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NEWS ARCHIVE
Augsuty, 2017

31 August 2017

PHIL'S PRIDE IN THE JOB

Altrincham manager Phil Parkinson was interviewed by Press and Media Officer, John Edwards, after the 2-0 Bank Holiday Monday win at Witton Albion. Here is the interview in full.

Q: That looked a real statement of intent by the players, a true indication of their capabilities, didn't it?

A: I said when we lost to Stafford on the opening day, and even after Matlock, I would not panic. I believe in this group of players. We are not going to beat every team in this league by stupid scorelines, because it is a competitive league. But I would like to think the lads in our team are capable of winning games. The other side of it, that was so evident in the second half, is we set out to make sure we finished with a clean sheet. One of the most important things for me today was that when we went 2-0 up, without being in any way negative, I wanted to make sure people understood my teams can keep clean sheets. That's two now, and we are made up with that, and we are only going to get stronger and better in that department.

Look at young James (Jones), [pictured, left] who is only 20, Laurence Taylor 20, Tony (Thompson) in his early 20s. It is quite a youthful back four, one that's learning all the time, and they've got experience alongside them, in the shape of Ben (Harrison), Ringo (Simon Richman) and Dens (Shaun Densmore), who have all been there and seen it and are only going to get the best out of the younger lads.

Q: The game couldn't have gone much better, could it, other than injuries to Dens and Ringo?

A: That's right. It just seems to be the curse of the full-backs at the moment, the way injuries are going. They're the ones getting all the little niggles, but that's the strength we have, the way we've been able to shuffle things around. You wouldn't be able to tell Laurence isn't a full-back, Tom Hannigan is normally in the centre, Ringo is filling in and Dens has played virtually all his career on the right, rather than the left. That's great credit to them.

That's what we are going to have to do, because I believe in keeping a tight group of players. I want to try and look after them, because I believe loyalty breeds loyalty, but I did say to them that if they don't recover in a timely fashion, I might have to bring people in. It's too early to gauge the extent of today's injuries, so soon afterwards, so we'll see how that goes.

I wasn't particularly happy with the challenges that caused the injuries today, but I was also unhappy with the officiating in general. It was a little bit soft, with regard to the way any minimal contact my players made with an opponent resulted in a free-kick. They were young officials, clearly still learning, but unfortunately it can cost you.

Q: The two goals, by James Poole and Josh Hancock, were goal-of-the-month contenders, weren't they?

A: They were, and it was good to see them going in the other end, because we've had a few spectacular efforts going in against us recently. It was minimum back-lift with James, and he looked so nonchalant, the way he hit it. Josh's was an absolute rifle, and he is very capable of doing that. I said when we signed him, he scores in patches, and that is three in three now, so he is bang in form on the goal front. He looked a real threat all game, and I thought he ran Jake Moult (right) very close for man of the match.

I just thought Jake was outstanding, an absolute true leader, which is a big reason why I wanted to keep him here, because he is Altrincham through and through. You can see that in his performances. He's busting a gut to do well for this club, and I think anyone coming to watch this game, or any game since I arrived, will have seen that.

Q: Were you hoping for that sort of response when you made him captain?

A: I wasn't hoping, I knew. I knew that's what I would get from him. I spoke to him heavily before I got the job, and I could tell the feeling he had for the place. That was one of the big things that sold it to me, in terms of what he was saying about the place and how he thinks it's the best club in non-League. That's coming from someone who has played at the pinnacle of non-League in the Conference National. He knows what it's all about, and that is exactly what I have seen over the last few games, with the level of support we've had from fans who have been right behind us. It's so important now we keep doing what we've been doing.

Q: On that first goal, it was almost as if James (left) was slightly off-balance, and, as you say, there was virtually no back-lift, yet it flew into the top corner, didn't it?

A: The lad is a magician. Some of the things he does on the pitch are absolutely spectacular, things you think he has no right to do. That's why I went all out to get him to the club, because he is the type of player you want to watch, and I can see him turning into a cult hero with Alty fans. He's probably on his way to that already. I think he looks fitter than he has for a long time, because I'm asking him to work, as well as do the things that make him stand out. He is putting a shift in. I know he may sometimes pull a face at me, but he knows it's for the good of the team, so he does it. He does it because he wants the best for this team. He is a team player.

A lot of times, when you have a player of James' ability, they don't run round as hard as he does, but he's got that about him, as well as incredible natural talent. He's like a poet on a football field, and it's a pleasure to watch him and a pleasure to manage him.

Q: You probably expected a reaction from Witton in the second half, after we went 2-0 up, but we defended so well that Tony Thompson (right) didn't have a serious save to make, did he?

A: No he didn't, and I feel it has been that way so far this season. I can't remember my keepers having to work too hard, except for picking the ball out of the net now and again, which is extremely frustrating. That's why we were intent on getting that clean sheet today.

We maybe sacrificed a bit of our possession play in the second half, because we were very dogged and wanted to win second balls. Witton are direct, and I wanted to see if we could rough it out with them. They were unbeaten, going into the game, so it showed we can come to places like this and not only get a positive result but look comfortable with it. I don't think we ever looked under threat, so overall I was really happy with the performance.

Q: Do you feel a bit of momentum is building now?

A: Yes, winning is a habit. It breeds winning when you've won three on the bounce, and everyone is buzzing. The lads really believe in what we have been telling them, and what we have been doing. They knew from the pre-season that it worked, and the big thing for me is they never lost faith when the opening result didn't go our way. It's still very early, but it's positive to see we can put back-to-back wins together. We need to build some momentum now and keep doing that throughout the season.

Q: What about the scenes at the end, really enthusiastic applause going both ways, between players and supporters?

A: Yeah, that was great to see. I said it at the last game, it's a pleasure and honour to manage this club. I can't believe I'm actually standing here saying I am Altrincham manager. It is something I have worked really hard for, and I just take great pride in being entrusted with guiding the playing fortunes of this club. Just seeing and hearing the fans get behind me fills me with even more pride and with a desire to go out and win as many games as I can for Altrincham Football Club to hopefully turn our fortunes around".

NEXT GAMES

Above, Moss Lane looked resplendent in the evening sunshine on Wednesday. The next action for Altrincham teams is indicated below...

  • Sat. 2 Sep. 2017: ABBEY HEY (FA Cup) (Away) 3pm
  • Sat. 2 Sep. 2017: RUDHEATH SOCIAL (Away) 3pm
  • Sun. 3 Sep. 2017: PRESCOT CABLES (Home, Flixton) 2.30pm
  • Sun. 3 Sep. 2017: LIVERPOOL MARSHALLS FEDS RESERVES (Home) 2pm

SUPPORTERS' TRANSPORT

TASC's Mark Eckersall confirmed recently that "due to its close proximity TASC will not be running transport to our FA Cup opponents, on Saturday 2nd September, Abbey Hey (13 miles away)". This is because it is uneconomic to do so and supporters can get there by other means. However, Mark adds that "We will be running travel to Barwell on Saturday 9th September and will also be taking names for an interest list to see if we can get the numbers for Workington on Tuesday 12th September. These lists will be available during this week so keep an eye on the website and bookings will be available by phone at the club or at the Lancaster game on Tuesday 5th September."

For those making their way to Abbey Hey the club address is Goredale Ave, Manchester M18 7HD. It is easily reached from Altrincham/Sale on the M60, which you leave at Denton Island, where you turn left and proceed for about a mile. The ground is signposted as a left turn off Hyde Road.

Mike Garnett advises that the 201 bus from Piccadilly passes near the ground and runs every ten minutes. The nearest railway station is Ryder Brow (on the line from Piccadilly to Marple).

LEADING SCORERS

The EvoStik League list of leading scorers in our division is as follows...
  • 6: Liam Hardy (Buxton)
  • 5: Jordan Archer (Stourbridge), Daniel Westwood (Stafford Rangers), Lee Shaw (Grantham Town), James Walshaw (Farsley Celtic incl 3 penalties)
  • 4: Shaun Harrad (Matlock Town)
  • 3: Joshua Hancock (Altrincham, pictured right), Gurjit Singh (Sutton Coldfield Town), Connor Hughes (Warrington Town), Joshua Hine (Warrington Town), Blair Anderson (Coalville Town), Sean Williams (Warrington Town - all penalties).

FA CUP: ABBEY HEY

Although Saturday's FA Cup tie at Abbey Hey will be Altrincham's first competitive game against the Gorton club, we have met them twelve times times in pre-season friendlies since 1999, with Alty winning ten times and drawing twice. The record is as follows...
  • 22 July 2000: ABBEY HEY 1 ALTRINCHAM 2

    SCORER:
    Richard Landon - both goals

  • 22 July 2000: ABBEY HEY (1) 1 ALTRINCHAM (2) 5

    SCORERS

    19 mins: Rico RICHARDS (Abbey Hey) 1-0
    37 mins: Greg DUFF (Altrincham) 1-1
    40 mins: Anthony SNAGG (Altrincham) pen. 1-2
    47 mins: Phil POWER (Altrincham) 1-3
    66 mins: Danny FROST (Altrincham) 1-4
    82 mins: Leroy CHAMBERS (Altrincham) 1-5

  • 21st July 2001: ABBEY HEY (1) 1 ALTRINCHAM (3) 6

    SCORERS:
    14 mins: Stuart CARTWRIGHT (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 0)
    35 mins: Lee POLAND (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 1)
    39 mins: Lee POLAND (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 2)
    41 mins: Wayne McKENZIE (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 3)
    83 mins: Gerard LÉONARD (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 4)
    86 mins: Colin HUNTER (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 5)
    89 mins: Simon McMAIN (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 6)

  • 20 July, 2002: ABBEY HEY (0) 1 ALTRINCHAM (0) 1

    SCORERS:
    68 mins: Andy McDONALD (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 1)
    82 mins: Matt JACKSON (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 1)

  • 23 July, 2003: ABBEY HEY (1) 1 ALTRINCHAM (2) 4

    SCORERS
    25 mins: Mattie HUGHES (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 1)
    30 mins: Mattie HUGHES (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 2)
    33 mins: Greg BROWN (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 2)
    62 mins: Mattie HUGHES (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 3)
    83 mins: Peter BAND (Abbey Hey 1 Altrincham 4)

  • 17 July, 2004: ABBEY HEY (0) 0 ALTRINCHAM (4) 8

    SCORERS
    15 mins: Colin LITTLE (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 1)
    28 mins: Kieran LUGSDEN (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 2)
    33 mins: Kieran LUGSDEN (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 3)
    35 mins: Colin LITTLE (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 4)
    54 mins: Stuart WRIGHT (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 5)
    67 mins: Peter BAND (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 6)
    81 mins: Stuart WRIGHT (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 7)
    90 mins: Peter BAND (Abbey Hey 0 Altrincham 8)

  • 10 August, 2005: ABBEY HEY 2 ALTRINCHAM RESERVES 4

    ALTRINCHAM SCORERS
    Colin POTTS (3)
    Gary WILLIAMS

  • 12 July 2008: ABBEY HEY (1) 1 ALTRINCHAM (5) 5

    SCORERS
    5, 11, 27, 38 and 41 mins: Chris SENIOR (Altrincham)
    30 mins: Danny HEFFERNAN (Abbey Hey)

  • 11 July 2009: ABBEY HEY (0) 2 ALTRINCHAM (2) 6

    ALTRINCHAM SCORERS

    6 mins: Colin LITTLE
    13 mins: Dale JOHNSON
    49 mins: Eddie STAMFORD
    64 mins: Steve CONNOR
    73 mins: Paul McMANUS
    76 mins: Paul McMANUS

  • 7 July, 2012: ABBEY HEY (0) 0 ALTRINCHAM (2) 4

    SCORERS:
    10 mins: Duncan WATMORE (Abbey Hey 0 ALTRINCHAM 1)
    22 mins: Shaun DENSMORE (Abbey Hey 0 ALTRINCHAM 2)
    63 mins: James LAWRIE (penalty) (Abbey Hey 0 ALTRINCHAM 3)
    65 mins: James LAWRIE (Abbey Hey 0 ALTRINCHAM 4)

  • 5 July 2014: ABBEY HEY (0) 1 ALTRINCHAM (3) 6

    SCORERS:
    26 mins: Sean WILLIAMS (Abbey Hey 0 ALTRINCHAM 1)
    34 mins: Damian REEVES (Abbey Hey 0 ALTRINCHAM 2)
    39 mins: Damian REEVES (Abbey Hey 0 ALTRINCHAM 3)
    55 mins: Kyle PERRY (Abbey Hey 0 ALTRINCHAM 4)
    63 mins: Billy SUTCLIFFE (Abbey Hey 1 ALTRINCHAM 4)
    69 mins: Damian REEVES (Abbey Hey 1 ALTRINCHAM 5)
    77 mins: Damian REEVES (Abbey Hey 1 ALTRINCHAM 6)

  • 7 July, 2015: ABBEY HEY 0 ALTRINCHAM 0
30 August 2017

RESERVES' HIGH-SCORING GAME

Altrincham Reserves were away to Congleton Vale on Tuesday night and lost a high-scoring game to the odd goal in seven. In a very good game, Alty went 2-0 down after fifteen minutes before getting back to 2-2, thanks to two goals from Max Harrop, one of which was a penalty. Congleton then went 3-2 up before Joel Swift scored a 30-yard screamer to level the match again. The referee then awarded a dubious free kick, just out side the box shortly before the end, which was really well struck and clinched the game for the hosts.

On Saturday, Altrincham Reserves are away again, to Rudheath Social at Lostock Gralam.

CLUB STATEMENT

"We were extremely saddened and shocked to hear, after the game at Witton Albion on Bank Holiday Monday, that a man standing near to Altrincham supporters had shouted racist abuse at a player. The club will not tolerate such unacceptable behaviour and will endeavour to find out who the culprit is. Should we succeed in identifying him, he will be banned for life from all future Altrincham and Witton games. We would like to thank our fans for pointing out the offender to the Witton stewards, who ejected him from the ground in a very professional manner. If anybody should know the person responsible, please advise an official of the club to enable us to take the necessary action. We thank you for your assistance in this matter".

EVOSTIK FIXTURE POLICY

When the 2017-18 fixture list dealt Altrincham many Saturday 3pm kick-offs against local teams such as Ashton United, Stalybridge Celtic and Warrington Town, but Tuesday 7.45pm kick-offs at their two furthest opponents, Workington (294 miles return) and Whitby (268 miles return), many supporters were baffled. However, it now emerges that short-distance 3pm matches and lengthy midweek journeys are actually the policy of the EvoStik League. Writing in the Albion Review, Witton Albion (and Evostik League) chairman Mark Harris confirms the League's views on assigning fixtures.

Following Albion's own midweek game at Workington last week, Mark wrote that "I was recently asked why long-distance fixtures are played midweek. The answer is simple; to play them at weekends would mean the more local derby fixtures being played midweek instead.

"For most, if not all clubs, it is the local games that generate the most income so, coupled with the motorway traffic nightmares so often encountered at weekends, that's why it makes more sense to prioritise the local games. Of course, I'd rather take a trip like the one to Workington early in the season rather than on a freezing cold Tuesday in January!"

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

The Whitby Gazette reports that "Whitby Town have placed forward Mikey Roberts on the transfer list. A club statement said, 'The striker has found opportunities limited with the club since the start of the season and will be allowed to move on by the club. Roberts is well-known for his energetic displays up front and has vast experience around non-league football in the North East, including spells with Guisborough Town and Spennymoor Town. Any interested parties must go through first-team manager Chris Hardy on 07837 264 188 and not Mikey Roberts himself."

Also in Yorkshire, Farsley Celtic report that "Bank Holiday Monday saw Farsley play their final league fixture of the opening month of the campaign as they travelled to Sheerien Park to take on Shaw Lane AFC. Unfortunately it saw Farsley succumb to a second-half goal from ex-Celt Damian Reeves to end their unbeaten start to the new season.

The Celts' boss gave his reaction to his squad’s first taste of defeat 24 hours after the game, stating, 'I’m disappointed that we’ve lost and I think it’s harsh on the players who definitely deserved something out of the game. Having had chance to watch the game back, big decisions went against us and certainly cost us today. I felt at the time the challenge on Isaac in the second minute was a stone wall penalty and having seen it again it’s unbelievable that it wasn’t awarded...

All we want the Officials to do is make the correct decision and unfortunately in this instance he got it badly wrong. The opening goal in any game is so important and that would have presented us with an excellent opportunity to go ahead'...

Adam... offered the following observation on the Shaw Lane winner, 'The decisive goal was well worked by them and the one time we’ve been opened up, we’ve been punished, but the final touch by Damian Reeves is a yard offside and that is extremely frustrating. The initial shot from Aiden Chippendale may have been heading goal bound, but the final touch was by Reeves who is offside and it shouldn’t have stood.'

However, the Farsley manager was quick to praise the efforts of the team on the day, adding 'The reaction by the players after falling behind was fantastic and they pushed right until the end to get an equaliser, but we couldn’t find that bit of quality in the final third... I am not unhappy with the effort or application of the players. I felt yet again we were defensively solid and dealt well with the threat and physicality of Shaw Lane...

However, Shaw Lane are a good team with strong, experienced players and will be difficult to beat, especially at home.'

Adam, though, put the loss into context, saying 'For us now it’s a case of putting this result behind us, not getting too down and trying to win our next game which is another challenging match this time in the FA Cup against Stalybridge Celtic. We knew we were going to lose the odd game here and there, as most teams in the division already have, and we’re only six games in, so yes its disappointing, but a result we will bounce back from I’m sure'".

Of the same game, NL Yorkshire says, "Super-sub Damian Reeves scored within seconds of coming on against his former club Farsley Celtic to lift Shaw Lane up to third... Reeves, who was a vital member of the Farsley team that won promotion to the Conference National in 2007, capitalised on a defensive mistake to put the Ducks ahead in the 71st minute.

Farsley threw the kitchen sink in the final few minutes...

Shaw Lane AFC: Stewart, Bembo Leta, Serrant, Keiran Lugsden, Kelvin Lugsden, Qualter, Byrne (Chippindale 61), Harris, Clayton, Norris (Reeves 70), Walker (Abadaki 92). Subs not used: Lenighan, Chilaka.

Farsley Celtic: McKibbin, Porritt (Deacey 77), Baldwin, C Atkinson, Pollard, Clayton, Priestley (Watson 77), B Atkinson, Walshaw, Cartman, Walker (Marshall 77). Subs not used: Parkin, Trenery." Ex-Alty players are in bold in the above list.

News of last Saturday's visitors comes from Coalville Townwhere "The club have unfortunately been informed that coach Steve Walker has decided to take a break from football and leave his role as first-team coach. Due to work commitments and travel, Steve felt that he couldn't put the time and effort in that the club and role requires at this level of football.

Steve has played a massive part in helping Coalville reach the Evo Stik Northern Premier and has been an ever-present figure in the dugout since Tommy and Mark took over... The role will now be filled by current staff unless otherwise stated."

Workington drew at Whitby on Monday and from Workington we learn that "Both sides looked a pale shadow of the teams which did so well last season but is that down to the demanding Bank Holiday week-end schedule or a general drop in standards?

It would be harsh to criticise either team for their efforts on a very warm afternoon but, from a Reds perspective, this was another opportunity lost with three points there for the taking. The fact that they are not firing on all cylinders is a concern with some players carrying injuries and others struggling to find consistent levels of form... For the fourth game in a row, [they] found the opposition goalkeeper enjoying his ninety minutes at our expense.

Either there are some very good ‘keepers out there or Workington lack that killer instinct in front of goal. We have to go with the latter theory, of course, and address a problem which sees the team dominating but, repeatedly, failing to win.

On the evidence of this encounter, it is easy to see why both Town and Reds are languishing in the lower half of the table instead of mapping out a promotion challenge. Confidence is at a low ebb in both camps it would seem, illustrated perfectly by the game’s first incident after just ten minutes. Sam Smith’s uncharacteristic rash challenge on Kieran Weledji earned the home side a penalty but a poor spot-kick from the latter was easily smothered by Aaran Taylor...

Town got their noses in front after fifty six minutes when Weledji took advantage of a moment’s uncertainty in the Reds’ defence. He collected the ball and drove it into the far corner of Taylor’s net.

Within three minutes, though, the Cumbrians were back in the game when Matty Douglas became the fifth different scorer for Reds throughout August. Anthony Wright worked the ball out wide to Conor Tinnion and his low cross was met at the far post by Douglas who gleefully headed home the equaliser. Reds should have gone on to win from that point but there was never the conviction to suggest they would...

Joint-boss David Hewson was left to reflect on a frustrating week-end saying, 'We could easily have obtained six points over the two games but have two to show for our efforts'".

29 August 2017

WITTON ALBION 0-2 ALTRINCHAM

Above: Sam Sheridan, Ben Harrison, Tony Thompson and James Jones combine to keep Witton at bay.

Altrincham made it three successive wins after a particularly impressive first half performance...

Match report here.

IT'S ABBEY HEY IN FA CUP

Abbey Hey defeated Maine Road 2-1 at Brantingham Road in Monday night's FA Cup Preliminary Round replay. So Alty will travel to Gorton next Saturday for the First Qualifying Round.

Abbey Hey's scorers were Robert Swallow (10 mins) and Rhys Webb (88), with Maine Road's Matthew Morgan scoring a 90th minute consolation goal. 189 spectators watched the match.

SATURDAY'S GATES

  • Att. 254 Ashton United 1 - 4 Buxton (Greg Young scored for Buxton)
  • Att. 227 Coalville Town 2 - 0 Mickleover Sports
  • Att. 372 Halesowen Town 0 - 2 Sutton Coldfield Town
  • Att. 354 Lancaster City 1 - 0 Stalybridge Celtic
  • Att. 444 Marine 0 - 4 Warrington Town (Sean Williams scored twice from the spot)
  • Att. 529 Matlock Town 2 - 3 Grantham Town
  • Att. 352 Nantwich Town 2 - 2 Barwell (Clayton McDonald scored an own goal playing for the Dabbers)
  • Att. 522 Rushall Olympic 1 - 2 Stourbridge
  • Att. 287 Shaw Lane 1 - 0 Farsley Celtic (Damian Reeves netted the goal)
  • Att. 1226 Stafford Rangers 0 - 1 Hednesford Town
  • Att. 288 Whitby Town 1 - 1 Workington
  • Att. 754 Witton Albion 0 - 2 Altrincham

OLD BOYS

As Ramsbottom United beat Radcliffe Borough 3-0, Sam Heathcote scored one of the goals. At our neighbours, Trafford, James Dean netted the home goal in a 1 -1 draw with Atherton Collieries.

AFTER THE COALVILLE WIN

Alty assistant manager, Neil Sorvel, was interviewed after the gamw with Coalville Town and this can be seen here.
28 August 2017

WITTON ALBION 0-2 ALTRINCHAM

Above: Alty celebrate their opening goal.

Altrincham made it three successive wins after a particularly impressive first half performance. Victory took them into the top half of the table. But the game was marred by three additions to Alty's growing injury list.

Altrincham took a fifteenth-minute lead when Hulme collected a long ball and fed Poole. He placed an excellent rising shot into the net from just outside the box. However, Alty then lost right-back Richman to a foul which the referee failed to see. With full-backs Short and Disney missing this game through injury, the loss of makeshift full-back Richman, a midfielder by trade, must be a concern to the management.

But a superb strike from outside the box by former Witton man Josh Hancock made it 2-0 for the visitors in the 37th minute. After the break Alty also saw Densmore hobble off and then Hulme departed after an earlier knock. Witton had more of the game in the second half but Alty's makeshift backline, featuring midfielder Taylor at right-back, and centre-back Hannigan at left-back flanking Harrison and Jones, kept a clean sheet.

Match report here.

BANK HOLIDAY FIXTURES

Monday 28 August:
  • Ashton United 1-4 Buxton
  • Coalville Town 2-0 Mickleover Sports
  • Halesowen Town 0-2 Sutton Coldfield Town
  • Lancaster City 1-0 Stalybridge Celtic
  • Marine 0-4 Warrington Town
  • Matlock Town 2-3 Grantham Town
  • Nantwich Town 2-2 Barwell
  • Rushall Olympic 1-2 Stourbridge
  • Shaw Lane 1-0 Farsley Celtic
  • Stafford Rangers 0-1 Hednesford Town
  • Whitby Town 1-1 Workington
  • Witton Albion 0-2 Altrincham

WITTON ALBION v ALTRINCHAM: LIVE COVERAGE

You can follow this fixture 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.

updates radiorobins

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

The commentators are Paul Salt and Ian Watmore and the match summariser is John Edwards.

Coverage starts at 2.40pm.

Guidance for Listening to Radio Robins

There will be 4 ways to listen to Radio Robins via Mixlr

  • a) The Radio Robins website. Open the page in any web browser and the broadcast should start automatically. Please note that the 4 Player Options (Windows Player | Real Player | Quick Time | Winamp ) will not work now.
  • b) Download and install the Mixlr app on Android devices from the Google Play Store - start the app and search for 'Radio Robins'.
  • c) Download and install the Mixlr app on Apple devices from the Apple Store - start the app and search for 'Radio Robins'.
  • d) There is a temporary WIX website here.

BEFORE THE GAME AT WITTON

The Northwich Guardian says of the Witton Albion v Altrincham game on Monday that "By a distance, it’s the biggest game in the Northern Premier League’s top-flight on Monday.

Promoted Witton have surprised almost everybody, save perhaps for manager Carl Macauley, by starting the season with a five-match unbeaten sequence that has earned them a share of the lead in the Premier Division table. Visitors Altrincham proved too strong for Coalville yesterday, and have won back-to-back matches following a 1-0 victory at home to Whitby in midweek. It appears an early wobble, which saw them lose two of their first three games, may be behind them.

Gary Martindale, Witton Albion’s assistant manager, said, 'These lads are annoyed they haven’t won all five games, and that shows how far we’ve come, I guess. Of course, and being serious, we’d have snapped off your hand had you offered us a chance to be unbeaten going into the game against Altrincham, no two ways about it.'

In-form Witton have lost only one of their past 23 league games in front of their own supporters, turning Wincham Park into a real fortress. Man to keep an eye on is Prince Haywood. Has been among Witton’s most consistent performers in the season’s opening month... The 25-year-old has excelled in a central role after playing most of last term in a position wide on the right of midfield.

Full-back Matty Devine (hamstring) was not risked for Saturday’s trip to Barwell, and has sat out the past two games. Front man Rob Hopley was rested for the trip to Leicester [Barwell], while attacking midfielder Ben Greenop was included in the squad for the first time since completing a transfer from Vauxhall Motors earlier this month.

Familiar faces [in the Altrincham side:] defender Ben Harrison and wide man Josh Hancock will need no introduction to Witton Albion supporters after playing a key part in the club’s promotion success via the play-offs in 2012. Striker Tom Peers is another to have played for the Northwich club previously, making a handful of appearances as a substitute four years ago while on a youth loan to the club from Chester.

Most recent meetings:

  • Altrincham 0-2 Witton (FA Cup 2QR, October 1 2011)
  • Altrincham 4-0 Witton (Cheshire FA Senior Cup, January 20 2009)
  • Witton 0-3 Altrincham (Cheshire FA Senior Cup, September 25 2007)

Admission Adults £10, Concessions (OAP/Students) £7, Under 18s £3, Members of HM Armed Forces free. Parking Free at the ground".

Mike Garnett reminds us of the statistical record against Albion. Although Alty shade the number of victories, Witton have a significant lead in goals scored.

  • At home: P83-W48-D17-L18-F185-A126
  • Away: P77-W17-D16-L44-F92-A168
  • Neutral :P4-W1-D0-L3-F4-A5
  • All: P164-W66-D33-L65-F279-A295

COALVILLE MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Alty TV has highlights of Altrincham v Coalville Town here.

FA CUP OPPONENTS

Next Saturday, Altrincham travel to either Maine Road or Abbey Hey in the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round. The two Manchester clubs meet today (Monday) in their Preliminary Round replay.

Last Saturday they had contrasting fortunes as Maine Road lost 0-5 at home to City of Liverpool FC, whilst Abbey Hey secured a 2-0 win away to Northwich Victoria, thanks to goals by George Noon and Benito Lowe in front of a crowd of just 91.

27 August 2017

ALTRINCHAM 4 COALVILLE TOWN 2

Altrincham's win lifted them to fourteenth in the EvoStik Premier (North). Above Gavin Rathbone's image shows Jordan Hulme hitting the deck during his hard-working performance in the game.

