Meanwhile Barwell "confirm that striker Kyle Perry (left) has signed for Stourbridge F.C. Perry joined The Canaries at the end of August, and scored 5 goals in his two months at Kirkby Road. The former Stafford Rangers [and Altrincham] striker struck up a partnership with Matt Stenson in recent weeks...

Everybody at Barwell Football Club would like to thank Kyle for his hard work and great attitude, both on and off the pitch, during his time with the club".

And at Stourbridge, the club is "delighted to announce the signings of Kyle Perry and Aaron Birch whilst Danny O’Callaghan has left the Club...

Kyle, 31, rose to fame ten years ago when he helped Chasetown get to the FA Cup Third Round and subsequently earned a move to Port Vale... He was Stafford Rangers’ top scorer last season in the Evo-Stik Premier and has spent the last two months with Barwell...

Aaron, who featured for Stour in pre-season prior to the 2015-16 campaign, has captained Sutton Coldfield Town this season at the age of 22 after joining them in December 2016. He has starred in a struggling Royals team and has previous experience with Hereford FC. Aaron joined the reformed Bulls after his release from West Brom and started the 2015/16 FA Vase final at Wembley.

On the two signings, boss Gary Hackett said, 'Aaron had a trial with us a couple of years ago but, at that time, he wasn’t physically ready. He did tremendously well at Hereford and had Football League scouts watching him. Aaron has been Sutton’s best player this season. He’s a clever footballer and I think he’ll be a big bonus for us. He’s comfortable on the ball and is looking to chip in with goals.

'Kyle gets a lot of stick from opposition fans because they recognise what he does on a football pitch. In terms of being a a target man, a link man, he’s as good as anything around. He’s a great character on and off the pitch and someone I’ve courted for a while. I’m sure he’ll go on to do really well and he’s excited by the challenge.'

Midfielder Danny O’Callaghan, meanwhile, has departed and is expected to re-sign for his old club Sutton Coldfield Town. Danny signed for us from Sutton in the summer but struggled to get regular game time after recovering from an injury sustained towards the end of last season...

Manager Gary Hackett added, 'Danny is a good footballer but sometimes things don’t work for you. He broke his ankle at the tail-end of last season, missed some of pre-season and it has never really kicked off for him here. He wanted pitch time and I couldn’t guarantee it. He goes with our very best wishes'".

Stafford Rangers confirm that "Massiah McDonald has joined the club on loan from Coalville Town".

TUESDAY CELEBRATIONS

Above, Tom Peers (right) congratulates a delighted Simon Richman on his goal against Lancaster City. Image courtesy of Mike Ripley who, like his fellow snapper Gavin Rathbone, has had more than his fair share of soakings at pitchside this season, last Tuesday being no exception!

DESIGN A SHIRT COMPETITION

We would like as many children to enter as possible – and have asked all local schools to get on board and help distribute entry forms. or by ask children to complete at home over the half-term holiday. We have also distributed entry forms in Altrincham, Hale and Timperley Libraries. There will also be workshops during the holiday at Art with a Heart where children can get ideas for their designs. The competition has been split into three age categories school years 1 & 2, 3 & 4 and 5 & 6 and the winner of each category will have their design turned into a replica Altrincham FC shirt and unveiled on Saturday 4th November when Altrincham FC play Buxton Town. They will also receive a season ticket for themselves and 1 adult whilst 2nd and 3rd prize winners will also receive a season ticket for themselves and 1 adult to watch Altrincham FC for the rest of this season.

The closing date for entries is Friday 27th October at 12 noon and forms can be submitted either to the J Davidson Stadium, Art with a Heart on Stamford New Road, at Smart Storage (Altrincham) on Craven Road or in school prior to the half-term holiday and we can collect them. [Click on the image, right, for the enlarged colouring sheet and entry form].

If you would like to get involved or require further information please email: inclusion@altrinchamfootballclub.co.uk

Paul Whittaker from Smart Storage said, “We are delighted to be able to support the design a shirt competition, as a company we love to get involved in community projects and have been impressed Altrincham FC’s inclusion plans".

Jordan Tyms, Altrincham FC Inclusion Co-ordinator, said “I’d like to thank both Smart Storage and Art with a Heart for their support with this project and look forward to seeing the creative designs that the young people of Altrincham come up with."

Jordan Tyms, Inclusion and Diversity Co-ordinator, Altrincham FC.

You can also find the Altrincham FC Inclusion Strategy here.

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

City have won only once in their last five league games and just two from their previous seven in all competitions. However, the alarms bells are certainly not ringing, as far as Brown is concerned, as he believes fortune is certainly not in his side’s favour at the moment...

Brown also pointed to the difficult-looking fixture list, which has seen his side come up against the current top four teams in the division since the end of September. 'A week is a long time in football,' said Brown, whose team are still adapting after winning promotion as champions of the First Division North last season. 'This time last week we were coming in on the back of three games unbeaten with two wins and a draw. But, seven days later, we’ve had two defeats, which is disappointing... and I have got to look at that.

'But if you look, we have played eight games in just under a month and six of those games have been away from home. I think a little bit of fatigue has played a part over the last two games... Playing away this season is not like playing away last season. The away games in the First Division North are all pretty local whereas, this season, you’ve got some games which are two-and-a-half to three hours away.

'We are away again this Saturday, so that’s seven out of the last eight away. These are working lads, it does take its toll a little bit'.

City have also been without a number of key defenders such as Glen Steel (hamstring) and Gavin Clark (knee), while Rob Henry added his name to the list on Saturday when he had to be withdrawn early with a shoulder problem.

'The defeat against Altrincham looks like we took a bit of drubbing, but I was probably happier with our performance on Tuesday than I was on Saturday. They scored three goals in the last 15 minutes but. up until then. we were well in the game against a very good side who are top of the league. We had a couple of really good chances in the first 25 minutes. I said to the lads after the game, ‘I can’t fault your effort or your play at times but when you come to the better teams, you have to make the most of your chances’.

This weekend, City travel to First Division North outfit Mossley in the First Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy. Brown said, 'It’s important game because I want to get back to winning ways and there is £3,000 on offer for the winners, which is not to be sniffed at'".

According to NL Pitchero, "Whitby Town have signed midfielder Connor Smith on loan for a second time. This time, the 21-year-old moves to the Turnbull Ground for a month from York City, who he joined in the summer. The Stockton-born winger moved to the Minstermen from Hartlepool United...

In total, Smith has made nineteen appearances, but only six from the start, for the Victoria Ground club and went on loan to Whitby last term, making five appearances, having been restricted to just two substitute outings for Pools in 2016/17, and [he] ended the season on loan with Spennymoor Town".

The EvoStik League reports that "Marine keeper Germano Mendes is off on international duty after Mariners called on the services of Google and the Football Association! Signed from groundshare partners AFC Liverpool last season, after impressing in pre-season, the stopper, pictured, has been called up by Guinea-Bissau next month to face Cape Verde in Portugal and play in a second behind closed doors fixture in Lisbon a few days later.

Thanks to Google's translation services and a helpful member of the FA's Registrations Department at Wembley, the club's secretary Richard Cross was able to confirm the 25 year-old keeper's availability and complete the relevant paperwork on Wednesday after receiving official notice of his call-up for eight days from Monday 6 November.

Before signing on at the Marine Travel Arena, Mendes also played for Oeiras in Portugal and JS Hercules in Finland. His west African country of Guinea-Bissau made history when they qualified to play at the 2017 African Cup of Nations for the first time."

Over at Matlock Town "Nineteen years-old striker Noel Burdett goes straight into the Matlock Town squad for Saturday’s Buildbase FA Trophy clash at Glossop North End. Burdett has arrived at the DCJ Group Arena on a youth loan deal from Scunthorpe United where he is a second year professional. He has had previous loan spells in non-league football at Frickley Athletic last season, scoring nine goals in sixteen appearances and later in the campaign at Gainsborough Trinity. Earlier this term he was on loan at Harrogate Town".

Up at Carlisle United we learn that "Midfielder Jordan Holt has today returned to Workington AFC on a further month-long loan deal which will complete his three-month stay in West Cumbria. Holt, 18, initially joined the Borough Park outfit at the end of August and has received nothing but praise for his committed performances.

Manager Keith Curle said.... 'There’s no point being on a development programme if you aren’t getting individually tailored training sessions, and the pitch time which needs to go with it. It doesn’t matter who you are, you learn more by being involved in a competitive game than you ever will from just doing your training sessions through the week. Developing physically is one of the attributes you need, but being out there for 90 minutes allows you to put into the place the things you’ve practised and talked about.

'Workington are looking after him really well and we’re hearing good things, so we’re very happy for it to continue'. The young playmaker came through the United ranks to earn a one-year professional development contract in May this year having made his first team debut in the Checkatrade Trophy group game against Fleetwood Town last season."

In the Northwich Guardian we read of a recent Cheshire Senior Cup tie at Runcorn Town. "If Witton Albion felt inconvenienced by the timing of this tie, shortly before arguably their biggest game of the season, they did not show it. Carl Macauley selected a strong side, including five starters from the previous game, and they did an efficient job to reach the next stage of the Cheshire FA Senior Cup.

In short, it was everything the manager will have wanted. Runcorn rarely threatened, their attack blunted by the absence of leading goal-scorer Craig Cairns. Given the night off, he watched on as a substitute.

Witton did not take it easy though... The visitors dominated possession on a bumpy pitch... Albion switched later to a three-man defence, consisting of Anthony Gardner, a repositioned Paul Williams and substitute Nick Ryan following the interval withdrawal of Anthony Brown and Michael Wilson, to create a numerical advantage further up the field. And it worked a treat...

Witton scored a goal their superiority deserved on 68 minutes when James Foley swept in with an instep after [ex-Alty man] Micah Evans, making his first start since the season’s opening day, had made forward progress on the visitors’ left... Joe Holt blazed high when he had a glimpse of goal from a rare Runcorn raid before Tames settled the outcome with a composed finish after latching onto a lofted pass".

BEN HARRISON INTERVIEW

NEIL DISCUSSES ALTY'S WIN ON TUESDAY

"Altrincham responded to a call for more urgency to move three points clear at the top of the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League with a resounding 4-0 win over Lancaster City at The J.Davidson Stadium on Tuesday night.

Leading through a brilliant James Poole strike that lit up a low-key opening half, Alty scored three times in 16 second-half minutes to make it eight home league wins in a row, with 27 goals scored and just three conceded.

It needed a few pointers at half-time, though, to secure a victory that lifted Alty clear of Shaw Lane and Warrington, where they drew 0-0 in testing conditions last Saturday.

'The quality wasn't there in the first half, and it was frustrating to watch,' admitted assistant-manager Neil Sorvel, 'You can't be on it every minute of every game, but our passing wasn't as slick as normal. We had a lot of the ball but moved it too slowly. Everything was loose.

'The message at half-time was to speed everything up, be quicker and sharper with our passing. Move the ball quicker, and if we are getting in behind them, make sure it goes where we want it to. It was getting cut out too much in the first half, and they were coming back at us, so it was important we tidied that up.

'You could see the difference in the second half, and there were some nice little moves for the goals. It is a little early to be looking at the league table, but we are where we would like to be, and the challenge now is to maintain our level of performance and try to stay there. We are there to be shot at now. Everyone wants to beat the top team, but we just have to make sure we are ready for that challenge.'

Match report here.

Brian Flynn adds that "The recording of the Radio Robins broadcast of Tuesday's 4-0 victory over Lancaster City is available on the Mixlr App by searching for 'Radio Robins' & selecting 'Showreel'".

HOSPITALITY OFFER

MIKE'S GUIDE

Right: Rod Thornley (11) receives the ball from Nehru McKenzie at Lancaster in a pre-season game on 26 July 2005 at The Giant Axe, which Alty won 2-0.

THE HISTORY

Alty first crossed swords with City (or Lancaster Town as they were then known) on December 2nd 1911 when our guests came to this ground for a Lancashire Combination 2nd Division match which went the Robins’ way quite emphatically - 10-1 to be exact. Alty won the return fixture just over a month later by the odd goal in five. The clubs went their separate ways after the First World War as the Robins joined the new Cheshire County League and did not become regular opponents until City (who adopted that name in 1937) joined the Northern Premier League in 1970. Alty’s elevation to the new Alliance Premier League (now of course the Vanarama National League) in 1979 brought our association to a halt but 18 years later rivalry was resumed. We last met in a Conference North game here on January 29th 2005 which the Robins won 4-0 thanks to goals from Colin Little, Josh Mitten, Colin Potts and Mark Maddox in front of 795 spectators.

THE MEMORIES

I first saw Alty play City in an NPL Cup 1st Round tie here in September 1971 which the Robins won 4-1 thanks to doubles from Tony Broadhead and Dennis Fidler. The crowd that afternoon numbered 1,337. Cup-ties provide a number of memories, some pleasurable – such as the 4th Qualifying Round replay victory here in 1973, Broadhead scoring the only goal to send Alty through to a 1st Round clash with Hartlepool, and the 1st Round replay win at the Giant Axe in 2001, Lee Poland’s hat-trick and Rod Thornley’s penalty seeing us through after extra time to a home tie with Darlington – and some not, such as City’s 2-0 home win in the 2nd Qualifying Round two years later. The Giant Axe hasn’t been a particularly happy hunting ground for the Robins – indeed, our last win there was the 2001 game referred to above – but the portents are better on this ground, as the overall record shows. That’s probably put the mockers on this evening’s game, mind!

THE CITY

My earliest Lancastrian memory is of the Royal Grammar School – the first place I can remember with grass cricket nets as opposed to concrete strips. The Ashton Memorial (known to some as Williamson’s Folly) dominates the skyline (it’s a bit of a climb but worth a closer look) and the Castle (used as a prison until March 2011) and Priory are well worth seeing too.

THE GIANT AXE

It’s difficult to think of a ground more conveniently situated for public transport users than Lancaster’s home – if you’re in one of the front carriages of a northbound train, look straight ahead as you get off at Lancaster Castle station and you will see the Giant Axe beyond the bay platform. A two-minute walk takes you to the path to the ground, which has a substantial stand on the far side, a covered end terrace, open terracing on the other two sides and social facilities near the main entrance. The name comes from the overall shape of the site".

TUESDAY'S GATES

• Att. 618: Altrincham 4-0 Lancaster City
• Att. 240: Buxton 2 - 1 Warrington Town
• Att. 137: Farsley Celtic 3 - 3 Ashton United (James Walshaw netted a 90th minute equalizing penalty for Farsley)

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

'A few years ago I would have said no, Jimmy is not right for the Boro job,' said Bradbury, who had two spells as assistant manager at the Boro. 'Maybe tactically he would have been lacking at that level. But Jimmy has served his apprenticeship. He started off in the Sunday Leagues and had great success, he did brilliantly at Atherstone Town and now he is doing well with Barwell in what is a very, very tough, competitive league. I go and watch Barwell quite often and I see what he is doing there. He's managed to bring funds in and build a side. He's doing an excellent job.'"

From Yorkshire, Farsley Celtic we learn that "Celtic and Ashton United played out an enthralling and end-to-end game which ended in a 3-3 draw, despite the conditions, with Farsley fighting back from 3-1 down... It was left to a sensational Adam Priestley strike and last-minute James Walshaw penalty to rescue a point for the hosts, with Ben Atkinson and Ashton’s Matthew Chadwick also scoring terrific goals earlier in the game.

The game got off to a flying start and James Walshaw should have given Farsley an early lead... However, it was Ashton who took the lead courtesy of a rocket from Matthew Chadwick, the striker cutting in from the right wing and firing a terrific strike into the top left corner. Within minutes Ashton had doubled their lead as Jack Dyche raced in behind the Farsley defence and slotted home past Graeme McKibbin.

The visitors should have gone 3-0 in front immediately after as Mark Lees’s long-range strike crashed against the crossbar, the ball then dropping to Matthew Chadwick who headed wide when it seemed easier to score. The Celts were soon back in the game though as the lively Ben Atkinson hit a splendid effort from 30 yards... Early on in the second-half Matthew Chadwick did restore Ashton’s two-goal lead as the visitors were awarded a soft penalty, Chadwick slotting home to make it 3-1...

With just over ten minutes remaining Farsley were given hope by substitute Adam Priestley. The ball dropped to the Gibraltar international from a corner and he shifted the ball onto his right foot and curled a tremendous effort into the top corner, which no goalkeeper could have saved. Ashton should have secured all three points with time running out through Matthew Chadwick, who cut inside and struck an effort which seemed destined to nestle into the bottom corner, only for the ball to thump against the bottom of the post and bounce away to safety.

The visitors were left to rue their missed chances as in the fourth minute of stoppage time Farsley were awarded a penalty following a foul on James Walshaw. Walshaw dusted himself down to convert the spot-kick".

According to the Warrington Guardian, "Yellows struggled in midweek again as they fell to defeat at Buxton on Tuesday night. Despite Jamie McDonald’s first-half equaliser, Paul Carden’s men dropped points in a midweek game for the sixth time this season.

Liam Hardy, the Evo-Stik Premier Division’s top goalscorer, and Ant Wilson scored for the hosts at Silverlands as Warrington lost on the road for just the second time this campaign. Midway through the first half, Yellows fell behind when Hardy was played through the middle and he beat Tony McMillan to score his 14th goal of the season.

However, Carden’s side were behind for just 10 minutes as McDonald latched onto Abou Sanogo’s knockdown and found the net for the second time since joining from City of Liverpool last month...

It was set-pieces that again proved their downfall as a Buxton corner was turned home by Wilson".

ALTRINCHAM 4-0 LANCASTER CITY

Three goals in the final 16 minutes of a wet second half left Altrincham comfortable winners by the final whistle. Hulme headed in a Johnston cross from the left to make it 2-0 in the 74th minute. Substitute Peers played in Richman, who had earlier picked up a fifth yellow card and a suspension, to score his side's third goal. And, finally, keeper Powell made a hash of a Johnston freekick, from well right of the goal, to concede the fourth in the 87th minute.

With Warrington losing at Buxton, Altrincham go three points clear but Shaw Lane have two games in hand.

Match report here.

TUESDAY SCORES

• Altrincham 4-0 Lancaster City
• Buxton 2-1 Warrington Town
• Farsley Celtic 3-3 Ashton United

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

The Celts now sit 19th, two points clear of the drop zone, which is a much healthier position than prior to the Reds' Academy graduates arrival. Walton returns to Oakwell having experienced some vital first team minutes. Upon his return, Walton told barnsleyfc.co.uk... 'I really enjoyed my time with Stalybridge and I can’t thank them enough for taking the chance on me to play for them. When I went in we were struggling and in the relegation zone, but now the squad has really pulled together and are on promotion form! I spoke a lot with the coaches at Barnsley before I went and they gave me the advice to go out and get some first team football. I’m now even more excited to be given the opportunity to be further involved with the first team here. I have had a couple of games with them before in friendlies, so now I need to take the next step up and I will be ready if called upon.'

Paul Heckingbottom commented on the return of Jack Walton to the Club and has rewarded him with the squad number 30. He said, 'Jack has worked really hard both at the Club and in the games he has had away on loan. He’s been impressive and I have heard nothing but positive reports from the Stalybridge staff and he even picked up a Man of the Match award. Loans like this are invaluable to a player in the early stages of their career and he now returns to the Club with his head held high, ready for the next step of challenges facing him'".

Before last Saturday's fixture with Altrincham, the Lancashire Evening Post reported that "Lancaster City boss Phil Brown is pleased with how his side are developing after a promising start to life in the Evo-Stik Premier Division. The Dolly Blues head into Saturday’s game at Halesowen Town 11th in the table after promotion with games in hand on the sides around them... having drawn 1-1 with last season’s title rivals Farsley Celtic last time out on Saturday.

Brown then saw his side cruise through to round two of the Integro League Cup with a 2-0 triumph at Kendal Town on Tuesday night. 'We’ve carried on from last season in that we’re a difficult side to play against,' said the City boss. 'That’s reflected in the stats. We’ve only lost three of our 18 games this season, one in the FA Cup and two in the league. We’ve created a culture in the changing room of being difficult to break down and now we want to add to that by being more creative and more aggressive with the ball. We did that on Tuesday night after being a bit safe against Farsley.

'I’m happy with where we are in the league and how we’re acclimatising to the Premier Division. There’s more to come from us and you’ll see that in the weeks and months to come. We’re only 14 games into a 46-game season and there’s a long way to go. But as long as we’re progressing then I’m a happy man. If we can get that balance right between attack and defence then we’ll be fine this season.'

The trip to the West Midlands sees City face a Halesowen side currently 21st in the table after a difficult start to the season. A tough test at current leaders Altrincham then follows next Tuesday night, October 24.

'They [Halesowen] lost to Altrincham on Saturday but have had a bit of an upturn in form and seem to have turned a corner,' said Brown. 'But we’ll be going there confident... A win on Saturday would be a really good result for us and looking at the fixtures it could really move us up the table. It would set us up nicely for the trip to Altrincham as well'...

Sam Hibbert picked up a knock against Kendal and will be assessed, Louis Mayers has been struggling with illness and Gavin Clark remains the long-term absentee with a medial knee ligament injury. "

However, the Dolly Blues lost 4-3 as the Lancaster Guardian reported on "An uncharacteristic display involving some woeful defending and complete lack of sharpness saw the Dolly Blues slip to a humbling defeat at the hands of relegation battlers Halesowen Town on Saturday. With one of the best defences in the league coming up against one of the worst on Saturday, on paper this should have been a bread and butter three points for Phil Brown’s side.

