LAURENCE GOES ON LOAN

Brian Flynn, Press & Media Officer, writes...

"Altrincham midfielder, Laurence Taylor (right), is going on a month's loan to fellow Evo-Stik Premier outfit, Hednesford Town.

The 21 year old, who played in Tuesday night's Integro League Cup defeat ,on penalties, to Mossley, will train with the Pitmen on Thursday night and sign on loan until New Year's Day.

Taylor has made eight starts and four substitute appearances for the Robins, to date, this season and he will join up with his former Alty colleague, James Lawrie, at Keys Park".

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING AT ALTY

Before the Shaw Lane fixture at the J Davidson Stadium on Saturday, 9 December, a wide range of Altrincham FC merchandise, including replica kits and leisure wear supplied by Ian Senior's SKkits, will be on sale in the foyer of the Club offices at the junction of Moss Lane and Golf Road.

So, please come along and make you Christmas purchases before watching the game! The "pop-up" store will be open from 11am until c. 1pm.

PERFORMANCE ANALYST REQUIRED

The following deatils are also to be found on the Vacancies page.

The Stats Zone are looking to recruit 2-3 individuals to analyse and scout players and teams across the north of England on behalf of Altrincham Football Club.

You will attend matches as designated by TSZ and produce reports on players and teams in a timely and accurate manner. TSZ will provide a clear guidelines on the criteria for analysis and you will be expected to meet the high standards we expect.

Key Responsibilities

The key responsibilities of this position are:

• Attend matches and produce regular scouting and/or opposition analysis reports adhering to the criteria outlined by TSZ
• The administration and delivery of a comprehensive Scouting Analysis service.
• Work closely with TSZ scouting analysts to develop and monitor specific technical benchmarks for comparative analysis
• Apply numerical values to abilities and skills using TSZ’s technical definitions

Experience

The successful candidate should possess:

• A B.Sc. (Hons) degree in sports science, performance analysis or a similarly related degree with a minimum 2:1 classification
• Relevant vocational qualifications and experience that provide an understanding of the technical and tactical demands of Professional football
• Formal training in research methods
• Experience of working in a professional football club
• Excellent organisational skills and an ability to work with total discretion
• Experience in using performance analysis systems and software
• Be computer literate, familiar with Microsoft Office or similar packages
• Ability to work on own initiative, unsupervised and as an effective team member
• The ability to make sound decisions in a timely manner and practical approach to problem solving
• A willingness to work flexible hours in accordance with the demands of the role
• Full driving license
• A commitment to driving forwards continuous improvement in their working environment
• Sound personal qualities such as communication skills, the ability to work in a team environment, self-motivation, enthusiasm and ability to work under pressure

About You

We are looking for students of sport... individuals who are not just armchair fans, but interested in delving further into what is happening, and why it happens. We are looking for individuals who are constantly striving to take analysis to the next level. We are not looking for members of the old boys’ network who have done the same thing for the last 10-20 years. You should be comfortable with data as much as analysis.

The Detail

This is a part-time role on a contractor basis. You are responsible for declaring what you earn to the relevant authorities.

Payment is made on a per game basis. You will be assigned matches within a reasonable distance from where you live. Fees are paid promptly on a monthly basis.

You should be able and willing to travel to matches, and please outline in your application the teams closest to you and the distances from where you are based. Matches will be assigned on a weekly basis.

For more details on how to apply, visit The Stats Zone.

TUESDAY GATES

• 79 Gresley FC 2 - 4 Basford United
• 192 Hednesford Town 1 - 0 Newcastle Town
• 132 Matlock Town 3 - 2 Grantham Town
• 71 Mickleover Sports 3 - 0 Bedworth United
• 109 Mossley 3 - 3 Altrincham, Mossley win 5-4 on penalties
• 189 Nantwich Town 2 - 3 Witton Albion (Micah Evans netted one for Albion)
• 156 Ramsbottom United 0 - 0 Hyde United, Ramsbottom United win 4-3 on penalties
• 26 Romulus 0 - 1 Kidsgrove Athletic
• 441 Scarborough Athletic 2 - 1 Ossett Town (Emile Sinclair scored for Ossett Town)
• 605 South Shields 2 - 1 Stocksbridge Park Steels
• 163 Stafford Rangers 1 - 1 Alvechurch, Stafford Rangers win 4-2 on penalties

The FA Trophy 17-18 - Third Round Qualifying - Replay

• 223 Warrington Town 3 - 0 Tamworth
• 351 Workington 5 - 1 Glossop North End

THE RUN CONTINUES

PUTTING HISTORY BEHIND US

REDS' REPORT

In fact it was Johnston who set up the opening goal in the eighth minute after Jordan Hulme had sent him down the right, his delivery turned into his own net by Marcus Marshall.

And eight minutes further on the Robins had doubled their lead through a soft penalty decision after Max Harrop's cross had struck Marshall on the arm, with Johnston converting from the spot...

Chances were generally few and far between for Alfreton... It was Johnston who stole the show though and should have scored at least three himself, but Chris Elliott in the Reds goal presented one obstacle that the winger could not readily overcome".

LILYWHITES' REPORT

Harry Pratt flicked a great through ball into the path of Liam Ellis who calmly slotted past the stranded Tim Deasy. The lead was however short lived as Altrincham took control with two quick fire goals by Robins' skipper Josh Hancock. On 12 minutes he shook off Elliot Harrison's challenge and hammered a superb 25 yard drive into the top corner of the Mossley net giving Oliver Martin no chance.

Four minutes later Hancock struck again, this time he got on the end of Sam Sheridan's long ball to clip the ball over the advancing Martin. The visitors then enjoyed a spell of possession where they threatened to wrap the game up with wingers Walsh and Palma causing plenty of problems but the Lilywhites held firm and in the 35th minute found an equaliser...

There were ten minutes left on the clock when Altrincham's Mason Walsh made his second rash challenge of the night and was shown a red card but, within four minutes, the visitors seemingly wrapped up the tie when Hancock completed his hat-trick turning home at the far post following a right wing move...

The drama wasn't finished as the game entered its fifth minute of a signalled 5 minutes added time. Adam Latham appeared to be off-side when he raced through a gap but when he received a return pass from Rio Ahmadi he calmly picked his spot to fire past several bodies and jubilantly into the net for a dramatic late, late equaliser sending the game to penalties.

The shoot out saw nine great shots find the net... before one-time Mossley player Connor Hampson saw his spot kick superbly saved by Oliver Martin to send Mossley happily and dramatically through to the next round."

Goals from the match can be seen here.

NEXT TROPHY OPPONENTS

McDonald did open... when he found space behind the Tamworth defence yet again, with his pace allowing him to get on the end of Dylan Vassallo’s ball, before slotting the ball into the corner on the keeper’s left.

The goal signalled the start of a period of domination for the home side and the visitors seemed to struggle to keep McDonald under wraps as he continually broke free of his marker. There was an injury blow for Warrington when the skipper James McCarten was replaced by Jack Higgins after 30 minutes.

The home side doubled their lead just moments later when Jamie McDonald battled to get on the end of a ball in behind Tamworth’s high line and he topped it off with a composed finish into the same corner of the net that he had found earlier in the game.

The second half started in the same vein that the first had ended, with Warrington’s vibrant number nine wreaking havoc....

[But, in] a very good spell for the visitors... McMillan was called into action on numerous occasions. A series of efforts from Darryl Knights and Reid required the Warrington goalkeeper along with his backline to make some last-ditch efforts... McDonald was then robbed of the opportunity to grab his hat-trick when Paul Carden was forced to withdraw him from the match and replace him with James Barrigan as result of an injury sustained from a challenge.

Warrington continued to be under the cosh... Despite the Lambs providing all the menace in front of goal at this point, Tony Grey sealed the victory for the home side in the 89th minute when Warrington broke quickly, resulting in the ball breaking to Tony Grey, who hammered it home...

The victory earns them a place in the next round to face Altrincham at home, but the focus now returns to the league with a difficult trip to Shaw Lane awaiting the team on Saturday".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Jamie signed for Spalding United back in September".

Bradford Park Avenue "were very disappointed to go out of the Trophy in Monday night’s replay at Stourbridge. Our performances over the two games were not good enough and Stourbridge deserved their place in the next round. Especially in the replay, we got sucked into physical battle and turned away from playing the football which has brought us some good results in November".

From the Derbyshire Times we learn that "Buxton FC boss Martin McIntosh is hoping to see a spring in his players’ steps when they return to action on Saturday following a two-week break from competitive football. The Bucks had a blank weekend due to Stourbridge’s involvement in the FA Trophy...

McIntosh hopes the rest has served his troops well as they look to put an end to their four-game winless Evo-Stik Northern Premier run. They faced three of the current top five during that sequence and drew against two of them [including Alty], with their last encounter coming in a home defeat to high-flying Grantham Town.

'I gave the players the weekend off. It was the first weekend they’ve had off since June so I thought it was fair on them on their families to do that,' said McIntosh. 'We trained in the week. We’ve certainly had some good sessions but we’ve had a lot of niggling injuries to be honest... They should be itching to get back out there, I certainly am. Two weeks without a match is a long time to go without one'...

This Saturday’s visitors Barwell have lost three of their last five but drew on Saturday away at Ashton United,... 'Any away draw at Ashton is decent,' McIntosh said. 'We were fortunate enough to beat them earlier on in the season but anyone going to Ashton knows it’s a tough game."

NEW FIXTURE DATES

• Altrincham v Ashton United, Tuesday 6th February 2018, 7.45pm
• Altrincham v Stourbridge, Tuesday 27th February 2018, 7.45pm

ALTRINCHAM BOW OUT OF INTEGRO CUP

Altrincham, with just two of the same starters from last Saturday, (Hampson and Hancock, with the former in an unaccustomed centre-back role), were taken to a penalty shoot-out by a controversial equalizer from Mossley, netted in the fourth of a surprisingly long five added minutes. Ten minutes from the end of normal time Altrincham had lost Mason Walsh to a second yellow card but, after that, the ten men took a 3-2 lead as Hancock completed his hat-trick.

Earlier, Mossley had taken a tenth-minute lead when Ellis got clear to score with a low shot. Alty levelled when Hancock held off an opponent's tug as he advanced up the middle and struck a screamer into the net from 25 yards. When Sheridan hit a superb 70 yard ball up the middle, Hancock kneed it over the advancing keeper to give Alty the lead in the 16th minute.

Latham equalised from close range eight minutes before the interval. In the second half, Hancock bundled in a third goal for Alty, after 85 minutes, before Mossley, who had been flagged offside at regular intervals throughout the evening, were given the benefit of a controversial linesman's decision in the fourth added minute and allowed to advance, whilst looking well offside, before the ball was worked to Latham, who made it 3-3.

The first nine penalties in the shoot out were all scored before Hampson's kick was saved by Martin to give Mossley the win.

Match report here.

BUILDBASE FA TROPHY REPLAYS

• Warrington Town 3-0 Tamworth - so Alty travel to Cantilever Park on 16 December in the next Round.
• Workington 5-1 Glossop North End

TROPHY OPPONENTS

The visitors went a goal behind on two occasions but goals from Dylan Vassallo and Jamie McDonald salvaged a draw, earning the chance to settle the tie on home turf.

The Yellows currently sit in 2nd place in the league, a point behind leaders Altrincham but the promotion charge will have to be put on hold with the games in cup competitions coming thick and fast. The Northern Premier League Challenge Cup game against Lancaster which was scheduled for Tuesday night will now have to be rearranged but it’s a problem that Warrington will be delighted with as it means they’re competing on all fronts.

Tamworth have a poor record on the road this season, winning just three times in eleven matches and conceding 17 times during that time but the Lambs play in the division above, so their poor away record has little significance heading into the game. The Lambs lost 2-0 to Telford away from home last Tuesday, which could be a good sign for the Yellows heading into this midweek fixture.

Warrington have been impressive at Cantilever Park this season, winning nine of their fourteen matches and scoring plenty of goals in the process... However, a concern for the home side is the fact that they’ve been unable to keep a clean sheet in their last seven games. This dates back to the league game against the leaders Altrincham, which ended in a goalless draw. Tamworth have also struggled to keep out their opponents. Managing just the one clean sheet in their last twelve games."

INTEGRO CUP ROUND TWO

• Gresley 2-4 Basford United
• Hednesford Town 1-0 Newcastle Town
• Matlock Town 3-2 Grantham Town
• Mickleover Sports 3-0 Bedworth United
• Mossley 3-3 Altrincham (Mossley won 5-4 on pens)
• Nantwich Town 2-3 Witton Albion
• Ramsbottom United 0-0 Hyde United (Ramsbottom won 4-3 on pens)
• Romulus 0-1 Kidsgrove Athletic
• Scarborough Athletic 2-1 Ossett Town
• South Shields 2-1 Stocksbridge Park Steels
• Stafford Rangers 1-1 Alvechurch (Stafford won 4-2 on pens)
• Warrington Town P-P Lancaster City
• Workington P-P Marine

Wednesday 29 November 2017

• Cleethorpes Town v Tadcaster Albion

WIN £500 IN THE AFC MONTHLY DRAW

• 6th place - Number 285: Bill Morris- Club Polo Shirt
• 5th place -Number 96: Ian Foden - Replica Shirt
• 4th place - Number 429: Rob Downs- Matchday Hospitality for Two in the Manchester Glass Sponsors' Lounge
• 3rd place - Number 456: P.Kennedy - £25
• 2nd place - Number 494: B.E. Peers- £75 and ...
• 1st place - Number 19: Dianne Swindells - £500

Congratulations to each of the winners and especially to Dianne Swindells, who wins the top prize of £500.

Why not give yourself a chance of winning the prize next time? Details are here.

ALTY AID THE FOODBANK

Volunteers and officials at Moss Lane are teaming up with the Trafford South Foodbank for a food and cash collection when they host Shaw Lane in the EVO-STIK League's top flight on Saturday 9 December.

The community-minded Robins are hoping fans of both clubs will dig deep and bring along items to donate to the foodbank, which was founded by local churches and community groups and is one of nearly 500 in The Trussell Trust network working to tackle food poverty and hunger across the UK.

Altrincham's honorary Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Jacqui Forster, said, 'The local foodbank will be in attendance in the J. Davidson Stadium to take your donations and they will be able to distribute items to people just in time for Christmas, so please make somebody's Christmas a happy one and ensure that local families do not go hungry this year.

'Please bring either the following items, or donate money to the collectors so that they can buy food in bulk which is cheaper, and they can check the best before dates; cordial and fruit juice, UHT milk, sponge puddings, biscuits and chocolate, crisps, nuts and sugar. Also, all toiletries, including shower gel, soap, shampoo, toilet rolls, deodorants. No fresh foods please. Thank you in advance to all generous Altrincham FC and visiting fans and let’s make all local families have a wonderful Happy Alty Christmas!'"

HALF-SEASON TICKETS

Prices are as follows:

• Adults: £90
• Concessionaries: £60
Aged 12-16: £25
• Under 12s: £7.50

SEASON REVIEWED

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Mendez-Jones has also represented England at under-18 level".

MOSSLEY v ALTRINCHAM

Managed by former Alty man Peter Band, Mossley lie 12th in the EvoStik First Division North, having taken 24 points from 18 games. In their ten home league matches, the Lilywhites have lost just once, having won five times and drawn four matches.

Peter Band and Lloyd Morrison have been joint managers since summer 2013. Other ex-Alty players or managers to have had the hot seat at Mossley include Gerry Quinn (2007-8), Ally Pickering (2001-3), Paul Cuddy (1995) and Leo Skeete (1978).

Courtesy of Mike Garnett, the historical record between Alty and Mossley is...

• 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

MOSSLEY 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 Brian Flynn and the match summariser is John Edwards. 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.

LUCK OF THE DRAW

• Integro Cup 1 v ASHTON UNITED
• FA Trophy 1Q v CLITHEROE
• FA Trophy 2Q v RAMSBOTTOM UNITED
• CSC 1 v CHESTER FC

Altrincham now have a sequence of four successive away cup matches...

• FA Trophy 3Q v Alfreton Town
• Integro Cup 2 v Mossley
• FA Trophy 1 v Warrington Town/Tamworth
• CSC 2 v 1874 Northwich

Also, as a result of our involvement in cup competitions, Altrincham will have just two EvoStik Premier matches at the J Davidson Stadium in the eight weeks between 4 November 2017, when we played Buxton, and New Year's Day 2018, when Witton Albion visit us. Those two fixtures are against Shaw Lane (9th December) and Matlock Town (23rd December).

TROPHY OPPONENTS

v Tamworth

• Home p.6 w.3 d.2 l.1 f.7 a.2
• Away p.7 w.1 d.2 l.4 f.7 a.10
• Overall p.13 w.4 d.4 l.5 f.14 a.12

In the FA Trophy, by coincidence, we met The Lambs exactly 11 years earlier than this year's potential encounter (December 16 2006) in Round One and drew 0-0 at Moss Lane. Alty fans who were there will not forget the abandonment of the replay because of fog, the following Tuesday, when Alty led 2-1 at half-time. The following Saturday, Alty returned to The Lamb and lost 2-1.

Alty fans of more recent times will remember that last season, our final fixture in National League North in April 2017 was another eventful game at Tamworth. Having led the game through James Lawrie's first-half strike, Tamworth equalised. However, misfortune then struck Alty, in the 69th minutes when keeper Tim Deasy went down injured, off the ball, and he had to be replaced in goal by midfielder Nicky Clee. Five minutes later, from a freekick, Tamworth's Newton netted the winner at the back post.

v Warrington

• Home p.5 w.2 d.2 l.1 f.12 a. 8 (one match decided on penalties counted as draw)
• Away p.1 w.0 d.1 l.0 f.0 a.0
• Overall p.6 w.2 d.3 l.1 f.12 a.8

RADIO ROBINS AT ALFRETON

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

The 22-year-old can play at either at left-back or on the left wing and will provide Dabbers' manager Dave Cooke another option going forward."

MONDAY FIXTURES

• Atherton Collieries P-P Bamber Bridge

Buildbase FA Trophy Third Round Qualifying, Replay

• Stourbridge 2-1 Bradford Park Avenue (one of the Stourbridge goals was an own goal by Luca Havern. Attendance 385

BUILDBASE FA TROPHY DRAW

Ties take place on Saturday, 16 December.

Full Draw ...

• 1 Solihull Moors v Tranmere Rovers
• 2 Blyth Spartans v AFC Telford United
• 3 Boston United or Kidderminster Harriers v York City
• 4 Chorley v Marine
• 5 FC Halifax Town v Macclesfield Town
• 6 Spennymoor Town v Gainsborough Trinity
• 7 Chester v AFC Fylde
• 8 Wrexham v Harrogate Town
• 9 Leamington v Stourbridge
• 10 Lancaster City v Stockport County or Southport
• 11 Tamworth or Warrington Town v Altrincham
• 12 Gateshead v Guiseley
• 13 Nuneaton Town v Barrow
• 14 Glossop North End or Workington v Hartlepool United
• 15 Haringey Borough v Leyton Orient
• 16 Dover Athletic v Eastbourne Borough or Royston Town
• 17 Wealdstone or Chelmsford City v Wingate & Finchley
• 18 Billericay Town v Havant & Waterlooville
• 19 Chesham United v Weston Super Mare
• 20 Sutton United v Truro City
• 21 Woking v Maidenhead United
• 22 Whitehawk v St Albans City
• 23 East Thurrock United v Aldershot Town
• 24 Hendon or Slough Town v Bath City or Margate
• 25 Ebbsfleet United v Eastleigh
• 26 Hereford v Dagenham & Redbridge
• 27 Torquay United v Maidstone United
• 28 Farnborough or Hartley Wintney v Bromley
• 29 Braintree Town v Brackley Town
• 30 Taunton Town v Hemel Hempstead Town or Bognor Regis Town
• 31 Hampton & Richmond Borough v Kingstonian or Heybridge Swifts
• 32 Dartford v Boreham Wood

NEXT OPPONENTS: MOSSLEY

The Lilywhites currently lie 12th in the EvoStike First Division North, having played 18 games and acquired 24 points.

Managed by former Alty man, Peter Band, Mossley's team last Saturday was 1. Oliver Martin, 2. Caldon Henson, 3. James-McLean Oppong, 4. Mo Ali, 5. Tom Dean (c), 6. Keenan Quansah, 7. Elliot Harrison, 8. Mike Fish, 9. Mason Duffy, 10. Adam Latham, 11. Danny McLaughlin. Subs: 14. Mike Taylor (for Harrison 90), 15. Sam Howell (not used), 16. Harry Pratt (for Oppong 46), 17. Liam Ellis (for McLaughlin 46)

Mossley report that in that game "Mike Fish struck deep in injury time as Mossley completed a dramatic comeback to beat Brighouse Town 2-1 at Seel Park... The visitors dominated the early stages and came close again moments later, this time Aaron Martin fired over from 6 yards...

The hosts grew into the game and almost opened the scoring when Caldon Henson released a vicious effort, although Butt was equal to it at his near post. The wintry conditions at Seel Park proved difficult, as heavy snowfall disrupted either side's rhythm. Oliver Martin was called into action frequently, but the former Fleetwood man made a series of saves in what proved to be an excellent goalkeeping display...

Ahead of the second half, managers Peter Band and Lloyd Morrison implemented a 3-5-2 formation, in the hope of breaking down a vigorous Brighouse side. Striker Liam Ellis replaced McLaughlin to make his long awaited return from injury, whilst fellow front-man Harry Pratt was brought on in place of James McLean-Oppong, to make his debut for the club since arriving on loan from Chorley in midweek.

Despite the positive change, it was the away side who opened the scoring as Marcus Day found a gap in the Mossley back-line, before placing the ball past Martin.

Soon after, Mossley were rewarded for their perseverance when debutant Pratt found Mason Duffy, who curled an unstoppable effort in off the underside of the crossbar to claim his third goal of the season... The game looked destined for a stalemate until Duffy was brought down in the 94th minute on the edge of the Brighouse penalty area.

Veteran striker Fish stepped up and rifled an unstoppable free-kick past a helpless Butt, to send the Mossley faithful into ecstasy.

GOOD WIN FOR YOUTH TEAM

PHIL PARKINSON INTERVIEW

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Yellows' chairman Toby Macormac said, 'I’m pleased that we’re able to attract experienced players like Billy and Steve Jennings (a recent signing from Southport) to the club to add to the competitive squad we already have'...

Paynter has been training with AFC Fylde and Southport since being released by Hartlepool in the summer.

The Yellows have made another signing in the shape of Desire Simson, who came off the bench to make a brief debut in the 2-2 draw at Tamworth on Saturday. The 21-year-old winger, who hails from Rotterdam in the Netherlands, made a handful of appearances for the club’s reserve side earlier this season.

Boss Paul Carden is also close to making two further signings to bolster the squad. However, a recently announced loan deal for Tranmere winger Elliot Rokka has failed to materialise due to the injury crisis at Prenton Park which also saw them recall centre-half Evan Gumbs from Cantilever Park...

It was also confirmed on Saturday that the Yellows have released Aboubacar Sanogo."

Meanwhile, Farsley Celtic report that "November had been a positive month for Farsley going into the final Saturday, however, it was undone by a lacklustre display by the Celts against struggling Sutton Coldfield Town as they went down 1-0 at Throstle Nest.

Celts' manager Adam Lakeland gave his response after the defeat to the Midlands team, 'I’m extremely disappointed with not just the result, but the overall performance of us both individually and collectively. We have been playing very well of late, but we were way short of the standards we have been setting and in this league you get found out even against the teams struggling near the bottom of the division.'

Farsley conceded in the opening minute of the game, something that has become an unfortunate trait in recent weeks, which the Celts' boss acknowledged, 'We got off to a bad start yet again which is something we must address. Last week we started better, went ahead and won the game.

'For their goal, whilst it’s a great strike from Singh, who was a threat all game to be fair, I was disappointed with the ease in which he collected the second ball, took a touch and got his shot away. That summed us up in the first-half as I felt we were flat, second to most 50-50 balls and that allowed them to put us under some pressure with balls, long throws and set plays into the box in awful playing conditions'...

The Farsley gaffer continued, 'We were much improved after the break and were the better side... It’s frustrating and I am looking for a reaction from the players. Whilst we have been on a good run and the lads are giving me their all, to go away to a difficult place like Stafford and win 0-2, go to Buxton and draw 3-3 then come home to bottom of the league and lose 0-1 simply isn’t good enough and I expect better than that.'

