Altrincham 1 Grays Athletic 0
Tue, March 20, 2007. Kick off: 7:45 PM
Match Report by Martin Candler
A goal by Joe O‘Neill in the 29th minute while earning Altrincham three valuable points, consigned the Blues to a damaging defeat they could ill-afford in this relegation showdown at Moss Lane. Grays were without skipper Stuart Thurgood, suspended, Johnny Martin, injured and Gavin Grant, elsewhere, and it showed. But considering the importance of the match for both sides, it was played in a surprisingly subdued atmosphere, lacking passion and penetration. The root cause of Grays’s undoing was yet again an inability to find any cutting edge in front of goal, though the introduction of Leroy Griffiths in the 53rd minute sparked the Blues into dominating possession in the second half.
Altrincham, however, held the ascendancy in the opening half and Joe O&lsquoNeill and Colin Little both should have done better with good opportunities but O‘Neill’s goal on the half-hour lifted the home side and stunned the visitors. A long throw by Lewis Chalmers somehow eluded a static Grays defence for O‘Neill to turn and shoot past Ashley Bayes. The same player then drew a fine save from Bayes who got down well to prevent a score. The only Grays effort of the half came from Ben Harding whose 20 yard shot was fired straight at keeper Stuart Coburn.
In the second half Jamie Stuart‘s looping header almost deceived Coburn and Dennis Oli then wasted two good chances; the first he scuffed a shot wide, the second he glanced a header past the post from a Glenn Poole cross. Grays huffed and puffed but for all their neat possession failed to breach a tiring Altrincham defence.
Grays Athletic: Bayes, Sambrook, Stuart, Tonkin, Kemp, Bodkin (Howell 66), Nicholls, Poole, Harding, Rhodes (Griffiths 53), Oli.
Subs Not Used: Knowles, Barness, Williamson.
Attn: 829
Ref: J. Waugh (England).
Fans Man of the Match: Bayes
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