With a near gale force wind, rain, and a tricky playing surface the weather played a part in levelling the two sides, but for a game they mostly dominated, City have no one to look at but themselves for the manner in which they lost. The opening half hour proved to be a false dawn as City completely took control of proceedings without creating too many chances... Against the run of the play, Halesowen took the lead from a corner in scrappy fashion after a rare venture forward...

City started the second half as they ended the first, playing a back five with Oliver Wood as a sole striker, and offered next to nothing going forward both out wide and through the middle in the opening stages. At the other end, it was far too easy for Town striker John McAtee to bag a quick brace in the space of eight minutes as the Dollies’ defence fell to pieces...

To their credit, Lancaster battled to the end, and an unlikely comeback looked on with two goals in four minutes with quarter of an hour to play. Steve Williams and Meulensteen both scored from close range following goal mouth scrambles to throw the visitors a lifeline. However, with City pushing forward, Halesowen scored the killer goal on the stroke of 90 minutes... In the dying seconds, Meulensteen’s flicked header from wide free-kick that looped neatly into the right hand corner saved some face on the scoreline, but otherwise this was a day to forget for City and forget quickly".

On Monday night, Stourbridge and Halesowen Town drew 1-1 in the Birmingham FA Senior Cup. The Glassboys won the resulting penalty shoot-out 5-4.

From Barwell we learn that "Ben Baker joins on loan from Kettering Town, while Ryan Seal will gain valuable game time at Market Drayton Town. Baker, an 18-year-old striker, joins on loan from Kettering Town, who are managed by former Barwell manager Marcus Law.

Meanwhile, Ryan Seal has joined Market Drayton Town as he looks to get valuable minutes under his belt. Seal can be recalled by Barwell, should he be needed by Jimmy Ginnelly and Guy Hadland.

This news follows the recent loan signing of Nuneaton Town teenager Michael Tweed, which was confirmed last week. Tweed made his debut in Saturday's 4-2 defeat at Stalybridge Celtic."

ALTRINCHAM v LANCASTER CITY: LIVE COVERAGE

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

The match commentary sponsor is 'Italian Apartments'. The commentators are Alex Sarwar and Paul Salt and the match summariser is John Edwards.

Coverage starts at 7.25pm with the game kicking off at 7.45pm".

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.

EVOSTIK PREMIER FIXTURES

• Altrincham v Lancaster City
• Buxton v Warrington Town
• Farsley Celtic v Ashton United

Before kick-off, the NL Paper reported that "It’s a quiet, but important, night of action in the Evo-Stik leagues tonight, particularly in the Premier division where three of the top four sides are in action.

Altrincham, Warrington Town are Farsley Celtic all play this evening, with Adam Lakeland’s side facing the toughest test of the trio against eighth place Ashton United. The league-leading Robins and the third-place Yellows both have mid-table opposition in the form of Lancaster City and Buxton.

At present there is a three-way tie at the top of the division between Altrincham, Shaw Lane and Warrington, all on 34 points. Four points behind them sit Farsley Celtic, who can at least make up ground on Craig Elliott’s side tonight. After this evening the Ducks [Shaw Lane] will have two games in hand on their promotion rivals, but the importance of having points on the board won’t be lost of any of the top four".

REMORSELESS FIXTURES

This may be beneficial if the weather causes multiple postponements over the winter months, or if a team has a long cup run, but it would be interesting to compare injury-rates across the three regions in question. On Saturday, Alty had seven players who were either out injured or apparently unfit to play ninety minutes (Disney, Taylor, Hannigan, Amis, Miller, Sheridan and Omotola).

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

[Archer], the powerful Walsall-based forward started out in the Chasetown youth set-up. He subsequently gained experience with spells at Cradley Town, Tipton and Tividale before moving to Redditch United in the summer of 2015... and in late September 2015 he moved on to Bedworth United.

And he really found his feet with the Greenbacks... with 19 goals, despite Bedworth being relegated at the end of the season. He was a summer target of Stourbridge boss Gary Hackett’s, but he opted to stay put at Bedworth at that stage. However, a few months on, the Stourbridge boss got his man.

The highly-rated 24-year-old had interest from National League level, as well as a trial at Walsall back in August, and has now taken the decision to join Marcus Bignot’s Blues. Archer, who stand 6`3” and has already registered 9 league goals for the Glassboys this season, has signed a deal at the Swansway until 2019."

According to the Barnsley Chronicle, "Shaw Lane manager Craig Elliott has ambitions to manage in professional football but has no immediate desire to abandon the Ducks' adventure.

The 38-year-old primary school teacher from Pontefract has won 108 of his 154 league games while securing three promotions since taking over in 2014 and has never lost more than four in a season. The former Ossett Albion boss has never lost three successive matches in his entire managerial career and has just guided the Ducks to the FA Cup first round.

Owner Craig Wood said, 'Craig Elliott is a fantastic manager and a massive reason for our continued success. He is surprising everyone in non-league football by how well he is doing with us and I am sure a lot of people will be taking notice. They would be foolish not to.

'I have expected to have an approach from other clubs for him but I have not had one yet. He will obviously get some attention with the FA Cup run. I wouldn't stand in his way if it was an opportunity he really wanted at a much higher level.

'But we certainly don't want to lose him. He is under contract and any club would have to pay for him. The same applies to our players who are all under contract as well. We have scouts watching a lot of our games and there is a lot of attention on our squad.'

Elliott has seen what Danny and Nicky Cowley have done with League Two Lincoln after being teachers and non-league managers. He said, 'I would definitely like to be a Football League manager and my career is quite similar to the Cowley brothers. But I am genuinely happy at Shaw Lane and not looking to move on. As long as the club continues to progress and be ambitious, it is the right place for me to be. I get on very well with Craig Wood and we are very similar.'"

Also in the Barnsley Chronicle we learn that "David Norris played more games against his 'bogey team' Barnsley than any other club in a long professional career but is now plying his trade in the town, with Shaw Lane AFC in the Evo-Stik Premier.

The 36-year-old, who played 324 Championship matches and was once sold for £2.7million, is hoping to help the Ducks secure a sixth promotion in seven years... Norris said, 'I wanted to play for an ambitious club and one where I could potentially win trophies.

'They have done so well in the last few seasons and hopefully I can help them carry it on. It's a bit too early to tell how well we will do this season but I think we've got a chance of promotion. It's a good pitch (at Athersley Rec where Shaw Lane groundshare) and hopefully the club will start building up the fanbase which would be good.'

Norris began his career with Boston United and Bolton Wanderers before spending six years at Plymouth Argyle then moving to Ipswich for £2.7million in 2008. He then played for Portsmouth as well as Leeds United, Peterborough, Yeovil and Blackpool before dropping into non-league football last year.

He runs a gym in Bolton, where he lives, and one in Wakefield. He heard about Shaw Lane through a colleague who knows the manager Craig Elliott. He said, 'It's different to the football I was playing a few years ago but I still enjoy it and get that buzz when we win. I started off in non-league so it's not a huge culture shock to come back to it. It's still just football'...

The Ducks won in the second FA Cup qualifying round 2-1 at National League North side Blyth Spartans, with the 90th-minute winner coming from Damian Reeves who netted an FA Cup winner for Altrincham against Barnsley in 2015. They will now play Lancaster...

'I've been lucky with the games I've played in the FA Cup in the past. It would be nice to have another long run this season'...

Shaw Lane then won 3-2 at home to Workington in the Evo-Stik Premier on Monday. Clayton put the Ducks ahead but Workington levelled just before half-time. Reeves made it 2-1 then, after the visitors levelled again, Alex Byrne got the winner. The result took Shaw Lane to the top of the table with 21 points from ten games but results later in the week moved them down to second on goal difference behind Witt

POST-MATCH INTERVIEW

Brian also advises that "The recording of the Radio Robins commentary from that match is available via the Mixlr App by searching for 'Radio Robins' & then choosing 'Showreel'".

NEXT VISITORS: LANCASTER CITY

In their last game, on Saturday, Lancaster lost 4-3 at Halesowen Town. City currently lie 12th in the league table but have two games in hand on Altrincham, whom they trail by 10 points. However, City have only lost three league matches this season, the same total as Altrincham and Warrington Town, but they have drawn six times.

The Dolly Blues' team last Saturday was 1. Joshua Powell, 2. Rob Henry, 3. Paul Dugdale, 4. Samuel Hibbert, 5. Steven Williams, 6. Richard Mercer (c), 7. Ryan Winder, 8. Melle Meulensteen, 9. Oliver Wood, 10. Craig Carney, 11. Scott Harries. Subs: 12. Billy Akrigg, 13. Charlie Bailey, 14. Sam Bailey, 15. Benjamin Hudson, 16. Thomas Kilifin.

Mike Garnett supplies the statistics on previous meetings between our two clubs.

• Home: P21-W11-D8-L2-F54-A21
• Away: P20-W5-D6-L9-F26-A30
• All: P41-W16-D14-L11-F80-A51

OLD BOY

A successful period at Macclesfield Town followed before being bought by Peterborough United. Thirteen goals in forty-seven appearances convinced then-League One side Crawley Town to pay £100,000 to take him to the checkatrade.com stadium. In 2014 he signed for Northampton Town... A spell at York City, then in League Two, followed before moving into non-League football with Altrincham and Bradford Park Avenue.

Sinclair was impressed with Ossett when Scarborough visited the Flamingo Land Stadium in August, saying, 'I though Ossett Town were unlucky not to get anything out of that game. The side played good football and created a lot of chances, something as a striker you can only ask for. From what I saw at that game, and from speaking to other people in the game, I believe a minimum requirement from this season would be a play-off place. As for myself I am keen to get back to playing. I had a couple of injuries now I want to have a good, consistent season of regular games and scoring regularly. I am keen to start enjoying my football again'".

CLITHEROE: OUR TROPHY OPPONENTS

Their squad, as listed on their website, comprises the following players. They include Sefton Gonzales, who joined Altrincham in the summer but moved on before the start of the season.

• Goalkeepers: Dan Eccles, Chris Thomson
• Defenders: Matt Atherton (Left Back), Wesley Benjamin (Defender), Jacob Davis (Centre Back), Ryan Ellison (Central Defender), Luke Holden (Centre Back), Ian Rowlands (Centre Back)
• Midfielders: Robbie Bromley (Defensive Midfield), Ryan Cattermole (Central Midfield), Callum Mahoney (Right Midfield), Joseph Mitchell (Midfield), Stephen Rigby (Central Midfield), Mike Roddy (Midfield), Charlie Russell (Attacking Midfield)
• Attackers: Adam Bolton (Centre Forward), Modou Cham (Striker), Ollie Crankshaw (Centre Forward), Sefton Gonzales (Striker), Kurt Willoughby (Striker).

LADIES' CUP GAME POSTPONED

WARRINGTON TOWN 0 ALTRINCHAM 0

Above: Sodden Alty photographer Mike Ripley captured the above image of Tony Thompson dealing with a Warrington corner in the deluge at Cantilever Park.

On an afternoon when the squally wind and heavy rain were the only winners, Altrincham were unable to convert their general superiority into a goal at Cantilever Park. But, with Shaw Lane also drawing, Alty remain top of the table on goal difference.

Match report here.

After the game, manager Phil Parkinson told the NL Paper, "I'm not going to blame the weather for the way the game was played because, to be fair, I thought they had the wind in the first half and we had it in the second.

I'm disappointed not to have won the game. I thought that we were the team trying to win it eventually".

WIRES' VIEW

In front of nearly 1,000 spectators at Cantilever Park, the wind and rain brought about by Storm Brian hampered both sides as the game finished goalless.

After the game, Carden said a share of the spoils was fair on the balance of play.

'It’s probably the only time I’ll say it in a home game, but I’m happy with a point and a clean sheet,' he said. 'There wasn’t a lot in the game. It was tight and the conditions did play a part in both halves. It was only ever going to be a mistake that was going to separate the teams today, but it was two good sides and no one made a mistake.

'On the face of it all, a 0-0 draw was a fair result.'

Yellows had the better of the first half, with Jamie McDonald missing a great chance from Josh Hine’s cut-back. The visitors had more possession in the second half, but Warrington’s defensive solidity came to the fore to protect their clean sheet.

Carden said... 'I know they work on trying to play out from the back. It was important we had a good understanding of when to press and when not to press and I thought we did that well. We highlighted before the game that the shape of the team would get us a result. It kept us solid, Jack Higgins and Jay McCarten were immense for us at the back. We held our shape well, there’s only a couple of times they went through us.

'Tony McMillan was superb as well and was calm when we needed it. The wind and rain picked up in the second half and they had more possession, but it’s fair to say we probably had more of the half chances. There’s a couple of times that we’ve caught them on the counter-attack though and we’ve looked a threat going forward.'”

The same newspaper adds that "After the break, the visitors stepped up a gear and monopolised possession, but struggled to break down a resolute Yellows' rearguard. When they did find a way through the defence, they found McMillan in their way as he first denied James Jones at the near post.

Then, however, came Altrincham’s best chance as a nice move saw Jordan Hulme cut the ball back for Poole, who was in space but could only fire straight at McMillan from 12 yards out. Ben Harrison also saw his effort go straight to the goalkeeper as Altrincham continued to push, but it was the hosts who finished the stronger.

They had the game’s final chance as the visitors failed to clear Sean Williams’ free kick. The ball fell to Evan Gumbs, but the on-loan Tranmere man could only blast an effort on the turn over the bar".

RESERVES LOSE CUP MATCH

EVOSTIK TRANSFERS

• Tolani Omotola from Ramsbottom United to Altrincham
• Mason Walsh from New Orleans Jesters (USA) to Altrincham
• Neil Barns from Tamworth to Coalville Town
• Marcus Poscha from Crewe Alexandra to Halesowen Town
• Matthew Barnes-Homer from AFC Telford to Halesowen Town
• Ross Haig from TSV Victoria Clarholz (Germany) to Hednesford Town
• Martin Fearon from Ramsbottom United to Marine
• Rory Middleton from Oldham Athletic to Marine
• Alex Morris from Leek Town to Nantwich Town
• Aidan Chippendale from Stalybridge Celtic to Ossett Albion
• Kacy Butterfield from Walsall to Rushall Olympic (youth loan)
• Louis Ezewele from Tamworth to Rushall Olympic (loan)
• Jordon Sangha from Walsall to Rushall Olympic (youth Loan)
• Sam Hanna from Goole AFC to Shaw Lane
• Rod Orlando-Young from Radcliffe Borough to Shaw Lane
• Lee Connor from Farsley Celtic to Shaw Lane
• Ben Gordon from Gainsborough Trinity to Shaw Lane
• Jack Fleming from Marine to Skelmersdale United
• Lamin Colley from Boston United to Stalybridge Celtic
• LukeGary Shearer from Halesowen Town to Stourbridge
• Kennedy Digie from Kidderminster Harriers to Stourbridge (loan)
• Harri Lovett from Shrewsbury Town to Sutton Coldfield Town (work experience)
• George Withe from Chester to Warrington Town

EVOSTIK GATES

• Att. 152 Ashton United 3 - 3 Shaw Lane (Liam Tomsett netted for Ashton)
• Att. 166 Coalville Town 1 - 5 Buxton (Andrew McWilliams scored for Buxton)
• Att. 188 Farsley Celtic 0 - 3 Mickleover Sports
• Att. 612 Halesowen Town 4 - 3 Lancaster City
• Att. 439 Matlock Town 2 - 0 Stafford Rangers
• Att. 315 Nantwich Town 3 - 2 Witton Albion
• Att. 202 Rushall Olympic 0 - 2 Marine (Danny Mitchley scored a penalty)
• Att. 345 Stalybridge Celtic 4 - 2 Barwell
• Att. 600 Stourbridge 0 - 2 Grantham Town
• Att. 952 Warrington Town 0 - 0 Altrincham
• Att. 274 Whitby Town 2 - 2 Hednesford Town
• Att. 359 Workington 4 - 0 Sutton Coldfield Town

TROPHY OPPONENTS

CHESHIRE SENIOR CUP FIXTURES

• Runcorn Town v Witton Albion

EVOSTIK PREMIER SCORERS

• James Walshaw 15 Farsley Celtic - Goal (8) Penalty (7)
• Lee Shaw 14 Grantham Town - Goal (13) Penalty (1)
• Liam Hardy 13 Buxton - Goal (12) Penalty (1)
• Joshua Hancock 11 Altrincham - Goal (11) Penalty (0). Josh's total in the league is actually 10 not 11. The League has wrongly given Alty's fourth goal against Nantwich on 3 October to Hancock but Tom Peers actually netted it.
• Shaun Harrad 11 Matlock Town - Goal (8) Penalty (3)
• Matthew Chadwick 10 Ashton United - Goal (7) Penalty (3)
• Jordan Archer 9 Stourbridge - Goal (9) Penalty (0)
• Paul Clayton 8 Shaw Lane - Goal (8) Penalty (0)
• Jordan Hulme 8 Altrincham - Goal (8) Penalty (0)
• Scott Allison 8 Workington - Goal (7) Penalty (1)
• David Carson 8 Whitby Town - Goal (5) Penalty (3)
• Steven Tames 8 Witton Albion - Goal (3) Penalty (5)

EVOSTIK NEWS

Mickleover came racing out of the blocks and caught Farsley off guard in the opening moments to take an early lead as Pablo Mills beat Danny Ellis in the air to head home from John McGrath’s corner...

Mickleover then doubled their lead with 15 minutes remaining as Farsley’s defence allowed Euan Garnett to ghost in behind and he rounded McKibbin before slotting home into an empty net.

The three points were wrapped up for the visitors as Tevahn Tyrell found Andy Dales who slotted home, with Farsley’s defence seemingly falling asleep once again...

Attendance: 188".

WARRINGTON TOWN 0 ALTRINCHAM 0

Above: It got congested in the Alty goalmouth whenever Warrington won a corner kick!

On an afternoon when the squally wind and heavy rain were the only winners, Altrincham were unable to convert their general superiority into a goal at Cantilever Park. But, with Shaw Lane also drawing, Alty remain top of the table on goal difference.

Match report here.

SATURDAY FIXTURES

The Evo-Stik Premier Division

• Ashton United 3-3 Shaw Lane
• Coalville Town 1-5 Buxton
• Farsley Celtic 0-3 Mickleover Sports
• Halesowen Town 4-3 Lancaster City
• Matlock Town 2-0 Stafford Rangers
• Nantwich Town 3-2 Witton Albion
• Rushall Olympic 0-2 Marine
• Stalybridge Celtic 4-2 Barwell
• Stourbridge 0-2 Grantham Town
• Warrington Town 0-0 Altrincham
• Whitby Town 2-2 Hednesford Town
• Workington 4-0 Sutton Coldfield Town

WALKING TO WARRINGTON

Above, the fundraising Altrincham FC walkers pose for the camera before setting off on what promised to be a damp and windy walk to the match today at Warrington Town, led by Mark Simpson. The Club would like to thank not only the participants but also all those who have sponsored them.

ALTRINCHAM YOUTH 1-3 CHESTER FC YOUTH

Above: Altrincham hold a pre-match huddle.

With a 3-1 win over Altrincham, Chester FC earned an away tie at Hartlepool United in the FA Youth Cup. The visitors took a seventh-minute lead when a long throw by Hellawell led to the ball bouncing up against Calvin Boyd's hand. Though any intent on the part of the Alty captain was doubtful, a penalty was awarded and Downes beat Terry from the spot.

Altrincham equalised ten minutes later when Curtis Miller got to a loose ball ahead of a Chester player before going on to beat the Chester keeper with a dipping shot from the edge of the box.

Five minutes before half-time, another long-throw by Hellawell produced the second Chester goal. From the throw, Dickinson's back-header looped over Terry and off the underside of the crossbar, into the net.

In a second half largely played in heavy rain, Chester made it 3-1 in the 59th minute when Dobson was allowed an unchallenged header from a left-wing corner. After that, Alty rarely looked as if they could get back on even terms as Chester deservedly advanced to the First Round Proper.

Match report here.

WARRINGTON TOWN v ALTRINCHAM: LIVE COVERAGE

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

The match commentary sponsor is Grappenhall Computer Services, providing mobile IT support for home and small businesses in the Warrington and surrounding areas. Their website is here.

The commentators are Ian Wilkinson & Simon Ellis & the match summariser is Dave Stringer. 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.

FAMILIAR FACES AT WARRINGTON

They are:

• Tony McMillan (35).

  Goalkeeper Tony, made his move to Altrincham on 21 March 2013, just two days after playing in goal for Southport, for whom he had been first-choice keeper through the 2012-13 season. At the time Tony lived in Sale. His previous clubs included Lancaster City, Ashton United and Colwyn Bay, though he started his career at Preston North End and Wigan Athletic.

• James McCarten

  A product of the Everton youth system, James is a midfielder who was an Alty trialist in 2012-13 and scored against Burnley in a pre-season friendly in July 2012.

• Sean Williams (25)

  Sean joined Altrincham, in May 2014, from Colwyn Bay. Before then he had also played for FC Halifax Town where he was part of their promotion squad from Conference North. Prior to that he had spells with Stockport County, Vauxhall Motors, Hyde and Skelmersdale United. Sean was released at the end of the season and joined Hednesford Town. He made 25(+12) appearances for Altrincham.