Match report here.

NEXT OPPONENTS: WITTON ALBION

Having played bottom-placed Coalville Town on Saturday, Altrincham are away to joint league leaders Witton Albion on Bank Holiday Monday (3pm). Witton are unbeaten after three wins and two draws, although they have only scored five times so far. At the back, they have conceded just twice.

And after playing a team we had never previously played (Coalville Town), we now face the club in this division against whom we have played the most.

Mike Garnett reminds us of the statistical record against Albion. Although Alty shade the number of victories, Witton have a significant lead in goals scored.

  • At home: P83-W48-D17-L18-F185-A126
  • Away: P77-W17-D16-L44-F92-A168
  • Neutral :P4-W1-D0-L3-F4-A5
  • All: P164-W66-D33-L65-F279-A295

Witton Albion play just 12 miles from Alty at Wincham Park, Chapel Street, Wincham, Northwich CW9 6DA.

RESERVES' RESULT

Altrincham FC Reserves lost 2-1 at Billinge on Saturday. Their next game is on Tuesday (29th) when they are away to Congleton Vale (7pm).

ALTY TV

Alty TV's highlights from the 1-0 win over Whitby Town on Tuesday are here and Michael Ripley Photography's photos from that match are here.

GATES

Saturday's attendances were...
  • Att. 592: Altrincham 4 - 2 Coalville Town
  • Att. 162: Barwell 0 - 1 Witton Albion
  • Att. 278: Buxton 2 - 1 Halesowen Town
  • Att. 176: Farsley Celtic 1 - 0 Rushall Olympic (James Walshaw's penalty settled this game)
  • Att. 244: Grantham Town 2 - 0 Whitby Town
  • Att. 412: Hednesford Town 1 - 1 Lancaster City
  • Att. 183: Mickleover Sports 1 - 2 Nantwich Town
  • Att. 285: Stalybridge Celtic 0 - 1 Shaw Lane
  • Att. 639: Stourbridge 0 - 2 Marine
  • Att. 193: Sutton Coldfield Town 0 - 2 Ashton United
  • Att. 243: Warrington Town 2 - 0 Matlock Town
  • Att. 418: Workington 0 - 0 Stafford Rangers

NW NEWS

At Ewen Fields, Hyde United drew 1 - 1 with Ramsbottom United. The Rams' 90th minute goal was scored by Alty loanee Tolani Omotola.

Andy Owens scored one of the goals as Skelmersdale United defeated Glossop North End 2-0 on Saturday.

26 August 2017

ALTRINCHAM 4 COALVILLE TOWN 2

Above, Alty celebrate after James Poole's goal.

In a very entertaining game, Altrincham let slip a two-goal lead before recovering to win the game by a final two-goal margin which was, perhaps, a little harsh on Coalville.

Despite lacking four players through injury or absence (Miller, Amis, Densmore, Harrop), Altrincham's bright start got them two goals clear in only the thirteenth minute...

Match report here.

SATURDAY FIXTURES

Saturday 26 August 2017
  • Altrincham 4-2 Coalville Town
  • Barwell 0-1 Witton Albion
  • Buxton 2-1 Halesowen Town
  • Farsley Celtic 1-0 Rushall Olympic
  • Grantham Town 2-0 Whitby Town
  • Hednesford Town 1-1 Lancaster City
  • Mickleover Sports 1-2 Nantwich Town
  • Stalybridge Celtic 0-1 Shaw Lane
  • Stourbridge 0-2 Marine
  • Sutton Coldfield Town 0-2 Ashton United
  • Warrington Town 2-0 Matlock Town
  • Workington 0-0 Stafford Rangers

PHIL'S PERSPECTIVE

Brian Flynn's interview with manager Phil Parkinson for Altrincham Today is below...

Phil said, "We go into the Bank Holiday weekend looking to build on our first win of the campaign on Tuesday night against Whitby Town.

We created a lot of chances and it was frustrating that we didn’t put more than one of them away. Josh Hancock could easily have scored three or four times and Tom Peers was very unlucky to have a class finish ruled out by the assistant referee flagging for offside, that was almost a carbon copy of what happened at Matlock last Saturday. I am still not sure how we didn’t get at least a point out of that game but we ended up on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline.

We now face two games in three days over the Bank Holiday weekend and with less than forty-eight hours between this afternoon’s home game against Coalville Town and Monday afternoon’s local derby at Witton Albion, we may well need to use all of the players available to me and Neil Sorvel.

Tom Hannigan completed his one-match suspension on Tuesday and is available again, so we now have more central defensive options after James Jones came in for his debut against Whitby and was a real steadying influence alongside Ben Harrison, who has been outstanding so far for us.

John Disney (right) is still struggling with his ankle injury, fortunately Simon Richman has slotted in superbly at right back to cover. Shaun Densmore will be available for the Witton game but it may be too early for him to be involved again, as he will have only just got back from the USA and may be suffering from the effects of jet-lag.

Max Harrop is away this weekend and not available to us, so we are not flush with bodies, but I still expect to be able to field a strong team and bench in both games.

Coalville won their first points of the season, with a late goal at Grantham in midweek and are a big strong side that like to tackle. They have a couple of likely match winners in Massiah McDonald and Nathan Watson and they have just signed Cleveland Taylor from Matlock, who we came up against at Barwell, when Neil and I were at Nantwich.

The fans played a massive part with superb vocal support on Tuesday night and it would be fantastic if we could repeat that at the J.Davidson Stadium today and at Witton on Monday".

APPOINTMENT OF SUPPORTERS' LIAISON OFFICERS

Altrincham Football Club is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Reeves and Alison Corser as the club's first Supporters' Liaison Officers.

Mike (right) is 26 years old, and was introduced to watching Altrincham by his parents. His earliest memories are of the 1998/99 season when we gained promotion back to the highest level of non-league football as champions of the UniBond League Premier Division. A long term season ticket holder before heading to study at Aberystwyth University, Mike is now back living in Timperley, working as a Care Assistant and Student Nurse.

He regularly attends home and away games.

Alison Corser (left) started watching the Robins in the 2007/08 season and is now in her tenth campaign as a season ticket holder and is renowned for being one of the most vocal main stand fans, 'Get back in your box' 'Shut up and sit down' are two of her trademark barracks of opposition management. Alison inherited her love of football from her mother, who was a season ticket holder at Fulham, before the family moved north to Sale and started to watch Manchester City. Alty is Alison's 'real' team now.

The creation of the Supporters’ Liaison Officer (SLO) role was part of the Five-Year Strategic Plan and will act as a bridge between the football club supporters and the board.

The role, which is backed by a UEFA initiative, is designed to ensure that fans have dedicated points of contact, who will represent the needs of fans and ensure that the most common issues are raised at the highest level within the football club.

The board believe that these two appointments can help establish real, constructive dialogue between the supporters and the football club, and give fans a further vehicle by which they can put their thoughts and views forward on any subject they wish.

Alison and Mike will play vital roles in:-

  • Providing supporters with a link into the club, allowing fans to put their thoughts and views forward on any subject.
  • Gathering feedback (formally and informally) from supporters, identifying key issues and opportunities and communicating these to the club.
  • Communicating key information to supporters and other stakeholders (through a variety of media, but including face-to-face meetings if required).

Congratulations to both Alison and Mike on their appointments".

ALTRINCHAM'S STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

In the Sale & Altrincham Messenger we read that "A strategic alliance between Altrincham FC and Altrincham Unlimited aims to bring the club and its fans closer to the business community, residents and visitors.

Altrincham Unlimited, the town’s Business Improvement District (BID), has announced a new partnership with Altrincham Football Club as part of its wider Experience Altrincham campaign.

The initiative, which officially commenced on August 19 to coincide with Altrincham FC’s first match of the season in the Evo-Stik Premier against Stafford Rangers, will see the club and Altrincham Unlimited working more closely together to promote each other’s events, assets and commercial opportunities.

It will also see the club engaging more directly with BID members, and start to play a bigger role in Altrincham’s wider regeneration and ongoing inward investment plan.

Katie Bland, BID manager for Altrincham Unlimited said, 'For more than 125 years Altrincham has had a local football team on its doorstep but many people who work, shop or visit here don’t always think of it as a key part of the town centre’s leisure offer, an excellent event venue or a major commercial asset.

'Similarly, we are aware that many fans, both home and away, who visit Moss Lane don’t always then explore the rest of Altrincham, or don’t realise we have lots of events and festivals going on during match days which they could also be enjoying before or after a game.

'Through this partnership we therefore aim to make the Robins a more visible and integral part of the wider town centre offer, and will encouraging visitors, residents and BID members alike to get behind the club as supporters and sponsors.'

Grahame Rowley, chairman of Altrincham FC said, 'Despite the disappointment of relegation last season there is real sense of optimism and enthusiasm around the club and we feel that for too long we’ve not been as engaged with the rest of the town as we could be. By working more closely with Altrincham Unlimited we hope to make the club a more prominent part of the wider Altrincham success story, and we are greatly looking forward to make supporting your neighbourhood team something that both local businesses and local people can become really proud of, regardless of which league we are playing in.'

The relationship between the Altrincham FC and Altrincham Unlimited will initially see the club promoting games, offers and events through the Altrincham LoyALTY app and other Altrincham Unlimited channels.

In return, Altrincham Unlimited will get regular access to the club’s various promotional platforms, including the matchday programme, matchday announcements, the club website and the Robins’ social media feeds, to highlight what is happening in the town centre.

It is also anticipated that as the partnership develops volunteers who help run Altrincham FC will become more involved in helping manage the town’s extensive programme of festivals, and that Altrincham businesses will give more commercial support to the club through sponsorship, advertising and other promotional opportunities".

FA CUP

The BBC announces that it will "broadcast Billericay Town's tie against Didcot Town in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup. Billericay will host the tie, which takes place on Saturday, 2 September, kick-off at 12:30 BST. Billericay signed former Liverpool player Jermaine Pennant earlier in August, while ex-England defender Paul Konchesky is their captain.

A game from every stage of the 2017-18 tournament will be streamed live across BBC Sport's digital platforms. This will allow audiences to watch the game live on their PC, mobile or connected TV. Matches will also be available live and on demand on BBC iPlayer...

Billericay play in the Isthmian League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, and their side also includes former Premier League players Jamie O'Hara and Kevin Foley. Didcot Town play in the eighth-tier Southern League Division One South & West".

OLD BOYS

The EvoStik League reports from Glossop North End, who "have signed [ex-Alty] goalkeeper Russ Saunders from Hyde, his second spell at the club after a short time in 2014/15".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Marine "are pleased to announce the signing of striker Scott Bakkor from Curzon Ashton. The 23 year old made his debut in the 2-0 win at Stalybridge Celtic on Tuesday and has had spells at Warrington Town, Clitheroe, Colwyn Bay, Skelmersdale United and Witton Albion."
25 August 2017

ALTY'S PROFIT FROM PROGRAMME SALE

Terry Surridge writes that "The Programme Shop, run by Campbell McLay, David Thorpe and Ian Boardman is a long established part of Altrincham Football Club. Apart from a large selection of old Alty issues the shop has a wide range of Football League and non-league programmes.

Occasionally, Stewart Roberts from Bradford, (himself a collector of Alty programmes), checks the old FL issues with Campbell and sells at auction programmes that are sought after by collectors throughout the country. Over the summer Stewart has been busy sorting through a collection kindly donated to the club and his rewards are seen in the photo as he presents a cheque for £778.29 to the club. Seen above, left to tight, are Ian Boardman, Campbell McLay, Stewart Roberts and Dave Thorpe, in a photo which is courtesy of club photographer, Gavin Rathbone.

Altrincham are very grateful to all who donate programme collections to the shop, which is located on the Popular Side of the J. Davidson Stadium, at its junction with the Golf Road end".

JOSH HANCOCK INTERVIEW

NEXT OPPONENTS: COALVILLE TOWN

On Saturday, Altrincham face a club they have not previously met; Coalville Town. Founded in Leicestershire in 1926 as Ravenstone Miners Athletic in 1926, the Club relocated to Coalville in 1995 after being refused permission to upgrade their Ravenstone ground by the local council. The current club name has been used since 1998 and from 2003 the club competed in the Midland Alliance. In 2011 they reached the FA Vase Final where they were narrowly beaten by Whitley Bay. That year they also gained promotion to the NPL First Division South.

In 2016, after two unsuccessful play-off matches in the previous seasons, Coalville (known as the Ravens after their original home town) were promoted to the Premier Division of the EvoStik League.

Coalville play at the Owen Street Sports Ground which was subsequently rebranded as the Mander Cruickshank Solicitors Stadium. It includes 240 seats in its 2,000 capacity.

The Grantham Journal reports on Coalville's most recent game, a 1-0 win in Lincolnshire last Tuesday.

"Grantham Town were undone by a single late goal again, after dominating offensively throughout against the lowly Ravens... An early cross-cum-shot from Coalville’s Tom McGlinchey surely had a few home fans’ hearts in mouths... In a rare forward move on 20 minutes, Coalville’s Jermaine Hollis lifted a sitter over the Grantham crossbar.

Grantham goalie Kieran Preston brought former Gingerbread Massiah McDonald down on the edge of the box two minutes later and referee Mr Chester pointed straight to the spot but luckily kept his red card in his pocket. Preston went from zero to hero when he saved Nathan Watson’s spot kick with an impressive diving catch.

Hempenstall forced another couple of saves from Coton as Grantham continued to have the more chances, although the Ravens always looked dangerous on the break. The second half followed a similar pattern... The Gingerbreads had a let-off in the 76th minute when Hollis somehow fired over a sitter from inside the 18 yard box... Grantham had the ball in the Coalville net a second time five minutes later, this time through Hempenstall, but once again the linesman’s flag was already raised.

With the game looking like ending in a goalless draw, the Gingerbreads were caught out in the 89th minute. In something of a scramble, Grantham cleared one shot off the line, followed by a superb one-handed save by Preston, but the loose ball fell to McDonald who made no mistake from spitting distance".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

From the Lancashire Evening Post we learn that "Lancaster City boss Phil Brown has backed his side to build on their unbeaten start to life in the Evo-Stik Premier Division. Two draws this week, 1-1 at home to Mickleover Sports and 0-0 at Farsley Celtic, mean it’s four without defeat to start the season for the First Division North title winners.

The Dolly Blues have come from behind in three of the games with Brown praising his side’s character while backing them to start getting on the front foot in games. A busy bank holiday weekend brings a trip to Hednesford Town on Saturday before Stalybridge Celtic visit Giant Axe on Monday.

'We’ve got great resolve, work hard and are really organised and if you’ve got that in your locker then you can get something out of games,' Brown said... 'We’re hard to beat. We’ve just picked up a 0-0 draw away from home against a team that have made a better start than us but we finished the stronger... We’d still scored five goals in three games before that which is about par for the course.. If we can take the initiative in games and get the first goal then we’ll make things really difficult for sides.

'We’re a work in progress but I’m really happy.'

Brown has used most of his squad in the opening couple of weeks of the season, making four changes from the weekend for the draw at last season’s title rivals Farsley... 'When I looked at the first few games I thought I’d use the squad,' said Brown. 'We were going into the unknown a little, people needed to be fresh and it gave everybody a chance to stake a claim. You’ve got pre-season for that to a degree but there’s nothing like playing for three points... I’ve not been rotating for rotating’s sake. I’ve got this weekend to come and then I’ll look to be bit more consistent and the first 11 or 16 will be more settled'...

One player Brown will have to do without for the time being is goalkeeper Chris Cheetham who injured himself in the warm-up ahead of the draw with Mickleover. Josh Powell has come in and impressed between the sticks for the last couple of games. 'When I did my analysis of Mickleover they seemed to send most of their set pieces to the back post,' the City boss said. 'We were sending crosses over for Chris and when he planted his foot his heel hit the post and he rolled his ankle. It was quite a nasty one to be fair and we’re looking at four to six weeks'...

Elsewhere on the injury front Craig Carney, knee, and Louis Mayers, hip, are working their way back into contention. Simon Wills is also struggling with a tight groin."

News from our last opponents Whitby Town is that their "assistant manager Lee Bullock has warned that the Blues face a tough weekend... The Seasiders side face a trip to Grantham Town on Saturday (3pm), before hosting Workington on Monday...

Bullock has warned that... 'It’s continuing the theme of the start of the season,' Bullock said. 'It’s two difficult teams when you look at last season and where they finished. Grantham is, there’s no other way to put it, an awful place to go with the running track around the ground. We know what we’re going to get from them. They’re well drilled, hard to beat, like to smash it long and are happy for the ball to go out of play and take a couple of minutes to regroup.

'You’ve not only got to beat them, but you’ve also got the beat the place and the conditions such as the useless multi-ball system that, as soon as they’re 1-0 up, disappears. Workington will give us more of a football match. They’re a good side and liked to get the ball down more last season. It will be a different game completely to Saturday.'

The Seasiders’ are set to have a clean bill of health once again and could make changes following Tuesday night’s defeat at Altrincham, with players like Mikey Roberts and Niall McGoldrick searching for starts".

As for Halesowen Town, the Stourbridge News reports that "Halesowen Town boss John Hill says his players have been their own worst enemies so far this season. The Yeltz have lost three of their first four games and fell to back-to-back defeats when Saturday's 2-1 loss at home to league new boys Farsley Celtic was followed by Tuesday night's 2-0 loss at Hednesford.

Hill thinks slow starts are costing his side. He said, 'We do lack a bit of quality at the moment but we are giving ourselves a mountain to climb in the our first half performances. We aren't defending our box well enough and that is setting us back massively. The goal we gave away at Hednesford was comical as we failed to deal with a mis-hit cross. Our problem is that we are starting too slowly and always trying to come back in games. If we could keep a clean sheet then maybe we'd have a chance.

'It started at Workington and was the same against Farsley and then Hednesford. We were 3-0 down at half-time at Workington but won the second half and lost 3-1. We were 2-0 down at half time against Farsley but won the second half and lost 2-1 and then were 2-0 down at Hednesford but kept the score the same with as better second half. We can't afford to keep coming from behind. This week in training we'll be working on defending our box better. I didn't think we'd be doing this so soon but we [have] no choice. So many balls go into the box at this level that you have to be able to deal with them. There is work to be done and we'll make sure it happens.'

Halesowen brought in forward Wade Malley from Bromsgrove Sporting this week but Hill... said, 'Without doubt we need to add more. We tried to freshen things up over the summer but it hasn't worked.... Wade Malley has been earning some good reviews and it'll be really good to work with him and see how he can improve'...

[At Buxton this Saturday] The Yeltz could be without Cameron Steele (groin) and Solihull loanee Will Mellors-Blair, who is facing a spell on the sidelines with illness."

And in the same source comes news of Stourbridge, where "Honest Glassboys' boss Gary Hackett admitted his side were playing well below their best despite topping the Northern Premier League table earlier this week. But Hackett was quick to praise his player's attitude and commitment after coming through a difficult sequence of games unbeaten.

Stourbridge snapped up a pleasing 3-1 win following a long distance trip to Whitby Town last Saturday which was followed with a 1-1 draw on Monday night at home to last season's play-off rivals Nantwich Town.

Hackett said, 'I'll be quite honest and say we're in a transitional period at the moment and not playing as I would like us to do. We haven't got things right yet but we've still managed to grind out results, while trying to find the right balance... Against Nantwich, we got ourselves outnumbered in midfield and gave the opposition more ball than I would have liked, which is something I tried to address. But I couldn't fault the players' resolve when you consider we set off for Whitby at 8am and didn't get back to the ground until 10pm.

'I was also missing five key players for the Nantwich game all of whom started the season against Matlock Town the previous week. And it hasn't helped that I lost Kayledon Brown during the opening game through injury. Because he's so versatile, he's become a very important cog for us but he's picked up a knee problem that still isn't quite right and he could be out for another three weeks'.

Stourbridge return to the War Memorial Ground on Saturday when they play hosts to Marine, which is followed by a Bank Holiday trip to Rushall Olympic on Monday. Hackett added, 'We have become a very difficult side to beat during a difficult period where we've played four games in the space of nine days... The players are giving me everything and the supporters can play a big part as well. The crowds have been very encouraging, considering it's a holiday period at the moment and it's important they get behind the side'".

According to the Stoke Sentinel, "Neil Kitching was pleased with the way Stafford Rangers adapted to a new shape in Tuesday night's 2-0 win at Mickleover Sports... The visitors took the lead five minutes after the break through Dan Westwood, who then doubled his tally in injury-time to seal a fine away win.

Manager Kitching had switched to a diamond midfield on the eve of the game, and only informed the players of the change before kick-off... 'It took us a half hour to settle down to a new shape,' Kitching told the Newsletter. 'We had to play that because Mickleover are too a good side, and too expansive with the ball, for us to keep the shape we had played. We changed the shape overnight and put some information into the players before the game. But we kept that shape really well, and got better and better as the game went on. In the end, we frustrated them, caused them problems, counter-attacked and got our two goals.

'Credit to the players, they've played the gameplan to a T'.

The result sent Boro top of the fledgling Northern Premier League table... 'The more the team can take on board the changes of shape that we put in place over the season to get us results, the better'... With Louis Briscoe deployed at the tip of the diamond, Bradley Fortnam-Tomlinson came in for his first start up front alongside Westwood. He set up the first goal, and his pace caused Mickleover problems. Kitching admitted that it had been a tough decision to start Fortnam-Tomlinson over last season's top goalscorer Kyle Perry, but is pleased to have these options available to him now.

'It was a big call because Kyle Perry did really, really well when he came on on Saturday, but Brad did as well,' said Kitching. 'We felt that playing the diamond was a bit unnatural, so we had to have potentially two outlets. Westy will give us goals and runs in behind, and Brad has work-rate and desire and is quick.'"

Bradford's Telegraph & Argus states that "Farsley Celtic have had a very promising start to the season...

Adam Lakeland’s side host Rushall Olympic on Saturday and, after four games, the Celts have twice as many points as the Pics. Farsley are unbeaten in their four games and sit second in the early table, with James Walshaw and Nathan Cartman plundering their goals. The Pics lost their opening two games but beat Stalybridge Celtic 1-0 last weekend and drew 4-4 at Barwell in midweek".

Closer to home, the Tameside Reporter reports on two local teams as Ashton United won 1-0 at Warrington Town. "A single strike was enough for the Robins to see off another early league leader as John Pritchard’s superb effort took all 3 points... The visitors were forced into several changes with captain Mark Lees on honeymoon, Cavell Coo switched to left back allowing Lanre Olapade to step in on the right side of defence...

Just before the half hour the Robins took the lead for the fourth successive game as Platt’s pass found Pritchard in space and his swerving effort from 30 yards gave McMillan in the home goal no chance, a moment of quality out of keeping with most of what had gone before.

Liam Tomsett then forced a save out of McMillan with a swinging shot as the Robins got their passing game going and [Aaron] Chalmers then headed Pilkington’s free kick over the top... Ashton team: Carnell, Olapade, Coo, Granite, Chalmers, Roberts, Platt, Tomsett, Pilkington (Chadwick 67), Pritchard, Dyche. Sub: Banim, Woodford, Durnin."

24 August 2017

FROM THE BOARDROOM

In Bill Waterson's "From the Boardroom" article, printed in Tuesday's Robins' Review, he announces that longstanding Alty supporter, Noel Shield, is Altrincham FC's new Commercial Manager and calls on supporters to back the team...

"It might seem that events on and off the pitch have conspired to dissipate a great deal of the optimism generated over the summer. However there is reason to believe that this gloom is premature.

On the field of play we have a squad that is stronger in many positions than we were able to put out last season, and they are led by an ambitious and highly talented manager in Phil Parkinson, supported by a strong back room staff. We have not yet seen this translate into results but those of us at Nantwich would have seen a team that battled, and the successful execution of a Plan B when in the recent past it has sometimes been difficult to ascertain if we had a Plan A!

The summer saw a great deal of activity off the field too. We have strengthened the board, have put in place the first of the recommendations of the Strategic Review and carried out ground improvements. And of course we have cleared the way for new investors to take a majority share in the Club.

In the coming days, we will be communicating further about our plans for the commercial function at Moss Lane, and as part of this overhaul we are delighted to announce the appointment of Noel Shield to the role of Commercial Manager. Noel takes over from Barry Pond in leading the drive for sponsorship and advertising, with Barry (right) looking to spend more time as the host of the Vice-Presidents on match day. Barry is a true gentleman and has done a fantastic job for the club with more than 20 years running Commercial activities at Moss Lane.

We will be announcing another critical role for the club this week, the Supporters' Liaison Officer. We want to make sure that all fans have a formal route to the board, and with so much going on at the moment, for there to be a clear and unambiguous communication channel between the board and the fans. In addition we hope that this will provide the catalyst for a reinvigoration of TASC as the official supporters' body and will lead to a closer relationship between the club and all its fans.

In summary, a great deal has changed at the club; and more change is coming. We believe that we are currently experiencing a lag between having made the changes and those changes taking full effect. We are not complacent about this, however, and we are taking stock of progress as we go. For example, we anticipate needing to further strengthen the board as our plans bear fruit.

Similarly, on the field of play, with Phil and team in place and with our squad, most of the elements of success are there. The level of change has been significant and therefore the team may take time to achieve its full potential. The support we have received over the last few seasons has been phenomenal, particularly given results. Can we ask you to please curb your understandable frustrations, which after all are not with this crop of players, nor with the management team and show them just how magnificent an Altrincham crowd in full force can be?"

YOUTH REPORT

As previously reported, Alty Youth lost their opening match of the season, 5-1 at Chester FC. Chester FC report that "Three goals in the opening thirteen minutes saw Chester FC Youth begin with a victory in their NWYA Premier Division opener, with a comprehensive win against Cheshire neighbours Altrincham.

A Lloyd Marsh-Hughes brace along with goals from Iwan Murray, Danny Hardman and James Cottrell saw the Young Blues seal three points on the opening day of the season... It took just 90 seconds of the new season for Lloyd Marsh-Hughes to open his account, firing home from the penalty spot after Rhain Hellawell was dragged down in the area. The opener appeared to stun Alty, Marsh-Hughes doubling his account just four minutes later, nodding Iwan Murray’s free-kick into the far corner of the net at the near post.

The Blues’ confidence was growing and the third goal was added in breathtaking circumstances. Rhain Hellawell’s throw-in made its way into the penalty area, Iwan Murray’s spectacular overhead kick fired the ball into the top corner of the net to the delight of all in attendance.

Altrincham were now finding a foothold in the game and pulled one back just before the half an hour mark, a loose ball on the Altrincham left was never really dealt with and was pulled back across the Chester penalty area to be slotted beyond Gale in the Chester goal, despite Ryan Dobson’s attempt to clear on the line.

Chester clinched the final goal of the half, however, to put their advantage at 4-1. Alty failed to clear a bouncing ball in the penalty area, Danny Hardman finding the net at the second attempt.

The second half didn’t ever produce the entertainment value that the first half had but James Cottrell’s goal was the pick of the action in the second fourty five minutes... Dobson saw his headed effort saved towards the end of the half but there was little to report in a game that had appeared over inside the opening quarter of an hour".

RESERVES DEFEATED

Altrincham FC Reserves lost 2-0 away to Whaley Bridge Athletic on Wednesday evening. Altrincham suffered three injuries during the match and played the last thirty minutes with ten men, as a consequence. On Saturday they are again away from home, at Billinge, k.o. 3pm.

NEXT AWAY OPPONENTS: WITTON ALBION

Alty's next away trip is to Witton Albion on Bank Holiday Monday. From Cumbria, the News & Star tells us that "A battling performance from Workington Reds saw them take a point from an impressive Witton Albion side.

Reds came up against another talented keeper in Witton's number one Calvin Hare who denied them on several occasions, including from the spot. Sam Smith made a couple of timely interventions at the back and, despite going a goal down, Reds struck back and never stopped looking for the equaliser.

When it finally came, it was courtesy of the talented Conor Tinnion...

A poor ball back to the Witton keeper caused chaos as Allison chased down the ball and Calvin Hare in the goal brought the Reds striker down. The referee instantly pointed to the penalty spot and up stepped Anthony Wright to try and give Reds the advantage. It was a well taken penalty but Hare was ready to make amends and he dived down to his left to save the ball and Joel could not put away the rebound... It remained 0-0 at half time...

But against the run of play it was the visitors Witton who took the lead. The ball came out to James Foley on the right hand side and he squared it across the goal for Rob Hopley to take a simple tap-in... Prince Haywood was causing problems for the Reds defence as he used his pace to get the ball forward...