He said, 'We withdrew Danny (Ellis) at half-time. who took a knock on his calf following an awful tackle by their number eight. It was more precautionary than anything... Hopefully we will have ‘keeper Graeme (McKibbin) back available next Saturday. Kyle (Trenerry) has done brilliantly and showed us what an excellent prospect he is, but Graeme’s added experience and physique will be important in the coming away games. Adam Clayton will be back from suspension and hopefully Danny will recover in time for our trip to Hednesford'".

At Stalybridge Celtic, "The football club wishes to announce that Keith Briggs has left his position as Assistant Manager, to take up a full time role at Sheffield United FC. Keith, who was in his third spell at the club, could not turn down the chance for more work with Sheffield United, with whom he has spent the last 2 years working in the academy set up.

Celtic manager Steve Burr will now look to appoint a coach to support him going forward".

LADIES' GAME POSTPONED

ALFRETON TOWN 0 ALTRINCHAM 2

Match report here.

SATURDAY GAMES

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

RESERVES

HALF-PRICE PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

Sponsors receive a personalized, signed shirt of the player(s) in question at the end of season. so why not help the promotion push and contact the club office on 0161 928 1045 to arrange your sponsorship.

Sponsorships still available are:

• Home – Sean Miller
• Away – Tim Deasy, Shaun Densmore, Tom Harrigan, Ben Harrison, Tony Thompson, Josh Hancock, Jordan Hulme, Max Harrop, Josh Amis and James Jones

SATURDAY'S GATES

• Att. 217 Farsley Celtic 0 - 1 Sutton Coldfield Town
• Att. 342 Matlock Town 2 - 0 Halesowen Town
• Att. 228 Rushall Olympic 1 - 0 Mickleover Sports
• Att. 248 Whitby Town 1 - 2 Witton Albion

The FA Trophy 17-18 - Third Round Qualifying

• Att. 522 AFC Telford United 4 - 2 Droylsden (Sefton Gonzales scord one of the Bloods' goals)
• Att. 329 Alfreton Town 0 - 2 Altrincham
• Att. 482 Blyth Spartans 2 - 1 Stalybridge Celtic
• Att. 256 Bradford (Park Avenue) 1 - 1 Stourbridge (Nicky Clee equalised after Kyle Perry had put Stourbridge ahead)
• Att. 306 Cleethorpes Town 1 - 2 Spennymoor Town
• Att. 299 Gainsborough Trinity 2 - 0 Stafford Rangers
• Att. 368 Glossop North End 0 - 0 Workington
• Att. 361 Grantham Town 3 - 4 Chorley
• Att. 242 Lancaster City 1 - 0 Mildenhall Town
• Att. 778 Marine 1 - 0 FC United of Manchester (Danny Mitchley's penalty decided the game)
• Att. 468 Tamworth 2 - 2 Warrington Town
• Att. 1001 York City 3 - 1 Coalville Town

BUILDBASE FA TROPHY

• Stourbridge v Bradford (Park Avenue)
• Warrington Town v Tamworth
• Workington v Glossop North End

NL Pitchero reports that "Saturday`s Buildbase FA Trophy Third Qualifying Round threw up several upsets, with six teams from the Vanarama National League North and South knocked out by lower league opponents...

Altrincham, relegated from the National League North to the Evo-Stik League Premier at the end of last season, progressed at the Impact Arena against former rivals Alfreton Town...

Unlike Altrincham, their Evo-Stik Premier rivals Marine AFC are struggling in the bread and butter of the league, but pulled off a terrific 1-0 win at the Marine Travel Arena against National League North outfit FC United of Manchester.

The Red Rebels, who are struggling themselves in the league and have just appointed Tom Greaves as player-manager, went down to a 19th minute penalty converted by [ex-Alty man] Danny Mitchley...

National League North sides Bradford Park Avenue and Tamworth and National League South Eastbourne Borough all face tricky away replays after drawing at home on Saturday against lower league opponents.

Avenue were held 1-1 at the Horsfall Stadium by Stourbridge, whose Kyle Perry gave them a 33rd minute lead. Nicky Clee earned the home side another go at the Glassboys next week with a 57th minute equaliser.

Tamworth were held to a 2-2 draw at The Lamb by Stourbridge`s league rivals Warrington Town. Aman Verma gave the home side an 11th minute lead that Dylan Vassallo cancelled out 10 minutes later. Verma restored the Lambs` lead just before half-time, but Jamie McDonald earned the Wire a second go with a 76th minute leveller...

National League North sides safely through to Monday`s draw are York City, the holders, who earned a 3-1 victory against Coalville Town at Bootham Crescent.

Sixteen-goal leading marksman Jon Parkin added a couple of penalties in the 62nd and 77th minutes to Gary Martin’s first goal for the club a minute before half-time, with Dan Creaney replying for the Ravens 12 minutes from time.

Chorley were involved in a seven-goal thriller in the cold at The Meres against Grantham Town. It was a terrific comeback by Matt Jansen`s Magpies after they trailed to goals from Danny Meadows after 9 minutes and a Lee Shaw brace in the 27th and 45th minutes – Jason Walker sandwiching a reply on 19 minutes.

Josh Wilson reduced the deficit to one in the 56th minute and he equalised 7 minutes later. Chorley keeper Matt Urwin kept his side in the competition when he pulled off a terrific save to hold onto a ferocious volley from distance to prevent the impressive Shaw from completing his hat-trick.

And Unwin was rewarded a minute from time when Adam Blakeman popped up with Chorley`s winner.

Gainsborough Trinity saw off former winners Stafford Rangers 2-0 at the Northolme, thanks to goals from Ashley Worsfold after 55 minutes and Nathan Jarman 9 minutes from time...

Spennymoor`s north-east neighbours Blyth Spartans scraped through against former rivals Stalybridge Celtic, who went down last season. Connor Hughes broke the deadlock at Croft Park to give the visitors a 68th minute lead, but Sean Reid on 79 minutes and Ian Watson netted 6 minutes from the end".

ALFRETON TOWN 0 ALTRINCHAM 2

Altrincham progressed to the First Round Proper of the Buildbase FA Trophy thanks to two early goals at the Impact Arena.

Without the injured Jones, Short and Disney, Altrincham took a seventh minute lead when Hulme's clever back heel led to Johnston's low cross from the right, which Marcus Marshall could only turn into his own net as Hancock waited to convert the chance behind the defender.

Alty's second was a Johnston penalty, awarded after the referee judged Hulme's ball to have struck an Alfreton hand.

Alfreton made three substitutions early in the second half and looked a better side as a result. Alty keeper Thompson made a couple of excellent stops and Westcarr hit the post but the visitors were also a threat themselves, with Johnston striking the upright in the closing stages.

But Altrincham were good value for their win, which means that the league game at home to Stourbridge will now be postponed on 16 December.

Match report here.

BUILDBASE FA TROPHY

• 1 Brackley Town 4-0 Salford City
• 2 York City 3-1 Coalville Town
• 3 Cleethorpes Town 1-2 Spennymoor Town
• 4 Grantham Town 4-3 Chorley
• 5 Tamworth 2-2 Warrington Town
• 6 AFC Telford United 4-2 Droylsden
• 7 Darlington v Harrogate Town SUNDAY
• 8 Gainsborough Trinity 2-0 Stafford Rangers
• 9 Bradford (Park Avenue) 1-1 Stourbridge
• 10 Boston United 2-2 Kidderminster Harriers
• 11 Nuneaton Town 5-1 North Ferriby United
• 12 Stockport County 2-2 Southport
• 13 Blyth Spartans 2-1 Stalybridge Celtic
• 14 Glossop North End 0-0 Workington
• 15 Alfreton Town 0-2 Altrincham
• 16 Leamington 3-1 Curzon Ashton
• 17 Lancaster City 1-0 Mildenhall Town
• 18 Marine 1-0 FC United of Manchester

SATURDAY LEAGUE FIXTURES

• Farsley Celtic 0-1 Sutton Coldfield Town
• Matlock Town 2-0 Halesowen Town
• Nantwich Town P-P Shaw Lane
• Rushall Olympic 1-0 Mickleover Sports
• Whitby Town 1-2 Witton Albion

BEFORE THE GAME

"We are in Buildbase F.A. Trophy action today, travelling to Derbyshire to take on Alfreton Town in the final qualifying round of this competition. Having already beaten Clitheroe and Ramsbottom United at home in the first two qualifying rounds, today’s game should give us a good indication of how far we have progressed as we take on a team from a higher division, for the first time in a competitive fixture, since I have been the manager of Altrincham Football Club.

Alfreton lie fourteenth in the Vanarama National League North and come into the game on the back of a 2-1 win at Telford last Saturday. They are a big strong side that are very good from set pieces and quite a difficult to set up to play against, as they play variable formations from game to game.

Brendon Daniels is certainly one of the players that we will need to be mindful of. We know him well from his days at Crewe Alexandra and he has scored one or two spectacular goals for Alfreton, since joining them from AFC Fylde in the summer.

We will be fully prepared to deal with them, though, however they set up, and we are looking forward to this game very much. I am sure that we will have very good support, as we did in last Saturday’s 4-0 win at Sutton Coldfield, when it seemed as if we had well over a hundred who travelled. It was very important that we kept the momentum going in the league and three early goals meant that there was never any real threat that we were going to give a chance to one of the teams behind us to close the gap at the top or even overtake us.

On a very good afternoon in the Midlands, it was disappointing that James Jones had to be withdrawn late on with a hamstring strain. James hasn’t trained this week and will not be available today. Lewis Short is still out with a calf injury but it’s great that Tom Hannigan came through his game for the reserves last week and he is fit to play this afternoon.

Josh Amis played his first game for Colne last Saturday, alongside Sean Miller, who has done very well and scored three goals during his loan period and we are looking to extend this, probably on a rolling week to week basis, when his loan expires during the week".

CSC DATE AGREED

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Carden says he knows his side are playing well as they come into the tie off the back of an impressive away win at Mickleover, which itself was closely preceeded by the mammoth tie in the previous round against Ashton United, which went all the way to penalties.

The Yellows boss described the victory at Mickleover as a 'really good result'... 'It was two good teams, to be fair, both trying to play the right way and we came out the right side of the result which was obviously the main priority. The way we played was complimented by everybody including their management, their board which is always nice'...

This weekend will be a whole new test though for Carden’s men as they take on Tamworth, who are currently mid-table in the tier above Warrington, but the manager maintains that he 'knows where we’re at and where we need to get to' before being pitted against higher league opposition. 'In fairness to Tamworth they’re a good side, they’ve got some good players, I watched them on Tuesday night against Telford and they got beat 2-0 but, for me, were the better team.

'They play good football, and I know Andy Morrell the manager well, and it will be a good test for both teams, because I think it’s two good teams going at it, playing football the right way...

'Successful teams play a lot of games in all different competitions and that’s our aim. We want to keep playing as many games as we can in whatever competition they’re in, because it shows that we’re winning games, that’s the important thing'".

According to York Press "Cleveland Taylor and Lee Cox will be among the ex-professionals hoping to cause an FA Trophy shock this weekend for Coalville Town at York City. Left-back Taylor, 34, has more than 400 appearances at pro level to his name, having turned out for Bolton, Scarborough, Scunthorpe, Carlisle, Brentford, Burton, St Johnstone and Grimsby in the past...

Midfielder Cox, 27, played 179 times at pro level for Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Swindon, Oxford, Plymouth and Stevenage, including a spell in the Scottish Premier League...

The other ex-Football League pros now on Coalville’s books are Ollie Bassett (two starts for Yeovil in League Two), Kyle Dixon (two sub outings for Notts County), Blair Anderson (one sub appearance for Crawley in League One) and Jermain Hollis (one sub cameo for Kidderminster in League Two 12-and-a-half years ago).

Alex Howes, 17, is also currently on loan with the part-time Leicestershire outfit, having played twice for parent club Notts County last term... Monserrat international striker Massiah McDonald will be missing too tomorrow, having joined Stafford Rangers on loan.

Coalville will arrive in North Yorkshire, meanwhile, having plundered 12 goals in their last three games with the Lancaster loss bring preceded by victories at Buxton (5-3) and Alvechurch (5-1) in the Integro League Cup and Trophy respectively. The Owen Street Sports Ground side have also only failed to net in one of their last 20 matches, with former Grantham and Loughborough Dynamo marksman Nathan Watson the leading scorer on 15 goals this season, netting nine times in the last eight matches...

Matthew Coton, the son of former Manchester City keeper Tony, is in goal, but only bottom-of-the-table Sutton Coldfield Town (62) have conceded more times in their division during 2017/18 than 16th-placed Coalville. The Ravens have shipped 44 goals in the league at an exact average of two per game. Coalville are managed by ex-Carlton Town, Hucknall Town, Stamford and Quorn boss Tom Brookbanks, who is in his third full season at the helm".

OLD FOES

Waltham took over ownership of a club he played for over a number of years... earlier this week... Waltham is in negotiations with potential replacements for Housham and Stamp, but he will take charge of the team for tomorrow’s crucial Buildbase FA Trophy tie at Nuneaton Town".

SUPPORTERS' TRANSPORT TO ALFRETON

A reminder that all our coaches are strictly alcohol free and we promote a family friendly atmosphere, as we welcome travellers of all ages.

Call the club on 0161 928 1045 to get booked on. With our coach, cars and train travellers we should have a good support down there to back Phil and the lads as we look to progress towards Wembley.

We will also be taking a coach to Mickelover on Saturday 2nd December so look out for details, after Alfreton to book on."

Timings and fares are on the Away Travel page.

Alfreton have indicated to Altrincham supporters that entry to the Impact Arena (postcode DE55 7FZ) is via the Alma Street entrance.

RESERVES AT JDS

INTEGRO CUP OPPONENTS: MOSSLEY

The 20 year old has frequently featured for the club's Development Squad this season, where his performances have impressed Chorley's U21 manager, David Chadwick. Speaking to Chorley's website Chadwick said, 'Harry is big and strong, with footballing skills beyond his years. Harry has the ability to play for our first team, however he needs game time in competitive football first which is why I’m delighted that Mossley have taken him on loan.'

Managers Peter Band and Lloyd Morrison will hope that the former Clitheroe man can quickly find his goal-scoring form to help propel Mossley into the top half of the Evo-Stik North table".

OLD BOY

But the ex-Altrincham and Aldershot attacker has been given the green light to resume work by doctors, with City chief Martin Gray keen to get him on-pitch time at another National League North club, so he can return to Bootham Crescent ready to challenge for a first-team place in 2018.

'It’s good to have him back because he’s a lively, larger-than-life character,' Gray said of Rankine’s return to the Minstermen’s Wigginton Road training base. 'Now, in the next week or two hopefully, he can go out on loan and get some games and, rather than reserve fixtures, it would be better if he can play for another team at this level. Then, come Christmas time or the New Year, he will come back and have a chance here'...

Gray has revealed that he will make changes for Saturday’s FA Trophy third qualifying round home clash against Coalville".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

He had a loan spell under current Mariners' boss Tommy Lawson at Skelmersdale United, scoring 17 goals in twenty-two appearances, and a further loan spell at Stockport County. Released by Stanley in July 2016 he re-joined Skelmersdale, going on to join Ramsbottom in January".

Witton Albion are reported to have "called a supporters' meeting for next Wednesday, November 29. Chairman Mark Harris says he will address a 'dramatic reduction in monies entering the club.'"

Whitby Town "have signed signed attacker, Cameron Salkeld, from Carlisle United on a one-month loan". The youngster made his debut for the Cumbrians in the Checkatrade Trophy in 2016.

ALFRETON PREPARE

After making a slow start they are currently in fine form and are unbeaten in their last twelve league games... Last Saturday saw them comfortable 4-0 winners at bottom of the table Sutton Coldfield Town with two goals from Jordan Hulme and one each from James Jones and former Red Jake Moult. Also in their side was [another] former Alfreton player, John Johnston...

Last season our two meetings with Altrincham saw us come out on top 3-2 at the Impact Arena with two goals from Andy Monkhouse and one from Liam Hearn. In the return game at Moss Lane we picked up a point in a 1-1 draw which was our final away game of the season, where Andy Monkhouse was again on target.

Admission to Saturday's game is Adults £10, Concessions £7, 12-16 years old £4, Under 12 £1".

INTEGRO CUP OPPONENTS: MOSSLEY

Upon his release from Moss Rose in 2012, Thomas had spells with Leek Town, Colwyn Bay, Northwich Victoria and Linotype Cheadle Heath Nomads before re-joining The Lilywhites in September 2015. In a fruitful period with the club, Thomas made thirty-five appearances and scored on two occasions before being forced to depart in April 2016 due to work commitments in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, midfielder Rory Fallon, who was at the club from Vanarama National league North neighbours Curzon Ashton on dual registration, has now returned to his parent club after making two appearances for Mossley."

OLD FOES

The pair released a joint-statement via the club saying, 'We have always had a challenge in matching success with sustainability and this has been the direction in which we have moved the club. Unfortunately, we are no longer able to commit the time required at North Ferriby United and we are happy to transfer the club debt-free. With this in mind the club is now ready for a new challenge with a new owner Jamie Waltham. Many of you will know Jamie as he has been involved in local football for a number of years as a player, a manager and as an owner.

Jamie played for North Ferriby United for a number of years and now looks forward to the challenge of returning to the club as owner."

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

I am really looking forward to meeting you, the supporters, and engaging with you all as much as I possibly can. The local community is the heartbeat of any football club and it is so important that as manager I try where possible to keep you updated on matters at the club. I will be doing this with the help of Graham and other members of the club, through program[me] notes, social media and by the good old-fashioned face to face conversations!

In terms of my initial plans for the club, this first couple of games is about assessing things for me. I'll be looking at the squad and seeing how we can help this group of talented players progress here at Shaw Lane.

In terms of staff behind the scenes I am delighted that John Reed* will remain as assistant manager. Charlie Creswell has agreed to continue as goalkeeper coach and John Williamson remains as first team physio. In addition Dave Thompson has joined us from Brighouse Town as first team coach.

Coming into any club mid season presents its own challenges but we clearly have made a great start to life at this level and the focus now is purely on Saturday's game.

In terms of what I want to see from us as a team is quite simple. Every team, organisation or individual who achieves success works hard. I know from speaking with John we have a group here who will run through brick walls for the cause and that is really important to me. This gives you a platform in any game. From there, it's about ambition and high expectations, being ambitious with our aims and having high expectations of each other in terms of our preparation and performances.

I honestly can't wait for the game Saturday, it will be an extremely proud day for me and I hope we can continue to make you the supporters and the whole community proud to be part of this football club."

*Footnote: Alty fans will remember Shaw Lane's assistant manager, John Reed, as manager of Harrogate Town when they played Altrincham, several times, in the mid-2000s.

PHIL'S SUTTON COLDFIELD ANALYSIS

"Phil Parkinson saluted a storming start from his Altrincham high-flyers as they reinforced their hold on top spot in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League with a resounding 4-0 win over bottom side Sutton Coldfield at Coles Lane on Saturday.

Any fears of an upset were soon brushed aside as Alty made short work of their hosts with goals from Jordan Hulme, James Jones and skipper Jake Moult inside the opening 11 minutes.

Though a string of near-misses cost them the chance to surpass September's 6-0 scoreline against Farsley Celtic as their biggest win of the season, they added a fourth in the 81st minute, with Hulme's 15th goal so far.

'We said we wanted to improve our starts of late, and we certainly did that by taking every opportunity that came our way early on,' said Alty boss Parkinson. 'It settled everyone down, and that was a real positive.

'Their astroturf pitch can be a bit of a leveller, but the boys never let their standards drop. It was a really professional performance. We had complete control, so much so that Tony Thompson (left) had nothing to do until the very end, when he made one or two brilliant saves. It is fantastic for the team, to know you have a keeper who never switches off. The save at the end epitomised his concentration levels.

'We were superior in midfield. Simon Richman got through the running of three men, and Jake Moult's distribution was summed up by a half-volley pass out wide to John Johnston that was out of this world. The front three were creating and scoring as well, so if you look at a clean sheet, scoring four away from home and sitting top of the league, you have to say it was positives all the way.'

Alty travel to Vanarama National League North side Alfreton in the FA Trophy on Saturday, with Parkinson adding, 'We are relishing the challenge. We want a good run in the Trophy, and we can use it to gauge where we're at.'"

ALTRINCHAM FC AGM

In his opening address to the meeting, chairman Grahame Rowley referred to last season as "disastrous", with the year culminating in relegation from the National League North.

However, following the appointment of manager Phil Parkinson and the successful results on the pitch, the atmosphere was now positive. Grahame thanked the attendees and spectators for their patience during last season's troubled times.

Mr Tony Collier, from MBL Accountants, took the meeting through the financial statements. New financial terminology has had to be used in the accounts, as required by European standardization of terms.

The club had made an operating loss to the year ending 31 May 2017 of £23,401. However, retained earnings at the end of the year were £62,810.

Derek Wilshaw's term of office having been completed, he was re-elected to the Board for a further three years.

Standardisation of the Club's Articles of Association were required by the Football Association and these were approved by the meeting. As Derek Wilshaw confirmed, the changes were of wording but "not of sense".

On completion of the AGM business, Grahame Rowley responded to a question from the floor regarding the recent share issue. The chairman confirmed that three parties had approached the Club.

Of these, two had met with the chairman but had not then followed up on their initial approach. The third party was the one to which the "non-disclosure" arrangements applied, as was reported on the website at the time. These negotiations were at a stage where further information was awaited from the party concerned.

There was also a question as to whether our strong budget for this season meant that, if we were not successful in gaining promotion this season, there would have to be retrenchment in 2018-19. The chairman explained that, although all efforts were being concentrated on the current season, improving attendances attracted by good results and the manager's attractive brand of football suggested that we would exceed our financial targets for the current season which would put us in a good position for the following campaign.

SUPPORTERS' TRANSPORT TO ALFRETON

Brilliant to see so many Alty fans there yesterday, overall, as well and we hope to continue that at Alfreton next Saturday.

We have now booked a 28-seater coach and ask that you please put your names down as soon as possible. We've added all the names who expressed an interest on the coach home on Saturday to the list and, if you'd like your name adding and haven't let us know, then please contact the club as soon as possible as we don't want to be disappointing people on Friday".

You can book by ringing the club on 0161 928-1045 during normal weekday office hours.

Timings and fares are on the AwayTravel page.

ALFRETON MATCH

Alfreton have reminded Altrincham supporters that entry to the Impact Arena (postcode DE55 7FZ) is via the Alma Street entrance. The Reds have also provided suggested directions to the ground; "Leave M1 at J28. Take A38 towards Derby for two miles. Take B600 slip road. At T-junction, turn right towards town centre. At pedestrian crossing turn left into North Street and the ground is on the right hand side".

The following Saturday sees Altrincham travel deeper into Derbyshire as they make their first ever visit to Mickleover Sports.

Our last meeting with Alfreton was almost exactly a year ago, on Saturday, 19 November 2016. That league match ended in one of the Robins' most disappointing results of 2016-17 when "The Robins largely dominated the game only to concede three poor goals in the closing 14 minutes after making substitutions.

Greg Wilkinson's deflected shot had given Alty a 31st minute lead before they dominated the second half... With Altrincham in control, Jim Harvey brought on Marsh for Reeves (68 mins) and then Obeng for Lawrie on 75 minutes. A minute later, McGowan nodded down a freekick taken from near the centre circle and Monkhouse poked the ball home, much against the run of play to make it 1-1.

An excellent Moult header from a Miller cross made it 2-1 to Alty and a second league victory of the season looked on the cards (82 mins). Alty then made a further change as Goodall replaced McWilliams at left-back. Then two scrambled goals, both initially credited to Monkhouse (but later substitute Hearn was given credit for the winner), in the 86th and 90th minutes from balls into the Alty goalmouth stole the points for Alfreton".

Altrincham's team that day was 1. Andrew DAWBER, 2. Sam PATTERSON, 3. Andy McWILLIAMS, 4. Jake MOULT (capt), 5. John CYRUS, 6. Tom HANNIGAN, 7. James LAWRIE, 8. Simon RICHMAN, 9. Greg WILKINSON 10. Damian REEVES, 11. Sean MILLER. Subs: 12. Phil MARSH, 14. Curtis OBENG, 15. Alan GOODALL, 16. Simon LENIGHAN, 20. Tim DEASY.

With Simon Richman (pictured above at Alfreton in the 2016 game) suspended for this season's game, only Jake Moult of the 2016 starters is likely to begin the game in the Altrincham line-up this coming Saturday.

Prior to 2016, Alfreton Town and Altrincham had last met at the national level of the Vanarama League in 2014-15, a season in which the Reds were relegated whilst Alty finished 17th. Altrincham lost 0-1 at Moss Lane but drew 1-1 at Alfreton.

