Altrincham 1 Bishop Auckland 1
in UniBond Premier League
2 March 2002.
Summary and other details by John Laidlar. His full report is in the Official Site by John
After the storms of midweek, the main Carole Nash Stand at Moss Lane was lacking all of its glazing from its Golf Road end but the pitch looked in good condition despite the recent deluges. Altrincham started the game having never beaten Bishop Auckland in the UniBond League in six previous attempts. The match referee was Mr Barry Sims, who replaced the official named in the matchday programme. Mr Sims had refereed Alty's match at Colwyn Bay early in this season.
Altrincham paid the price for failing to convert a hatful of first-half chances when Bishop Auckland equalised less than a minute from the end of the fifth minute of added time. Thornley had belatedly given Alty the lead after 44 minutes when his shot was just firm enough to carry into the net after keeper Campbell had half stopped it. Campbell had earlier produced a number of fine stops to keep out Alty and, in particular, Thornley. A home lead of 3-0 or more would not have been an unfair reflection at this stage. In an increasingly tetchy second half, in which referee Mr Sims continued his first-half pattern of bewildering decisions, Altrincham looked to have secured their fourth successive league win till a Maddox slip allowed substitute Brunskill in to steal a point.
After the Alty management had been told to prune the wage bill it was surprising to see a new face in the Altrincham side, left-sided midfielder Barry Shuttleworth, who has arrived this week on loan from Macclesfield Town. His arrival allowed Danny Murphy to rest for much of the game on the bench as he continues to await his hernia operation. Rod Thornley was supported by Kevin Hulme up front, whilst Gary Scott continued in midfield as Neil Ryan retained the right-back spot. Bishop Auckland had been having a poor run recently and had been rocked by manager Tony Lee's defection to Spennymoor over the Christmas break. Their side included Carl Chillingsorth who started the season by scoring regularly for Whitby Town before moving back further North. Former Gateshead manager Paul Proudlock was also in the visitors' side.
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| The stand at Moss Lane suffered some storm damage - How do you take a picture of a window that's not there? Stewards Maria and son Adam came up with the answer - put your arms through. |
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| A superb jump by keeper David Campbell saved the day for Bishop |
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| Under the eyes of referee Barry Sims who came up with some interesting decisions!, Gary Scott gets the ball |
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| Rod Thornley head in hands rues another Alty miss |
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| Kevin Hulme has similar thoughts |
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| Keeper Campbell gets a leg over Kevin Hulme while Gary Scott keeps an eye on things |
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| Despite some heavy rain this week the pitch played well thanks to the efforts of Sid and his crew. It was however on the soft side and some very big divots appeared |
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| At the other end - Paul Prodlock's shot is deflected by Ian Craney |
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| Congratulations to James Dawson who was ball boy for the 100th time today ( March 2nd 2002). Chairman Mark Harris and Ball boy coordinator Ray Armstrong present James with a watch to commemorate the event |
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| " Honestly I did not touch him" says Kevin Hulme. with another of his interesting decisions the referee did not agree |
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| Rod Thornley looks down on another good save by keeper Campbell |
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| Three to one but Kevin Hulme wins the ball. The windowless stand over shadows the pitch and the game is watched by Andrew Guilfoyle in the weather shelter (bottom left) which was paid for and constructed by the Alty Exiles |