striker ahead of Whites' return to Conference Premier football in 2014/15."

In Hampshire, "Aldershot Town have extended Chris Barker’s tenure as caretaker-manager until the end of the season. The 35-year-old, who has guided the Shots to a run of six games without defeat after being appointed on January 21st, will continue to be assisted by Matt Gray for the final eight matches of the season.

The club will then review the position before appointing a permanent manager for 2015/16.

'I’m very happy and it’s a very proud moment,' said Barker. 'It’s probably one of the biggest achievements of my career. I’m delighted that the Board of Directors have given me their backing and hopefully I can now finish the job. I want to continue this unbeaten run and finish the season well because we still need to pick up points. We’ve got eight games to go and I want to get as many points as I can.

Some of the boys have been given a new lease of life, we’re scoring more goals and we’re looking tight at the back. I can probably take a bit of credit for that, but it’s really down to the boys on the field. I’m still one of the boys in the dressing room but I also have a job to do, and decisions to make. The players have appreciated that and I’m very grateful to them'.

Director Andy Muckett said, 'We’re absolutely delighted with Chris’s performance to date and that he is able to continue in this role until the end of the season'.

Muckett admitted that Barker’s success to date has given the Board plenty of food for thought for the future. 'If Chris hadn’t done very well it would have been a lot easier to make decisions about where we go next season but, for the moment, those decisions have yet to be made... We need entertaining football or the fans will vote with their feet...

We have spent a lot of time looking for the right person, and we will continue that search, but at the moment we are very happy with the way that Chris is managing the team and the results he has delivered'"

NL Pitchero reports that "AFC Telford United have signed Bradley Reid from Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan until the end of the season. Described as a teenage prodigy on his signing for Wolves from the Bucks' league rivals Wrexham, Reid has penned a short-term deal as boss Steve Kittrick moves quickly to fill the void left by Sam Smith’s hamstring injury...

Reid, a Welsh under-19 international, has been a regular member of the Wolves under-21 side who play their home games at the New Bucks Head. Reid is a pacey centre forward who plays the number nine role in a similar system to the one that has seen the Bucks much improved defensively of late... He was signed by Wolves in September 2013, but was immediately loaned back to the Dragons to continue his development. The deal was one that could potentially net Wrexham a fee of up to £200,000 a sign of this young man’s undoubted talent".

NEXT GAME: ALTY v WREXHAM

Mike Garnett's records show the record of previous matches between Altrincham and Wrexham.

• Home: P6-W1-D3-L2-F4-A6
• Away: P6-W2-D2-L2-F6-A8
• All: P12-W3-D5-L4-F10-A14

Supporters are reminded that there is now a free supporters' car park open on matchdays at the Aecom premises. The entrance is on Moss Lane, on the left, about 200 yards before you reach the ground coming from the town centre.

News of Alty's next opponents is found in the Daily Post. It states that "Connor Jennings cut a dejected figure after Wrexham’s 0-0 draw with Southport and insisted everyone in the squad needed to take a long hard look at themselves... Jennings, who appeared to struggle with a knock picked up in the first half, says the manner of the performance was simply not good enough...

'I thought we should have taken the game to them being at home, but we didn’t and it is very disappointing and is probably another low. After Torquay it was a high and then a low after Gateshead and again on Saturday the high of Chester, and then another low against Southport. I think we are finding it a little bit hard to find that bit of consistency, obviously apart from the run we went on. All season we have struggled with that, but a clean sheet is a positive and we didn’t lose. We have taken a point, but it does feel like a defeat, the game was so flat.

Tommo’s (Steve Tomassen) shot was the only one on target for us, the only chance really in the 82nd minute, our first shot on target. That is nowhere near good enough for ourselves and obviously for Wrexham Football Club as well... I am sure there will be a lot of talks over the next few days to go again on Saturday'. Wrexham travel to Altrincham on Saturday looking for a better display and also revenge after a 3-2 loss in November at the Racecourse...

Jennings added, 'We all need to pull out fingers out if I am honest. That wasn’t good enough... Hopefully we will go away, look ourselves in the mirror and pull our finger out for Saturday... He (Southport's Brodie) had an off night to be fair, thankfully, missing a few one on ones, but I don’t think they created too much', said Jennings".

Wrexham add that "It was, for the first 80 minutes, a dire game of football where neither side could show much in the way of enterprise. A game of midfield ‘ping pong’ ensued, as Southport defended deep, and Wrexham were unable to unlock their fortress, as their defence marked tight and gave us little time to create.

Captain for the night Andy Bishop worked tirelessly alone up front, chasing and heading balls down, but he looks a forlorn figure in a 4-3-3 configuration that clearly doesn’t suit him. Stephens had a rough first 45 minutes, where his inexperience was exposed and his nervousness pounced upon by the speculative Southport attack. He will be hoping for a more assured performance when he once again deputises for the suspended Ashton on Saturday.

Now for the positives… Andy Coughlin again made some crucial point blank saves... Manny Smith was his usual tower of strength in defence, never putting a foot wrong... and the introduction of York, Durrell and Sam Finlay ensured a change of formation, and, thankfully, a promising last ten minutes...

Wes York was able to get behind the left back on several occasions... Wrexham are definitely harder to beat of late (Gateshead being a strange blip, admittedly)... Altrincham awaits, and we move on in the hope of a more fluid performance and three points".

PETER'S FUNERAL

"ALTY AT 60% OF CAPABILITIES" SAYS LEE

Right: Stuart Coburn follows his team-mates, Adam Griffin, Jordan Sinnott and Jake Moult, off the pitch at Welling, having just broken Altrincham's appearance record.

The Sale & Altrincham Messenger reports that "Altrincham returned to winning ways in front of the BT Sport cameras at Welling United on Sunday, but still left manager Lee Sinnott distinctly unimpressed. A late goal by substitute Ryan Crowther gave Alty a 1-0 victory and came as a welcome relief after a return of just one point from four games against teams in the top five.

'I thought it was a complete struggle from first minute to last,' admitted Sinnott. 'It’s a very valuable three points but we can play a lot better than that. I thought we were very sluggish, very slow on the ball. I have played in these games before, and managed in them, and they really are like pulling teeth. It was a game for the insomniacs. We are on 49 points, which is great, but I have always said to my players I don’t want to sit there in the dug-out and be bored. At times, I was extremely frustrated, because I know we can play an awful lot better.

It went right through the team, and I’d say we were operating at about 60 per cent of our true capabilities. At least it was a lovely cut inside and finish by Ryan (Crowther) for the goal. That was the one bit of class on show all afternoon'.

Keeper Stuart Coburn set a club record for first-team appearances, overtaking John Davison’s tally of 678, and marked it in style with a clean sheet. 'I’m thankful we got the three points, especially on such a special day for Stuart', added Sinnott. 'It’s a first-class effort by a top guy, who is liked and admired by everyone at the club. He has looked after himself really well and been a model of consistency, so well done, Stuart'.

Alty are producing a special tribute programme, in recognition of Coburn’s milestone, for Saturday’s home game with Wrexham."

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The away game on Saturday against Gateshead is likely to be tricky... However, on the 21st the Moss Rose hosts Nuneaton, a team struggling near the bottom of the table and, from recent results, looking as if they lack confidence... The following match against Bristol Rovers is being televised at the Moss Rose, it could be a clash between first and second which would attract a bumper crowd.

The club, in a rare show, of commercial savvy have already published their season ticket prices for the 2015/16 season, a season in which ticket holders could be watching League football at Conference prices... There will now be five phases, with a 25 per discount available for supporters who purchase a season ticket in the opening phase which runs until midnight on March 29th. This means that adult supporters could pay as little as £225 for a standing season ticket, or £300 for a seated season ticket. Should promotion seem certain by then, prices in the next phases are expected to rise".

"Macclesfield Town have confirmed that Theo Bailey-Jones has extended his loan spell with the club for the rest of the season. Bailey-Jones joined the Silkmen in early February from league rivals Wrexham, and made his first start for the Silkmen in the win over AFC Telford United on Tuesday night".

According to NL Pitchero, "Paul Carden, manager of Southport, has signed Seb Usai as cover goalkeeper... The 24-year-old from Brisbane, Australia has been training with the squad for a number of weeks. Usai spent two years with Blackburn Rovers but did not make the first-team before joining Swedish outfit AFC United last year.

He was previously with Brisbane Strikers and North Queensland Fury and arrives at Port following a short spell with Scottish side Cowdenbeath. Making the move the other way is keeper Daniel Lloyd-Weston, who is expected to sign for Newcastle Town, having been released".

Right: A front view of the pink shirt that Alty will wear in their home match with FC Halifax Town on 21 March, in aid of cancer awareness.

From Kent Online we learn that "Ricky Modeste scored his first league goal of an injury-hit season against Lincoln last Saturday and thanked the manager for giving him the chance to do so. And Modeste, who was only making his sixth start of the campaign, went agonisingly close to repaying Chris Kinnear with another goal, too. His sensational chip left impressive Lincoln goalkeeper Paul Farman stranded before hitting the bar...

He said, 'I hit it (the ball) sweet and thought it was in for sure before it hit the woodwork. I couldn’t believe it hadn’t gone in'... Modeste, who missed almost four months of football after damaging ankle ligaments... said, 'I don’t want to be an impact player off the bench playing little cameos (he’s done that five times to-date) for 10 minutes or so. I want to start, play and score goals. Now I have been given the chance against Lincoln I hope to keep my place'".

"The Bucks go into Saturday’s game at Woking searching for their first league win in front of their own fans for more than four months [since they beat Alty!]" reports the Shropshire Star.

"Kittrick believes the home troubles are now psychological and so is planning to change tack for the visit of the Cards. 'I think it is a mental thing for the players so we are going to do things a bit differently', he said.

'We are going to come in a bit earlier, have a bite to eat and see if we can develop some of the team spirit we seem to have in the away games for the home games. Sometimes I think the players feel under pressure playing at home. There have been a few boos, which the fans are totally entitled to do. But I think the players are acutely aware of how poor some of the results have been and we have to find a way around that. If we can get a home win, it makes the outlook very different'.

Kittrick, who hopes to secure the signing of a new striker, is refusing to admit defeat in Telford’s survival bid despite Tuesday’s defeat at Macclesfield leaving them 11 points adrift of safety with just 27 points still available. 'It isn’t over until it’s over,' he said. 'We have to look at it that way. We can’t start building for next season until we know what division we are going to be in. Obviously, if we lose the next six games, it will be pretty clear. I think the fans who were at Macclesfield saw a team who are still fighting and have not given up.

We clearly have the ability to stay in games but it is taking our chances we have to work on. We have played the top six teams and given them a good game on each occasion but we’ve got to become more consistent'".

The Western Morning News reports that "Kelvin Thomas, the man who is advising soon-to-leave Torquay United chairwoman Thea Bristow, has described her decision to write off nearly £3 million of loans and effectively offer the club for sale debt-free as 'incredibly generous'.

Majority shareholder Mrs Bristow broke the news of her summer stand-down, along with her director son Alan, to the rest of United’s board at a meeting before Tuesday night’s 1-0 home defeat by Chester. She confirmed that she will continue to fund the loss-making Gulls until the end of the financial year in June. But the key feature of her statement is that she will convert her loans, believed to be in the region of £3 million since she and her late husband Paul helped to buy the club in 2007, into shares and 'At that time I will pass them on debt-free'.