OVER-50S' CHRISTMAS DINNER

The Lunch will take place at the Football Club at 12 noon on Thursday, 7th December and will cost £10 per head with Richie himself sponsoring the event.

On offer will be a three-course Christmas dinner, with coffee and mince pies. The event will also include a raffle and a quiz with prizes.

To book your place, please email either the Club or Richie.

DUNCAN'S THIRD BAD INJURY

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Paul will take charge of the Ducks with immediate effect and will meet the squad at training tomorrow before the Ducks travel to Nantwich Town this coming Saturday. John Reed (assistant manager), who is staying on, and Dave Thompson (1st team coach) will make up the new management structure.

Shaw Lane chairman Craig Wood said 'When we began the process of identifying a new manager we established the profile of candidate we needed to take the Club forward and Paul Quinn was a perfect fit.

'Paul’s attention to detail, knowledge of our squad, along with a very good understanding of the Evo-Stik League and clubs around us were extremely impressive. He quickly emerged as the outstanding candidate and I [am] delighted that Paul has joined us to reinforce our potential which will be significantly aided by his expertise.'

Paul said 'having enjoyed a period of time to recharge the batteries, I am delighted to have been appointed at Shaw Lane. This is a club I have admired for a number of years in terms of their drive and ambition both on and off the field. It also goes without saying I have created a deep emotional attachment with the club over recent times.

Taking all that into consideration and my own ambitions as a manager, both myself and the Chairman agreed this was an excellent fit. It is always a challenge when any club has to change their manager mid-season, for whatever reason, and my role, along with John Reid and the backroom staff, is to push this talented group of players forward over the coming months. Finally I am really looking forward to helping the club to continue to build its profile in the community which for me is an integral part of any successful football club.'"

Quinn is the son of former Altrincham manager, Gerry Quinn. Brighouse Town finished ninth in the EvoStik First Division North last season.

Back in July 2017 Brighouse Town reported that "Successful former Brighouse Town manager-coach Paul Quinn has quit the teaching profession after 11 years to go and work for the Football Association full time.

Quinn, 33, who left Brighouse in May after steering them to a North Counties East League Premier Division Championship and promotion to the Evo-Stik League Division One North and seeing them improve their position in the table year-on-year over the past three seasons, will be mixing it with the big clubs from September and reporting to his bosses at Wembley and St George's Park, Burton-on-Trent.

He will be co-ordinating the bridging of the gap between coaching and education at Huddersfield Town, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County and Chesterfield. The former Brooksbank, Elland, Colne Valley and Salendine Nook sportsmaster will oversee players at the professional clubs on adult learning courses and coaching courses also at the FA's Headquarters at St George's besides their own clubs.

Quinn commented, 'It will mean a lot of travelling but I am really looking forward to it as I have wanted to break into full time football... While I plan for the partnerships between football clubs and universities and other seats of learning, I will be reading up on coaching courses and be fully ready for my start in two months time'".

According to NL Daily, "Stafford Rangers fans may have seen Massiah McDonald in action for the last time this season. The Montserrat international has been in fine form since arriving on loan from Coalville Town, netting five goals in two FA Trophy games.

And, while he has yet to open his account in the league, he has added a physical and technical threat up front. However, his one-month loan ends this week, and Boro boss Neil Kitching said no deal to keep him longer had yet been done with Coalville.

'There's a lot of conversation going on,' said Kitching. 'We want to keep him but nothing's organised, so we've got a week to try and sort something out. They're unwilling to let him come and join us and we're unwilling to pay a transfer fee....

'"Mass" understands that we can't and won't do that for a 27 year-old. We'll take over his contract at the end of the season, if that's what Coalville want to do, or we'll extend his loan'".

Meanwhile, Coalville Town report that "The league cup game at home against Stamford has now been moved to Tuesday 5th December in case of any replay against York".

INTEGRO CUP DATE

LADIES' IMPRESSIVE DRAW AT FCUM

Above, left, Megan Rowley gets in a shot. Right, Kye Brown closes down an opponent.

Altrincham FC Ladies' manager, Keith Edleston, writes that it was a "Fantastic result by the Ladies' first team as they travelled over to Moston and beecame the only side this season to stop FC United from gaining all three points.

On the first day of the season we went there and returned home not having performed or doing ourselves justice, soundly beaten by the better team, but this game would be different...

The girls, over the last few weeks in training, have been working so hard with all the coaches and on Sunday it was all brought to fruition. The game started in frenetic style with no quarter given, or asked, by both teams but, on 37 minutes, a run down the right by their winger, with a smart cut back then finish, enabled FC to take a lead they would hold to half time.

Right: Goalkeeper Esther Hernández Rodríguez collects a cross.

As the second half progressed the girls were pushing forward and an equaliser came from Kye Brown, who lobbed the ball back over the keeper from fully 35 yards, (a shot she had tried only a few minutes before), to put us back on level terms.

Still the game was end to end and, from a corner, Hannah Shufflebotham crashed a header onto the FC crossbar, so close to taking the lead!

The game got a bit more frantic into the last five minutes as FC poured forward for a winner, only to be given on 90 minutes, (rightly so), a free-kick on the edge of the box. Everyone held their breath; would this be a disaster? The FC player stepped forward and struck a venomous shot over the wall but onto the crossbar and captain Bliss Molyneaux headed out of play. The referee blew, it was all over and a very creditable draw had been gained. Well done to every player who gave everything today and left nothing in the changing room, brilliant!"

LADIES' OPPONENTS' VIEW

In "The game against Altrincham earlier in the season, the reds triumphed 13-1". But on Sunday, "A stuttering performance, brought about by some not insignificant and unusual circumstances, coupled with a fired-up and well-drilled opposition, saw Altrincham leave Broadhurst Park with a creditable point as the game finished 1-1. Nicole Hatcliffe gave United a half time lead before Kyeshia Brown swept home a 40 yarder on 68 minutes to level the match showing that previous results matter for nothing in this "funny ol’ game" of ours.

On a cold bright winter afternoon, Luke Podmore was forced by injury and illness into making changes to his recent settled starting 11 and after losing Captain Kirsty Chambers and defender Fliss Winters inside 20 minutes to injuries that required a joint trip to Tameside General, to be replaced by a bench containing just two players this week; it was always going to be a more challenging afternoon for the league leaders than usual...

The first threat came from Altrincham’s striker Laura Kelly with Winters defending well to clear her lines.... On 5 minutes Chambers rode a challenge as she drove goalwards but injured herself in the process and could take no further part being replaced by Abbie Carrington. No doubt, the departure of FC’s talismanic Captain gave the visitors a psychological boost and from the restart they poured forward resulting in Georgina Ashton firing wide...

United became guilty, likely as a result of losing two team mates, of forcing the issue rather than acting and relying upon the instincts that have served them so well this campaign... Sullivan chased down well firing in a first time cross from the bye line. Hatcliffe gambled superbly and raced ahead of her near post defender nicking her shot beyond the dive of Hernandez to give United a 35th minute lead...

Altrincham knew they were well in the game despite United having the better of possession and chances in the first 45 minutes and from a corner early in the second half Nadine Sproule directed a a header goalwards forcing Jackson into an excellent one handed save.. Midway through the half Brown lofted a speculative long range effort over the United bar that turned out to be a prelude for her forty yard effort on 68 minutes that this time dipped over Jackson and into the back of the net sparking delirious celebrations from the visitors...

Altrincham held on valiantly to record a creditable draw...

Altrincham FC Ladies: 1. Esther Hernandez, 2. Kyeshia Brown (Goal 68 mins), 3. Georgina Ashton, 16. Bliss Molyneaux, 5. Louise Edleston, 6. Aimee Hopkinson, 21. Hannah Shufflebotham, 7. Jessica Hartopp, 8. Gail Simpson, 9. Jade Hesketh 18. Laura Kelly. Subs: 12. Megan Rowley (for No18 25 mins), 15. Nadine Sproule (for No9 39 mins), 17. Melisaa Williams (for No7 90 mins). 23. Courtney Williams (for No 12 63 mins). Roll On, Roll Off Changes: On No 18, Off No15 (90+2 mins).

Match Stats by Paul Hinson...

FC United stats first... Goals: 1-1, Shots on target: 9-4, Shots off target: 15-2, Corners: 8-3, Completed Passes: 375-179, Possession: 68%.-32%".

MAL BAILEY

"Tributes have been paid to legendary former Altrincham defender Mal Bailey (right) after he died, aged 67.

Renowned as a ferocious and fearless centre-back in the great side of the late 1970s, Mal became part of Alty folklore by scoring the goal that took them to Wembley for the first time, for the 1978 FA Trophy final.

'Everyone remembers Mal for that Trophy semi-final winner at Runcorn, yet another example of him sticking his head in where it shouldn't have been,' said Alty chairman Grahame Rowley. 'He was that type of player, a rough, tough, no-nonsense centre-half who always gave his all.

'He'd stick his head in where most players would be afraid to nowadays, and he always gave 100 per cent. You always knew what you were getting with Mal, and that endeared him to so many Altrincham supporters. We've had emails, messages and tributes from lots of people, including old team-mates.

'John Rogers and John King, two more great names from the past, have been in touch asking for funeral details. They were a very close-knit team, and I'm sure as many as possible will be there to pay their respects.

'Mal lived locally and used to call in for a chat every now and then, just to keep in touch. He was that type of person and will be missed by us all.'

Signed from Runcorn at the start of the 1977-78 season, Mal made 250 Alty appearances, plus 10 as substitute, and scored 21 goals. Funeral arrangements are to be announced".

THROUGH THE YEARS

The image, right, is from that game in Essex. Despite the building's height, Stuart Coburn still managed to kick clearances well over the roof, twice!

Alty's side that day comprised 1. Stuart COBURN, 2. Steve ASPINALL, 17. Karl MUNROE, 20. Stephen ROSE, 3. Gary SCOTT; 7. Robbie LAWTON, 6. Steve BUSHELL (capt), 8. Val OWEN, 14. Lewis CHALMERS, 11. Warren PEYTON; 9. Colin LITTLE. Subs: 10. Rod THORNLEY, 12. Joe O'NEILL, 16. Peter THOMSON, 18. Pat McFADDEN, 22. Colin POTTS.

The current status of the 24 clubs in the Conference National division in 2006/07 is shown below. There are noticeably more southern teams who have retained their status or improved it, whilst proportionately more northern/Midlands clubs have dropped to a lower level.

• Clubs currently competing at that same level (5): Dagenham & Redbridge, Gravesend & Northfleet (Ebbsfleet), Aldershot Town, Woking, Halifax Town
• Clubs at a higher level (8): Oxford Utd, Morecambe, Exeter City, Burton Albion, Stevenage, Forest Green Rovers, Cambridge United, Crawley Town
• Clubs at a lower level, defunct or re-formed (11): York City, Kidderminster Harriers, Weymouth, Rushden & Diamonds, Northwich Victoria, Grays Athletic, Stafford Rangers, Altrincham, Tamworth, Southport, St Albans City

SHAW LANE FIXTURE

Also on the above date, the winners of the recent Altrincham FC Junior Arts Competition to "design a football shirt to celebrate the differences in our community" will be announced.

Jacqui Forster, Honorary Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Altrincham FC writes that "The Altrincham FC Inclusion & Diversity Group has teamed up with Trafford South Foodbank and a collection of items and monetary donations will take place at the home match on 9th December, 2017, when Alty entertain Shaw Lane AFC.

The local foodbank will be in attendance in the J. Davidson Stadium to take your donations and they will be able to distribute items to people just in time for Christmas, so please make somebody's Christmas a happy one and ensure that local families do not go hungry this year.

Please bring either the following items, or donate money to the collectors so that they can buy food in bulk, which is cheaper and they can check the best before dates: Cordial and fruit juice, UHT milk, sponge puddings, biscuits and chocolate, crisps, nuts and sugar. Also, all toiletries, including shower gel, soap, shampoo, toilet rolls, deodorants. No fresh foods please. Thank you in advance to all generous Altrincham FC fans and let’s make all local families have a wonderful Happy Alty Christmas!"

ROYALS' REPORT

Sutton Coldfield Town’s season of woe continued as they were hammered 4-0 by league leaders Altrincham, leaving The Royals winless in eleven games and seven points adrift of safety. There had been a surge of optimism in the week leading up to the game with the return of two former players. Defender Michael Townsend, who was an integral part of last term’s ‘great escape’ [last season], has left Barwell to bolster Sutton’s sloppy defence. While Aaron Birch has swiftly returned after a brief stint with Stourbridge didn’t work out. Birch has been Sutton’s best player this season, and him working alongside Danny O’Callaghan should elevate Sutton’s creative potential.

Any optimism was quashed swiftly as Sutton found themselves one down after the first attack. Jordan Hulme turning and shooting a tame effort past a disappointed Nicky Draper. The leaders were looking sharp in possession, a contrast to a Sutton side struggling to locate a man in their own half.

The Robins made it 2-0 when, in the 9th minute, James Jones headed in from a corner. The Royals’ marking was poor. A minute or two later and it was effectively game over as the visitors made it 3-0 courtesy of captain Jake Moult heading home from a Shaun Densmore free-kick.

Richard Sneekes, the Sutton boss, looked shell-shocked from his position near the toilets, the Dutchman serving a touchline ban... Although the goals inevitably dried up, Alty continued to dominate the game... Sutton finished the half with a bit of purpose but the damage had been done in the opening eleven minutes.

The second half featured less chances and Altrincham seemed content to sit back and try to hit Sutton on the counter. Altrincham were breaking well as the half wore on and Sutton were indebted to Draper for twice repelling Hulme in one-on-one situations. The introduction of Matt Walters gave Sutton fresh impetus. The substitute going close for Sutton on two occasions, including hitting the post when clean through...

Sutton’s afternoon of misery was rounded off when Altrincham added a fourth: Jordan Hulme netting his fifteenth of the season to complete the rout".

SUTTON COLDFIELD MATCH FROM PHIL'S ANGLE

AWAY WIN FOR YOUTH TEAM

LADIES DRAW AT LEAGUE LEADERS

SUTTON COLDFIELD TOWN 0 ALTRINCHAM 4

Match report here

RESERVES WIN IN HIGH-SCORING MATCH

SATURDAY GATES

• Att. 148 Ashton United 1 - 1 Barwell
• Att. 331 Buxton 0 - 3 Grantham Town
• Att. 276 Halesowen Town 1 - 1 Marine
• Att. 346 Hednesford Town 2 - 1 Stalybridge Celtic
• Att. 259 Lancaster City 4 - 2 Coalville Town
• Att. 214 Mickleover Sports 1 - 3 Warrington Town, one of Town's goals was a Sean Williams penalty.
• Att. 305 Nantwich Town 1 - 0 Whitby Town, Clayton McDonald netted a fourth minute winner.
• Att. 253 Shaw Lane 3 - 1 Stourbridge
• Att. 490 Stafford Rangers 0 - 2 Farsley Celtic
• Att. 269 Sutton Coldfield Town 0 - 4 Altrincham - this was the Royals' largest home gate this season.
• Att. 320 Witton Albion 3 - 3 Matlock Town
• Att. 430 Workington 4 - 1 Rushall Olympic

SEAN NETS AGAIN

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

EVO-STIK TRANSFERS

• Josh Amis from Stockport County to Colne
• Nathan Cartman from Darlington to Farsley Celtic
• Lewis Turner from Harrogate Town to Farsley Celtic
• Matthew Baker from Grantham Town to Sutton Coldfield Town (loan)
• Aaron Birch from Stourbridge to Sutton Coldfield Town

INTEGRO CUP OPPONENTS: MOSSLEY

On loan at Seel Park from National League FC Halifax Town since mid September, the 18-year-old had made 10 appearances so far in all competitions before the extension was confirmed on Friday.

The attacking midfielder with family roots in Serbia signed a one-year deal in the summer after impressing in the Shaymen's U19 side on the way to reaching the second round of the FA Youth Cup and winning the National League U19 Alliance.

The Lilywhites told fans on Friday that joint managers [ex-Alty man] Peter Band and Lloyd Morrison were delighted to hold onto the former Bradford city trialist".

OLD BOYS

The National League reports that "Salford City remain top of the table after beating bottom-markers North Ferriby United 4-0 at The Peninsula Stadium on Saturday. It was personally a fantastic afternoon for the Ammies' experienced striker Jack Redshaw.

He hit all four goals against a Ferriby side who have still only won once this season to date...

And "Craig Westcarr gave [our Ttophy opponents] Alfreton Town a 26th minute lead at the New Buck's Head against AFC Telford United. Tom Allan then doubled the Reds' lead just 5 minutes later.

Elliot Newby gave Bucks' fans hope of a second half comeback when he reduced the deficit a minute before half-time, but the Reds held firm to record three good away points".

SUTTON COLDFIELD TOWN 0-4 ALTRINCHAM

Above: Jake Moult is congratulated on his goal at Coles Lane.

Altrincham cruised into a 3-0 lead inside eleven minutes at Coles Lane but wasteful second-half finishing limited the visitors to only one more goal after the interval...

Match report here

SATURDAY'S FIXTURES

The EVO-STIK Premier Division

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

SUTTON COLDFIELD 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 commentators are Laurence Howarth and Mark Simpson ans 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.

PHIL'S COMMENTS

"We have made progress in two cup competitions this week. Last Saturday, we recovered from conceding a very early goal, for the second successive game, to beat Ramsbottom United 4-1 and Monday’s Buildbase F.A. Trophy draw sees us on our travels to Alfreton Town from the Vanarama National League North, which will be a good test for us against a team from the league that we are trying to get into.

I was so proud of the team on Tuesday night. They put in a superb performance to progress 7-6 on penalties, against Chester in the Cheshire Senior Cup. It was 1-1 after ninety minutes and 2-2 after extra-time but the quality of the display shows the strength in depth that we have, as we used the game to give needed match minutes to a number of our players.

The hunger and desire of the players shone through; these lads just will not lie down and when you consider that we were down to ten men for almost a hundred minutes, it’s a real testament to all the players that took part, that we made progress and an away draw with 1874 Northwich in January.

Having looked at Simon Richman’s red card on the video, it probably was a sending off offence. It was a difficult one, as both players have gone in very strongly. Simon is gutted, but we will just have to accept that he will miss three games after today.

There were heroes all over the pitch on Tuesday night. Max Harrop (left) was phenomenal,Tom Peers put in an outstanding performance throughout, Mason Walsh showed what a gifted winger he is and it was a good night for Laurence Taylor, Josh Amis and Sam Sheridan, as well as the three young lads, Darius Palma, Callum Jones and Tom Westall, who showed that there is some great talent emerging from the reserves.

Today, we travel to Sutton Coldfield, which is never an easy place to go. They are having a tough time of it, so far this season, but have strengthened in the last few days by re-signing Michael Townsend, who is a strong central defender who certainly put himself about a bit when we won at Barwell, where he was captain, in September.

Their astro-turf pitch gives them a good home advantage and whilst they are struggling at the wrong end of the league, they can beat anyone on their day, both Shaw Lane and Buxton have returned home pointless from their visit to Coles Lane.

We will be looking to bring back a maximum points haul from the West Midlands to stay at the top of the table, particularly as this is our only league game, that comes sandwiched in the middle of four cup games.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that there would probably be more players going out on loan and last night, we agreed a deal for Josh Amis (right) to join Evo-Stik North side Colne, for a month, where he will team up with Sean Miller, who has already scored twice during his loan spell.

Laurence Taylor and Tom Hannigan will play for the reserves at Ashton Town today. Laurence is back pushing for a first team place again, following his bad leg injury at Abbey Hey in early September and Tom is ready for his first action in five weeks after suffering a knee injury against Halesowen in mid-October".

HALF-SEASON TICKETS

Prices are as follows:

• Adults: £90
• Concessionaries: £60
Aged 12-16: £25
• Under 12s: £7.50

LADIES' DEVELOPMENT TEAM SEEKS NEW MANAGER

NEW STOCK IN ALTY SHOP

• Midlayer Top
• Hooded Sweatshirt
• Polo Shirt
• Technical Bottoms [!]

The above are available in adult sizes S M L XL. Other sizes can be ordered if required, and images can be seen on club shop .

VACANCY: DEVELOPMENT GROUP VOLUNTEER SECRETARY

The role description is below and can also be found on an ongoing basis on the Vacancies page of the website.

"

The role of the Volunteer Secretary is to support the Chair in ensuring the smooth functioning of the Website Development Group and Marketing Development Group.

The Secretary’s tasks include:

Ensure Responsible Administration

• To prepare agendas in consultation with the Chair of the group
• To circulate agendas and any supporting papers in good time.
• To receive agenda items from other group members.
• To minute meetings and circulate the draft minutes to all group members.
• To ensure that the Chair signs the minutes once they have been approved.
• To check that group members and staff have carried out action(s) agreed.
• To ensure up-to-date records are kept of group membership.
• To update the freedcamp project group

Make Arrangements for Meetings

• To ensure arrangements for meetings are met (booking the room, arranging for equipment and refreshments, organising facilities for those with special needs, etc).

Qualities and Skills Required

• Organisational ability.
• Experience of group work and procedures.
• Minute-taking experience
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Impartiality, fairness and the ability to respect confidences.
• Approachable and sensitive to the feelings of others.
• Well organised and an eye for detail.
• Ability to work well with the group chairman.
• Good time-keeping.

Time Commitment: The role of Development Group Secretary requires an estimated commitment of 3 hours a week.

This is a voluntary role and the deadline is Friday, 24 November 2017.

To apply please send a CV and cover email to volunteer@altrinchamfootballclub.co.uk."

PEERLESS TOM TOPS THE LIST

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

In fact, eight players are unavailable... Defender Evan Gumbs has been recalled from his loan spell at Warrington and could be forced to play further forward. Winger Elliot Rokka was due to go the other way to Paul Carden’s side on Thursday, but the crisis at Prenton Park is so bad that his temporary move to Cantilever Park was cancelled".

Across the Pennines, Farsley Celtic "travel to Stafford Rangers on Saturday as both clubs look to get back to winning ways. This is the first meeting between the two clubs since Farsley reformed, the last time a Farsley side played Stafford was eight years ago in August 2009.

Farsley are without a defeat in three games, drawing in the league with Workington (3-3) and Buxton (3-3), whilst progressing to the West Riding County Cup quarter-finals after a 2-0 win over Brighouse Town. Four of The Celts' last six matches have now finished 3-3 after 90 minutes. Farsley are without a win in five league games, their last win a 2-0 victory at home to Nantwich Town on the 7th October. New signing Lewis Turner is in contention to make his first appearance for the club, the ex-Harrogate Town player and twin brother of Farsley midfielder Nathan officially joining the club this week.

Ahead of the game Farsley manager Adam Lakeland said 'We’ve only actually lost once in our last 13 games over 90 minutes, which was to Mickleover so, in terms of our form, we are going quite well and have shown our character, resilience and qualities on a regular basis, now we need to turn these draws into wins and we will be fine.'

Stafford Rangers currently sit 12th in the Evo-Stik NPL, five points behind Farsley with a game in hand. Stafford had been on an excellent run of just one defeat in ten, with impressive victories over Ashton United (1-0), St Ives FC (6-0) and Farsley's FA Trophy conqueror South Shields (3-1). However they were brought back down to earth on Tuesday with a crushing 4-0 defeat at home to lowly Rushall Olympic. They have no apparent injury concerns."

Meanwhile at Nantwich Town the club can "confirm that full-back Courtney Wildin has committed to the Dabbers by signing a contract with the club this week. Wildin joined the Dabbers from Nuneaton Town in October, and has since made quite an impressive impression in his seven appearances.

The left-back made his first team debut this season as a first half substitute in the 5-1 away defeat to Altrincham. Previously at Nuneaton Town, Courtney began his career Aston Villa before moving to Sheffield Wednesday. He has had spells with Boston United, Gainsborough Trinity and Hednesford Town. He is also an Antigua and Barbuda international after making his debut in a Caribbean Cup qualifier in 2016 against Puerto Rico."

According to Non-League Yorkshire, "The deadline for applications for the vacant Shaw Lane AFC’s manager’s position is 5pm this afternoon [Friday]. The Ducks have been overwhelmed with CVs since advertising on Wednesday. It is hardly a surprise as the position is one of the most exciting to come up for a long time.

The vacancy opened up on Sunday after Craig Elliott ended nearly four magical years in charge to take over at National League side Boston United".

Barwell confirm that "Goole AFC defender Luke Foster has joined Barwell following the departure of Michael Townsend. 32-year-old Foster is an experienced central defender with Football League and National League experience. Foster boasts 351 career appearances on his CV, including 45 League Two appearances and 6 League One games.