It took a while but finally Reds beat the opposition keeper and Tinnion struck a fine shot with his right foot and, despite a slight deflection it flew into the goal to level matters...

Witton: Hare, Gardner, Williams, Wilson, Brown, Ryan, Haywood, Foley, Hopley, Tames, Hedley. Subs (not used): Jones, Evans, Newby, Neild."

MIKE'S WHITBY GUIDE

Mike Garnett's "Guide to Whitby Town" appeared in Tuesday's Robins' Review.

THE HISTORY

We first encountered Whitby on this ground in August 1998, an early Leroy Chambers goal being matched late on by Graham Robinson for the Seasiders in front of a crowd of 752, and met regularly over the next six years, apart from our one campaign back in the Conference in 1999-2000. Our last meeting was in North Yorkshire on April 17th 2004 when both sides were seeking spots in the new Conference North for 2004-05. Alty got off to the best possible start, Kieran Lugsden being fouled in the penalty area and Steve Aspinall converting the spot-kick in the sixth minute, and Peter Band taking advantage of the home defence’s failure to clear to make it 2-0 with a shot from 15 yards seven minutes later. Lugsden was – to put it charitably – assisted into the boundary wall by a home defender five minutes later and had to be taken to hospital, which was not a good sight for those Alty supporters who had travelled over by coach, suffered a breakdown en route and been rescued by the team coach, arriving at the Turnbull at around 3.20 p.m. (The final crowd figure was 379.)

There were, however, enough of us independent travellers present to make a respectable noise early on! The process of readjustment after Lugsden’s departure broke up the Robins’ early rhythm, although substitute Marcus Hallows should have scored when put clear. Nicholson’s goal in first-half stoppage time stood despite the linesman’s upraised flag and when Veart converted a penalty seven minutes after the restart one feared the worst. Hallows steered in a Stuart Wright free-kick at the far post on 59 minutes [pictured, left] to restore Alty’s lead and he and fellow sub Matt Bailey had chances to further extend that advantage. Sheeran thought he had equalised late on but on this occasion referee West supported his linesman’s ruling in the Robins’ favour.

WHITBY

is the home of jet (the material from which black jewellery is made), the famous Abbey and the 199 steps up to it, Captain Cook, Dracula and superb quality fish and chips (if the ravenous gulls don’t nick yours!). I’m planning to spend a couple of days up there in October, exploring the North York Moors Railway among other things as well as revisiting the football ground.

THE TURNBULL GROUND

I first visited the Seasiders’ home in April 2000. Travelling up with friends on what became a very wet Saturday to see Alty play at Scarborough (apologies to our guests for mentioning that town) we discovered on arrival at Seamer Road that the game was off. A couple of phone calls later we found that Whitby v Guiseley in the NPL was still on and made our way north, arriving just in time for kick-off. Conditions were scarcely fit but both sides wanted to play and the referee agreed to go ahead. Given the appalling weather the game was great entertainment for the 494 spectators. [Pictured right is Alty's game at Whitby in that year, with Stuart Scheuber seen here in action].

The first half was goalless but Whitby scored twice in the third quarter. Guiseley pulled one back with ten minutes left; Whitby missed a penalty before clinching the points with a third goal five minutes from time. The main stand was showing its age by the time I next visited in 2004; the terrace opposite appeared to have been re-roofed in the intervening four years and to have acquired a few seats. Both ends were fairly narrow but overall the Turnbull looked a perfectly adequate venue for this level of football".

FA CUP OPPONENTS

The replay of the replay between Maine Road and Abbey Hey, to determine who will play Alty on 2 September in the FA Cup 1 Qualifying Round, wil now take place on Monday 28 August (7.45pm). The original replay had to be abandoned in extra time because of a serious injury to an Abbey Hey player. Former Alty physio Alan Ainsley is now back at Abbey Hey and dealt with the injury.

NL Pitchero reviews the FA Cup replays. "City of Liverpool 8 Prescot Cables 2 is a staggering result and one of four `upsets` in Tuesday night`s Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round replays... Last Friday's original tie attracted a massive 976 crowd to Cables' Valerie Park and Tuesday saw another terrific crowd of 956 witness an amazing upset...

Karl Noon scored a stunner 9 minutes into the second half to make it 5-1 and Luke Denson on 61 minutes, McGrath with his second on 74 minutes and Alex Peterson 8 minutes from time made it an astonishing eight for City of Liverpool, with Harry Cain netting a stoppage time second to ironic cheers from home fans.

The Purples will now play Evo-Stik League Premier side Nantwich Town in the First Qualifying Round...

"The Hallmark Security League were assured of another side progressing into the First Qualifying Round as league rivals West Didsbury & Chorlton and 1874 Northwich met in their replay, with the visitors winning 3-1. Sam Hind gave 1874 a 23rd minute lead that the hosts levelled just past the hour-mark through Tom Bailey. But Jake Parker on 75 minutes and a stoppage time third from Adam Whitlock took 1874 through."

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

A review of Tuesday's matches comes from the Evo-Stik League which tells us that "Tuesday night saw first wins for the season in the EVO-STIK League Premier for Altrincham, Hednesford Town and Coalville Town and first defeats for Warrington Town and Mickleover Sports, writes Pitchero's Steve Whitney...

The Pitmen saw off neighbouring Halesowen Town 2-0 at Keys Park, a decent crowd of 404 seeing the home side get off to a great start with a goal from Devarn Green inside the opening minute. Luke Rodgers quickly doubled their advantage nine minutes later but they weren`t able to add to that tally...

Coalville got off the mark by inflicting a second successive defeat on Grantham Town, who had won their two opening matches. But the Ravens left it late, Massiah McDonald`s breakthrough goal coming just two minutes from the end of normal time.

Warrington`s first defeat came at Cantilever Park against an Ashton United side who were the side that beat Grantham last weekend, John Pritchard`s goal on the half-hour mark proving good enough on the night for the Robins. Mickleover were undone, also at home, by a Stafford Rangers side for whom this was a third win in four.

Danny Westwood bagged a brace for Rangers, who top the fledgling table, making the breakthrough seven minutes into the second half and then making sure with a second in stoppage time. Shaw Lane AFC made it two successive wins after winning promotion with a 2-0 success at Silverlands against Buxton. Nicky Walker put the Barnsley-based visitors ahead after 34 minutes and Spencer Harris grabbed a second 10 minutes into the second half.

Marine AFC recovered from last Saturday`s home defeat to Barwell to win 2-0 at newboys Stalybridge Celtic, who find themselves bottom of the pile. Vinny Bailey opened the Mariners` account two minutes after half-time before Kenny Strickland made the points safe for the visitors nine minutes from time.

The rest of Tuesday night's matches ended all-square with newcomers Farsley Celtic and Lancaster City sharing a goalless draw at Throstle Nest. Fellow promotees Witton Albion looked to be heading for victory at Borough Park against Workington AFC after Rob Hopley`s 52nd minute opener until Conor Tinnion popped up with an 82nd minute leveller for the Reds.

Former Kidderminster Harriers striker Gurjit Singh scored a hat-trick for Sutton Coldfield Town at Coles Lane but didn`t end up on the winning side as Matlock Town battled to a 3-3 draw. Indeed, it was almost a three-point haul for the Gladiators as they led 3-2 through goals from Shaun Harrad after 37 minutes, Dwayne Wiley right on half-time and Ted Cribley 10 minutes after the break. Singh completed his hat-trick with less than three minutes remaining to share the points, having earlier scored in the first and 42nd minutes.

Rushall Olympic picked up their first away point of the season to date after a thrilling 4-4 draw at Kirkby Road against Barwell. The Pics led 2-0 at the break with goals from Dominic Dell after two minutes and Danny Waldron in the 31st minute".

More on Coalville Town, Saturday's opponents for Altrincham, comes from Grantham Town which reports that "The Gingerbreads lost out to a late goal in [Tuesday's] fixture against Coalville Town...

Coalville had an opportunity to take the lead. Kieran Preston brought down the Coalville forward on the edge of the box. Former Gingerbread Nathan Watson stepped up to take but Preston saved well as the ball went down the middle and he was saving to his left...

In the final minute Coalville attacked down the left and their shot was well blocked by Matt Baker, however it rebounded to the Coalville forward who put the ball back into the empty net".

23 August 2017

PHIL PARKINSON: AFTER THE WHITBY GAME

Press and Media Officer John Edwards has provided this significantly extended version of an article he submitted for inclusion in this week's Sale and Altrincham Messenger, following his interview with manager Phil Parkinson after Tuesday night's 1-0 win over Whitby Town.

"A goal by Josh Hancock on the half-hour put a smile on Phil Parkinson's face as Altrincham registered their first Evo-Stik League Premier Division win against Whitby Town on Tuesday night.

Summer signing Hancock hammered home a close-range angled volley for Alty's first goal from open play this season as they turned on the style and created a string of clear-cut chances. With a second goal proving elusive, they had to endure a nervy final few minutes, but Parkinson was still delighted with his team's overall showing and the level of backing from a vociferous J.Davidson Stadium crowd.

Above, left: Alty keeper Tony Thompson makes a good save in the Whitby match, as seen by Mike Ripley. Right: Gavin Rathbone's image shows Jordan Hulme, also in action against Whitby.

'We should have been out of sight by half-time, and it does frustrate me our conversion rate isn't better but there was so much to be positive about, as the old saying goes you worry when you're not creating,' said the Alty manager.

'The team ethic was superb, the energy and the way we pressed, the hunger the players showed was the key tonight. They were champing at the bit, and I knew we would win the game from the atmosphere in the changing room, I knew they all felt like they had a point to prove.

'It's not going to be a walk in the park. Every game poses a difficult challenge, and if you look at results elsewhere, it's clear no-one is having an easy ride. But once we hit that level of consistency, which will come through getting to know how each other works week on week, things will run smoother for us, because the hunger and quality in this team in definitely there.

'Jordan Hulme came in for JJ (John Johnston) tonight and certainly took his opportunity. He was superb, and that mesmeric run he went on was absolutely fantastic and is what he is all about; it's just a shame the keeper pulled off a good save to deny him the goal he deserved. The level of competition is fierce, and lads know no matter who you are, if you have an off-day, someone is waiting in the wings to take that opportunity.

'It's only a matter of time before it all clicks into place. I still don't think we are there yet, but it was a lot better tonight. Lots of chances, and so many of them the product of quality approach play which me and Neil pride our teams on and work really hard in training to put in place.

'Josh Hancock could have had at least four goals tonight. The one he scored was probably the hardest of all, but Josh is all about goals and is a big confidence player. I hope this will give him that confidence to go on a scoring run, as when he scores, they normally come in clusters. He is a top player at this level, and a proven goal scorer. I know once he feels settled, and the crowd are cheering him on like they were tonight, you will really see the best of this lad.

'Tom Peers was so unlucky again to have another great finish chalked off. That's tonight and Matlock last Saturday where he's been set up by James Poole and stuck it away emphatically, only to be denied by a debatable offside. He should be off the mark with two goals. He's adamant he wasn't offside. I'll need to have a look, but it does seem he has been harshly treated.

'I thought James Jones was a steadying influence with regard to the aerial battle at the back, while Ben Harrison alongside him was outstanding, hence his man-of-the-match award. Lewis Short has been right up there the last two games as well, with regards to his performance levels. The midfield three were very disciplined, and that's where the game can be won or lost against Whitby, and I felt my three came out on top tonight.

'John Disney was on the bench because he wasn't quite fully fit. He wasn't quite 100 per cent, but he could have gone on if needed. When you've got someone like Simon Richman filling the position, though, you don't need to take any chances. I thought Ringo excelled, particularly with that goal line clearance in the first half. The shot had beaten Tony Thompson and was heading for the far corner when Ringo came from nowhere to hook it away, and then he has gone up the other end and drawn a save from the keeper to tee up Hanks for his finish, topping off a good performance from him.

'So overall I was satisfied with the performance and delighted with the result, which was a step in the right direction against a team who were very unfortunate not to make the play-offs last season and who, I'm sure, will be right up there again this season.

'I thought our fans were immense tonight, yet, speaking to a few straight after the game, they said that was nothing. In that case, I'm really looking forward to seeing what the next step up from that is because it was different class. It was electric, and I can't wait for Saturday now.'"

ALTRINCHAM 1-0 WHITBY TOWN

Altrincham secured their first win of the season at the fourth attempt with this victory over Whitby, which should have been more comfortable than it proved to be. The Robins started the game well but failed to convert several half-chances before a fine advance up the wing by makeshift right-back Simon Richman led to his well-struck shot being beaten out, only for Josh Hancock to score with a firm shot from 15 yards or so. It was Alty's first goal from open play in more than five hours of football.

Though the home side continued to have the better of the game, they continued to show a less than clinical approach in front of goal and were subjected to a tense four minutes of added time by Whitby. But Alty can be pleased, not only with their first win but also their first clean sheet of the campaign.

On a night when the bottom four all won, Alty have moved up to 19th.

Match report here.

THE NEW ALTY SHOP

Have you visited the new-look Alty online shop yet? If not, folllow the link here and deck yourself in the Alty colours!

TUESDAY SCORES

Tuesday 22 August 2017
  • Altrincham 1-0 Whitby Town
  • Barwell 4-4 Rushall Olympic
  • Buxton 0-2 Shaw Lane
  • Farsley Celtic 0-0 Lancaster City
  • Grantham Town 0-1 Coalville Town
  • Hednesford Town 2-0 Halesowen Town
  • Mickleover Sports 0-2 Stafford Rangers
  • Stalybridge Celtic 0-2 Marine
  • Sutton Coldfield Town 3-3 Matlock Town
  • Warrington Town 0-1 Ashton United
  • Workington 1-1 Witton Albion

ALTY AND THE FA CUP

Following yesterday's FA Cup draw which assigned Altrincham an away tie on 2 September at either Abbey Hey or Maine Road, Mike Garnett reminds us that "This is the first time Alty have entered the FA Cup at this stage since 1992, when we met Curzon Ashton on this ground and won 3-0 in front of a crowd of 594.

Prior to 1998 the stage at which a particular club entered the competition was determined by a very different set of criteria compared to the present system. Briefly, then as now, clubs in the top two tiers (Premier League & Division 1 as then called, I believe) entered at Round 3; remaining Football League clubs entered at Round 1, along with the FA Trophy winners and runners-up from the preceding season and the two clubs judged most appropriate by the FA (which for example in 1995-6 included Alty, basically on the strength of having reached Round 3 the previous season).

Twenty clubs were exempt to the 4th Qualifying Round, essentially on the basis of their record in the previous few seasons, and most of the rest entered at the start of the competition. GM Vauxhall Conference clubs never took part in the preliminary rounds, being effectively exempt until the 1st Qualifying Round, and the same was to a degree true of the feeder divisions (NPL, Isthmian Premier & Southern Premier). These days it is of course league status which determines entry level, which makes fixture planning a deal easier for League secretaries".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

According to NL Pitchero, "Tommy Lawson, manager of Marine AFC, has added Tom Field and Dominic Reid to his squad. Field is a vastly experienced 32-year-old central midfielder who joins the Mariners from Connah’s Quay Nomads... He began his career at Everton and has gone on to play for a number of clubs in England and Wales, including Stalybridge Celtic, Vauxhall Motors, Leigh Genesis, AFC Telford United, Droylsden, Northwich Victoria, Airbus UK Broughton, Chorley, Stockport County and Bangor City...

Reid is a striker who joins the Mariners after being with neighbours Prescot Cables last season. A product of the Rochdale youth set-up, Reid has also had a spells with Bootle AFC and AFC Fylde."

Matlock Town "announce the departures of Cleveland Taylor to Coalville Town and Rory Coleman to Stocksbridge Park Steels".

Saturday's visitors to Alty are Coalville Town, who on Tuesday travelled "to Grantham Town looking to pick up their first points of the season. The Ravens will be boosted by the return of Massiah McDonald who has now completed his suspension and new signing Cleveland Taylor who will go straight into the squad. Lee Cox is also expected to return to the squad after missing out on Saturday through injury."

JAMES JONES SIGNS

Altrincham FC is delighted to announce the signing of centre-back James Jones (d.o.b. 13 March 1997). James (right) impressed as a trialist for Alty in July but, in August, decided to try his luck elsewhere. Now, the Club is pleased that he has returned to the J. Davidson Stadium and signed for Alty. He is expected to be involved in tonight's match against Whitby Town.

Before joining Altrincham, James spent three seasons with Welsh Premier club The New Saints, graduating from their Academy to the first team.

With Chris Lynch having left the club, Tom Hannigan suspended, Shaun Densmore abroad and forwards Josh Amis and Sean Miller still recuperating from their respective operations, Alty were in need of reinforcements!

ALTRINCHAM v WHITBY TOWN: MATCH COVERAGE

You can follow this fixture 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.

updates radiorobins

Brian Flynn announces that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, is providing full live commentary of tonight's game. The match commentary sponsor is Steve Pugh.

The commentators are Alex Sarwar and Brian Flynn and the match summariser is John Edwards. Coverage starts at 7.30pm with the game kicking off at 7.45pm.

Guidance for Listening to Radio Robins Today

There will be 4 ways to listen to Radio Robins via Mixlr

  • a) The Radio Robins website. Open the page in any web browser and the broadcast should start automatically. Please note that the 4 Player Options (Windows Player | Real Player | Quick Time | Winamp ) will not work now.
  • b) Download and install the Mixlr app on Android devices from the Google Play Store - start the app and search for 'Radio Robins'.
  • c) Download and install the Mixlr app on Apple devices from the Apple Store - start the app and search for 'Radio Robins'.
  • d) There is a temporary WIX website here.
The Chatroom software on radiorobins.com has been updated and should be accessible now for all users.

FA CUP OPPONENTS

In Monday nights' FA Cup Preliminary Round replay the score was Maine Road 1 Abbey Hey 1 after 90 minutes with Sam Freakes, once an Alty trialist, having put the Gorton side ahead before a late equalizer sent the game to extra time. However, a serious injury to an Abbey Hey player in extra time led to the match's abandonment.

Earlier, NL Pitchero had reported that "The First Qualifying Round of the Emirates FA Cup has thrown up some interesting ties.

Two of the ChromaSport & Trophies United Counties League sides who caused upsets in the last round both face Evo-Stik League Premier opponents – Boston Town having the bonus of being drawn at home to Hednesford Town, while Step 6 minnows Potton United travel to Dales Lane to take on Rushall Olympic.

Little-known Haughmond, last season`s West Midlands (Regional) League champions who are now playing in the Midland League Premier Division, were rewarded with a home tie with another NPL Premier outfit, Matlock Town...

Toolstation Northern Counties East League Division One side Grimsby Borough face a tough task by being drawn away to high-flying NPL Premier outfit Warrington Town...

Altrincham hold the record of knocking out more Football League sides than any other club that has spent its entire history playing in non-League football. They... face a tricky derby from the winners of the all-Hallmark Security League replay between Abbey Hey and Maine Road – but at least Alty fans won`t have far to travel, whoever wins!"

The Hallmark Security League records Abbey Hey's league record this season. In the Premier Division they have lost their first two fixtures, 0-3 at home to Widnes and 0-4 at home to Runcorn Linnets.

They drew last Saturday with Maine Road 2-2 in the FA Cup.

Meanwhile, Maine Road lost their opening league match 3-4 at Runcorn Town but beat Congleton Town 2-1 in Manchester. They qualified to meet Abbey Hey in the FA Cup by beating our pre-season opponents Winsford United 3-2 at Brantingham Road.

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

In Monday night's league match Stourbridge went a point clear at the top of the Premier Division...
  • Stourbridge 1 Nantwich Town 1

Elsewhere, NL Pitchero confirms that "Warrington Town have signed two players at opposite ends of the experience scale in Phil Baker and Caleb Richards, who joins on loan from Blackpool. Amazingly, Baker has won the Welsh Premier championship no less than eight times!

The experienced 34-year-old centre-back Baker was an integral part of The New Saints’ squad for over a decade, and was twice named in the Welsh Premier `Dream Team`. Last year he was awarded the Dafabet Welsh Premier League clubman of the year award.

Baker made his Welsh Premier debut for Bangor City in 2003, joining the Farrar Road club from Tranmere Rovers, but left after a short time to join League Two outfit Exeter City. Baker returned to... Aberystwyth Town in 2003/04 and made thirty-two appearances...

After a brief spell with Droylsden, he re-joined Bangor City in September 2004... He joined The New Saints, where he has established himself as one of the Welsh Premier’s most successful defenders of all time, with 340 league starts.... Baker moved to the top of the all-time list of Welsh Premier players who have appeared for their clubs in European competitions. He has appeared in a record thirty-one games in Europe, including matches against Liverpool, RSC Anderlecht, CSKA Sofia and Legia Warsaw.

Left-back Richards signed professional terms with Blackpool in April. The 18-year-old was under-18 captain last season and had a taste of first-team football. He has signed a deal which run until the end of the 2018 season and includes options to extend by a further twelve months.

Richards is no stranger to the non-League game, having spent time on `work experience` in November 2016 with Warrington`s league rivals Marine AFC".

21 August 2017

ALTY AWAY IN FA CUP

Alty enter the FA Cup at the First Round Qualifying on Saturday 2 September 2017, the draw for which was made today (Monday).

After four home cup draws for the club this summer, (Cheshire Senior Cup, Integro Cup, FA Trophy and FA Youth Cup), Altrincham have been drawn away at Abbey Hey or Maine Road. Both clubs compete in the NW Counties Premier. Alty have not met Abbey Hey competitively but in 1990-91 we won 1-0 at Maine Road in the FA Cup 2QR.

The northern/Midlands element of the draw is below.

  • 1 Penistone Church v Whitby Town
  • 2 Albion Sports v Barnoldswick Town
  • 3 Prescot Cables or City of Liverpool v Nantwich Town
  • 4 Warrington Town v Grimsby Borough
  • 5 Ashton Athletic v Bamber Bridge
  • 6 Trafford or Kidsgrove Athletic v Clitheroe
  • 7 Stalybridge Celtic v Farsley Celtic
  • 8 Marine v Ashton United
  • 9 Shaw Lane Association v Radcliffe Borough or Burscough
  • 10 Scarborough Athletic or Marske United v Workington
  • 11 Bottesford Town v Shildon
  • 12 Cleethorpes Town v Atherton Collieries
  • 13 Colne v Lancaster City
  • 14 Ossett Town v Consett
  • 15 Hyde United v Harrogate Railway Athletic or Kendal Town
  • 16 Droylsden v Colwyn Bay
  • 17 Abbey Hey or Maine Road v ALTRINCHAM
  • 18 Skelmersdale United v Handsworth Parramore
  • 19 Buxton v Frickley Athletic
  • 20 Penrith or Whitley Bay v Newcastle Benfield
  • 21 Sunderland RCA v Liversedge
  • 22 Mossley v 1874 Northwich or West Didsbury & Chorlton
  • 23 Witton Albion v South Shields
  • 24 Halesowen Town v Basford United
  • 25 Boston Town v Hednesford Town
  • 26 Newport Pagnell Town v Wisbech Town or Spalding United or Kempston Rovers
  • 27 Loughborough Dynamo v Stourbridge
  • 28 Sporting Khalsa v Alvechurch or Market Drayton Town
  • 29 AFC Mansfield v Dunkirk
  • 30 Soham Town Rangers v AFC Wulfrunians or Westfields
  • 31 Eynesbury Rovers v Stafford Rangers or Peterborough Sports
  • 32 Rushall Olympic v Potton United
  • 33 Sutton Coldfield Town v Barwell
  • 34 St Ives Town v Coalville Town
  • 35 Grantham Town v Holbeach United
  • 36 Haughmond v Matlock Town
  • 37 Tividale v AFC Rushden & Diamonds
  • 38 Lincoln United or Belper Town v Redditch United
  • 39 Shepshed Dynamo v Leek Town
  • 40 Romulus v Kettering Town
  • 41 Stratford Town v Newcastle Town or Evesham United
  • 42 King’s Lynn Town v Coleshill Town
  • 43 Mickleover Sports v Hinckley

CHRIS LYNCH DEPARTS

Altrincham FC announces that defender "Chris Lynch (right) has been released from his contract this week. He has struggled to get his fitness because of certain injuries he has been fighting and we have made the decision together that the best thing moving forward is for us to part company now. All at Altrincham FC wish Chris all the best in his future career and a quick recovery from his injuries".

NEW SHOP FOR ALTY MERCHANDISE

Club photographer Gavin Rathbone has produced an impressive new website to showcase Altrincham FC's merchandise; it can be found here. So why not pay it a visit and order your Alty replica kits and so much more?

FA CUP DRAW

Alty enter the FA Cup at the First Round Qualifying on Saturday 2 September 2017, the draw for which is due at some time on Monday (today). As usual the FA is incapable of saying exactly when the draw takes place but it is believed to be "around 1pm".

YOUTHS LOSE FIRST GAME

The North West Youth Alliance reports that ALtrincham FC Youth lost their opening league match of the season 5-1 away to Chester FC. Other results were:
  • Ashton Athletic 1 Southport 5
  • Curzon Ashton 4 AFC Fylde 2
  • Stockport County 0 Nelson 12

Other teams in the Premier Division this season are Chorley, Hyde United and Prescot Cables

Alty's next league fixture is at home to Prescot Cables at Flixton Football Club M41 8RQ next Sunday.

In the NWYA Open Cup, Alty are at home on a date TBC to Southport and in the Neil Thomason Cup they entertain Chorley.

In the FA Youth Cup First Qualifying Round, to be played in week commencing Monday 18 September, Altrincham will be away to either Ashton United or Chadderton.

NEXT OPPONENTS: WHITBY TOWN

On Tuesday night, Altrincham welcome Whitby Town to the J. Davidson Stadium.

Mike Garnett reminds us of the historical record of matches between Alty and Whitby Town. After ten encounters, Whitby have yet to defeat Altrincham.

  • Home: P5-W4-D1-L0-F11-A3
  • Away: P5-W4-D1-L0-F13-A7
  • All: P10-W8-D2-L0-F24-A10

On Saturday, the Whitby Gazette reported that "A clinical performance from Stourbridge ensured a 3-1 defeat and a second defeat in three for Whitby Town. Just four shots on target brought three goals from the visitors, with Jordan Archer netting a brace, with Glassboys skipper Paul McCone adding the other. The Seasiders' only response came from Luke Bythway's powerful 25-yard free-kick.

Chris Hardy named an unchanged side from Tuesday night's victory over Stalybridge Celtic, with the only change to the team sheet coming with Andy Monkhouse making the bench over Anthony Hume...

Whitby Town: Bland 6, Martin 6, McWilliams 6, Bythway 7, Bullock 6, Snaith (c) 7, Carson 6, Gell 6, Weledji 6, Tymon 6, Risbrough 6. Subs not used: Roberts, May, McGoldrick, Fryatt, Monkhouse... Whitby Town MotM: Luke Bythway - scored Whitby's first-half equaliser with a thunderbolt free-kick, whilst putting in a solid performance at the back"

LAST OPPONENTS: MATLOCK TOWN

Matlock Town have video highlights of Saturday's game with Altrincham.

Right: Alty hold a huddle before kick-off.

Matlock Town report that "Dwayne Wiley’s bullet header from a 48th minute corner won the Gladiators all three points on a day when sheer hard work and determination won the day over quality... So Matlock have seven points from three games , while Alty, one of the pre season favourites for the title, have just a solitary point so far.

It was the visitors’ James Poole who had the first strike at goal... Altrincham continued to attack but Matlock should have gone in front in the 12th minute when the electric pace of Darnelle Bailey-King saw him race beyond Tom Hannigan only to shoot wide of the far post in a one on one with Thompson. In the next minute Alty fullback Simon Richman brought down Ted Cribley and after he was booked, Jake Green’s free kick was fingertipped aside by Thompson. This was a good spell of pressure from Matlock with Wiley having a 19th minute chance from a carbon copy of his goal which he glanced wide.

Poole looked to be the Alty dangerman... Matlock soon had Altrincham on the back foot after the break with the goal...

Doyle-Charles received a 78th minute caution for fouling Poole as slightly worrying for the homesters, they were being pushed further back as the Robins increased the pressure... Matlock defended resolutely as Altrincham struggled in vain for a breakthrough... Matlock could reflect on a battling performance rather than one full of attacking flair, but nevertheless it was a job well done".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Hednesford Town report on Shaw Lane AFC 3 Hednesford Town 1. "Hednesford Town would fall to defeat against league new boys Shaw Lane with defensive frailties once again costing the Pitmen dear. Manager Neil Tooth was able to call on the services of striker Luke Rodgers for the first time this season with him coming straight into the starting line-up.