Goal difference is the only thing currently separating the two sides and third-placed Shaw Lane who have a game in hand. It is going to be a tough task for Town as Altrincham are currently unbeaten in their last eight league games, although the Robins have only won one of their last four away games in the league and one of their last five on the road overall.

Warrington meanwhile have won five of their last six home games and recovered well from a 2-0 away defeat to Ashton last Tuesday by securing a 1-0 away win against Barwell at the weekend, which moved them back up to second place...

The Yellows have spent much of the season in the play-off places thus far and, after just missing out on the top five last season, they will want to signal their intent here, by defeating an Altrincham side who are down in the Evo-Stik following relegation... Watch out for one of Altrincham’s new signings Josh Hancock who joined from Nantwich in the summer. Since then he has started each of the Robins 16 league games scoring on 10 occasions to make the 27-year-old the club's top scorer at this point by two goals".

PHIL'S UPDATE

Last Saturday’s win sent us to the top of the table, but Shaw Lane didn’t play due to their involvement in the Emirates F.A. Cup so, in some ways, they are still in a better position than either ourselves or Warrington. At this stage of the season, the most important thing is to be in and around the top five and stay there until Christmas time and then hopefully kick on from there in the New Year.

Things are going well just now but there are bound to be some big challenges ahead. With the onset of winter, the pitches become a bit of a leveller and keeping players fit and healthy is paramount if we are going to continue to have a successful league campaign, but we are only just over a third the way through the league fixtures and that means that there are still a huge amount of games still to play.

We’ve got a tough looking run of league fixtures coming up, starting with Saturday’s trip to Warrington Town, followed by home games against Lancaster City and Buxton and then a trip to Barnsley to take on Shaw Lane. We also have a Buildbase F.A. Trophy tie at home to Clitheroe amongst those games, so there will be five or six games to play in an important two and a half weeks.

We are going into those games in a very positive frame of mind as we have been winning matches, scoring plenty of goals and remaining very tight at the back. Since our last league defeat at Workington, we have played eight Evo-Stik Premier Division games, winning six and drawing two, scoring twenty-three goals and conceding just two.

For today’s game at Cantilever Park against Warrington, we are up against one of the sides that is expected to be somewhere around the top places come the end of April. Paul Carden has put a good squad of players together and this will be another big test for us. It’s a local derby and I am sure that there will be a large contingent of travelling Alty fans, who have made such a difference at both home and away games so far this season.

Tom Hannigan came off early in the second half against Halesowen on Saturday and we’ll have to see how he is today but, if he’s not one hundred per cent right, we have other players who can come in for him to cover. Unfortunately, Laurence Taylor took a bang on his ankle that was badly injured at Abbey Hey in the F.A. Cup, so that was a bit of a blow as Tuesday night’s game against Ashton United was his first game for over six weeks".

WARRINGTON RECORD

• 15.2.1984 CSC2 2-3
• 17.2.1987 CSC2 2-1
• 9.2.1988 CSC4 2-2
• 1.3.1988 CSC4r 2-2 (9-8 on pens)
• 28.11.1995 CSC2 4-0

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Said manager Carl Macauley, 'He told me he was ready to play again, and now he's hurt. When results aren't going well, players want to be out there with the rest of the team to help'".

The LIverpool Echo reports that "Marine boss Tony Lawson believes Marine will soon 'turn the corner' after watching his side beat Brighouse Town and Stalybridge in the past week... The Mariners halted a 12-match run without victory when they defeated Stalybridge last week, only to then slip to defeat to Matlock Town...

He said, 'If you look through the season, the amount of games we’ve lost by the odd goal is phenomenal. We honestly haven’t been playing that badly. To be fair, we look like we’re going to turn the corner any minute. We’ve got two wins from the last three games. That’s encouraging. The game when we did get beat, 2-1 by Matlock, we didn’t have Billy Smart or Danny Mitchley, two influential players in my squad. We missed them, but we got them back for the Brighouse game and I thought we played well. I was pleased with the performance, little shoots are starting to appear...

'I believe in the players that we’ve got. We’ve got talent at the club. We just need a little consistency'. Marine travel to Rushall Athletic [Olympic] in the league today before a Liverpool Senior Cup side against City of Liverpool FC. Lawson admits... '(Rushall) is an important game. It’s never an easy place to go to. They have just appointed a new manager. That will be vital'...

And on City of Liverpool, he added, 'I think it’s really exciting. They are getting good gates, have very enthusiastic fans, which is good for this level and they are obviously trying to get through the leagues. The fanbase will help their cause on and off the pitch. I just think it’s really exciting. It’s good to see and we’re looking forward to welcoming them to Marine. We’ll make them welcome'".

Stourbridge "are delighted to announce the loan signing of Kennedy Digie from Kidderminster Harriers. Kennedy arrives for his second spell at the War Memorial Ground and will be with us until November 18th.

The 20-year-old, who can play at the back or in midfield, spent the end of last season on loan with Stour and was part of the team that just missed out on promotion through the play-offs. He made a total of eight appearances for Gary Hackett's men... Kennedy first signed a contract with Kidderminster in 2014 after graduating through the club’s Academy system...

After making four appearances at Agbborough so far this campaign, Kennedy has again signed for the Glassboys and bolsters boss Gary Hackett’s options in defence and midfield."

NORTH-WEST NEWS

Driscoll said there was no clear reason given for the process other than an apparent ‘breach of contract’ the substance of such breach is not currently clear and rumours of the lease being changed from the original date in November are unfounded...

Skelmersdale chairman Paul Griffiths... informed Driscoll that the club are currently seeking legal advice on the matter itself and the apparent contract breach".

NL Daily tells us that "Chorley are due to take on League One opposition in the shape of Fleetwood in just over two weeks' time but there's a problem. They don't have enough fit and available players. So the club have taken the imaginative, if not totally original, approach of advertising for new recruits. A tweet from Chorley's official Twitter account on Wednesday highlighted their need for reinforcements.

It read, 'Wanted. Keeper and midfielder. Must be able to play against @ftfc in the #EmiratesFACup'".

YOUTH CUP DRAW

PITCH UPDATES

As for tomorrow's EvoStik Premier match, Warrington Town expect the match against Altrincham to go ahead without problems as Cantilever Park normally drains very well.

PHIL PARKINSON INTERVIEWED

Q: I know you don't attach too much significance to league tables at this relatively early stage of the season, but it must make pleasant reading for Alty supporters after the last couple of seasons, mustn't it?

A: All we are focusing on is winning games and looking at the next three coming up. We are just trying to focus on three games ahead. It's great to be where we are in the league, but I'm certainly not reading too much into that. It is fantastic for the supporters, because they have had a long time of being in the doldrums. It gives them something to be excited about, but Neil Sorvel (left), myself and the lads know exactly what the job in hand is, what we have got to try to achieve and what is expected of us. So it is nice, but I'm not going to get overly carried away with it.

Come Christmas, we will reassess where we are, but it is a credit to the lads for the run they have been on and the fantastic home form they have shown. It has been unbelievable. Again, that was evident against Ashton. There was only one player in the team who started on Saturday, but we had first-team players who have been in and around the squad or injured and some young lads coming in who were fantastic. It was great to see we can do that and still get the job done.

Q: Have you had to say anything to the players to keep their feet on the ground?

A: No, not at all. After the game on Saturday, I don't think I even mentioned to the lads about being top. After all, Shaw Lane have got a game in hand, so technically they could be top with something from that. It is just important we stay in and around the top five places, especially around the festive period, and then re-evaluate and really kick on from there. I don't want to dampen anyone's spirits, but I do want to keep everyone's feet firmly on the ground. The lads myself, the management team and everyone associated with the club are really pulling in the right direction.

There is a real feelgood factor at the club at the moment, but we've got to remember there will be some tough times ahead as well, because when winter comes in, it is really testing. Pitches become a bit of a leveller, and we really have to make sure we are very focused on what we are doing and hope the squad stays fit and healthy, because the more players at my disposal the better.

Q: We are top on goal difference, and that's a real credit to the attacking football we've been playing, isn't it, seeing as it is so much better than those just below us?

Right: Phil Parkinson.

A: Our attacking play and the goals we are scoring is something that has always been associated with my teams, and I like to think I have brought players to this club who will create and score. We have been able to keep clean sheets as well, and that adds up to a formula for success. It is just whether we can keep that going, and we will certainly be striving to do exactly that. It is all about looking at the bigger picture. We are in a great position now, but we must keep doing the right things, because some people can get to these positions and get a bit edgy, a bit nervous. There's no point doing that. We are just over a third of the way through the season, and there is a hell of a lot of football still to play.

Q: How big is Warrington away on Saturday, now we've gone top and they are immediately behind us?

A: All the games coming up now are going to be huge for us, in terms of who we are playing. Warrington, Lancaster, Buxton, after which there's a Meet the Manager and Players evening which should make it even more special, and then Shaw Lane. There's a real tough run of fixtures ahead, and we've got to be really on our mettle every single week. But we are looking at it really positively and are going into these games full of confidence and full of goals.

As I said, the home form has been outstanding, and our supporters have played a part in that. They have been like an extra player on the pitch. That's what they are there for, so it's important they are there for us when times get tough, which they will do. At some stage, we will have games that are tight. We are not going to steamroller everyone. There will be some 1-0 games, some edgy moments, and that's when we will really need the fans to be behind us. That is when I will be calling on the Alty Massive to give us everything they've got to push us on and spur us on to get those all-important results in tight games.

Q: We've had a pretty settled line-up of late, so how concerning was it to see Tom Hannigan go off injured on Saturday?

A: That sort of thing is going to happen, isn't it? That's the benefit of nights like Tuesday, where there are opportunities for the likes of James Jones and Joel Bembo-Leta, who has been playing right-back but switched to the centre. Joel is a centre-back really but has done really well at right-back, and that is one of the reasons we brought him to the club. With Tom, it's not the knee he damaged previously. It's the other one, and it's nothing major, but with the options we've got, I'm not going to rush him back. He will be desperate not to miss a game like the Warrington one, but if he's not 100 per cent, there are other lads who will step in and do a job for us.

Q: What were the main positives against Ashton for you?

A: It was good to see some players coming back back, and some of the young lads coming in and taking their chance. Lads who you would want to show up well who have been in and around the first team recently did just that, and I thought young Callum Jones was outstanding throughout after coming in from the reserves. It was a real highlight for me that young Darius Palma and Rhain Davis (left) came on and made their mark, and I thought Max Harrop also did well. I could go right through the whole team really. Sean Miller looked really good down the middle, and I've been getting a little whisper in my ear that Jordan Hulme needs to be on his toes!

There were loads of positives, but I'm most pleased about seeing those lads coming through the ranks, aged 16-18, and competing with a very strong Ashton team. I think that was pretty much their strongest team, bar one player, so it's a positive sign we were able to bring lads in and give such a good account of ourselves.

Q: By and large, referees haven't done us too many favours this season, but that was a great assist by the ref against Ashton, wasn't it, when the ball cannoned off him and fell for Max Harrop to equalise?!

A: Max still had to tuck it away, though, and he did that ever so well. Yeah, that one certainly went for us, but I would be disappointed if my lads had failed to react a bit better (than Ashton's did). Max was a long way out and finished it from the edge of the area, so well done to him for making the most of it.

Q: Tolani Omotola (right) was among the substitutes and went on; what has been happening with him lately?

A: He is back with us, but he has come back injured, so hasn't been involved. He went out to get fit, but it hasn't quite worked out for him. Even so, you saw glimpses of what he is all about against Ashton. He is a fast, powerful lad, and he will be a useful tool for us at some point. He is still not 100 per cent, but he has started at university, so he will be training to get fit while he beds in there and will be available for us as and when required. He is a fantastic lad with a great attitude, and when he does get fit, he will have a real big future at Altrincham.

Q: Is Laurence Taylor OK after his return to the starting line-up?

A: No, unfortunately not. He got a little niggle, basically a bang on his ankle again, so we need to find out how bad that is. That was the one setback from the night. You want to avoid injuries in these games, particularly to lads who have been waiting patiently for an opportunity, and it is frustrating that, as well as Laurence, Sam Sheridan picked up a bit of a groin strain. I'm sure Shez is not too bad, but we need to find out a bit more about Laurence, because he was hobbling a bit when he came off.

Q: Mason Walsh was a new face on Tuesday - have we signed him?

A: We're not at that point yet. Obviously, he's on a form, so we are having a look at him. He has played for the reserves, and now he has played against Ashton. I'm sure there is more to come from him. I know he scored on Tuesday night, but I see much more in him. It is a very good team and squad we've got, so if he needs a quick decision, I'll have to speak to him. We will have another look at him, then decide".

YOUTH CUP: LIVE COVERAGE

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.

CHESTER KEEN TO PROGRESS IN YOUTH CUP

Academy Head Coach McIntyre had this to say, 'Away draws in this competition are always really tough but we’ll take a lot of confidence from the way we went about our business in the last round. It’s been a tough week for us in terms of preparation, we have seven unavailable for selection on Friday evening including both our centre-forwards from our game with Altrincham earlier in the season...

'The First Round Proper of the competition is our target every time we go into this competition. The chance of a big draw is a huge motivation... To have had to do it the hard way with two away ties at established clubs merely gives us the opportunity to rise to a challenge again and we will be giving everything to get to the First Round. We get magnificent support in this competition from Chester supporters and I hope Friday will be no different.

'Come and get behind us in a huge night for these players, they buzz off the support they get on these nights and it genuinely can be the difference for us'".

FIRST NEW MILLENNIAL!

When youth team goalkeeper Cameron Terry was named in the Altrincham squad for last Tuesday's Integro Cup match against Ashton United, he became the first player born in the current millennium to figure in a Phil Parkinson first-team squad for the club. Cameron was born on 21 August 2000. He is seen, above, saving a penalty in the youth team's victory over Stockport County last Sunday.

SATURDAY'S OPPOSITION: WARRINGTON TOWN

Admission prices at Warrington are £10 for adults, £5 for concessionaies, £2 for under-16s, or free, if with a paying adult.

Mike Garnett's records record some curious statistics about the previous encounters between the two clubs; all five previous encounters have occurred at Altrincham, making this our first journey to Cantilever Park.

• Home: P5-W2-D2-L1-F12-A8
• Away:P0
• All: P5-W2-D2-L1-F12-A8

Last Tuesday, Warrington won 3-2 at Colwyn Bay in the Integro Cup. Colwyn Bay report that “On a night that looked more like a local curfew was in place rather than an Integro League Cup game, Colwyn Bay hosted Warrington Town in this first round encounter. And if the hundred and thirty-three supporters left the game feeling a little bemused, it wasn’t surprising. To quote the old cliche, 'It was a game of two halves', was never more apparent with both sides playing some excellent football in the process...

In the fourth minute [ex-Alty man] Jamie Menagh let fly a blistering shot that the keeper could only parry and Jack Kelleher was there to volley the loose ball into the Warrington net... By now it was all Colwyn Bay and when the Bay full back Kyle Jacobs, let fly with a left foot drive that rattled Ascroft’s far post, you would think that Colwyn would run away with it.

Town however, always looked dangerous going forward... Kris Leigh in the Bay goal was by far the busier of the two keepers but I would suggest that back passes contributed to it. After the half hour mark, Warrington were the busiest defensively with Colwyn Bay creating plenty of chances but unable to put them away.

Then, in the thirty fourth minute, Kelleher was up-ended just inside the Warrington area and the referee Daniel Bruce had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Ascroft saved from Rainford’s spot kick...

In the forty seventh minute... Kyle Jacobs... brought down Town’s captain Gerard Kinsella in the box. Penalty awarded and, from Aboubacar Sanogo’s spot kick, Warrington drew level. The way that Warrington had moved the game up a gear put pressure on the Bay who seemed unable to come to terms with it until later in the game... In the fifty ninth minute James Brannigan hit a low shot that beat Bay keeper Kris Leigh and rebounded off his post only for Connor Hughes to guide the ball home.

Town’s pace was unrelenting and in the sixty-fourth minute a Warrington free kick was taken by Liam Lambert but Kris Leigh could only palm the ball onto the head of Sanogo who made it 3-1... From the eighty minute mark, Bay seemed to come more into the game and, after the referee had given three added minutes of play, up came Jamie Rainford and squeezed the ball past Ben Ascroft at his near post from a tight angle in the 93rd minute".

ALTY AT MOSSLEY IN INTEGRO CUP

Integro League Cup Second Round Draw

Atherton Colleries v Bamber Bridge
• Buxton or Coalville Town v Stamford AFC
• Cleethorpes Town v Ossett Albion or Tadcaster Albion
• Droylsden or Nantwich Town v Witton Albion
• Gresley FC v Basford United
• Hednesford Town v Newcastle Town
• Matlock Town v Grantham Town
• Mickleover Sports v Bedworth United
• Mossley v Altrincham
• Ramsbottom United or Stalybridge Celtic v Hyde United
• Romulus v Kidsgrove Athletic
• Scarbrough Athletic v Goole AFC or Ossett Town
• South Shields v Stocksbridge Park Steels
• Stafford Rangers v Stourbridge or Alvechurch
• Warrington Town v Lancaster City
• Workington v Marine

Courtesy of Mike Garnett, we have the historical record in games between Altrincham and Mossley...

• Home: p.64 w.34 d.17 l.13 f.141 a.98
• Away p.55 w.12 d.17 l.26 f.80 a. 109
• Neutral p.1 w.0 d.1 l.0 f.1 a.1
• Overall p.120 w.46 d.35 l.39 f.222 a.208

Mike adds that our last meeting at Seel Park was on September 24, 1979, in the NPL Challenge Shield, which Altrincham won 4-2. The most recent meeting at Moss Lane was on September 30 2000 in the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round, which Altrincham lost 0-3.

Mossley are managed by former Altrincham captain, Peter Band.

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Both clubs will bank £67,500 in TV fees after being chosen by BT Sport and the BBC for live coverage in the First Round proper along with National League Chorley.

The EVO-STIK League North's Tigers will kick off a weekend of cup football on BBC 2 against League One MK Dons at Ewen Fields from 7.55pm on Friday 3 November with the Ducks hosting Mansfield Town at Sheerien Park in a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday on BT Sport 1. The Magpies round off the coverage on BT Sport 1 on Monday 6 November when they host another former NPL club in Fleetwood Town in a 7.45pm kick-off.

The EVO-STIK League's final flag-bearer, Premier Division Nantwich Town, missed out on live coverage of their trip to Stevenage but could still bank a welcome TV bonus with details of the full TV schedule, including matches moved to the Sunday for extended highlights, single camera footage and overseas broadcast coverage, expected to be confirmed at lunchtime on Friday.

If the Dabbers are switched to Sunday to feature on the BBC’s Final Score highlights programme they'll bank £12,500 while all three clubs will also hope to be in the spotlight on a special Football Focus 'On The Road' on BBC 1 on the Saturday at 12pm.

As well a chance to collect another £18,000 in FA prize money and progress in the world's oldest cup competition, the EVO-STIK League's final flag-bearers are expected to take full advantage of the commercial opportunities offered by the ties".

Earlier, The Chad reported that "Mansfield Town fully expect their FA Cup first round tie at Yorkshire minnows Shaw Lane to be a live television game the weekend after next. The Stags have heard nothing as yet, but Evans said, 'If it’s not on TV, Shaw Lane will be shaking their head. It’s got everything for a TV game, every hallmark the television likes. Everyone outside the town of Mansfield wants us beaten don’t they? That’s why it’s most likely the TV cameras will be there.

'They only come for one reason. I’ve been very successful as an underdog in the past... If they are there the TV company believes Shaw Lane can beat Mansfield Town. I have been the underdog in the past, looking forward to bigger teams coming, and I have always fancied my chances, and they will...

'You have to prepare properly and we’ll prepare exactly the same for Shaw Lane as we will for Newport. You have to do your homework. We didn’t know much about Shaw Lane but, when the draw is made, you quickly do an analysis and they have got good players. They have a young man called David Norris, ex-Leeds United. I sold him to Bolton for a lot of money having found him as a parks player in Peterborough. He’s gone on to have a great career. He’s on the way down now but he’s a great lad.

'They have young Nicky Walker, who I had at Rotherham, I think I gave him his first-team debut there. Then you look at the likes of Damian Reeves who everyone in non-League football used to wonder "Where’s Reeves?" whenever you played Altrincham as he could score from anywhere. Once you are a goalscorer you are always a goalscorer. They also have the boy (Billy) Whitehouse who was at Doncaster and got a great move to Leeds.

'They have good investment up there for the level... It’s going to be tough... Stags' fans will remember Liverpool’s superstars coming here. Do we want more of that? Yes we do. But you have to earn the right and we will have to go to Shaw Lane and get a result'".

NL Pitchero reports that "Twelve months after announcing his retirement, Phil McLuckie is back at Workington AFC, after signing a deal until the end of the season.

Joint-managers David Hewson and Lee Andrews have moved quickly to plug the gaps in their squad, announcing that McLuckie will be returning to the club with immediate effect. It is the second signing in a week after promising youngster Tommy Whitehead linked up with the first-team squad, making a successful debut at Colne in the Integro Cup.

It follows last week’s departure of Jake Simpson and the injury to Jack Egan.