He spent a period of time at Ilkeston and Coalville Town back in 2016, so knows the Midlands area well".

Over at Grantham Town, "Following his release from Boston United, The Gingerbreads have re-signed Tom Batchelor. The 25 year-old central defender left Boston from The Gingerbreads last season after making 6 appearances... Adam Stevens explained his delight in the signing, 'We were disappointed last season when he left, but understand everyone wants to play at the highest level possible. He's not match fit at the moment, so Dennis (Rhule) will get working on that."

LARGER COACH ARRANGED FOR SUTTON COLDFIELD TRIP

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

TASC is currently pricing up travel for the FA Trophy match at Alfreton and hope to be able to run a coach to this tie. This will be confirmed later in the week.

CSC OPPONENTS: NORTHWICH 1874

Altrincham played 1874 Northwich in a mid-season friendly on Saturday, 12 October, 2013 and won 2-1 thanks to goals by Kyle Perry and James Lawrie. Arguably, Alty were fortunate to win as the visitors had a penalty saved by Alty's trialist keeper Shaun Pearson (ex-Barrow). However, the Robins did dominate the second half.

At the time, 1874 Northwich were in their first competitive season, having been set up via the Supporters' Trust, to operate in competition to the then Flixton-based Northwich Victoria.

1874 Northwich's goal was laid on by none other than current Alty forward Tom Peers, who is pictured right (no.9) at the 2013 game. Alty dominated the second period but could not add to their score.

Alty's line-up was 1. Shaun PEARSON, 2. Scott LEATHER, 3. Matt DOUGHTY, 4. Carl RODGERS, 5. Gianluca HAVERN (capt), 6. Simon RICHMAN, 7. Brian SMIKLE, 8. Danny BOSHELL, 9. Kyle PERRY, 10. Damian REEVES, 11. James LAWRIE. Subs: 12. Shaun DENSMORE, 14. Adam COWEN, 15. Jake MOULT, 16. Rob GILROY, 17. Nicky CLEE, 18. Dan LLOYD (gk), 19. James WALSHAW.

Nowadays, 1874 Northwich compete in the Hallmark Security (NW Counties) League Premier Division. Although they currently lie 18th they have seven games in hand on the league leaders, with a backlog of fixtures largely due to involvement in cup competitions, notably the FA Vase. To underline the falseness of their league position, they actually lie second in the current form guide with five wins from their last six league fixtures.

They recently beat Alty's one-time nemesis, Tow Law Town, 5-1 in the Buildbase FA Vase and 1874 Northwich report that "1874 produced one of their best and most comprehensive displays ever in the FA Vase competition as they easily dispatched their opponents from the North East to set up a mouthwatering North West Counties Football League derby against Ashton Athletic in the next round...

In some ways the final score line perhaps flattered 1874 but many onlookers will say that in fact the margin of their victory could have been even greater. Right from the kick off it was evident that 'both sides were up for it' and the officials had to keep a close eye on the competitive battles around the field and that was particularly the case as the visitors’ defence struggled throughout to thwart the wing play of both Taylor Kennerely and Adam Whitlock as both youngsters were keen to impress from the start...

The teams were level until the 37th minute when 1874’s 'Mr. Consistency' Scot McGowan opened the scoring by finishing off a good footballing move by his side... The 1874 men had to endure some rough treatment by the opponents' desperate defending and indeed although there were a number of bookings many at the game thought that the visitors were lucky to end the game with eleven players still on the field.

The all-important second goal came after 50 minutes and it was scored by a cool finish from Whitlock... It was no real surprise when the lead was increased in the 65th minute with an excellent finish from Jake Parker, his third goal in the last four games...

Tow Law reduced the deficit to two goals... The three-goal margin was quickly restored as McGowan found the net again in the 72nd minute and then in the last minute of the game substitute Waite-Jackson added the fifth with an exquisite free-kick finishing in the top left-hand corner of the goal...

1874: Hall; Mitchell; Lee Jackson; Pritchard; Meadowcroft; Jones: Whitlock; Matt Woolley; McGowan; Parker & Kennerley. Subs: Riley, Hind, Waite-Jackson, Haughton & Woods. Attendance: 229"

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

The Pitmen held their lead until the half-time break, but just 7 minutes after the restart, the Owls were back on level terms when Jonathan Oglesby swung the ball in and it beat everyone, including the visiting keeper, before nestling in the back of the net.

If that was fortunate, Cleethorpes winner with less than 4 minutes of normal time to go was a lovely move which saw Luke Mascall produce a nice piece of skill before cutting the ball back for Danny North to fire home at the near post. To add to the Pitmen's misery, Darren Campion was given his marching orders in stoppage time after a fracas in the middle of the pitch".

Also from NL Pitchero, we learn that "Joint boss Glenn Kirkwood labelled Matlock Town’s 3-0 home defeat to Nantwich Town in the Evo-Stik League Premier as both a disaster and a surprise and says only hard work will improve their fortunes in a season of underachievement so far.

Last Saturday’s defeat was their fourth at home this term and a second successive 3-0 loss following on from the defeat at Ashton United eleven days earlier. It leaves Matlock stuck in seventeenth spot and badly needing three points from their trip to Witton Albion this weekend.

'Saturday was a disaster and a surprise. We’d had a week off, the lads had looked sharp in training and were buzzing in the changing room and in the warm-up so to play like that was a massive surprise,' said Kirkwood. 'We never got started and going a goal behind early on meant we were always chasing the game. The only positive to come out of the game is that we created chances despite playing so badly. At the start of the second half we could have levelled it but then a lack of concentration saw us 2-0 down and with ten men against a good side, it was always going to be difficult from that point on. Nantwich were quick out of the blocks, we weren’t'...

'We’ve had a good chat at training, the lads got some things off their chests, things are very frustrating. Individually we have a good team but collectively it’s not quite there...As a team we’ve got to man up. It’s okay wanting to win, the difference is going into the game really wanting to win. Going that extra mile. People talk about last season, then we grafted and went that extra mile... this season I’m not really sure we’ve been getting that. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves, we roll our sleeves up, puff out our chests, play for the badge, the club and the fans'...

On the playing front, Kirkwood says there is a need to 'freshen things up' and two new faces could be in the squad at Wincham Park. Last week striker Tyrell Waite was recalled by Boston United but it was a case of one in and one out as 18-year-old striker Ricky German came in from Chesterfield...

'I repeat that we want to bring players in permanently but it’s more difficult than people imagine... but we hope to have two new lads with us for the Witton game'".

Coalville Town report "We have won the appeal to have Kyle Dixon’s red card against Alvechurch overturned by the FA. He is available for selection on Saturday".

Also "Evan Gumbs’s loan spell at Warrington Town has ended, following Tranmere Rovers recalling the defender".

CSC FIRST ROUND

• Stockport Town v Cammell Laird/Northwich Victoria
• 1874 Northwich v Altrincham
• Witton Albion v Hyde United
• Runcorn Linnets v Crewe Alexandra
• Stockport County v Barnton
• Sandbach United v Nantwich Town
• Alsager Town v Stalybridge Celtic
• Winsford United v Warrington Town FC

RADIO ROBINS REVISITED

JAKE AND HIS BROTHER

Moult’s brother Jake, who is a midfielder for Altrincham in the English lower leagues, was there, along with his dad Arthur and grandfather Harry Walklet...

Left: Jake celebrates his goal at Colchester.

Watching one of their own steal the show was a special moment for a family who deserve a day in the sun after enduring some dark times. Louis and Jake’s mum Vicky died a decade ago when the pair were just teenagers after losing a long battle with alcoholism. Life hadn’t exactly been easy up until that point either but the family stuck together during the hard times...

Big brother Jake said, 'What a day it was. I was up with my dad and my grandad, my mum’s dad. We sat in with the Motherwell fans. Louis could have got us tickets in the main stand with the rest of the families, corporates and stuff but we said we’d rather be in the crowd. We wanted to experience it properly. It was a great decision. It was absolutely bouncing in there. We absolutely loved it.

'The Motherwell fans were singing his song and when his second goal went in it was incredible. There were lumps in the throat and a few tears in the eyes. It was an emotional moment'...

Jake added, 'We’ve never really been handed anything in life. We never had it easy. We came from a working-class background and had to work for everything. Losing our mum was obviously a tricky period for us as well. Look, it happens in life. Everyone has things they need to deal with...

'It’s how you come out the other side. People might think you could go off the rails or something but it was never really an option... We’re both happy. We’ve both got young families and hopefully we are making mum proud'...

Louis has taken Scottish football by storm while his brother is captain of Northern Premier League and renowned FA Cup giantkillers Altrincham. Jake admits his kid brother might have the edge on him but... 'We’re really close and we speak every couple of days. We’re proud of what he’s achieved in Scotland. I get ribbed at my club for not doing as well as him. They say he’s the brother with all the ability. But that’s all right, I can take the stick... Louis has always been a good player. He was a bit unlucky at Stoke and he was around a few clubs. He’s had to work his way from the bottom up so fair play to him, he’s getting the rewards now.

'He won’t get too big for his boots though. We have the same group of friends and we wouldn’t let him go all big time.. It’s probably down to our upbringing. We’re working-class lads and being involved in football doesn’t change that... I heard Kenny Dalglish mention him the other day. Kenny Dalglish – that’s just shows you how well he’s doing'...

Jake has a moment of cup glory of his own, mind you, and he joked Louis’s Hampden stunner is not even the best strike in his family. The older brother ended up on Match of the Day with his 35-yard lob against Colchester United a couple of years ago. It was up for goal of the round and a YouTube sensation. Altrincham dumped Barnsley, who were five divisions above them on the English league ladder, in the previous round...

Jake said, 'I reckon mine was a bit better! I don’t get many. I guess the magnitude of his goal at Hampden might let him claim it. Mine wasn’t too bad though. It was just a sore one losing with the last kick of the game to go out. That’s what happens in cup football'".

Motherwell meet Celtic in the Final and Jake said, 'There’s only two and a bit years between us so we have the same group of friends and we’ll all going to pile up. We’re top of our league at the moment but it’s a long season. Long may it continue. It would be brilliant if we can go up and Louis can win the Cup. It would be amazing for the family.'"

CHESTER'S VERDICT

The hosts were impressive in the opening stages and deserved their lead when Simon Richman intercepted a pass and brilliantly smashed home from 25 yards. However, Richman’s game soon turned sour, as he was shown a straight red card for a nasty two-footed tackle on Lathaniel Rowe-Turner.

Marcus Bignot’s side responded after the break, equalising as Bell combined with Harry White to coolly slot beyond Deasy... The Blues played the extra time period with ten men as Andy Halls and Lucas Dawson came off, with 16 year old Lloyd Marsh-Hughes the only player to come on.

Alty restored the lead in the first half of extra time as Blues' Academy Graduate Tom Peers finished from Sheridan’s low cross. The home side ought to have wrapped the game up from the spot on 116 minutes but Jake Moult’s penalty was superbly saved by Conor Mitchell.

Chester then hit back as Harry White levelled with a super sweeping finish on the 120 minute mark. The penalty shootout was lengthy – decided when Marsh-Hughes’ pen was saved by the Alty keeper as the Blues fall at the Preliminary Round stage."

The Chester Chronicle adds that "The Blues fielded a side with a blend of youth and experience at Moss Lane against the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League outfit, including handing a debut to Wolves loanee Ryan Rainey".

TROPHY OPPONENTS: ALFRETON TOWN

The Reds squandered a two goal half-time lead at FC United of Manchester on Tuesday night thanks to an abject second-half performance. The outcome both angered and embarrassed manager John McDermott, who described his side as 'Jekyll and Hyde' after conceding two very late goals, with the equaliser coming from a needlessly conceded penalty in the 87th minute.

'We went in, we came off the pitch, went in at half-time, I don’t know what happened between me telling them if anything we needed to tighten it up in certain areas, not see the game out, but tighten up and we’d be all right,' he said. 'For some reason they wanted to do something else, they’ve gone out and done something else, and blame someone else, and we just collapsed.

'The first goal was a poor goal; it’s a problem we’ve had all season. It’s in our box and we cannot defend our box and we’re meant to have one of the best back fours or back threes in the league. My players get good money, they get looked after for the size of this club, and that’s embarrassing... I’m embarrassed that they’ve made the club a bit of a laughing stock tonight and I’m really hurt and angry.

'People have travelled here to witness that... I’ve been here before with Harrogate Town where I’ve been 3-0 up and lost 4-3 and I warned them they’ll come out, keep it tight, but no, we want to do something else. Clear the ball? No, we’ve headed it across our own goal and not for the first time it’s gone in. We should go again, but no they’ve stopped working, they’ve put pressure on the ball and a stupid, stupid penalty; the ball’s not going anywhere and they want to dive in and try and win it.

'We had a chance to clear the third goal the ball’s gone out wide, again they’re going nowhere, but he turns his man like he’s turning a bus, and to be fair but for Chris [Elliott] they could have had five... I don’t like to slag players off to the press but tonight I’m hurt.'

lt all looked to be going so well for the Reds as Craig Westcarr met Tom Platt’s long throw with a clinical back post header in the 22nd minute. Then in the second minute of stoppage time in the first half Brendon Daniels unleashed a venomous free-kick from just outside the area that almost ripped the back of the net off, despite a deflection en route and a touch by keeper Lloyd Allinson".

And the National League on the same topic adds that the manager said, "On producing a reaction at AFC Telford United on Saturday, McDermott added, 'It's huge, the lads owe a performance and they owe a shift. They have to bring it on Saturday. They owe the fans that, the fans that travelled up last night, I apologise for the performance and the manner at which we threw the game away, we went under like a pack of cards...

Both teams were the same in the second half, they didn't send out another eleven. They just worked harder, they were more physical, we didn't match it.'"

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

The creative central midfielder is back at Barwell for three months after informing the Nuneaton Town staff that he wanted to get game time".

Meanwhile Alty's next opponents have also welcomed back a former player as Barwell "captain Michael Townsend has re-joined Sutton Coldfield Town. 31-year-old Townsend has been a great servant to Barwell, leading the team with many dominant performances as club captain.

The skipper, who lives in Walsall, has opted for a move closer to home as he re-joins his former club Sutton Coldfield Town... We will announce the signing of a new central defender in due course, after Townsend's departure has opened up a key place in the squad."

At Shaw Lane "The Ducks' search for a new First team manager continues as they prepare for Saturdays big game against Stourbridge. The Ducks hope to continue in winning ways without a first team manager... A win for Shaw Lane could put us back in 2nd Place."

Elsewhere, Nantwich Town "progressed to the second round of the Integro League cup with a comfortable 3-1 win at the Weaver over Droylsden. Two goals in the first half through David Forbes’s penalty and Steve Jones’s close range finish were followed by [ex-Alty man] Joe Mwasile’s late strike whilst Liam Caddick struck a consolation for the Evo-Stik Division One North side".

MIDWEEK GAME

The FA Trophy 17-18 - Second Round Qualifying - Replay

• Cleethorpes Town 2-1 Hednesford Town

"A MAN APART" - DUNCAN WATMORE

Duncan in action for Altrincham in May 2012, courtesy of Gavin Rathbone. The Sunderland striker, recently back from 10 months out with a ruptured cruciate ligament, is already something of a man apart in football, signed as a teenager from non-league Altrincham in the summer after his first year as an undergraduate at Manchester University. He moved to the north-east, switched his degree course to Newcastle University and graduated with first-class honours in Economics and Business Management two years ago.

He never really set out to be a footballer, not after Manchester United’s academy rejected him aged 12, and he decided to take the opportunity to be a conventional teenager, playing cricket and rugby and doing A-levels in maths, physics and economics. Yet here he is now, a former England Under-21, the player of the Under-20s 2016 Toulon Tournament and, by his own admission, something of an accidental footballer.

He is giving one per cent of his salary to the charities supported by Mata’s Common Goal project for a simple reason: it feels to him like the game he plays, already very important in his life, will mean more. 'As a footballer, I didn’t come down the conventional route,' he says. 'It’s not something I expected to do my whole life. It was kind of thrown on me when I was 19. The main reason for me [signing up to Common Goal] is just giving back. It’s a cliché but it is true.

'It also gives my job a bit more meaning. Playing football is a very enjoyable job and I am lucky to do it. By committing to something like this, it gives you a sense of purpose. The way they have done it, you don’t really notice one per cent but it contributes, and if everyone does it, it can contribute a lot'...

'For me the main area I want to go down is to link in with my education, I was lucky enough to get a degree'. He was a part-time footballer living in halls of residence on a corridor with nine others in Manchester’s student heartland of Fallowfield when Sunderland bought him in 2013. He had even signed a contract for his second year accommodation – 'five guys, five girls, all going to live together in a house' – before becoming a professional footballer overnight...

His father Ian was once the Football Association chief executive and a now the First Civil Service Commissioner, regulating the Civil Service. Duncan’s two older brothers Alex and Guy have both followed their father’s original profession, management consultancy. His younger brother Nick has just graduated from Cambridge University with a maths degree. Their mother Georgina is a vicar in the Cheshire town of Tarporley and Duncan himself is a Christian who attends his mother’s services when he can. 'I really enjoy watching her do sermons, she is very interactive; it’s not one of these when you are nodding off'...

He is currently reading Carlo Rovelli’s 'Seven Brief Lessons of Physics' although he points out that he also likes that more conventional footballer pastime of whiling away time on the Xbox...

[At Sunderland] 'It has fairly obviously been a rubbish time for us in the last couple of years. Frustrating. It's a great football club and is a shame we are in the position we are. There is no point feeling sorry for ourselves. The only way is up and we need to stick together'".

ALTRINCHAM BEAT CHESTER FC ON PENALTIES

Match report to follow.

Right: Simon Richman walks off as James Jones expresses incredulity at the referee's decision.

NEIL SORVEL INTERVIEWED

Q: It might have been easier on the nerves if we had avoided the penalty shoot-out, but when you look at how youngsters like Callum Jones and Tom Westall handled it, it could be quite character-building for them, couldn't it?

A: Yes, definitely. They were all confident. They all wanted to take one, and there were some really good penalties. The young lads were up for it. None of them shied away, and it was really pleasing to see them react like that. It was the same with Jake Moult. He'd just had a pen saved in extra-time but was first to put his hand up for one in the shoot-out. I know he's more experienced than the other lads, but that showed character. It can't have been easy, so soon after missing one, but he drilled it home, no problem. That was good to see.

Q: What were your thoughts overall?

A: I thought we were really good for the first 25 minutes. We played some great stuff and got ourselves in front against a team two leagues above us. I know they were half and half in terms of selection, but we made plenty of changes as well, and it was pleasing we looked such a threat against them. It was a great goal by Ringo (Simon Richman, left) but such a shame he was then sent off when we had so much control.

Q: What did you think of the straight red card, because it did seem from the back of the main stand that he went in with both feet off the ground, which is running a real risk these days, isn't it?

A: There is that. It probably looked like both feet left the ground, but he did definitely win the ball. It was very disappointing, but we'll have to have a look at it. Their lad has gone in tough as well, so we will have to have a look and take it from there. As things stand, we will lose him for three games, which is really disappointing, because he has just come back from a one-match ban and has been playing really well. We'll see if there's anything we can do with it, in terms of maybe putting an appeal in, but we need to view it on the tape before deciding on that.

He's not exactly renowned for scoring goals like that, but we had a couple of sighters early on from Max Harrop and Tom Peers, and when Ringo let fly, there was no stopping it. It will be cruel if we do lose him for three games, but there are others who can step in, as has been shown. We had to adjust after the sending off, and Max did great again in that deeper role when we went to 4-4-1 with two banks of four. The idea was to look nice and compact and hit them on the break, and we certainly did that.

We had enough clear opportunities with 10 men to have wrapped it up, and that was because we passed the ball so well on the counter attack. I thought we looked really solid, and I was really pleased with the way we defended, how organised we were, the shape we kept and how hard the lads worked. Chester didn't really look like breaking us down, apart from the odd mistake letting them in. Their first goal came from a mishit crossfield pass that left us wide open, and it was hard to take, conceding right at the end of extra time when their lad got in front of someone to score from a cross. Other than that, we looked really solid.

Q: Is it a measure of how much you and Phil Parkinson hate losing any game that, even in the Cheshire Senior Cup and down to 10 men, we kept going right to the end?

A: Well, let's be honest, it's not high on the list of priorities. I have to say that. We want to win every game, of course we do, but it's not exactly up there with trying to win the league. Once you are out there, though, you want to do well, and we do try to instil that spirit in the players. To be fair, it does matter to the lads themselves, because they are competing for places. Some of them haven't had much game time, so they have a point to prove. That was apparent, because there were some really good performances.

Q: Even in extra-time, when one of their lads seemed to be clean through, Shaun Densmore came charging back to make a saving tackle - that typified the night, didn't it?

A: Yes, I remember that, and it was great energy by Dens. Again, it showed the desire they've got. We were playing a side two divisions up, a Conference National side, and we did really well. It would have been interesting if we had kept 11 on the pitch, because the way we were playing, we would have run away with it. The way we went at it in the first 25 minutes or so, it would have been difficult for them to live with us. That's a good sign for the rest of the season. You have to take into account the changes both sides made, but it did show what a solid squad we've got.

Q: When you talk about players staking a claim, Mason Walsh (left) must have impressed you and Phil?

A: He did. He looked like a ghost when he came off, like he was dying! That was just down to a lack of game time. For the first 20 minutes, he was unplayable, and he continued to cause problems for them every time he was on the ball. Get him one-on-one and isolated with a defender, and he is a real threat, a real handful for any defence. He is another one we've been trying to get more game time for, but it's difficult sometimes with so many good players at the club.

Q: We've got Alfreton away in the FA Trophy after beating Ramsbottom 4-1 last Saturday - that should be a great chance to test ourselves, shouldn't it?

A: I think so, yes. We would have liked a home draw, but the chances of three of those on the spin are pretty remote, so we will have to accept that and get on with it. You look at where they are in their league, and it could be a good yardstick for us to go and test ourselves. They are in the league we are aspiring to get to this season, so from that point of view, it should be a good challenge for us".

MALCOLM BAILEY R.I.P.

Altrincham FC is sad to learn of the death on Tuesday of former defender Malcolm Bailey. Mal's memorable goal at Runcorn in the 1978 FA Trophy Semi-Final, Second Leg is pictured above, courtesy of Barry Pikesley.

All at Altrincham FC send their condolences to his family. Mal was 67

In his article on Mal in the Altrincham FC Legends, Terry Rowley wrote...

"A true 'Alty' legend and a natural successor to previous long-time centre back Gerry Casey. Mal was a typically solid no-nonsense centre half and was the rock upon which Altrincham's defence was built. He blended perfectly with fellow centre-half John Owens to give Altrincham one of the best centre back pairings in non-league football.

He started his career by joining Port Vale in May 1967 and played 2 league games before moving down into non-league football firstly with Northwich and later with Runcorn. He joined Altrincham for the start of the 1977/78 season and made an almost instant impression. The most lasting memory will be the FA Trophy semi-final where he scored the all-important winner in the 2nd leg against his old club, Runcorn, at Canal Street. The Final saw Altrincham beat Leatherhead and Mal had an FA Trophy winner's medal in his first season. (He had also scored against Runcorn in the 2-1 FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round defeat earlier in the season).

The following season he played in the 1-1 draw with Spurs at White Heart lane but missed the replay due to injury, (something that was to plague his career in future seasons). The next season saw him win the inaugural Alliance Premier League title and a League Cup finalist's medal. He also saw Altrincham through to the Third Round of the FA Cup again beating Crewe and Rotherham in the First and Second rounds before going out to Leyton Orient after a replay. Season 1980-81 saw him achieve the League and Cup double but, by this time, injuries we forcing him to miss an increasing number of games.

He missed much of the 1981/82 season but still picked up a Cheshire Senior Cup winner's medal and an FA Trophy finalist's medal, playing in the 1-0 defeat against Enfield. He remained at Moss Lane for a further season and a half but his appearances became more sporadic, though he never gave less than 100% whenever he played.

He eventually moved on to Telford in 1983-84 and finished his playing career at Hyde United and finally Caernarfon. Mal cared passionately for the club, a fact shown by how, when his playing career was over, he returned to Moss Lane on match days to help out in the sponsors' lounge [and also workes as part of George Heslop's Altrincham Youth team coaching team].

Honours won by Mal Bailey as an Altrincham Player

• 1977-78 FA Trophy Winner and NWFL Finalist.
• 1979-80 Alliance League title winner, APLC Cup Finalist.
• 1980-81 Alliance League title winner.
• 1981-82 CSC Winner, FA Trophy Finalist.

