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| Woking 2 Altrincham 0: 20th January 2007 Scorers Glenn's silken words may have assuaged a few of his critics at the fans' forum midweek but of course the acid test was whether he could produce some better results on the field after a poor run which had seen the Cards register only two wins in the twelve league games since that wonderful, but now distant, televised triumph over Aldershot back in October. With almost three weeks since the last home game - an embarrassing defeat at the hands of St Albans - Glenn had had plenty of time to focus on the substantial changes to the squad which he said he would make last summer but didn't actually carry out. So, out of the door had gone Steve Evans, Chris Sharpling, Steve Ferguson (on loan to AFC Wimbledon) and Shwan Jalal. Joining relative newcomer Jamie Taylor had come striker Liam Marum, defender Jason Pearce (on loan from Portsmouth), both of whom had made promising debuts at Dagenham in a gutsy but ultimately fruitless display, keeper James Bittner, full back/midfielder Adam Green and latest recruit Neil Barrett, a midfielder who had played with Tom Hutchinson at Dundee. According to the Woking News and Mail at least, Glenn saw this fixture, Tuesday's game at home to an out-of-form Oxford United and the away game at struggling Cambridge next Saturday as an opportunity to get back towards the play-off places. Echoes of last season! The more sceptical among Woking fans were probably just hoping for three points against Alty to stave off a descent to the (significantly nearer) relegation places. While Altrincham's away form gave grounds for hope - they hadn't won away this season - they had showed plenty of obduracy in notching up an unbeaten four game run, so seemed unlikely to be a pushover for a team which itself had lost more games at home than it had won. The Cards' injury list wasn't quite as horrendous as Glenn had intimated but it was still bad enough, with Simon Jackson, Tom Hutchinson, Ollie Berquez, Shola Oyedele, Matt Ruby and Liam Cockerill keeping Ian Selley company on a rather crowded physio's couch. Glenn chose to start with Bittner in goal, Karl Murray and Danny Bunce in the right and left back slots respectively and Jason Pearce and Gary MacDonald in central defence; the midfield comprised Giuseppe Sole and Adam Green on the right and left flanks, with Neil Smith and Neil Barrett in central midfield; Craig McAllister and Jamie Taylor were the strike force. On a sunny, breezy afternoon, with a heavy pitch underfoot, the game kicked off with Woking attacking the KRE. An early chance fell to Craig McAllister as he robbed a defender in the box and saw his effort smothered by the quickly advancing Stuart Coburn. Further pressure came from an Adam Green free-kick after Craig had nodded the ball into the path of Jamie Taylor, whose intelligent link-up play was one of the positive features of the afternoon. Neil Barrett, perhaps short of match practice, showed up more initially for his impersonation of some of Nick Roddis's more memorable tackles and it wasn't long before he found himself in the referee's notebook. The game deteriorated into a midfield war of attrition, with neither side showing much quality. James Bittner had an easy debut, barely touching the ball until shortly before half-time. Adam Green, resembling a livelier Steve Evans, had some impressive touches on the left flank, including an excellent low curling cross in the 20th minute, which Coburn just grasped. Jez Sole, on the other hand, looked out of sorts on the opposite flank - as he tends to do when moved away from the hole just behind the strikers. Such threat as Alty posed came mainly from the bullet-like long throws of Lewis Chalmers, from one of which an Alty striker blazed well over the bar. In the 28th minute the ball broke free to Jez Sole on the right of the box but his shot for the far corner was blocked by a defender's lunge. Jamie Taylor was then suddenly set free on the right wing and, seeing that Coburn was scampering back towards his goal, tried a clever chip, but Coburn managed to regain his ground in time. It was Taylor who came closest again in the 40th minute when his diving header from a Craig McAllister flick-on from a Neil Smith throw went straight to the keeper. The entertainment value had not been helped by some pernickety officiating, with too many fouls being given, mostly against the Cards. Ironic cheers reverberated round the ground when the referee finally decided to give a free-kick Woking's way after Jamie Taylor had been fouled. Moments before Neil Barrett had gone close when a weakish shot nevertheless sent Coburn scurrying as the ball dribbled past his post. Alty, though having more possession, had rarely threatened, but managed to register a couple of blocked shots just before the interval. Half-time: Woking 0 Altrincham 0 The substitution (presumably enforced) of fans' favourite Goma Lambu for Gary MacDonald at half-time proved to be the turning point of the game. Karl Murray switched to central defence, as he had at Dagenham; Danny Bunce replaced him at right back, with Adam Green moving back to left back. Goma, twisting and turning, immediately began to trouble the Alty defence but for a while it looked doubtful if Woking would be able to capitalise on his endeavours. Once more the game descended into a poor midfield battle, with both sides guilty of some pretty awful passing. James Bittner caused a scare in the 62nd minute when he kicked a clearance straight at an Altrincham forward, only to see it go wide: shades of Shwan Jalal! Then Jason Pearce made a rare mistake, his mis-kick enabling an Alty forward to hit the side netting. Just as it looked as though neither side had the guile to break the deadlock, Goma Lambu came to the rescue. Some determined play on the right gained a corner, which Adam Green flighted in beautifully for Craig to rise and power home a superb header. The goal seemed to lift the whole side and more attacks followed. Another Adam Green corner was collected under the bar by Coburn. Jez was nearly put through before, in the 76th minute, a ball ricocheted to Neil Barrett, who slipped a pass through to Craig McAllister in the right of the area. Craig finished cleanly past Coburn to put the Cards 2-0 up. Alty made three substitutions, with Chris Senior providing a bit more threat up front, but it never looked as though they would get back into the game. Indeed, more goals at the other end seemed likely. Jamie Taylor, who had been quieter in the second half, flicked a superb pass into the path of Craig McAllister, whose drilled effort produced a good save from Coburn, sprawling in the sanded goalmouth. Jez Sole came to life in the 80th minute, an exquisite swerve and nutmeg sending him past the defender on the byline; his cross-shot was just held by Coburn. Woking then 'scored' a superb goal in the move of the match. In the twinkling of an eye, Goma Lambu played in Craig McAlllister, who slipped the ball through to Neil Barrett, who slammed the ball into the far corner. Unfortunately - and dubiously in the eyes of those fans like me who were pretty much level with the play, the linesman flagged offside to rob Neil of a dream debut goal. Liam Marum and Sam Cockerill took the field with a few minutes to go, replacing Craig McAllister and Neil Barrett. Altrincham had a few tame efforts on goal and Jez Sole hit a side-footed shot from another excellent pass from Jamie Taylor, before the whistle blew for full time. So, as is his wont, Glenn managed to notch a win just when he most needed it; a third home defeat in a row would not have gone down well with the Kingfield faithful! He will, justifiably, be pleased with the displays of the new signings, all of whom performed pretty creditably. The football wasn't of great quality at times but there were hints that something better might follow as the new players bed in. Oxford United are likely to provide a stiffer test, though, on Tuesday evening. Woking (4-4-2):
Bittner; Murray, Pearce, MacDonald (Lambu 46), Bunce; Sole, Smith, Barrett (Cockerill 88), Green; McAllister (Marum 88), Taylor.
Man of the Match: Jamie Taylor - hard not to choose Craig McAllister after his two goals but Jamie Taylor shades it for me because of the intelligence and hard work, which infused his play throughout. Moment of the Match: the disallowed goal, with Neil Barrett, ghosting through, Frank Lampard-style, to finish off a superb move. Attendance: 1,612 (or 11,612 if you're the BBC...) |
