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Saturday 26th April - Frickley Athletic 0-3 Altrincham

The Blues finished their 2002/3 campaign with a disappointing home defeat to Altrincham who eased their way to a comfortable 3-0 win.

With Manager Phil Sharpe having a prior arrangement, Mark Hancock took charge of team affairs, leaving himself on the bench and reverting back to a flat back four of Duncan Richards, Matt Daly, Antony Jackson and Kieran O'Brien. Lee Morris partnered Adam Russell up front whilst Curtis Bernard started down the right of midfield with Chris Gowen down the left.

Altrincham took the lead with the first real attack of the game, although they had a helping hand from a rather inadequate assistant referee who allowed play to continue when both Peter Band and Rod Thornley were clearly offside as the ball was played forward to Thornley. The Alty striker carried the ball ball forward from the left of the box before having his low shot parried by Mark Samways, only for Band to follow up and tap in the loose ball from just a yard or so out. The visitors controlled most of the play during the opening half hour and seemed to be able to carve the Blues' defence open at will. On 19 minutes Thornley was again sent clear but his lob from the left of the box beat Samways and rebounded back off the far post into Samways' arms. Minutes later Thornley somehow failed to make contact when the ball was played across the face of goal and O'Brien brought the ball clear. The Blues managed their first real attack on 31 minutes and had a good chance to equalise. Bernard got clear down the right and crossed into the box where Russell turned and shot from 8 yards only for Richard Acton to block his shot and then Phil Lindley had his weak follow-up effort saved by Acton. A minute later it should have been 1-1 when Richards' deep free-kick from the right evaded Acton and was returned goalwards at the far post by Daly only for an Alty defender to head off the line to Morris but the took too long to bring the ball under control enabling a defender to hack clear.

The visitors increased their lead on 52 minutes when Band was sent clear and he confidently rolled the ball past Samways from just inside the box. The Blues had a let-off shortly afterwards when a low right wing Alty corner found its way through everyone before being deflected against the crossbar before being cleared by Richards. The Blues were extremely unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty on 69 minutes when Mark Maddox clearly handled inside the box but the referee chose to award a free-kick right on the left hand line of the box and booked Maddox. Substitute Hancock sent in the free-kick which caused havoc in the goalmouth but no Blues player could get a telling shot in before the ball was scrambled clear. On 78 minutes, following an Alty corner, the ball pinged about in the Blues' box before coming back off a post and into Samways' hands. Almost on the stroke of full time Alty added a third when substitute Lunt was left in the clear and he finished well to beat Samways from 18 yards.   

Frickley Athletic : Samways, Richards O'Brien (Hancock 67), Jackson, Daly, Woolford, Morris (Bywater 82), Lindley, Russell (Hatto 58), Bernard, Gowen

Altrincham : Acton, Scott, Adams, Maddox, Talbot, Rose (Craney 58), Gardner (Tunnicliffe 85), Shuttleworth, Band, Thornley (Lunt 86), Robertson. 

Attendance : 215

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