Mike Garnett adds his statistical data:

• 1977-8: 56 games, 4 goals
• 1978-9; 42 games, 1 sub appearance, 1 non-playing sub, 4 goals
• 1979-80; 48 games, 4 goals
• 1980-1; 40 games, 3 sub appearances, 2 non-playing subs, 2 goals
• 1981-2; 27 games, 4 sub appearances, 9 non-playing subs, 2 goals
• 1982-3; 34 games, 1 sub appearance, 1 non-playing sub, 4 goals
• 1983-4; 3 games, 1 sub appearance, 2 non-playing subs, 1 goal
• Total: 250 games, 10 sub appearances, 15 non-playing subs, 21 goals

NEXT OPPONENTS: SUTTON COLDFIELD TOWN

In a season of disappointment, Sutton Coldfield Town suffered arguably their most sickening defeat to date when, having made it 2-2, in the 92nd minute, The Royals displayed poor game management to concede and lose 3-2 with almost the last kick of the game. The results leaves Sutton firmly rooted to the bottom of the Evo-Stik Premier Division.

Stafford made an immediate impact scoring after just 13 seconds. Left-back Keiren Westwood's long ball was headed downwards into the path of the onrushing Westwood who unleashed a dipping volley that the keeper had no chance with. Rangers continued to dominate and a couple of headers from Richard Batchelor almost extended their advantage.

In the 17th minute, Sutton levelled as Gurjit Singh’s innocuous through ball found Lee Knight who passed for Danny O’Callaghan to score a header off the underside of the bar...

The visitors went ahead three minutes after the resumption, Keiran Morris heading home Izak Reid’s free-kick.. But Sutton levelled in stoppage time when Singh bundled in after Stafford goalkeeper Brad Caswell failed to handle the initial Sutton shot. It seemed like The Royals had taken a much needed point but there was one more twist in the tale.

With Sutton failing to maintain their tactical discipline, Keiren Westwood created a bit of space to curl one past Draper. The scenes that followed were as boisterous as any seen this season at Coles Lane. Sutton have endured many types of loss this season, but on a cold Tuesday November evening, this was as bitter pill to take."

MEETING OF NEXT TWO OPPONENTS

By chance, those two sides met last Saturday and Mickleover Sports reported on their 2-0 home win over The Royals.

"Mickleover Sports are on a great run of form at the moment, with impressive back to back league victories on the road and it continued with a win against bottom of the table Sutton Coldfield Town at the Don Amott Arena.

In goal for the visitors was Nick Draper who had served the home club well last season before departing earlier this after hitting a bad patch of form... Sports took the lead on the 13th minute as a superb through ball by Jimmy Phillips was collected by Andy Dales who took it round Draper before firing home.

So dominant were the hosts in the first half that it was 35 minutes into the contest before the visitors struck a shot worthy of note. Gurjit Singh struck it from the edge of the box after referee Paul Tomes awarded a free kick against Sports keeper Lewis King who was adjudged to have held onto the ball fractionally outside his area. The free kick flew over the bar.

By this stage Mickleover had already found the back of the net four times, only for the linesman to rule out three of them for various offences... Pablo Mills completed the scoring on 54 minutes. Dales was fouled at the edge of the area and Mills took an immaculate free kick that Draper could only help into the net, although it was already over the line before he got a hand to it...

Best chance to increase the score... fell to Ben Turner who failed to find the target from close range on 86 minutes when it looked impossible to miss. Sports were good value for their win as their winning run continues."

Sports:- King, Horne, Turner, McGrath, Mills, Burgin, Dales, Scott (Hickman 68), Morris, Garnett, Phillips (Dickinson 90). Subs:- Williams, Morrison, Tyrell.

Sutton Coldfield:- Draper, Beresford, Martin, Smith (Lovett 45), Kelly, (Probert 75), Haran, Little, Webb, Knight (Howell 63), O’Callaghan, Singh. Subs:- Walters, Perry.

Attendance 230."

TUESDAY FIXTURES

Evo-Stik Premier

• Stafford Rangers 0-4 Rushall Olympic

Cheshire Senior Cup 17-18 - Preliminary Round

• Altrincham 2-2 Chester FC, AET, Altrincham won 7-6 on penalties

The FA Trophy 17-18 - Second Round Qualifying - Replay

• Ashton United 2-2 Warrington Town, Warrington Town won 4-2 on penalties AET

The Integro League Cup 17-18 - First Round

• Buxton 3-5 Coalville Town
• Nantwich Town 3-1 Droylsden
• Ossett Town 2-0 Goole AFC

TUESDAY'S MATCH

• Adults £7
• Concessionaries £5
• Under 16s £1

Should the scores be level at ninety minutes, extra time would be played and, if necessary, penalties taken.

ALTRINCHAM v CHESTER FC: 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 Mark Simpson 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.

HOSPITALITY OFFER

SUPPORTERS' TRANSPORT TO SUTTON COLDFIELD

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

BRING A TOY TO SHAW LANE GAME

Also on the above date, the winners of the recent Altrincham FC Junior Arts Competition to "design a football shirt to celebrate the differences in our community" will be announced.

FA TROPHY AND INTEGRO CUP

Should a replay of that tie be needed, that would be expected to take place on Tuesday, 28 November. As yet no firm date has been agreed for Altrincham's trip, scheduled in the same week, to Mossley in the Integro Cup.

PLENTY OF GOALS FOR LADIES

Meanwhile in the Cheshire Women's Division 2, the Altrincham FC Ladies Development team had an excellent away win, 5-2, against AFC Stockport. The Alty scorers were Jess Harding (2), Sabrina Hoysted, Emma Quigley and Megan Lord.

Alty Ladies' manager Keith Edleston adds that the result "leaves the Development team still on top of the league, three points clear of AFC Stockport".

FA TROPHY OPPONENTS: ALFRETON TOWN

• Home p.5 w.1 d.1 l.3 f.7 a.5
• Away p.5 w.2 d.2 l.1 f.8 a.4
• Overall p.10 w.3 d.3 l.4 f.15 a.9

Alfreton Town played FCUM last night and in advance of that game they said that "The Reds have narrowly lost their last three games by a single goal to three of the division's top sides who are all full time professional. Alfreton have now reached a critical stage of the season lying in 16th place in the table, four points above the relegation zone but only six points from the play-off positions".

They add that "Alfreton Town host York City this coming Saturday in the Vanarama National League North... The Reds will be looking for a better outcome from the game than their last two matches in which they were unlucky to go down to two narrow defeats 1-2 and 1-0 respectively against the top two sides in the division, Harrogate Town and Salford City. After dominating the second half against Harrogate after pulling a goal back through Tom Allan in the first half, the Reds headed to Salford in high spirits after an excellent display against Harrogate despite defeat. Alfreton suffered late heartbreak at the Peninsula Stadium last weekend as a stoppage time header was the difference after another excellent performance against another of the division's high flyers".

from the other side, York City report that their "new signing Adam Bartlett saved a penalty on his York City debut to ensure victory in a five-goal thriller at Alfreton Town.

Bartlett, who joined the Minstermen in midweek from Darlington, dived low to his right to prevent Bradley Wood equalising from the spot with 15 minutes to go. Striker Jon Parkin had scored from the spot at the opposite end just five minutes earlier to make it 3-2 after former City midfielder Tom Platt was sent off for committing a second bookable offence when pulling back striker Gary Martin in the Alfreton penalty area.

Alfreton were presented with an opportunity to draw level for the third time in the game when City captain Sean Newton handled at a corner. Bartlett, however, came to the rescue with a stunning save which justified his pre-match billing as the 'best goalkeeper outside the Football League', according to manager Martin Gray.

Midfielder Aidan Connolly had opened the scoring... Cieran Keane equalised for Town in the 33rd minute with a shot from 12 yards after being picked out unmarked in the penalty area by Platt. City weathered heavy pressure both before and after the interval but regained the lead in the 52nd minute when Parkin scored...

City were pegged back for the second time in the game just a few minutes later... Daniels then unleashed a thunderbolt from the subsequent freekick which flew into the roof of the City net to make it 2-2... Parkin then scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 70th minute, silencing the jibes of the home supporters who were also shaking the back of the net as he took his crucial penalty kick!...

Alfreton Town: Elliott; Keane, Wood, Platt, Allan, Priestley, Disley, Robertson (Shariff 58), Jennings (Topliss 65), Marshall, Daniels. Unused substitutes: Westcarr, Everington, Johnson.... Attendance: 997 (including 389 City supporters)"

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

'If that’s the formula then all it will take his for someone to come in and take the chances that we do create. Things can turn very quickly, we’re not a million miles away. It’s soul destroying that we keep talking about 1-0 losses.'

Speaking after Saturday’s 1-0 Buildbase FA Trophy defeat at the hands of Mildenhall Town, Ginnelly added, 'I’m amazingly gutted. I’ve just told the lads how much I feel let down by a few people over the last four or five weeks. The biggest thing that gets to me is our losses are 1-0, 1-0, 1-0. I think I’ve got a fantastic back four and they’ve been let down. They scored with a great free-kick into the bottom corner and they deserved to win the game. My team have a lack of creativity in the final third. We point a lot of fingers at our strikers, but they have to have things to feed off.

'Craig Stanley made a good point that we don’t seem to do anything when we get in and around the final third. At the start of the season, you’d have thought we’d be okay with that. But now we’re on a run of narrow losses and it is soul destroying. We’ve created a lot of chances, but we haven’t taken them, and we’ve deservedly being knocked out'".

Nantwich Town "confirm that goalkeeper Will Jaaskelainen's loan spell from Crewe Alexandra has been extended by a month".

OLD BOY

Steve Settle spoke of the capture, 'It was a blow to lose a fan favourite to an Evo-Stik club last year but it was a great opportunity for him. However, we’re grateful to Michael Clegg and Atherton Collieries for the chance to give him some game time and it should give everyone at the football club a massive boost.'"

ALTY AWAY IN FA TROPHY DRAW

44 teams from the National League North and South enter the Buildbase FA Trophy at the 3rd and final Qualifying Round. So, with the 36 survivors from the Second Qualifying Round, a total of 80 clubs will compete in this round, with the 40 winners to be joined by the 24 clubs from the National League top flight for Round One Proper.

The northern half of the draw for the Third Qualifying Round, for matches on 25 November is...

• 1 Brackley Town v Salford City
• 2 York City v Coalville Town
• 3 Hednesford Town or Cleethorpes Town v Spennymoor Town
• 4 Grantham Town v Chorley
• 5 Tamworth v Warrington Town or Ashton United
• 6 AFC Telford United v Droylsden
• 7 Darlington v Harrogate Town
• 8 Gainsborough Trinity v Stafford Rangers
• 9 Bradford (Park Avenue) v Stourbridge
• 10 Boston United v Kidderminster Harriers
• 11 Nuneaton Town v North Ferriby United
• 12 Stockport County v Southport
• 13 Blyth Spartans v Stalybridge Celtic
• 14 Glossop North End v Workington
• 15 Alfreton Town v Altrincham
• 16 Leamington v Curzon Ashton
• 17 Lancaster City v Mildenhall Town
• 18 Marine v FC United of Manchester

YOUTHS WIN ON THEIR NEW HOME PITCH

Above: James O'Hara heads clear in the match against Chorley.

In their first match on the 4G pitch at their new home at Manchester Health Academy, Altrincham Youth deservedly overcame Chorley 2-1 after falling behind against the run of play in the first half. Dylan Scanlan equalised with a well-taken goal before Elliot Coleman skilfully netted the winner for Alty.

Match report here.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS

And Brian Flynn’s interview with Jordan Hulme is here.

After Saturday's win, manager Phil Parkinson told the NL Paper, "We've got lads that score goals". In fact, Alty have netted 40 times in their last 12 league and cup matches at their home venue.

He continued, "John Johnston was frightening today. We switched him to the other side to try and exploit Dean Stott at the back. We've been working on his end product, to try and pick out a player, not just put the ball into an area.

"And I think Jordan Hulme was the best player on the pitch today. His hold up play and his goals were brilliant".

With 13 goals in all competitions, Jordan is now Alty's leading scorer, one ahead of Josh Hancock, who still leads the league scorers for Altrincham.

MIKE'S RAMSBOTTOM PREVIEW

And Howard Watts's Throught the Years, relayed courtesy of Mike, reminds us that when we play Chester FC on Tuesday night, it is exactly 25 years since our two clubs also met, at Chester, for a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup. And we all know what that led to...

OLD BOY

Appointed at the Marston’s Stadium in June as the successors to Charlie Palmer, the duo cited a change in 'personal circumstances' for their decision to resign only minutes after beating Peterborough Sports 1-0 in an early season ‘six-pointer’.

The Nailers, who climbed eight points clear of trouble and into fifteenth spot before the surprise departure of their management team, paid tribute to former Leek Town boss Danylyk and Donnelly in a statement on their website".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Craig has this morning announced that he will be leaving the club with immediate effect to join Boston United as their first team manager. Craig spoke to myself this morning to announce his decision. Craig Elliot stated that he had not made the decision lightly but felt that the opportunity to manage such a big club as Boston United does not come round too often. Craig is expected to take his back-room staff with him although this has yet to be confirmed.

Craig was appointed as manager of Shaw Lane AFC by myself in February 2014 and in that time has brought 3 promotions in 4 seasons as well as securing the Sheffield Senior Cup last season and took the club to the first round proper of the FA cup this season. Unfortunately when a manager is as successful as Craig Elliot has been then invariably it will attract attention from other clubs. Although Craig Elliot was under contract with Shaw Lane until 2019 an agreement has been reached between both clubs and I would like to thank Craig Elliot for the great work he has done in that time at our football club and I wish him well for the future.

Shaw Lane will now look to find a replacement for Craig and this process has no time limits as it is imperative that the right person is chosen that will continue to take this club forward. In the meantime Doug O'Connor, along with captain Ryan Qualter and senior player Neil Austin, will take charge for tomorrow's Sheffield Senior Cup game against Handsworth Parramore at Sheerien Park".

And the background to the Pilgrims' vacancy is explained by NL Daily which tells us that "Guiseley manager Paul Cox has added to his back room staff by appointing Adam Murray as assistant manager...

Murray, 36, was assistant to Cox when he was manager at Mansfield Town. More recently Murray was manager at Boston United, where he had been since last year, after managing Mansfield from 2014-2016 following Cox's departure".

Still in Yorkshire, Farsley Celtic report how "The Celts came away with a 3-3 draw at Buxton on Saturday, in another nail-biting encounter, as Farsley levelled the game through Adam Priestley in injury time. It completed a unique hat-trick of three-all draws, coming on the back of games at the Nest against Ashton United and Workington.

Following the draw in Derbyshire, Celts boss Adam Lakeland said, 'Buxton is not an easy place to go and they have had some good results of late so we expected a difficult game and that’s exactly what it proved to be, but to score three goals again, play so well and only come away with a point is a little bit frustrating. That’s been our issue of late, drawing too many games, and it’s not as if any of them have been 0-0. We have scored three goals against Ashton, Workington and now Buxton in recent weeks, three very good teams and drawn them all which is something we are all disappointed about.'

Looking at the game overall, the manager added, 'We knew they would put us under pressure in the opening stages, certainly from set-plays and it was disappointing to concede from a corner so early on...

We changed system and threw Danny (Ellis) up-front, playing Adam Priestley off the left and it worked, with us deservedly grabbing a stoppage time equaliser. I am pleased with the performance and effort of the players once again, but feel aggrieved to have only come away from Buxton with a point.'

In looking at the season as the Celts reach the halfway mark, the Farsley boss said, 'Going forward we have to do better defensively, but I don’t feel as if we are all over the place, it’s just fine margins, lapses of concentration and individual errors which are costing us at the moment, but I have confidence that we will improve this side of our game...

We’ve only actually lost once in our last 13 games over 90 minutes, which was to Mickleover, so in terms of our form we are going quite well and have shown our character, resilience and qualities on a regular basis, now we need to turn these draws into wins and we will be fine.

'I am hoping to add at least one new player to our group before we travel to Stafford next Saturday. I have been looking to add one or two bodies, but we have such a tight group here that it’s vital we bring the right characters into the football club who buy into the way we work, play and do things. I want players with hunger and enthusiasm who will strengthen us further and hopefully we can do that before'".

Meanwhile, Stalybridge Celtic are "pleased to announce the loan signing of forward Jordan Chapell until the New Year. The former Sheffield United and Torquay United player will now provide further competition for places in the Celtic starting line-up...

Celtic manager, Steve Burr, said, 'He is a player who I have worked with before and having played over 50 games for parent club Chester, he will add a wealth of experience to the current group.'

In other squad related news, Sebastien Julien has been released from the club".

ALTRINCHAM 4 RAMSBOTTOM UNITED 1

Above, Mike Ripley's camera captured Jordan Hulme's opening goal on Saturday.

Match report here.

HAT-TRICKS

• Sat.22.2.14 Home v Colwyn Bay 3-1 (Walshaw 5,10,56)
• Sat.5.10.13 Home v Guiseley 4-1 (Walshaw 50(pen),53,66, Reeves 59)
• Sat.21.4.12 Away v Eastwood Town 6-1 (Phelan 34,49, Reeves 39(pen), McGivern 45(+1),78,90)

RESERVES' MATCH POSTPONED

TRANSFERS

• Tyler Blake from Mansfield Town to Rushall Olympic (youth loan)
• Jordan Chapell from Chester to Stalybridge Celtic (loan)
• Craig Ellison from Witton Albion to Sutton Coldfield Town
• Ioan Evans from Gainsborough Trinity to Buxton (loan)
• Charlie Gatter from Gainsborough Trinity to Hednesford Town (loan)
• Ricardo German from Chesterfield to Matlock Town (youth loan)
• William Hancox from Rushall Olympic to Market Drayton Town (loan)
• Makhosini Khanye from Staines Town FC to Ashton United
• Gerard Kinsella from Warrington Town to Droylsden
• Ivor Lawton from Coventry City to Halesowen Town
• William Marsh from AFC Telford to Stourbridge (loan)
• Scott Metcalfe from Droylsden to Ossett Albion
• Alex Morris from Nantwich Town to Newcastle Town
• Jake Phillips from Llandudno (Wales) to Nantwich Town
• Richard Smith from Radcliffe Borough to Ashton United
• Kris Taylor from Stafford Rangers to Romulus
• Joseph Thomas from Stafford Rangers to Redditch United (loan)

LEAGUE ATTENDANCES

• Att. 337 Buxton 3 - 3 Farsley Celtic (James Walshaw scored one of Celtic's goals)
• Att. 308 Halesowen Town 0 - 0 Shaw Lane
• Att. 444 Matlock Town 0 - 3 Nantwich Town
• Att. 230 Mickleover Sports 2 - 0 Sutton Coldfield Town

TROPHY ATTENDANCES

• Att. 781 Altrincham 4 - 1 Ramsbottom United
• Att. 213 Alvechurch 1 Coalville Town 5
• Att. 462 Atherton Collieries 1 - 5 Marine (Danny Mitchley scored twice for Marine)
• Att. 176 Barwell 0 - 1 Mildenhall Town
• Att. 257 Chasetown 1 - 3 Workington
• Att. 469 Glossop North End 4 - 3 Leek Town (Ben Deegan netted a goal for Glossop)
• Att. 369 Hednesford Town 1 - 1 Cleethorpes Town
• Att. 242 Kidsgrove Athletic 0 - 2 Grantham Town
• Att. 252 Lancaster City 3 - 0 Stratford Town
• Att. 323 St Neots Town 2 - 3 Stourbridge
• Att. 955 Stafford Rangers 3 - 1 South Shields
• Att. 240 Stalybridge Celtic 3 - 2 Rushall Olympic
• Att. 313 Warrington Town 1 - 1 Ashton United

BUILDBASE FA TROPHY PRIZES

• First Round Qualifying winners (72) £3,250
• Second Round Qualifying winner (36) £4,000
• Third Round Qualifying winners (40) £5,000
• First Round Proper winners (32) £6,000
• Second Round Proper winners (16) £7,000
• Third Round Proper winners (8) £8,000
• Fourth Round Proper winners (4) £10,000
• Semi-Final winners (2) £20,000
• Final runners-up (1) £30,000
• Final winners (1) £60,000

Amounts are per club in each round. Numbers in brackets represent the number of winning clubs per round.

ALTRINCHAM 4 RAMSBOTTOM UNITED 1

Above: Alty pay their respects to the victims of war before kick off.

For the second successive game Altrincham fell behind in only the second minute. This time Bembo-Leta seemed to be caught out by Thompson's pass to him and only managed to divert the ball into the path of Sam Heathcote, who netted a well-struck goal against his former club.

But, ultimately, a Jordan Hulme hat-trick saw an injury-ravaged Altrincham progress comfortably to the next round. Without the injured Disney, Taylor, Jones, Hannigan, Short and Amis, along with the suspended Moult, Alty nevertheless drew level in the 17th minute when Hulme headed home a corner taken by Ramsbottom's tormentor, John Johnston. Hulme's second also came from a left-sided corner, with the striker this time hitting a rising shot into the net.

Four minutes after the interval Hulme's deflected shot made it 3-1 and five minutes from the end, Poole's long shot was spilled into the net by keeper Taberner.

Match report here.

BUILDBASE FA TROPHY FIXTURES

• 1 Lancaster City 3-0 Stratford Town
• 2 Kidsgrove Athletic 0-2 Grantham Town
• 3 Alvechurch 1-5 Coalville Town
• 4 Warrington Town 1-1 Ashton United
• 5 Altrincham 4-1 Ramsbottom United
• 6 Stalybridge Celtic 3-2 Rushall Olympic
• 7 Glossop North End 4-3 Leek Town
• 8 Stamford 1-2 Droylsden
• 9 Chasetown 1-3 Workington
• 10 Hednesford Town 1-1 Cleethorpes Town
• 11 Atherton Collieries 1-5 Marine
• 12 St Neot's Town 2-3 Stourbridge
• 13 Barwell 0-1 Mildenhall Town
• 14 Stafford Rangers 3-1 South Shields

EVO-STIK PREMIER FIXTURES

• Buxton 3-3 Farsley Celtic
• Halesowen Town 0-0 Shaw Lane
• Matlock Town 0-3 Nantwich Town
• Mickleover Sports 2-0 Sutton Coldfield Town

LADIES' CHANGE OF FIXTURE

OUR OPPONENTS: RAMS' MAN MOVES ON

He then joined Droylsden and Stalybridge Celtic before switching to Bamber Bridge last summer. He played for the Quakers in pre-season, but a proposed move then broke down because of injury. In October this year, he moved on to Ramsbottom, making three appearances for them.

Darlington manager Tommy Wright told the club's Ray Simpson... 'I tried to get Josh when he was at Preston, but he was tracked by several other clubs as well, and I missed out. He was also watched by several bigger clubs in his Preston career as well. He has got experience of this league from his days at Tamworth and Stalybridge'".

OLD BOY

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

A popular figure with the supporters, Bland joined the Seasiders from Middlesbrough, where he began his career, in 2013 and signed a new two-year contract with the Blues in May 2016. Bland made over 200 appearances over his five years with Whitby, making himself one of the most popular figures around the Turnbull Ground in the recent years."

Matlock Town "confirm that striker Tyrell Waite’s parent club Boston United have recalled the twenty-three-year-old striker. We would like to thank Tyrell for his time with the club that saw him score twice against Marine AFC and Stafford Rangers".

Over at Farsley Celtic "Forward Luke Parkin has been a regular in the Celts starting line-up over the last few weeks and has found himself on the score sheet too. He looks forward to tomorrow's game with Buxton as Farlsey look forward to getting back to league action following their win in the County Cup at Brighouse on Monday evening.

'It was definately good to get back to winnings way on Monday in the County Cup. The pitch wasn’t the best, and they made it difficult for us at times in the first half but we got the result in the end with a decent second half performance. I have had to be patient to get a starting berth in the team, but I have done over the last few weeks, and I have been happy with my performances...

'I have been really happy with the amount of games I have been playing. My target for the next few months has to be staying in the team week in week out... In the recent games I have linked up well with Wally [James Walshaw] and Wakka and hopefully that can continue. It’s also good to play with players I’ve played with before like Ben Atkinson and Ryan Watson. They are all good players'".

At Grantham Town "Luke Shaw still remains a doubt for the game on Saturday with him still nursing a knee injury sustained in the 2-1 loss at home to Stafford Rangers. The rest of the squad is available for selection".