The game was barely three minutes old though before the Pitmen found themselves a goal down after the home sides Gavin Rothery picked the ball up on the left before delivering a teasing ball into the box which was turned home by Sam Oji into his own net. Hednesford responded well from this early setback though and drew level in the 14th minute when Danny Glover once again rose highest to nod the ball down inside the penalty area and Matt Dodd was able to poke it home underneath the advancing goalkeeper...

Hednesford felt somewhat aggrieved in the 42nd minute when James Lawrie’s effort was ruled out with Glover adjudged to have fouled his man... This would prove to be crucial as on the stroke of half-time the home side retook the lead... A third goal would arrive for Shaw Lane in the 59th minute...

[Alty old-boys or ex-trialists are emboldened in the following list]. Shaw Lane AFC: Stewart, Bembo-Leta, Sergeant, Lenighan, Lugsden, Qualter, Byrne, Harris (Abadaki), Clayton (Chilaka), Norris, Rothery (Walker). Subs not used: Reeves, Hough

Hednesford Town: Wren, Wright, Ballinger, Bailey, Oji, Smith, Dodd, Thorley, Glover, Nadat (Rodgers 65), Lawrie (Green 61). Subs not used: Mutton, Melbourne, Taylor". At least one Shaw Lane supporter nominated Lenighan as Man of the Match on Twitter.

20 August 2017

MATLOCK TOWN 1 ALTRINCHAM 0

Alty's poor start to the season continued as they lost to a headed goal by Wiley, from a right-wing corner. The first half had seen some good play from Alty but with no real goal threat at the end of it. But Alty started the second half poorly and Matlock took the lead in the 49th minute. Second half substitutions did improve things but it was deep into added time before Sam Sheridan produced his side's best shot of the game which Barnes pushed over the bar.

Right: Tom Hannigan heads clear in the second half as Lewis Short looks on.

Match report here

RESERVES DRAW

Altrincham FC Reserves drew 1-1 at home to Rylands on Saturday. Next Saturday they play at Whaley Bridge Athletic (6.30pm).

PHIL ON NANTWICH DRAW

Brian Flynn, Alty Press and Media Officer has provided the following comments on last Tuesday's game at Nantwich by manager Phil Parkinson, which have been submitted to Altrincham Today...

"One point from two games is obviously not the start that we were looking for in our opening matches of this EVO-STIK Premier Division campaign, but I was delighted with the way the players dug in on Tuesday night at Nantwich to get a result.

The 3-0 opening day home defeat to Stafford was pretty devastating in itself, so when we went a goal down and were reduced to ten men, inside forty minutes, with the dismissal of Tom Hannigan, I was wondering what the hell was going on, but I could see the determination on the players’ faces in the dressing room at half time and we really took the game to Nantwich in the second half, despite having a one man disadvantage.

We had to take a chance tactically, by going one on one against them at the back, but this worked well and we gradually took control of the game and deserved the late equaliser through John Johnston’s penalty, which we may have been a little fortunate to get as the tackle may have been just outside the area... if it was, then we deserved a bit of luck, we certainly deserved something out of the game.

We all appreciated the tremendous support at Nantwich, there must have been a couple of hundred Alty fans, who kept on singing and encouraging the team throughout the game, despite the difficult circumstances that we faced from the thirty-ninth minute onwards.

Today, we travel to Derbyshire to take on Matlock Town, who have started well with a draw at highly fancied Stourbridge and a 3-2 home win against Hednesford on Tuesday night. It will be a tough encounter but I know the players will be up for it.

We will be without Shaun Densmore for the next three games, he is best man at a wedding in the USA and Chris Lynch will not be travelling, as he has a back problem. Tom Hannigan will miss Tuesday night’s game at home to Whitby as he will be serving a one match suspension, therefore we need strengthening in that central defensive area and I am hoping to bring someone in to do that, possibly today, but certainly for Tuesday.

We are still searching for that first win, but I am convinced that when it comes, these players and this team will start to fly and I am convinced that everyone is in for an exciting and successful season".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

The EvoStik League confirms the following transfers involving Premier Division clubs...
  • Cameron Gilchrist from Inverness Caledonian Thistle (Scotland) to Barwell
  • Alpha Kaba from AS Caen (France) to Buxton
  • Bradley Masllan-Jones from Hull City to Coalville Town
  • Devarn Green from Blackburn Rovers to Hednesford Town
  • Scott Lycett from Witton Albion to Leek Town
  • Dominic Reid from Prescot Cables to Marine
  • Casper Hughes from AFC Fylde to Nantwich Town
  • Kaiman Anderson from Southport to Nantwich Town (loan)
  • Ben Stokes from Coalville Town to Romulus
  • Dave Moli from Welling United to Rushall Olympic
  • Kristian Scott from Nuneaton Town to Rushall Olympic
  • David Norris from Salford City to Shaw Lane
  • Henry Eze from Rushall Olympic to Stamford
  • Rory Coleman from Coalville Town to Stocksbridge Park Steels
  • Phillip Baker from The New Saints (Wales) to Warrington Town
  • Caleb Richards from Blackpool to Warrington Town (youth loan)
  • Benjamin Hedley from Morecambe to Witton Albion (loan)

EVO-STIK PREMIER GATES

  • Att. 187 Ashton United 2 Grantham Town 1 (ex-Alty men Liam Tomsett (loanee) and Mark Lees scored the goals)
  • Att. 128 Coalville Town 0 - 3 Warrington Town (Sean Williams scored a penalty for Warrington)
  • Att. 357 Halesowen Town 1 - 2 Farsley Celtic (James Walshaw scored one of Farsley's goals)
  • Att. 192 Lancaster City 1 - 1 Mickleover Sports
  • Att. 301 Marine 0 - 1 Barwell
  • Att. 457 Matlock Town 1 - 0 Altrincham
  • Att. 307 Nantwich Town 2 - 0 Workington
  • Att. 231 Rushall Olympic 1 - 0 Stalybridge Celtic
  • Att. 152 Shaw Lane 3 - 1 Hednesford Town
  • Att. 592 Stafford Rangers 1 - 4 Buxton
  • Att. 231 Whitby Town 1 - 3 Stourbridge
  • Att. 298 Witton Albion 1 - 0 Sutton Coldfield Town

OLD BOYS

Ex-Alty players who scored in The Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round included...
  • Alex Frost netted a brace for Droylsden in front of 89 spectators: Ossett Albion 3 - 4 Droylsden
  • 202 people saw Jerome Wright score but Ramsbottom United lost 2-3 at home to Liversedge
And in Vanarama North, Salford City beat Kidderminster Harriers 3-0 thanks to a Jack Redshaw hat-trick.
19 August 2017

TRAVEL UPDATE

TASC Travel Coordinator Mark Eckersall advises... "Thanks to all those who came with us to Nantwich on Tuesday night. Tomorrow's 16 seater to Matlock is now full but we'll be looking to move to 28/32 seaters again as people return from holiday. So please do book early to help us gauge numbers.

There won't be any coach travel to Witton on 28 August due to its close proximity (12 miles) and difficulties of pricing short trips with any value. We will be arranging transport to Barwell, though,on 9 September so look out for details of that soon"

MATLOCK TOWN v ALTRINCHAM: LIVE COVERAGE

You can follow this fixture 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.

updates radiorobins

Brian Flynn announces that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, is providing full live commentary. The match commentary sponsor is St.Ann's Hospice. The commentators are Mark Simpson & Brian Flynn & the match summariser is Dave Stringer.

Coverage starts at 2.45pm with the game kicking off at 3pm".

Guidance for Listening to Radio Robins

There will be 4 ways to listen to Radio Robins via Mixlr

  • a) The Radio Robins website. Open the page in any web browser and the broadcast should start automatically. Please note that the 4 Player Options (Windows Player | Real Player | Quick Time | Winamp ) will not work now.
  • b) Download and install the Mixlr app on Android devices from the Google Play Store - start the app and search for 'Radio Robins'.
  • c) Download and install the Mixlr app on Apple devices from the Apple Store - start the app and search for 'Radio Robins'.
  • d) There is a temporary WIX website here.
The Chatroom software on radiorobins.com has been updated and should be accessible now for all users.

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

NL Yorkshire reports that "Shaw Lane AFC have made the coup signing of former Leeds United midfielder David Norris. Norris was a Neil Warnock signing for Leeds in 2012 from Portsmouth. He left Elland Road in 2015 and he spent some of last season at Salford City... Norris made over 400 league appearances in his career.

His signing is a major boost to Shaw Lane who are hoping to get their first win of the season tomorrow when they face Hednesford Town."

At Ashton United the club is "delighted to announce the signing of Josh Granite on a one-year contract from Trafford for an undisclosed fee.

From the EvoStik League we learn that "Hot-shot Kaiman Anderson is back to spearhead Nantwich Town's attack. Signed on loan from Southport on Thursday night, the 20 year-old came through the ranks at Shrewsbury Town and last term was banging in the goals for Halesowen Town before being recalled to New Meadow from his loan spell in January after netting 17 times.

The marksman will be no stranger to the Dabbers' faithful having scored a wonder solo goal at the Weaver Stadium for the Yeltz at the start of the 2016-17 campaign before going on to become one of the most feared strikers in the EVO-STIK League's top flight. Anderson told Nantwich Town's fans that he was looking forward to returning to play for Dabbers' boss Dave Cook after joining Southport in the summer."

Witton Albion report that "The club have released Scott Lycett with a view of [sic] him joining Leek Town."

18 August 2017

SATURDAY RESULTS

  • Ashton United 2-1 Grantham Town
  • Coalville Town 0-3 Warrington Town
  • Halesowen Town 1-2 Farsley Celtic
  • Lancaster City 1-1 Mickleover Sports
  • Marine 0-1 Barwell
  • Matlock Town 1-0 Altrincham
  • Nantwich Town 2-0 Workington
  • Rushall Olympic 1-0 Stalybridge Celtic
  • Shaw Lane 3-1 Hednesford Town
  • Stafford Rangers 1-4 Buxton
  • Whitby Town 1-3 Stourbridge
  • Witton Albion 1-0 Sutton Coldfield Town

PHIL ON RADIO TONIGHT

Alty boss Phil Parkinson is being interviewed on tonight's sports programme on BBC Radio Manchester, which starts at 7pm.

DAVE JOHNSON

The funeral of Altrincham FC volunteer Dave Johnson was held at the Club on Thursday and was attended by more than 100 people, who as well as his family included his many friends from the Football Club.

Altrincham FC chaplain, Rev. Andy Barclay-Watts paid moving tribute to Dave's many qualities. As well as providing a welcome face in his role as doorman at Alty, Dave was a Club vice-president and had been responsible both for starting the popular Pensioners' Christmas Lunches at the Football Club and for initiating the Young Player of the Season award for which he provided the annual trophy.

Following the tribute, the attendees gathered on Moss Lane to applaud as the funeral cortege left for nearby Hale Cemetery, where many of his friends joined the family for a brief service in the chapel, followed by the interment.

An indication of the respect held for Dave was the attendance of former players Nicky Clee and Greg Young and their fathers as well as Nicky's wife. Nicky had previously travelled from his Yorkshire home to visit Dave during his terminal illness.

Dave will be remembered for many years at the Football Club and on behalf of all present it extends its condolences to Dave's family.

TASC SUPPORTERS' TRAVEL TO MATLOCK

TASC will be operating supporters' transport to Matlock Town on Saturday (19th). The fares and times are on the Away Travel page. Please book your places as soon as possible, by ringing the Club on (0161) 928-1045 during weekday office hours.

MATLOCK ON SATURDAY

Mike Garnett reminds us of the historical record of matches between Alty and our next opponents, Matlock Town. Whilst Alty have been very successful at home, at Matlock it has been a different story...

  • Home: P14-W12-D1-L1-F31-A9
  • Away: P12-W4-D2-L6-F19-A25
  • All: P26-W16-D3-L7-F50-A34

Alty last met Matlock Town as recently last season on 15 October 2016 in an Emirates FA Cup 4QR match at Moss Lane, which Alty won 3-1. Only two players started that game for Alty and also began the most recent league game at Nantwich; they were Jake Moult and Simon Richman.

Matlock's squad in their recent win over Hednesford Town included a number of familiar names in non-League circle... 1 Phil Barnes 2 Nico Degirolamo 3 Jake Green 4 Joe Doyle-Charles 5 Adam Yates 6 Dwayne Wiley 7 Darnelle Bailey-King (14 Callum Lloyd 76) 8 Ryan Wilson (17 Tyler Blake 56) 9 Shaun Harrad (12 Marc Newsham 86) 10 Ted Cribley 11 Rhys Sharpe Other subs: 15 Luis Rose 16 Zeyn Hakeem

PHIL ENCOURAGED

The Sale & Altrincham Messenger reports that "Phil Parkinson saluted Altrincham's battling qualities after they shrugged aside a red card for Tom Hannigan to snatch a late equaliser at Nantwich...

Trailing to a 35th-minute goal, Alty were up against it when experienced centre-back Hannigan was shown a second yellow card for an ill-advised challenge just three minutes later.

But they stunned the home side with a forceful second-half performance that deservedly brought them a draw after winger John Johnston was hauled down in the 86th minute and picked himself up to convert the resulting penalty...

Alty's former Nantwich boss said, 'It was an important result for us after having to play with 10 men for such a big chunk of the game. To stay in the game the way we did and actually control it, rather than fall to pieces, is a massive positive and will give us great confidence moving forward.

'We showed character, quality in possession, fight, determination and people going to the bitter end for Altrincham Football Club, and the fans can take great heart from that. It was just a bit of silly stupidity for the sending off. Tom has held his hands up to that and is devastated, because he knows if he had stayed on the pitch, we would have been more comfortable and would maybe have gone on to win it.

'It was touch-and-go whether the foul was inside the area for the penalty, but we deserved that bit of luck, even though we're not quite clicking yet. We are looking good, without quite clicking in the final third but, when you look at the players we've got, it's going to be frightening when we do click and start putting chances away, as well as creating.

'This is a very competitive league, and you have to earn the right to play, as we'll have to do at Matlock on Saturday, but I believe we're not far away'".

OLD FOES

News of a Club which has played against Alty on numerous occasions comes from Kidderminster Harriers, where "Plans to create a new stadium on the outskirts of the town off the A451 close to its football academy have been unveiled. Harriers' chairman Colin Gordon said Aggborough's location near to homes in Kidderminster left the club adrift from the 'heart of the community'.

Proposals had been tabled to Wyre Forest District Council for the new stadium development in Zortech Avenue...

The stadium would be situated at the current Centre of Sporting Excellence, which is already home to its football academy and a training base to the first team... The new venue would encompass a new, purpose-built stadium and large training complex...

The site would also feature educational facilities for all age groups. Club officials said Aggborough would be made available for redevelopment...

Chairman Colin Gordon said... 'I fully understand and respect that there is a sentiment around Aggborough Stadium as a footballing venue... But the simple fact of the matter is that we cannot be at the heart of our community if we’re sat in the middle of a housing estate... and we just aren’t physically in the right position to offer what we believe a football club should offer its community...

'If we want to grow to become more than just a football team that relies on what the footballing product can generate then this is the only future for us'... Aggborough was opened in May 1890".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

The Evo-Stik League's "top groundsmen have been honoured at the Football Association's 2017 Groundsmen of the Year Awards.

Belper Town's Phil Varney, Trafford's Graham Foxall and Marine AFC's John Peterson were congratulated by groundsmen across the Non-League game on Wednesday at the FA’s National Football Centre at St George's Park as the top turf men in the EVO-STIK League's three divisions and in first, second and third place respectively...

Witton Albion's Peter Robinson, Nantwich Town’s Peter Temmen and Whitby Town's Eric Wilson were all highly commended by judges after narrowly missing out on the top honours".

We learn from Warrington Worldwide that "There are signs that a positive season is ahead for Warrington Town. They should really be sitting with maximum points after two games, but for a disappointing injury time equaliser conceded at Lancaster City on Tuesday...

Twice the Yellows were in a winning position, and twice it was squandered...

Two new signings have particularly impressed in the first two games, young centre half Liam Goulding put in some crucial tackles and was also composed at bringing the ball out from the back at the Giant Axe. The fact that Goulding is only in the team due to the unavailability of Jack Higgins (injury) and Phil Baker (international clearance) is perhaps a sign of the quality at Paul Carden’s disposal.

Another Liam, midfielder Hynes, has also impressed with his all action and energetic midfield play... In the central midfielder area, Carden has Hynes, regular starter [ex-Alty man] Sean Williams and the experienced Bradley Barnes available, and there will be some selection headaches there for sure.

It was good to see Ruben Jerome get off the mark on Tuesday night, a striker who needs goals to breed confidence... Strike partner Tony Gray put himself about on Saturday though seemed half a yard off the pace at Lancaster. With Josh Hine, currently playing wide right, an option through the middle as well as [is] the option to add a third central midfielder in, both strikers will be on their toes to perform.

The club struggled to find a left-back in the summer and so it was almost a welcome relief that Rory McKeown’s move elsewhere failed to materialise, as he is a dependable number three at this level. Another left back, Caleb Richards, has been drafted in on loan from Blackpool, and the youngster put in a stellar performance playing at right back at Lancaster.

Long-term injured Gerard Kinsella is putting a shift in week-in week-out to return to full fitness, and looks as enthusiastic as ever... A target of 23 points from the first 10 games should ensure the Yellows are there or thereabouts at the top."

17 August 2017

PATRONS' DRAW

The 2016-17 Patrons draw took place at 1.30pm on Wednesday, witnessed by Judy Henson and Noel Shields, and the results were
  • 3rd place - hospitality for 3 - David Meadows
  • 2nd place - hospitality for 5 - Jacqui McLay
  • 1st place - hospitality for 10 - Geoff Swindells

The hospitality places can be taken at either the Whitby game on Tuesday, 22 August or the Coalville Town game on Saturday, 26 August.

DAVE JOHNSON

Supporters are reminded that the funeral service for Alty volunteer, Dave Johnson, takes place in the Community Sports Hall at the J Davidson Stadium today (Thursday) at 1.30pm. It will be conducted by Club Chaplain, Rev. Andy Barclay-Watts.

Meanwhile, Altrincham FC supporter Gary Stubbs has created an attractive floral feature to enhance the Wall of Memories at the J. Davidson Stadium (pictured above). The Wall, sited adjacent to the main stand, comprises plaques requested by the family or friends of departed Altrincham FC supporters and staff. If you would like to commemorate a loved one on the Wall of Memories, please contact the club on (0161) 928-1045 or by e-mail

FA CUP

The EvoStik League reports that "South Shields are getting ready to fly the flag for the EVO-STIK League in the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday after being chosen to showcase the BBC's new extended coverage of every round.

Millions of fans of the world's oldest cup competition around the globe are expected to watch the preliminary round clash between the 2017 FA Vase winners and Bridlington after the BBC confirmed their cameras were heading to Mariners Park on Tuesday...

Both clubs are set to receive a £1,000 TV fee after being chosen to front the preliminary round... which has been brought forward to kick off at 12.30pm."

TUESDAY GATES

  • Att. 175 Ashton United 1 - 1 Farsley Celtic
  • Att. 173 Coalville Town 0 - 1 Stourbridge
  • Att. 345 Halesowen Town 1 - 0 Barwell
  • Att. 260 Lancaster City 2 - 2 Warrington Town
  • Att. 264 Marine 2 - 0 Workington
  • Att. 347 Matlock Town 3 - 2 Hednesford Town
  • Att. 670 Nantwich Town 1 - 1 Altrincham
  • Att. 242 Rushall Olympic 0 - 2 Grantham Town
  • Att. 614 Stafford Rangers v 1 Sutton Coldfield Town
  • Att. 256 Whitby Town v Stalybridge Celtic
  • Att. 336 Witton Albion v Buxton

NEXT OPPONENTS: MATLOCK TOWN

On Saturday, Alty travel to Matlock Town where "Joint Matlock boss Glenn Kirkwood declared he was 'pleased' with Matlock’s start to the season which has yielded four points from two testing fixtures and a current sixth spot...

The Gladiators brought back a point from last season’s beaten play off finalists Stourbridge on Sunday before winning a five goal thriller at home to Hednesford Town on Tuesday night. This weekend’s visit from Altrincham, newly relegated from the National League North and who ended Matlock’s hopes of an FA Cup First Round Proper appearance with a 3-1 win at Moss Lane last October, completes a hat-trick of hard games.

'I’m delighted with the results, especially the Hednesford one when we played really well. It was the polar opposite to Stourbridge but there we were solid and didn’t look like conceding against a very good side. Against Hednesford we could have been masters of our own downfall, giving away far too many daft free kicks which put us under pressure. We were excellent with the ball and unfortunate not to be comfortably ahead at half time. The effort and commitment though in both games was first class.'

Shaun Harrad opened his account in competitive games for Matlock with a fine brace in midweek after being starved of decent service at Stourbridge.

'Shaun and for that matter Marc Newsham (Matlock’s scorer) were excellent with no service on Sunday and then on Tuesday Shaun showed just how important he’ll be for us. We felt we needed some fresh legs on Tuesday and the changes we made were to make us more effective going forward. We were wasteful on Sunday but very good defensively, the Hednesford match saw us much better attacking wise'...

Alty will be disappointed with a 3-0 home defeat to Stafford Rangers on the opening day before they drew 1-1 at Nantwich on Tuesday.

'It will be another really tough game, they’ve taken some very good players from Nantwich and a very good manager', said Kirkwood. 'There’s some really good sides in the league this year and Stourbridge, Hednesford and Altrincham will right up there. We said when we saw the fixtures that the first three would be mega mega tough and the three points we got against Hednesford turned Sunday’s good point into a great point, On Saturday we’ll be going for the jugular and be all out for three points.'

Matlock are on the road again on Tuesday to the artificial Coles Lane to take on Sutton Coldfield Town. Ryan Wilson will need a fitness check after jarring his knee in midweek while midfielder Michael (knee) and winger Jamie Yates , who has had a recent ankle operation, are still probably at least a couple of weeks from a return. Teenage 6’6” defender and Academy product Max Hunt has gone out on a month’s loan to Belper Town...

'We’ve had to leave a couple of players out of the squad this week which makes it very hard... It’s hard to keep everyone happy'. Meanwhile Matlock’s top scorer from last term, on loan Burton marksman Marcus Dinanga, has this week joined AFC Telford United on a season’s long loan."

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

At Farsley Celtic "Manager Adam Lakeland gave his reaction after the game at Hurst Cross. 'It’s never easy away at Ashton and coming into it we anticipated a tough game and probably would have been pleased with a point. However, after the way in which we performed in the first 45 minutes there is a frustration there that we haven’t come away with all three points. We created half a dozen clear cut chances and didn’t capitalise on them...

'It was only natural that Ashton came out and performed better in the second half as they are a good outfit with a lot of experience at this level and credit to them for changing shape at half time as their performance was much improved after the break... We had a great chance where Wally (James Walshaw) headed wide and they went closer still...

Looking at the squad... the Celts boss reported, 'Danny Ellis pulled up with a calf problem, so he will need assessing on Thursday... The good news is that Ryan Watson and Jordan Deacey will be pushing to be involved on Saturday if they come through training on Thursday unscathed and Nathan Turner is edging closer to a return to full training".

Buxton have made a winless start to the season and they report that "A late Will Jones goal for Witton Albion meant the Bucks returned pointless from Cheshire last night. The next match is away at Stafford Rangers on Saturday with Liam Hardy returning from suspension. We are still waiting International Clearance for new French midfielder Alpha Kaba".

16 August 2017

MANAGERS' VIEWS

Nantwich Town have posted interviews with both managers following the game last night at the Weaver Stadium.

NANTWICH TOWN 1-1 ALTRINCHAM

Above: James Poole played an important role in the draw at Nantwich. Here he is seen in Alty's new away kit (purple) during the game, by Mike Ripley's camera.

Despite playing for more than an hour with ten men after Hannigan had been dismissed in the 38th minute for a rash challenge which earned him a second yellow card, Altrincham battled to a deserved draw with a late penalty...

Match report here

SEGREGATION

Bill Waterson, on behalf of the Board of Altrincham FC writes...

"Dear Fans

The board of Altrincham FC regret the incidents that took place at Moss Lane on Saturday. We do not and will never tolerate such behaviour at Altrincham Football Club. We are now reconsidering our approach on a game by game basis to segregation.

In addition we are reviewing the relevant match day operations and procedures from Saturday's game so that we can act on our findings, once we have gathered all the relevant information. Thank you for your support.

AFC Board"

RESERVES DEFEAT

On Tuesday night, Alty Reserves lost 4-1 at Eagle Sports. On Saturday they are at home to Rylands at Egerton Sports Club.

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Monday 14 August

  • Shaw Lane 1-2 Mickleover Sports

Tuesday 15 August

  • Ashton United 1-1 Farsley Celtic
  • Coalville Town 0-1 Stourbridge
  • Halesowen Town 1-0 Barwell
  • Lancaster City 2-2 Warrington Town
  • Marine 2-0 Workington
  • Matlock Town 3-2 Hednesford Town
  • Nantwich Town 1-1 Altrincham
  • Rushall Olympic 0-2 Grantham Town
  • Stafford Rangers 4-1 Sutton Coldfield Town
  • Whitby Town 4-1 Stalybridge Celtic
  • Witton Albion 1-0 Buxton

PATRONS' DRAW

The draw for members of the Altrincham FC Patrons will take place at the Club today (Wednesday) with the results made available as soon as possible afterwards.

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

NL Pitchero. reports that "Newly-promoted Shaw Lane AFC are finding the higher-level Evo-Stik League Premier tough and went down to a second successive defeat, this time a Monday night home defeat to Mickleover Sports.

It was the visitors, who opened up with a draw at the weekend, who grabbed the lead just past the half-hour mark through Evan Garnett. However, right on half-time, experienced striker Paul Clayton pulled the Ducks back on level terms. And the home side looked to be in the ascendancy when, on 66 minutes, former Duck Jake Scott was shown a straight red card for an alleged stamping incident off the ball.

But it was the ten-men who went on to win the game with a 77th minute Bradley Grayson effort."

The EvoStik League reports that Stourbridge "defenders Brandon Ball and Liam Slade have both left the Club... Both remain registered with us on NPL forms, and remain part of Gary's plans. Two players have linked up with other clubs on dual registration basis; keeper Reiss Jeavons (Tividale) and forward Josh Cooke (Sporting Khalsa)".

Witton Albion "have confirmed the loan-signing of teenage midfielder, Ben Hedley. He joins us from Morecambe for a month".

STAFFORD VIEW

Stafford Rangers report on Saturday's win at Altrincham. "Rangers’ new campaign got off to a dream start with a thoroughly deserved 3 points against pre-season promotion favourites, Altrincham Town. The Alty had the greater share of possession and played some attractive flowing football, with much of the first half being played in the Rangers end of the pitch. But their efforts were frustrated by a solid and skilful Rangers’ defence led by courageous club captain Matt Bailey, who had been felled by a short range pile driver to the face in the opening few minutesn a man of the match performance by Adam Whitehouse and some wayward finishing.

In stark contract Rangers' first attack produced a debut goal for Dan Westwood on 10 minutes. A fluent move saw the ball reach Louis Briscoe who held off several defenders before slipping the ball through to Westwood who steered it past the Alty keeper from about 12 yards. Rangers’ second on 44 minutes was a sublime lob by Jo Thomas from the edge of the box.

The second half started more evenly and Rangers went further ahead from a diving header by Richard Batchelor on 52 minutes. Increasing Altrincham pressure brought some panicky moments to the Rangers defence with a succession of skied clearances but Alty squandered their best chance with about 10 minutes to go when Adam Whitehouse saved a penalty which he had conceded after bringing down an Altrincham forward inside the box. In a great all round team effort teenage debutant Kai Davis at left back gave a stand out performance."

15 August 2017

DABBERS DATA

Mike Garnett informs us of the statistical record in matches between Alty and Nantwich Town. Whilst Moss Lane is certainly not a happy hunting ground for The Dabbers, the record at Nantwich is pretty even.
  • At home: P24-W21-D1-L2-F87-A29
  • Away: P29-W15-D1-L13-F64-A57
  • Neutral: P2-W1-D1-L0-F6-A3
  • Overall: P55-W37-D3-15-F157-A89

Entry prices are £10 for adults, £7 for concessionaries and £3 for "juniors", who are free with a paying adult.