The move is designed to make the club as attractive to prospective new owners as possible. But former Oxford United chairman Thomas was quick to say, 'In my eyes, it’s incredibly generous'...

Thomas said, 'Now we’ve got to make sure that we find people who not only have the desire to take the club forward, but also the capability in terms of management and finance... There won’t be many outstanding obligations, but there will be ongoing financial obligations if new owners are to make a success of it. It will be a debt-free football club, and there are not many of them around. And my feeling is that this move will prompt some serious interest. But if you are going into any business, it’s going to need investment. And if someone isn’t prepared to do that, they are probably not the kind of person you need anyway'".

On the pitch at Plainmoor, "The result and the scoreline may have been the same, but manager Chris Hargreaves insisted that Tuesday’s night’s 1-0 defeat to Chester FC was an improvement on last Saturday’s loss to strugglers Telford United... as the Gulls’ current slump extended to four successive league and cup defeats and just one win in ten Conference games.

'I don’t think anyone thought we deserved to lose the game in the second half, but it has happened,' Hargreaves said on Tuesday. 'An erratic 20 minutes of defending in the first half was punished. But we were camped in their half for long periods in the second half, and tonight was better, no doubt about it... I can’t fault the players’ effort. The final-third stuff wasn’t quite up to scratch, and some of the strikers’ first touches failed them at times...

Hargreaves admitted that he was not happy with United’s reshuffled defence, which saw former Exeter City youngster Aaron Dawson switched to left-back and Frenchman Ollivier Gueguen recalled at right-back. 'We looked a bit all at sea in the back four', Hargreaves added. 'Young Levi Ives needed a rest, and Aaron Dawson has played left-back numerous times. And, although I’ve played Ollie at centre-half and he’s done well there, he is predominantly a right-back. It was the central areas I was worried about. The line was wrong, with too many gaps, and there was a lot of movement from their front three or four players which caused us problems'.

United are at a low ebb at the moment on the pitch and Hargreaves admitted, 'I haven’t achieved what I wanted; as a player here, yes, but not as a manager yet. I think I can coach and I think I can manage, but we are falling a bit short at the moment'... Hargreaves will have centre-back Angus MacDonald available after suspension for Saturday’s trip to Nuneaton Town".

AGUERO AT ALTY

OLD BOYS

After a couple of seasons in the Welsh league he joined Colwyn Bay for the first of his now three stints. There was a move into England after just a month with the Seagulls, joining Hyde United. In 2010 he moved round the M60 to Altrincham, and was loaned twice back to Hyde, before his release to Boston United at the start of the 2011/12 season.

The travel was too much at Boston, and he moved closer to home to play for Halifax Town for a couple of months before moving even close to home to play for Vauxhall Motors... Holsgrove re-joined Colwyn Bay, but couldn't settle and went to play for Guiseley AFC. At the start of the 2013/14 season, it was back for his second stint at FC Halifax, but he only stayed at The Shay for a short time before being loaned back to Guiseley... He joined Stalybridge in October."

FLYNNY INTERVIEWS STUART

PREMIERSHIP STARS AT ALTY

SHAKY DOG AT COMMUNITY HALL

SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY

There are three new items of attire to look out for at Altrincham FC.

• Above left we see the range of new Altrincham FC cotton polo shirts which are available in the colours shown and in all sizes, for £15.
• The centre picture shows the special pink first-team shirt which will be worn by Alty in the match against FC Halifax Town on Saturday, 21st March, as part of the cancer awareness campaign. The Club will be auctioning the players' shirts after the game for a cancer charity. However, replicas are also available at £20 in sizes ranging from ones for children aged 6 upwards to adult XXXL size. If you would like to put a bid in for a particular players' shirt please e mail Grahame Rowley.
• Above, right are new baby hats, available for just £8.

PETER WARBURTON

Peter was dedicated to the club from the time he was a five-year-old ball boy through almost sixty years, many of which were spent as Secretary.

There was no job around the ground that he did not do, whether it was marking out the pitch, cleaning the dressing rooms after the games or his favourite role of making everyone welcome to the club. Such was his dedication that he was universally known as 'Mr Winsford United'.

'Peter was a real character', says current Secretary Bob Astles. 'Referees used to tell me how they judged their performance on the amount of abuse he gave them when they came off the pitch after a difficult game. The greater the abuse, the better their performance, however, he would always be seen laughing and having a drink with them in the clubhouse afterwards'.

In recent years Peter has been a hospitality host at Altrincham FC where he was made a lifetime Vice-President. The Club's condolences go to Peter's wife, Madeline, and his family and friends. "

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Such an inept performance will not give North Ferriby United any sleepless nights ahead of the FA Trophy final at Wembley later this month. Wrexham were magnificent on Saturday. Tonight they were the total opposite, plain and simple.

Reds' boss Kevin Wilkin made two changes to the side that prevailed in the derby on Saturday. Anthony Stephens deputised for the suspended Neil Ashton whilst Andy Bishop was named skipper as he spearheaded the attack ahead of Louis Moult, who dropped to the bench.

The struggling visitors looked to unsettle Wrexham from the off and chief pantomime villain Richard Brodie forced Andy Coughlin into a decent save after bursting through on goal.

Right: The club badge being worn on the Altrincham FC pink charity kit - see above for details.

Wrexham lacked many components that put them on the front foot in the derby - movement, urgency and creativity as unforced errors punctuated their play...

Wilkin had seen enough and made three changes inside 10 minutes. One of the substitutes, Sam Finley, was particularly lively and showed he is prepared to do the dirty work with two meaty challenges in as many minutes...

In stark contrast to the jubilant cheers that greeted the final whistle on Saturday boos rang out at full time as Reds fans voiced their frustrations and not for the first time this season.

Wrexham: Coughlin, Tomassen, Smith, Hudson, Stephens; Clarke, Evans, Storer (Finley, 73), Jennings (York, 64), Morris (Durrell, 73), Bishop, Subs: Waterfall, Moult".

More comes in the Daily Post which says that "Kevin Wilkin was blunt in his summing up of Tuesday’s bore draw with Southport simply stating, 'we were poor from start to finish'.

Wrexham had only one shot on target, Steve Tomassen’s 82nd minute effort easily dealt with by Peter Brezovan, in what was a disappointing performance from the Dragons... The Sandgrounders had the better chances to have taken the victory – Richard Brodie conspiring to miss when unmarked inside the six yard box...

Asked about if the game was flat, Wilkin simply said, 'I think that is being complimentary really, we were poor from start to finish. “It’s disappointing. The last couple of Saturday’s we have had some tremendously exciting games and good crowds and plenty at the end of it... People are wanting to play for a shirt at the end of the month and you know what I am on about by that (the FA Trophy final at Wembley), and one or two haven’t done themselves any favours tonight and from start to finish we were poor...

What we have got coming at the end of the month should be enough motivation for people to lift themselves and show that bit of desire and that bit of sharpness and bit of tempo. Again we have had a flat Tuesday and can really count ourself fortunate to come away with a point. if we’d won it would have been harsh on Southport'.

A theme of the season for Wrexham has been an inability to kill sides off when in control of games, a lack of a ruthlessness in front of goal being their biggest Achilles heel... Wilkin added,'We didn’t deserve three points tonight. The players have heard that in the dressing room and they need to understand and they need to man up... Okay we have got a glut of games, that happens, I do think we are looking leggy at the moment and tired, but having sad that one or two players who have been on the fringe of it and not been involved should have no excuses on that front and that is why we have tried to make minimal changes really, but we have made changes and for us to look as flat as we did tonight is disappointing'...

Another area for concern is the health of Andy Bishop, the striker coming off towards the end after a blow to the head. Wilkin adding, 'He took a wallop, he got an elbow and is a little bit dazed, but I don’t think it is any more than that'".

We learn from the Southport Visiter that manager "Paul Carden made just the one change as Southport travelled to the Racecourse Ground for their third fixture in seven days. In fairness to Brodie he was the only Southport player who ever really posed an offensive threat to Wrexham. Another point gained for Paul Carden’s men took them closer to the survival objective, 10 days ago his side were 21, in the bottom four and had just leaked five goals against Forest Green Rovers and defensive frailties were the recurrent theme.

Now they are 19th, four points above the relegation trap-door and have just secured three successive clean sheets for the first time in two years".

The BBC reports that "Kidderminster Harriers' assistant manager Mark Creighton says some of the players have given up and are 'taking the Mick' out of boss Gary Whild. Tuesday's 3-1 home defeat by Eastleigh was Harriers' third loss in their last four games and stretched their winless run to seven matches.

'Some of them have chucked the towel in for the season already', Creighton told BBC Hereford and Worcester. 'It's at that point where they're taking the Mick out of the gaffer."

Former Harriers player Creighton, who returned to Aggborough in March 2014, is adamant some of the players' futures depend on them changing their attitude. 'There comes a time when, maybe, we sit down with them this week and say "Thanks very much, but don't bother coming back".

They loved the gaffer when he was giving them the contracts but they've once again let him down, they are short changing him at the minute'.

Harriers last won in the Conference at Aldershot on 20 January and have not tasted victory at home since a 2-1 success over Lincoln five days before Christmas...

Harriers' long-standing financial problems, together with falling attendances, have not helped... But Creighton says that cannot be used as an excuse for standard of their recent performances.

'You can keep saying we miss Marvin or Chey Dunkley's aerial power, we do but someone else has to stick their shoulders back and go and head it. I was never a fantastic player but I always stuck my head on the ball and I kept clean sheets because I had the desire to stop the ball going in my net. I can't coach desire, nor can the gaffer, so if you don't have it burning in your stomach, see you later'".

The Football Conference reports that "Torquay United have confirmed that Thea Bristow will step down as chairman at the end of this season. She said, 'I have been thinking about this decision for a while and it is best for me and my family that I step down to allow others to take the club forward.

As I am sure people will appreciate, the role of Chairman can be a stressful one and recently it has had an impact on my health. Therefore, now is the right time to say that I think I have done enough. It’s been almost five years since Paul passed away and I have basically been majority funding the club since, including helping to build Bristow’s Bench, which we will always be proud of...

The club will always have a very special place in my heart... I will continue to fund the club until the end of the financial year and I will also arrange for my loans to be transferred into shares. Therefore, at that time, I will pass them on debt free.

Kelvin Thomas has kindly agreed to stay until the end of this period to help the club and me with this transition, which I have agreed to fund personally. His hard work will continue to find the right custodians and help to improve the structure of the club.

We are currently talking to a group interested in purchasing the club, and these discussions will continue. We are also aware of the Torquay United Supporters’ Trust (TUST) desire to own the club, so this would be a great time for them to step up and make that commitment, and there is always the option of a Consortium Mark Two, which has been muted'".

NL Pitchero report that "Alfreton Town have enjoyed a very good week of progress both on and off the field. Nicky Law's side recorded back-to-back victories over the past two Saturdays, both with clean sheets, to move three points clear of the relegation zone.

On top of that, the club have taken pride in announcing that the freehold purchase of the ground has been concluded with Amber Valley Borough Council.

Chairman Wayne Bradley [said]... 'It is with delight and satisfaction that I am able to confirm the conclusion of the freehold purchase of the club's home, the Impact Arena... The purchase has been made from the previous landlords, Amber Valley Borough Council... A significant but reasonable and acceptable figure was agreed for the purchase of the land which will be registered in the name of the football club.