McLuckie has made 279 starts (plus 66 substitute appearances) for the Reds since his arrival during the 2007/08 campaign, scoring 30 goals in the process... McLuckie could fill the vacancy at right back caused by Simpson’s switch to a non-playing, full-time role at Chesterfield. He last played for Reds in October 2016... and cited a catalogue of injuries and shift work as the reasons for his decision.

Hewson was delighted with the recruitment of a naturally fit, versatile player... 'A fit and focussed Phil McLuckie would be an asset to any squad in this league and it won’t take him too long before he is up and running and ready for action. His working week has changed recently which will allow him to train on a regular basis'".

FA TROPHY BURSARY

The Buildbase Club Renovation Programme... will help renovate two non-league clubs in England and Wales. Clubs can start making their applications to the programme today, with a deadline to be announced in December and shortlisting in January next year. The product bursary will provide £50,000 each in building, electrical products and hire equipment to two clubs by the end of the 2017-18 season.

In the first year of the programme, non-league clubs Hanwell Town FC and Cleethorpes Town FC were selected as winners from 40 applications and six finalists. Refurbishment work and product specification is already underway at both clubs, with building materials and advice provided by their local Buildbase branches.

Teams taking part in the two non-league competitions, The Buildbase FA Trophy and The Buildbase FA Vase, can start the application process by registering here.

Clubs participating in the competition can call on local fans to support their application through the Buildbase website and social media until the application deadline in December. Fans who register a vote for their team will also get 10% discount on online orders from Buildbase.

In February 2018 six shortlisted finalists, including three Buildbase FA Trophy and three Buildbase FA Vase clubs, will be invited to pitch their renovation project to a panel of judges from The FA and Buildbase at a 'Dragon's Den'-style event at Wembley. Two winners will be announced at The Buildbase FA Trophy and Vase semi-finals in March 2018 and will receive an award presentation for their building products on finals day in May 2018, ready to start renovations over the summer...

Buildbase is in the second year of its two-year title sponsorship of The FA Trophy and FA Vase".

OLD FOES GO 'FULL-TIME'

Following discussions, that decision has now been made, with several players having already assumed full-time status, with the club starting full-time training on Monday.

Cox, whose side are in the bottom four of the National League and have won just once in the league this term, told the YEP, 'We started (full-time) on Monday. Obviously, we have not got the full quota who have gone full-time at the minute. We have done it so we give everyone the best possible chance to want to go forward with the club, which is key. In employment law, I could probably have given them four weeks’ notice and told everyone we were going to be changing working hours.

'But I believe in being fair with everybody and giving everyone the best possible chance to help themselves and us to get to where we want to. Our training schedules are Monday morning, Tuesday night, Thursday night and Friday morning, with Wednesdays off. That will allow the boys who have got jobs, who I don’t want to handicap in any way as we have got some good players who are part-time at the minute, to give them the understanding that they know we are going to be full-time.

'I want everyone to have the best possible chance to make a positive decision about going forward. In any sort of environment, change can initially have a shock. But, to be fair, the players I have spoken to, and even the players who have stayed part-time, have all agreed that going full-time is the best way forward for the football club. It is key when your players are stating that'...

The Guiseley manager added, 'The board have said we can move forward and going full-time is a help. It is a bit of a transitional period. We could have done it at the end of the season or Christmas time. But I spoke to the chairman and the board and didn’t want to leave it to a position and look back and think that we didn’t achieve our goals because we should have made a big decision at an earlier stage and it has been a big decision'". to benefit from the £100,000 prize in 2018. Just as our business is rooted in towns and cities across the country, non-league clubs are a vital part of the local community and the renovation programme is our commitment to helping them flourish."

FA YOUTH CUP ON FRIDAY

Following this Friday's match, the scheduled match on Sunday (22nd) at home to Chorley FC has been postponed. Subject to confirmation, on 29 October, Altrincham are away to Stockport County in a league match.

TASC MEETING

TASC Meeting Agenda: Thursday October 19th 2017

• Set Up of New Supporters' Club
• Supporters' Liaison Officers
• Membership
• Over 50s' Christmas Lunch
• Away Travel
• Goal Rush
• End of Season Event
• Social Media Update
• Any Other Business

ASHTON VIEW

[After 23] minutes, the ball came off the referee for ex-Ashton man Harrop to fire home the equaliser from 20 yards and almost immediately Sheridan’s pass saw Peers beat the offside trap to rifle home the second...

But on the interval Chadwick made his way past Densmore and saw his pull back swept home by Tomsett...

Substitute Palma curled a left foot effort past the far post for Alty before Ashton took the lead again with the best move of the evening as Eckersley intercepted and saw Simon Woodford play Evangelinos down to the right by line from where his cross was helped over the line by Eckersley who had continued his run forward.

Unfortunately the Ashton Robins couldn’t hold on and 3 minutes later a volley from the edge of the area saw Miller’s effort come back off Ollerenshaw for Walsh to level matters again and force a penalty shootout which saw the home side progress to the second round."

INTEGRO CUP RESULTS

• Carlton Town 1-1 Matlock Town (Matlock Town won 4-1 on penalties)
• Kidsgrove Athletic 2-1 Leek Town

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Having sandwiched a spell with Stockport County between two stints with Bradford Park Avenue, the Gambia-born frontman switched to The Jakemans Stadium alongside former Avenue team-mate Jason St Juste. He will now provide competition to start in Celtic's forward line alongside Liam Dickinson, Jake Charles and John Cofie".

OLD BOY

The 38-year-old made his return to City following a spell as manager of Rushall Olympic but was dismissed for raising his hands to an opponent in the 44th minute.

Following a review of the footage, joint-boss John Snape confirmed there would be no attempt to overturn referee James Lunn's decision."

ALTRINCHAM 3-3 ASHTON UNITED
Altrincham win 4-3 on penalties

Above: Alty players raise their hands to take a penalty in the shoot-out.

For this Integro Cup First Round match, Altrincham made ten changes from Saturday's league game, with Joel Bembo-Leta the only player to start both matches - and even he played this match at centre-back rather than his usual right-back position.

In an entertaining match, Alty fell behind in only the third minute...

Match report here.

CLUB STATEMENT

The fans had suggested that all games start with complete segregation of the ground, with the Community Sports Hall partitioned to allow access from the road only for away fans. The lifting of segregation would be lifted dependent on number of away fans and conditional on their behaviour.

The board in considering this question have decided not to follow this path as part of a regular game management strategy. We think it would be overkill for the vast majority of clubs visiting Moss Lane this season. However, we will adopt this strategy for those games which we believe may require segregation, and we know there will be some such games this season. We will work with the SLO to communicate to the fans which games we believe require us to start with segregation. We think this is a reasonable approach given our experience now of clubs such as Rushall Olympic and Whitby Town visiting the J Davidson Stadium. We also agree that partitioning the Community Sports Hall is a good idea should a situation similar to the visiting Leicester City fans at the Coalville game arise again.

The fans also asked for continuity and stability in stewarding, and the board completely agree that fan safety is our primary concern and this is non-negotiable. After the Stafford game, we have reviewed our existing Match Day Planning processes, which have been in place for quite some time and we acknowledge that we made a mistake on the opening day of the season. We intend to ensure that all parties, whether stewards, bar staff, turnstile operators or others are aware of any specific circumstances on any given match day. As part of this process we are overhauling to role of the Match Day Organiser to embed the lessons we have learnt.

In summary, we would like to thank the fans for the feedback, acknowledge we got it wrong for the Stafford game and recognise the value of a number of your suggestions. However, we do feel it would be inappropriate to segregate every game as a matter of course. I would like to apologise for the length of time it has taken to produce this response and take full responsibility for the delay.

Bill Waterson".

SAFETY OFFICER

ALTY'S LEAGUE CUP MEETINGS

We have met our friends from Tameside on three previous occasions in League Cup competitions. On September 1st 1962 we travelled to Hurst Cross for a 1st Round tie in the Inter-League Cup (a competition involving clubs in the Cheshire League and the Lancashire Combination) which the Ashton Robins won by the only goal of the game.

On January 9th 2001 we played host for a Unibond League Cup group game (at that time the first stage of the competition was a series of mini-leagues) which ended in a 1-1 draw, and on October 4th 2004 we went over to Ashton for a Carthium Cup Preliminary Round fixture. Stuart Coburn was injured and Ian Senior had to take the field in the no. 1 jersey as Richard Acton had moved to Bangor City and Kurt Edginton couldn’t get to the ground from work in time to play.

The rest of the side looked strong enough even if the formation was a little experimental and an 8th minute goal from Colin Little seemed to settle Alty down. Peter Carty’s header levelled matters after 34 minutes but, within a minute, Steve Aspinall converted a penalty after Niell Hardy was fouled and Alty went in 2-1 up at half-time.

Ashton equalised just after the hour, Colin Alcide reacting quickest when Senior parried a goal-bound free-kick, and proceeded to add four more in the final quarter. Defensive confusion presented Paul Garvey with the chance to make it 3-2 after 67 minutes; Aspinall’s desperate attempt to clear a goal-bound shot only succeeded in finding the roof of the net (76 minutes); substitute Nicky Clee laid one on a plate for Josh Mitten (82 minutes) and rounded things off himself in the final seconds of normal time, rounding Senior to tap the ball into the empty net.

Let’s hope there isn’t such a debacle this evening, and that the attendance exceeds the 177 present on that occasion!

A Bit of History

This is our first venture into a League Cup competition since November 4th 2008 when we lost a Setanta Shield 3rd Round to Wrexham on this ground by the odd goal in three. It is fair to say that what are perhaps now seen as Cinderella fixtures were for a long time an accepted and valued part of a league’s season. Alty have, over the years, won League Cups on six occasions – the Cheshire County League Cup in 1932-3, 1950-1 and 1963-4, the Northern Premier League Cup in 1969-70 (when the attendance for the second leg of the final, at the Moss Rose, Macclesfield, numbered 6,833) and 1997-8 and the Alliance Premier League Cup in 1980-1".

INTEGRO CUP

Tue 17 Oct

• Altrincham 3-3 Ashton United
• Bedworth United 2-0 Barwell
• Buxton P-P Coalville Town
• Colne 1-2 Workington
• Colwyn Bay 2-3 Warrington Town
• Frickley Athletic 3-3 Stocksbridge Park Steels (SPS win 7-6 on pens)
• Glossop North End 1-1 Mossley (Mossley win 4-3 on pens)
• Grantham Town 3-2 Lincoln United
• Halesowen Town 1-1 Romulus (Romulus win 4-3 on pens)
• Hednesford Town 2-0 Rushall Olympic
• Hyde United 0-0 Trafford (Hyde win 5-4 on pens)
• Kendal Town 0-2 Lancaster City
• Marine 4-1 Brighouse Town
• Mickleover Sports 3-1 Loughborough Dynamo
• Nantwich Town P-P Droylsden
• Newcastle Town 3-1 Market Drayton Town
• Ossett Town P-P Goole AFC
• Prescot Cables 1-4 Bamber Bridge
• Ramsbottom United A-A Stalybridge Celtic (floodlgiht failure)
• Shaw LAne 3-5 Cleethorpes Town
• Skelmersdale United 0-3 Atherton Collieries
• South Shields 2-2 Farsley Celtic (South Shields win 5-3 on pens)
• Spalding United 1-1 Gresley FC (Gresley win 4-3 on pens)
• Stamford 1-0 Peterborough Sports
• Sutton Coldfield Town 1-1 Stafford Rangers (Stafford win 6-5 on pens)
• Whitby Town 1-2 Scarborough Athletic
• Witton Albion 3-0 Radcliffe Borough

FA CUP 4QR

• Kettering Town 0-1 Nantwich Town

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

NL Pitchero confirms that "Rushall Olympic have appointment Liam McDonald as manager. He recently left Solihull Moors and, before, turned Redditch United into promotion candidates in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier League and took charge of Hednesford Town.

'It’s nice to get straight back in and I can’t wait to get started,' McDonald said. 'This is a good, well-run football club and I’ll be working with an exciting group of young players that I will be looking to develop. It’s a challenge that I face with relish and I feel that I can get the club moving up the table. I have a lot of respect for the Chairman; he’s been in the game a long time. I am looking to forward to working with him for the first time.

'I was preparing to take a break from football, to be honest. But I had a really positive conversation with the Chairman and watched the recent game against Barwell. As I was travelling home I knew straight away that this was the place that I wanted to be and somewhere I can make an impact'...

His first game at the helm will come on Saturday as we play host to Marine."

ALTRINCHAM v ASHTON UNITED: LIVE COVERAGE

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

The commentators are Paul Salt and Alex Sarwar and the match summariser is Dave Stringer.

Coverage starts at 7.25pm with the game kicking off at 7.45pm.

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.

TONIGHT'S OPPONENTS: ASHTON UNITED

Altrincham fans will be hoping for a better outcome than the 6-2 drubbling handed out by Ashton in a previous league-cup encounter between the clubs, on Monday, 4 October, 2004. In the much-lamented Nationwide Conference Carthium Cup on a cold night at Hurst Park, Alty turned a 2-1 lead, which they held after more than sixty minutes of play, into a 6-2 reverse by the final whistle.

The final nail in the coffin, the sixth goal, was netted by... Ashton's Nicky Clee!

However that season ended happily, with Alty's promotion back to the national level of the Conference, via the play-offs.

CUP FIXTURES

Integro Cup 1st Round

Mon 16 Oct

The EvoStik League reports that "Monday night's Integro League Cup clash between EVO-STIK League Stourbridge and Alvechurch [was] postponed after a major floodlight failure minutes before kick-off. Match officials were forced to send the teams back to their dressing rooms after 75 per cent of the lights on all four pylons at the War Memorial Ground went out five minutes before the 7.45pm kick-off.

A broken circuit breaker running into the club's mains was blamed by the Glassboys for the postponement after club officials called in an emergency electrician in a failed bid to ensure the First Round tie could go ahead. The decision to postpone the fixture was taken by match officials at approximately 8.20pm after it became clear the major fault couldn't be fixed in time for game to go ahead."

• Stourbridge P-P Alvechurch
• Belper Town 5-5 Basford United - Basford won 5-4 on penalties
• Shaw Lane P-P Cleethorpes Town

SATURDAY'S OPPONENTS

'We’ve had this bug in the camp for four of five weeks now and we just can’t seem to shake it off. I’m trying to give my team talk and everyone’s just coughing and spluttering. We’re washed out at the moment. There’s nothing we can do about it other than sign a couple of lads'".

The Warrington Guardian reports on the game, which ended Barwell 0 Warrington Town 1, saying "substitute Abou Sanogo was Warrington’s hero as they bounced back from their midweek defeat in fine fashion. Sanogo’s 75th-minute winner proved the difference in Leicestershire as Yellows moved up to second in the Evo-Stik Premier Division.

Paul Carden’s men had the best chance of the first half but striker Jamie McDonald, returning from a hamstring injury, was denied by the woodwork. McDonald smashed a shot across goal which beat the goalkeeper, but crashed off the base of the post...

Early in the second half, it was Barwell’s turn to rattle the woodwork when Stenson’s volley struck the crossbar. However, the winner came in slightly fortuitous circumstances when Sanogo’s looping cross found its way over the goalkeeper and into the net.

Warrington Town: McMillan, Goulding, McKeown, Gumbs, McCarten, Higgins, Hine (Sanogo), Richards, McDonald, Williams, Bakkor (Kinsella). Subs: Adam Carden, Hughes, Davis."

CATCH UP

Brian also points out that there is good coverage of Non-League Day at the J. Davidson Stadium on the Football Supporters' Federation website.

LADIES' 9-0 WIN

It was unfortunately let down by some 'questionable decisions throughout the 90 minutes for both teams and this took the shine off a good team performance.

A first-half hat-trick from Kye Brown coupled with a brace from Megan Wright, with one each for Sophie Carolan, Sadie Powell, Laura Kelly and Megan Rowley sealed the game.

All the players got valuable game time today, with a debut start for Melissa Williams in centre-midfield along with a call-up for forward Courtney Williams from the Development Team.

We move onto the next game, which is sure to be a cracker, when we welcome Preston North End to Mersey Valley in the First Round of the Argyle Cup. Kick off for this game, on Sunday, is 2pm and we would love to see you there".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Meanwhile, long-term injury victims [ex-Alty defender] Sam Grimshaw and Dan Shelley continue to make progress... Grimshaw is back in training".

The EvoStik League reports that "The race to crown the first winners of the inaugural EVO-STIK League Digital Challenge is expected to be red hot within weeks with five thousand pounds in prize money up for grabs at the end of the historic fiftieth anniversary season!

With the online stats of the league and clubs already soaring this season, the Northern Premier League's title sponsors are handing out £1,500 to the most digitally minded clubs in each division to celebrate the milestone 2017-18 campaign and inspire fans, players and officials to carry on embracing an online future over the next five decades.

To create a level playing field for clubs of all sizes and transparency for the competition, the stats of all 68 on key platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were benchmarked in September so the winners come from those demonstrating the biggest rise in web traffic and quality of social media engagement by next May.

And, as added incentive to stoke up the competition to make a shortlist of finalists to be judged by a panel from the NPL and Bostik UK, the parent company of EVO-STIK, an additional £500 is also on offer to the club attracting the highest number of views or downloads for a unique piece of video content featuring EVO-STIK branding."

FA CUP FIRST ROUND PROPER

The Premier Division's other team in the FA Cup draw, Nantwich Town, face a trip to Stevenage if they win their Fourth Qulaifying Round replay against Kettering.

Other non-League teams in the Cup draw included:

• Hyde United v MK Dons
• Solihull Moors or Ossett Town v Wycombe Wanderers
• Gainsborough Trinity v Slough Town
• Chorley or Boston United v Fleetwood Town
• Hereford v AFC Telford United

CHESHIRE NEWS

The Blues went down to a miserable 2-0 defeat to their National League North opponents that sparked an angry response from the short-changed travelling supporters. And, while Bignot did his best to keep a lid on his anger, he made it clear that his part-time squad will now have to commit to an extra day's training in the week, whether they like it or not.

He said, 'I can agree with them (the fans) and their calls, and their shouts, and their views. Judging on today, you've got to agree with them.... I've inherited this group... Kidderminster are full-time, they've been full-time for how many years now. We're not and, if we continue not to be full-time, that's the kind of performance and results you can get. We need to go full-time and I've told the boys it's going to be a full-time programme starting from Monday. It has to be. You can't expect to compete at National (League) level, never mind in the North, where there's six or seven professional teams'".

ALTY YOUTH 2 STOCKPORT COUNTY YOUTH 0

Above: Alty line-up against Stockport County

Right: Ollie Okunowu celebrates his goal.

Altrincham Youth gained their first league win of the season with a 2-0 win over Stockport County at Flixton on Sunday afternoon. Alty took the lead with a 27th minute penalty awarded for hands against the visitors' left-back. Bailey Richardson converted the spot-kick.

Nine minutes into the second half Cameron Terry conceded a penalty when he fouled County's no.15 after he had been put clean through on goal and the Alty keeper was fortunate to escape without even a caution. Terry then went on to save the spot-kick.

After County had spurned several other chances to equalize, Altrincham confirmed their win when centre-back Ollie Okunowu volleyed home a Miller corner ten minutes from time.

Match report here.

The NWYA and FA confirm that Dylan Scanlan has received a two-match suspension for his red card last week (15/10/17 to 22/10/17) for alleged "use of offensive, insulting or abusive language".

Following this Friday's FA Youth Cup 3rd Round Qualifying match at the J Davidson Stadium against Chester FC, Alty are scheduled to play next Sunday (22nd) at home to Chorley FC at Valley Road, Flixton, M41 8RQ in the North West Youth Alliance Neil Thomason Cup Round One. On 29 October, they are away to Stockport County in a league match.

PROSTATE CANCER BENEFITS

LADIES' BIG WIN

These results complete a great weekend for Alty with the first-team, reserves, youth and ladies' teams all winning their games.

The Ladies' next game on Sunday (22nd) is in the Argyle Cup at home to Preston North End Ladies.

HALESOWEN MATCH REVISITED

Right: Shaun Densmore marauds up the Alty right-wing in the second half against Halesowen Town. Image courtesy of Michael Ripley

Courtesy of Mark Bennett, Alty TV has two more excellent offerings..

• Match highlights
• Neil Sorvel interview.

TASC MEETING

WIN FOR THE RESERVES

Next Saturday, they are at home to Crewe FC (at Egerton Youth Club) in the CCFA Amateur Cup, Second Round. Kick-off is at 2pm.

Following that, the Reserves are away to Ashton Town on 4 November (2pm).

NEXT OPPONENTS: ASHTON UNITED

The home’s side pressure eventually told as Thomas’s cross saw Gregory finish from close range after his initial header had been saved and Tomsett was then denied by a decent save from Whitehouse and Gregory cut inside well but sliced his shot well wide.

Team: Carnell, Smalley, Beesley (Slinn 46), Eckersley, Chalmers, Platt, Lees, Tomsett, Chadwick, Dyche, Evangelinos (Johnson 60) Subs unused: Ollerenshaw, Roberts, Woodford".

FA CUP

The Ducks started well in front of a record crowd of 864... After just 9 minutes, Shaw Lane [had] the lead when Alex Byrne’s corner was headed home at the near post by Spencer Harris... It was the Ducks' half as they went into the break a goal to the good.