From Hednesford Town we learn that "utility man Alex Melbourne has departed from Keys Park, with manager Rob Smith moving quickly to replace him by bringing in Charlie Gatter on loan. Melbourne re-joined the Pitmen for a third spell over the course of the summer but has decided to leave the club this week...

Gatter arrives at the club on a one-month loan deal from Gainsborough Trinity. The 19-year-old began his career with Burton Albion before linking up with Boston United. Gainsborough moved to bring the defender/midfielder into the club over the summer, with him signing a one-year deal with them. The Pitmen return home tomorrow when we host Cleethorpes Town at Keys Park in the Second Qualifying Round of the Buildbase FA Trophy".

Off the field for the Pitmen, the Express & Star tells us that "A parking nightmare looms if a 123-home estate is given the go-ahead next to Hednesford Town Football Club, it has been warned. Rows could erupt between residents and visitors because of the lack of spaces included in the development, off Keys Road, Staffordshire Police say.

The homes would go on derelict land, owned by the club, which surrounds the 6,039 capacity ground. And Stafford Town Council has also raised concerns about friction between new residents and the football club on matchdays. But the Taylor Wimpey plans, which promise to create 100 construction jobs, have been recommended for approval when they go before Cannock Chase District Council’s planning committee.

Staffordshire Police... said, 'The high density of dwellings proposed for the site does not allow for sufficient visitor parking within the development'... Hednesford Town Council also raised concerns over parking, saying... 'It is noted that the Hednesford Town FC will be accessed via the estate road. On match days and when the FC hosts corporate events and private functions there will be concerns for highway safety due to the large numbers of vehicles that will be entering and or leaving simultaneously'...

The development will also increase the parking available at Hednesford Town Football Club and provide a new area of green space to be used by residents. Taylor Wimpey and Hednesford Town FC were both unavailable for comment."

News of an Alty "old boy" comes from Curzon Ashton who "are delighted to announce the return of fan favourites, striker Ryan Brooke and defender Jamie Stott. Brooke, 27, and Stott, 19, are both returning for their second spells at the club.

Brooke joined the Nash for the first time in 2013 and helped the club to the Evo-Stik First Division North title in his first season, before playing an integral part in the promotion campaign to the Nationl League North. In August 2016, after 121 appearances and 41 goals, Brooke departed the Tameside Stadium for Nantwich Town...

In recent weeks, Brooke has played a host of games for Sandbach United in an attempt to gain match fitness, where he has scored 10 goals in 9 appearances, however due to a current bout of tonsillitis Brooke may not be available for this weekend's fixture".

The Chester Chronicle reports that "Chester FC winger Jordan Chapell has joined Stalybridge Celtic on loan. The 26 year-old will remain with the Evo-Stik League Premier Division outfit, who are managed by former Blues boss Steve Burr, until January. Chapell has made nine appearances for Chester this season. However, he has featured in just two games since the arrival of new Blues manager Marcus Bignot.

Stalybridge’s ranks include another Chester old boy, Ross Killock, who has put his injury woes behind him to make 10 straight appearances. Bignot revealed earlier this month that there would be departures from the Blues squad."

Stourbridge "announce the signing of former Liverpool youngster Will Marsh on loan for a month. Will joined National League North side AFC Telford United in the summer after impressing in pre-season and has made five appearances for the Bucks. The 21-year-old, who can also play as an attacking midfielder or number ten, arrives at the War Memorial Ground with fantastic pedigree having progressed through the Liverpool Academy.

The Reds snapped Marsh up as a 14-year-old from Wrexham and he impressed in the youth age groups at Anfield. Will was invited to train with the Liverpool first team on a number of occasions and spent two months on loan at Championship side Sheffield Wednesday during the 2015/16 season. Born in Crewe, Will was released by Liverpool at the end of that campaign and ended up joining Chester in November 2016.

He made two appearances for the Blues before leaving the Deva Stadium at the end of last season and spent the summer trying to earn a deal at Telford... After finding game time hard to come by in recent weeks, Will has joined Stour for a month".

NEXT OPPONENTS

Mike Garnett advises that, although Alty and Ramsbottom met half a dozen times between 1907 and 1910, in the Manchester League, at that time the Lancashire club was not the same entity as today's Ramsbottom United, a club which was founded in 1966.

However, despite the relative lack of contact between our clubs on the pitch, Alty are could be faced by three very familiar players on Saturday afternoon, as The Rams' squad includes Sam Heathcote, Jerome Wright and Kyle Brownhill, who were all Altrincham players as recently as this pre-season.

Jerome has made 19(+1) appearances to date and is the club's leading scorer with 10 goals this campaign. Sam, who has reverted to his role as a striker, has scored six times in 10(+3) appearances. Kyle (above, right) has made 19 appearances and netted three times this season.

Another Alty player, Tolani Omotola, has had a loan spell at Ramsbottom this season, scoring twice in 2(+4) appearances, but he is now at Loughborough Dynamo on another loan arrangement.

CLUB SHOP ON SATURDAY

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

MORE ON ODD'S VISIT

Keith Edleston, manager of Altrincham FC Ladies writes "This weekend we welcomed Odd Sindre Tonning and his father over to England to watch the Men's home game v Buxton then a planned trip to Liverpool to watch the 1st team Ladies take on Liverpool Marshalls Feds Reserves at the university. Unfortunately, that plan fell as overnight rain put paid to the game with a flooded pitch. So, we went off to watch the Development team take on Macclesfield Town LFC at Mersey Valley Sports Club instead. It was a great weekend and we all hope that they both enjoyed the trip over; (the men's team drew 1-1 and the Ladies Development team won 8-0, and hopefully we will see them again soon.

Big thanks also go to Paul Bellinger for his help in making this weekend a good one too".

In a busy weekend for the visiting Norwegian, Odd was ferried from the airport, interviewed on radio about his visit, received a replica Alty shirt and was pictured with the Altrincham team (as shown in yesterday's news). And at the Meet the Manager and Players event he even had the chance to invite manager Phil Parkinson to visit Norway for game in the next pre-season!

Above, Odd and his father are pictured at Mersey Valley with members of the Alty FC Ladies' squad. Hopefully the Ladies'next match will not fall victim to any bad weather; they are scheduled to be away to Stockport County Blues.

SEAN MILLER IN ACTION

OLD BOYS

HEAVY DEFEAT FOR ENGLAND C

A number of Altrincham supporters, including chairman Grahame Rowley, travelled to Bratislava for England C's match against Slovakia. However, England C lost 4-0 and their cause was not helped by the red card received soon after half time by Blyth Spartans' defender Andrew Cartwright for a poor challenge.

England were already a goal down, netted eight minutes before the break. Second half goals made the score 4-0 with twenty minutes remaining, but England managed to prvenet any further damage.

Below is the team sheet from the game...

REPLICA SHIRTS

SKkits' owner, Ian Senior advises that Altrincham FC replica away shirts (right) are now available in sizes for ages from 1/2 upwards. You can order the shirts on matchdays or by e-mail, or via the Alty online shop

CHESHIRE SENIOR CUP

• 7/11/17 Congleton Town 0-1 Runcorn Linnets
• 7/11/17 1874 Northwich 4 - 1 Macclesfield Town
• 1/11/17 Cheadle Town 1-8 Stockport County
• 7/11/17 Tranmere Rovers 1-2 Sandbach United after extra time (1 - 1 after 90 mins)
• 25/10/17 Runcorn Town 0-2 Witton Albion
• 14/11/17 Altrincham v Chester FC
• Cammell Laird 1907 v Northwich Victoria postponed on Tuesday, TBA

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

After being unbeaten in four matches when the campaign got under way, the Gladiators have struggled to put together an unbeaten run of any consequence...

This weekend’s home clash [is] with Nantwich Town... Nantwich, like Matlock, have underperformed in the league so far, surprisingly finding themselves in second bottom spot, eight points behind Matlock, but with four games in hand, But the Dabbers found success in the FA Cup before they were beaten 5-0 at Stevenage last weekend.

'It’ll be nice to be back home again', said Kirkwood who admits... If we’d have had a game last Saturday we’d have been down to the bare bones so the break has definitely helped us', he admitted as he revealed a good number of his squad carrying injuries look like being fit to face Nantwich.

'Adam Yates and Ted Cribley have both trained on Tuesday and we’re very hopeful that both Micky Harcourt and Shaun Harrad will be okay for the weekend. Shaun is due to have an MRI scan but his injury isn’t as bad as we feared which is great news for he’s a very important player for us. He’s played through the pain barrier during the past few weeks and he’s been brilliant.'

Young defender Max Hunt has returned to the Gladiators following a three months loan spell at Belper which Kirkwood believes has been beneficial for both Hunt and Matlock. 'He looks unbelievable and the three months he’s had at Belper playing at a decent level has done him the world of good.'

So Matlock should have virtually a full strength squad available to face Nantwich, including striker Tyrell Waite who missed the last game through family commitments but midfielder Joe Doyle-Charles is suspended after collecting a fifth caution of the season at Ashton, and Luis Rose remains sidelined through illness. The Gladiators could also have a new signing in place for the weekend.

Kirkwood warned that Nantwich are... 'a good side despite losing a number of players to Altrincham, poor sides don’t make it through to the FA Cup 1st Round, they’ve recruited well and we’ll face a tough match against a side who I reckon will be top eight come the end of the season'...

'I don’t think luck has been on our side in recent games but you just have to take it on the chin and get on with things', Kirkwood insisted.

'We deserved a replay at the very least at Glossop while at Ashton we played well for good periods but gifted them two goals and ended up chasing it. We need to put on a show like we did against Stafford the other week. We’re usually stronger at home and we’ll be doing all we can to put on another show. At times like this we need everyone pulling in the same direction, our crowd can be our twelfth man... We’ll just carry on working to get things right.'

Derbyshire Senior Cup holders Matlock face probably the most difficult tie they could have asked for in their defence of the trophy, being drawn away to National League North neighbours Alfreton Town in the 3rd Round".

Stalybridge Celtic report that "It’s not often in football you get to apply lessons learned to a match, but Celtic got a second chance to get through in the Integro Cup, and failed to apply the lessons from the previous match, while Ramsbottom had, easily seeing off Celtic.

It started badly when Eddie Moran tried his luck from thirty-five yards with a powerful curling shot that curled beyond Joe Slinn’s fingertips into the bottom corner in the opening minutes... The hosts doubled their lead with a long ball down field that Ben Richardson latched onto, his touch taking him past the Celtic defence... with his shot slid past the youngster...

From a Celtic perspective, the second half was largely played around their box until the last fifteen minutes, and this allowed Ramsbottom to put the game well beyond doubt, Jerome Wright dispossessing Oliver Crowley just outside the Celtic box and putting his shot across the Celtic keeper into the bottom corner... and left the final score at 3-0.

Celtic were left still searching for their away win."

Alty meet Ramsbottom United in the FA Trophy on Saturday; the Rams' squad comprised 1. Danny Tabener, 2. Dean Stott, 3. Kyle Brownhill, 4. Alex Heaney, 5. Luke Thompson, 6 Bradley Roscoe, 7 Tom Williams, 8. Eddie Moran, 9. Sam Heathcote, 10. Gregg Daniels, 11. Ben Richardson, 12. Jamie Rother, 14. Jerome Wright, 15 Regan Jarrett, 16. Adam Kay, 17. Danny Ashburner.

ALTY HONOUR NORWEGIAN SUPPORTER

Above: Odd (centre) lines up with his Alty heroes after Saturday's game with Buxton. Image courtesy of Mike Ripley.

The Sale & Altrincham Messenger adds that "The appeal of Phil Parkinson's table-topping Altrincham side continues to spread far and wide, with the club's one and only Norwegian fan making his first appearance at The J.Davidson Stadium on Saturday.

Odd Sindre Tonning switched allegiance from Liverpool to Alty six years ago and finally made the pilgrimage to the Robins' Moss Lane home for a 1-1 draw with Buxton he described as 'one of the best days of my life.'

Accompanied by his dad, Odd Snr, he gave an interview to Radio Robins at half-time, attended a Meet the Manager and Players evening after the game before flying home to Norway the following day. He said, 'It was an amazing, unforgettable weekend, one of the best I've ever had. I first came across Altrincham when I was playing Football Manager six years ago. I went to the bottom of the football pyramid just as Alty were relegated from the National League, so we seemed a good fit for each other.

'The more I followed the team's fortunes on Twitter and Radio Robins, the more I fell in love with the club. I vowed to get over for a game one day and had a shirt sent over that I wear all the time where I live, between Bergen and Molde. Finally, I've made it, and I've been pleasantly surprised by the standard of football. We get the ball down and play, and I love that. I can't believe how warm and friendly everyone has been, and I now feel like part of the Alty family.

'I even got to put a question to Phil at Meet The Manager. I asked if he might bring the team to Norway for a pre-season friendly next summer! I hope to come over for another game as soon as I can but, in the meantime, I'll be telling all my friends about my weekend. They know all about the Robins and are always saying, 'Hey, you've got your Alty shirt on again, Odd - that's cool. I'm doing my best to spread the word.'"

TUESDAY'S SCORES

• Att. 211 Sutton Coldfield Town 2-3 Stafford Rangers

Altrincham's next opponents in the Integro Cup, Mossley, were at home in the Manchester Premier Cup Quarter Final

• Att. 122 Mossley 1-1 Droylsden, Droylsden won 5-3 on penalties

Integro League Cup 17-18 - First Round

• Att. 182 Ramsbottom United 3-0 Stalybridge Celtic

EVOSTIK PREMIER NEWS

But after an assured display to earn a point at the seaside, 18-year-old Caswell has been backed by Rangers' chief Kitching to keep the gloves warm again at Sutton Coldfield Town tonight while Whitehouse nurses a hamstring injury. 'He was steady and he made key saves at key times,' said Kitching after a performance at Whitby that saw Caswell almost gift the hosts a goal, fortunately flagged offside, but then make a string of fine saves to keep Boro in the game.

'He was at fault for the goal that was disallowed, but he's a young lad. He hasn't played in the league since the Workington game, so there was probably a bit of nerves as well. But I have got full confidence in him. Adam has pulled his hamstring, so he's going to be out for a few weeks. He (Caswell) has got a big future ahead of him, whether that is in non-league or, as he gets older, at pro level. In the three-and-a-bit years I've been here, we've not had a back-up keeper who can pressure Adam; this kid can'...

Kitching just wants to see his side continue to put in the sort of performances that have seen them lose just one of their last seven games."

Across the Pennines, the HalifaxCourier tells us that "Brighouse Town were beaten 2-0 at home for the second time in three days last night. Their latest setback came against division-higher Farsley Celtic in the West Riding County FA Senior Cup and followed an Evo-Stik NPL defeat to Trafford on Saturday, .

Celtic have a sprinkling of former Brighouse Town players and two of them had mixed fortunes. Midfielder Ben Atkinson got the crucial second goal on 72 minutes, shortly after another familiar face to Brighouse supporters, James Pollard, had been dismissed for a second bookable offence.

It had been a stalemate for an hour, with Town giving an improved performance, before Adam Porritt made the breakthrough for the visitors."

At Lancaster City, "Striker Oliver Wood has left the club due to a combination of work commitments, travel, and playing opportunities. Wood is expected to join Colne after being released from the Dolly Blues".

PHIL REFLECTS

Q: It was certainly an entertaining spectacle, Phil - what did you make of it overall?

A: Absolutely it was, end-to-end stuff all the way. I was really disappointed to see us go behind so early, even though that sort of thing is going to happen from time to time, but I thought we were in complete control in the early exchanges. I really felt we were going to go on and claim the points, particularly after Josh Hancock headed us level.

But full credit to Buxton for the way they dug in and were everything I knew they would be. Some of the blocks they put in and headers they won said everything about how competitive they are, and I thought they were superb defensively. They stuck to their task, but so did we. There were two occasions in the second half where we were not set up right from a corner, and that is not like us. But that would be my only criticism of the players today.

As painful as it is for me to say it, I think a draw was probably a fair reflection of the day, even though you have to say Jordan Hulme's chance was a golden opportunity to claim the points. They had chances as well, but that was the one that could have been the defining factor. In saying that, I thought Tony Thompson's save was also a defining factor. People criticise Tony unjustly. You get the impression they look at his height at times and maybe think he'll be easily disturbed on crosses, but he was an absolute man-mountain today. He was constantly coming for the ball, getting fouled but still dominating his six-yard box, punching clear on some occasions, taking it cleanly others.

The save he made from Liam Hardy was absolutely outstanding. When Hardy is through like that, you would put your mortgage on him scoring, but Tony (left) made it so difficult for him. It was (Peter) Schmeichel-esque, the way he came out and blocked it. He has done that before for us this season, which is why I brought him into the team. His kicking was on point today as well. I can't believe he gets criticised for that, because he is probably the best kicker of a ball in the league among goalkeepers. Maybe he tries to be too precise at times, but I thought he was justly man of the match today, even though we were not getting bombarded. I just felt some of the saves he made were top drawer.

Q: You sometimes hear 'great save' when it hits the keeper and he actually knows little about it, but everything about that one from Tony was deliberate, wasn't it?

A: Tony dictated that situation, because he came out, made his mind up to shut the space down and made it very difficult for Liam. I have seen Liam slot those away many a time, but Tony came out top in that battle. There were a lot of big performances from us, but I particularly felt that as a team, considering we were without Jake Moult and Simon Richman, there was a togetherness about the group.

It was a positive sign that we can bring people in when need be. Laurence Taylor has not played properly since Abbey Hey, but he put a really good 90 minutes in. I felt he grew into the game and made some great tackles in the second half. Alongside him, Max Harrop ran the game at times. He could have had the winner with that shot in the second half. The lad who got in the way of it is going to be sore in the morning, because it was travelling. It was an outstanding effort from Max. For any neutrals, it must have been a fantastic game. From my perspective, naturally enough, there's a bit of disappointment at dropping points, but you have to say if Buxton play like that every week, they are going to be up there. I went to watch them last Tuesday, and they were nowhere near that level. They raised their game, all right.

Q: Most of us probably think of Max (left) as a winger, or an attacking play at any rate, but he looked comfortable in the holding role, didn't he?

A: Don't forget, he's been at MK Dons and has played in front of 25,000 people, so he's not going to be fazed by anything. He is a bit of an enigma. He is a very complicated player, in terms of he's had ups and downs in his life away from football. But I've always kept an eye on him and looked after him as much as I can, and I think he knows and respects that. I do seem to be able to get the best out of him. He is a very good player, technically gifted, and his appetite for the game is ferocious.

If we can just get him right, we'll have a really top player on our hands. But I always knew that and always knew he could operate in central midfield. He is equally as good on the wing or in the hole, so we have got someone who is really versatile.

Q: Considering it has been relatively plain sailing at home in recent weeks, were you pleased with the reaction to going behind early on?

A: I've been kind of waiting for it to happen, because people have been using words like 'routine' about our home wins, or 'it's a given' or 'will it be three or four goals this week?', but football doesn't work like that. Take your eye off the ball, and the game slaps you in the face. I'm not saying we did anything particularly wrong for their goal, though we could have put a bit more pressure on their lad. We were caught a bit cold, but we did react well.

I never looked at the game and thought we weren't going to get back in it, because we were in such control. When we equalised, I could only see us going on to win it, but you have to give Buxton credit; I knew they wouldn't just roll over and make it easy for us. I would say we were the ones trying to play football, but that's how Buxton are. They are very direct and get it to the front men very quickly.

It's the polar opposite of how I set my teams up, but that's the contrast you sometimes get. I must say I was pleased with the way we dealt with set-pieces, because they tend to be very productive for them. The lads defended stoutly against a team who are adept at exploiting set-pieces.

Left: Phil Parkinson, pictured by Mike Ripley, at Saturday's meeting with supporters.

Q: The perfect scenario near the end would have been John Johnston cutting inside past Greg Young and setting up Jordan Hulme, who rounds the keeper and scores the winner - it so nearly happened, didn't it?

A: It looked like it was going to, until a defender popped up on the line. Listen, Jordan is killing himself in there, because he knows he should score. I think it got stuck under his boot a bit. He is very frustrated, as are we all, but we have to accept the lads aren't perfect. They are going to make mistakes, or not score, or miss tackles at times. It is going to happen, but I will certainly back Jordan, because he has been fantastic for me and the club since joining us.

It's not a lack of effort, just that it's not quite going for him at the moment. I'm sure there will be some calls for him to be out of the team, but sometimes you have to know when to stick with a player or put him on the bench. I don't feel now is the time to do the latter with Jordan.

Q: That was an assured debut by Connor Hampson, wasn't it?

A: I was made up with Connor. He is another who has not played for a while, but you couldn't tell. He s going to get better and better with games.

Q: Any update on injuries, particularly Tom Hannigan?

A: It's tough to say exactly with Tom. We are not 100 per cent sure, because we've got to be very careful, knowing the injury he had. I can only go by Tom telling me when he feels right. He is getting better. He is taking great strides towards fitness. He lost a lot of leg strength over the course of the injury he had, because he wasn't able to do anything, so Tommy Uda and Ryan Murray have been focusing on strength work and restructuring his quad muscles.

A lot of people say that's airy-fairy, and it's a mental thing with Tom, but it isn't. It's just that his leg isn't right, and he was out a long time with it. Now he's got a recurrence. It's not of the exact injury, but a cause of that injury, and we need to tread very carefully. We all saw how good Tom was before he got his knock, and I want him back fully fit, rather than half-fit.

Josh Amis was with the Reserves today, and it was nice to see Sean Miller get the winner for Colne. We are made up with that. James Jones took a heavy knock out there today. I thought the referee was superb, but that's probably the one thing he got wrong. I wasn't happy with the tackle on James. It was right in front of me, and it looked like the lad was reckless, two feet off the ground and not in control. I don't care if he got the ball or not, it was a reckless, dangerous tackle, and, for me, further action should have been taken, because it was a leg-breaker.

That was the only thing I felt the ref fell down on. Lewis Short is a couple of weeks away with a calf problem. It's yet another impact injury. They are being caused by bad tackles, and it is really frustrating. All I'm asking for is a bit of protection from referees, but Lewis is going to be out for another couple of weeks. Jake Moult serves the second game of his two-match ban next Saturday, but Simon Richman is available again".

BETTING PARTNER FOR ALTY

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Altrincham FC supports responsible gambling.

LADIES' FIXTURE UPDATE

Next Sunday, 12th, the Ladies are away to Stockport County Blues, at Stockport Sports Village, Woodley SK6 1QX, with a 2pm kick off.

Meanwhile, the Ladies' Development Team is also away, against AFC Stockport at Frederick Whittaker Scott Playing Fields, Whitehill, Stockport SK5 7LW. Again, kick off is at 2pm

ALTY YOUTH'S NEW HOME

The opposition is Chorley and kick off is at 2.30pm.

In a game of numerous chances for both sides, Alty Youth lost 6-0 away to Southport on Sunday.

EMIRATES FA CUP

In Monday's tie, Chorley lost 1-2 to Fleetwood Town.

The northern non-League clubs involved received the following ties...

• Woking/Bury v Tranmere Rovers/Peterborough Utd
• Mansfield Town v Guiseley/Accrington Town
• AFC Fylde v Wigan Athletic

BUCKS' PERSPECTIVE

"If Buxton supporters have a better spectacle all season to watch than this well-deserved draw away to the league leaders, they will indeed be fortunate! Saturday's end-to-end encounter, played in a true sporting spirit, was 5-star entertainment throughout with the surprise being that only 2 goals resulted from the remarkable amount of goalmouth action.

The size of the visitors' achievement can be judged from 'the Robins' recent record:10 league games unbeaten in which only 2 goals had been conceded and 8 consecutive league home wins with 28 goals scored! The hosts were lacking several experienced players but 'the Bucks', also without Doran, Ravenhill and Taylor from a much smaller squad, were glad of the reinforcement of a newly-signed central defender. Kern Miller, on dual registration from Gainsborough Trinity, had a sound debut in a terrific team performance, the quality of which was shown by home 'keeper Thompson being named as 'Alty's' Man-of-the- Match after saving his team on several occasions. Another home player to do well was ex-Silverlander, the popular Joel Bembo-Leta, who in the first half in particular prompted, from right-back, many of his team's attacks.

Buxton's management opted for a new 3-5-2 set-up with Ant Wilson able to start a match for the first time since mid-August. However, it was his strike partner, Liam Hardy, who played a major part in his team's 2nd-minute goal. He latched onto a down-the-line pass by ex-Robin, Andy McWilliams, to fire a low cross that was only half-cleared to midfielder Luke Hinsley, who drove home low into a net corner from 20 yards. Just 6 minutes later the hosts equalised. A free-kick deep-struck to beyond the far post was headed back by Joel for Hancock to nod in at close range.

