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Saturday 23rd November - Altrincham 1-0 Frickley Athletic

With Ryan Williams joining the lenthening list of injuries Phil Sharpe had very little in the way of choice for his starting eleven so Curtis nernard returned to partner Andy Evans with Chris Newton dropping deeper.

Altrincham managed to force a few half chances in the opening minutes but none of the troubled Mark Samways until Jason Gallagher put his 18 yard shot inches wide of the left hand post with Samways at full stretch. Frickley started to come into the game with Evans doing well inside the box before dragging a low, angled right foot shot wide of the left hand post from 15 yards. Without Williams the Blues side had a lop-sided look with no natural left-footed player to play in front of Chris Gowen. The home side forced several corners but none worried Samways, whilst the Blues looked capable of worrying Altrincham at the back. On the half hour Bernard did well down the left before sending over a deep cross which found Lee Morris on the right of the box. He in turn fed Newton whose first time left foot shot from 20 yards looked destined to go inside the left hand post but Richard Acton pulled off a brilliant save to push it round the post. Just three minutes later Altrincham's Rod Thornley looked to get clear down the left but he was checked by Antony Jackson. The resulting free-kick was expertly flicked beyond Samways and inside the right hand post by Thornley. However, on 41 minutes the Blues should have been level. Gowen sent over a perfect cross from the left which fell invitingly to Evans but, from six yards out Evans volleyed his shot wide of the left hand post.

The Blues started second half well as they enjoyed a fair amount of possession but without really creating any decent chances. By the hour mark Altrincham had weathered the pressure and were soon making chances at the other end. Samways pulled off a great save to deny Thornley after Craig Elkin had lost the ball in the middle of the Blues half. On 62 minutes Andy Evans was forced off with concussion and was replaced by Nigel Henstock but the Blues still couldn't force a way through an Altrincham defence that had tightened up since the first half. As time wore on Sharpe moved Jackson up front and dropped Mark Hancock into defence but this only served to leave more space at the back for Altrincham to exploit, which they almost did on a few occasions. On 80 minutes Thornley shot well over from 18 yards whilst five minutes later the same player headed against the outside of the right hand post following a deep cross from the left.

Thankfully, the Blues now have a week's rest before next Saturday's FA Trophy tie at Vauxhall Motors which may just be enough to give one or two players the chance to recover in time. 

Frickley Athletic : Samways, Richards, Gowen, Elkin, Jackson, Marquis, Hancock, Morris, Evans (Henstock 62), Bernard, Newton. Unused subs. Hine & Sharpe

Attendance : 582 

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