However, just 2 minutes into the second half, the Bluebirds were back on level terms when a foul on Chris Clements earned them a penalty which Harrison duly converted. The home fans expected Barrow to take control now, but they never really took the game by the scruff of the neck

And with 14 minutes remaining, Shaw Lane took the lead for the second time and again it was courtesy of one of their experienced forwards, this time ex-Altrincham favourite Damian Reeves, who controlled a long throw and hammered a shot past Dixon... And the visitors' misery was complete when they had Jimmy Dunne sent-off for a rash challenge on Godwin Abadaki."

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Despite his young age, Shearer has a wealth of experience in the local Non-League scene but started his career as a trainee at Torquay United. He returned to the Midlands in 2010 to join Tamworth and spent a spell on loan at Barwell before making a permanent switch to Hednesford Town in August 2012. Shearer moved to Romulus for the 2013-14 season and impressed with the Coles Lane based outfit.

Spells with Bromsgrove Sporting and Alvechurch followed and the highly-rated forward was then snapped up by Redditch United in December 2014. After a year-and-a-half with Redditch, helping them to challenge at the top of the Southern League Premier, Shearer signed for Sporting Khalsa in the summer of 2016... earning a move up the Non-League Pyramid to our Evo-Stik Premier rivals Hednesford in November 2016.

A return to Khalsa followed before he linked up with Halesowen in June, scoring three times in pre-season. Shearer also scored in the Yeltz’s Evo-Stik Premier victories over Barwell and Grantham Town but recently left The Grove and impressed Stour boss Gary Hackett in training...

The club can also confirm that striker Justin Richards has signed registration forms but is still on the road back to full fitness. Experienced forward Richards ruptured the patella tendon in both of his knees in last season’s FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round victory at Nantwich Town".

Marine have signed "experienced goalkeeper Martin Fearon", brother of former Alty youth player Matt Fearon. "Blackburn born Martin, 28, joins the Mariners from Ramsbottom United. A former professional with Accrington Stanley, he has also had spells at Burnley, Chester, Lancaster City, Salford City and Skelmersdale United where he was an ever present during 2015-16 under Tommy Lawson".

ALTRINCHAM 3 HALESOWEN TOWN 0

Above: Gavin Rathbone's image shows Jordan Hulme in typically battling mode against Halesowen Town.

Match report here

SUPPORTERS' TRAVEL UPDATE

"Thanks to all who joined us on the Whitby trip. As most will be aware it isn't financial viable to put transport on to Warrington Town on Saturday 21st October. With a distance of 12 miles and just a 20 minute drive, plus the town being well served by buses and trains, we know that we will have good support there.

Our next coach travel will be to Shaw Lane on Monday 6th November. We're hoping for another good turnout for that one and that you'll help us to keep the coaches running by coming with us for that trip. More details nearer the time, thanks for your support so far."

SIMON RICHMAN INTERVIEW

Brian adds, "Apologies for the background noise; perhaps the kitchen at the Turnbull Ground wasn't the best place to conduct an interview!"

PHIL TALKS ABOUT LAST WEEK

"Four points from two contrasting games this week continues the excellent run that we have been on.

Last Saturday, it was so good to see almost a thousand people at the J.Davidson Stadium for a league fixture on Non-League Day. There was so much going on around the ground and in the Community Sports Hall, including an artist who spent four hours painting the matchday scene at the ground from the terrace opposite the main stand. On the pitch, we wore a special ‘Fans for Diversity’ kit, provided by SKkits and the fifteen shirts that were auctioned raised over £800 for Prostate Cancer UK, which is the chosen sponsor of the Evo-Stik League... a great effort!

The players performed really well in difficult conditions, scoring four goals and keeping another clean sheet and I’d like to think that the neutrals who came along were impressed with the quality of football on display and that some of them will return to watch us for some future home matches.

Tuesday night at Whitby Town was always going to be a bit of a challenge. A six-hour round trip of over two hundred and fifty miles really takes it out of players and whilst we were never anywhere near our best, we showed the resilience required in games like this, to come away with a result in a 1-1 draw against a Whitby side that played very well on the night. They have some good players, including a couple who are in the Jamie Vardy academy, and are a difficult side to play on their own pitch.

The support that we received on Tuesday night on the East Coast of Yorkshire was absolutely superb. I have never known anything quite like it. They turned up in good numbers and the vocal encouragement was brilliant. Like the players and staff, the fans have to show great commitment to organise themselves to travel across the country for a midweek game. We all appreciated their efforts on Tuesday.

It’s good to get the really long journeys out of the way before the end of October and the only two-hundred mile plus round trip that we now have to complete is at Grantham, which is scheduled to be our last away fixture of the season and is on a Saturday, which is easier to manage.

Today, we are back at home for a 3pm kick-off against Halesowen Town. This is a more difficult fixture than it may seem. The Yeltz are towards the wrong end of the table but arrive on the back of two straight league wins, with a particularly eye-catching victory at local rivals Stourbridge last Saturday, in front of a crowd of 2306, the biggest in the league anywhere this season.

They have a young striker on loan from Crewe Alexandra, Danny Udoh, who has scored three of their four goals that gained them that six-point haul and we will need to be back to somewhere near our best to make it seven consecutive home league wins".

WALKING FOR ALTY

One way of doing this is the sponsored walk to our neighbours Warringon Town for the vital top-of-the-table clash next weekend.

Why not take part in the 13-mile jaunt and be reinforced by the planned stops at 'watering holes' on the way?

Call the club on 0161 928-1045 to take part and follow the link to the sponsorship form".

FA CUP

The Emirates FA Cup 17-18 - Fourth Round Qualifying

• Shaw Lane 2-1 Barrow (Damian Reeves netted the winner).

GATES

• Att. 808 Altrincham 3 - 0 Halesowen Town
• Att. 183 Barwell 0 - 1 Warrington Town
• Att. 272 Grantham Town 0 - 0 Stalybridge Celtic
• Att. 403 Hednesford Town 1 - 1 Workington
• Att. 271 Lancaster City 1 - 1 Farsley Celtic
• Att. 372 Marine 1 - 2 Matlock Town
• Att. 211 Mickleover Sports 1 - 1 Rushall Olympic
• Att. 514 Stafford Rangers 1 - 0 Ashton United
• Att. 186 Sutton Coldfield Town 1 - 1 Whitby Town
• Att. 259 Witton Albion 5 - 2 Coalville Town

The Emirates FA Cup 17-18 - Fourth Round Qualifying

• Att. 653 Buxton 1 - 2 Gateshead
• Att. 760 Nantwich Town 1 - 1 Kettering Town
• Att. 2003 Scarborough Athletic 0 - 2 Hyde United
• Att. 415 Solihull Moors 1 - 1 Ossett Town
• Att. 2887 South Shields 1 - 2 Hartlepool United
• Att. 1152 Stourbridge 0 - 5 Macclesfield Town

OLD BOYS

Alty play Ashton United on Tuesday in the Integro Cup. On Saturday, Alty's former Blackpool loanee, Liam Tomsett, was booked "for slamming the ball into the ground".

Former Alty youth and reserve, Boris Melingui, played for Leek Town against Basford United on Saturday.

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Barwell has proved a tricky place to go this season, with league leaders Shaw Lane succumbing to a 1-0 defeat there last weekend. The return of Jamie McDonald up front brought a notable improvement for the Yellows...

It took until the 75th minute for them to break the deadlock, through Sanogo, though Smith-Varnam walking away with the man of the match reward perhaps reflects his contribution...

Warrington Town: McMillan, Goulding, McKeown, Gumbs, McCarten, Higgins, Hine, Richards, McDonald, Williams, Bakkor. Subs: Kinsella, Carden, Sanogo, Hughes, Davis."

Elsewhere, Stourbridge "boss Gary Hackett confirms the club have received a seven-day approach for striker Jordan Archer but nothing has been finalised".

ALTRINCHAM 3 HALESOWEN TOWN 0

Above: John Johnston, far right, nets his penalty.

After a goalless first half in which Altrincham played plenty of attractive football but lacked the tempo and incisiveness to unlock the Halesowen defence, they turned up the temperature after the break to ensure they went to the top of the table. It took them fewer than 45 seconds of the second half to make the breakthrough. Hancock netted the goal after good work on the right by Bembo and Richman.

Nine minutes later, when Jordan Hulme chased a 50-50 ball inside the box, he was tripped and John Johnston netted the resulting spot kick.

Josh Hancock played in James Poole to make it 3-0, in the 82nd minute. Halesowen could have scored twice in the second half but Thompson made two fine stops to keep a clean sheet.

It is the first time since September 2013 that Alty have been top of a league table.

Match report here..

SATURDAY FIXTURES

• Altrincham 3-0 Halesowen Town
• Barwell 0-1 Warrington Town
• Grantham Town 0-0 Stalybridge Celtic
• Hednesford Town 1-1 Workington
• Lancaster City 1-1 Farsley Celtic
• Marine 1-2 Matlock Town
• Mickleover Sports 1-1 Rushall Olympic
• Stafford Rangers 1-0 Ashton United
• Sutton Coldfield Town 1-1 Whitby Town
• Witton Albion 5-2 Coalville Town

The Emirates FA Cup 17-18 - Fourth Round Qualifying

• Buxton 1-2 Gateshead
• Nantwich Town 1-1 Kettering Town
• Shaw Lane v Barrow -playing on Sunday
• Stourbridge 0-5 Macclesfield Town

ALTRINCHAM v HALESOWEN TOWN: LIVE MATCH COVERAGE

Brian Flynn announces that "Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, is providing full live commentary of Saturday's game at The J.Davidson Stadium.

The commentators are Mark Simpson and Brian Flynn 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.

EARLY OPENING

WHITBY'S POSITIVES AFTER THE ALTY GAME

'He came through assessment in training last week and hasn’t pulled up since Tuesday night, so he will be in contention for a starting place for our trip to Sutton Coldfield this weekend. John has been a breath of fresh air since he came to the club, he’s what we’ve needed for a while now in that he’s a natural goalscorer, and we need to do everything we can now to get him out on the pitch so he can do what he does best and score goals for Whitby Town.

'Another player who impressed me from the bench on Tuesday was Louis Maloney. Louis really does have an eye for a pass and looked very able on Tuesday night.

'Looking at Tuesday as a whole, it was a positive performance and result and we need to build on that now... We need to start getting the points we’d like, and often deserve.

'Saturday’s defeat at Warrington was incredibly frustrating. There wasn’t a lot in the game at all and there was a clear foul on Shane Bland one of their goals, everyone stopped and expected a free-kick to be awarded but the ref waved them on and they scored. It was nip-and-tuck, there wasn’t a lot in it, but we’ve come up on the wrong side of the result'".

Excellent photographs of the Whitby v Altrincham game are to be found here.

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Simpson made his Borough Park debut during the 2011-12 campaign and had been seeking employment in the pro game after graduating in Sports Rehabilitation and going on to achieve a Master's degree in Strength and Conditioning.

The Oxford-born player had already been working with Carlisle United for almost two years obtaining invaluable experience behind the scenes at Brunton Park and left Workington with joint-manager David Hewson hailing him as a model of consistency since returning for a second spell three years ago!

In statement paying tribute to Simpson, he said, 'We knew Jake was going to leave at some point and his status at the club was changed to non-contract in the summer in preparation. It's a fantastic opportunity for him and he goes with our good wishes... We now have to find a replacement and it might present an opportunity to someone already in the squad'".

We also learn from the EvoStik League that "Many of the EVO-STIK League's chairmen and secretaries met up on Thursday night for the first of three regional meetings to update clubs on the latest plans and initiatives for the historic 2017-18 season. As the Northern Premier League celebrates it's 50th anniversary season, representatives from more than 30 clubs got together with league officials and representatives from the Football Association for the first of the gatherings on consecutive Thursdays at Nottingham's Sandiacre Holiday Inn.

As well as a presentation on the reorganisation of the National League System next season from EVO-STIK League chairman Mark Harris and vice-chairman Keith Brown and a commercial update on the Club Builder initiative from director Steve Hobson, delegates were also brought up to speed on the latest disciplinary procedures by the FA's Mark Ives before a Q&A session with directors and officers.

The rest of the EVO-STIK League's 68 member clubs will meet up at the West Riding County FA's headquarters in Woodlesford near Leeds next Thursday night (October 19) before the final meeting at Witton Albion's Wincham Park on Thursday 26 October."

Coventry City confirm that their "defender Jak Hickman and forward Bilal Sayoud have joined Mickleover Sports on loan. The pair join the Northern Premier League side on youth loans until 12th November 2017. Hickman has been a regular for the Under 23s this season, while Sayoud made his competitive debut for the Sky Blues first-team against Walsall in the Checkatrade Trophy earlier this month".

NEXT OPPONENTS: HALESOWEN TOWN

The Stourbridge News reports that "Boss John Hill says Halesowen Town are in talks with Crewe Alexandra about extending Dan Udoh and Oliver Finney's loan spells at The Grove.

Udoh and Finney again featured as the Yeltz backed up last Saturday's derby win over rivals Stourbridge by battling to a 2-1 victory against Hednesford on Tuesday night. Udoh scored in both contests to highlight why his manager is keen to keep him.

Hill said, 'Dan Udoh works really hard off the ball as well as what he is capable [of] when he has it. He has done really well and we want to keep both of the lads from Crewe. We are talking to Crewe now in the hope we can extend their loan deals. They are here until the end of October at the moment but we are working to add to that.

'We have shown before that players who come to us for a good period of time are sent back to their parent clubs as better footballers. We think that will be the case again.'

Securing the services of both men is high on the agenda of the Town management team, as is bringing in new recruits following a host of player departures and injury issues. Forward James Spray is the latest to leave the club following the departure last week of winger Lee Chilton and striker Luke Shearer. Spray has returned to Lye Town, Chilton quickly signed with neighbours Cradley and Shearer is apparently being tracked by Stourbridge.

Hill explained, 'Lee Chilton couldn't do the travelling anymore, it hasn't worked out for James Spray and Shearer has also moved on and may end up at Stourbridge. It's not an ideal situation but this happens in football. Myself and Matty (Clarke) are constantly on the phone trying to bring in players and we'll be trying to boost numbers before the weekend'.

The exit of the three attackers only adds to the disruption caused by the list of players on the treatment table or suspended at present. Dan Bragoli and Alex Woodhouse had to sit out Tuesday's win due to suspension, Kalern Thomas was absent and Brad Lewis and Cameron Steele are both carrying knocks. Dan Smith could also be facing a long spell on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury against the Pitmen.

However, Hill praised the character of his patched-up side ahead of another tough trip to second-placed Altrincham this Saturday. He said, 'It's a confident dressing room at the moment and we have done well to deal with the amount of players unavailable. We picked up a good win against Stourbridge and wanted to field the same side, but instead had four missing and had to put some square pegs in round holes. Credit to the players, they have had to dig really, really deep. The Stourbridge game took a lot out of them but then they've gone and picked up the win a few days later.

'It's going to be difficult again on Saturday because Altrincham are my favourites to win this league. We will have to cause another big upset."

JOSH HANCOCK BOOKING

CUT PRICES FOR CUP TIES

• Adults: £7
• Concessions: £5
• Under 16s: £1

INTEGRO CUP FIXTURES

Wikipedia explains that "The 2017–18 Northern Premier League Challenge Cup, known as the 17–18 Integro Doodson League Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the 48th season of the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup, the main cup competition in the Northern Premier League. It is sponsored by Doodson Sport for a seventh consecutive season. 67 clubs from England and one from Wales will enter the competition, beginning with the Preliminary Round, and all ties will end after 90 minutes and conclude with penalties.

The defending champions were Bamber Bridge, who defeated Grantham Town in the 2017 Final".

PHIL PARKINSON AFTER WHITBY GAME

Here is the interview in full...

Q: We had a really dominant spell in the first half - should we have made the game safe then?

A: Yes, we should. We had some great chances, as well as the goal but, overall, we didn't play particularly well from an offensive point of view. To be fair, it's a big ask for any lads who have 9-5 jobs to come all this way to Whitby on a Tuesday night, and I felt it did affect us, because we weren't at the races. Defensively, we looked really comfortable and solid. We controlled it from the back, which isn't us really, because we normally control games from the front, but our front three or maybe four were not retaining it very well for us.

Whitby, on the other hand, were right at it and took full advantage of the distance we've had to travel. It is disappointing to have let things slip. Tom Hannigan (right) is devastated in there, because he's not put a foot wrong for I don't know how many games, picking up man-of-the-match awards along the way, but one wrong decision has cost a penalty and an equaliser. Apart from that one moment, I couldn't see them scoring. Tom only had eyes for the ball, but it was high and it was a penalty. Whether it should have been a sending-off, as some people seemed to suggest, I'm not so sure. I mean, they got a penalty and scored, and Tom was booked - what more do they want?

As I say, Tom is devastated at what happened, but it was just really unfortunate, the position he found himself in, particularly as I thought he and Ben Harrison were the big reason for us looking so comfortable at the back. They were outstanding again, and it was disappointing we should concede like that after defending so well. As a team, we didn't attack as well as we can, and our passing was off and a bit sloppy, but it's important, when you are having an off-night offensively, that you don't lose. Thankfully, we have learned how to do that.

Q: I suppose that was one of the plusses. The protection for Tony Thompson was so good that, apart from one great reflex stop in the first half from close range, he hardly had a save to make, did he?

A: It's a running joke, and I think Tony is getting a bit frustrated with it, because we always seem to come back in the changing room and say he didn't have a great deal to do. But he is in there to make those important saves when called on, and that's what he did tonight. He almost got to the penalty as well, and that is why he has been staying in the team, because he is playing consistently well and is looking comfortable on the ball, which we demand of our keeper.

He's very vocal, a big personality in the team, and he is doing ever so well at the moment. We are really disappointed and frustrated at letting it slip, but looking at it realistically it's a very long way to come midweek and you could say getting anything is good. On the other hand, it is difficult to take when you get pegged back by a penalty like that. A bit of a sickener, that.

Q: It's probably a measure of how far we've come, isn't it, that there's an expectation of free-flowing football every time we take the field and an air of disappointment when it doesn't happen?

A: I can't over-emphasise the point about how far we have travelled tonight. The lads have had to get time off from work. In some cases, they've had to pull in a favour to get the time off. It has been a long journey up here that has taken its toll on legs, and the games have been coming thick and fast. I'm not making excuses, but that is how it is. For all that, they have given us everything, in terms of endeavour and work rate, but the quality we've got in abundance just wasn't there, unfortunately. It's a fact we are not going to be firing up front every game, but even so, we should have seen it out and won 1-0.

Q: At least the goal was an example of what we are about as an attacking force, wasn't it?

A: Absolutely, a great turn by Jordan Hulme from John Johnston's pass, and then an emphatic finish by James Poole (left). Really the chances we created should have been enough, but their keeper made a couple of good saves, to be fair to him.

Q: It's not often we are below par, but it's important to come away with something when we are, isn't it?

A: Yes, and that's all down to resilience. We tried to recruit players who have got that, lads with the know-how and experience you need, and it is showing now, because when they know they are not quite at it and not quite clicking, they at least have the resilience to make sure we take something from the game. We are going to need that, because there will be occasions when the opposition sit back and make it difficult for us and frustrate us. That's when we need to dig deep.

Q: We've climbed to second, despite dropping points, so that must be pleasing?

A: I don't take too much notice of league tables until around Christmas. People make me aware of our position, but I have a look for myself at Christmas to assess where we are at. We just need to make sure we are somewhere up and around the leaders, then we can really kick on from there. In the meantime, we will keep chugging along and try to stay under the radar, which isn't easy when you are Altrincham FC! We are not top yet, so the pressure is on Shaw Lane to stay there.

We will have our moment if we keep playing the way we are, and when that happens, it's important we stay there. Until then, we will keep trying to pick up points and play the brand of football that makes our fans want to travel all this way to watch us. A special mention for them, by the way. They were superb, just fantastic. Coming all this way is unbelievable. I have never known support like that. Things like that will help us get to where we need to be. The fans are buying in to what we are doing. The players certainly are as well, and the club does seem to be moving in the right direction again.

We've just got to make sure we don't lose when we don't play well and we put teams to the sword when we do play well, but we've got a really tricky fixture coming up this Saturday against a Halesowen side who have been picking up and getting some positive results. League positions aren't always a true indicator of form. We saw that at Stalybridge the other week, and it will be the same with Halesowen, so we have to be mindful that it will be no walkover. They are going to be very difficult to beat.

Q: Finally, Phil, what did you make of last Saturday, the way the club responded to the occasion, a near-1,000 crowd and so much going on?

A: I've got to say I've had some special moments in football, but just seeing what was going on around the ground was something else. I think someone was doing a painting in the stand, there were activities everywhere you looked, so many people in the stadium, the atmosphere, just everything about it. It was just a fantastic day, one that will stay with me a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and really this is what Altrincham FC is all about. It is one of the main reasons I came here, for days like that. Long may it continue, because I enjoyed and savoured every moment.

Q: Hopefully enough was done, particularly with the team playing so well and winning 4-0, to encourage a few people to return?

A: That's the idea, so I hope you are right! There is always pressure on the players to perform, and I was delighted they delivered with a big win and really good performance in difficult conditions. We want to succeed for the club. All we can do is go out and try our best, and that is how I will judge my team. If they give everything and play the way I want them to, I will never beat them. When they don't, it will be a different matter, but that has happened very rarely so far this season".

WELL-KNOWN VISITORS AT ALTRINCHAM

Altrincham FC was picked as one of only four clubs nationally to showcase the work they have been doing to encourage greater inclusion and diversity in football.