The acquisition of the club's home will add very important security and greatly help with any applications for future grant aid to assist in the development of the current facilities', ended Bradley."

Gateshead "manager Gary Mills conceded that a point from last night’s clash with Welling United was 'not enough' as his side were dealt another hammer blow in their quest for a top-five place.

Alex Rodman fired the Heed in front after just 83 seconds against the Wings, with the hosts in cruise control early on. But their momentum stalled as time elapsed and, after Rodman was dismissed for an off-the-ball incident just after the hour-mark, the visitors grew as an attacking threat, and eventually restored parity through Dominic Vose’s deflected strike on 81 minutes.

Mills rued his side’s inability to kill off the lowly Wings, on the back of a disappointing defeat at Braintree Town on Saturday. He said, 'Both results are costly, but one point, we know, is not enough for us now... The game should have been over after half-an-hour. It wasn’t. We seemed to slow the game down for some reason, which gave them a little lift. And then an act of stupidity from Alex Rodman has put us down to 10 men, put us on the back foot. This is a game we should be winning.

I’m not being disrespectful to Welling, but if we have aspirations of getting into that top-five, this is the kind of game we should win. We’ve lost points to Welling and Nuneaton here and, for a team that wants to go on and be successful, that can’t be the case'.

Rodman was dismissed on 64 minutes for kicking out at an opposing player, an incident missed by referee Jason Whiteley, but caught by an assistant... Rodman will now serve a three-game suspension... Mills said, 'It’s clear what he has done. I didn’t see the incident, but Cask did... and it’s not just about tonight, where we’ve missed him after he went off. Now we’re going to be missing him for the next three games'".

According to the Grimsby Telegraph, "Grimsby Town say their latest initiative, offering Blundell Park up for hire, is needed to help fund pitch improvements. The club are offering local businesses and groups of supporters the opportunity to hire out Blundell Park to stage a 90-minute match, during daylight hours, throughout the month of May.

The experience will cost groups £750, which includes use of the changing rooms and free entry to spectators, with all money going into the pot set aside for pitch improvements. During the club's time in the Football League, Blundell Park always boasted a pristine surface...

But since Town's relegation to the Conference in 2010, funding has had to be cut back... Stadium manager Nick Dale told the Telegraph, 'Certainly this season, I'm sure supporters have noticed that the pitch, unfortunately, hasn't been to the standard that both they and the players have been used to in previous seasons.

But, given our current league status, the club has to spend within its means and be, as far as possible, self-sustaining. That means our groundsman unfortunately doesn't have the wealth of finance available to him that he was used to when we were in the Football League...

Even if we can just get one group interested in hiring the pitch, it will be a real bonus."

CRICKET EVENT AT ALTY

TUESDAY GATES

• Att: 1167 Aldershot Town v FC Halifax Town
• Att: 711 Gateshead v Welling United
• Att: 1225 Kidderminster Harriers v Eastleigh
• Att: 1225 Macclesfield Town v AFC Telford Utd
• Att: 1221 Torquay United v Chester FC
• Att: 2188 Wrexham v Southport

PETER WARBURTON

Always bright and cheerful, Peter had previously been a Director at our Cheshire neighbours, Winsford United and was well known in non-League circles in the North West of England. The Club's condolences go to Peter's wife, Madeline, and his family and friends. He will be much missed at Moss Lane.

LADIES' MATCH REPORT

BIG DAY OUT

From the Football Conference, "A reminder about the Big Day Out (above). This Friday is the last chance to take advantage of the Early Bird Offer through which tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for "kids". Thereafter, until the end of March, vouchers will increase to £20/£10 respectively".

TUESDAY GAMES

• Aldershot Town 1-1 FC Halifax Town
• Gateshead 1-1 Welling United
• Kidderminster Harriers 1-3 Eastleigh
• Macclesfield Town 1-0 AFC Telford Utd
• Torquay United 0-1 Chester FC
• Wrexham 0-0 Southport

YOUTH DRAW

FOOTBALL SHIRT FRIDAY

On Friday 17th April, the Bobby Moore Fund is asking the nation to wear their football colours with pride and make a simple £2 donation to the Bobby Moore Fund. No matter who you support, our only opposition on this day is bowel cancer. So, hunt out that retro classic, pull on this season’s kit or brave the challenge of wearing a rival shirt. Round up your family and friends within your club for a day of fun, while also helping to beat bowel cancer sooner!

Visit Football Shirt Friday for more information and to download the poster.

It is confirmed the Vanarama Conference will directly support this great cause by making the Bobby Moore Fund one of our nominated charities and part of our Congress in June".

CHESHIRE SENIOR CUP SEMI-FINALS

• Congleton T. 0 Northwich Vics 1 att. 192
• Macclesfield T. v Stockport County - March 17

SHAKY DOG AT COMMUNITY HALL

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The big centre-half has found game time hard to come by since, but was a starter on Saturday as Wrexham claimed a 1-0 revenge victory over cross-border rivals Chester at the Racecourse...

'I had a bit of a problem with my hamstring and Luke came in and, to be fair to the lads, they went eight unbeaten,' said Hudson, who penned a new one-year contract recently. 'So I was sitting there and you can’t say anything can you,? The manager is not going to change the team, so you have to be patient and work as hard as you can and, when you get your chance to play again, you have to make sure you are ready. It is hard to be on the bench when the team is doing well because everything is so positive and you have got nothing to be negative about. All the lads have done well and it just shows the strength of our squad at the minute. The backroom staff have done really well adding the players we have and it shows rotation doesn’t weaken the team.

It puts pressure on people in the team to play well and it is healthy, if there is no one to take your place you can maybe step off it a bit but, if you don’t do the business on a match day, then someone else can step in and take your place'... The former Welling and Cambridge defender had a word of praise for youngster Ross White, adding , 'Fair pay to Ross he stepped in every time before Christmas when I wasn’t playing and did well and he has got a bright future, he is a good kid'...

Hudson put Wrexham ahead at the Deva as Kevin Wilkin’s men dominated proceedings, but were unable to kill off the contest, and went down to two late goals, the winning coming in injury time from Ben Heneghan. It was similar on Saturday as again Wrexham went ahead, dominated, but had only Kieron Morris’s strike to show for their efforts.

Hudson added... 'They had us on the back foot for the last 10 and it was always going to be like that because teams go a bit gung-ho and a couple of times we got in behind them and could have finished them off, which cost us at their place... I have enjoyed it since I first walked through the door,' he said. 'And, hopefully, I have many more years enjoying myself, I love the fans and the club itself and it has got everything it just needs to be in the Football League'".

One of Altrincham's five remaining away trips, all of which are long-distance journeys, is to Plainmoor. From there the BBC reports that "Torquay United left-back Tom Cruise could miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery. The 24-year-old former Arsenal youngster has not played since the middle of January.

'Tom Cruise is having an operation today and that could be him finished for the season,' manager Chris Hargreaves told the club website. 'We only have eight weeks left and a knee injury is normally six weeks at least, so he will struggle.' Cruise is under contract until the end of this season".

An even longer away trip is to Dover, next Tuesday, from where the Kent News states that "Dover Athletic’s unbeaten run at their Crabble ground in the Vanarama Conference came to an end in a loss to Lincoln City.

The Whites took an early lead after Ryan Modeste managed to connect with a cross from Stefan Payne. But they were unable to hold on to it with Lincoln firing back with two first half goals. The 2-1 defeat was the first home Conference loss the Whites have endured for almost six months.

The result saw the Whites, who have failed to win a game in their last seven, slip one place down the league table. The team still remain well out of the relegation zone, with a 14 point cushion".

Nearer to home the Lincolnshire Echo reports that "Lincoln City have been given 10 weeks to clear their £380,000 debt with the Co-operative Bank.

The club have an overdraft of £300,000 plus a mortgage of £80,000. However, the bank recently called in the debt as Lincoln City no longer fit its customer profile.

The move means the Imps have had to launch a series of fundraising schemes, from share and bond applications, to their ambitious Dambuster seat mosaic project. Imps' chairman Bob Dorrian and acting managing director Kevin Cooke presented those plans to the bank when they met last Friday.

Cooke believes the meeting was positive, but underlined the outcome has seen them given a deadline of the middle of May to pay up. If the money is not raised in the 10 weeks, the club will hold another meeting with the bank to determine what the next step will be.

'We have 10 weeks to raise the money they want,' said Cooke... 'They have given us this time. They were pleased we were making moves to raise money and the progress we are making'"

ALTY RECORD-BREAKERS

Pictured, right, are two record-breaking Altrincham goalkeepers. On the right, we see Stuart Coburn receiving the congratulations of Alty's goalkeeping coach, Ian Senior. Stuart was about to make his record-breaking 679th appearance for the club at Welling United on Sunday. Had Stuart not missed most of the 1999-2000 season with injury and not been away from the club for more than a year at Leigh RMI, his total for the club may well now have exceeded 750 appearances.

For his part, Ian, too is an Alty record breaker - in several different ways. Most notably, he has signed over the years for some 30 football clubs, several of them more than once, which is almost certainly more than any other Altrincham player has ever done!

In addition, at the age of 44, Ian signed for his fourth spell at Moss Lane. He had played two league games for the Robins in 1983/84 and in 1999 he re-joined and became, at 39, the Conference's oldest current keeper when he substituted for Dean Greygoose. That was, coincidentally, against Welling United on 8 January 2000. This was his first appearance for the team since 1983 and he could therefore boast that he had not conceded a goal for Altrincham over a period of 18 years! He signed again as cover and played against Ashton United in the short-lived UniBond League's Carthium Cup on 4 October 2004. Ian is now a respected goalkeeping coach and also supplies Alty with their playing kit from his SKkits company.

STUART HONOURED

Everything is Coburn-themed, even the away page, with Wrexham boss Kevin Wilkin penning a personal tribute to our ever-dependable number one. It's a limited edition one-off to mark Stuart's magical milestone, and it will be on sale inside the ground on Saturday".

SHAUN'S ANALYSIS

Left: Shaun Densmore, in the background, awaits developments as Kyle Perry and Simon Richman are nearest to the ball at Welling on Sunday.

Before Sunday's game at Welling, and after four games without a win, Altrincham captain Shaun Densmore told the NL Paper, "It's been a tough run but, in terms of performances, we've actually done pretty well. One point out of the four games isn't a true reflection.

We felt we should have won against Forest Green and we definitely did enough against Macclesfield to draw, if not beat them. We put on a good display against Bristol Rovers, without really creating much and, last week against Barnet, was tough with having a man sent off early on in the game. We gave it a go, missed a penalty and had a few chances to maybe have nicked a draw.

Just prior to Christmas we were on a very good run. Even though the results haven't shown it, the performances haven't dipped in the last four games. We just haven't picked up the points we would have wanted to.

I won't say what it is but the manager has set us a target. Although we are happy with where we are in the table, we could be a few points better off.

We only lost a couple of players from last year and that was their decision to move on... But the gaffer wanted to keep us together as much as possible. He's kept the faith in the lads who got us up and trusted us to play in this league".

