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Alty are looking to bounce back from successive defeats this evening with the visit of Chesterfield to The J. Davidson Stadium.
This past Saturday, Alty players trooped off shaking their heads in frustration after laying siege to Aldershot's goal in a one-sided second half but finishing empty-handed for the second time in four days.
The game featured three debutants in loanees Andy Dales and Alistair Smith, alongside Jamie McDonald - all three of which joined the club the day before. Dales particularly grew into the game late on, smashing the crossbar just after the hour mark. Smith and McDonald appeared from the bench in the latter stages of the game.
The result put Altrincham 21st on goal difference, albeit in a very tight bottom half of the National League which sees just four points separate 12th from 23rd. Obviously it is too early to start talking about must-win encounters, but three points from tonight's meeting with the 19th placed 'Spireites' could change our position substantially and give Robins fans a revived perspective on the start of the season.
This is going to be a tough season and we are going to be tested, we just have to stick together like we have done for the past three or four years. It’s going to be tough but we need to stick together and just do our thing, because we are well and truly good enough to compete in this league.
Taken from a piece with Tony Thompson in this evening's digital match programme.
Additionally, Brian Flynn spoke to full back Connor Hampson after Saturday's game. Despite Altrincham's poor fortunes and mixed start to life back at National League level, one consistent has been the strong performances of Alty's number three.
Alty fans will no doubt welcome the news that Ritchie Sutton and Andy White are nearing a return to full fitness and could be in contention this evening. It goes a small way towards restrengthening a Robins squad that has been decimated by injuries in recent weeks.
Derbyshire Times report that:
Chesterfield will still be without striker Nathan Tyson for Tuesday night’s trip to Altrincham. The striker is also likely to be out for Saturday’s clash against Notts County. Midfielder Liam Mandeville is back training after self-isolating. Defender Josef Yarney is available for selection after completing his three-match ban.
And from the same piece, some words from Chesterfield boss, John Pemberton:
"Altrincham last season were arguably, in the National League North, I think were the best footballing team in the division,” Blues boss John Pemberton said.
“They have found it difficult to adapt to the level, which some people do, but they play a certain way and they have an identity how they play and if you don’t defend properly they will cause you problems."
“Like us, their confidence is probably a little bit low at the moment regards of their results, but I am sure they will be looking at this game thinking we might be a possibility that they could turn their season around so they are all problem games unless we attack it in the right manner.”
Click here for streaming information. Tickets cost £9.99, and today's match commentators are Brian Flynn & John Edwards.
You can listen to live commentary of today's game on Radio Robins, sponsored by Ashley Mowers Garden Machinery, and the broadcast starts at 7.30pm. The match commentary sponsor is 'The Non-League Lounge.' The commentary team is Paul Salt & Andy Ainsworth
You can listen to Radio Robins in any of the following ways:
1) By visiting our Match Centre on the club website
2) Download and install the Mixlr app on Android devices from the Google Play Store - start the app and search for 'Radio Robins'.
3) Download and install the Mixlr app on Apple devices from the Apple Store - start the app and search for 'Radio Robins'.
4) https://mixlr.com/radio-robins
Altrincham welcomed Chesterfield to J. Davidson stadium for an action packed thriller under the floodlights ending 3-2.
Straight out of the gate Chesterfield were the more threatening side, creating early chances down the right side. Chesterfield made their early dominance count, finding the net in the form of a close range header at the back post after 13 minutes. Cropper's shot deflected and found Jonathan Smith who headed the ball back across the goal mouth to Boden for the finish.
Altrincham responded well, beginning to create openings with promising forward interplay. Their creativity paid off in the 29th minute when Matty Kosylo latched onto a long ball from Thompson, threading it through to Adarabioyo in front of goal. The Altrincham striker kept calm and composed, taking a touch before an excellent finish past Addai.
The remainder of the half was spent with both teams battling it out to try and find their second goal of the evening. Sass-Davies and Thompson helped keep the scoreline even with a header off the line and a tip over the bar respectively. Altrincham were not without their chances however. Dales came close to scoring but was ruled offside in a promising position and Sass-Davies had a headed effort from a corner sail wide of the goal.
HT: Altrincham 1 - 1 Chesterfield
The second half began with a couple of chances for Chesterfield, most notably another goal line clearance. This time Josh Hancock came to the rescue after a Jonathan Smith header.
It was inevitable that more goals would come and the first of the second half came after Alistair Smith was brought down in the box. A penalty was awarded and Hancock converted it, drilling his effort into the bottom left corner after 62 minutes.
Chesterfield responded instantly with a tremendous strike by Cropper from a wide angle just outside the box finding the net, hardly giving Altrincham a minute to settle down after taking the lead.
Tony Thompson was kept busy this evening making two impressive saves in the second half to deny Chesterfield a third goal.
It was in the 89th minute when the winning goal was taken expertly by Josh Hancock. It was a splendid move by Altrincham with Shaun Densmore's driven ball dummied through the legs of Matty Kosylo. Hancock picked it up on the edge of the box and finished past Addai with a powerful shot.
Altrincham defended their lead in the final few minutes of the game and fought well to get their first home win of the season.
FT: Altrincham 3 - 2 Chesterfield