The club has been reaching out to all sections of the local community and, prior to the match, ran a number of activities including face-painting provided by Art with a Heart, a primary school art competition, and live music in the Sports Hall provided by Trafford Pride.

Wythenshawe Hospital surgeon Mr Kurdy and Altrincham and Sale West MP Mr Brady were both supporting the initiative.

Mr Brady said, 'I was delighted to see Nasser Kurdy and I am pleased to see that he has recovered well. In fact, he was back at work operating on his patients the next day. The event was a great success and really showcased Altrincham’s community spirit. The game was very entertaining and Altrincham beat Rushall Olympic 4-0.'

Mr Kurdy, from Hale Barns, touched the hearts of many people when he spoke after the incident at the mosque on September 24 about his forgiveness, and made a plea for everyone to unite.

Altrincham's players wore a special one-off ‘Fans for Diversity’ kit for the game.

The Board of Altrincham Football Club has formally signed up to a 'Promise', taking the form of a large printed graphic stating the club’s commitment to become the leading non-league football club for inclusion and diversity."

4 November 2017: MEET THE MANAGER AND PLAYERS

Tickets can be obtained by visiting or contacting the club offices by e-mail or phone (0161 928-1045). So, why not come along and get to know the team and management!

SPONSORED WALK TO WARRINGTON

The Club hopes that as many people as possible will get involved in this event which is not only good physical exercise, but also a good money raiser as well as a superb occasion for getting supporters talking to each other. All we need is a bright sunny day!

A sponsorship form in jpeg form is here. Please inform the club by e-mail or phone (928-1045) if you intend to participate, including your contact e-mail or telephone number, so that you can be updated on details of the walk.

NEXT OPPONENTS: HALESOWEN TOWN

The home side should really have taken the lead in the 22nd minute when the ball found its way to Oliver Finney who had all the time he wanted, but from just 10 yards out he fired his effort high and wide. Just eight minutes later they were in front though when a low shot was fired in and the unfortunate Jim Mutton saw the ball rebound up off him, over the stranded Veiga and into the net.

Their lead was doubled in the 35th minute when a long ball into the box saw Daniel Udoh challenge Veiga, and although there were calls for a foul from the visitors, the striker calmly slotted home into an unguarded net...

Hednesford dragged themselves back into the game in the 62nd minute. A ball down the middle of the pitch was picked up by Graham and after cutting inside one defender he curled a low effort into the net from the edge of the box. Smith’s side were now very much on top... Although the Pitmen continued to press, Halesowen were clearing their lines well...

Halesowen Town: Platt, Agbor (Lewis 65), Morrison, Finney, Smith (Hill 82), Charlton, Diop (Spray 53), Goddard, Udoh, McAtee, Kelly Subs not used: Steele, Parsons".

MIDWEEK GATES

• Att 241: Shaw Lane 2-0 Buxton

Tuesday:

• Att. 202 Ashton United 2 - 0 Warrington Town
• Att. 224 Coalville Town 1 - 3 Grantham Town
• Att. 352 Halesowen Town 2 -1 Hednesford Town (Halesowen are Alty's next opponets; their goals came from James Mutton (og) and Daniel Udoh.)
• Att. 385 Marine 3 - 1 Stalybridge Celtic
• Att. 229 Rushall Olympic 1 - 1 Barwell (Kyle Perry's late penalty earned a draw for Barwell)
• Att. 417 Stafford Rangers 1 - 1 Mickleover Sports
• Att. 271 Whitby Town 1 - 1 Altrincham
• Att. 226 Witton Albion 1 - 0 Workington

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Just as against Altrincham The Reds faced opponents reduced to ten men, but the outcome was much different...

"'We made a slow start and paid the price when they got an early lead. I thought we just weren’t at it,' said Hewson. 'Although we had a lot more possession, as you would expect after they went down to 10 men, the final ball was often poor. I just thought too many of our lads were off their game and I know there will be a reaction at the weekend. This is a demanding league and we can’t afford to drop our standards. I think we got what we deserved from this one, no points'.

Witton goal-scorer Prince Haywood was sent off on 56 minutes for an elbow on Jordan Holt".

Alty play in the Integro Cup next Tuesday and their opponents, Ashton United report that their ex-Alty striker and current manager "Jody Banim was pleased with his players after Ashton recorded their first home win since early September which saw the Robins comfortably dispatch high flying Warrington Town and complete the double in the Ikea Derby.

'I thought we competed well against an awkward team to play against, they’re very organised and play a certain way, which can be difficult to defend against. I thought we could play a lot better than we did, we were a little sloppy in possession at times, but overall I think we’ve done enough to win the game without being spectacular.

'And Banim was particularly pleased with Ashton’s defensive work as he hailed the return of goalkeeper David Carnell who has helped bring reassurance to the defence. That was the best part of our performance last night, we’ve had lots of chats about defending balls into our box recently, as I think it’s been a real weakness this season. The way Warrington play, you need to defend balls into your box well to get anything and we did that very well last night. I must say, Dave Carnell’s return from injury has helped massively in that aspect.'

Ashton claimed their second consecutive win and moved up to sixth in the table, the Robins travel to Stafford Rangers on Saturday and Jody Banim added 'We have good momentum again which breeds confidence, so we’ll go there with a desire to win. We have good options with the new signings and injured players returning, so we’ll go there full of confidence.'"

From the other side, the Warrington Guardian tells us that "Paul Carden says the most disappointing aspect of his Warrington Town side’s 2-0 defeat at Ashton United on Tuesday was that their opponents 'did not need to play well'. Yellows slipped to their first away league defeat of the campaign at Hurst Cross and, as a result, were knocked off the top of the Evo-Stik Premier Division.

Carden says his side 'never had enough' to beat the Robins and keep their three-game winning streak going. 'I’m not one to make excuses about injuries but losing the likes of Shaun Beeley and Jamie McDonald for the game was massive,” he said. We never had enough in their absence. We didn’t play well, but Ashton didn’t have to play well either and that is the most disappointing thing for me. They got an early goal and they hung onto it without too much alarm. We didn’t ask enough questions for them. We had a couple of half-chances but nothing significant'".

On Merseyside, Marine "confirm that winger Florian da Silva signed forms for the club last night. Florian, 24, made 9 appearances at the end of last season and will be eligible for selection following confirmation of registration... The club also confirm that striker Scott Bakkor has been released and has joined Warrington Town."

From Derbyshire, we learn from the Matlock Mercury that although they beat Alty 3-0, "Matlock Town’s joint boss Craig Hopkins says it is time for the Gladiators squad to stand up and be counted following a below par opening to their Evo-Stik League campaign. With 16 games played, Matlock lie in a lowly 18th spot following their eighth league defeat of the season at Stalybridge Celtic last weekend and midweek matches which saw Stalybridge beaten on Merseyside by Marine, who host the Gladiators this weekend.

The Mariners’ 3-1 win meant that Stalybridge have lost every one of their seven away fixtures but have collected 16 points from nine home outings. This is further evidence of an unpredictable league when, on the day, Stalybridge looked to be the best side Matlock had faced this season despite the Tameside outfit being below them in the league standings.

'They were a really good side although it seems unbelievable they struggle so badly away from home,' said Hopkins. 'They were better than us although 4-1 flattered them. But they scored some great goals, the first one for example being a great overhead kick from Liam Dickenson who probably won’t hit another one like that for a very long time. They got in quality balls from wide areas, their wide players showing us what we should have been doing. Their left back must have put in five or six quality balls. Stalybridge moved the ball well, we didn’t...

'We’re not playing anywhere near as well as we did last season, at home our form has been mixed,' he added. 'Away from home we’ve not been good enough and we need to turn things round. We’ve got to roll our sleeves up, work harder and show greater desire. Last season no team was fitter than us but that’s not the case at present. Our training on Tuesday centred largely around fitness and we’ll have another good session on Thursday.

'Four or five of our lads are not to the level of last season. Players have to look after themselves, do more for themselves away from the club, they have to be more responsible for their actions. We won’t rest if the team isn’t right. We’re working really hard to get the balance right. We’ll make no apologies for bringing more lads in. The players we have here must force us to change our minds,' he said.

Marine, like Matlock, have also had an inconsistent start being one place and two points behind Town and having played a game more. The teams met at the DCJ Group Arena a month ago, Marine scoring the first and last goals in a 2-2 draw in a game Matlock dominated for long spells. 'We’re expecting the usual tough game up at Marine, we’ll be going there to win but we’ll have to go there and earn it,' Hopkins warned.

Full back Kieran Wallace, 22, made his Gladiators debut at Stalybridge following his release by Sheffield United in August for whom he made 15 first team appearances having previously represented England at under-16 and under-17 level. 'Kieran’s a fantastic signing for us who played really well on his debut, we’re really pleased to have him with us. He was a bonus on what wasn’t a great day for us,' said Hopkins.

Illness ruled out winger Luis Rose and he will be missing for probably another couple of weeks but a check with the FA suspension lists has revealed that midfielder Joe Doyle-Charles will be available after all at Marine, his caution last Saturday being his fourth of the campaign. On the disciplinary front, Matlock have been declared the Premier Division’s best behaved team in September, having collected a meagre four cautions in eight matches. Overall they lie in third spot behind Witton Albion in second and Lancaster City".

At Barwell the manager confirmed, "in his post-match interview following Saturday's 1-0 victory over Shaw Lane", manager Jimmy Ginnelly spoke of player Ethan Delaney. "Having not featured since the away trip to Marine earlier this season, Jimmy Ginnelly confirmed that the striker is no longer with the club. 'Ethan went to see a chiropractor and said his back and his groin are in a bad place,' Jimmy said. 'He asked me if he could go and play football locally. He knew he couldn’t play at this level so I patted him on the back and he’s left us.'"

Nantwich Town "confirm the loan signing of goalkeeper Will Jaaskelainen from Crewe Alexandra.

The highly-rated stopper joins from the Alex for a month’s loan and will go straight into the squad for Saturday’s FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie against Kettering Town.

With current keepers, Fabian Spiess and Kristian Burzynski, set to miss the cup tie through injuries, Dave Cooke has been quick in capturing the Crewe keeper ahead of Saturday.

The youngster moved to Crewe in the summer from Bolton Wanderers having been released from the Championship club, and is also the son of former Finland international keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen."

WHITBY TOWN 1-1 ALTRINCHAM

But, after the break, Whitby equalized when Hannigan's recklessly high challenge on Snaith conceded a spot-kick. Hannigan was fortunate to see yellow rather than red before Snaith recovered from treatment to convert the penalty (58 mins).

Match report here

FIXTURE CHANGE

MIDWEEK FIXTURES

Monday 9 October 2017

• Shaw Lane 2-0 Buxton

Tuesday 10 October 2017

• Ashton United 2-0 Warrington Town
• Coalville Town 1-3 Grantham Town
• Halesowen Town 2-1 Hednesford Town
• Marine 3-1 Stalybridge Celtic
• Rushall Olympic 1-1 Barwell
• Stafford Rangers 1-1 Mickleover Sports
• Whitby Town 1-1 Altrincham
• Witton Albion 1-0 Workington

WHITBY TOWN v ALTRINCHAM: LIVE COVERAGE

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

The commentators are Paul Salt and Ian Wilkinson and the match summariser is Mark Simpson. Coverage starts at 7.25pm.

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.

FA YOUTH CUP DRAW

There is a report on Sunday's Alty Youth team draw with Ashton Athletic, here.

SEAN MILLER INTERVIEW

TUESDAY'S OPPONENTS: WHITBY TOWN

Right: Ben Harrison celebrates his goal in Alty's most recent game, the 4-0 win over Rushall Olympic. Image courtesy of Mike Ripley.

Altrincham make their 270-mile round-trip to the East Coast on Tuesday evening to play Whitby Town, whom they last met in 2003-04 season...

That game, at Whitby, took place on Saturday, 17 April, 2004 when Alty won 3-2 in a UniBond League Premier Division match.

The match report stated...

"In a lively opening period, with Kieran Lugsden particularly impressive in his first start for Alty, the visitors took the lead from Aspinall’s penalty after Lugsden had been brought down by Whitby keeper Campbell (6 mins). Band added a second with a rising drive (13 mins). But Lugsden was then knocked into a concrete-backed advertising board and suffered a head injury and concussion. After he had been taken to hospital it emerged that, though his head and neck are not seriously damaged, he had fractured his forearm and so he joins the enormous casualty list at Moss Lane.

Whitby then came back into the game and pulled one back at the end of the first half when Nicholson headed home from Maddox’s misplaced header, though it needed the referee to over-rule the linesman’s flag for offside before the goal was awarded. Whitby levelled at 2-2 through Veart’s penalty following a foul on Johnson. Maddox made amends for his earlier lapse when he nodded on Aspinall’s free-kick from the left for Hallows to convert at the far post (59 mins). AIty held on reasonably comfortably till the last minute of normal time when Coburn and the framework of the goal contrived to keep out a backpost header, despite strong appeals from Whitby that the ball had crossed the line".

Alty's team was 1. Stuart COBURN, 2. Steve ASPINALL, 3. Barry SHUTTLEWORTH, 4. Mark MADDOX, 5. Gary TALBOT, 6. Ged KIELTY, 7. Gary SCOTT, 8. Ian CRANEY (capt.), 9. Peter BAND, 10. Kieran LUGSDEN, 11. Stuart WRIGHT. Subs: 12. Marcus HALLOWS, 14. Matt BAILEY, 15. Steve LUNT.

COOKING ON GAS!

"Amazing weekend at ALTY. Firstly, a superb victory v Rushall, and a fantastic efforts for non-League day by staff , volunteers, Jacqui Forster and Jordan Tyms, bar and catering staff, with unrivalled coverage by our radio and social media teams.

This was followed by a huge wedding in the CSH on Saturday night. 170 guests dancing to Alty fan and DJ legend Pete Scotson.

Talksport then arrived at 5am, for a live broadcast. Sitting opposite Tony Cascarino etc were Paul Dickov, Justin Moorhouse... myself and Chris Parkes, and Jordan Hulme got in on the act too. People were walking in off the street when the show started. I was on 7-7.30am, Chris and Jordan 8.30-9am.

We all plugged the amazing non-League day and I covered a story on bacon butties... Two huge parties with over 150 guests then descended on the club. Nineteen junior coaches did their final sessions on the pitch under the watchful eye of Dave the course FA director and also Stockport County assistant manager. They were funded by our Junior section and were fed by myself and superbly organised by Stuart Buchan. We now have 19 more fully accredited coaches working for the club.

Just to close a fantastic evening, we wish Stacey good luck in her new job! She handed over the Duke of Edinburgh Awards with Gary Gardiner, Neil Faulkner and Judy Henson, to mark the end of a fully subscribed programme with a full year already booked out.

I felt proud of everyone involved in the club from our hard-working chairman, board, volunteers, management and players to our goal-hungry fans. I hope we keep FEEDING them more goals and keep pushing for promotion!"

FA CUP

NEXT VISITORS TO ALTRINCHAM: HALESOWEN TOWN

Crewe Alexandra report that "Alexandra forward Daniel Udoh was the derby hero for Halesowen Town FC in their 2-1 win over Stourbridge on Saturday in front of over 2,300 watching spectators.

The on-loan forward scored both goals at the home of their neighbours to give John Hill’s a priceless victory to move them off the bottom of the Evo-Stik Premier Division.

Udoh’s first goal saw him race from his own half after winning a 50/50 challenge on the half-way line before calmly slotting home. He put Halesowen 2-0 up with a close range finish after good work from his strike partner McAtee. Stourbridge pulled one back but couldn’t find an equaliser.

Crewe midfielder Ollie Finney also played in the derby victory. Udoh has now scored four goals during his loan spell that ends at this month".

Off the field, Halesowen Town report that they "have been notified of claims of abusive comments made against an opposition player during [the] 2-0 defeat against Sutton Coldfield Town. The comments were allegedly made following Daniel Bragoli's red card and were aimed at the injured player, James Beresford. The club would like to apologise to James and everyone at Sutton Coldfield Town and will be investigating this matter further, taking relevant action where necessary."

Also, "The club's position on pyrotechnics following the events at Stourbridge. There were incidents during the game at the War Memorial Athletic Ground on Saturday where two flares were thrown onto the pitch after a goal from each team, one blue and one red, one striking a Halesowen Fan. The club will be working with Stourbridge Football Club, K2 Security and West Midlands Police. The club are investigating the incidents and if Halesowen Town Football Club supporters are identified as being responsible then appropriate steps will be taken".

HAPPY COINCIDENCE

Above, Mike Ripley's image shows Simon Richman and Jake Moult receiving commemorative shirts from Alty chairman Grahame Rowley and former goalkeeper, Stuart Coburn.

By a happy coincidence, both Altrincham captain Jake Moult and his fellow midfielder, Simon Richman, reached their 250th appearances for the Club in yesterday's match against Rushall Olympic. Both were presented with souvenir shirts before the game by Altrincham hero Stuart Coburn. Stuart also received a framed momento of his 678(+2) appearances for the Robins.

Jake Moult (28), pictured left, was originally signed by Altrincham on a 93-day loan from Alfreton Town in late August 2012. Previously, Jake had been a summer trialist at Altrincham in 2007. Born in Stoke on Trent, he had joined Alfreton on 1 July 2010, before which he had been with Stafford Rangers. His earlier career was with Port Vale and Plymouth Argyle.

In early November 2012, Jake formally moved to Altrincham on a free transfer and he was rewarded for his consistently good performances in central midfield with the 2014-15 Players' Player of the Season accolade. Jake captained the side for much of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons and was named captain for 2017-18 by manager Phil Parkinson.

Following the resignation of manager Neil Young on 28 August 2016, Jake, along with Shaun Densmore and Alan Goodall, was briefly appointed to a caretaker-management role before Jim Harvey took over. To date, Jake has made 224 starts and 26 appearances from the bench. Along with Shaun Densmore he is currently the joint leading career goalscorer at Alty with 25 goals.

Simon Richman (27), pictured right, was Lee Sinnott's first signing for Altrincham in summer 2011, from Worcester City. However, his early Alty career was marred by injuries and illness. Having mostly played in right midfield, Simon completed the campaign in central midfield, a position that became his normal role. Summer 2013 saw him as an integral part of the Great Britain Universities' team which won the silver medal in the World Games in Kazan, Russia.

Simon Richman started out at the Bolton Wanderers' academy, followed by the Port Vale youth system. He broke through into the Valiants' first team in League One in 2007-08 and made 48 League appearances for them in all, mostly in 2008-09 in League Two, when he was voted the club's Young Player of the Season. Simon then suffered a groin injury which kept him out of action for several months and, though he made five first-team League Two appearances for Vale in 2009-10, he was released at the end of that campaign. In summer 2010, he had trials with Southport and Worcester City, before joining City and making eight league appearances in the Blue Square Bet North.

Simon's 250 appearances for the Club comprise 209 starts and 41 from the bench. He has netted 18 goals.

Altrincham FC thanks both men for their service and great loyalty to the Club and wishes them many more appearances in an Altrincham shirt.

ALTRINCHAM 4 RUSHALL OLYMPIC 0

Above, Mike Ripley's image shows Altrincham before their match against Rushall Olympic, wearing their special Fans for Diversity kit, provided by Ian Senior of SKkits.

Match report here.

Brian Flynn has forwarded another report on Saturday's game against Rushall Olympic, written by Finley White, a Sports Journalism student at UCFB Etihad Campus. It can be read here.

The excellent Alty highlights of the Altrincham v Rushall Olympic game are here.

HEAVY DEFEAT FOR LADIES

NINE ON THE MARK

• 9: Josh Hancock (plus 1 cup goal)
• 8: Jordan Hulme (plus 1 cup goal)
• 4: John Johnston (plus 3 cup goals)
• 3: Tom Peers
• 2: James Poole, Tom Hannigan, Max Harrop
• 1: Ben Harrison, James Jones

And, in terms of appearances, Joel Bembo has made eight starts and is yet to be on the losing side in an Altrincham shirt in any game where the team has finished with eleven men on the pitch. His only experience of defeat was at Workington where Alty played with ten men for a significant portion of the match.

WHITBY EXCURSION

"We are pleased to announce details of our trip to Whitby Town on Tuesday 10th October. We plan to leave earlier than usual to get up there for around 17:30 to sample some brisk sea air, fish and chips and a pint if that takes your fancy with a initial drop off at the railway station which is located in the centre of Whitby. Then, back on the coach around 6.45pm to get to the game for 6.55pm

With some negotiation, we have managed to price the trip the same as Workington and full details are on the Away Travel page.

DRAW FOR YOUTH TEAM

Right: Calvin Boyd (no.10) and Harry Sheridan in action against Ashton Athletic.

Altrincham FC Youth played their third game in a week on Sunday when they entertained Ashton Athletic at Flixton FC. Following their excellent 3-1 win at Bootle in the FA Youth Cup, they drew 1-1.

Having taken the lead in the 43rd minute when Calvin Boyd netted a low cross from the right, Ashton equalized almost immediately when their number 11 was left unmarked to convert a freekick taken from barely inside the Altrincham half.

The second half saw Altrincham largely on top but the game ended in bizarre fashion when, first, Alty's Dylan Scanlan was shown a straight red card for reasons that were far from clear, three minutes from the end of normal time. And, then, the visitors' no.8 also saw red during added time, once more for reasons that baffled the spectators. In addition five yellow cards were produced by the referee.