Happily for the crowd of nearly 1000 this early excitement was maintained all afternoon. 'Alty' early and obviously played to ex-Alfreton and Salford right-winger Johnston but it was the visitors who made the better and more numerous openings until just before the interval when Harrop's fine cross-field ball resulted in Jan Budtz saving with his legs from Hulme, then Harrop himself sent a fierce,30-yard snap-shot narrowly wide. 'Alty's' best spell came in the 10 minutes after the hour with Greg Young making a fine interception to end a counter-attack, then loanee Hampson's low cross passed untouched in front of goal, while Johnston cut in from the left only to miss badly from 6 yards .During severe home pressure Miller cleared calmly from the goal-line and Joel placed a header onto the net roof, before Budtz's last major intervention in the 76th minute as he saved and held low and superbly from Hulme's shot.

Buxton's goal attempts were equally dangerous and even more numerous. After Young inadvertently, from an Abbott corner, robbed the better-placed Joe Maguire of a heading chance, at quarter-time Hinsley's low, goal-bound drive was deflected for a corner, beginning a threatening spell in which Joe McGee's dangerous low cross caused a scuffed clearance that rebounded off Wilson 4 yards out. Next the latter's through ball was just beyond Hardy, then Abbott's 19-yard free-kick drew a brilliant, flying fist-over by Thompson, who, from another fine Abbott free-kick, was beaten by a Hardy header that passed over Young but just wide of goal and then he parried McGee's firm,low,goal-bound,12-yard drive.

'The Bucks' search for the next goal met its cruelest rebuff in first-half added time. They were well into their celebration of Wilson's superb back-header from Abbott's free-kick when clearly surprised referee Corlett was alerted to an assistant's flag that had been raised early for an offside decision which well-placed observers claim was mistaken.

'The Bucks' began the second half equally well with Thompson missing a Wilson touch-on from a McWilliams corner and, from a Maguire free-kick headed on by Young, the stretching Hinsley shot over. Arguably the best chance of a winner came just past the hour when Hardy fastened onto a long through ball but Thompson saved with his legs, then Wilson's headed pass from a Budtz long kick set up Hinsley for a low, but narrowly wide,20-yard drive. The visitors continued the quest for a winner to the end and again went very close after Wilson's low, angled drive had forced another corner. From a further well-placed Abbott delivery, Hinsley's header was cleared from the line and 'the Bucks' had to settle for 1 point: the quality of their display and ambition showed in their disappointment at not taking all 3."

INTEGRO CUP

• Stourbridge 2-4 Alvechurch, att. 431

NW NEWS

Firstly we think it is important to thank the large majority of fans, both home and away, who attended the game with the intention of watching and supporting their team...

In relation to the incidents which occurred prior to and during the game we are able to confirm the following:

• We have reported the throwing of flares on to the pitch as criminal damage and have received a crime number. The Police will now carry out a formal investigation.
• We have received a large number of photographs and videos clearly showing the people involved, along with confirmed names of these individuals. This information will be passed to the Police. We would urge people who attended the game to continue to send in any information they may have to office@hydefc.co.uk
• The damage to the pitch has resulted in the closure of the facility, resulting in loss of revenue, and will require significant financial investment to rectify.
• We will be pursuing a prosecution of the individual or individuals involved through the courts in line with the Football (Offences) Act 1991 : Throwing of missiles onto the playing area or into the crowd
• s.2 and Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985.
• We will be asking for the courts to fine the individuals for the damage and loss of revenue caused by their actions to a facility which cost £500k
• We will be asking for a lifetime banning order for all football stadia to be made against all individuals found guilty of any crime in relation to the incidents which took place on Friday 3rd November at Ewen Fields".

EVOSTIK PREMIER NEWS

Over at Farsley Celtic "It was another roller-coaster of a game at Throstle Nest on Saturday as Farsley let slip a 3-1 lead in time added-on, allowing visitors Workington to grab a 3-3 draw. A James Walshaw hat-trick wasn't enough to seal the win as the Cumbrian side scored two late goals.

Speaking the day after the game with time to reflect, Manager Adam Lakeland said, 'It’s incredibly frustrating to draw the game, certainly in that fashion as it feels more like a defeat. It’s certainly two points dropped and we should rightly be disappointed with ourselves as we’ve thrown away what would have been an excellent three points against a very good side. We haven’t been starting games too well of late which is something we have discussed and, despite going behind through an error by Graeme (McKibbin), I felt we started the game much the better team and was pleased with the way in which the players responded to deservedly lead 2-1 at the break. Some of our play in that first period was excellent and we could have been further ahead.

'We expected a reaction from Workington in the second half and sometimes you have to credit the opposition... We missed an excellent opportunity to make it 3-1 with their keeper making a good save from the penalty, and when we eventually did make it 3-1, I felt we would see the game out, and we should have done, there's no question about that.'

Looking at the dramatic final minutes of the game, the Celts' boss said, 'The second goal is an awful one for us to give away, we were too deep, allowed them to clip the ball into our box, Jimmy (Pollard) lost the first header and Allison runs off Danny (Ellis) to score and you cannot afford to do that against any striker let alone one of the best in the league...

'The third goal sums us up of late. Looking at ourselves first and foremost, we have possession deep inside their half near the corner flag and concede a throw-in, which they take quickly and there isn’t enough urgency from my players to get back into shape. Danny loses a header on the touchline, and their striker somehow, despite us having Jimmy and Kurt (Harris) against him, manages to win a free kick - again giving them chance to put everyone forward and hit another ball into our box. The ball is delivered and all I can assume is that Danny hears a call from Kyle, as he is marking the player who scores, and just lets him go. Initially we all felt it was a foul on Kyle and I have certainly seen them given for less but, in fairness to their player, he doesn’t take his eyes off the ball and, having taken time to watch it again before writing my notes, I can see why the referee hasn’t given it.

'However, where I do have frustration with the referee, was firstly the awarding of five minutes stoppage time which at no stage was communicated to the bench for us to put the board up, so we had no idea how much added time we were actually playing. There was one stoppage of around 30 seconds for Adam Clayton coming off and five substitutions, so where five minutes comes from I have no idea. We played two minutes at the end of the first half, so in total we played 99 minutes in a game with no major injuries or stoppages.

'They have scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time and we eventually played seven. It isn’t good enough and whilst, yes, we played a part in our downfall, we yet again have been let down by insufficient officiating standards. I speak to different managers throughout our league on a weekly basis and the frustration and disappointment spreads far and wide I’m afraid. I may land myself in bother for airing my feelings, but I am entitled to my opinion and that on Saturday, yet again wasn’t good enough...

'That’s three consecutive league games at the The Nest where we have conceded three goals and that isn’t acceptable'...

Updating the injuries currently within the squad, Adam detailed that 'Scooby (Richard Marshall) is awaiting scan results for his hip so at the moment we are unable to put a timescale on when he will return. Nathan (Turner) is back in training and is making good progress. We are hopeful that he will be back in action within the next 2 - 4 weeks but we will be patient with him. Finally, Graeme felt his groin so we will assess him on Monday".

Elsewher in God's own county, the Yorkshire Post tells sus that "The Ducks [Shaw Lane] put up a bold, resilient showing in their first FA Cup first-round tie against a side sitting 58 places above them in the football pyramid.

Ultimately they were to come up short, but this club has come a long way since owner Craig Wood embarked on a quest to get Barnsley’s ‘other club’ into the Football League... They are seeking a sixth promotion in just eight years and their progress has been at break-neck speed...

'I’m beaming with pride,' Wood said... 'Quality and fitness showed in the end. It shows how far we’ve come that Mansfield brought their ‘A’ game and a strong team'...

The decision to screen it live will doubtless have brought the club to the attention of a watching national audience...

In ironic fashion, it would be a player born and bred in Barnsley who would end the Ducks’ FA Cup journey – for this year at least. Danny Rose, who scored just one goal for the Oakwell outfit after graduating from the academy, popped up with a late brace to send the Stags through...

Home manager Craig Elliott was left to reflect on the legacy of this run. 'I hope people remember that we’re a small club that’s come a long way and we’re going in the right direction,' he said... 'We do things the right way and, hopefully, people will come and watch us in the future. It was nice to score because you don’t want to be nilled... We’ve been successful and now we want the fanbase to increase. Even if it’s just an extra 50 or 60 fans, it would be brilliant for us. We want to continue our success'".

Frrom the Principality, the Daily Post reports that "Wrexham defender Olly Marx has made a promising start to his month’s loan spell at Rushall Olympic, helping the Pics make it three wins on the bounce with Saturday’s derby success over Halesowen Town.

Marx, who has made two appearances this season for the Dragons after signing his first professional contract in the summer, has joined Rushall for a short stint to gain valuable match action. Rushall ran out 3-1 winners on Saturday over Halesowen thanks to goals from Richard Brodie, Wes Atkinson and Mathis Fonovich...

Olympic manager Liam McDonald told Wrexham’s official website after the game, 'I was pleased with the contribution made by the two lads making their debut. Olly did well, he took a knock early in the second half but gritted his teeth and came through it.'"

HEAVY DEFEAT FOR YOUTH TEAM

Next Sunday, they are at home to Chorley are 9th in the league and they will be at their new home venue at Manchester Health Academy, Baguley, M23 9BP k.o. 2.30pm

MEET THE MANAGEMENT AND PLAYERS

Pictured above, by Michael Ripley, are Tom Peers and coach Chris Parkes enjoying the Meet the Management and Players event on Saturday evening.

A report on Saturday's Meet the Manager and Players event is below.

TONY THOMPSON INTERVIEW

LADIES' NEXT GAME

ALTY TV HIGHLIGHTS

Above: Josh Hancock heads home against Buxton, after Joel Bembo-Leta had done well to head the ball from the back post. Joel has now played 15 times for Alty and has yet to finish on the losing side in any game in which Alty have finished with eleven men on the pitch. In other words, his only defeat was at Workington.

Alty TV's excellent highlights from the Altrincham v Buxton match are available here.

SEAN ON THE MARK

Colne came out on top with a late winner against Kendal Town at the Utility Renewals Stadium on Saturday. The Reds took an early lead but were pegged back in the second half by a resilient Kendal side before new signing Sean Miller lifted all three points with his debut goal for Colne...

After 11 minutes, Morgan became the provider as his low cross was met by Alex Curran at the near post to give Colne the lead with an opportunist goal... After 56 minutes, Anthony Lynch forced a corner for the visitors and the resulting cross was headed home from close range by Seear to level the scores at 1-1...

Kendal came close to a second goal after 73 minutes when Gaul laid on a great chance for Matthew Clarke but he lifted his shot just over the Colne crossbar. Five minutes later, Miller looked to have a great chance at the other end but Kendal keeper Will Kitchen blocked his shot in a one-on-one in the penalty area... But just as Kendal looked on course for taking a point, the keeper mis-kicked a clearance and Miller took full advantage by taking the ball past him and placing it into the empty net for the Reds' winner after 84 minutes".

TROPHY OPPONENTS: RAMSBOTTOM UNITED

The original game had to be called off, with the Rams just having taken the lead, as the floodlights failed, so it's free admission for the rearranged match. If you are a fan of either Rammy or Celtic, then you will have no doubt take up the offer, but all football fans, be they non-league or League are welcome to sample the delights of two Evo-Stik NPL sides battling it out for a place in the next round...

A special welcome will await any supporters who have rarely or never been to a non-league game. You are guaranteed a good night and hopefully we can attract you again in the future!".

ALTRINCHAM 1 BUXTON 1

Above: Alty celebrate their goal.

A draw was probably a fair outcome to an entertaining game which both sides had chances to win...

Match report here.

MEET THE MANAGEMENT AND PLAYERS

On Saturday evening Alty's management team and three of the players gave up their time to meet supporters in the Community Sports Hall, with Richie Bentley and his staff providing an excellent hot buffet meal to complement a very enjoyable evening.

The guest list comprised Phil Parkinson (manager), Neil Sorvel (assistant manager), Chris Parkes (coach), as well as Tommy Uda and Ryan Murray (medical rehabilitation staff) representing the management team and James Poole, John Johnston and Tom Peers representing the players.

What follows is not intended to be a complete account but a summary of events...

Phil Parkinson (PP) emphasized that what Altrincham had achieved so far was a collective effort of the players, management and rehabilitation team and the supporters. He outlined what he liked about the Club, emphasizing the "family feel" of the Club engendered by the chairman and his family. In addition, he paid tribute to the ground staff who produced an excellent playing surface every week and to the fans who gave the team such excellent support.

Asked about the game with Buxton, which had preceded this gathering, Neil Sorvel (NS) said that although the team had "not been at their best", they had shown impressive resilience in responding to a second-minute goal from the visitors.

Tribute was paid by the management to the work of director Rob Esteva in providing useful data on both the opposition and the Altrincham players' performances every week.

Amongst the audience was Odd Sindre Tonning a young man from Norway who has adopted Altrincham as "his" English club. One of the biggest cheers of the evening came when his name was picked out as first-prize winner in the evening's raffle and he now heads home as the proud owner of a signed Altrincham FC football.

PP explained why he often did not employ a substitute keeper and hinted that John Johnston (JJ) fancied himself as a stand-in keeper! The Alty boss also admitted his surprise that the ABBA penalty-taking sequence had been employed in our recent Integro Cup match, adding that Neil Sorvel (NS) had had to explain it to him!

When questioned about their reasons for joining Alty, James Poole (JP) explained that he had talked to a lot of people before joining and the common thread of their comments had been that "Altrincham were the Manchester United of non-League". For JJ (right) it was the family feeling of the Club which had been a big factor and he had joined after Salford had offered to keep him on but had suggested he would not be a regular starter.

Unlike JJ and JP (left), Tom Peers (TP) had been at Nantwich under PP's management and had enjoyed that experience. He had been impressed by Alty when playing against us for Chester in the FA Cup.

As regards "characters" in the dressing room, goalkeeper Tony Thompson emerged as the most lively, closely followed by Jordan Hulme.

The ground staff, represented by Bryan Ford, were applauded for removing hundreds of litres off the pitch to allow the game with Buxton to go ahead. Caterer Richie Bentley had also assisted in this task.

PP updated the audience on player injuries. Josh Amis had scored today on a run-out for the Reserves, and Sean Miller had also scored, for Colne, on his loan move. Lewis Short was a fortnight from fitness and Tom Hannigan a week or two away from fitness.

Sam Sheridan needs a scan to see if he has a hernia or not but John Disney is unlikely to be back before Christmas after being injured at Trafford in pre-season.

The players were asked who had been their chief inspiration in their careers. All three saluted their parents and, in James's case, also his grandparents, for their support. All three players are watched in every match by their family members.

Outlining their careers, TP (left) outlined how, after Sunday league football, he had joined Chester FC where Neil Young gave him his debut as a 16 year-old. After that came Telford United, Warrington Town and Nantwich before joining Alty.

JJ had been released by Stoke City as "too small" and he drifted into Sunday league. Bizarrely a camping trip rescued his career as his fellow campers included a Kidsgrove Athletic reserve who cajoled him into playing again. His career went from Leek Town to Crewe Alexandra, Alfreton Town and Salford City. He now coaches at Newcastle College.

JP had moved from Sunday league to Macclesfield Town for two years. He then spent seven years or so with Manchester City and won the FA Youth Cup with them. Three years at Hartlepol United followed before an unhappy time at Bury, whom he left to play for Dover. He works now as a scout at Manchester City and joined Alty from Salford City.

Outside football, TP is a personal trainer and welcomes any new custom!

After explaining their superstitions, which included Chris Parkes always having to sit in the same seat for home matches, it was revealed that PP's beard is staying in place as long as Alty remain on their unbeaten run.

PP and the players agreed to a proposal to become involved in a "social interview" initiative being organised by the club's media team. The club's various media staff were all acknowledged as helping to raise the club's profile, incuding Alty TV whose highlights of the Buxton game were played to the audience.

As for the team-mate who was most impressive this season, Ben Harrison's consistency emerged as a common choice amongst the players.

Steve Foster and John Skelhorn were praised for their work as kitmen before the event concluded.

The evening had exhibited an encouraging feeling of unity amongst players, staff and supporters which bodes well for the rest of the season after two unhappy seasons for the Club.

CONNOR HAMPSON INTERVIEW

LATE GOAL UNDOES RESERVES

Next Sunday the Reserves are away to Greenalls Padgate St Oswald's, at Moore United, in a league match.

SEAN SCORES

OLD BOYS

• Craig Ellison from Witton Albion to Sutton Coldfield Town
• Sefton Gonzales from Altrincham [via Clitheroe] to Droylsden

SATURDAY GATES

• Att. 974 Altrincham 1 - 1 Buxton
• Att. 178 Barwell 1 - 1 Hednesford Town
• Att. 165 Coalville Town 1 - 2 Ashton United
• Att. 278 Farsley Celtic 3 - 3 Workington James Walshaw 10', 28', 74
• Att. 274 Grantham Town 3 - 2 Lancaster City
• Att. 391 Rushall Olympic 3 - 1 Halesowen Town
• Att. 258 Stalybridge Celtic 0 - 5 Mickleover Sports
• Att. 737 Stourbridge 0 - 0 Witton Albion
• Att. 232 Warrington Town 2 - 1 Sutton Coldfield Town
• Att. 303 Whitby Town 0 - 0 Stafford Rangers

The Emirates FA Cup 17-18 - First Round:

• Att. 1576 Shaw Lane 1 - 3 Mansfield Town
• Att. 1456 Stevenage 5 - 0 Nantwich Town

FIXTURES

Tuesday 7 November 2017

• Sutton Coldfield Town v Stafford Rangers

Saturday 11 November 2017

The EVO-STIK Premier Division

• Buxton v Farsley Celtic
• Halesowen Town v Shaw Lane
• Matlock Town v Nantwich Town
• Mickleover Sports v Sutton Coldfield Town

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Lee Bennett levelled soon after from close range at the second attempt, and then hit a post.

Mansfield's Jacob Mellis had a second-half penalty saved by Jon Stewart after he was fouled but, as the Stags upped the pressure, Rose headed in before a spectacular scissor-kick for the third...

Northern Premier League Shaw Lane showed plenty of commitment against League Two Mansfield. And following their equaliser, they could have taken the lead had Billy Whitehouse not hesitated as the rebound from Bennett's effort fell to him off the woodwork. However, the Stags could have won by more, had Shaw Lane's goalkeeper Jon Stewart not played so well... He saved Mellis' penalty superbly after the Mansfield midfielder had been fouled by Spencer Harris...

Shaw Lane manager Craig Edwards said, 'We came in wanting to be competitive and we had them on the ropes for a little while. It has taken an incredible finish to kill the game off. When you save a penalty you start thinking it could be our day, but credit to Danny, I believe he's a local lad and ex-Barnsley and he has really delivered. I hope people liked what they saw today and recognise we are a small club going in the right direction, and they will want to come back and support us in the future.'"

EARLY OPENING AND AFTER-MATCH EVENT

And, a reminder for those who have bought tickets that, after the game against Buxton, there is the Meet the Manager and Players event in the Community Sports Hall. Manager Phil Parkinson and players Jake Moult, John Johnston, Tom Peers, James Poole will be in attendance and all will be happy to answer questions posed by supporters. The event starts at 6pm and includes a buffet meal, provided by Club Caterer, Richie Bentley.

CLUB STATEMENT: SHAW LANE POSTPONEMENT

The BBC contacted the Evo-Stik League to advise that Shaw Lane is a potential venue for Monday night's televised outside broadcast, that will include the Emirates F.A. Cup, Second Round Draw and the Evo-Stik League subsequently contacted Altrincham to advise that Monday night's game would need to be rescheduled. In the Evo-Stik League, games are scheduled entirely by the league, therefore neither Altrincham nor Shaw Lane was in a position to be able to prevent the postponement. The club did contact the F.A. but were advised that, whilst there may be an outside broadcast from Shaw Lane, the draw was not taking place there and the decision to postpone the match was purely a matter for the league.

The Evo-Stik League did explore moving the game back 24 hours to Tuesday night, however if tomorrow's Emirates FA Cup First Round tie between Shaw Lane and Mansfield Town ends in a draw, the agreed replay date has been set for Tuesday November 7th. It was decided that it was not in the best interests of either Shaw Lane or Altrincham, to change the date now, with the possibility of a further change on Saturday.

Altrincham Football Club recognises and regrets that a number of supporters have made specific travel arrangements, that cannot now be changed, to travel to Monday's scheduled game. It will consult with its Supporters' Liaison Officers to explore the feasibility of being able to support recouping at least some of these losses".

NEW FIXTURE DATES

• Saturday 9 December, HOME to Shaw Lane AFC
• Saturday 16 December, HOME to Stourbridge
• Saturday 3 March, AWAY to Shaw Lane (this date was originally for the home game for Altrincham v Shaw Lane)

The consequences of these changes are that Altrincham now have to contend with five out of six successive league fixtures in February/March 2018 which are away from home. This situation arises as the planned home game against Shaw Lane set for 3 March 2018 has now been switched to an away fixture. For the run-in at the end of the season, Altrincham consequently now face seven away games out of their final eleven fixtures. The switch of the Shaw Lane venue also means that there are now three consecutive home games in December 2017.

The origins of the above situation are that the original game at Shaw Lane, set for 30 October, had to be moved after a Cheshire County League's Senior Cup fixture took precedence over the pre-existing league game. But then that rearranged game had to be re-rearranged owing to Chester FC's fixture issues, hampered by the late postponement of their game at Eastleigh. So, ironically, the original 30 October date remained vacant!

BEFORE THE GAME: ALTRINCHAM v BUXTON

Once again, Altrincham will be below full strength, not least because they are without the suspended Simon Richman and Jake Moult. But, in addition, a number of players have missed recent games through injury, including John Disney, Tom Hannigan, Josh Amis, James Jones, Sam Sheridan and Laurence Taylor. Taylor should be available on Saturday as will be our new loan signing Connor Hampson, from Stockport County. However, Sean Miller has gone on loan (to Colne) as has Tolani Omotola (to Loughborough Dynamo).

Altrincham will be wearing their special "poppy" shirts, provided by SKkits, both for this match and for next Saturday's game at home to Ramsbottom United in the FA Trophy.

Mike Garnett's records provide the historical record of games between our clubs...

• Home: P54-W39-D9-L6-F164-A56
• Away: P53-W16-D13-L24-F89-A101
• All: P107-W55-D22-L30-F253-A157

Writing for Altrincham Today, manager Phil Parkinson says, "Like most people, I was disappointed to learn, yesterday, that our top of the table game at Shaw Lane on Monday, had been postponed, as the BBC may be using Shaw Lane as the venue for their Emirates F.A. Cup 2nd Round Draw programme. However, we remain fully focused on today’s very important Evo-Stik Premier Division fixture at home to Buxton, which kicks off at 3pm at the J.Davidson Stadium.

Last Saturday, I was very pleased that we made progress in the Buildbase F.A. Trophy, clearing the first hurdle in this competition with a 3-0 win against Clitheroe. If Josh Hancock had converted one of his two early chances, then we may have been able to go on in the first half and score a little bit more freely, but Clitheroe competed really well and it was scoreless at the break. In the second half, after a little bit of a pep talk, we moved the ball a lot more quickly and JJ (John Johnston) got a slightly fortunate, but well earned, goal to put us ahead.

I was very disappointed with the referee’s decision to send Jake Moult off after he let the referee know his failings when he didn’t spot that Jake had been elbowed in the face. I probably said worse things during the game, to the officials, than Jake said to the referee, but we now find ourselves without our captain today and for next Saturday’s FA Trophy game against Ramsbottom United. In the wake of that disappointment, it was very pleasing that we kept control of the game after Jake’s red card and finished strongly with two late goals from Tom Peers, who came on midway through the second half and did a great job.

Neil Sorvel and I went to watch today’s opponents, Buxton on Tuesday evening in their game against Rushall Olympic and they are a side that always make things difficult for my team. Martin McIntosh prepares his teams meticulously and they are a very robust side that are very much up and at you. They have a top striker in Liam Hardy and we will need to be on our game to continue our phenomenal home record and make it 9 consecutive home league wins.