WELLING GAME

In a first half devoid of many clear-cut opportunities for either side, James Lawrie fired wide for Altrincham before Joe Healy failed to hit the target for the hosts. The home side were reduced to ten-men just 9 minutes into the second half when skipper Healy was sent-off for a poor challenge on Lawrie near the half-way line.

Reece Harris wasted the Wing's best opening of the match on 64 minutes when he lashed a half-volley into the side netting after being sent clean through on goal.

Substitute Ryan Crowther broke the deadlock with 15 minutes remaining for Altrincham when he was allowed time and space in the box before poking a shot home past Jonathan Henly. This was Welling`s eighth successive defeat and [they are] without a win since December 20th, while Alty are up to thirteenth place in the table".

OLD BOYS

LADIES' LATE DEFEAT

LOCAL NEWS

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

'Five years down the line I would hope we will have a fully established Under-21 side, backed up by a full-time 16-18 academy setup. Below that we will develop the junior sides and replicate what is seen at professional clubs, admittedly on a smaller budget. The main aim is to produce first-team quality players for Liam to use and maybe a few to develop into the professional game too'...

'We have an idea of coaches and players we would like to bring in. I have a background in youth football so know what I want. This club has had no youth players develop into first team players in the recent past so that is something we need to address... Horsley was delighted with the response of [manager, Liam] Daish in the early meetings that have taken place and he revealed that he believes youth will get it's chance under the former Coventry City player.

'He has a focus on giving youth a chance and that is something I could see very early on. We talk daily about the aims and objectives I have in place and how they fit into the wider plans for the club. Our meetings are all positive and I know what he wants. We both want to find players to play football the right way, to be technically able to play that way and obviously to produce real quality... The timescales we have are a challenge. Obviously we are near the end of the season and that means we have to get appropriate competition and matches for our players. But not just any games, we have to get the appropriate games against quality opposition to challenge them and to get the best possible use out of them'", said Horsley.

The Football Conference says that "There was a VANTASTIC turnout this weekend of fans for Vanarama Conference football across all three divisions... Over 42,000 clicked their way through the turnstiles with some clubs recording higher attendances than many in the Football League.

Leading the pack were Bristol Rovers, in the Conference, (7,371) Stockport County in the Conference North (2,821) and Bromley in the Conference South (1,988). Had the local derby clash between Wrexham and Chester not been subject to strict ground entry regulations then the 6,338 at the Racecourse Ground may have even been higher.

Media & Partnership support director of the Vanarama Conference Colin Peake stated, 'There will surely be more weekends like this before each final ball is kicked and our three respective champions known. We are confident fans will continue to flock in their numbers to watch the action which is really hotting up. Even when the regular season ends we still have our respective Promotion Finals to be played out'".

Also from the Football Conference we learn that "Title-chasers Bristol Rovers have re-signed Chris Lines on a loan from Port Vale until the end of the season. The midfielder, who made his Rovers debut in January 2006, went on to score 21 goals in 158 League appearances before leaving to join Sheffield Wednesday...

July 2013 saw him move on to Port Vale and in almost two years at Vale Park he has scored 3 goals in sixty-one appearances."

WELLING UNITED 0-1 ALTRINCHAM

Match report here..

SATURDAY FIXTURES

Saturday, 7 March

• Wrexham 1-0 Chester FC (k.o. 1pm)
• Alfreton Town 2-0 Kidderminster Harriers
• Barnet 1-3 Forest Green Rovers
• Braintree Town 1-0 Gateshead
• Bristol Rovers 1-2 Eastleigh
• Dover Athletic 1-2 Lincoln City
• FC Halifax Town 0-0 Dartford
• Macclesfield Town 0-0 Aldershot Town
• Southport 0-0 Nuneaton Town
• Torquay United 0-1 AFC Telford Utd
• Woking 1-2 Grimsby Town

Sunday, 8 March

• Welling United 0-1 Altrincham (k.o. 1pm)

FOLLOW ALTY IN THE COMMUNITY SPORTS HALL

SUNDAY PLAYER NEWS

However, centre-back Tom Marshall will miss the next two Altrincham games (away at Welling and at home to Wrexham), following his red card against Barnet last Saturday.

SATURDAY GAME FREE FOR ALTY FANS

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

According to the Football Conference, "Chester FC have re-signed young striker Oliver McBurnie on loan from Bradford City for the remainder of the season. Eighteen-year-old McBurnie is another talented young prospect, who netted 5 times and secured the 'golden boot' while leading Manchester United to the 2013 Milk Cup. Following those performances, McBurnie was given a three-year contract at Bradford City in August 2013 and was called up to the Scotland under-19 squad the following month.

He went on to make his professional debut in November 2013, coming on as a substitute in the FA Cup. He has featured fifteen times for the first-team since but is yet to score his first senior goal for the club. McBurnie was again called up to the Scotland under-19 set-up in November 2014, making his debut in a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, and in January spent a month with Chester, playing four times and scoring one goal. "

Meanwhile, "Dartford have confirmed that Max Cornhill has asked for his contract to be terminated and has now left Princes Park. Midfielder Cornhill joined the Darts in May 2013 from Chelmsford City. He had been with the Clarets since May 2011 and scored 3 goals in thirty-nine appearances during the 2012/13 season.

Manager Tony Burman said, 'Max has left as he wanted regular first-team football'".

And "Woking have announced that Brian Saah has joined on a month's loan from Dagenham & Redbridge. Saah started the season as first choice under manager Wayne Burnett, but has fallen out of favour in recent months. He has made twenty-seven appearances this campaign, but the last of those was... on December 28th. Saah, a 6`2” centre-back, has made over 200 appearances in the Football League for Leyton Orient, Torquay United, and Dagenham & Redbridge."

In the Chronicle Live we learn that "Gateshead will look to extend Lynden Gooch’s loan spell until the end of the season, after Gary Mills hailed the Sunderland starlet’s 'excellent” early impact at the International Stadium. Gooch has joined the Tynesiders initially on a 28-day youth loan.

The 19-year-old impressed during last Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Bristol Rovers, then scored the Heed’s second goal and created the third... in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Wrexham...

Mills has revealed... 'On first impressions, I want to extend with Lynden, no two ways about that. He was excellent on Tuesday and what people maybe do not see is his work ethic. It was incredible and he will learn from this. He might not get as much time (on the ball) as he does in the under-21s... It is a month’s youth loan which we can extend'...

Without Ben Clark (groin), JJ O’Donnell (foot) and Phil Turnbull (toe), Mills added, 'My job is to be successful at Gateshead, to pick out and identify players. It did not work out with Callum (Roberts, of Newcastle United). However, I still needed somebody down that (right-hand) side. I went to watch Sunderland and saw something, I thought "Yeah". So it is great to have that relationship with both clubs'”

The Lincolnshire Echo tells us that "Lincoln City Football Club shareholder Keith Roe fears the directors' current budgeting plans will drive away any potential buyers. Ex-director Roe is one of the biggest shareholders in the club. He is the third largest after former vice-chairman Chris Travers and the majority shareholder, Lincoln City Holdings. Lincoln City Holdings, which makes up the board of directors at the club, revealed at last week's annual general meeting it will have to loan the club another additional £150,000 in the next six weeks to cover the operating loss of £195,362 in 2014.

It will come on top of £40,000 that has been loaned by the Lindum group and £20,000 from an associate director. If the money goes in, it will bring the loans at the club to a total of £258,200. The holding company was set up with the intention that any potential investor only had to purchase the holding company to get the controlling asset of the club. However, any purchase would need to see the loans also paid off and Roe fears that might be too big a price.

'The discussion at the AGM saw a hypothetical price of 20p a share placed on the holding company's shares', said Roe. 'If that was the case, a potential investor would have to have a budget of around £1 million to buy the club and clear the debts'. Imps' chairman Bob Dorrian has insisted he is always open to negotiation on the price of shares in the holding company. The club has been proactive in pursuit of finding new owners and last year advertised the club was for sale anonymously in the national press. Roe feels the club needs to address its operating loss to make sure the price of buying the club remains attractive.

'The concern is that the debt will increase if they continue with the financial plan they are currently operating,' said Roe, who left the club's board in 2006. 'I would argue there is a case for a break-even budget to be put in place'... 'This is what happened when I was on the board following the end of administration,' said Roe. 'The budget for the playing staff was limited, but when we made money we put it back towards that end... As far as I'm aware only Exeter City openly operate in such a way at the moment and they are in the Football League as well. You have to be very strict, but it stops you from needing to put loans in to cover any loss'...

Dorrian is hoping City's ambitious Dambuster fundraising mosaic at Sincil Bank could pay off the debt the club owes the Co-operative Bank. The bank has called in a debt of £380,000 after it said the football club no longer met its customer profile. Now, the Imps are hoping that people will get behind the plan to sponsor a piece of the giant mosaic of more than 6,000 seats that will form the image of a Lancaster bomber from the famous Dambusters raid.

'If we sell out, we stand to make enough money to pay off the Co-operative Bank,' said Imps' chairman Dorrian. 'It is a great initiative, it not only appeals to the people of Lincolnshire, it appeals to people nationally and internationally.. We are hoping that we can find 6,000 people throughout the world who will contribute... If they (the Co-operative Bank)... can see that we are trying to do something in terms of raising the money, that will hopefully buy us some more time with them...

We are not just asking for more time, we are going with some proposals that may be of interest to the Co-operative Bank'".

FA TROPHY TICKETS

NW NEWS

STUART ON RADIO MANCHESTER

NEW HOME GROUND FOR EDUCATION PROGRAMME

Altrincham FC's Football Careers Scholarship & Education Programme have a new home pitch, the Manchester Regional Arena, next to the Etihad Stadium (right). The team's next fixtures are on Wednesday, March 11th versus MMU (away), and on Monday, March 16th against Gateshead, at home, at the new ground.

FAX AND ALTY SUPPORTERS' CHARITY GAME

It is with Debbie's family’s permission that we are honoured to take up this challenge and raise money for their nominated charity too, one which was very close to Debbie’s heart and she also did a lot of fund raising for. Our challenge is to walk from The Shay, home of FC Halifax Town on the evening of 20th March 2015, leaving at 8.30pm, to Moss Lane the home of Altrincham FC. Once we arrive at Altrincham there shall then be a full football match between AFC Halifax [supporters] and Altrincham supporters’ team

The distance is 35 miles, and we aim to complete the walk within 12 hours. The walk promises to be a tough ask, but I am sure it will be very rewarding and a few laughs will be shared along the route. If you would like to join us please speak to any member of AFC Halifax. If you cannot take part in the walk we would be pleased if you could spare any amount of money to donate to these two fantastic charities. AFC Halifax has worked closely with Macmillan over the last 6 years raising in excess of 25 thousand pounds... If you would like to donate you can visit our fundraising page here".

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

A Warrington-born former Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers youth player, Davies spent two years playing for Team Northumbria in the Ebac Northern League whilst completing a university degree in Newcastle before signing for FC United of Manchester. Joining Fleetwood in March 2014, Davies, 22, was immediately loaned back to FC United until the end of the campaign... whilst he spent two months in the Vanarama Conference with Alfreton Town and, most recently, Lincoln City, earlier this season."

Elsewhere, "Aldershot Town have signed 20-year-old Cheye Alexander on non-contract terms from Bishop's Stortford. The former West Ham United Academy player, who can play at right-back or right-midfield, was with the Hammers for ten years before being released in 2013. From there, Alexander spent one year at Port Vale and impressed in a two-month loan spell at Ilkeston FC from December 2013. Released by the Valiants last summer, he joined Concord Rangers in September 2014 and onto Bishop's Stortford two months later."