So, despite their fine win in midweek in the FA Youth Cup, Alty Youth are left seeking their first league win of the campaign, after five matches. Next Sunday, they entertain Stockport County.

Report to follow.

RUSHALL BOSS LOSES JOB

Allen will be assisted by Trevor Burroughs for Tuesday’s visit of Barwell after former Stoke City, Burnley and Southampton defender Thomas was relieved of his duties on Saturday night in the wake [of] his side’s 4-0 reverse at Altrincham, their ninth of the season.

The heavy defeat left the Pics rooted to the bottom of the Premier Division table, triggering the club’s decision to part company with the 38-year-old and his number two Will Ryder less than six months after their appointments in May when Allen stood down from his last spell as manager to concentrate on his duties as chairman.

The Pics paid tribute to the pair in a statement explaining their early decision to opt for a change with less than a third of the 2017-18 campaign completed.

The statement read, 'We are saddened that things have not worked out. Sitting at the foot of the Premier table approaching a third of the way through the season and the manner of recent results has brought this difficult decision into focus and it is one that we feel has been made in the best interests of the club'...

UEFA A Licence coach Thomas kicked-off his career at Torquay United... As a coach, the 38-year-old worked for the academy at the New York Red Bulls and was combining his role with the Pics with coaching the under-19s at another of his former clubs, Kidderminster Harriers.

Allen returned to the managerial hot-seat in May 2016 to take over from Richard Sneekes after originally joining the club as manager two decades ago in September 1997".

TALKSPORT AT ALTY

Above images courtesy of Peter Foster.

The Manchester Glass Sponsors' Lounge was the venue for Talksport's transmission at the weekend when the radio station's Georgie Bingham and Tony Cascarino interviewed various Altrincham figures. Pictured above, left, is coach Chris Parkes and, right, official caterer Richie Bentley in the media spotlight. Richie denies rumours that he has subsequently been offered a weekly cookery slot on the radio station.

TalkSport's 'Weekend Sports Breakfast', live from Altrincham F.C., is here.

OLD BOYS

Alty TV has Saturday's half-time interview on Radio Robins with Alty legends, Rod Thornley and Gary Scott here.

Above is Mike Ripley's image of Chris Adams, Gary Scott and Rod Thornley presenting a framed memento to Stuart Coburn to mark his record number of Altrincham FC appearances.

ALTRINCHAM 4-0 RUSHALL OLYMPIC

Above: Jordan Hulme celebrates Alty's fourth goal.

Centre-back Ben Harrison opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a well-placed shot following a corner and an equally well-directed second goal followed in the 38th minute from Hancock. This arrived after Densmore and Richman had got the ball up the middle to Alty's leading scorer.

The next goal came from a smart counter-attack; Poole advanced and fed Peers. He ran up the middle towards goal before laying the ball off to Johnston, to his right, and the winger made it 3-0. The scoring was completed in the last of the ninety minutes when a Poole 20-yarder was shovelled out by keeper Eve and Hulme nipped in, rounded the keeper and tapped home Altrincham's fourth goal.

Match report here.

OLYMPIC REPORT

The home side started brightly with several long range efforts easily dealt with by Pics new boy Dale Eve. Rushall responded with a couple of half chances of their own, with Danny Waldron and Kailan Gould worrying the Altrincham keeper.

The Robins took the lead after a little spell of pressure on 17 minutes when the ball dropped at Ben Harrison’s feet 15 yards out from a corner. The centre back slotted it into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.

After a period of misplaced crosses and long range shots, Josh Hancock doubled the lead for Altrincham on 38 minutes with a deft touch and cool finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

Any chance of a second-half comeback were dashed for the Pics when Kristian Scott was dismissed on 51 minutes for a professional foul after pulling Josh Hancock down when the forward was through on goal.

It was all Altrincham pressure after that, and they made their dominance count on 73 minutes when John Johnstone was unselfishly played in by Tom Peers following a quick counter attack to tap in and make it 3-0.

The Robins completed the scoring on 89 minutes with Jordan Hulme finally grabbing a deserved goal, tapping in after Eve spilled a long range James Poole effort".

RESERVES DEFEATED

FA TROPHY

SATURDAY GATES

• Att. 984 Altrincham 4 - 0 Rushall Olympic

• Att. 211 Barwell 1 - 0 Shaw Lane
• Att. 346 Buxton 2 - 1 Marine
• Att. 260 Farsley Celtic 2 - 0 Nantwich Town (James Walshaw scored both goals)
• Att. 320 Grantham Town 1 - 2 Stafford Rangers
• Att. 457 Hednesford Town 1 - 0 Witton Albion
• Att. 345 Mickleover Sports 2 - 5 Ashton United
• Att. 529 Stalybridge Celtic 4 - 1 Matlock Town
• Att. 2306 Stourbridge 1 - 2 Halesowen Town
• Att. 238 Sutton Coldfield Town 0 - 2 Lancaster City
• Att. 241 Warrington Town 2 - 1 Whitby Town
• Att. 410 Workington 1 - 0 Coalville Town

OLD BOY

NEXT GAME: WHITBY TOWN

• Supporters 16 and over: £10
• Old Aged Pensioners: £6
• Under 16: FREE but MUST be accompanied by a responsible adult

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Thanks to the new sponsorship of the Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP), the clubs are now in the running for a share of more than £5,000 in prize money the Northern Premier League hands out annually to the season’s overall fair winners to promote sportsmanship and fair play and back the Football Association's ongoing Respect campaign.

As in previous campaigns, the winners in each division will collect £1,000 with the runners-up banking £500 and the third placed clubs £250 each. The most sporting club with the lowest disciplinary score across the EVO-STIK League's three divisions will also be presented with the Peter Swales President's Cup by FWP at next June's annual awards night in Blackpool."

The Express and Star reports that "Assistant boss Matt Clarke declared that Halesowen Town's season 'starts today' after they lifted off the bottom of the table with a 2-1 win over fierce rivals Stourbridge. Clarke labelled his team's performance 'outstanding' and hopes it can be a catalyst for them to turn their campaign around.

Halesowen have struggled this season and were bottom of the Evo-Stik Premier Division going into the Number Nine Derby today at the War Memorial Ground in Amblecote. But striker Daniel Udoh scored two first half goals which earned Yeltz victory, while Ryan Rowe scored a second half goal for Stourbridge.

Clarke said, 'I thought it was outstanding. From the start, the way we started. We saw the game out in the end. I thought the boys were magnificent.' Clarke said his team was clinical in the counter-attack which created both of their goals. 'What we said was Stourbridge have had a great start to the season,' said Clarke. 'The probability is that they will have more possession during the game. Our game plan was to soak up the pressure and hit them on the counter because with Dan Udoh and John McAtee, we are very dangerous on the break.'

He added, 'We hope to build on that performance for the rest of the season. What we have said is our season starts now. There is no good beating your local rivals in front of a big crowd and end up losing your next three. Our season starts today'".

According to the Warrington Guardian "Town went top of the Evo-Stik Premier League with a win over Whitby Town. Second-half goals from James McCarten and Josh Hine secured the three points on a wet afternoon at Cantilever Park,... as the Yellows recorded a third straight win, and their ninth in 14 league matches so far...

Whitby’s forwards weren’t getting much change out of Jack Higgins and James McCarten and as half time closed in, the Yellows started to assert authority...

The breakthrough came on 59 minutes when free kick from the right by Williams was spilled by Bland under pressure and the ball fell for McCarten to tap in to the empty net... Though Whitby weren’t creating a great deal in terms of clear-cut opportunities, you felt that the Yellows needed a second goal to put it to bed, and so it proved. A mistake in midfield by David Carson saw the ball fall to Josh Hine, and he didn’t need a second invitation to nip in and beat the keeper one-on-one...

Whitby kept battling and they set up a nervy spell of injury time when Matthew Tymon bundled the ball home from a right-wing corner."

SATURDAY RESULTS

• Altrincham 4-0 Rushall Olympic
• Barwell 1-0 Shaw Lane
• Buxton 2-1 Marine
• Farsley Celtic 2-0 Nantwich Town
• Grantham Town 1-2 Stafford Rangers
• Hednesford Town 1-0 Witton Albion
• Mickleover Sports 2-5 Ashton United
• Stalybridge Celtic 4-1 Matlock Town
• Stourbridge 1-2 Halesowen Town
• Sutton Coldfield Town 0-2 Lancaster City
• Warrington Town 2-1 Whitby Town
• Workington 1-0 Coalville Town

The FA Trophy 17-18 - Preliminary Round

• Clitheroe 3-0 Colne

The winners play Altrincham at the JDS on 28 October.

ALTRINCHAM v RUSHALL OLYMPIC: LIVE MATCH COVERAGE

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

The commentators are Simon Ellis and Tim Ainsworth 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.

ROBINS LEAD THE WAY ON NON-LEAGUE DAY

Press release:

"Robins Lead The Way for Inclusion & Diversity on Non-League Day

Altrincham FC will wear a special one-off 'Fans for Diversity' kit on Saturday for their Evo-Stik Premier Division fixture against Rushall Olympic at The J.Davidson Stadium (kick-Off 3pm).

The Robins have been selected as one of only four clubs, nationally, to be promoted and funded by 'Fans for Diversity', an organisation supported by 'Kick it Out' and 'The Football Supporters' Federation', to have special status as a non-league football club on Non-League Day (Saturday October 7th) to showcase the inclusion and diversity of their favourite football club.

Alty are taking advantage of the day to showcase all the work they have been doing to improve the match day experience at The J.Davidson Stadium and to specifically cater for audiences outside of the club's 'core demographic'.

Meetings have taken place over many weeks with the 'Football Supporters' Federation', 'Kick It Out' and 'Level Playing Field' (the charity for disabled football supporters) to use this event to launch the club on its journey to become the most inclusive and diverse in non-League football club in England. This work has been very much boosted by the appointment of a small 'Inclusion & Diversity' team (Jacqui Forster and Jordan Tyms) and the two 'Supporters' Liaison Officers' (Alison Corser and Mike Reeves), setting the foundations for this exciting ambition, which it hopes can be achieved very quickly.

The focus is on delivering a great off-field experience for supporters for the Evo-Stik Premier Division game against Rushall Olympic on Saturday (kick-Off 3pm) and the off-field activities include;

• Attendance at the game by a number of legendary former players, including Stuart Coburn, Val Owen, Gary Scott, Rod Thornley and Colin Potts
• A complimentary drink for supporters who attended the 5-1 victory over Nantwich Town on Tuesday night.
• Live music in the Community Sports Hall (mini Trafford Pride concert)
• Children's Face Painting
• Non-League Day merchandising from 'Fans for Diversity'.
• Special Non-League Day menu, provided by Richie Bentley Catering.
• Subbuteo demonstrations
• Primary School Art competition
• Players of both teams to be assigned a mascot from the Mini Kickers/Junior teams as they enter the pitch ahead of the match

Altrincham are supported in this initiative by:

• Women at the Game, for whom this match is a designated event
• Prostate Cancer UK, the Evostik League chosen charity who will be collecting funds for their work at the game
• National Football v Homophobia and Trafford Pride. This will include Football v Homophobia training for our stewards.
• Football Supporters' Federation and Kick it Out, who are both funding our production of a four-page document showcasing our commitment to inclusion and diversity, our current position and our future plans
• All players to wear Fans for Diversity/Non-League Day T Shirts during the warm up
• Mass media coverage

The Board of Altrincham Football Club will be formally signing up to a 'Promise', taking the form of a large printed graphic stating the club's commitment to become the leading non-League football club for Inclusion and Diversity.

As this is an International Football Weekend, admission prices for this game are just £5 for season ticket-holders of Premier League, Championship and Football League Clubs.

The 18 special shirts (16 outfield player and 2 goalkeeper shirts) have been provided by SKkits and are to be auctioned following the game, with all funds raised going to 'Prostate Cancer UK'. To bid for a shirt, please contact Ian Senior on 07960 137232.

AUDIO UPDATES

• His interview with Jordan Hulme after Tuesday night's win over Nantwich Town
• The Radio Robins broadcast of Tuesday night's 5-1 win over Nantwich Town is available on the Mixlr App by searching for 'Radio Robins' & selecting 'Showreel'.
• The recording of the Radio Robins broadcast of Thursday night's F.A. Youth Cup win over Bootle is available on the Mixlr App by searching for 'Radio Robins' & selecting 'Showreel'.

TUESDAY'S OPPONENTS

Hume netted the consolation in the Blues’ 3-1 defeat at Stalybridge Celtic, following on from his brace against Marine at the Turnbull Ground. The forward, who had only netted twice for the club previous to his Marine brace, is using his recent extended game time to full effect...

'It’s nice to get some minutes and show what I can actually do', Hume told the Whitby Gazette... 'It hasn’t helped that I’ve been on a stag do, so missed out on a game. Chris [Hardy] got me out there on Tuesday though to do a bit of what I can do still. The lads know that my main purpose is to show myself as a focal point for the side. It shows we’ve got that ability to go long and I’ll put myself about a bit to win headers and do everything I can to get the ball.

'I’m not one to score goals, I tend to go round finding goals for people. It’s nice to score though and it’s made me hungry to get more but, as long as the team is scoring goals, I don’t mind if I don’t.'

The big striker, however, is under no illusions about how tough the task still is to make a starting place in Hardy’s starting line-up, due to the manager’s preferred style of play. 'I’d like to think I’m pushing for a start at Warrington,' Hume added. 'I want to play and I’m ready to play... At the minute, direct isn’t a style that the manager likes to play. He likes more of a footballing style, but the whole route one thing is an option. I think last week, in the last game I played, at Buxton, we had that style and we showed willing that we could win a game like that, with total desire and determination'".

OLD BOY

Boss Steve Kittrick said, 'Emile has been working on a Friday night until late and we have tried to manage this to the best of our abilities. He has been juggling work, family and football and, to be honest, it has been affecting his performances. I understand that Emile has to look after his family and in the non-League game it is a balancing act, but with him working until that late at night before a game, it isn't working out. Emile is a great lad and we wish him all the best for the future."

NL Pitchero reports that "FC United of Manchester have followed up the signing of big striker Sefton Gonzales from Clitheroe with the arrival of 21-year-old defender or midfielder Tom Walker."

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Tranmere centre-half Gumbs, 20, returned to the club on loan and made his second debut in the 5-1 win over Lancaster on Tuesday night. He starred alongside James McCarten for large parts of last season and Carden was delighted to have him back. Carden said, 'It was a no brainer. He’s great. You can play him anywhere and you know what you’re going to get from him. He’s strong, he’s a good footballer, he’s good in the air, he’s mobile, he can tackle. For me, if we go higher in the leagues, he’ll be someone you’d be desperate to sign. I scratch my head and wonder why Tranmere don’t want him around, but I’m not bothered. We’ve got him here, hopefully for a long time, and you know he’s going to perform like he did because he knows no different.'

Barrigan, at the club on loan from Wigan, bagged his first goal for the club against Lancaster and is at Cantilever Park as part of a blossoming relationship with the Latics....

It is the capture of McDonald from City of Liverpool, currently playing two levels below, that has raised some eyebrows. The centre-forward made his debut in the 2-1 win at Rushall, and followed that up with a goal on his home debut on Tuesday night. Carden said, 'We’ve made a couple of changes. I felt like it was the right thing to do. We were looking a bit stale with Tony Gray being missing, Josh (Hine) coming back from injury and Connor being out.

'I felt we needed to add a little bit more energy and pace, and I think the lads we’ve brought in add that in abundance. The more they play together and the more the other players get used to them, I think they’re going to cause all sorts of problems. One thing about the young hungry lads is that they never stop, you might have to encourage them but what they have got is energy, hunger, pace and desire... and the sooner we can get Tony back and add it, we’ll be really strong up there'".

From NL Daily we learn thet "Coalville have announced the signing of Charlie Gatter on a one-month loan from Gainsborough Trinity. Gatter is a versatile defender and will offer much needed steel in the defensive line after suspensions to Kyle Bryant and Steve Towers. After previously being with Burton Albion and Boston United, Charlie joined Gainsborough this summer".

Marine "are pleased to announce the signing of midfielder Liam Tongue from Stalybridge Celtic. Hyde-based Liam, 20, began his career at Stockport Georgians, moving to Cheadle Town... Has also had a spell with Mossley before moving on to Bower Fold at the end of last seaso... where he earned a contract before joining the Mariners in October 2017."

Also in Tameside, Ashton United "are delighted to announce that we have signed winger Nic Evangelinos from West Didsbury & Chorlton".

BOOTLE FC YOUTH 2-3 ALTRINCHAM FC YOUTH

Above: Altrincham line up before kick off at Bootle.

Altrincham FC Youth deservedly progressed in the FA Youth Cup Second Qualifying Round on Thursday night with a win that was a little more comfortable than the final score suggested, as Bootle's second goal arrived with virtually the last kick of the match. On a windy night on Merseyside, Alty had an early blow when Bracegirdle had to be replaced following a poor challenge by Heard.

However, Altrincham took a 34th minute lead, thanks to a well-taken goal by Miller. Sheridan then headed home a Grogan corner to double the advantage, after 51 minutes, but the hosts pulled a goal back in the 69th minute when Heard scored.

Altrincham recovered their two-goal lead when substitute Hussain finished well after good work by Boyd (72 mins). Bootle's Quayle lobbed Alty keeper Terry in the third minute of added time to make it 2-3 but the hosts had no time to apply any further pressure before the final whistle.

Match report here.

ALEX DUMMIGAN

BID FOR THE SPECIAL SHIRTS!

Pictured, right, are the shirts in production.

TALKSPORT RADIO AT ALTRINCHAM

The programme runs from 7am to 11am and, on Sunday, will feature guests from the local sporting and entertainment scene, including Mark Cueto (ex-Sale and England RU), Steve Bell (Bell’s Gym, Altrincham), Paul Dickov (ex-Manchester City and Scotland), Justin Moorhouse (comedian/actor), Dom McGuinness (broadcaster/author) and Alty players and staff, including Jordan Hulme, Chris Parkes (right), and Richie Bentley. We believe that the specific Altrincham segment will be between 7am and 9am, although we should get coverage throughout the programme. As with last week's programme (see below) you can pick up the programme later if you do miss it.

Jordan Hulme’s interview in last week's Weekend Sports Breakfast show can be heard here. Select the 9.30-10am link at the top, and Jordan can be heard from approximately two minutes in".

SPORTING MEMORIES

NEIL SORVEL, AFTER THE GAME

"Two goals in the space of a minute just before half-time took even manager Phil Parkinson and his assistant Neil Sorvel by surprise as Altrincham closed in on the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League pacesetters with a 5-1 demolition of Nantwich Town at The J.Davidson Stadium on Tuesday night.

A quickfire one-two from Jordan Hulme (right) and John Johnston suddenly turned a slender 1-0 lead into a commanding three-goal advantage, and Sorvel admitted it meant tearing up the script for the half-time team talk.

'Phil and I were thinking the talk would be all about not getting frustrated and continuing along the same lines, then it all changed,' he said. 'The first goal only came a few minutes earlier, so suddenly the whole complexion of the game changed.

'It was pretty much game over, and it was great those two lads got their rewards. JJ showed what he is capable of, and Jordan is just growing and growing as an Altrincham player all the time. His work rate and hold-up play was fantastic, and that's another goal to his tally. He and Josh Hancock are closing in on double figures, which is a great effort.

'We would have liked a fifth clean sheet, so the only downside was conceding late on, but, even so, we are delighted to keep the momentum going. Tony Thompson is fuming in there at letting one in after so long, but that just shows what a great bunch of lads they are. We are looking strong at home, and it is important now we continue in the same vein.'

With Rushall Olympic visiting on Non-League Day this Saturday, Alty have been selected as one of only four clubs nationally to be promoted and funded by Fans for Diversity, an organisation supported by Kick It Out and The Football Supporters' Federation, to showcase the occasion. There is a wide range of events and attractions, while, as usual on Non-League Day, admission is £5 for Premier League and Football League club season-ticket holders".

And Jonny Crowther's post-match interview with Neil Sorvel is here.

SATURDAY IS NON-LEAGUE DAY

I am proud that we have been selected by Fans for Diversity, supported by Kick it Out and The Football Supporters' Federation to be one of their promoted fixtures for the day. And, additionally, Women at the Game have also selected the game for promotion. We are also supporting Prostate Cancer UK, the Evostik League’s chosen charity.

We will be offering the traditional five-pound entry for Premiership and EFL season ticket holders, further swelling the gate. As well as all of our guests on the day, we wanted to ensure that our own supporters had a day to remember. To this end, you can collect a gold token on entry tonight which will entitle you to a free drink in the bar on Saturday. In addition, we will have live music in the CSH from half past one, face painting and the judging of the Alty Primary School painting competition, across three thousand pupils across the Greater Altrincham area.

In addition, we will be joined by several Alty legends on the day... Come along, have fun and tell your friends and neighbours. Let's see how many supporters we can get down to Moss Lane on Saturday".

GOALS FROM TUESDAY NIGHT

NEXT OPPONENTS: RUSHALL OLYMPIC

And the EvoStik League reports that "Tuesday night's clash between Grantham Town and Rushall Olympic was in the balance before kick off after a false alarm at the Meres. Fans, players and officials were forced to evacuate the stadium and gather at fire evacuation points for approximately 30 minutes after the alarm was triggered by a faulty smoke detector at around 6.30pm.