Before kick off Nantwich Town wrote ""Ah, the magic of football. Who could’ve predicted that Nantwich’s first competitive home game would be against our previous management team? We take on Altrincham on Tuesday night, and we offer a warm welcome to Phil Parkinson and his team as they return to the Weaver Stadium for our home opener...

Nantwich haven’t met Altrincham in the league for many years but Altrincham’s two consecutive relegations brings the sides together... This will be the 80th fixture between the two sides, the last of which was a 3-0 victory for Altrincham in the final of the 2008/09 Cheshire Senior Cup. However, it may be considered revenge for the fact that we beat Altrincham in the Senior Cup final just one year previously, after an exciting 3-3 draw, with a 5-3 penalty victory for Nantwich.

Nantwich have recorded twenty-three wins over Altrincham, as well as seven draws and forty-nine losses. Interestingly, when we travel to Altrincham in October for the reverse fixture, Nantwich will be looking to break a ninety-two year league streak of not winning at Alty (not including Senior Cup final in 07/08).

The record of Nantwich vs Altrincham at home is pretty even – winning 13, drawing 1 and losing 15.

Nantwich have had a promising pre-season, losing just one of their games, and opened off the season with a narrow 1-0 away defeat at Stalybridge on Saturday... Nantwich fans welcome back players and staff such as Josh Hancock, Ben Harrison, Lewis Short, John Johnston and Max Harrop – with Phil Parkinson on the side-lines with Neil Sorvel and Chris Parkes as his backroom staff.

A headed goal from a corner from Alex Honeyball was enough to give Stalybridge Celtic a 1-0 victory over The Dabbers in the first league game of the season. Stalybridge had the better of the first half, with the largely young and inexperienced team getting their first taste of competitive football this season. Some excellent saves from goalkeeper Speiss kept the score-line at 0-0, but the pressure told and a goal came just before half time... The second half saw a much improved performance from Nantwich as they grew into the game...

As you can see, we haven’t met in the league for many years, the last five meetings are outlined below:

  • 2008/09 Altrincham 3-0 Nantwich – Cheshire Senior Cup Final (N)
  • 2007/08 Altrincham 3 (3)-(5) 3 Nantwich – Cheshire Senior Cup Final (N)
  • 1992/93 Nantwich 0-2 Altrincham – Cheshire Senior Cup 1st Round (H)
  • 1991/92 Nantwich 1-2 Altrincham – Cheshire Senior Cup 1st Round (H)
  • 1975/76 Nantwich 2-1 Altrincham – Cheshire Senior Cup 2nd Round (H)

BEFORE THE GAME AT NANTWICH

On Saturday, the Nantwich News reports that "Nantwich Town suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat away at Stalybridge Celtic despite a spirited performance... Dave Cooke’s much changed side from the one which finished the previous campaign under Phil Parkinson, was forced to soak up lots of pressure in front of almost 500 fans at Bower Fold.

Nantwich did pose a threat going forward on the break, with Mullarkey, Stair and Davies all seeing attempts on goal thwarted. But it was a goal a minute before half-time that proved decisive. The hosts forced a corner, and from the set piece Alex Honeyball rose to power a header home into the top corner, giving Dabbers keeper Fabian Spiess no chance.

Nantwich huffed and puffed after the break... But the visitors could not find a way past a stubborn Celtic defence who held on for the three points. Nantwich will be looking to put that right when they welcome Phil Parkinson’s new side Altrincham to the Weaver Stadium. With several Dabbers players from last season now lining up for Altrincham, it is set to be tasty affair".

THIS WEEK'S GAMES

Monday 14 August

  • Shaw Lane 1-2 Mickleover Sports

Tuesday 15 August

  • Ashton United v Farsley Celtic
  • Coalville Town v Stourbridge
  • Halesowen Town v Barwell
  • Lancaster City v Warrington Town
  • Marine v Workington
  • Matlock Town v Hednesford Town
  • Nantwich Town v Altrincham
  • Rushall Olympic v Grantham Town
  • Stafford Rangers vSutton Coldfield Town
  • Whitby Town v Stalybridge Celtic
  • Witton Albion v Buxton

GARNETT'S GUIDE: STAFFORD RANGERS

From last Saturday's "Robins' Review", Mike Garnett's "Guide to Stafford Rangers" is here.

STAFFORD'S VIEW

The Staffordshire Newsletter reports that "Neil Kitching was delighted to see Stafford Rangers get their season off to a winning start with a 'fantastic' 3-0 win at promotion favourites Altrincham on Saturday...

'I'm well, well pleased,' said Kitching. 'Any away result is a good one, but coming to the title favourites and getting a 3-0 win is fantastic. I thought we played well throughout. We didn't see lots of the ball, but when we did, crucially, we were clinical with it. We scored three good goals and we've deserved the victory.'

Alty, relegated from the Conference last season, had a lot of the possession and chances, and also won 16 corners to Boro's one, but the only statistic that mattered in the end was the scoreline.

'Altrinhcam had a lot of the ball, and played well, to be fair to them, doing all but finishing off the chances they had,' admitted Kitching. 'They moved the ball well and I was impressed with them. But our lads gave everything they could, and that gets you a result'.

There was almost a blot on Boro's copybook towards the end of the game when Alty were awarded a penalty... Said Kitching, 'It looked to me like a dive, but the lads are saying Adam clipped him. But it's irrelevant because Adam made the save and kept the clean sheet. On that note, I thought Adam was excellent today. He made key saves at key times, especially early on, and put in a right performance'".

SATURDAY'S OPPONENTS: MATLOCK TOWN

The Matlock Mercury tells us that "Matlock Town were pegged back and held to a 1-1 draw on the opening day of the season at Stourbridge. t took only until the fifth minute for Marc Newsham to open Matlock’s goalscoring account, but hosts Stourbridge fought back to level on the stroke of half time...

The Gladiators handed debuts to Ryan Wilson, Darnelle Bailey-King, Callum Lloyd and Shaun Harrad but they were without the injured Michael Williams and Ted Cribley who had to work. They were on the front foot almost immediately... They made a confident start and their dominance early on brought its reward as a long punt from Phil Barnes saw Harrad challenge the home defence, the ball falling for the alert Newsham to cleverly lift his finish over the onrushing Matt Gould...

Towards the interval Stourbridge, last season’s beaten play off finalists, began to threaten more... With the game three and a half minutes into added time and the visitors wondering just where referee Neil Pratt had found all of the additional time, the hosts found a leveller. Matlock struggled to clear their lines from a corner and Archer’s scuffed shot found the bottom corner...

The Gladiators, though could easily have won all three points themselves when substitutes Luis Rose and Zeyn Hakeem combined well on the left, Hakeem’s cross though being met by a soft finish from Bailey-King which Gould saved with relative comfort... Town’s defenders were in fine form with joint boss Glenn Kirkwood quick to praise them after scarcely putting a foot wrong...

MATLOCK TOWN: 1 Phil Barnes 2 Ryan Wilson 3 Jake Green 4 Joe Doyle-Charles 5 Adam Yates (15 Nico Degirolamo 90) 6 Dwayne Wiley 7 Darnelle Bailey-King 8 Callum Lloyd 9 Shaun Harrad 10 Marc Newsham (12 Zeyn Hakeem 62) 11 Rhys Sharpe (14 Luis Rose 81) Other subs: 16 Todd Jordan 17 Rory Coleman".

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

According to the Lancaster Guardian, "If there was any doubt that the Dolly Blues wouldn’t be able to hold their own in their new surroundings, they were [sic] erased with a hard fought 2-1 victory at promotion chasing Buxton on Saturday.

With the added achievement of overturning an early goal for the hosts to seal a comeback victory, the first victory for Phil Brown’s side in the Evo-Stik Premier Division felt like business as usual for the Division One North champions. In a game that was few on chances with defences on top, the visitors were understandably cautious and nervy in the opening stages whilst the Bucks came flying out the traps.

It took just four minutes to open the scoring... The home side enjoyed most of the possession and territory in the opening half and in the early stages it looked as though it may be a long game for their newly promoted opponents. City grew into the contest though, levelling ten minutes before the interval thanks to a slice of good fortune... The ball fell to Sam Bailey 25 yards from goal... the midfielder hit a swerving shot that flew straight through keeper Jan Budtz’s gloves.

The second half was an almost complete reversal of the first. With the wind and gentle slope on the pitch on their side the Dolly Blues took the game to the Bucks... Despite dominating the half, chances were next to non-existent... It took a moment of real quality from Winder to set up the winner that on the balance of play was completely deserved... Winder beat his man and carried the ball all the way to the box before squaring for striker Oliver Wood to calmly take a touch before hitting a deflected strike into the left corner of the net...

City host Warrington on Tuesday night and on Saturday, the new Neil Marshall Stand will be unveiled before they take on Mickleover Sports."

The Telegraph & Argus states that "Farsley Celtic came back from a goal down to win their first game back in the Evo-Stik League Premier Division 3-1 at home to Coalville Town.

The visitors' keeper Matt Coton had prevented Richard Marshall from giving the Celts a tenth-minute lead with a superb save, but Lee Cox headed Coalville in front a minute later. The game remained end to end throughout, and Nathan Cartman, the former Liversedge, Brighouse Town and Darlington forward, was denied by Coton on two occasions before he marked his Farsley debut with a goal.

Cartman was a late signing and had played no part Celtic’s pre-season training or warm-up games but new boss Adam Lakeland gave him a start and he paid back his gaffer’s faith in him... There was a huge turning point early in the second half when the Ravens were denied a penalty after Nathan Watson appeared to have been tripped before the Celts were awarded a penalty from the counter-attack.

Last term’s leading scorer James Walshaw was fouled and got up to beat Coton from the resulting spot-kick.. The Celts wrapped up their victory as Walshaw netted his second".

At the top of the table are Grantham Town who report that "Grantham will look to follow up Saturday's impressive win with another three points as they travel to Rushall Olympic on Tuesday night. Saturday's emphatic 5-0 victory over Marine was the best start the club has made in its 143 year history...

Despite the weekend's results, Grantham manager Adam Stevens isn't going to allow complacency to creep in. 'Of course, Saturday's result was a very good start to the season and has given the players a lot of confidence, but we have to remember it is only the first game. Tuesday will post a different kind of threat'...

Stevens will also have a selection headache on Tuesday by having a fully fit squad to choose from... Dales Lane [Rushall] has not been a happy hunting ground, as the Gingerbreads have won just once in ten visits".

A new face at the Bower Fold is the subject of a report from Port Vale which says that "It was a great debut for young goalkeeper Joe Slinn this weekend, as he made his debut for Stalybridge Celtic. Slinn kept a clean sheet in his first game for Celtic as they defeated Nantwich Town 1-0".

News of an ex-Alty player comes from Hednesford Town which reports that "After an even start Hednesford almost went ahead in the eighth minute when the ball was played into James Lawrie but his first time right-footed effort flashed across goal before hitting the inside of the post and rebounding to safety.... {After falling behind], the Pitmen were back level when they were awarded a penalty after Lawrie was brought down in the area. Danny Glover stepped up and sent goalkeeper David Carnell the wrong way".

14 August 2017

INTERVIEW WITH PHIL PARKINSON

Alty Press & Media Officer, Brian Flynn, interviewed Phil Parkinson after the Stafford game. It can be heard here.

NEXT SATURDAY'S OPPONENTS: MATLOCK TOWN

Next Saturday, Altrincham travel to Matlock. NL Pitchero reports that "The only game played on Sunday was the Evo-Stik League Premier encounter between Stourbridge and Matlock Town. The Glassboys welcomed the Gladiators to the War Memorial Ground today due to cricket still being played on the ground on Saturdays...

A good crowd of 1,050 saw the sides battle out a 1-1 draw, which was a pretty fair outcome on the balance of play. However, it was the visitors who got out of the blocks the quickest and were ahead inside the opening 5 minutes when Glassboys` keeper Matt Gould was beaten to a through ball by Marc Newsham, who poked the ball home.

Matlock had the better of the majority of the first half, but it ended with the sides all-square as Stourbridge grabbed an injury-time equaliser when a cross from Jordan Murphy was headed down by Leon Broadhurst for Jordan Archer to net from close range.

The second half was goalless but the Glassboys improved immensely and were a little unfortunate not to have grabbed a winner with young sub Brandon Hague especially lively after coming off the bench."

OLD BOYS

After his brief stay at Alty, Sefton Gonzales scored for Droylsden on Saturday. Three ex-Robins netted for Glossop NE; they were Dale Johnson, Ben Deegan and Jude Oyibo. Jerome Wright got a brace for Ramsbottom United whilst Astley Mulholland did the same for Colwyn Bay. At Trafford, James Dean netted but the local side lost to South Shields. Dave Parton was in goal for Kidsgrove Athletic as they lost 3-0 to Peterborough Sports.

In the Football League, Jordan Sinnott was an unused sub for Chesterfield. And, finally, more than 17 years after leaving Moss Lane for Leicester City, Kevin Ellison is still starting League Two games for Morecambe.

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

The Stourbridge News reports that "Stourbridge boss Gary Hackett was pleased with the way his side overcame a lacklustre start to take a point from their league opener against Matlock Town. The Glassboys manager felt his side could even have taken all three points if they'd only been a little more clinical in front of goal in the second half.

He said.'I thought for the first 25 minutes we didn't start particularly well, we didn't keep the ball and we gave a very poor goal away that came straight down the middle... and we've had to fight hard to get back in the game. We changed the formation a little and in the last 15 minutes I thought we shaded it and scored at the death to give us some momentum going into the second half.

I though in the second half we should have won it. We had some good opportunities and didn't quite finish them off... We were a yard off the pace but we settled down and got on top at the end. I think they were more relieved for the final whistle than we were... Maybe, all in all, a draw was the right result. It's always cagey at the start of the season but we'll look to Coalville on Tuesday night now".

The EvoStik League reports "Player movements registered from Sunday 5 August to 11am on Saturday 11 August 2017". Below are movements involving EvoStik Premier North clubs and ex-Alty players moving outside that league.

  • Max Harrop from Nantwich Town to Altrincham
  • Max Cartwright from Stockport County to Ashton United
  • Oscar Durnin from Nantwich Town to Ashton United
  • Nicholas Platt from Glossop North End to Ashton United
  • Ryan Robbins from Sutton Coldfield Town to Barwell
  • Max Hunt from Matlock Town to Belper Town (loan)
  • Drew Ricketts from Mickleover Sports to Belper Town
  • Daniel Roberts from Witton Albion to Belper Town
  • Joseph McGee from Brooklyn Italians (United States) to Buxton
  • Jake Williams from FC United of Manchester to Buxton
  • George Cater from Hednesford Town to Chasetown
  • Joshua Craddock from Stafford Rangers to Chasetown
  • Oliver Bassett from Yeovil Town to Coalville Town
  • Nathaniel Dixon from Bedworth United to Coalville Town
  • Jacob Gregory from Lancaster City to Colne
  • Jack McGovern from Gainsborough Trinity to Corby Town
  • Callum Bagshaw from Stalybridge Celtic to Droylsden
  • Nathan Cartman from Darlington to Farsley Celtic (loan)
  • Adam Porritt from Harrogate Town to Farsley Celtic
  • Billy Hasler-Cregg from Droylsden to Glossop North End
  • Jack McMenemy from Lincoln City to Grantham Town
  • Luke Shaw from AFC Telford to Grantham Town
  • Courtney Meade from Barwell to Gresley FC
  • Kieran Cronin from Mickleover Sports to Gresley FC
  • Jack Alexander from AFC Totton to Halesowen Town
  • Benjamin Clarke from Kidderminster Harriers to Halesowen Town (loan)
  • William Mellors-Blair from Carlton Town to Halesowen Town
  • Paul Alexander from Bamber Bridge to Kendal Town
  • Callum Morris from Morecambe to Kendal Town
  • Andy Haworth from Barrow AFC to Lancaster City
  • Vincent Bailey from Skelmersdale United to Marine
  • George Hassall from Shrewsbury Town to Marine
  • Lyndon Campbell from Nantwich Town to Market Drayton Town
  • Reece Horne from Ilkeston to Mickleover Sports
  • Benjamin Morris from Ilkeston to Mickleover Sports
  • Jermaine Palmer from Belper Town to Mickleover Sports
  • James Phillips from Gateshead to Mickleover Sports
  • Craig Ellison [ex-Alty] from Witton Albion to Mossley
  • Jordan Davies from Prestatyn Town (Wales) to Nantwich Town
  • Casper Hughes from AFC Fylde to Nantwich Town
  • Clayton McDonald from Altrincham to Nantwich Town
  • Curtis Hall from Sutton Coldfield Town to Notts County
  • Ryan Pugh from Matlock Town to Ossett Town
  • Alan Burton from Marine to Prescot Cables
  • Josef Faux from Altrincham to Prescot Cables
  • Kyle Brownhill from Altrincham to Ramsbottom United
  • Tolani Omotola from Tranmere Rovers to Ramsbottom United
  • Thomas Brooks from Curzon Ashton to Ramsbottom United
  • Sam Heathcote from Altrincham to Ramsbottom United
  • Kartel O'Neill-Martin from Halesowen Town to Rushall Olympic
  • Jonathan Brown from Kidderminster Harriers to Rushall Olympic (loan)
  • Liam Lawrence from Bristol Rovers to Rushall Olympic
  • Zak Lilly from AFC Telford to Rushall Olympic (loan)
  • Liam Sharpe from Loughborough Dynamo to Rushall Olympic
  • Wayne Thomas from Kidderminster Harriers to Rushall Olympic
  • Chib Chilaka from Harrogate Town to Shaw Lane
  • Paul Clayton from Alfreton Town to Shaw Lane
  • Spencer Harris from Buxton to Shaw Lane
  • Ryan Qualter from Bradford Park Avenue to Shaw Lane
  • Damian Reeves from Altrincham to Shaw Lane
  • Gavin Rothery from Gainsborough Trinity to Shaw Lane
  • Jonathan Stewart from Bradford Park Avenue to Shaw Lane
  • Nicky Walker from Buxton to Shaw Lane
  • Jordaan Brown from Redditch United to Stafford Rangers
  • Exodus Geohaghon from Nuneaton Town to Stafford Rangers
  • Luke Ashworth from FC United of Manchester to Stalybridge Celtic
  • Alexander Honeyball from Bolton Wanderers to Stalybridge Celtic
  • Oliver Roberts from Fleetwood Town to Stalybridge Celtic
  • Joseph Slinn from Port Vale to Stalybridge Celtic (loan)
  • Jack McMillan from Notts County to Sutton Coldfield Town
  • Aaron Farrell from Rushall Olympic to Sutton Coldfield Town
  • Hoshane Gabbidon from Redditch United to Sutton Coldfield Town
  • Romario Martin from Solihull Moors to Sutton Coldfield Town
  • Zak Martin from Rushall Olympic to Sutton Coldfield Town
  • Mason Springthorpe from Alfreton Town to Sutton Coldfield Town (loan)
  • Callum Williams from Halesowen Town to Sutton Coldfield Town
  • Aaron Hardy from Farsley Celtic to Tadcaster Albion
  • Aiden Savory from Farsley Celtic to Tadcaster Albion
  • Bradley Barnes from Salford City to Warrington Town
  • Liam Hynes from Southport to Warrington Town
  • Rory McKeown from Southport to Warrington Town
  • James Risbrough from Ytterhogdal (Sweden) to Whitby Town
  • Ryan Neild from Airbus UK Broughton (Wales) to Witton Albion

In its Saturday review, the EvoStik League reports that there were "mixed fortunes for the new teams in the division. Relegated Altrincham and Stalybridge Celtic are strong tips to make a rapid return to National League North. While Steve Burr`s new-look Celtic side edged their opening game 1-0 at Bower Fold against another fancied side, Nantwich Town, courtesy of a goal right on half-time from Alex Honeyball, Alty suffered a 3-0 defeat at the J. Davidson Stadium to old rivals Stafford Rangers...

Of the newly-promoted teams, Shaw Lane AFC were expected to challenge after making some impressive signings, but it was Farsley Celtic and Lancaster City who made the headlines on the opening day, while Witton Albion earned a useful away point. Shaw Lane came unstuck on the 3G at Coles Lane against Sutton Coldfield Town, who ran out 3-1 winners...

Farsley beat Coalville Town 3-1 at Throstle Nest. And they had to come back from being an 11th minute Lee Cox goal down to win, thanks to former Darlington striker Nathan Cartman after 32 minutes, the ever prolific James Walshaw from the spot five minutes into the second half and again 12 minutes from time.

The Dolly Blues earned a good 2-1 win at Silverlands against Buxton, who got off to a great start when Niall Doran put them in front after just four minutes. Sam Bailey equalised eight minutes before the break and then Ollie Wood won it for the visitors on 68 minutes.

Witton had a great start at a Mickleover Sports side who have made some impressive summer signings. Steven Tames gave the visitors an early second minute lead from the spot. But the Derbyshire side scrambled back into the game with a 57th minute Danny Gordon leveller.

The biggest winners of the day were Grantham Town, who hammered Marine AFC 5-0 at The Meres... It represented Grantham`s best start to any season in their 143-year history.

Workington AFC attracted a crowd of 638 to see them beat Halesowen Town 3-1 at Borough Park... Barwell opened up with a 1-0 Kirkby Road win over Whitby Town, thanks to a goal from Ryan Seal 11 minutes from time, while Warrington Town were the day's other winners, seeing off Rushall Olympic 2-0 at Cantilever Park with goals from Connor Hughes after 17 minutes and then from Joe Mwasile right at the end.

Hednesford Town and Ashton United shared a 1-1 draw in the day`s remaining game, Matty Chadwick putting the Robins in front after 27 minutes before a Danny Glover penalty seven minutes later earned the Pitmen a point."

13 August 2017

PHIL: "RESULT IS SICKENING"

After the 0-3 defeat by Stafford Rangers, manager Phil Parkinson (right) told the NL Paper, "I thought we played really well actually; for the first hour we dominated. But the result is sickening, people will be very upset, I know.

"We've got to score when we're on top. We've had seven or eight chances, when our keeper hasn't had a save to make, apart from picking the ball out of the net.

"I've got my way of playing and the club's bought into that. We've got a lot of good players and people have got to keep with us".

ALTRINCHAM 0 STAFFORD RANGERS 3

Pre-season optimism at the J. Davidson Stadium was dealt a heavy blow with this heavy home defeat by a Stafford Rangers team which gave its hosts a lesson in both defending and taking chances. Alty were without the injured Disney and Miller, the ill Amis and the suspended Poole but nevertheless enjoyed more than their share of the ball and, in terms of the corner-kick count, they were comfortable winners. But they lacked incision in and around the box and were prone to defensive lapses.

Left: John Johnston was Alty's Man of the Match (image courtesy of Mike Ripley)..

Rangers took a tenth-minute lead against the run of play as Briscoe cleverly fed Westwood, whose low shot beat Deasy, just inside his left post. Thomas made it 2-0 just before the break, with a goal out of nothing as he volleyed the ball impressively over Deasy from the edge of the box.

Although Johnston harried Rangers throughout the afternoon, they defended solidly and warpped up the game seven minutes after the break when Batchelor, one of the smaller men in their team, stooped to head home a corner unchallenged. The final blow to Alty came in the 85th minute when Moult's penalty was saved, low to his left, by keeper Whitehouse, the kick being awarded for a foul on Peers.

Match report here.

CORRECTION: RESERVES' BIG LOSS

Altrincham FC Reserves lost to Knutsford on Saturday, 6-0. And, like the first team, they had a late penalty saved by the opposition keeper.

OLD BOYS

Greg Wilkinson was named Man of the Match for Stalybridge Celtic and Joe Mwasile netted for Warrington Town. There was varying fortune for former centre-back pairing Scott Leather and Luca Havern. Scott scored for Chorley but Luca put through his own net for Bradford PA.
12 August 2017

OPENING DAY FIXTURES

Today (12th) is the opening day of the Evo-Stik League's 2017-18 season. The fixtures in the Premier (North) are...
  • Altrincham 0-3 Stafford Rangers
  • Barwell 1-0 Whitby Town
  • Buxton 1-2 Lancaster City
  • Farsley Celtic 3-1 Coalville Town
  • Grantham Town 5-0 Marine
  • Hednesford Town 1-1 Ashton United
  • Mickleover Sports 1-1 Witton Albion
  • Stalybridge Celtic 1-0 Nantwich Town
  • Sutton Coldfield Town 3-1 Shaw Lane
  • Warrington Town 2-0 Rushall Olympic
  • Workington 3-1 Halesowen Town

AMIS AND DISNEY OUT TODAY

Brian Flynn spoke to Alty boss Phil Parkinson in advance of today's match against Stafford Rangers. Here is what Phil said...

"Today is the big day, the start of the new season and a home game against Stafford Rangers at 3pm.

It’s my first competitive game as manager and I’m really hoping that my players can be brave enough to implement the lessons learned through all of the hard work that has gone in during the pre-season. We have played nine games, but the team has only been together for less than two months and until the serious business of the league starts, you never quite know.

I do know all about Stafford Rangers though. One of the reasons that I was appointed is that I have an in-depth knowledge of the teams, players and managers in this division and that will stand us in good stead throughout the campaign, starting today.

Today’s opponents, like ourselves, are a big non-league club, with a very proud history and there is another parallel with us, in that they have had some difficulties in recent years, dropping a league lower than the EVO-STIK Premier Division not too long ago, before being promoted the season before last.

Stafford will be organised, disciplined and very hard working. If we get into an arm-wrestle with them, we will come off second best, so we need to play our football in the style that the players have been working on throughout the pre-season training sessions and friendlies.

We have had a big blow in the last couple of days with Josh Amis (right), who was rushed into hospital with appendicitis. Following his operation, he is likely to be missing for about six weeks, which is a real blow, as I think that Josh has done really well since he joined us during the pre-season schedule.

I have brought in Max Harrop, who is a winger, who previously did a good job for me at Nantwich. Max is a local lad, based in Chadderton. He has trained with us this week and is likely to be involved today. He’s the sort of player that I’m sure the Alty fans will enjoy watching.

John Disney (left) will miss today’s game, through the ankle injury sustained at Trafford last Saturday. He could probably play at a push, but we have two quality right backs at the club, therefore Shaun Densmore will play in the number two shirt. Lewis Short has recovered from his injury from the Bradford Park Avenue game a fortnight ago and will start the game.

James Poole is suspended, having been sent off for Salford City at the end of last season, but he is available for Tuesday’s first away game at Nantwich.

It would be fantastic if we can get a good crowd in this afternoon, giving great vocal support to the team. It means a lot to the players and if we are going to achieve our objective of promotion this season, the fans can really play a big part in that!"

OUR OPPONENTS SIGN TWO

On the eve of their match at the J. Davidson Stadium, Stafford Rangers report that they "have signed former Nuneaton player Exodus Geohaghon... Also Jordaan Brown"

Geohaghon (32) is well known to Alty fans having already played against us for a number of clubs, including Histon, Nuneaton Town, Torquay United, Solihull Moors and Kettering Town. Defender Jordaan Brown was previously at Hayes & Yeading, AFC Wimbledon and Staines.

SATURDAY'S GAME

Turnstile prices:

  • Adults: £10
  • Full-Time Students & Concessionaries: £7
  • Aged 12 to 16 inclusive: £4
  • Under 12s: £1

Mike Garnett reminds us that Altrincham and their opponents, Stafford Rangers, have met nearly 100 times previously...

  • Home: P49-W26-D9-L14-F95-A56
  • Away: P45-W18-D13-L14-F65-A56
  • All: P94-W44-D22-L28-F160-A112
Colwyn Bay report that they "have completed the signing of Jamie Menagh (left) from Airbus UK Broughton ahead of their opening Evo-stik North game on Saturday (August 12th, 3pm) away to Ossett Albion. The 23-year-old wide midfield player, who was with Blackpool and Stoke City as a youngster and has also had spells at Chester, Altrincham and Marine, played and scored for Airbus in the recent friendly at the Bay and manager Phill Hadland said, 'He is player I have admired for a while and he gives us another option going forward. A number of clubs have been showing interest in him, but he trained with us this week, enjoyed it, and said he wanted to sign, which is great.'

His registration, however, won’t be through in time for him to play at Ossett Albion on Saturday."