According to the BBC, "Forest Green Rovers defender Dale Bennett has signed a new contract with the Conference club until 2016. The 25-year-old former Watford trainee arrived on a free transfer in January 2013 and has made 54 appearances in all competitions for Rovers. Forest Green boss Ady Pennock told the club website, 'He's done exceptionally well. We've got two really good right-backs for next year in Dale and David Pipe, and that's really good competition'.

Meanwhile, "AFC Telford United boss Steve Kittrick insists he is in the job for the long haul, even if he fails to keep his side in the Conference this season. After taking over on 22 December after Liam Watson's sacking, Kittrick, 57, initially triggered a response, as Telford went five games without defeat. But since their 4-0 FA Trophy exit at Fylde, they have picked up just one point in six league matches.

'You're a hero one minute and, within two weeks, you're a villain,' he said. 'Football can be a funny game but players make that happen. Once they step over that white line it's left to them and they've got to get on with it. There's some good players in that dressing room. They need to ask themselves do they want to be at Telford this year and next year? I've signed for 18 months, unless someone tells me I've signed for something different,' he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

Meanwhile, summer signing Jonathan Hedge, who started this season as Telford's first-choice goalkeeper, has gone on loan to North Ferriby United for a month but he will not be eligible for their FA Trophy final against Wrexham on 29 March. Freddy Hall remains number one for Telford, who had trialist James Montgomery, the grandson of former Sunderland and Birmingham City keeper Jim Montgomery, on duty in Tuesday night's 3-1 Shropshire Senior Cup final defeat by neighbours Shrewsbury Town's Under-18s".

The Coventry Telegraph tells us that "Liam Daish believes Nuneaton Town are building a bit of momentum after going four games unbeaten, three in the league and one this week in the Birmingham Senior Cup. The Boro boss was delighted with a number of his fringe players who saw off Causeway 2-0 to get into the last four of the competition, not least Jack Nardiello who bagged both goals.

But Daish has revealed that influential midfielder Gus Mafuta, who has been instrumental in the club’s recovery in recent weeks, underwent an operation this week and will be out for the rest of the season. The 19-year-old Bristol City loan man played six games in total for Boro and Daish said, '“It’s a blow because he’s been excellent for us. He tore his lateral cartilage against Welling last week but it’s good news for Gus, in a way, because when it first happened we feared it was ligament damage, so I am relieved for the lad that it’s not more serious.

But we’re sorry to lose him because he’s been instrumental in getting us back to being a competitive side'. Mafuta has helped Boro claw their way to within four points of the safety margin as the team have taken seven points from their last three Conference games, with ten games to go and 30 points left to play for, and that’s clearly building a bit of much-needed momentum.

'I think so,' said Daish, 'The mood is decent in the camp and the lads are working really hard and starting to know their responsibilities in the team. We have a decent shape about us and we’re trying to keep round pegs in round holes and, to be fair, the lads are playing with a bit of confidence. We’re defending well and working hard in midfield. We could probably do with a bit more craft and guile in the final third but that will come'".

We learn from the Torquay Herald Express< that "Torquay United are giving a trial to young Swansea City defender Scott Tancock. The Welsh Under-21 international, who is a product of the Academy at his hometown club, is in his third season as a pro at the Liberty Stadium. He has already made four appearances for League Two Newport County and two for Conference Premier Wrexham on loan this season.

'We're having a look at Scott, after he was recommended to us,' said United manager Chris Hargreaves. 'He's shaped quite well this week, and there's a chance that he might stay with us a bit longer'...

Former Exeter City right-back Aaron Dawson, who was cup-tied for last weekend's FA Trophy defeat to Wrexham, and fellow non-contract player Ollivier Gueguen join Aaron Downes, Krystian Pearce and left-back Levi Ives in contention for the back-four places. The Gulls' boss has been busy lifting the mood after the 3-0 (5-1 on aggregate) Trophy semi-final rout to Wrexham. 'We can't change last Saturday, impossible', said Hargreaves.

'We are gutted that we couldn't give the fans the trip to Wembley that they deserved, but we've got to move on quickly now... I am not going to vilify all the lads because of that... Harping on about it for too long will just knock these young players even more'. Senior right-back Dale Tonge hopes to resume full training next week after a delayed recovery from knee surgery, and left-back Tom Cruise is waiting the result of a scan which may mean a knee operation of his own."

FC Halifax Town report that " midfielder David Mellor has been recalled from his loan spell and will return back to Oldham Athletic. Mellor, 21 joined the Shaymen on the final day of the transfer window from the Boundary Park club and has made just the one appearance for the Shaymen."

Also,FC Halifax Town, on Tuesday, "suffered disappointment late on against Southport, losing 1-0 at Haig Avenue. A late goal from Scott Kay helped Southport claim a valuable three points to jump out of the relegation places and dent the Shaymen’s play off hopes.

Richard Peniket gave his thoughts after the game exclusively to Shaymen Player. 'Disappointing really, didn’t create a lot, it’s a night where we thought we could get the three points and we haven’t, so we’ll have to make up for that in the next few games'...

The game was marred by inconsistent refereeing decisions from official Martin Coy [who reffed Alty's game last Saturday], which was compounded in the second half when a Peniket header was chalked off. 'I just sort of beat him in the air and [am] not sure what I’ve done wrong, I’ve asked him at the end, I had my hands on him but I don’t think it was a foul, its frustrating really,' Peniket said.

The result represents Southport’s first win in 2015 and the first league defeat for Halifax this calendar year. However, Town have four games in hand over their promotion rivals and will look to get back on the hunt for a play off place with a positive result at home against Dartford at the weekend... 'Hopefully we can play at the Shay as it’s a big advantage to us but, wherever we play we need the three points', added the Shaymen's forward.”

The Worcester News tells us that "Kidderminster Harriers’s board of directors have revealed their plans to keep the club full-time. Chairman Ken Rae told shareholders at Monday’s annual general meeting that the Aggborough outfit will not be going part-time. But he warned those present the club will have to live within its means and operate with a much reduced playing budget.

Harriers will not be able to rely on the financial backing of millionaire benefactors Kath and Ernie Lane, who have re-affirmed their commitment to bankroll the club until the end of this season. The pair are also set to cover any losses made this year. The news will come as a relief to fans who have been concerned about Harriers’ finances and that they could return to semi-professional status for the first time in 15 years.

The Reds, who are set to bring in a new commercial director in the summer, will hand manager Gary Whild a smaller budget, estimated to be between £350,000 and £400,000, which will be determined by season ticket sales, attendances and any revenue Harriers generate. Kidderminster are saddled by a monthly wage bill which has been reduced from £70,000 to £60,000, which the club can only pay thanks to the Lanes’ support.

Last season’s accounts also revealed the Reds made a £263,501 loss, compared to the £40,654 they lost during the 2012-13 campaign. But the club have a clean slate for next season, with all the squad but Reece Styche and Craig Reid out of contract in the summer. Boss Manager Gary Whild will hope to retain youngsters like Jordan Tunnicliffe for next season and as well as use academy prospects such as Luke Maxwell and Kennedy Diggie.

The news comes after their current financial fragility was exposed by the dramatic events of the weekend. Worries emerged the Lanes had pulled out after staff had received only a third of their wages last week, prompting a media blackout by players and management...

Fan Karl Davies, who attended the AGM, said, 'While last season’s accounts were disappointing, it is better for the club to be operating with a much smaller budget than going out of business. But the board must remember that Harriers are a community club and they must role up their sleeves and take everyone involved forward together'.

Meanwhile, Harriers’ Worcestershire Senior Cup final clash at Agbborough has been set for Tuesday, April 21. The Reds will tackle Worcester City, who are currently sharing Kidderminster’s Hoo Road home... City haven’t lifted the trophy since 1996-97, while Kiddy’s most recent triumph occurred five years ago with a 2-0 win over Halesowen Town, courtesy of goals from James Lawrie and Brian Smikle."

More on Kidderminster's tenants comes from the Worcester News to the effect that "Within the next few weeks Worcester City will have to nominate where they intend to play next season. Along with Kidderminster Harriers, where they have shared for the past two seasons, Evesham United and Bromsgrove Sporting are also in the mix.

There are pros and cons for each site and while staying at Aggborough would seem favourite, it is not a decision the club are making lightly. Plenty of due diligence has been done behind the scenes on all three and talks have been held with officials from each.

Of the trio, Harriers stand out. It is the most prestigious facility, which is key to attracting players for next season and beyond. It also has convenient transport links with the train station right next to the ground. Crucially, the club, players and fans are used to the stadium. The Blue and Whites have an excellent record there and the logistics of match-days are tried and tested. City would need to start that process again at either Evesham or Bromsgrove.

Evesham’s Jubilee Stadium is perfectly accommodating but would need some work to bring it up to Conference North standard. It has car parking but is also some distance from the rail network and Evesham currently operate a shuttle bus service from the town centre to ferry fans in.

Bromsgrove’s Victoria Ground could welcome them tomorrow, according to chairman John Teece. They have some parking and are on a major bus route but, like Evesham, can’t boast close proximity to the trains.

The pitch has been a major issue at Aggborough but neither Evesham or Bromsgrove can be certain two teams would not have an effect on their... Nearly 450 voted in a Worcester News online poll - 100 more than attended Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw against Guiseley - and 61 per cent were in favour of Aggborough. Evesham polled 26 per cent of the vote, while Sporting came in with just 13 per cent.

Key to it all, though, is money... Evesham say they would be cheaper and Bromsgrove, similarly, have made an undisclosed offer. There’s plenty for City to ponder."

CATERING FOR ALL TASTES

Thanks go to everyone who attended the event and to those who organized this first Sportsman's Dinner at the new venue.

Richie, the Club's official caterer, and Dawn Abbott, the Club's catering manager, will be working hard this Sunday from 11.30am as they provide breakfasts for those coming to the Community Sports Hall to watch the BT Sport transmission of the Welling United v Alty match, which kicks off at 1pm. See the poster below (yesterday's news) for details - but note the game itself is at Welling and not at Alty as the poster implies!

JUNIORS' FESTIVAL

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

The Silkmen had seen only one point from their last two games hamper their title chances, but this win moves them to within six points of leaders Brisotl Rovers with a game in hand. Alex Grant proved to be the match-winner with a powerful effort past Nick Hamann in the Braintree goal after 38 minutes.

However, Macclesfield were grateful to goalkeeper Rhys Taylor, who was largely responsible for the Silkmen leaving with all three points with a number of good saves.

Woking moved to within six points of the play-off places after a 3-1 win at Princes Park against second-bottom Dartford, who are six points adrift of the safety-mark. Yemi Odubade gave the Cards the boost of an early 5th minute lead...

FC Halifax Town slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Southport at the Merseyrail Community Stadium, a result that moved the home side three points clear of the drop zone but leaves the Shaymen with an awful lot to do to return to play-off contention. The Sandgrounders won it when Scott Kay found the back of the net in 81st minute as he turned Marc Roberts...

Aldershot Town made it four games without defeat, a run that has lifted them ten points above the relegation places... Wrexham may be heading back to Wembley for another FA Trophy final, but they still need some points on the board to ensure they are not embroiled in a relegation battle afterwards following a 3-1 defeat at Gateshead...