The South Kesteven Sports Stadium was given the all clear by Grantham Fire Brigade who attended [the] incident soon after their arrival. Despite the unwelcome interruption to their pre-match preparations, the fixture was set to kick off only five minutes late at 7.50pm... A relieved Grantham Town secretary Pat Nixon said, 'We were fairly sure it was a false alarm but couldn't be sure and everyone was forced to evacuate. We knew we had to take action with the alarm blazing [sic] out too and Grantham Fire Brigade were great. They were here within a few minutes with blue lights going and we are very grateful.'"

As for the match itself, Grantham Town reported that "After evacuating The Meres pre-match... The Gingerbreads set The Meres alight with a SEVEN - 1 win over Rushall Olympic. The Gingerbreads started the night without Stefan Galinski; Rhys Lewis took up position in central defence.

The first goal of the night came on 15 minutes. Kieran Preston played a pin point long ball to Jordan Hempenstall who was able to control and curl the ball passed the Rushall goal keeper. 5 minutes later The Gingerbreads doubled their lead. Andrew Wright jungle [sic] the ball through the Rushall defence and was fouled in the box. He stepped up to take the penalty and fired it home.

Rushall pulled one back on 23 minutes when Kaitlyn Gould found himself out wide and put the ball beyond Kieran Preston... On 33 minutes, Lee Shaw turned a Rushall player on the right wing but was fouled. Ollie Luto stepped up to take the free kick and whipped it towards near the post. It found a Rushall player's head and it went in.

With 6 minutes left of the half, it was 4-1 to The Gingerbreads. Jordan Hempenstall turned on the edge [and] his shot hit Andrew Wright and it went in. The Gingerbreads were not done for the half. A corner found Danny Meadows at the back post, his header found Rhys Lewis, who played in Michael Hollingsworth who side-footed the ball home from 18 yards.

At half time it was 5-1 and the talk in the stands was, what was the stadium record win?...

Andrew Wright got his hat trick on 49 minutes. He mazed his way through the Rushall defence but, when it looked like the chance had gone, he managed to turn the ball into the net... The final goal of the night came on 71 minutes. The Gingerbreads won a free kick on the right hand side of the box and Ollie Luto again stepped up to take it. This time the ball [was] fired over to the far post and [it] didn't take a touch to give him his goal of the match".

TUESDAY GATES

• Att. 636 Altrincham 5 - 1 Nantwich Town
• Att. 136 Barwell 1 - 1 Halesowen Town (Barwell's goal came from Kyle Perry)
• Att. 238 Buxton 2 - 0 Witton Albion
• Att. 186 Grantham Town 7 - 1 Rushall Olympic
• Att. 333 Hednesford Town 2 - 0 Matlock Town
• Att. 186 Mickleover Sports 1 - 3 Shaw Lane (Two goals for Damian Reeves)
• Att. 228 Stalybridge Celtic 3 - 1 Whitby Town
• Att. 202 Warrington Town 5 - 1 Lancaster City (Sean Williams scored one of Warrington's goals)
• Att. 341 Workington 2 - 1 Marine (Marine's goal was scored by Danny Mitchley)

TUESDAY FA CUP RESULT

• Att. 869 AFC Telford United 4 - 1 Stafford Rangers

OLD BOYS

Meanwhile at Trafford FC, a brace for James Dean and a spot kick by Aaron Burns delivered a 3-1 win for our neighbours against Clitheroe.

And on BT Sport's live match, Dylan Mottley-Henry made his Tranmere Rovers debut as a substitute for Tranmere Rovers, on loan from Barnsley. He laid on the winner for Rovers, with the aid of a deflection.

OLD FOES

'We have had a spate of injuries and many of our games have been very close. However, that is not good enough. I am proud of keeping The Moors in the National League and wish the players and everyone associated with the club the best for the future'".

CHANGED FIXTURE

ALTRINCHAM 5-1 NANTWICH TOWN

Above: Michael Ripley's camera captured Tom Hannigan celebrating his goal against Nantwich with, (left) John Johnston, and (right) Joel Bembo-Leta.

Altrincham moved up to fourth in the league on a night when other clubs at the top end of the table also won heavily. Three goals inside ten minutes before the interval determined the outcome.

Nantwich keeper Burzynski had started the game unable to take goalkicks and when Bembo-Leta's low cross was put into the net at the back post by Hannigan, it was clear that the keeper's mobility was limited. But the Dabbers chose not to substitute him and two goals in the 45th minute and two minutes into added time left Altrincham well in command. First Richman fed Hulme, up the middle, and he netted with a low shot to make it 2-0. The Johnston, who caused Nantwich numerous problems, won the ball and got along the byline left of goal from where his shot seemed to go through the keeper and into the net.

Nantwich tried to get back into the game but went four down on the hour when Peers fired home from a Hulme feed. But with a fifth successive league clean-sheet almost secured, Alty conceded a needless corner and then allowed Mullarkey a free header to make it 4-1 in the 90th minute. However the Robins had the final say as the game went into its fourth added minute when Hulme turned well and was chopped down in the box but Hancock drove home the loose ball to make it 5-1.

Match report here

SUPPORTERS' COACH TO WHITBY

"We are pleased to announce details of our trip to Whitby Town on Tuesday 10th October. We plan to leave earlier than usual to get up there for around 17:30 to sample some brisk sea air, fish and chips and a pint if that takes your fancy with a initial drop off at the railway station which is located in the centre of Whitby. Then, back on the coach around 6:45 to get to the game for 6:55.

With some negotiation, we have managed to price the trip the same as Workington and full details are on the Away Travel page.

Please help us to book the correct size vehicle by contacting the club on Wednesday (in person or by phone on 0161 928-1045) to secure your seat as soon as possible".

MIDWEEK FIXTURES

Monday 2 October 2017

• Stourbridge 2-1 Coalville Town - decided by a last minute goal.

Tuesday 3 October 2017

• Altrincham 5-1 Nantwich Town
• Barwell 1-1 Halesowen Town
• Buxton 2-0 Witton Albion
• Farsley Celtic P - P Ashton United
• Grantham Town 7-1 Rushall Olympic
• Hednesford Town 2-0 Matlock Town
• Mickleover Sports 1-3 Shaw Lane
• Stalybridge Celtic 3-1 Whitby Town
• Sutton Coldfield Town P - P Stafford Rangers
• Warrington Town 5-1 Lancaster City
• Workington 2-1 Marine

FROM THE BOARDROOM

We welcome the board, players and supporters of Nantwich Town to the J Davidson Stadium for this evenings Evo-Stik Northern Premier League fixture. Nantwich were regular opponents for us at the beginning of the last century in the Cheshire County League and have not won at Moss Lane since 1912. Derek Wilshaw tells me he was a ball boy at that game. They come to us off the back of an impressive 3-1 win over Nuneaton Town in the FA Cup and we wish them the best of luck in the 4th Qualifying Round.

This is the return fixture to the game that saw us picking up our first point of the season back in August, which feels like an age away. We come into this game in fine form, with four consecutive clean sheets since the defeat at Shildon, and twenty-two points out of the last nine games. In these games the level of support has been amazing, making our recent fixtures at Hednesford and Stalybridge feel like home games. There are signs of the league table taking shape and we are nicely positioned as we move into the autumn. My memory, crystal clear when it comes to forty years ago, tells me that the great Robins teams were imperious between October and January, and it is in these months that our title credentials would be firmly cemented.

Saturday is Non-League Day and we host Rushall Olympic at the J Davidson Stadium. I am proud that we have been selected by Fans for Diversity, supported by Kick it Out and The Football Supporters' Federation, to be one of their promoted fixtures for the day. And additionally, Women at the Game have also selected the game for promotion. We are also supporting Prostate Cancer UK, the Evostik League’s chosen charity. We will be offering the traditional five pound entry for Premiership and EFL season ticket holders, further swelling the gate. As well as all of our guests on the day, we wanted to ensure that our own supporters had a day to remember. To this end, you should have collected a gold token on entry tonight which will entitle you to a free drink in the bar on Saturday.

In addition we will have live music in the CSH from half-past one, face painting and the judging of the Alty Primary School painting competition, across three thousand pupils across the Greater Altrincham area. In addition, we will be joined by several Alty legends on the day. There is more information about the day later in the programme. Come along, have fun and tell your friends and neighbours. Lets see how many supporters we can get down to Moss Lane on Saturday.

The WhatsApp broadcast channel is flourishing with now well over two hundred fans signed up to the service. We have released an instructional video on the Altrincham FC Facebook page for how to sign up to the service if you haven’t yet done so. We will soon be starting an initiative to overhaul the club website as part of our integrated Social Media strategy, in line with recommendations from the Strategic Review.

Enjoy the game, Bill Waterson".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

MONTHLY DRAW WINNERS

• 6th place - Number 19: Dianne Swindells- Club Polo Shirt
• 5th place -Number 72: Barry Pond - Replica Shirt
• 4th place - Number 419: D.Reddy- Hospitality for two in the Manchester Glass Sponsors' Lounge
• 3rd place - Number 208: A.Buxton - £25
• 2nd place - Number 287: Philip Tyms- £75 and ...
• 1st place - Number 202: I.Smith - £500

Details of the Monthly Draw and how to enter are here.

ALTRINCHAM v NANTWICH TOWN: LIVE COVERAGE

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

The commentators are Alex Sarwar and Jonny Crowther and the match summariser is John Edwards. Coverage starts at 7.25pm with the game kicking off at 7.45pm.

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 WITH NANTWICH TOWN

Altrincham have been without the injured John Disney, Sean Miller (right), Laurence Taylor and John Johnston in their starting line-up for, respectively, 10, 34, 7 and 2 league fixtures. However, Miller has come back into possible contention after he played for the Reserves last week and netted a hat-trick, only to have the goals chalked off as the match was abandoned!

Adding to the injury list, Josh Amis limped off on Saturday at Stalybridge, having only made four appearances from the bench this campaign after missing the start of the season because of an appendix operation. Injury has also limited Simon Richman to four appearances from the bench in the last seven league games whilst Lewis Short has only been able to start one of the five most recent EvoStik games.

On the plus side, Max Harrop completed his suspension last week and was on the bench last Saturday.

Nantwich Town report that "The Dabbers put in arguably their best shift of the season on Saturday as they progressed to the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup (where they will host Kettering Town) with a 3-1 victory over Nuneaton. Altrincham couldn’t get on the scoresheet on Saturday as they played to a 0-0 draw with Stalybridge Celtic.

Goals from David Forbes, Joel Stair and Sean Cooke secured Nantwich Town qualification to the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round on Saturday as they beat Nuneaton Town 3-1. A free-flowing attacking game with a structured defence and midfield was perhaps the key to victory, as they forgot the last three league games and pulled out a brilliant performance. Forbes opened the scoring on the half-hour mark to mark the only goal of the first period. Stair and Cooke scored in quick succession around the hour to give The Dabbers a 3-0 lead, and despite a fantastic curled free-kick that beat Burzynski with fifteen minutes to go, Dave Cooke’s young side showed fantastic character to comfortably progress in the Cup.

Altrincham will arrive tomorrow in hope to pick up another win to make it five unbeaten in the League. The two sides have met already this season, as Phil Parkinson’s side were the first to visit the Weaver Stadium back in August. A late penalty from tricky winger John Johnston levelled the game with a few minutes to go and denied Nantwich the victory. Nantwich will have to watch out for some ex-Dabbers who will be playing tomorrow, including lads like Johnston, Ben Harrison, Josh Hancock, Lewis Short and Tom Peers, who Phil Parkinson brought in during the close-season...

Josh Hancock (left) is a familiar face for Nantwich fans – which means it should come as no surprise why he is The Robins’ key man. He was one of the first to join Parky at Alty, and it isn’t difficult to see why. The twenty-seven year old came through The Dabbers’ youth acadamy, making three appearances before departing the club to Winsford in 2009. After spells with Leek, Witton, Congleton and AFC Telford, Josh returned to the Weaver Stadium in 2015, making seventy-four appearances and scoring twenty-two goals before departing for Altrincham this summer. In the league, Josh has scored seven goals in twelve games for Phil Parkinson’s new side...

New signings Joe Mwasile and Courtney Wildin are set to be involved in the squad tomorrow, following their arrival over the weekend. Mwasile was a part of the squad last season, and the strong winger will be looking to replicate some of the great form he had last season, while promising Courtney Wildin looks to help the young backline from the left-back position, joining from Nuneaton".

LADIES DRAW A BLANK

Pictured above is Megan Wright in action.

Keith Edleston, manager of Altrincham FC Ladies has kindly provided a brief report on his team's game, last Sunday...

"Well, the luck has still deserted the first team as we slipped to a 0-3 home defeat v West Didsbury & Chorlton. This league is showing itself to be very nip and tuck with not much between the teams and, just like last week, if you don't score with the chances you create, you will get punished!

We can't, and we won't, fault the players as they are working hard and playing well. We know the tide will turn and we WILL get it right but, without doubt, we will continue playing the right way, the way we have built this team up from the start and with the right ethic.

We now put that behind us, move on and look forward to the next game v Curzon Ashton (A) on Sunday 2pm kick-off."

FA CUP 4Q ROUND

• FC Halifax Town v Tranmere Rovers
• Solihull Moors v 1974 Northwich/Ossett Town
• South Shields v Hartlepool United
• Shaw Lane AFC v Barrow AFC
• Chorley v Boston United
• Stafford United[?!]/AFC Telford United v Stockport County/FC United of Manchester
• Harrogate Town/Bradford Park Avenue v Leamington/Gainsborough Trinity
• Nantwich Town v Kettering Town
• Buxton v Gateshead
• Guiseley AFC v Shildon
• AFC Fylde v Wrexham
• Kidderminster Harriers v Chester FC
• Scarborough Athletic/Stratford Town v Hyde United
• Stourbridge v Macclesfield Town

OLD BOYS

After impressing during that period, he went on to sign an extended 18-month deal with the club and has been a regular in The Tykes’ Under-23 side... Tranmere Rovers manager Micky Mellon said of the signing, 'He’s a winger with great pace who has a lot of potential and is someone Barnsley think very highly of'".

Recently released from Warrington Town, former Alty winger Joe Mwasile has returned to Nantwich Town, who face Altrincham tonight (Tuesday). The Dabbers have also signed ex-Nuneaton Town full-back Courtney Wildin, who had been released by the Warwickshire club. Last Saturday, Nantwich knocked Nuneaton out of the FA Cup.

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

YOUTH TEAM'S LATE LEVELLER

Altrincham had fallen behind in the 21st minute when a back-pass to the keeper fell short and Fylde's no.7 slipped the ball to his right where their centre-forward scored into the unguarded net.

Match report here.

The Youth team's next outing is on Thursday night when they travel to play Bootle in the FA Youth Cup.

Right: Alty move into the Fylde half during the first 45 minutes.

POST-MATCH INTERVIEW

MATCH POSTPONED

LADIES DEFEATED

CELTIC REPRISE

VACANCY: VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER EDITOR

For full details, visit the Vacancies page.

OLD BOYS

NEXT OPPONENTS: NANTWICH TOWN

Last Saturday, our opponents beat Vanarama North club Nuneaton Town in the FA Cup and Nantwich Town report on that game...

"The magic of the FA Cup was present for Nantwich as they fired three past National League North side Nuneaton Town to progress to the Fourth Qualifying Round. A fantastic second-half showing powered Dave Cooke’s men to victory on a chilly and rainy afternoon in Cheshire.

Nantwich took the lead on the stroke of the half-hour mark as a cross towards Troy Bourne was headed away by a Nuneaton defender, but David Forbes was on-hand to stab the ball home. On the hour mark, Joel Stair doubled The Dabbers’ lead as he headed in from close-range after Dean Lyness parried Toby Mullarkey’s header following a Sean Cooke corner.

Three minutes later, The Dabbers netted a third as a combination of Harry Clayton and Sean Cooke saw the latter fire into an empty net after a defensive error. Nuneaton pulled one back fifteen minutes from time as Greg Mills curled in a close-range free-kick...

However, Nantwich stepped up admirably and kept the game at 3-1, and while there was little to offer in terms of Nuneaton chances, Nantwich continued to knock on the door of the visitors, and looked for a fourth to secure the tie...

Nantwich: Burzynski, Bourne (Jones 85’), Morgan, Stair, Mullarkey, Hall (C), Hughes, Bell, Clayton, Cooke, Forbes (Davies 77’). Subs not used: Quinn (GK), McDonald, Brooke, Rowntree, Griggs".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

The online poll to choose the top 100 players and a ‘Team of all Time’ to feature in a specially commissioned book charting the Northern Premier League’s proud history since 1968 captured the public’s imagination on Friday within hours of opening and the official unveiling of a new logo promoting NPL50 celebrations over the historic 2017-18 campaign.

Entitled '50 Glorious Seasons - A History of the Northern Premier League 1968-2018', the book is currently being written by official historian and statistician Dominic McKenzie and will be out within weeks of the 2017-18 season ending.

To produce a definitive history with chapters on everything from the story behind the NPL’s foundation to its greatest cup kings and star graduates, he is inviting the public to share their memories and archives with him as well as shortlisting and voting for players over the next ten weeks."

Marine "are pleased to announce that winger James Murray has signed contract forms to the end of the season, with an option to the end of 2018-19. James, 23, joined the Mariners from West Cheshire League club Newton in the summer and had quickly become a key member of manager Tommy Lawson's squad, scoring 3 goals in 10 full appearances to date.

The club have also signed the following players:

• Seb Bradshaw, an 18 year-old midfielder who joins from Skelmersdale United.
• Chris Lomax, 24, a winger who joins from Widnes, where he notched 18 goals in 36 appearances last season. His previous clubs include Atherton LR, Runcorn Linnets, Barnton and St Helens Town. Elder brother of recent signing George.

Defenders Liam Hollett and Kisimba Kisimba have been released".

LOCAL NEWS

STALYBRIDGE CELTIC 0-0 ALTRINCHAM

Above: Ben Harrison is in the thick of the action at Stalybridge, as seen by Gavin Rathbone of GR Photography.

Altrincham wasted a chance to move closer to league leaders Shaw Lane with this disappointing goalless draw at a very wet Bower Fold against a Stalybridge side which had Julien sent off in the 76th minute for a second yellow-card offence

Alty, who remain fifth, have not dropped a single point in six matches against teams in the top half of the table yet have now managed just one win in six attempts against teams in the lower half of the league. But, more encouragingly, for the first time since October 2003, Altrincham today recorded their fourth successive league clean-sheet.

Match report here.

WEATHER ROBS RESERVES

The next match for the Reserves is next Sunday (7th) at Poynton FC.

STALYBRIDGE CELTIC'S VIEW

Celtic survived an early scare when James Poole beat the offside trap, and the Robins striker should have done better... . Altrincham were struggling to find accuracy, with no time in front of goal, Poole and Jake Moult both failing to hit the target from half-chances, whilst Shaun Densmore fired a free kick beyond everybody, with Jack Walton alert, the loanee keeper got well behind the ball.

The second half was more of the same, though Celtic looked to have upped the tempo a little. Liam Dickinson got his head on a corner, flicking it towards the bottom corner, it was an awkward one for Anthony Thompson to deal with, but he got down and pushed the ball out for another corner. John Cofie used his pace to get into a good position and tested Thompson. Jordan Hulme came the closest in the half for the Robins, but didn’t test Walton at all.

Then came the traditional moment of controversy for a Celtic v Altrincham game. Tom Hannigan looked to have come in second for a waist high ball to Sebastian Julien, taking the Celtic man out. Julien had already been booked for an innocuous looking challenge just outside the Celtic box and, to the amazement of the blue contingent, the referee not only gave the foul Altrincham’s way, but gave Julien a second yellow. After asking for the justification, Dickinson got a yellow instead.

Celtic’s defence went into overdrive after the dismissal and, though the visitors tried to keep up their high scoring form, they couldn’t break Celtic down. Right at the end, there was a chance for Celtic to snatch one, but the Altrincham defence got back behind the ball and snuff out the chance.

A goalless draw that was probably a fair result."

SATURDAY GATES

• Att. 154 Ashton United 1 - 2 Hednesford Town (For Ashton, ex-Alty loanee Liam Tomsett scored, as did James Lawrie for the Pitmen)
• Att. 158 Coalville Town 2 - 3 Farsley Celtic (Another James Walshaw penalty was one of Farsley's goals)
• Att. 259 Halesowen Town 1 - 5 Workington
• Att. 389 Marine 1 - 1 Grantham Town
• Att. 334 Matlock Town 5 - 0 Sutton Coldfield Town
• Att. 187 Rushall Olympic 1 - 2 Warrington Town (Another Sean Williams spot kick was one of Town's goals)
• Att. 528 Stalybridge Celtic 0 - 0 Altrincham
• Att. 219 Whitby Town 1 - 0 Barwell
• Att. 247 Witton Albion 0 - 2 Mickleover Sports

The Emirates FA Cup 17-18 - Third Round Qualifying

• Att. 309 Buxton 2 - 1 Alvechurch
• Att. 479 Nantwich Town 3 - 1 Nuneaton Town
• Att. 304 Shaw Lane 2 - 1 Lancaster City (Damian Reeves netted a brace)
• Att. 1137 Stafford Rangers 1 - 1 AFC Telford United
• Att. 646 Stourbridge 3 - 1 Alfreton Town