News of a player who turned out for Alty in a friendly match against a Manchester United u-18 side in January 2017 comes from Welsh Premier. It reports that "Connah's Quay have signed two brothers on full-time contracts... with Michael and Mathias Bakare arriving at the Deeside Stadium. Michael, is a 30-year-old striker whose career began at Leyton Orient, Welling United, Thorrock and Bishop's Stortford where he first made an real impact, converting from a full back and midfielder to a forward player.

Following an impressive nine goals in 14 games early in the 2011/12 season, Bakare joined Conference South club Chelmsford City where he scored five goals in 10 games, earning a move to then Football League side Macclesfield Town in January 2012. After failing to start a single game with the Silkmen, Bakare was released and joined Southport where he was loaned to Droylsden. A journeyman career continued with spells at Chelmsford City, Dover Athletic, Tonbridge Angels, Braintree Town, Bury Town, VCD Athletic and Witham Town before rejoining his former club Welling United for the 2015/16 season.

In June 2016, Bakare joined Wrexham... He was loaned to Billericay Town before returning to the Racecourse Ground, where his contract was cancelled by mutual consent this January and he moved to Warrington Town".

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

Buxton "start the new campaign with a home match against Lancaster City at the Tarmac Silverlands Stadium ... The Bucks pre-season campaign performances grew stronger as the summer progressed with good wins over Gainsborough Trinity and Leek Town giving Martin McIntosh’s side good momentum for the first match. It has been a busy summer of comings and goings with the likes of Jamie Green, Nicky Walker, Jamie Jackson, Matty Williams and Brad Grayson departing to be replaced by Josh Meade, Jake Williams, Andy McWilliams (right), Joe Maguire, Tyler Williams, Ant Wilson and Sam Smith. The squad certainly looks physically stronger on paper with another young midfielder, Frenchman Alpha Kaba, awaiting international clearance before he can join.

The Bucks will be without Liam Hardy on Saturday and against Witton Albion on Tuesday as he completes a suspension... but with Wilson and Smith finding the net in the last two pre-season matches there is great confidence on the attacking front. Defender Jake Williams (Pictured) is the latest addition to the squad after he signed on Wednesday on a dual registration with FC United of Manchester. Jake did have a brief stay at the club two years ago without making a start".

Hednesford Town report that Saturday "sees the start of a brand new era for Hednesford Town as Neil Tooth takes charge of his first league match with the Pitmen... with a home game against Ashton United...

Tooth said, 'Since taking over in May my team and I have been working tirelessly to build a squad capable of bringing what we hope will be a successful period to the club... Pre-season seems as though it went on for a lot longer than normal and, overall, I’ve been really happy with how it’s gone when you consider that the squad has really been built from scratch.

'Tomorrow’s opponents, Ashton, are a very good side and they have added some very good players to their squad during the close season... Our opening matches are all tough but momentum plays a big part for any team that is successful and if we can get off to a good start at home, then we can carry that into the two tough away matches that follow'.

The manager will have the tough job of choosing a squad of players to face Ashton, with all having impressed over the course of the summer. One player who won’t be in contention tomorrow is George Cater with the striker having joined Chasetown on loan/dual-registration in order to get some game time".

LOCAL NEWS

Altrincham fans will recall our own club's brush with Travellers but now the Sale & Altrincham Messenger reports that "Travellers have been reported as having moved on to the football fields at Crossford Bridge in Sale. Several caravans were sighted in the field on August 9".

Sale United Football Club reported that "Travellers have made their way onto our football fields at Crossford Bridge... This may impact on our abilities to run anything at Crossford Bridge in the upcoming days"...

They later commented that their facilities had been threatened and damage had already taken place. One woman said... 'This facility has a large car park, their choice of parking on the playing pitch not on the car park implies to me that they are inconsiderate of the local community'...

A Trafford Council spokesperson said, 'Trafford Council and Greater Manchester Police have visited the site and started the legal process to remove the travellers at Crossford Bridge as quickly as possible'".

11 August 2017

OLD BOYS

There is bad news from Ashton United to the effect that "Midfielder Ryan Crowther has been ruled out for the 2017/18 campaign after suffering a serious injury in the first half of the pre-season friendly against Radcliffe Borough. Scans confirmed that the midfield dynamo has torn his medial and cruciate ligaments in his knee.

Manager Jody Banim was ‘absolutely devastated’ to hear the news about Ryan Crowther stating 'he was a shining light for us last season'. Jody also went on record to say 'I was really looking forward to watching him and Chaddy pick up where they left off. The club will offer its full support in Ryan’s rehab and we’ll hopefully have him back fit for the start of the 2018/19 season'.

After Crowther scored 15 goals over the course of the 16/17 season, Jody has moved quickly to find a replacement re-signing Jack Dyche on loan from Scunthorpe United on an initial six-month loan deal."

According to NL Pitchero the registration of a recent Alty trialist, Joel Bembo-Leta, has beeen transferred from Buxton to Shaw Lane AFC.

SUPPORTING THE CLUB

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EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

Warrington Town boss "Paul Carden has warned Warrington Town youngster Dylan Vassallo to expect 'a bit of treatment' from opposition sides but has backed him to cope. The 19-year-old put in several impressive performances after arriving at Cantilever Park part way through last season.

He caught the eye of several professional clubs and was invited for trials by Burnley and Charlton Athletic. However, the winger committed his future to Yellows by signing a contract with the club in June. Carden admits the mercurial youngster could be targeted by their Evo-Stik Premier Division rivals when the season gets underway.

'We’ve been speaking to Dylan about his play. He’ll actually tell you he prefers to play on the right and cut in, but he’s got to mix his game up more,' he said. 'At times, he can be too predictable but when he’s on it, nobody can get near him. He’s going to get a bit of treatment from opposition sides this year because he’s a little bit more known. He handles it well and continues to look a threat'...

Carden says it may take a couple of games for his side to produce their best form. 'If we can nick a few results and gather momentum, we will get stronger through picking up more understanding of each other', he said... 'It might take a couple of weeks to get us at our best.'"

According to the Lancaster Guardian, "Lancaster City boss Phil Brown expects Buxton to give his side a flavour of what to expect in the Evo-Stik Premier Division this season. A trip to Derbyshire on the opening day of the new campaign awaits the Dolly Blues...

'They are a decent side who have been at the top end of the division for the last couple of years,' said Brown. 'They are well organised and will play a standardish shape, a flexible 4-4-2. I think they will be typical of what we’re going to encounter this year and a good test'...

After a pre-season programme that saw his side win four and lose three of their seven games, 'You can’t replicate playing for three points', said the City boss... 'It’s really good pre-season in getting things together'... The friendly campaign finished with a disappointing 2-0 defeat at rivals Bamber Bridge on Saturday, Brown feeling the schedule took its toll on his side...

Brown said, 'We weren’t at the level we needed to be and weren’t at the races to be honest. It was our seventh game in 21 days though because we didn’t start playing until the 15th and finished on the fifth... I’m not making excuses but maybe you could understand it because we were flat and out of sorts... but we’ve had a good pre-season on the whole.'

Having made former Barrow winger Andy Haworth his final signing, the Blues boss now has the task of picking a 16-man squad for the trip to Buxton... Said Brown, 'Everybody is up for selection even if some maybe are a little bit behind physically for a variety of reasons'".

Across the Pennines, the Telegraph & Argus says that "Farsley Celtic kick off their first season back in the Evo-Stik Premier Division with a home fixture against Coalville Town on Saturday, and Celts boss Adam Lakeland... said, 'This is a very competitive league with some big clubs in it like Workington, Altrincham, Stalybridge Celtic, Stafford Rangers, Stourbridge - the names just keep rolling off the tongue. We know how difficult, it’s going to be week in, week out but the players are champing at the bit.

'It’s been a hard pre-season but I think more positives than negatives have come out of it and the players have come through it apart from Jordan (Deacey). Jordan picked up that knee injury but it wasn’t as bad as first thought and he’ll be back soon... and Nathan Turner is still on his way back from an operation but, apart from that, the lads are all ready to go.'"

10 August 2017

RESERVES START WITH A WIN

Altrincham FC Reserves won their first league game (on Tuesday night) beating Linotype Cheadle Heath Nomads 1-0 at home (Egerton Sports Club). The goal was scored by Ricardo Pembele. The league fixtures for the first month are:
  • Saturday 12th Aug 3pm- Knutsford -Away
  • Tuesday 15th Aug 6.45pm - Eagle Sports- Away
  • Saturday 18th Aug 3pm- Rylands- Home
  • Wednesday 23rd Aug 6.30pm- Whaley Bridge- Away
  • Saturday 26th August 3pm - Billinge- Away
  • Tuesday 30th August- 7pm - Congleton VR- Away

RADIO ROBINS

Brian Flynn writes that "Radio Robins is trialling a new method of broadcasting called Mixlr. This service seems to be the industry standard in this field and, whilst benefits to the listener may not be immediately apparent, it provides more options and flexibility for the Radio Robins team on match days. It is hoped it will also enable the station to broadcast a wider range of content.

There will be 3 ways to listen to Radio Robins via Mixlr

  • a) The Radio Robins website www.radiorobins.com . Open the page in any web browser and the broadcast should start automatically
  • b) Download and install the Mixlr app on Android devices from the Google Play Store - start the app and search for 'Radio Robins'.
  • c) Download and install the Mixlr app on Apple devices from the Apple Store - start the app and search for 'Radio Robins'.

radiorobinsWe will be doing a test broadcast at 8pm on Thursday August 10th.The broadcast will last for 15-30 minutes and we would like as many people as possible to listen.

Feedback during the broadcast can be given on the Radio Robins Chatroom and, after the broadcast has finished, we would welcome your thoughts on your listening experience on the Fans Forum at www.altyfans.co.uk

For the test broadcast, Paul Burton has put together a WIX website which we will use for testing without having to change the existing Radio Robins website. In simple terms, this website replaces www.radiorobins.com for broadcasting the test broadcast, although we would still like you to use the Chatroom on the Radio Robins website for feedback purposes".

SAM AND KYLE JOIN RAMSBOTTOM

Former Altrincham defenders Sam Heathcote and Kyle Brownhill have both joined Ramsbottom United where they team up with Jerome Wright, who also left the J Davidson Stadium recently, as well as with Tolani Omotola who is on loan there from Altrincham.

INTEGRO CUP HOME DRAW

Altrincham have secured a home draw in the EvoStik League's cup competition, the Intergo Cup. The match is on Tuesday 18 October. For the full draw and other details, see yesterday's news, below.

PHIL IN FULL

On Monday we quoted from the interview with Phil Parkinson in the NLP. Now the Non-League Paper has put the full article on its website.

ALTRINCHAM FC FANTASY FOOTBALL

Jack Jolly writes, "Calling all wannabe managers! This is your chance to prove you're the next Phil Parkinson. Altrincham FC fantasy football has launched.

The game is free to play and the winning manager or managers will be invited to join Phil Parkinson at Stubborn Mule Brewery for an evening of beers and food to discuss the season, where they'll also receive their trophy. It is hoped there will be plenty of other spot prizes throughout the season to keep it interesting.

Sign up to play for free here.

Each manager has £35m to spend on a 6-a-side squad based on valued determined by Altrincham's own Rob Esteva. Rob currently provides the valuations for the UEFA Champions League version of the game.

We will run the game until December 30th, and start a new season on January 1st ready for the run-in".

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

The Stourbridge News reports that "Glassboys' boss Gary Hackett says he's targeting a top five finish and another cup run this season. Stourbridge will begin the new Northern Premier League campaign against Matlock Town at the War Memorial Ground this Sunday...

They will look to put last season's play-off final disappointment behind them after welcoming a host of fresh faces to Amblecote. Luke Benbow, Matt Dodd, Chris Lait and Tom Tonks all moved on over the summer after starring in a season that also saw Stour reach the third round of the FA Cup. They were quickly replaced by Jordan Murphy, Ryan Rowe, Connor Gater, Aaron Forde, Aris Christophorou, Danny O'Callaghan and Bobby Moseley as pre-season began.

Hackett said, 'As ever, we will aim to finish anywhere in the top five. Hopefully we can be in around the top sides once again. It is going to be a very tough but open league... We have done really well in recent seasons and it would be brilliant if we could emulate that again.

'We are going to aim to play our usual open and attacking football this season. I think the fans appreciate that and will hopefully come and support us in force again... I'm happy with the squad at the moment'".

News of Rushall Olympic comes from the Walsall Advertiser, which states that "The 'Pics have added to their backroom staff with the appointment of a former Premier League goalkeeper. Brian Jensen will join Rushall Olympic as their goalkeeping coach.

The 42 year-old, affectionately known as The Beast, played over 450 senior games during his career which saw him give great service to West Bromwich Albion and Burnley... He is still playing in Northern Ireland's top-flight with Crusaders as well as carving out a reputation as a well-respected coach...

He moved to Burnley in 2003... before going to Bury. Spells with Crawley Town and Mansfield Town followed before he joined up with Crusaders during the summer. He will combine this with coaching The Pics' goalkeepers...

Said manager [and ex-Alty loanee] Wayne Thomas, 'He's a great character and a fantastic coach, so it's a real boost to have him on board here'".

Alty's opponents on tne second Satyurday of the season are the subject of a report by the Matlock Mercury which says that "Glenn Kirkwood acknowledged the tough opening his Matlock Town side face to the new season this week, but says his players are itching to get started. The Gladiators’ first game is at Stourbridge on Sunday, 24 hours after everyone else gets under way with home games to follow against Hednesford Town on Tuesday night and Altrincham next weekend.

'We couldn’t have asked for a tougher start,' Town’s joint boss admitted. 'Those three clubs will be right up there at the end of the season. Stourbridge are rightly one of the favourites for the league title... They did really well in the league last season and were unlucky not to be promoted (losing 1-0 in the play off final at Spennymoor).

'But we think we’re ready and we’re sick to death now of playing friendlies and training... Me and Hoppo remarked what a strong squad we have this season. It’s what we wanted, not just the basic 11 players. We have ready made replacements if someone drops out for whatever reason.'

As Kirkwood pointed out both Matlock and Stourbridge will have different squads from last season. Most notably prolific striker Luke Benbow has moved to Solihull Moors from Stourbridge while the Gladiators have 10 new additions to their ranks, having lost three. Marcus Dinanga has returned to Burton Albion and Niall McManus has returned to London following the completion of his university studies in Sheffield.

This week full-back Liam Marsden has also left the club. Matlock had already signed full backs Ryan Wilson and Rory Coleman, former Matlock Academy defender Max Hunt, defensive midfielder Todd Jordan, winger Luis Rose and striker Shaun Harrad before Kirkwood and fellow boss Craig Hopkins made four more signings during the past week.

Mansfield Town strikers Tyler Blake and Zayn Hakeem have arrived in separate loan deals, Blake until Christmas and Hakeem for a month. Rhys Sharpe, who had a loan spell at Matlock at the end of last season has also checked in... Then on Tuesday former Rotherham United winger Darnell Bailey-King signed on the dotted line after impressing in the pre-season build-up.

'Tyler, Zayn and Darnell should be really big players for us,' said Kirkwood. 'And we’re really fortunate to have Rhys Sharpe. Both Stourbridge and ourselves will be two new sides and it’s a case of whoever adapts the best. We’ve said all along, it’s all about that first game when points are at stake, results and performances in pre-season don’t mean anything.'

Matlock could be in their brand new away strip of all-anthracite at Stourbridge after it was given a debut on Friday night when goals from Harrad and Dwayne Wiley saw them end their pre-season programme with a 2-1 home win over Belper Town".

Down in Somerset, Ciderspace an independent Yeovil Town site, reports that "Former Yeovil Town attacking midfielder Ollie Bassett has found himself a new club. He has signed for Coalville Town, penning a one year contract with them. There had been local media reports linking the former Southampton academy player with a move to Barnsley back in May, but there was no sign of that happening at the Yorkshire end, and in fact the Leicestershire club have stated that the 19 year old has been training with them throughout pre-season but as a trialist.

Coalville report that Ollie's arrangements had been that he would stay with them throughout the pre-season period on an informal basis on the understanding that if a Football League side came in for him, that he might walk. With no suitable deal on the table, and the 2017-18 season having started, he has now agreed to put pen to paper for a club that is close to his family home.

Ollie scored twice for Coalville in pre-season. He agreed terms with them for the 2017-18 season on Tuesday night".

9 August 2017

ANOTHER HOME DRAW

Alty have already had home draws in the FA Trophy and Cheshire Senior Cup and now they have again been fortunate in the EvoStik League's league cup competition. They entertain Ashton United on 17th October.

"The draws for the Preliminary and First Rounds of the Integro League Challenge Cup competition were made earlier today as shown below.

Prize money for the competition is as follows: -

  • Losing Quarter Finalists £250 each
  • Losing Semi Finalists £500 each
  • Losing Finalist £1000
  • Cup Winners £2000

PRELIMINARY ROUND, to be played week commencing 04th September 2017.

Tuesday 05th September

  • Chasetown v Market Drayton Town
  • Colne v Clitheroe
  • Scarborough Athletic v Sheffield

Wednesday 06th September

  • Lincoln United v Corby Town

FIRST ROUND, to be played week commencing 16th October 2017.

Monday 16th October

  • Shaw Lane v Cleethorpes Town
  • Stourbridge v Alvechurch

Tuesday 17th October

  • Altrincham v Ashton United
  • Bedworth v Barwell
  • Belper Town v Basford
  • Buxton v Coalville Town
  • Colne or Clitheroe v Workington
  • Colwyn Bay v Warrington Town
  • Frickley Athletic v Stocksbridge P S
  • Glossop North End v Mossley
  • Grantham Town v Lincoln Utd or Corby Town
  • Halesowen Town v Romulus
  • Hednesford Town v Rushall Olympic
  • Hyde United v Trafford
  • Kendal Town v Lancaster City
  • Marine v Brighouse Town
  • Mickleover Sports v Loughborough Dynamo
  • Nantwich Town v Droylsden
  • Newcastle Town v Chasetown or Market Drayton
  • Ossett Town v Goole
  • Prescot Cables v Bamber Bridge
  • Ramsbottom United v Stalybridge Celtic
  • Skelmersdale United v Atherton Collieries
  • South Shields v Farsley Celtic
  • Spalding United v Gresley
  • Stamford v Peterborough Sports
  • Sutton Coldfield Town v Stafford Rangers
  • Tadcaster Albion v Ossett Albion
  • Whitby Town v Scarborough Ath or Sheffield
  • Witton Albion v Radcliffe Borough

Wednesday 18th October

  • Carlton Townv Matlock Town
  • Kidsgrove Athletic v Leek Town

Note that in all ties, if the score is level after 90 minutes the result will be decided on penalties".

TEAM PHOTO, 2017-18

Above courtesy of Altrincham FC official photographer Gavin Rathbone, we see his 2017-18 squad photo, taken at the J Davidson Stadium on Tuesday evening.

BACK ROW Tom Peers, Josh Amis, Simon Richman, Tom Hannigan, Jordan Hulme
MIDDLE ROW Tommy Uda & Ryan Murray (sports therapists), Josh Hancock, Laurence Taylor, John Disney, Tim Deasy, Tony Thompson, Chris Lynch, Lewis Short, Ben Harrison, Ian Senior (goalkeeper coach), Mark Bushell (analyst)
FRONT ROW Steve Foster (kitman), John Johnston, Sean Miller, Jake Moult (capt), Neil Sorvel (assistant manager), Phil Parkinson (manager), Chris Parkes (coach), Shaun Densmore, James Poole, Sam Sheridan, John Skelhorn (kitman).

SHIRT SPONSORSHIP

Don't forget that you can obtain the team shirt worn by your chosen player by sponsoring him for the 2017-18 season. For just £150 you will not only receive the signed shirt bearing the number most worn by your chosen player but your name will also appear under the player's photo in every Robins' Review for 2017-18 season as well as in the Manchester Glass Sponsors' Lounge. For only £250 you can sponsor two shirts - either the home and away of one player or a home or away shirt of two different players.

Please email the club with your choices!

ALTY AT HOME IN CSC

In the Cheshire Senior Cup, Preliminary Round, to be played in week commencing 4 November, Altrincham have been drawn at home to Chester FC.

The full draw is...

  • Runcorn Town v Witton Albion
  • Cammell Laird 1907 v Northwich Victoria
  • Tranmere Rovers v Sandbach United
  • Cheadle Town v Stockport County
  • 1874 Northwich v Macclesfield Town
  • Altrincham v Chester
  • Congleton Town v Runcorn Linnets

OPPONENTS RECRUIT THREE

Alty's opponents on Saturday, Stafford Rangers have "bolster[ed] the squad ahead of the new season with three more additions. Boro sealed deals for goalkeeper Brad Caswell, tricky winger Kartel O’Neill as well as full-back Kai Davis, three young signings, hoping to break into the Boro lineup.

A deal may also be close to re-sign ex Rangers man Josh Craddock, who has been out several months after breaking his leg last season. The new signings have been involved already in the pre-season campaign, including appearances from O’Neill, Davis and Craddock in the 6-2 victory against Port Vale on Saturday."

RENEWED ACQUAINTANCE

Grantham Town are reviewing "The new teams The Gingerbreads will take on this season...

Altrincham... The last time we met was in a FA Trophy First Round Replay on the 21st January 1980. The Gingerbreads however lost 6-3. Robbie Cooke scored twice and Dennis Jenas came off the bench to get The Gingerbreads other goal".

NW NEWS

The Manchester Evening News reports that "One of the founders of FC United, who left the club amid some acrimony, has joined a new football project. Andy Walsh left his position as general manager of The Rebels at the end of last season as the supporter-owned club, formed by Manchester United fans in protest at the Glazer family’s take-over and the commercialisation of football, was blighted by internal rows about how the club was being run.

Mr Walsh and most of the senior management stepped down and a new board was elected. But now he has joined another young club with equally ambitious plans. Mr Walsh has now joined the board of Wythenshawe Amateurs, whose first team plays in the Manchester League Premier Division. The Ammies, as they are known, want to emulate FC United’s remarkable rise through the divisions, although the Rebels started their ascent from a division higher, the North West Counties league, in 2005...

Wythenshawe Amateurs will move into a new £840,000 ground at Hollyhedge Park in Sharston in August thanks to a series of grants and the club’s own fundraising. Andy said, 'I have known Wythenshawe chair for many years and I have been impressed with his and the board’s plans for the club'".

The Blackpool Gazette tells us that "Five past and present AFC Fylde players, David Morgan, Matty Hughes, Caspar Hughes, Brendon Daniels and Richard Baker, have been charged with misconduct by the FA relating to allegations of breaching strict betting rules.

Morgan is charged after 163 bets were allegedly placed by him in a period between 2014 and April of this year. Matty Hughes is accused of placing nine bets in 2015, while Caspar Hughes is said to have placed 18 wagers in 2016 and 2017. In another development Matty and Caspar Hughes are not being offered new deals by the Coasters. Daniels is alleged to have placed 90 bets in 2016 and 2017. The allegation against former player Baker is that he breached the rules in 2016, placing seven wagers...

A club statement emanating from the Mill Farm club said... 'None of the five are charged with placing bets on AFC Fylde matches. As a result, internal disciplinary procedures have commenced'".

8 August 2017

TRIBUTES TO DAVE JOHNSON

John Edwards, Press & Media Officer at Altrincham FC writess that "Tributes have poured in for one of Altrincham FC's best-known and best-loved volunteers, Dave Johnson, after he lost a long and bravely-fought battle with cancer last Friday evening.

Right: Dave is pictured with former Alty assistant manager, Neil Tolson.

Though he performed a variety of duties for the club, Dave was best known as the face of Alty after serving as doorman at The J.Davidson for over a decade and forging a well-earned reputation for being warm and courteous to visitors and home personnel alike.

'He was very much the meeter and greeter, the first person people saw when they arrived at the club, and he always did an excellent job of representing us,' said chairman Grahame Rowley. 'He loved it and was very proud to be involved with the club, and he has left big shoes to fill.

'He always gave his time freely. As a chef, he cooked the pensioners' Christmas lunch at the club each year, and he coordinated the young-player-of-the-year award. He bought the trophy for that, as well as presenting it. He was very highly thought-of by everyone. His death is a great loss for us all.'

Several players took to social media to express their sadness, while former Alty forward Duncan Watmore, now at Sunderland, said, 'He was a lovely man. I always enjoyed seeing him every time I played, and I always had a great chat with him before games and after. How sad. I send my condolences to his family.'

A funeral service for Dave will be held at the Club at 1.30pm on Thursday, August 17, followed by burial at Hale Cemetery".

ALTRINCHAM FC'S JULY MONTHLY DRAW

The Altrincham FC Monthly Draw for July was made on Radio Robins during the half-time interval of Saturday's game at Trafford. This month's winners are:-
  • 6th place - Number 95: Stuart Buchan- Club Polo Shirt
  • 5th place -Number 466: S.Elliott - Home Replica Shirt
  • 4th place - Number 136: Derek Wilshaw- Match hospitality for two in the Manchester Glass Sponsors' Lounge.
  • 3rd place - Number 2: Steven Raftery - £25
  • 2nd place - Number 157: B.E. Peers- £75 and...
  • 1st place - Number 49: Ian Wilkinson - £500
Congratulations to each of the winners and, especially, to Ian Wilkinson who wins the top prize of £500.

BALLBOYS/GIRLS' CO-ORDINATOR

"Due to work commitments Nick Priestly is unable to continue his role as Ball Boy Co-ordinator at Altrincham Football club. We would like to thank Nick for the time he has spent doing this valuable job and invite applications from anyone who feels that he or she could take on this role for the club.

The job involves ensuring that all the Ball Boys/Girls are situated at the correct positions around the ground and given appropriate clothing when inclement weather prevails. Please contact the club on 928-1045 for further details".

SATURDAY'S OPPONENTS: STAFFORD RANGERS

Altrincham host Stafford Rangers for the opening game of the 2017-18 league season, a club, which Mike Garnett reminds us, we have met nearly 100 times previously with the following outcomes...
  • Home: P49-W26-D9-L14-F95-A56
  • Away: P45-W18-D13-L14-F65-A56
  • All: P94-W44-D22-L28-F160-A112

Stafford will be hoping that the match is completed on Saturday as in 2004-05 when the league fixtures directed them to Altrincham they had to make the journey twice. The game was originally scheduled for New Year's Day 2005, just after Alty had won the reverse fixture, on a snow-clad pitch at Marston Road on Boxing Day. (Their most recent league visit was in the Blue Square Premier on March 24th 2008 when Alty won 2-0).

On New Year's Day, as this website reported, "All seemed set fair for a good return match after a bright and dry morning in South Manchester. However, around 2.15pm it started to rain and before 3pm the pitch was beginning to look the worse for wear as rain, borne on a gusty wind, lashed down... A good crowd had gathered for the first league match between these rivals at Moss Lane for a decade".

After 27 minutes, "the already heavy rain became twice as torrential and the referee immediately took the players off. He indicated that he would give the bad weather five minutes to subside and he duly returned to inspect the pitch soon afterwards before declaring conditions unplayable. Few could argue with his decision. Both teams came out onto the pitch to salute their fans with the more adventurous players diving full length in the mud and sliding yards across the pitch to underline the sodden conditions. As so often happens, the rain then eased a little and by 4.15pm had stopped but the pitch was unplayable". Pictured, above, Alty players salute the crowd after the abandonment.

The match was eventually played on Tuesday, 8 March, 2005, with Alty winning 1-0 "over an impressive Stafford side whose main weakness was an inability to hit the the target. The winning goal was a well constructed move from defence which saw the ball come from Aspinall, through Hussin, to Thornley on halfway. He found Potts on the right, ahead of him, and the winger's low, drilled cross was met by a finely timed run from Marcus Hallows who swept the ball into the net (29 mins)".

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

Stalybridge Celtic "chairman Rob Gorski has described last year's relegation to the Evo-Stik Premier Division as heart-breaking. However, he believes the club can make an immediate return to the National League North under Steve Burr and Keith Briggs starting with a home clash to Nantwich Town next Saturday.

Ahead of his tenth season as chairman of Celtic, Gorski spoke to Reporter Sport and reflected on what he described as his toughest period in charge of the club. 'When I first became Chairman, the Conference North was a completely different animal', said Gorski. 'We probably had one of the highest budgets and, if it were not for an incompetent referee, TV cameras proved that Barrow's goal was offside and the ref openly apologised for not giving us a blatant penalty in the last 10 minutes, then we'd have been promoted to the Premier in my first season.