Gateshead's win means they remain on the fringes of the hunt for a play-off spot, now nine-points off fifth-placed Forest Green Rovers, but still possessing four games in hand."

TUESDAY CROWDS

• Att: 1154 Aldershot Town v Dover Athletic
• Att: 445 Braintree Town v Macclesfield Town
• Att: 884 Dartford v Woking
• Att: 705 Gateshead v Wrexham
• Att: 715 Southport v FC Halifax Town

UNITED ON TV AT COMMUNITY SPORTS HALL

FOLLOW ALTY IN THE COMMUNITY SPORTS HALL

TUESDAY SCORES

Tuesday, 3 March

• Aldershot Town 3-1 Dover Athletic
• Braintree Town 0-1 Macclesfield Town
• Dartford 1-3 Woking
• Gateshead 3-1 Wrexham
• Southport 1-0 FC Halifax Town

DARTFORD CROSSING

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

• It was confirmed that all staff will be paid their outstanding monthly wages by the end of the week
• Benefactors Ernie and Kath Lane will continue to cover staff wages until the end of the season and the club would like to place on record their thanks for their contribution
• Another fans’ forum to include the chairman and board of directors is to be arranged before the end of the season - more details will follow in due course
• The squad is to remain full-time next season with the playing budget to be reduced

There was a good turnout at the AGM and Kidderminster Harriers would like to thank those who attended, as well as the shareholders present for donating a total of £360 to the club by way of a collection".

More on this comes from the BBC< which says that "Despite last season's two big financial windfalls generated by a run to the fourth round of the FA Cup and the six-figure sale of young striker Joe Lolley to Huddersfield Town, there have been concerns over Harriers' finances since chairman Mark Serrell resigned just over a year ago.

Over the past 12 months, many of the Harriers team that came close to winning promotion back to the Football League under Steve Burr and Gary Whild just two years ago have left Aggborough. The autumn departures of Nathan Blissett (Bristol Rovers) and Chey Dunkley (Oxford United) followed moves last summer for Micky Demetriou (Shrewsbury Town) and Lee Vaughan (Cheltenham Town), who both stepped up a level to the Football League.

Michael Gash's early New Year exit to join Barnet was then followed by the departure of former captain Kyle Storer to Wrexham and winger Marvin Johnson to Motherwell. Joe Lolley's departure was the second six-figure sale in a year following Jamille Matt's club-record exit to Fleetwood, which surpassed the £200,000 West Bromwich Albion paid for Lee Hughes in 1997.

When Whild, now Harriers' boss, was allowed to rebuild during the January transfer window by bringing in Lee Hughes from Forest Green, Danny Wright from Gateshead and Dominic Knowles on loan from Burton Albion, it was assumed that there were sufficient funds to strengthen for their play-off push. But an untimely run of just one goal in a winless five-game run has seen them slip 10 points adrift of the play-off places, with only 10 games left.

The club's board say that falling gates at Aggborough, where they have not won in six games since 20 December, [are] a contributory factor to the cash flow problem. 'Money is always tight at clubs our size,' added Ruffinato. 'When you're chasing promotion, you do try to stretch yourselves, and you hope you get the support to go with it. Had we won more games, we'd have got a few more in the crowd and there would not be an issue at all. You either put the money in, you play well and get bigger crowds or you sell somebody'"... or you have financial problems.

And the Kidderminster Shuttle adds that "Harriers' players and back room staff at the cash-strapped football club are now being paid, fans have been told... Mr Rae told the club's annual meeting that the board was trying to attract new directors. The present board contribute £10,000 each.

The directors' report and financial statement for the year ended May 31, 2014, which showed a loss of £263,601, was accepted without comment. The annual meeting was over in seven minutes but Mr Rae took part in a question-and-answer session for more than an hour.

He was questioned about the Harriers' profit from their FA Cup run which ended at Sunderland. He said that policing costs of £40,000 and stewarding of £30,000 had reduced the Harriers' return to a disappointing £60,000. Mr Rae was unable to reveal the financial details of the transfers of Chey Dunkley (Oxford United), Nathan Blissett (Bristol Rovers) and Marvin Johnson (Motherwell) because of confidentiality clauses.

Numbers at the annual meeting were limited because it was wrongly stated on the club's website that shareholders had to produce certificates to gain entry. It was a generally good-natured meeting and, at one stage, there was a round of applause for manager Gary Whild for maintaining the play-offs bid despite losing major players. Mr Rae said it was hoped to sign a new ground-share agreement with Worcester City and improvements were planned for the pitch. Stewarding cost £2,000 a game if all the stands were open. He estimated that it cost £1.6m a year to run the club. 'We are not going bust next week,' he said."

According to the Football Conference, "Defender Anthony Charles has left Nuneaton Town. Charles is an experienced a former Aldershot Town double player of the year winner. He had been playing for Dunstable Town... after leaving Luton Town at the end of the 2013/14 season before joining Boro. His other previous clubs include Crewe Alexandra, Hayes, Farnborough, Barnet, Northampton Town and Plymouth Argyle. The player was on a non-contract deal, and has left after failing to hold down a first-team place."

Elsewhere, "Young midfielder James McQuilkin has earned a full contract with Torquay United until the end of the season after impressing manager Chris Hargreaves over the last three months. Formerly with Hereford United and Walsall, McQuilkin originally moved to the Launa Windows Stadium in a non-contract deal back in November following the sad demise of the Bulls... His versatility in playing a number of different positions, including as an emergency right-back, has been a significant bonus to the Gulls".

NL Pitchero says that "Evo-Stik Northern Premier League First Division South club Romulus have taken the drastic step of releasing no less than TWENTY-ONE players... The list of players [includes]... Courtney Baker-Richardson, who is currently on dual registration terms with Nuneaton Town".

the Western Morning News, we learn that "The new Premier League television deal makes any prolonged absence from the Football League dangerous to Torquay United, according to Supporters’ Trust vice-chairman Robin Causley. Domestic television rights for three seasons from 2016 were sold for more than £5 billion in the latest round of bidding. And that is without adding in the lucrative overseas rights which the Premier League is also expected to cash in on.

That figure was a 70 per cent increase on the existing deal, and Football League chairmen were quick to nail down their share... It provides the first contracted link between the broadcasting revenues of the two domestic professional leagues since the formation of the Premier League in 1992.

However, Torquay United Supporters’ Trust vice-chairman Causley said that for clubs outside the Football League, such as the Gulls, this would widen the financial gap even further. 'I think there’s a real groundswell of opinion that the TV money is going to go down to grass-roots level, and the lower leagues certainly, and I think there will be some decent money there in future and we need to take advantage of that', he said. 'We lose the parachute payment next year and it’s going to be a big blow. There’s a question whether the youth scheme can be sustained but we see it as a priority. The longer we’re down in this division the harder it’s going to get. We hoped to have a push this season but it’s going to be difficult now'.

New Torquay executive chairman Kelvin Thomas has already sat down with TUST for one meeting, gaining their seal of approval. Causley said there was a clear need for someone such as the former Oxford United chairman to take the club by the scruff of the neck in order to climb back up the football pyramid. 'Clearly we hope that there will be positive benefits to the club, but the problem is that it’s been two relegations now, and I wouldn’t say fans are angry as such, but there’s disillusionment', he added. 'It’s not just the fans but the admin staff and the volunteers, and some of the directors as well.

They’ve been through it once, worked really hard to get us back up, and I remember going to a meeting and a director saying "We can’t let this happen again", but it has. It’s going to be hard to get back into the League, but we’ve got to have that aspiration'".

SATURDAY GAME FREE FOR ALTY FANS

JOIN THE YANKEE!

NW NEWS: LOCAL CLUB GOES UNDER

The meeting was arranged after the club breached several league rules, including failing to fulfil fixtures on three separate occasions, and failing to comply with Management Committee instructions regarding confirmed notification of venues for their remaining home fixtures. The club also has considerable outstanding debt owing to the league.

At the meeting, the member clubs voted in favour of Stockport Sports being removed from the competition. The playing record of Stockport Sports for season 2014/15 will now be expunged, and all league tables, statistics and records will be adjusted accordingly. The club, previously known as Woodley Sports, were members of the league from 1997 to 2004, at which point they were promoted to the Northern Premier League.

They re-joined the North West Counties League in season 2012/13 under the new name of Stockport Sports."

NEXT OPPONENTS SACK MANAGER

The club's board has urged supporters to get behind Faza and the playing squad, starting with Sunday's televised fixture at home to Altrincham (1pm). The board would like to place on record their thanks to Jody and his coaching staff for their efforts in the past two months".

LEE SINNOTT ON "BIZARRE" GAME AGAINST BARNET

‘There was a certain amount of annoyance about Barnet’s early penalty, but it was more at my players than anything. They were briefed before they went out about just such a situation. If you get too tight and get turned by an alehouse ball that is just a lump up the pitch, you are in problems, because Akinde is a strong lad.

So I’m annoyed about that. I mentioned it at half-time as well, because Scott Leather could have got done after getting on the wrong side of him when the ball was right down in the Barnet half and was hoofed forward. For me, that is just switching off. It is a position I know very well after playing there most of my career. You are at your weakest when you think you are at your safest. For one long, direct ball to bounce behind you is lack of concentration, and it annoyed me to see it.

Being caught out like that after only four minutes had a massive bearing on the game. No, I will rephrase that. It had THE bearing on the game. If you have to play with 10 men for 20 minutes, maybe half-an- hour, it can be manageable, but 90 minutes, if you include the four added on at the end, is too much.

So far, I’ve only seen the penalty incident in real time. We haven’t got loads of camera angles and someone said there may have been a question of offside, but, from what I saw in real time, Tom (right) deserved to walk. Straightaway, I feared the worst, and I would have expected the same outcome at the other end. Certainly, we would have been screaming for a pen in their area.

Could we have had a pen ourselves, apart from the one that was given? Well, maybe there is a case for saying Damian Reeves was too honest and stayed on his feet when he could have gone down. Maybe there is also a case for saying Akinde slowed down a little bit for their pen and invited the contact, I don’t know. But, really, all three of their goals annoyed me.

The second was from a free-kick out on the left touchline. It came in at a low height and should have been dealt with, so that was poor. For the third, we have to attack the cross, so you have to consider that poor as well. We have given away three poor goals, yet we have missed a penalty and gone close twice through Reevesie near the end, so you have to say, all in all, it was a bizarre game.

Maybe things conspired against us a bit, when you look at all that happened. To have got back to 2-1 just before half-time, with the penalty we missed, would have been nice. We still managed to get back to 2-1 early in the second half, but then went and shot ourselves in the foot by conceding a third. There’s no doubt we made our task a little bit harder than it needed to be by contributing to the degree of difficulty we faced.

Their results have not been what they would have wanted, just lately, and I was thinking, after half-an-hour or so, that if we could pull a goal back, it would be interesting to see how they reacted. Maybe N’ Gala could have gone when he conceded the penalty, but to be absolutely honest, I would have been a bit disappointed if one of my players had picked up a second yellow for that. It was a clumsy challenge, though, and on another day, we could have been 10 v 10 for the entire second half.

