Burscough 1 Altrincham 1

Brief report by John Laidlar from his Alty Pages. where a full report can be found

Photographs by Alan Johnson

BURSCOUGH (1) 1 ALTRINCHAM (0) 1

Unibond Premier League Match, played on Saturday, 16 April, 2001, at 3p.m.

SCORERS

26 mins: Mark WILDE (Burscough 1 Altrincham 0)

80 mins: Rod THORNLEY (Burscough 1 Altrincham 1)

REFEREE: Mr Paul Kershaw (Manchester)

ATTENDANCE: 329

TEAMS

16.4.01	BURSCOUGH	versus.	ALTRINCHAM
3pm	Green shirts, white shorts, green socks	---.	Red and white striped shirts, black shorts and socks
1.	Paul BLASBERY	1.	Stuart COBURN
2.	Neil HANSON	2.	Jason GALLAGHER
3.	Ryan BOWEN	3.	Gary SCOTT
4.	Steve LEAHEY	4.	Terry BOWKER
5.	Ged NOLAN	5.	Mark MADDOX
6.	Andy McMULLEN (capt.)	6.	Steve HAWES (capt.)
7.	Marvin MOLYNEUX	7.	Danny MURPHY
8.	Billy KNOWLES	8.	Ian CRANEY
9.	Andy HOWARD	9.	Richard LANDON
10.	Mark WILDE	10.	Rod THORNLEY
11.	Tom MOLLOY	11.	Paul EDWARDS
12.	Chris STANTON	12.	Steve FINNEY
14.	Ray BIRCH	14.	Adam FARLEY
15.	John LAWLESS	15.	Keith MAIRS

BACKGROUND
Burscough went into this match with only one win in their last thirteen games whilst Altrincham's recent form had been mixed; defeats by Gainsborough and Emley had been interspersed between wins over Colwyn Bay and Runcorn.

SUMMARY
Altrincham could have scored twice in the opening four minutes but it was Burscough who were to take the lead, after 26 minutes. An excellent through ball from central midfield found Wilde unmarked but still with a lot to do to score. He shot firmly and accurately into the bottom left-corner of the net, the ball evading Coburn's dive to his right. However, Altrincham almost scored straight after the start of the second half, Thornley hitting the post after staying on his feet when clearly fouled inside the box. Altrincham had the better of the second period and deservedly equalised ten minutes from the end when Thornley deftly shot home from a right-wing cross by Gallagher.

TEAM NEWS
Left-back Steve Porter remained sidelined by injury and top-scorer Steve Finney was also still on the bench, though whether he is injured or not is unclear. Gary Scott was promoted from the bench and Keith Mairs occupied his vacated seat on the touchline. Stuart Scheuber, ever-present in midfield for so long this season, remained the unfortunate player omitted from the squad. Burscough made a number of changes. 36 year-old keeper, Paul Blasbery, replaced Matt Taylor whilst John Lawless, Ray Birch and Lee McEvilly were missing from Burscough's previous starting line-up, though Lawless and Birch were named as substitutes.

FULL-TIME: BURSCOUGH 1 ALTRINCHAM 1

Photographs by Alan Johnson

	The main stand
Backs to the wall
	Richard Landon's header saved by keeper Paul Blasberry
Another fine save
	Rod Thornley shot beats the keeper to equalize the score
Somehow Paul Blasberry tips Danny Murphy's header round the post
	Paul Edwards forces his way past two defenders in his chase for the ball
Late substitute Steve Finney tries to score the winner
	Another photographer, Terry Rowley, editor of Robins Review gets into the act and not only captures an action picture but also me in my blue anorak trying to take a picture in the opposite direction! Thanks Terry

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