Since then, teams like Fleetwood, Fylde, Salford, Ferriby, Harrogate, Kidderminster, Stockport and many, many more teams have literally doubled and trebled our budget... I would argue that the Conference North last season was much tougher than the Conference Premier that we were last relegated from'.

In what will be regarded as one of the worst campaigns in memory, Celtic began last season under former manager Liam Watson... During the summer break, Watson made wholesale changes to the Celtic squad, recruiting a crop of new players which impressed during the pre-season schedule... [After] winning their opening day clash at Boston United, Celtic then went on to lose the following seven games... Watson confirmed his resignation from the club following the 3-1 defeat to Gloucester City on Saturday 27 August.

The way in which Watson resigned, however, has left a bitter taste in Gorskis mouth. He said, 'I did have a word with Liam on a couple of occasions last summer where he brought in players that shocked me. Sadly, most of his initial squad ended the season playing at least one or two leagues below us. That speaks volumes... I considered Liam a personal friend but his actions and words around the resignation period and then immediately moving on to Southport, left a bitter taste in my mouth unfortunately'...

Gorski acted swiftly to fill the vacuum and appointed Paul Phillips and Steve Halford as Watson's successors... [After an initial victory,] the pair managed just two more wins from their following 18 games, forcing Gorski into action.... Gorski only had one person in mind to save the club; that man being fans' favourite, Steve Burr.... 'When we spoke I got Steve to sign a contract up to the end of this coming season, irrespective of whichever league we were in. I was distraught that he couldnt pull off the miracle, but I have rarely been as excited when entering a new season as I am right now with the squad that Steve, Briggsy and Fearny have assembled'...

He said, 'Without wanting to put pressure on the management team or the players, I've made it very clear; I want promotion! Some of the board, probably very wisely, wanted to slash the budget due to the enormous loss of revenue this coming season. We've reduced admission by 20%... But my view is that there is no point in having Steve Burr and giving him a paltry budget. It would be like having an Aston Martin in a 20mph zone. Pointless!'

Such is Gorski's desire to deliver promotion at the first time of asking, the budget will remain the same as last season... In fact, he considers the present team to be twice as good as the squad from last season. He said, 'If people missed pre-season, they have missed a classic Steve Burr team. Passing, free-flowing football, scoring goals from all areas and a real joy to watch... Finishing sixth will be a huge failure in my eyes. This squad has vast potential'...

Regarding the club's ground move proposal, which was announced at the end of February, Gorski said, 'I've barely had communication with Tameside MBC of late and there has only ever been that one face-to-face meeting with Cllr Quinn. I'd still very much like to achieve plan A, the relocation, but if that isnt possible (be that financially or for H&S reasons), then we shall push forward on plan B, which is upgrading Bower Fold... I urge people to come and watch us entertain and win in style'".

Elsewhere, Barwell Football Club "is delighted to confirm that Saint Kitts and Nevis international, Ryan Robbins, has agreed personal terms with the club. The 29-year-old Leicester-born striker scored three goals against Hinckley AFC last Tuesday, and followed it up with another two goals against Bedworth United on Saturday. He has also scored for his country, in a 6-2 victory against Turks and Caicos Islands in a World Cup qualifier in 2015.

Canaries' manager Jimmy Ginnelly is pleased with the signing, despite others being unsure, and had this to say to the club's Media Officer, 'If I can get Ryan's head and mind focused then we've signed one of the top five goalscorers in the league. A lot of people have questioned why I've signed him but only time will tell if I'm right'".

OLD BOYS

Ex-Alty loanee Josh Ginnelly netted a League Two goal for Lincoln City last Saturday.

The Hallmark Security (NW Counties) League reports that "Ashton Athletic hit the ground running with a 4-0 win at Squires Gate, with Joel Brownhill earning the headlines with an opening day hat-trick".

And another ex-Alty Youth was also on the mark as the League reports that "In the ties involving our clubs facing opposition from other leagues, West Didsbury & Chorlton made an impressive start to their season with a 5-0 win at Athersley Recreation of the Northern Counties East League, in which Tom Bailey scored twice on his debut for West."

7 August 2017

PHIL ON THE DEFEAT AT TRAFFORD

Brian Flynn's interview with Phil Parkinson, following Saturday's defeat at Trafford, is here.

AMBITIOUS PHIL

Alty boss, Phil Parkinson, was interviewed in the NL Paper which was published on Sunday. He admitted that, before the recent Meet the Management meeting at the J. Davidson Stadium, "I did start to wonder why I had agreed to it! I thought there would be 10 maybe 20 supporters to talk to but there were over 100. It totally threw me. You've got to remember their club had just been relegated in back-to-back seasons.

"I expected it to be really negative, full of tough and difficult questions and to turn a bit political but I was left in shock because it wasn't like that, at all.

"There wasn't any negativity and they didn't come across as angry or frustrated... Their reaction to us was first class... I did worry about negativity but it's been nothing but positive and looking forward, not looking back. It's the only way the club can rebuild.

"Some players joined us on the night and I made the decision to get them down sitting with supporters and talking one-to-one and building that relationship early. That evening gave me a really good insight into things".

He continued, "I thrive on pressure. If I didn't want pressure I'd have stayed at Nantwich Town... We don't want a comfort zone. we don't do this as a hobby, Neil [Sorvel] and I. We need a promotion to put on our CV and we are ambitious... We've brought in players we think can play in the National League North. We're looking a year ahead... I want to be up there this season, but we aren't alone. We're putting pressure on ourselves to a degree but so are Warrington, so are Stafford and so are Buxton...

"We set the standards high and, if the players don't match them, they'll know about, simple as that".

FIRST OPPONENTS' PREPARATIONS

Stafford Rangers, Alty's opponents in the first match of the new league season, next Saturday, report that "As we close in on the start of the season, we can confirm the following -
  • Josh Craddock will make a 3-month loan move to Chasetown.
  • Alex Curtis & Shaan Stuart - Both to be dual registered with Brocton
  • Kartel O'Neill-Martin & Tommy Cooney - Both released

The Staffordshire Newsletter reports that "Two late goals denied Stafford Rangers victory in their penultimate pre-season friendly against Kidsgrove Athletic. Strikes from Dan Westwood and Richard Batchelor, either side of half-time, looked to have set Boro on their way to another summer victory.

However, two goals in the last five minutes of the match saw the match drawn. Rangers rang the changes again, with Adam Whitehouse restored in goal and Kai Davis taking up the right-back berth. A triallist was included at left-back, while Jack Langston, Joe Thomas, Louis Briscoe and Batchelor formed the midfield. Bradley Fortnam-Tomlinson and Westwood were up front.

The first goal was a lovely display of passing football... Joe Thomas reached the byline before hooking the ball in, and Westwood glanced it past Grove keeper [ex-Alty man] Dave Parton. The second was more industrial. A corner from the right was headed against the bar, and when it rebounded back into the area, Batchelor reacted quickest to fire home with an overhead kick from inches out...

The Grove reduced the arrears and then made the game level in the final minute. Rangers [took] on Llandudno at Marston Road on Saturday before heading to Altrincham Town[!!] a week later for their first game of the new Northern Premier League season.

Rangers team: Adam Whitehouse, Kai Davis, Mat Bailey, Kieran Morris, Triallist, Jack Langston, Joe Thomas, Louis Briscoe, Richard Batchelor; Bradley Fortnam-Tomlinson, Dan Westwood. Subs: Kyle Perry, Rich Gregory, Levi Reid, Jake Heath, Kartel O'Neill, Caswell, Cooney, Triallist."

Rangers won their final friendly at Llandudno, 3-0. Their team was 1. Adam Whitehouse, 2. Sam Griffiths, 3. Kai Davis, 4. Kieran Morris, 5. A Trialist, 6. Jack Langston, 7. Jack Sherratt, 8. Louis Briscoe, 9. Dan Westwood, 10. Kyle Perry, 11. Richard Batchelor Subs: 12. Bradley Fortnam-Tomlinson, 14. Rich Gregory, 15. Joe Thomas, 16. Isak Reid, 17. Jake Heath, 18. Mat Bailey, GK. Brad Caswell.

RESERVES' LEAGUE

Pending release of the fixtures for Altrincham FC Reserves, the Hallmark Security Cheshire Football League reports that "It’s almost time for the new season and we thought we’d give a rundown as to who to look out for in the early fixtures.

We start with Ashton Town, the newest additions to the Cheshire Football League. After relegation for the North-West Counties Division One, they join the CFL as one of the favourites for the Premier Division title as they prepare to take the league by storm.

Whaley Bridge, the Premier Division champions, will have something to say about that as they want to make it two in a row in terms of league titles. Included in the title battle last season, Poynton, Denton and Knutsford want to knock the champions off their perch, with Linotype Cheadle, Wythenshawe, Altrincham and others also vying for that top spot.

Down at the foot of the table, we see two more additions to the division, with Warrington Reserves and Billinge FC both joining the Prem from Division One. Could they be the dark horses for a title push this season?"

TRAFFORD'S VIEW

Following Saturday's match at Shawe View, Trafford report that they "completed their pre-season friendly programme with a superb 1-0 victory over non-league aristocrats Altrincham...

Gradually Trafford took control of the midfield with Scott Sephton and debutant Brian Summerskill particularly prominent.

Alty’s fleet-footed right winger John Johnston made several electrifying bursts down his flank but Trafford defended brilliantly and deservedly forged ahead in the 39th minute when Ash Woods floated a cross in from the left and Scott Sephton arrived to power his header past Tim Deasy...

The final twenty minutes saw both sides make a number of substitutions and the flow of the game suffered as a result. However, the visitors dominated the closing stages with Tom Peers rifling a shot against the foot of the post and James Poole heading just over.

But despite this late pressure, Trafford fully deserved a victory for their magnificent teamwork, spirit, determination and skill".

6 August 2017

TRAFFORD 1 ALTRINCHAM 0

If manager Phil Parkinson was unhappy with his team after they had won 4-0 at Winsford in midweek, he will have been even more disappointed after this lacklustre showing against neighbours Trafford. His disappointment will be all the keener for his fielding what he had suggested might be his starting eleven for the league season. On this showing there may be some late changes to his plans for the game against Stafford Rangers next Saturday.

Alty started quite brightly but Trafford grew into the game. Things started to go seriously wrong for Alty in the lead-up to half-time as, firstly, John Disney had to go off after a strong challenge had left him injured. And, minutes later, Sephton got round Chris Lynch, who had just been moved from centre-back to cover Disney's right-back berth. From the Trafford man's cross, from Trafford's left, former Alty youth Ashley Woods headed home in the 39th minute.

Right: Mike Ripley's image shows defenders Tom Hannigan and Chris Lynch going for a late equalizer at Trafford on Saturday.

There was little improvement from Alty after the break as forward movement was laboured and passes repeatedly went astray. On 71 minutes, a four-man substitution saw Amis, Sheridan, Moult and Hancock come off and Poole, Peers, Richman and Taylor come on. This raised the tempo and a missed header in front of goal by Peers and the same player's shot which struck the outside of the upright might have salvaged a draw for the Robins. But Trafford emerged the winners and will go into the new season with more confidence than their visitors on this showing.

Match report here.

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

"There are no bold predictions from Marine manager Tommy Lawson ahead of their season’s start next weekend, he just wants to build on last term" reports NL Pitchero.

"When Lawson took over last season, his team were floundering near the bottom. The final few month saw a big upturn in fortunes, ending in 18th place...

Lawson, the former Skelmersdale manager, thinks.. 'Next season is about building on what we achieved last year and improving... I’ve seen good signs in pre-season. I think the players are performing and although we’re not the finished article I think we’re looking stronger.'"

The EvoStik League says that "Officials are expected to join the tributes to Dan Wilkinson on Friday night when Shaw Lane AFC return to Brighouse Town for the first time since last season's tragedy to compete for the inaugural Daniel Wilkinson Memorial Trophy...

"All the gate money [is] going to the Dan Wilkinson Memorial Foundation, set up by the family of the Shaw Lane defender after tragedy struck at the ground last September in the Integro League Cup when the 24-year-old collapsed and later died from serious complications with his heart.

The passing of the player was marked by emotional scenes around the EVO-STIK League and beyond as the eventual EVO-STIK League South champions and his family set out to start raising £50,000 in his memory to stop other young players dying in tragic circumstances by screening them and providing funds to equip more clubs with life-saving defibrillators.

A former Hull City youth team star, who also turned out for North Ferriby United, Scarborough Athletic, Harrogate Town, Goole Town and Rushall Olympic, Dan passed away after collapsing on the pitch just under an hour into his side's cup clash and despite the best efforts of medics from both clubs and the emergency services to treat him using Town's own stadium defibrillator and administering CPR.

The defender was later found to have died from an underlying heart condition called Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (AVRC), the same disease that caused former Bolton star Fabrice Muamba to retire in 2012".

Also from the EvoStik League we learn that "Matlock Town's popular party bus is returning to ferry fans to the club's opening encounter of the new EVO-STIK League season at Stourbridge.

The Gladiators... urged fans to get their names down for the limited numbers of spaces available in a statement on Wednesday announcing the return of the coach for their 3pm kick-off against the Glassboys on Sunday 13 August, 24 hours after the rest of the EVO-STIK League kick off the 2017-18 campaign."

"Grantham Town officials have launched a competition to name the club's newly refurbished catering hut in time for the start of the new season!" reports the EvoStik League. "The programme hut at the Meres until last season, the new matchday catering outlet needs a name after being given a summer makeover by Hatherley Commercial Services Limited."

5 August 2017

DAVE JOHNSON

Altrincham FC expresses its condolences to the wife and family of Dave Johnson who, for many years, performed a number of important volunteer roles at the Football Club. Dave sadly lost his battle with cancer and died at 7.50pm last night.

Dave was, perhaps, best known in his capacity as the matchday doorman at the Club where, for a number of years, he greeted players and officials before every game. But less well known were Dave's other contributions to the Club. For example, along with Jim Vince and Peter Warburton he would collect rubbish left in the stadium after matchdays and, at Christmastime, he was the chef at the Pensioners' Christmas Dinners, for which he called upon his expertise in the hospitality industry. A local resident, Dave will be greatly missed by his friends at the Club.

Details of the funeral arrangements will be publicised once these have been determined.

Annually Dave presented the the Young Player of the Season award at the Club and he is pictured, right, awarding this trophy to James Lawrie in 2015. In 2016, Dave himself was deservedly named Clubman of the Year by manager Lee Sinnott in recognition of his many services to the Club.

CHANGE OF DATE

Altrincham FC's away league match against Shaw Lane AFC has been moved from Tuesday, 31 October to Monday, 30 October. This is a consequence of Shaw Lane's recent relocation to a new home ground at Athersley Rec. Kick-off remains at 7.45pm.

NEW SEASON GETTING CLOSER

Alty kick off the 2017-18 league season on Saturday, 12 August at the J. Davidson Stadium.

Season tickets:

Season tickets cover ALL league games and pre-season friendlies played at the J. Davidson Stadium ...

  • Adults: £180
  • Full-Time Students & Concessionaries: £125
  • Aged 12 to 16 inclusive: £50
  • Under 12s: £15

Turnstile prices:

  • Adults: £10
  • Full-Time Students & Concessionaries: £7
  • Aged 12 to 16 inclusive: £4
  • Under 12s: £1

Above, we see the new league signage which is in place at the J. Davidson Stadium.

MORE SIGN UP AS ALTY PATRONS

The Alty Patrons' membership has now reached 119. Why not join them? Click on the adjacent image for details of the schem.

The draw for the hospitality packages will be made at the Stafford game next Saturday (12th)

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

Ashton United "are delighted to announce the return of the prolific striker Jack Dyche on an initial six-month loan deal from Scunthorpe United. Dyche was at The Robins over two periods last year and it was a big loss when he eventually went back to Scunthorpe after impressing during his loan spells.

With a long term injury to [x-Alty man] Ryan Crowther, the manager Jody Banim made no secret that he was in the market for an attacking player to fill the void in Crowther' called offs absence. Robins' fans will be hoping that Dyche will be bagging the goals for fun again this year...

Jody Banim said 'We're extremely lucky to have done a deal to get him back. It was vital we brought someone in after the extent of Ryan's injury was established'".

The Warrington Guardian states that "Warringon Town boss Paul Carden has called on his players to give him a decision to make in their final pre-season friendly.

Yellows welcome Airbus UK to Cantilever Park on Saturday... Carden says there will be new faces in his side for Saturday’s game as well as first-team regulars and trialists...

'I’ve probably got seven or eight players in my mind to play against Rushall,' the Yellows' boss said... 'I’m hoping to bring in a few more players before then to give the squad a bit more depth. There will be new faces involved against Airbus so it’s a chance for them to impress us and give us that decision to make.'

Carden is close to agreeing a deal to bring in a left-sided defender but hopes that is not his only addition... 'We’re going to have another look at a left-back and we’re also after a midfielder and another striker,' he said. 'Doing business this late on isn’t ideal, but we didn’t want to sign players for the sake of it. All summer, we’ve wanted players of the right quality and they are often on trial with teams higher up. You have to wait for them to filter down, so doing late business is a consequence of that.'

Yellows have seen their last two friendly games, trips to Trafford on Friday and Colne on Tuesday called off... 'We had a few lads missing for the Trafford game so we made the decision not to go ahead with it, and the Colne game was rained off,' he said...'I know we will be fit, strong and competitive when the season starts'".

Marine AFC "are pleased to announce that the following players have signed for the club:

  • James EDGAR: Attacking midfielder / winger James, 23, was part of Prescot Cables’ Liverpool Senior Cup winning team of 2016-17...
  • Germano MENDES – Guinea-Bissau born goalkeeper Germano, 25, joins the Mariners after being with groundshare partners AFC Liverpool last season. Has also had spells at Oeiras (Portugal) and JS Hercules (Finland).
  • Jack PHILLIPS - Winger who was with the Mariners last season and is currently recovering from a cruciate injury.

The following players have been released by the club and we wish them well in their future career: Zach ADEKOYA, Harry BLACKBURN, Jack FLEMING, Alfons FOSU-MENSAH, Steven JAMES, [ex-Alty man] Jamie MENAGH. Midfielder Gary GRIER has signed for Runcorn Linnets on a dual registration.

Latest squad:

  • Ben BARNES - goalkeeper.
  • Michael BREWSTER - central midfield.
  • Alan BURTON - central midfield.
  • Jame EDGAR - attacking midfield / winger.
  • Paul FOY - midfield / right back.
  • Michael GROGAN - defender / midfield
  • Matty HAMILTON - forward.
  • Liam HOLLETT - central defender.
  • Adam HUGHES - central defender.
  • Kisimba KISIMBA - right back.
  • Germano MENDES - goalkeeper.
  • [Ex-Alty man] Danny MITCHLEY - forward.
  • James MURRAY - forward.
  • Jack PHILLIPS - winger.
  • Dean SHACKLOCK - wide midfield / forward. J
  • ohn SHAW - central defender / left back.
  • James SHORT - left back.
  • Billy SMART - central midfield.
  • Kenny STRICKLAND - central defender / central midfield.
  • Peter WYLIE - right back / central defender.
.

OLD BOY

The Manchester Evening News reports that "A disgraced former footballer has been jailed for possessing Class A drugs and counterfeit money while at Glastonbury Festival. Patrick Lacey (right), better known as Paddy Lacey, was arrested on the second day of the world famous festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset in June.

Lacey, of Manor Avenue, Crosby, was found with 20.3 grams of cocaine, 16.8 grams of MDMA, and £520 in counterfeit £20 notes. The former Accrington Stanley player, who also played for non-league sides Altrincham and Droylsden, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a controlled substance, and passing as genuine an item which he knew to be a counterfeit".

Lacey moved from Altrincham to Barrow in summer 2013."

FRIENDLY FOES

News of our first pre-season opponents this summer comes from the Hallmark Security League which says that "As The FA Cup Extra Preliminary round approaches, the cup fever has gripped many, especially the clubs who are entering for the first time. One of which is Whitchurch Alport who have grabbed the attention of the BBC who have done a piece with them, which aired on Friday.

Whitchurch Alport Football Club have been a busy lot this summer. For some, the season had barely ended before changing rooms were extended, a press facility was built – along with a new tea bar – gallons of paint were applied around their Yockings Park home, new nets and net supports went in and a few bob was spent on the playing surface too.

Alport appear to be a club that just can’t sit still and the improvements both on and off the pitch over the last 14 months or so has certainly been hard to ignore. Their twitter account is one of the most active at Step 6 and Alport’s following has quadrupled and gets plenty of traffic whether there’s a match on or not. Average gates climbed an astonishing 210% last term (their 236 average was the third highest in the country at Step 6) so there’s lots to be positive about if you are attached to the club.

This week, the television cameras descended on SY13 when the club’s press officer, Martin Wild, tried to drum up a bit of media support ahead of Alport’s first ever FA Cup match at Walsall Wood tomorrow. 'I sent out a speculative e-mail to Midlands Today last weekend which is our regional BBC news outlet'. said Martin. 'On Monday morning, their sports producer Nick Clitheroe rang me to say they’d been trying to get hold of us, so it was a very timely mail in that regard. The lads were down to train twice this week so Nick asked if he could bring along a cameraman and get some background on the club so that they could air...

Alport expect around a hundred fans to travel to the West Midlands tomorrow as their club makes its debut appearance in the world’s oldest and most famous Cup competition".

FA CUP

The Evo-Stik League confirms that "All bar one of the clubs playing in EVO-STIK League North and EVO-STIK League South kick off in the Preliminary Round of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday 19 August. EVO-STIK League Stamford lead the league's charge into this season's competition on Friday 18 August when they head to Cambridge City in a 7.45pm kick-off. "

NW NEWS

From NL Pitchero we learn that "Skelmersdale United have pulled off something of a coup with the signing of prolific striker Richard Brodie. Brodie joins Skem from Southport after ending his second spell at the Sandgrounders".

NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

There is surprising news from NL Pitchero which tells us that "The opening day National League fixture between Solihull Moors against Chester has been postponed on the eve of the new season...

A statement on the National League website read, 'Further to a decision of the home club’s local safety authority, it has been necessary for the opening day fixture match between Solihull Moors and Chester to be postponed. The Solihull Safety Advisory Group, who oversee the licensing of the stadium, has clarified that spectators cannot be admitted to the ground until such time as required safety systems are in place'".

4 August 2017

FA CUP

The BBC "will broadcast one game from every round of FA Cup Qualifying, starting on Saturday. Since the FA Cup returned to the BBC in 2014-15, the corporation has shown live matches from the first round proper onwards. But coverage will now start six rounds earlier, when the extra preliminary stage gets under way this weekend.

The first match shown live will be the Merseyside derby between Litherland REMYCA and AFC Liverpool. A game from every stage of the 2017-18 tournament will be live-streamed across BBC Sport's digital platforms, allowing audiences to watch the game live on PC, mobile or connected TV. Matches will also be available live and on-demand on BBC iPlayer.

Match of the Day commentator Conor McNamara and former Manchester United striker Danny Webber will talk you through the action this Saturday, which will be available to watch on the BBC Sport website and app (kick-off 12:30 BST)...

AFC Liverpool play in the North West Counties League Premier Division, the ninth tier of English football. They were set up in 2008 by a group of Liverpool fans who felt they had been priced out of watching their team play in the Premier League. Litherland play one tier lower in the North West Counties League Division One."

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

Barwell F.C. "manager Jimmy Ginnelly is almost ready for the start of the 2017-18 season, and has vowed to try and make the supporters excited by everybody's effort and attitude. 'Pre-season has gone as well as it could have, with some good performances and results against some very good opposition,' says Ginnelly.

'Fitness levels are about right with Guy Hadland putting the lads through some tough sessions. I've still got two more signings to finalise but I am more than happy with the way the squad is shaping up'.

Ginnelly also confirmed that there are seven new signings that have arrived at the club so far this summer.

  • Michael Townsend, new club captain, centre half from Sutton Coldfield
  • Jake Whitmore,right back from Coventry
  • Ryan Seal, striker from Hinckley AFC
  • Ethan Delaney, striker from Halesowen
  • Mathew Stenson, striker from Leicester Road
  • Ryan Robbins, striker from Sutton Coldfield
  • Mikey Turner, goalkeeper from Heather St. John's.

Furthermore, Jimmy is currently seeking some sponsorship from the club's loyal fanbase. 'I'm looking for people to sponsor my players with a token £25 per goal, £25 per clean sheet or £25 per man of the match performance. If any of you supporters would like to help me with this sponsorship then please either let me know directly or contact the club... Jimmy is also looking for support from any new and existing club sponsors.

'Could I ask you for a gesture of £10 per week, 52 weeks of the year towards my expenses. You'll be invited to attend as many games as you would like to watch, with four guests, with a buffet and drinks supplied throughout the game. You will also be able to pick the Man of the Match. If you would like a company advertising board to be erected around the pitch and an advert in the programme for your money, please just ask...

'Guy and our staff and players will be doing all we can to try and excite you supporters with some unbelievable attitude on a match day and we look forward to your support up and down the country'"

Over the Pennines, NL Pitchero report that "Shaw Lane AFC beat Hull City's under-23s 4-1. Damian Reeves and Ryan Qualter both bagged braces for the Barnsley-based hosts".

At Stalybridge Celtic the signing keep coming as "Celtic have announced the signing of midfielder Oliver Roberts. Oli (20) joins us having been released by Fleetwood Town and lists Stockport County, Stoke City and Tamworth amongst his previous clubs. Oli has played in pre-season... That brings the signed-on squad up to 17, and there could well be further announcements prior to the big kick-off on August 12th".

Our away hosts on 19 August, Matlock Town report that "Joint-manager Craig Hopkins has labelled Saturday’s 5-0 pre-season defeat to Worksop Town as ‘unacceptable’. The Gladiators were well beaten by a side from two levels below them... And although Hopkins admitted fatigue may have played a part given it was his team’s third game in five days, he refused to offer it up as an excuse for the result.

Speaking before Tuesday’s trip to Heanor Town, Hopkins said, 'You shouldn’t be losing to a team from two levels below, let alone in that manner and irrespective of whether it’s a friendly or not. Results obviously don’t matter so it’s perhaps good we got that out of the way now rather than when we’re playing for points, but it was a bit alarming because we’d showed no signs of that being likely to happen in the games preceding it.

'We did well against what was a very a strong Mansfield side on the Tuesday in a game that was arranged at quite short notice but one we felt was very worthwhile. Then we beat Staveley the following night and again did well'...

Hopkins added, 'We’ve been back for about six weeks now and you can sometimes see the players might lose a bit of interest here and there and that is perhaps inevitable until you start playing for points again. It’s been all about getting the fitness levels up. We haven’t even had time for a training session in the last three weeks given the amount of games we’ve been playing, but we’ll certainly be training hard next Tuesday and Thursday'... The Gladiators face one more friendly, the visit of Belper Town on Friday night with a 7.30pm kick-off.

Hopkins and his co-manager Glenn Kirkwood... may still be hampered by absences forced upon them by both injury and, in the case of two players, babies. Hopkins said, 'Adam Yates got injured against Mansfield so we need to assess that. Then we had Jake Green and Joe Doyle both welcome new babies into the world last week so they missed a couple of games and, although Jake could well be back for the Belper game, we’re not sure if Joe will be ready yet'...

Further new faces may also arrive to add to the five signings already made... and Hopkins said, 'I hope to be able to confirm two more ahead of the Belper game but it could also be that we’re recruiting right through to the end of the month and beyond. We’re always on the lookout for players that might strengthen the squad whether that’s in September, December or March. We’ve got a good squad already but if someone isn’t doing what’s required of them then you have to look around to strengthen'".

In the Midlands, Rushall Olympic conform that "The Pics PICS have completed the signing of former Port Vale youngster, Jayden McCalla, following a successful trial spell. 'Jayden came to the Open Trial and things have progressed from there,' said manager, Wayne Thomas. 'He has shown an ability to take on board information and he is excellent technically'...

Further new signings are expected to be announced soon, including some very exciting news that will be worth waiting for!"

Our Cheshire neighbours have produced a book entitled, Onward and upwards: a history of Witton Albion F.C. 1890-2017.

Also closeby, the Warrington Guardian states that "Warrington Town’s pre-season friendly against Colne [last Tuesday, was] been cancelled. Heavy rain meant the pitch at Holt House has been deemed unplayable...