There has been some player movement in the last couple of days with Sean Miller and Tolani Omotola going out on a month’s loan to Colne and Loughborough Dynamo respectively, whilst I have brought Connor Hampson in from Stockport County on a loan deal. Connor is a very good footballer who can play left-back or central midfield and I think will be ideal for what we need at this stage of the season, particularly with Simon Richman missing today’s game for accumulating five bookings and Jake Moult being suspended for two games from today".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

The 19-year-old has yet to make his first-team debut, but is on the fringe of the action having been an unused sub a number of times already in 2017/18. Comfortable on the wing or as a striker, Dale was a regular scorer in the under-18 PDL2 last season and carried that form on when selected for Alex`s under-23 side.

From the EvoStik League, we learn that "Wrexham defender Olly Marx is ready to make his debut for Rushall Olympic on Saturday after arriving on a month's loan.

The 18-year-old could feature against Halesowen Town at Dales Lane after Pics' manager Liam McDonald agreed an initial four-week loan deal with Wrexham boss and former Pics midfielder Dean Keates on Friday. Marx is on the fringes of the first-team at the Racecourse Ground with a handful of appearances under his belt having signed a professional deal with the Welsh club during the summer. The teenager was on loan at Sutton Coldfield Town last season to further his development".

Elsewhere, York City confirm that "York City goalkeeper Ryan Whitley has joined Whitby Town in a loan deal until December 2... Whitley, who signed a two-year professional contract with the club in August...

The highly-rated goalkeeper is attracting interest from a number of high profile clubs and has attended a training camp for young English players at the Football Association's National Football Centre. He links-up with City winger Connor Smith who is also out on loan at Whitby."

On the opposite side of England, Southport report that "Midfielder Steve Jennings has joined Paul Carden’s Warrington Town on loan. Midfielder Jennings has made 12 league appearances for Southport this term and joins Warrington on loan until 2nd December."

SHAW LANE MATCH OFF

LOANS: ONE PLAYER IN, ANOTHER ONE OUT

Brian Flynn interviewed Phil Parkinson during training in Gorton on Thursday night. During the interview Phil revealed that, in addition to the loan move for Sean Miller, reported earlier, Tolani Omotola has gone on loan to Loughborough Dynamo. Tolani (right) is a student at Loughborough University.

Arriving at the J. Davidson Stadium on a month's loan is central midfielder/left-back Connor Hampson from Stockport County.

Central midfielder/left-back Connor (25) had been at Edgeley Park since February 2017 at County when he joined from Curzon Ashton but injury sidelined him before the end of the 2016-17 season. He had previously been at the Tameside Stadium since 2011.

He played against Alty in a pre-season game and, according to Phil Parkinson, has already ribbed John Johnston that he marked him out of that match!

The full interview is here.

ALTY WIN "CLUB OF THE MONTH" AWARD

During October, Alty have won four league games at the J Davidson Stadium, amassing 17 goals and conceding just one. Away from home, The Robins have drawn their only two league matches on the road in October.

HOSPITALITY OFFER

CSC PRELIMINARY ROUND

• Cheadle Town 1-8 Stockport County HT: 1-5, att. 410.

The other CSC matches are on 7 November, except for Altrincham v Chester FC on 14 November.

NEXT OPPONENTS: BUXTON

"Needing to win to regain momentum following Saturday's 'Trophy' defeat, Buxton led at the interval on Tuesday evening but allowed the recently improving 'Pics' an early equaliser before succumbing to a superbly-struck drive by the much-travelled Richard Brodie at three-quarter time. A return to the 4-4-2 set-up, with Sam Smith restored for Curtis Morrison proved not to be the cure-all that some suggested, with none of the 3 central strikers deployed able to escape sufficiently the shackles imposed by a Rushall side being rebuilt by recently-appointed manager, Liam McDonald.

What's more, 'the Bucks', for the third time in 4 outings, finished the match with only 10 men as skipper [and ex-Alty centre-back] Greg Young, having become exasperated by the obvious inadequacy of referee Storey, saw yellow twice in the 86th minute.

Buxton's opening, down the slope on an evening perfect for soccer, was promising enough. Only 9 minutes had passed when Joe McGee forced a corner, after which Brad Abbott crossed accurately for Luke Hinsley to slam a header flush against the near post, before a firm Ricky Ravenhill header found 'keeper Hill rather than the net. The home midfielder then was unjustly dealt with by Mr. Storey in a situation engineered by the wily Brodie, but 'the Bucks' twice went close soon afterwards...

They took the lead in the 35th minute with a well-made goal created by a McGee low cross and swept into the far corner by Abbott from 15 yards...

Having worked hard for an advantage Buxton proceeded to lose it inside 3 second-half minutes. A sluggish re-start permitted a brief passing move on the Rushall right to go unhindered and Waldron had a comfortable conversion at the far post...

In the 64th minute came Rushall's winner that was reminiscent of Hardy's superb goal a week previously. On this occasion a loose ball fortuitously fell to Brodie, who advanced before thundering a 30-yard drive into the far top corner. The hosts fought hard for an equaliser but, thwarted partly by some curious and frustrating refereeing decisions, couldn't find an equaliser...

Team: Budtz, Williams, McWilliams, Ravenhill (Morrison), Maguire, Young, Hinsley, Abbott, Smith (Wilson), Hardy, McGee. Unused Subs: Meade, Jameson."

TROPHY OPPONENTS: RAMSBOTTOM UNITED

A strong looking Shaw Lane side containing a number of former Football League players made the breakthrough on the quarter-hour mark when an inswinging corner was met by striker Clayton whose flicked header beat Danny Taberner for the first goal of a lively encounter. On a chilly evening both sides battled for supremacy as the half wore on with ex-Ipswich Town and Bolton player David Norris looking accomplished in the visitors midfield... As the half time whistle blew, the visitors led at the break.

Moran replaced Stott at the resumption of play in the home side's midfield as the Rams again started the second period brightly with home debutant Josh Heaton slotting in comfortably alongside the ever combative Luke Thompson as the heart of the Rammy defence. Greg Daniels was again showing some exquisite touches as he led the line with intelligence... The Rams more than matched their opponents in every department with an interesting skirmish between Clayton and the superb Roscoe a particular highlight.

The encounter was finely balanced with the visitors using their vast experience to manage the game without allowing the home side to gain any attacking momentum as the contest reached the three-quarter mark... Rams' manager Mark Fell then sent on Grant Spencer for the excellent Jamie Rother with 20 minutes remaining as the home side looked for an equaliser, the match became a touch fractious perhaps due in part to the contentious nature of the Shaw Lane injury-time penalty a few days earlier.

Sam Heathcote then entered the fray with ten minutes remaining for the hardworking Tom Brooks in what would prove to be a match changing decision as, within two minutes, a corner found its way to Luke Thompson whose pass was finished with composure by the auxiliary striker and the contest was all square... The tie entered an additional 30 minutes, Ramsbottom looked to continue their attacking momentum gained in the closing stages with Jerome Wright and Phil Dean looking to influence proceedings further. Heathcote then fired wide before testing the Shaw Lane keeper twice in quick succession with shots from the edge of the box showing the confidence the goal scorer was playing with...

The second half [of added time] began in fine style for the Rams when a break down the left hand side gave an opportunity to Wright whose low shot from the edge of the penalty area beat Stewart before hitting the back of the net via the post to give the home side the lead. Things got better for the home side with 5 minutes remaining as Shaw Lane pushed forward looking for an equaliser and were caught on the break when the lively Dean won the ball before linking with Wright, whose superb shot from the edge of the box fizzed past Stewart to give the Rams a 3-1 lead.

Phil Dean then completed a sensational second period of extra time for Ramsbottom when the wide player cut in from the right hand side before sending a curling shot into the top corner of the Shaw Lane net for perhaps the goal of the night as the home side settled the tie in stunning fashion to set up an away trip to Altrincham in the next round, much to the delight of the home supporters.

This was an outstanding and thoroughly enjoyable team performance which should give the squad a huge confidence boost for the upcoming matches knowing that, if proof were needed, that on their day this Ramsbottom squad can compete with teams from a higher division.

RAMSBOTTOM UNITED: Taberner, Roscoe, Brownhill, Stott (Moran 45mins), Thompson, Heaton, Dean, Rother (Spencer 72mins), Brooks (Heathcote 81mins), Daniels, Wright. Subs not used: Richardson, Williams".

OLD BOY

A delighted Greygoose said, 'I've had some great days as a manager but this one is probably the best of the lot. I'm very lucky that, wherever I've been as a manager or coach, I've been very successful. We've come to King's Lynn and done something that no side has managed to do this season and that's keep a clean sheet and win. In the summer the players had to step up a level and they've had to step up a massive level today but each and every one of them was magnificent'".

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

Yellows agreed to a request from opponents Nantwich Town to postpone Tuesday’s game to allow the Dabbers the maximum time to prepare for their FA Cup first round trip to League Two side Stevenage. It is the first time this season Warrington have not had a midweek game, but Carden says they have used the time productively.

The Yellows' boss also says the break has given the likes of skipper Jay McCarten, who missed Saturday’s FA Trophy win over Bamber Bridge with a hamstring injury, time to recover. 'It has given us a few options, with respect to going watching games from our league or scouting potential transfer targets,' he said. 'To be honest, the break has come at a decent time for a few of the lads. Jay McCarten missed Saturday with a hamstring strain. It’s nothing serious but not having a game on Tuesday will help his recovery. There’s a few lads in a similar boat to Jay so it won’t do them any harm.'

McCarten is expected to be fit in time for Yellows’ clash with Sutton Coldfield Town... at Cantilever Park on Saturday,...

'When we haven’t done as well as we can, it hasn’t been through the opposition tearing it up. It’s been through our own doing and as a result of us going away from what we’ve worked on. We’ve proved that, when we’re on our game, it doesn’t matter what the opposition do. We’ve just got to concentrate on ourselves'".

Mansfield's Chad reports that "Steve Evans says he expects to make several changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Exeter last weekend when the Stags head to non-league Shaw Lane in the FA Cup on Saturday.

The match will be live on television... with Evans well aware of the dangers the Barnsley-based side will pose. But he still anticipates shaking up his squad to include a mixture of those who started against Exeter and those who played in the match with Everton under-23s in the Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday night.

He said, 'We’re considering making changes from the Exeter game, potentially five or six. As always we’ll have a look at two or three different options in training and advise the lads on the day of the game. Some of the lads that played on Tuesday gave themselves a real chance of being included at Shaw Lane'...

Shaw Lane... is well backed financially and includes several players with Football League experience including ex-Barnsley defender Neil Austin and former Portsmouth and Leeds midfielder David Norris.

Evans said, 'Eight or nine of the players that will start on Saturday have played in the levels right up to the Championship, so we’re in for a tough test. Sometimes players drop down the levels with age, or sometimes they fall out of favour and struggle to get with a team in the higher leagues so go and get some football lower down. Rather than preparing for a game against a side three levels below us, really we need to treat them like a side from the National League as I think they’d fit in quite comfortably there...

The absolute minimum is that we get them back to the One Call Stadium for a replay... One lapse and we could be out, and the players know that'".

SEAN GOES ON LOAN

There will be an audio interview with Phil Parkinson available to listen to after 8pm tonight, when the Altrincham manager will discuss Sean's loan move as well as an incoming loan signing and a further player going out on loan".

Footnote: Sean has made one start and four appearances from the bench for Altrincham this season, after being out of the league squad for 34 matches since being injured last season.

POPPY SHIRT

When Altrincham take on Ramsbottom United at the J Davidson Stadium, Mike Garnett reminds us that it will be our first appearance in that Round since 2004-05 when Alty defeated Ossett Albion 6-1. Our overall record in that Round is...

• Home P5 W4 D1 L0 F15 A6
• Away P5 W1 D4 L0 F4 A3
• Overall P10 W5 D5 L0 F19 A9

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!

SUPPORTERS' TRANSPORT TO SHAW LANE

Please note the coach leaves The Vine at 4.15pm, Hare and Hounds at 4.25pm, Leisure Centre at 4.30pm and the ground at 4.35pm and NOT slightly later as stated previously on the website.

ALTY GOAL OF THE MONTH

EVO-STIK PREMIER NEWS

And both Grantham Town and Ashton United did just that to move into fourth and fifth place respectively. Grantham enjoyed a good 3-1 win at Keys Park against mid-table Hednesford Town. The Gingerbreads were gifted a 25th minute opener courtesy of a Reece King own goal. Five minutes later, Lee Shaw put the visitors two-up. Check Steele reduced the deficit 11 minutes into the second half but a second from Shaw in the 79th minute settled the points in the visitors` favour.

Ashton overcame inconsistent Matlock Town 3-0 at Hurst Cross. The home side got off to a great start when they were awarded a seventh minute penalty for a foul on [ex-Alty loanee] Liam Tomsett by Matlock keeper Phil Barnes, Matty Chadwick duly converting the resulting spot-kick. Loanee Jack Dyche doubled the home side`s lead right on the stroke of half-time, and Tomsett made it game over with number three just seven minutes after the restart.

Stourbridge are back up to seventh after a comprehensive 4-0 win at Coles Lane against bottom-markers Sutton Coldfield Town.... To make matters worse for Sutton Coldfield, second-bottom Rushall Olympic followed up last Saturday`s Buildbase FA Trophy win at Nantwich Town by winning in the league for the first time under Liam McDonald... [for whom] experienced and much-travelled striker Richard Brodie added a second just past the hour-mark.

A 57th minute Kieran Morris effort eventually proved enough for Stafford Rangers at Marston Road against Barwell, while Kieran Weledji gave Whitby Town an early seventh minute lead at Mickleover Sports, only for Evan Garnett to equalise in the 19th minute. Andy Dales scored what proved to be the winner a minute before half-time.

Coalville Town moved up to twelfth in the table after a 3-2 win at fourth-bottom Halesowen Town... Elsewhere, Marine AFC are just a point and a place above Halesowen after losing 3-0 at the Giant Axe to a Lancaster City side who are now tenth".

Stourbridge add that they "are now in a position to make the following statement after the two recent derby games. This further statement is in regard to the Evo-Stik League fixture against Halesowen Town FC on Saturday, 7th October and the Birmingham Senior Cup tie against the same opposition on Monday, 23rd October.

Following investigations, we can confirm that a number of people have been refused entry to the War Memorial Ground at subsequent matches, and the club is in the process of formally notifying these people of indefinite bans from all future matches at the War Memorial Ground.

The Club wishes to re-iterate it's previous statement to the effect that flares, smoke bombs and similar items will not be tolerated. Anybody found to be in possession of such items, or attempting to bring them into the Ground, will be liable to a similar ban. This also applies to anybody throwing items either onto the pitch or at visiting supporters, and to anti-social behaviour generally.

Football is a passionate game, and we would encourage our supporters to show that passion in the right way. Make a noise, get behind the team, show your support. However, whilst we all understand that things can happen in the heat of the moment, we will not tolerate spectators stepping beyond the line of reasonable behaviour, particularly in the direction of visiting supporters.

Stourbridge FC prides itself on being a family club, and on the warm welcome we extend to all visitors to the War Memorial Ground, whichever club they support, just as our travelling supporters are made welcome in turn wherever we play. This is the nature of Non-League football and we wish to ensure that the atmosphere at the War Memorial Ground is in keeping with those traditions, whilst encouraging our supporters to continue to give their whole-hearted backing to the team."

According to Crewe Vital Football, "Oliver Finney and Daniel Udoh have both returned from their two-month loan spells with Halesowen Town this morning, following last night`s 3-2 home defeat to Coalville Town in which Udoh scored the Yeltz's second goal... Dan ended up with 6 goals in 12 league games for the club (11 of which were starts) during the 2 months.

Midfielder Finney, who turns 20 next month, scored on his debut for the Yeltz in the following game against Stafford Rangers and that was his only goal in 12 league appearances as well as 2 cup games".

The Chester Chronicle tells us that "Chester FC midfielder Matty Waters has joined Sutton Coldfield Town on a month's loan. The 19-year-old academy graduate made his debut for the West Midlands side on Tuesday night in a 4-0 home defeat to Stourbridge,

Waters, who has made four appearances in all competitions this season and scored in the 3-2 loss at Gateshead in September, has joined Sutton Coldfield, managed by former West Brom midfielder Richard Sneekes, in order to get more playing time under his belt."

FA TROPHY 1Q REPLAY

• Kidsgrove Athletic 2-1 Newcastle Town

The northern/Midlands half of the draw for the Second Qualifying Round on 11 November is now as follows...

• 1 Lancaster City v Stratford Town
• 2 Kidsgrove Athletic v Grantham Town
• 3 Alvechurch v Coalville Town
• 4 Warrington Town v Ashton United
• 5 Altrincham v Ramsbottom United
• 6 Stalybridge Celtic v Rushall Olympic
• 7 Glossop North End v Leek Town
• 8 Stamford v Droylsden
• 9 Chasetown v Workington
• 10 Hednesford Town v Cleethorpes Town
• 11 Atherton Collieries v Marine
• 12 St Neot's Town v Stourbridge
• 13 Barwell v Mildenhall Town
• 14 Stafford Rangers v South Shields

BUILDBASE FA TROPHY REPLAYS

• South Shields 4-3 Farsley Celtic AET 1-1 at 90 mins. Att 1,012
• Ramsbottom United 4-1 Shaw Lane AFC AET 1-1 at 90 mins. Att 174

  Sam Heathcote got The Rams' first goal and Jerome Wright netted twice, late into extra time, before Dean scored the fourth. Ramsbottom are now away to Altrincham on 11th November.

• Stalybridge Celtic 5-1 Prescot Cables Att.171

MONTHLY DRAW WINNERS

• 6th place - Number 397: S.J. Conway- Club Polo Shirt
• 5th place -Number 519: S. Richards - Replica Shirt
• 4th place - Number 143: Steve Wilson- Matchday Hospitality for two in the Manchester Glass Sponsors' Lounge
• 3rd place - Number 133: Claire Allan - £25
• 2nd place - Number 494: Mrs.J.Blow- £75 and ...
• 1st place - Number 420: A.Reddy - £500

Congratulations to each of the winners and especially to A. Reddy, who wins the top prize of £500".

TUESDAY FIXTURES

• Ashton United 3-0 Matlock Town att.133
• Buxton 1-2 Rushall Olympic att.154
• Halesowen Town 2-3 Coalville Town att.278
• Hednesford Town 1-3 Grantham Town att.299
• Lancaster City 3-0 Marine att.253
• Mickleover Sports 2-1 Whitby Town att.154
• Nantwich Town P-P Warrington Town
• Stafford Rangers 1-0 Barwell att.376
• Sutton Coldfield Town 0-4 Stourbridge att.209
• Witton Albion P-P Farsley Celtic
• Workington P-P Stalybridge Celtic

ALTY CHRISTMAS SHOP

JACQUI'S "WOMEN AT THE GAME" INITIATIVE

"Forgive the slight digression from women’s football, to tell the tale of a remarkable woman and her quest to bring the national game to more women. The Altrincham fan, Jacqui Forster, is founder of Women at the Game, an organisation that works with clubs to bring groups of women together to attend matches.

It is a simple idea and one which has taken on a life of its own in its short existence. But what makes Forster’s dedication to this concept inspirational is that she is leading this charge while undergoing treatment for terminal cancer.

There is only one question to ask: Why? Why dedicate the remainder of her life to such a project? 'I’ve worked in football for so many years and there is a distinct lack of women supporters,' she says. 'I’ve got confidence, so I can go to a match on my own, but a lot of women just can’t do that and a lot have said to me over the years, "I’d really like to go to a football match but I don’t feel I can".

'Going to live sport, and my sport is football, is something that a lot of women would like to do but, for whatever reason, they haven’t had an opportunity'.

When she spoke at a Women of the World event a Muslim woman stood up and said, 'My son is nine and is desperate to go to a football match but I’m terrified of taking him', and these are people Forster wants to help. 'This is not just for women. It’s for women to bring their children as well because, if you’re struggling, if you’re a single parent, it’s a big help. Whatever your age, whatever your circumstances, you can come along.'

When Forster’s sick leave from her job at Supporters Direct, the organisation that assists and helps set up community-owned clubs, expired she was cut adrift. Clubs, SD board members and individuals who had worked with her rallied to a Crowdfunder campaign to support her income deficit and raised close to £2,000 before Forster asked for the donations to stop. Supporters Direct reversed its controversial decision after a wave of pressure and agreed to pay its longstanding staff member her salary until December 2016. So Forster decided to put those initial donations to good use.

'I thought about what I would like to do, had a chat with some friends and we came up with the name between us,' she says. 'Women at the Game basically encompasses different sports and it’s about going together, women going together. It’s organised by women and it’s only women that go.

'We organise it in a way that means it’s comfortable for most women to do, and where no question is a stupid question. It was just a case of sharing my favourite sport with other women that haven’t had the advantages I had, like being taken by my dad from a young age.'

It was chance that meant Forster’s dad took her to games as a child initially. 'On the Saturdays, when my mum had to work as a part-time hairdresser, she asked my dad to collect me from my dance class. I was five years-old, what does a dad, a joiner, originally from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, do with a five-year-old daughter? The obvious thing for a Geordie is to go to the football.'

That is when her love affair with Altrincham began. 'It was so busy I used to have to sit on his shoulders to see and I stood on a terrace with my dad. I lost my dad when I was 21, and it hit me very hard because we were very close. My mum was not interested in football whatsoever. But I carried on going to the footie. And I never really gave it up.'

In her adult life she worked hard to help build a supporters’ trust at Altrincham and, as a middle-aged woman, came out of the public sector to go up against a bunch of 20-something men to interview for the job she took at Supporters Direct. However breast cancer struck in 2009 and, four and a half years after surgery and treatment, it returned; this time metastatic secondary breast cancer, this time terminal.

Her prognosis is only months and it was 'declared as being very short in December 2015'. Yet she is still here and is using her time to pioneer Women at the Game. The pilot of the project was, naturally, held at Altrincham last January and helped her draw up documents to assist clubs interested in the format. By the end of last season 10 games were dedicated Women at the Game matches, with a particular interest around International Women’s Day. And not all have been initiated in conjunction with Forster.

'It’s been phenomenal. I had this idea about a year ago and we’ve reached a stage where clubs are organising Women at the Game days independently.' Non-league clubs have led the way. Enfield Town had 100 women attend their dedicated day and a number have continued to attend. Banbury United, Merthyr Town, Chester, Fisher and Bath City have also been among the hosts. At Chester a gazebo outside was manned by the women’s team, who welcomed the matchgoers with tea and cake and handed out leaflets.

This season it took another huge step forward when Manchester City used their Champions' League group opener against Shakhtar Donetsk on 26 September to host a Women at the Game event at the Etihad. They seated women who signed up in the same block and hosted pre-game food and drinks. With only six days to organise it, as they awaited permission from the top, around 60 women took part. It may be harder for top teams, who sell out games, to provide the space for such an initiative but it is also a no-brainer.

'It can only be good for clubs, can’t it? To have more women going to games,' says Forster. And it certainly cannot be a coincidence that the first top-tier club to show an interest is one of those leading the way in the Women’s Super League on and off the pitch.

But organising has got harder. Since August, Forster’s chemo has become weekly. 'Some weeks I have to go to hospital on a Wednesday for blood tests and to see the doctor, followed by Thursday in the hospital for chemo, which always takes all day. That’s two days taken out of the week and sometimes I’m not very well for a day or two. So it has been very difficult to do Women at the Game.'

Her hope is that more women come forward to join her small band of volunteers, enough to assist interested clubs in different parts of the country. Raising money, after her initial investment and further personal funding, is also crucial to growth.

Forster is clearly self-sacrificing. She has dedicated a significant amount of her professional career to helping empower supporters. Now she is trying to help empower women. 'I just want to do something to help women,' she says modestly. 'Because we have had a tough time. All this stuff that has come out recently about abuse and misogyny is terrible. Let’s do this for ourselves. A lot of the women that come along are married, they’ve got partners, they’ve got children. But sometimes it’s just nice to be a bunch of women organising for ourselves.'

She is doing a lot to help women sample the fruits of the football forest but Women at the Game is also helping her. She says that at the leading cancer hospital The Christie, they jest that, with her drive to build Women at the Game, maybe she has 'found the secret to surviving cancer longer than expected; being so blinking busy'. To which Forster adds, 'I just don’t like to sit still'.

NON-LEAGUE NEWS

'There are so many people at this club who have worked so hard to get it to the level it is playing at right now and it deserves to stay there,' he said of the club’s website. 'To do so it needs someone who can fully commit to the clubs future and unfortunately I am unable to do that right now. I wish everyone, board, players and supporters every success and thank them for their help, kindness and understanding.'

Moors are bottom of the table after a dreadful start and, on Saturday, Money’s last game in charge, they went down 4-0 at home to AFC Fylde. The news is even more of a surprise after the club on Monday night confirmed the signing of defender Sean St Ledger".