It’s no consolation, really, that we put up such a good show, and kept at it so long, because the game went away from us with the sending-off, and that is hugely disappointing. It didn’t have a structure to it after that. We changed systems two or three times, to try and shake things up a bit, and we went more direct in the second half, but really the third goal was a killer. It took the wind out of our sails, because we were thinking, at 2-1, we could possibly take something out of the game.

We had to make a substitution after losing Tom to a straight red, and I just thought it would be a signal of intent to keep both strikers on. It meant we could keep occupying their defenders and try and readdress the numerical advantage they had. If we had taken off Reevesie or Kyle Perry, the one left on would have been dogging between their two centre- backs and getting nowhere. We kept some solidity in the centre of the park, but had maybe less of a presence in wider areas, though we were able to compensate for that by getting the two full-backs on the gallop whenever possible. It was a big ask for the three in midfield, but they showed they were up to it.

Looking at the game overall, I thought it worked OK, and we made the most of a difficult situation. There is always a danger of being caught out every now and again, but at least we gave it a go. Let’s be fair, playing 90 minutes with 10 men is a massive ask.

Any analysis will inevitably keep going back to that first goal and the fact that we needed to show more nous. It was my position, central defence, and that’s why I warned them beforehand. There is always someone bigger, stronger and faster than you are, and it’s up to you to think your way round the problem. Mr.Akinde is a big, strong man with pace and mobility, so you think your way round how to counter that.

You don’t get involved in an arm-wrestling match with him, because he will simply roll you. He wants to feel the centre-half all the time, so you play cat and mouse with him a bit which, unfortunately, we didn’t do for the penalty. You can’t get too tight, because he will read that and be away. The players were briefed about that before the game, and he did exactly what they were briefed about. That’s what is so annoying.

You can’t fault the players’ commitment, though, or the way they went about their business and kept trying to knock the door down. We created clear chances late on and had a real go at them, which should stand us in good stead. It’s just a pity the game tilted massively in Barnet’s favour so early on. That is the big regret.’"

BARNET GAME - VIEWS AND ACTION

Right, is Brian Flynn's post-match interview with Lee Sinnott for Alty TV, which also has excellent highlights of the game against Barnet, here.

THE GAME JUST FLEW BY!

THANK YOU

LADIES' MATCH ABANDONED

OLD BOY

AARON'S GOAL HELPS NATIONAL TEAM

MARTIN ALLEN COMPLIMENTARY

'I thought that it was a good performance. This is a difficult place to come and play at the moment as they are in good form. They were very unlucky last week away at Bristol Rovers. They have got some good players and a good manager and are near the top at the moment on current form so it was always going to be a difficult game. It wasn’t always pretty today, let’s be honest, but they stuck to their jobs and we cut out the silly errors today.

We were very competitive when we needed to be, we were very calm and controlled when we needed to be and it is a big relief for everybody to get those three points on the board. It was a hard-working, disciplined, well-organised win'.

Martin also explained some of the thinking behind the four changes that he made to the starting line-up from last weekend’s loss to Grimsby as he looked to both combat injuries and try a new approach... 'I just thought that we needed to freshen it up... Yiadom got injured in training on Thursday so he couldn’t play and Togwell failed a fitness test on Friday so he couldn’t play. I thought that Lee Cook and Charlie MacDonald needed to be rested. They have played just about every game for us and run themselves into the ground so I just thought that we needed to freshen it up with some fresh legs. Sometimes these things work when you do them and it has done today.

Mauro [Vilhete] has come in and done a really good job, Mugs [Muggleton] has done a great job over at left-back and Elliott did really well stepping on ahead of him. Gash has come in and scored two goals and it was great to have John Akinde back... They are a really good group of lads – they are very professional, very honest and very humble... [Goalkeeper] Graham Stack, on the way in from the warm-up before the game, slipped on the step going into the dressing room and the door handle has gone halfway into his arm believe it or not. That happened at ten to three. We had to go and see the referee and ask if Sam Cowler could play. If you’d seen him, he was crashed out on the floor just before kick-off so how he came out and did what he did today was quite unbelievable'.

Martin was also joined on the bench by coach Kevin Blackwell, and revealed that having had some time to reflect he has decided to call upon the former Barnet goalkeeper’s expertise for the rest of the season. 'I needed to make a change. I have been doing all of this on my own now for god knows how long. I had Gary Waddock in to help me for a month before he went away to work for another club. I know I have been off for most of the week but I decided whilst I was away that I needed some help.

Stacky and Nurse do a good job but I thought that I need a bit more experience and somebody with another forthright opinion to help me... He has got a great deal of experience and he’s got belief in what he does. He’s here now to help me until the end of the season... and I have got to be grateful to the Chairman for helping me get him in'".

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

'If I'm honest, I fell out of love with the game, I didn't really enjoy it any more', he told BBC Sport. 'I didn't see myself going anywhere and I want to have a career and be successful. It wasn't a lack of ambition in football, but it was a good opportunity for me come home and work in a good environment'.

Seabright began his career at Poole Town before being picked up by AFC Bournemouth in 2011... He was released and joined Dagenham and Redbridge, for whom he made 11 appearances in two seasons, before moving to Torquay...

'I want to be successful and I didn't see myself doing that in football,' he said. 'I didn't see myself being a Championship 'keeper or Premier League goalkeeper or League One to be honest. It wasn't a lack of confidence, I was being realistic. I didn't really enjoy it so I thought now was the right time, I had to be honest with Torquay'...

'It's a really brave decision,' Torquay manager Chris Hargreaves told BBC Sport. 'It's a decision that I don't think is necessarily the wrong decision, but the bigger factor is it disappoints me that he's lost that dream. It's unusual, but with someone like Jordan, who's a bright lad and very switched on, he knows what he wants to do, he knows he wants security. He's due to get married and I can see why he's done it.'

Hargreaves added, 'It was with a heavy heart that I accepted his resignation, but we wish him all the best. He's a lovely lad, he's good company, a good person to work with, but he lost the appetite for football, and in any walk of life, if you've lost the appetite for your profession it's a big worry'.

So what was the moment when Seabright finally realised that it was time to put away his gloves and opt for a career which involves working alternate Saturdays trying to sell Audis to the people of Poole? 'It was when I got dropped after the Altrincham game,' he said. 'I thought I was going to make something of myself and then that happened. I didn't like the highs and lows and thought that now was the time to get out... I'm still going to train locally just in case, in six months time, I do choose to go back into it', he added...

'You should play for the love of the game, not because you're going to earn so much money. Do it because you want to do it'. For now, Seabright's departure means Martin Rice is the only goalkeeper on Torquay's books with any first-team experience...

'I need to have a chat with the club and see where we're at financially to see what type of keeper we can bring in', he said. 'We have a youth keeper, Dan Lavercombe, who we rate, he's a fantastic young goalkeeper who we think has a very bright future. But is he ready to go and play week in, week out? I'm not sure'".

According to the Football Conference, "Jamie Richards is to extend his loan spell with Dartford from Plymouth Argyle until the end of the season. The 20-year-old defender has played three games for the Darts so far since joining them a month ago, and is yet to be on the losing side".

The Daily Post tells us that "Wrexham FC boss Kevin Wilkin believes there's still plenty to play for in the league. Kevin Wilkin admits his players must come back down to Earth quickly after earning a return to Wembley in the FA Trophy final as they turn their attention to the league and a trip to Gateshead on Tuesday night...

Wrexham are 20 points off fifth placed Forest Green Rovers and a possible play-off berth, but have played the least number of league games of anyone and have six games in hand over Rovers... Wilkin said, 'We will have enjoyed Saturday night and there is a bit of a buzz about the place, yesterday I had lots of phone calls from people and well wishers which is fantastic and much appreciated, but now we have to focus on the league...

Between now and the final people will be playing for places and opportunities... It is about getting yourself back down and understanding what our bread and butter is and it is the league campaign'...

Wilkin added, 'Like I have said I don’t think we can have any kind of slip ups, we need to string several results together before we can really consider ourselves as play-off candidates again... We have got no room for error if we are to make it. We have the Trophy to look forward to as well, and there will be a lot going on in people’s minds. It is important we focus on one game at a time'...

He was busy in the January transfer window bolstering his squad, and has the chance to make changes... Said the Dragons chief, 'We do have a bit of depth about us, and whether that has coincided with our form picking up would be debatable, but we have got options and got good options there... Mark (Carrington) was injured (and missed the game at Torquay), he might return for the end of the week, but we will have a look at him and see how he gets on in the next couple of days. Dan (Bachmann) I think will be probably middle to later part of the week, they have had him scanned again and there is a little bit of an issue and they want to make sure he is sorted out before he comes back, so I think you are looking at the middle to later part of next week'".

ALTY'S NEXT MATCH

• At Home: P13-W6-D3-L4-F17-A12
• Away: P13-W3-D7-L3-F13-A14
• All: P26-W9-D10-L7-F30-A26

The reverse fixture in 2014 was the low point of Alty's season, as the visitors won 4-0. That result left Altrincham 23rd in the table with eight points from 12 games. Since then Alty have risen to 15th and now face a Welling side lying 20th, thirteen points behind the Robins but with a game in hand. Following a run of four games against top-five teams, from which one point has been gleaned, Altrincham's ten remaining games include six long away trips, all against sides lying tenth or lower in the table. The four remaining home games include three against teams in the bottom eight.

If you cannot get to the match on Sunday, it is being broadcast live on BT Sport and will be shown in the Community Sports Hall at the JD Stadium. So, please come along and enjoy the match in the company of fellow supporters; everyone is welcome. Richie Bentley will be serving breakfasts from 11.30am and the bar will be open.

YOUTHS KEEP UP TITLE PUSH

Above: Sam Heathcote's penalty against Skelmersdale had enough power to get through the hands of the visitors' goalkeeper. Sam is just out of the picture.

On Saturday, Sam Heathcote scored the winning penalty in a shoot out between Cheshire FA Youth and Liverpool after the score was 1-1 at full-time and after extra time. Cheshire meet Middlesex in the final of the County competition, at a venue to be announced on Saturday, 11 April. Heathcote was a late substitute in the game against Liverpool. The Cheshire squad also included Alty's James Campion, James Clancy and Harry Cain.

OLD BOYS

In a game moved to Sandy Lane in Worksop, scene of the Hillmen's fourth round win over Worksop Town, Glossop twice went behind after conceding penalties, but goals from brothers Kelvin and Kieran Lugsden earned them a replay at Surrey Street this coming Saturday.

Shaw Lane went ahead in the 10th minute, when Kelvin Lugsden was penalised for a challenge in the penalty box, and Lee Morris converted the resultant spot kick. The lead lasted only 12 minutes however, with Kieran Lugsden (left, in Alty colours in 2006) getting on the end of a through ball and lobbing the keeper for a well taken equaliser.

Eleven minutes into the second half, Kelvin Lugsden was penalised again, this time for a handball offence, and once more Morris made a good job of the spot kick to put Shaw Lane ahead once more.

But twelve minutes from the end of normal time, Lugsden made amends when he rounded off an eventful afternoon to fire home an equaliser from a corner kick. With a couple of minutes remaining, Kieran Lugsden was helped off with a shoulder injury and was replaced by Sam Grimshaw, who almost won the game with virtually his first touch of the ball, only to be denied by a great save from the keeper.

