Strouts 31

Attendance 853

by Mike Crockett

OTHER then the book which went on sale at Moss Lane on Saturday, 'The Unibond Years' are a thing of the past for Altrincham FC and in usual opening day style, they failed to win their first game in the Conference.

Following on from a 2-2 draw with Barrow two years ago and a 1-1 draw with Frickley last term, Robins went one worse and fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of former champions Stevenage.

The promised land of top-tier football was not all it was cracked up to be with a mere 853 spectators turning up to watch an ill-tempered match which was poorly refereed.

Robins boss Bernard Taylor fielded an unchanged side from the on that retained the Unibond Shield against Stalybridge a week previous, with Paul Ellender reprising his role in midfield.

There have been some grumblings about playing Ellender in the midfield but in the absence of another powerhouse of his stature, it can be viewed as the best option available and his controlling influence on the game is none the worse for it.

Stevenage, who finished 6th place in the Conference last season are still virtually living off their five minutes of fame as the club who put Premiership side Newcastle United in their place a year and a half ago.

It took less than five minutes for referee Stephen Coffey to dish out his first booking of the season to Stevenage's Jimmy Strouts. This set the tone for the game, which would ultimately see six players booked.

Keith Russell almost opened his account on four minutes with a sharp header after he found himself clear but the effort went straight to Boro keeper Chris Taylor.

Brendan Burke broke free from a failed Stevenage free-kick and raced fully 70 yards and his pass found another new signing, Kevin Ellison, but the striker's thunderbolt was palmed over by Taylor.

Strouts, who put in a man-of-the-match performance opened the scoring on 31 minutes with a right foot shot which beat Coburn after good work by Anthony Samuels and Robin Trott.

Five minutes after picking up a yellow card, Burke saw his 39th minute shot flash across the face of the visitors' goal.

Shots for Stevenage's Ryan Kirby and Strouts went begging either side of half-time before Alty could really take hold of the match.

Ellison, was far and away the home side's better player and he showed his class with a shot on 61 minutes.

The forward set up substitute Leroy Chambers later on but the ex-Macclesfield hitman headed wide.

Robins fans thought their team had pulled it out of the fire on 87 minutes when Richard Landon headed in Ellison's right-wing cross, but the tall forward was adjudged to be in an offside position.

Ellender had a chance to square the game at 1-1 on the death but he mis-kicked Simeon Hodson's pass, when scoring looked easier.

Robins: Coburn, Hodson, Adams, Timons, Ellender, Talbot, Gallagher, Kielty, Russell, Burke, Ellison. Subs: Landon (replaced Ged Kielty on 60 mins), Greygoose (not used), Andy Lovelock (Jason Gallagher, 57), Tony Hemmings, Leroy Chambers (Keith Russell, 80).

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.