This will no doubt increase frustration for Yellows boss Paul Carden after a friendly at Trafford on Friday was also cancelled. Town have one pre-season friendly remaining, which comes on Saturday when they welcome Airbus UK to Cantilever Park".

Also in the Midlands, Halesowen Town "are delighted to announce the first six of our 2016-17 squad who have signed on for the new campaign. Manager John Hill is also in discussion with other members to put pen to paper for 2017-18.

  • Goalkeeper Daniel Platt will be looking to build on last season's performances and in the process will be aiming to make his 100th appearance for the club.
  • Defender Bradley Lewis enjoyed a good run of form at the end of the season, grabbing the winning goal against Skelmersdale and will be hoping this form continues.
  • Midfielder Cameron Steele signed on loan from Burton Albion, marking his debut against Spennymoor with a goal and will be looking to add more game time next season.
  • Lee Chilton was one of the Yeltz's most consistent performers in the last campaign and his speed and trickery on the ball will be key to the teams chances.
  • Daniel Bragoli marked his 100th appearance for the club during 2016-17 and is a key member of the squad both on and off the field.
  • Nathan Walker signed towards the end of the campaign and quickly made himself one of the first names in the squad with his composure on the ball and his tough tackling approach.
​

The Yeltz fans will also be greeted with 3 new faces at the Grove next season.

  • Defender Jack Kelly is a former Nottingham Forest left full back, who has been on John Hill's radar for a while and the manager is delighted to get his man. Jack spent time on loan at Hemel Hempstead during 2015-16 and last season played for Hayes & Yeading and Kettering Town making 19 appearances and was renowned as a set-piece specialist for the Nottingham Forest Under-21 side.
  • Striker James Spray, born in Halesowen, started his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, scoring in a League Cup win over Millwall in 2011. He spent time on loan at Accrington Stanley and signed for AFC Telford following the expiry of his Wolves contract. Spray also spent time at Stourbridge and Bedworth United before signing for Lye Town in 2013. He scored 12 goals in 31 games in the 2015-16 season before signing for Alvechurch. He returned to Lye in October 2016.
  • Left-footed forward Luke Shearer, who can play on the wing as well as up front, started his career as a trainee at Torquay United, before returning to the Midlands to sign for Tamworth. He joined Barwell loan followed by spells at Hednesford Town, Romulus and Bromsgrove Sporting before joining Alvechurch. Most recently he has played for Redditch United and Sporting Khalsa where he scored 6 goals in 10 games.

And Halesowen add that they "are delighted to announce another new signing for the 2017-18 season.

  • Midfielder Jordan Goddard returns to the Yeltz having left midway through last season to join Leamington. Jordan was a hit with the Halesowen faithful with his set piece ability and creativity in the final third providing many assists as well as goals.
  • Veteran defender Asa Charlton will add his extensive eperience to the backline and will be hoping to build on making his 200th appearance last season by reaching 250.
  • He will be joined at the Grove by fellow centre back Kyle Morrison who will be looking to reach 100 appearances for the Yeltz."

​

OLD FOES IN TROUBLE

Welsh Premier reports that at Altrincham's one-time league opponents, Bangor City, "Chairman Ivor Jenkins and director Andy Ewing have resigned from the board... just over a year after club was the subject of a controversial buyout.

A statement from the club says, 'The resignations are the result of a long-standing disagreement over the financial relationship between Bangor City FC and Nantporth CIC. Jenkins says 'It is not a fair arrangement and the most recent licence applications shed light on undisclosed creditors from the previous board that should have been presented when we came in.'

City's accounts show a net loss for the year ended 31 December 2016 of £191,061 with current liabilities of £336,547 and a note from the auditors says 'These conditions indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern'. The club is currently supported by significant directors' loans."

3 August 2017

JAMES JONES GOES ON TRIAL WITH AMMIES

Altrincham FC Press and Media Officer John Edwards writes that "Altrincham defender James Jones (left) is heading for Salford City after being handed the chance to impress the Vanarama National League North side's joint managers Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley during a trial period that will start next week.

The versatile centre-back made a favourable impression in Alty colours after joining at the beginning of the pre-season programme but was mindful he faced an uphill struggle for a first-team place, given the quality of defenders at manager Phil Parkinson's disposal.

His prospects of figuring in Alty's matchday squad for this season's Evo-Stik League Premier Division promotion push appeared to recede still further, following clear signs of a welcome return to full fitness by Tom Hannigan, who grew in confidence during a 45-minute outing at Bradford Park Avenue on Saturday and shone as a second-half substitute in Tuesday night's 4-0 win at Winsford.

The realisation Hannigan was vying with Ben Harrison and Chris Lynch for a place in central defence left Jones weighing up his options, and he needed little persuading to accept an invitation to try to prove his worth at Moor Lane. Alty boss Parkinson explained, 'James has done really well, but clearly with the form and fitness Tom has shown in the last two games, the future in central defence for us lies with him, Ben and Chris. That is where we are going to be forging defensive partnerships, between those three.'"

TOLANI GOES ON LOAN

Press and Media Officer John Edwards writes that "Tolani Omotola is stepping up his bid to reach the fitness levels required at Altrincham by making a temporary move to Ramsbottom United.

The pacey striker, signed from Tranmere Rovers two months ago, had been hampered by a hamstring problem picked up at the beginning of the pre-season programme. Though Omotola has since recovered from the injury, manager Phil Parkinson is mindful he needs game time to build up his match sharpness and is concerned opportunities are in short supply, with the season starting a week on Saturday.

Delighted with the way the 19 year-old has been playing catch-up, and impressed with his desire to make his mark at The J.Davidson Stadium, Parkinson feels he has found the ideal solution in striking a gentleman's agreement with his opposite number at Ramsbottom that Omotola can play for them, under the proviso that he can return to Alty once fully fit and required by the club.

'I see Tol having a future at Altrincham, hence why I am trying to get him the right club that I trust to help him get to the levels necessary for him to make a comeback with us when called upon,' said Parkinson".

FINAL FRIENDLY OPPONENTS: TRAFFORD

On Saturday Alty travel to Shawe View for their final pre-season game against EvoStik Division One club, Trafford.

Trafford confirm that for Saturday's game "Admission charges are: Adults £5, OAPs £3, Juniors £1."

On Tuesday, Trafford lost 0-2 at home to Salford City with a team comprising, Grant Shenton, Paulie Loukola, Louis Corrigan, Chris Palmer, Josh Granite, Paul Linwood, Matias Bakare, Scott Sephton, Ashley Woods, Andy Keogh, Michael Bakare. Subs: Jack Dorney, Ally Brown, Terry Smith, Sean Yeldrem, Kingsley Williams, Rio Ahmadi, Declan Rydings.

"Despite dominating the second half, Trafford fell to a 2-0 defeat... The visitors were on top for much of the first period and took the lead in the 13th minute when Anthony Dudley struck a great drive into the top corner from 15 yards. Nine minutes later man-of-the-match Dominic Hale made it two with a superb low drive into the bottom corner from 20 yards...

Michael Bakare made several electrifying bursts down the right flank and struck the post just before half-time as Trafford pushed forward. Both teams made numerous substitutions throughout the second half and Trafford enjoyed the majority of the possession without creating any clear-cut opportunities".

Salford City report "A relatively inexperienced Salford City line-up at Shawe View but they turned in an accomplished performance to beat Trafford...

It’s always a pleasure to visit Trafford F.C. and on a pleasant evening both sides started the game looking to create chances... Trafford’s customary neat football hadn’t punctured the Ammies’ defensive resolve although Markell Foulds was forced to repel a dangerous raid in the 29th minute. From their next attack the home side very nearly got onto the scoresheet as [ex-Alty youth/reserve] Andy Keogh’s darting run on the left was followed by a good cross into the middle...

Trafford will probably be amongst the front-runners in the NPL’s First Division North this season and we’d like to wish them all the best for 2017-2018. As always they played proper football on their excellent surface and if there are any regrets at all about Salford’s rapid rise it is that we can no longer count on trips to clubs as welcoming as our old friends from Shawe View".

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

The News & Star reports that "Workington are third favourites to win the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League title. Reds and Nantwich Town are 10/1 to finish top of the league, with Altrincham and Stourbridge both 7/1 joint favourites.

Workington, who start the season on August 12 at home to Halesowen, will travel to Nantwich the following Saturday in an early test of their respective credentials. Reds completed their home programme of friendlies last night with a 1-0 home win over local rivals Penrith, as Nathan Waterston headed the only goal after 16 minutes."

Meanwhile, Nantwich Town tell us that in pre-season they have won 5, drawn 2 and lost one of their eight games to date, with Jordan Davies their top scorer with four goals. On Saturday the Dabbers travel for another friendly to Kidsgrove Athletic, a team which Altrincham beat 4-1 in July.

From NL Pitchero we learn that "In what could be a record, Championship Bolton Wanderers named TEN un-named starting trialists in their 6-1 win against Evo-Stik Premier side Marine AFC... and there were another three un-named triallists on a bench of six! Kenny Strickland scored the Mariners` consolation.

Halesowen Town report that they "have completed the signing and registration of former Crewe Alexandra player Joe Howell. The central midfielder started his career with the Railwaymen signing professional terms in May 2015 after completing his scholarship, he was loaned out to Rushall Olympic and on his return to Crewe made two first team appearances, following his release he joined Nantwich Town in February 2016. Joe is the latest signing John Hill and Matt Clarke have brought in, he joins new faces Alexander Woodhouse, Jack Kelly, James Spray and Luke Shearer as well as Jordan Goddard’s return to the Grove."

2 August 2017

"WORST PERFORMANCE SO FAR", SAYS PHIL

In a post-match interview with Altrincham FC Press and Media Officer John Edwards on Tuesday night, manager Phil Parkinson was critical of his Altrincham side's performance, despite a 4-0 win over Winsford taking their tally of pre-season goals to 20. Here, he explains why he had harsh words for his players after the game.

Q: It's another impressive scoreline, Phil, but your expression suggests you weren't happy with what you saw?

A: No, I wasn't, not when you consider the standards we have set ourselves this pre-season and for the season we are going into. I said when I first came to the club it's not easy for players playing under me because I ask them not only to win but to play a certain way. We ticked one of the boxes, and we kept a clean sheet, but, without being disrespectful to Winsford, who are a North West Counties team, I would expect us to be able to do that at this stage in our preparations.

Above: Assistant manager, Neil Sorvel, and manager Phil Parkinson, pictured by Mike Ripley at Winsford.

I just felt there were too many who did not perform the way I want them to. I'm not saying they didn't try or run around and do things they maybe felt they should be doing, but perhaps that was the problem. Too many, particularly after we went 4-0 up, probably took their foot off the gas, probably took it a bit too light-heartedly. But I won't accept that. I won't allow my players' standards to drop one jot, and they have heard that from me just now. That's how it should be, because as a player, I wouldn't want my manager to accept a poor performance.

It probably sounds like I'm being a bit harsh when we've won 4-0, but you've got to put it into perspective. We've got players here who should be playing at Conference North level in my opinion, but they haven't hit the levels they have shown in previous games, so they've had a little bit of a rocket up the backside. They know now that is not acceptable, and some of them have made my decisions quite easy going into Saturday (at Trafford), because that line-up will be pretty much what I would start the season with, unless people really let themselves down, which I would not expect. So it has been an interesting evening for me.

Q: Were there any particular aspects of the performance you were concerned with, and were they mainly in the second half, given we went in 4-0 up?

A: No, I thought we were poor first half. The four goals don't paper over the cracks for me. I felt we didn't retain possession the way we should have done, though you have to bear in mind we had Joel Bembo-Leta (right) sort of on trial with us again. Though he had one game a couple of weeks ago, he hasn't done any training with us, and it was also Simon Richman's first game. He hasn't done any training with us, either, so was not aware of what we do, apart from what I told him at the start of the game. So there was an element of that, and maybe that made us a little disjointed.

Maybe also I've been a little bit too fair with minutes. I could have been a bit more selfish and really ramped up the minutes for a few more of the players who are going to start the season. It has been very close, with regard to that. I haven't just been saying that for the sake of saying it; it has been exceptionally close between a lot of the lads within the squad, but tonight has opened my eyes to one or two performances, and I have told the players that in the changing room.

Q: As you say, Joel has returned to us after already playing briefly for us recently - will it go any further?

A: Well, we'll have a chat. He was at Buxton last year, and I rate him very highly. I tried to get him when I was at Nantwich, but I need to sit down and decide if he is going to be the player who is going to take us further in that position, because obviously the other lads have done ever so well there. The other worry for me, and the reason I don't like taking players at this stage of pre-season, is the importance I attach to what we do in training. We have done a lot of work in training, and I would like to think people will have seen in the games so far how I expect the players to put into practice what we have done on the training pitch.

It is difficult to catch up on those 12 sessions we've already had, and that is something I've got to weigh up. I'm sure he can do it, but it's a conversation I need to have with him and with the chairman as well, because I'm at my maximum in terms of what I want to bring into the squad. In fact, I'm looking to trim down at this point, rather than add to the numbers, so I need to have a long, hard think and a good discussion with Joel about where we go.

Q: Might that be a problem for Simon as well, the fact he has been away and missed quite a bit of training?

A: It's not a problem as such, because Simon is a fantastic player. He was one of the first lads I wanted to retain after coming to see the team last season, but the problem Simon faces obviously is the fact that Sam Sheridan, Jake Moult and Laurence Taylor have all done extremely well in the position he plays, so there is an element of him playing catch-up. But I do rate Simon extremely highly, so it's just a case of is he going to be patient enough about waiting his time to get in? I'm sure he will, because I know he is a big Altrincham player who is Altrincham through and through. Other lads have done well, but if they let their standards drop even slightly, Simon will walk straight through that door.

Q: Without labouring the point, was not keeping possession well enough the biggest bugbear for you?

A: Yes, without a shadow of a doubt. That is a big part of our game, and it was not good enough. It turned into a bit of you-have-the-ball, we'll-have-the-ball, and we are not about that, because if we do that, we will get beaten. We need to control possession much better. We did it in patches, but it was very patchy, and the performance levels we've had previously have been so much better than that. That was our worst performance of the pre-season so far, which I'm really disappointed about.

In the same breath, though, you do need that now and again. You do need to self-assess and acknowledge the need to keep improving. I don't think it was about not staying switched on. I think perhaps they've had a lot of superlatives. Maybe a lot of praise for doing so well. I will always praise my players when they've done well, but I will also tell them when they have not hit the level I expect. The big thing for me is the performance, how we've played. I'm a firm believer that if you perform well, results will come, and that is why I won't allow performance levels to drop, because that creates a terrible rot that goes right through the team. That can't happen, and they have been told.

They have been given a warning, and I hope they heed it, because it is not something I will accept or tolerate. Altrincham fans are now getting used to the football we are playing. They are expecting us to win, and win in a certain way. That is the way I want to do it, and my players know that.

Right: Joel Bembo-Leta at Winsford. Image courtesy of Mike Ripley.

Q: To be fair, though, that's 20 goals in all this pre-season, and there were some quality ones again, weren't there?

A: But you would expect that, with the quality of players we've got. The lads we've got in that changing room should be scoring goals. That is why they are here, because they are supposedly the best at what they do. I think they are, and that is why I brought them to the club, but they need to be ruthless with it. They need to execute, and for me, we should have kicked on from 4-0.

Though I'm not happy with the way we performed, maybe I'm discrediting Winsford a bit, when you consider they really put the effort in. There were some heavy tackles I was not too pleased with, but they were doing that to compete, and we have to accept that. Even so, we should have moved the ball round a bit quicker. It was all a bit laboured. The pitch was sticky but big, so it was on to hit them in behind. I just didn't think we did that with enough quality.

We were hitting too many short balls and not doing things quickly enough. All the things we do well, we weren't doing tonight. I'm happy to score four and keep a clean sheet, but there's lots of things we can improve on. It gives me something to go at on Thursday.

Q: Did everyone come through unscathed, because there were some over-exuberant challenges, not least one John Disney had to hurdle to stay in one piece?

A: Yes, it's probably as well John saw that one coming and managed to get out of the way. The only one with a knock really is Joel after a horrendous early tackle on him by a player I've worked with, their centre-forward. It was a really late, bad tackle, in my opinion, and Joel has got a huge lump on his leg. I did warn them that, when you are playing lads from a lower level, they are going to be over-stretching. In fact, we are going to face that at our own level this season, because technically we are going to be far better than a lot of teams.

But that will mean nothing if we are not willing to put a shift in, not willing to do the hard yards. I don't just mean defensively, I mean offensively by doing unselfish things for your team-mates to get into space, to get off your man and run in behind. You have to do those things, and we have been doing them well. I want to emphasis that point. We have done ever so well up to this point, and I hope people are a bit surprised that I am disappointed with a 4-0, because it is about the performance.

Maybe sometimes when we lose, which we will do at some point, I might not be downbeat, because it might be a performance that tells me we are ready to kick on again. I do truly believe that if performances are right, we will get wins.

Q: If you take away the first 30 seconds at Bradford, Tom Hannigan hasn't put a foot wrong. We all know he's a top-quality centre-half, but it's probably more relevant to know if he has come through his game time so far without any reaction. Has he?

A: He did look the part again, and yes that's what he told me, that he feels fine. I thought he oozed quality. Obviously, we've needed to use kid gloves with Tom, and we will continue to, going into the season, but I thought he showed up really well again. The bit I'm most impressed with is, he's obviously a talker on the pitch. The defensive line was spot-on, with regard to the offsides we got. You could see he was orchestrating that, and also that his positional sense is great. There were a few little defensive headers into the keeper that other people might not have seen but said everything about his awareness.

He is a top player, everyone knows that. The worry for me was whether he could come back to the level he can play at. I'm not going to rush him. He has had 45 minutes at Bradford and pushing 40 here tonight, so we are going to be very careful with him. Without a doubt, he has shown he can get back to those levels. I'd say he fits us like a glove, because he is very suited to the way we want to play. He is in for a real tough time, though, because, for me, Ben Harrison has probably been the strongest centre-half so far, while Chris Lynch is completely different to the other two, in that he's like a yard-dog in there.

We want that sort of competition, and it makes it really interesting going into the Trafford game. Lynchie had to miss tonight because his daughter was unwell. Tom showed up well, but I'm very aware I don't think he's ready to do 90 minutes yet. It's just getting him that game time and also making sure Chris and Ben are right and ready to go. Listen, if one of them's not at it, the way Tom is playing, he will be itching to get in there.

Q: With all the focus on Tom's return to action, it's easy to forget Shaun Densmore was not only out a long time but felt a reaction after coming back last season. He seems 100 per cent now, doesn't he?

A: Yes, he looks absolutely fine. We tried him on the left tonight, because that will be important for us. John Disney showed he could do it at Bradford, so it is good to know our full-backs can cover both flanks. It's not unusual for a right-back to be able to play on the left, and Shaun did it ever so well tonight. Unlike Tom, Shaun has done a lot more pre-season with regards to training, so is a little bit further on with fitness.

Tom looks very naturally fit anyway, so it is great to have options at the back. I think we look strong there. It is just tweaking things now. Tweaking things, working on things, repetition. Continuity is key for us, lads sticking to the game plan. If we do that, we will win far more than we lose".

WINSFORD UNITED 0 ALTRINCHAM 4

Above: Simon Richman was back from working abroad and Mike Ripley's camera caught him in typical midfield action at Winsford.

After a dominant first half, in which Altrincham repeated their Saturday performance at Bradford of four goals in a twenty-minute spell, Winsford enjoyed a much better second period.

Match report here.

WREXHAM v ALTRINCHAM

Highlights of the Altrincham v Wrexham game, last week, are here.

MONTHLY DRAW

  

Altrincham FC apologizes for the delay in carrying out the Monthly Draw for July. This will be carried out, live on Radio Robins, on Tuesday night at the Trafford v Altrincham pre-season friendly.

Click on the appropriate icon above for full details of the Draw.

BRADFORD PA v ALTRINCHAM

Bradford PA report on how "Avenue fell to defeat in their final pre-season match, losing 4-2 to Northern Premier League favourites Altrincham. It was Avenue’s first defeat of the summer after four wins and five losses [?], and they looked set to hold their unbeaten record as Wayne Brooksby and Adam Boyes twice put the hosts into the lead, Jake Moult equalising from the penalty spot in the first half.

However Mark Bower’s men capitulated after Boyes’ goal, conceding three goals in less than 15 minutes as John Johnston, John Disney and Josh Amis sealed the victory for visiting Altrincham... [Initially] the visitors seemed to be nervous in defence, both centre-halves made early errors as Hannigan and Chris Lynch tried to make amends for earlier misdemeanours...

With 10 minutes to go in the second half, both sides were playing some good football yet the score remained 1-0 to Avenue with no goalkeeper being tested significantly... Avenue offered their visitors a lifeline as James Knowles fouled Johnston on the stroke of half-time and gave away a penalty which was duly driven home by Moult.

Alty started the second half as sloppily as the first, an error almost gifted Johnson a certain goal but Ben Harrison, off the bench, recovered well. Goalscorer Brooksby then put in a cross not long after and the Altrincham defence got themselves in yet another mix-up, substitute goalkeeper Tony Thompson dropped a routine ball which allowed Boyes to tap into an empty net for 2-1.

A swift reply came from the visitors though as ex-Salford man Hulme turned fantastically then hit the post, the loose ball falling to Johnston and he smacked home to equalise the scores once more. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Altrincham took the lead. A shot from the edge of the box was spilled by Drench and Hulme made the score 3-2 allowing the visitors to hold the advantage for the first time.

Not long after that, Avenue conceded again as substitutes Tomali Omotola and Josh Amis combined before the latter volleyed the ball home from a few yards. The game then fizzled out".

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

Stalybridge Celtic "are delighted to welcome Theo Bailey-Jones to the club... Theo (23) has been with us for most of the pre-season, and has put pen to paper to become Steve Burr's sixteenth summer signing. He lists Macclesfield, Wrexham and Colwyn Bay amongst his among his previous clubs."

At Rushall Olympic, "The Pics have completed the signing of Will Hancox from Torquay United. He will be involved as we take on a Walsall XI here at Dales Lane...

The 20 year-old was a professional at the South Devon club but joins us in search of regular first-team football. 'Will has come here for all the right reasons,' said manager, Wayne Thomas. 'He’s been at Torquay for a long time but wanted to come away in order to get regular first-team football at a good level. He’s a fantastic character who has the desire to kick-on with his career and do well. He has played at National League level and possesses strength, power and pace as well as the ability to play in a number of different positions.

'At just 20 years of age he is another young and hungry player who I am looking forward to working with.'

Thomas meanwhile has heaped praise on goalkeeper, Jamie Pardington. The youngster, who only recently turned 17, is a product of the club’s youth ranks and has been training with the first-team this summer. 'I have been really impressed with Jamie,' said the manager. 'He has made fantastic progress in these opening weeks and looks to have a bright future ahead of him'".

1 Aug 2017

TONIGHT AT WINSFORD UNITED

Altrincham's next pre-season game is away at Winsford United tonight (Tuesday, 1 August) at 7.45pm. Winsford play in the Hallmark Security League (NW Counties) Premier Division.

Please ignore the previous advice that supporters should enter the ground through the clubhouse; this advice was due to a misunderstanding. Please use the turnstiles as usual.

Here are details of both of our remaining pre-season fixtures.

  • Tuesday 1st August: Winsford United (A) 7.45pm, Barton Stadium, Kingsway, Winsford CW7 3AE
  • Saturday 5th August: Trafford (A) 3pm, Shawe View, Pennybridge Ln, Urmston, M41 5DL

SUPPORTERS' AWAY TRAVEL

"TASC (The Altrincham Supporters' Club) have begun planning for the forthcoming season for away coach travel as we look to back Phil and the players in our bid for promotion. This season brings new challenges in balancing the books with many shorter journeys, which are harder to manage. However, we will do our best to provide transport to as many as we can, within our aims of providing the best value possible and breaking even at the end of the season.

Once again, we’d like to pay tribute to those that stuck with the travel in the most trying of circumstances last season and we have full faith that the plans Phil Parkinson has put in place will provide happier times for this season's travellers.

We will definitely be running a coach to Matlock on Saturday 19th August. We would also like to run travel to Nantwich, although are unsure of numbers due to work and holidays on a Tuesday so early in the season.

Therefore we will be taking bookings for Matlock later this week and starting an 'interested' list for Nantwich.

Whilst the future of TASC is decided we will honour all current and recently lapsed memberships for the usual reduced fares. Coaches are open to all supporters and we hope to welcome some new faces this season. We provide a family friendly atmosphere for passengers of all ages with everyone welcome. Keep an eye on the website for details of the travel and how to get your name down in the next few days”.

ALTY NAME THEIR CAPTAIN

Altrincham FC Press and Media Officer John Edwards writes, "Manager Phil Parkinson has handed the captain's armband to Jake Moult after deciding the long-serving midfielder should lead Altrincham's bid for promotion from the Evo-Stik League Premier Division.

The vastly-experienced Moult (right), who has forged a reputation as a tough-tackling, hard-working central midfielder with an ability to pass the ball short or long since arriving from Alfreton Town five years ago, takes over from Shaun Densmore, who succeeded Robbie Lawton as skipper in November, 2011.

Explaining his decision to appoint the 28-year old as Alty's new captain, Parkinson said, 'I was swaying towards Jake a couple of weeks ago, and the decision has now been made. I just think he is a true leader, someone who is Altrincham through to the core.

'I do like a central player to be my captain as much as possible. It's just a thing I've got. I know Dens has been captain here a long, long time, but it's just a little thing I've got about the captaincy, wanting a central player. I know I can rely on Dens, if called upon. There are no worries there.'

The Alty boss stressed, after Saturday's 4-2 win at Bradford Park Avenue, that fit-again Densmore 'will play a vital role for us this season - I'm sure of that' as he challenges summer signing John Disney for a starting place at right-back".

EVO-STIK LEAGUE PREMIER NEWS

News of our first league opponents comes from the Staffordshire Newsletter which tells us that "Stafford Rangers have hastily arranged a pre-season clash against Kidsgrove Athletic for [Tuesday] night. The Boro were due to take on Redditch United in their penultimate friendly before the season starts on August 12. However, the Worcestershire Reds had to cancel the tie as their squad was hit by injuries.

Instead, Rangers will host the Grove, hoping to get back to winning, and scoring, after drawing their first summer blank in last week's 1-0 defeat at Market Drayton. Josh Craddock started that game as he looks to earn a deal with Stafford for next season, while new signings Brad Caswell, Kai Davis and Kartel O'Neill were also involved."

The Nantwich News reports that "Nantwich Town fans were left disappointed to see the Dabbers stutter to their first pre-season defeat away at Sandbach United, writes Ryan Batty.

Despite taking the lead from the penalty spot, Nantwich’s defensive frailties were exposed... Nantwich made changes from the Rhyl victory as [ex-Alty defender] Clayton McDonald (right) made his first start, playing as a target man. The backline was reshuffled to see Alex Lingard play at left-back, Jamie Morgan at right-back and Joel Stair and Keaton Webster in the heart of the defence...

Kieran Evans then smashed an effort against the post from twenty yards in the 22nd minute, and a few minutes later the Dabbers were ahead. McDonald had to take the spot-kick twice, the successful effort sending the keeper the wrong way. Sandbach were not behind for long... Spiess came racing off his line but the attacker threaded the ball past the German goalkeeper to level the score.

The hosts then took the lead when a driven ball found the same attacker who added his second with a fine side-footed finish. McDonald had a header just over before the break as Nantwich trailed 2-1 at half-time. Dave Cooke made changes for the second period, including Krystian Burzynski in goal, and... the Dabbers dominated the last ten minutes... Nantwich huffed and puffed but could not find an equaliser as the forwards lacked the clinical finishing of recent matches."

From Burton Albion we learn that "Marcus Dinanga has signed an improved contract with Burton Albion Football Club which will see him stay until June 2018, with the club holding an option to extend his deal by another year. 20-year-old Dinanga signed his first professional contract with Burton Albion last summer and spent the duration of the 2016/17 season on loan at Matlock Town where he scored over 30 goals for the Gladiators.

The forward has netted five goals so far this pre-season. He scored three in his first three games as well as his brace against Arnold Town in a 9-0 victory for the Brewers.

Dinanga said, 'It's always good to get another contract and keep on developing as a player, especially at Burton Albion... Hopefully I get a chance this year or next. If I go out on loan again hopefully I can score goals at a higher level (than Matlock) to prove myself and show that there wasn't any luck involved'".

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