With no further scoring in the 30 minutes of extra time, both teams go into the hat for the semi final draw which will be made live on Talksport on Monday morning, and the eventual winner of the tie will be determined in the replay at Surrey Street on Saturday, kick off 3 pm."

BARNET GAME

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

George and Elliott have been well received by Boro fans as Liam Daish continues in his quest to turn around the season and escape relegation. Boro have taken seven points from the last three games to see the team move above Dartford. A resurgent Boro travel to Causeway United on Tuesday evening in the Birmingham Senior Cup Quarter Final before facing Southport away next Saturday in another crucial league fixture".

ALTY 1 BARNET 3

Right: Damian Reeves in action against Barnet. Image courtesy of Gavin Rathbone of GR Photography.

Just as in the reverse fixture at The Hive, Altrincham conceded an early goal to Barnet...

Match report here

STUART MEETS SIR ALEX

But he has sought an illustrious ally as he bids to extend his stay at Moss Lane – Sir Alex Ferguson. The former United boss opened the club’s new community sports hall earlier this month and Alty chairman Grahame Rowley invited Coburn to the ceremony.

A big Red, he got the chance to meet his idol and Sir Alex had some words of encouragement for the long-serving keeper. 'I don’t normally get nervous meeting people but when Grahame called me over to introduce me I was like a kid,' Coburn admitted. 'Grahame told him I was about to break the record, that I’m a keeper and I’m nearly 39, and Sir Alex said ‘"Oh, you’ve got years left in you!"

'So I said, "Can you tell our manager that?" It was good to have a laugh with him. I wanted to ask him loads of questions too but couldn’t get the words out. When you think of what he’s achieved, I was just in awe of the man. I must have looked a right idiot!'...

After making his Alty debut in 1998, Coburn has gone on to spend 16 years with the club, either side of a spell with Leigh RMI between May 2002 and October 2003...

'I’ve not signed a contract the last few years,' he said. 'Lads say to me, "Well, what happens if you get injured?" But whenever I’ve got injured in the past I’ve always been paid, it’s not an issue. At the start of the season they shake your hand and that’s good enough for me; that’s how it’s always been here. The club’s run the right way and you get looked after. A few years ago I injured my knee and within a week they got it operated on.

] It’s a great club to be at and play for. That’s why I’ve been here so long. Being non-contract, there’s always a danger they could release you but it’s never really crossed my mind. At the end of each season I’m probably one of the last lads that they ring and say "Do you want to stay next year?" And I just say "Yeah, go on then"'...

Coburn hopes to get the call again from manager Lee Sinnott this summer, but he’s also got his eyes on another prize. 'They’re looking for someone to sponsor the community hall', he explained. 'I said "With all the games I’ve played, shouldn’t it be the Stuart Coburn Community Hall?" But they’re not biting on it at all!'

The club are planning a commemorative programme to mark Stuart’s achievement and welcome any anecdotes/ photographs about his time with Alty. Please email Barry Pikesley here".

BEES' VIEW

Villa's freekick from wide left drifts into the Alty net, with Gash (#40) claiming a touch, to make it 2-0. Barnet report that they "returned to winning ways on Saturday, defeating Altrincham 3-1 at Moss Lane to keep their destiny in their own hands...

As hinted earlier in the week, Martin Allen shuffled his pack following last weekend’s defeat against Grimsby by making four changes to the starting line-up. Injuries to Andy Yiadom and Sam Togwell saw Mauro Vilhete and Conor Clifford come into the side, with Sam Muggleton lining up at left-back as Elliott Johnson pushed forward into midfield in place of Lee Cook.

Meanwhile, John Akinde returned up front alongside Michael Gash having served his one-match suspension, as Charlie MacDonald dropped to the bench with Curtis Weston taking over the armband...

John Akinde did not take long to make an impression on his return, bustling onto the ball in the penalty area before being shoved over by Tom Marshall as he steadied himself to shoot, a foul for which the centre-half saw red as the last man. Akinde then picked himself up to calmly roll the ball to the left [right] of Stuart Coburn and into the net to give the Bees a deserved early lead.

With a man advantage Barnet were able to command proceedings... Their dominance was rewarded with a second goal on the half-hour mark when Luisma Villa swung in a free-kick from the left of the penalty area, as the ball crept through a crowd of bodies for Michael Gash to touch into the far corner...

The referee awarded the hosts a penalty after adjudging Bondz N’Gala to have bundled over Damian Reeves in the box. However, Nicky Clee was unable to take advantage as he sent the ball high over the crossbar from the spot just as the half-time whistle sounded. With N’Gala already on a yellow card before conceding the penalty, Martin Allen decided to make a change at the break by bringing Jack Saville on in his place.

The hosts did not have to wait much longer for their goal however, pulling one back just three minutes after the break when Reeves snuck in behind the Barnet defence to claim a high bouncing ball before firing low across goal into the corner of the net...

Conor Clifford played a free kick short to the unmarked Elliott Johnson to clip a diagonal pass into the box onto the head of Michael Gash who claimed his second of the afternoon... They were forced to play the final ten minutes with ten men themselves after Charlie MacDonald was forced off with a knee injury sustained in a mid-air collision...

David Stephens was forced to intervene with a goal line clearance to deny Reeves after he had been forced wide by Graham Stack as Altrincham mounted a late push during four minutes of stoppage time".

NEXT OPPONENTS: WELLING UNITED

There are two seated grandstands at Park View Road, spaces in the new stand on the cricket side may be limited due to BT Sport requiring space for television gantries".

On Friday, Welling announced that "Jody Brown has bolstered the squad's attacking options with the signing of Samuel Akinde, younger brother of Barnet striker Jon. Sam, also a striker, has signed non-contract forms".

YOUTH NEWS

Alty Youth manager George Heslop also advises us that four of his youth team are in the Cheshire FA side which played this weekend. They are Sam Heathcote, James Campion, Harry Cain and James Clancy. And the youth team's Aaron Goldman plays for the Independent Schools FA on Sunday at Cambridge.

EVOSTIK SIGNINGS

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NEWS

Dean Keates` free-kick was headed past Martin Rice by Louis Moult. But Wrexham scored a second on the day to make it virtually game over 10 minutes later Kieron Morris converting from close range. And Morris was again on target just a minute later...

It wasn`t to be for Conference South side Bath City, who drew 2-2 in the first leg at Twerton Park last Saturday. Nick McCootie gave Bath a 3-2 aggregate lead inside the opening couple of minutes... But the home side pulled the tie back to 3-3 on the hour-mark when big striker Tom Denton was pulled back by Phil Walsh and Liam King equalised from the resulting penalty...

It would be spot-kicks to determine the road to Wembley. And Ferriby keeper Adam Nicklin proved the hero with two saves as the Humbersiders triumphed 4-2... North Ferriby played under the old twin towers in the 1997 FA Vase Final when they lost 3-0 to Whitby Town."

According to the Football Conference "Bristol Rovers maintained their two-point lead at the top of the Vanarama Conference table after a 1-0 win at the International Stadium against Gateshead... Rovers` victory was marred, however, by a serious-looking injury to midfielder Stuart Sinclair, who had to leave the pitch on a stretcher during a goalless opening period...

Grimsby Town moved up to third after a 1-0 win at Blundell Park against Braintree Town... The visitors were later reduced to ten-men. Chez Isaac was sent-off 5 minutes from time for two bookable offences.

BT Sport`s lunchtime offering was a decent affair between a now fourth-placed Macclesfield Town and sixth-placed Eastleigh at the Silverlake Stadium. The Spitfires took the lead after 12 minutes when Harry Pell's header flew in off the shoulder of Silkmen`s French defender Thierry Audel.

The second half was entertaining and saw James Constable double the home side`s lead 9 minutes in... Reason curled in the third on the hour-mark from the edge of the box. And the experienced Deon Burton, on as a 66th minute substitute, added a fourth from close range 12 minutes later...

Forest Green Rovers sandwich Macclesfield and Eastleigh in the table after edging out struggling Southport 5-3 at the New Lawn. Southport raced out of the traps and had a penalty awarded to them after just 3 minutes when Charlie Clough fouled Richard Brodie. But Brodie saw his spot-kick saved by Rovers` keeper Steve Arnold. But just a minute later David Fitzpatrick scored directly from a corner to put Port ahead.

Jon Parkin’s spot-kick pulled Rovers back on level terms in the 15th minute and further goals by Aarran Racine on 34 minutes, Kurtis Guthrie a minute before the break, Marcus Kelly on 55 minutes and Clovis Kamdjo on 61 minutes stretched Forest Green`s lead to 5-1.

Luke Foster after 62 minutes and sub Connor McCarthy 8 minutes from time reduced the deficit to two, but the home side held out.

FC Halifax Town were able to come away from Aggborough with a point following a 0-0 draw with Kidderminster Harriers... Woking maintained their outside play-off hopes after a 2-0 victory at Sincil Bank against Lincoln City...

AFC Telford United lost a crucial `six-pointer` against fellow strugglers Alfreton Town at the New Bucks Head and are now ten points adrift of the safety-mark. Luke Graham's 57th minute header eventually proved enough to hand the Reds all three points in a poor game.

Dartford are five points better off than the Bucks after sharing a 1-1 draw at the Electrical Services Stadium against an Aldershot Town side now seven points clear of the bottom four... Another massive game involving the bottom four took place at Liberty Way and saw Nuneaton Town earn a vital 1-0 win against fifth-bottom Welling United. Andy Walker banged in the game's only goal from the edge of the box 5 minutes into the second half.

Welling have now lost their last seven league games, while Nuneaton are unbeaten in their last three."

According to Bulls' News "Just prior to Saturday afternoon's match at Aggborough, it was revealed that Kidderminster's staff and players had received only a third of their expected wages. Payments were due in full yesterday but the short payment led the Harriers players and coaching staff to refuse to speak to the press after their goalless draw with Halifax.

The Aggborough outfit announced a loss for the 2013/14 season of £120,000 earlier in the week."

Kidderminster Harriers report that "In the absence of post-match interviews from the Harriers' management staff and players, Club Director Gino Ruffinato stepped forward to field questions from the press, namely Steve Miller of BBC Hereford & Worcester and Pete McKinney of the Kidderminster Shuttle". It can be heard here.

More comes from the Kidderminster Shuttle which states that "Harriers' players and management formed a wall of silence in protest after it emerged that staff at the club had only been partially paid for the month. Gary Whild's coaching team and players refused to talk to press after their clash against play-off rivals Halifax.

Employees at the Aggborough outfit had only been paid a third of the wages for February on Friday. The self-imposed media gagging by the playing staff is another worrying chapter in Kidderminster's on going financial troubles. The Carpetmen have relied on the generosity of benefactors Kath and Ernie Lane to pay wages the shortfall each month.

But this latest development throws the club's money worries into sharp light".

SATURDAY GATES

• Att: 1561 AFC Telford Utd v Alfreton Town
• Att: 1787 Aldershot Town v Dartford
• Att: 1450 Altrincham v Barnet
• Att: 4126 Eastleigh v Macclesfield Town
• Att: 1222 Forest Green Rovers v Southport
• Att: 1668 Gateshead v Bristol Rovers
• Att: 3339 Grimsby Town v Braintree Town
• Att: 1766 Kidderminster Harriers v FC Halifax Town
• Att: 2347 Lincoln City v Woking
• Att: 763 Nuneaton Town v Welling United