Altrincham 2 County 4
A first appearance for Edson Arantes do Nascimento in a County shirt on Saturday
Monday 17 July 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Huddersfield – Saturday 22 July, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Chester – Tuesday 18 July, 7.45pm
Nick Powell only played 30 minutes at Altrincham on Saturday, but has already overtaken Big Kev, Alun Armstrong and Brett Angell in the Hall of Fame for some County fans. Actually, I probably shouldn’t joke about that (although the Pelé gag’s staying in) after the following tweet sparked quite the debate on Twitter yesterday, which brought Tom Elliott comparisons into the discussion, before Susie Dent from Countdown was tagged by a County fan over the use of that semi-colon.
It’s fair to say half an hour in a pre-season friendly against a National League team isn’t quite enough to conduct a full analysis on our new signing just yet, but this lad could be 🔥 this season if he stays fit. (I think that’s what the kids say, innit?) Today, let’s just focus on the game itself, as Erin Beau Carroll and John K Bilsbury share their thoughts from Saturday’s six-goal affair at Moss Lane.
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Enjoy today’s issue.
Des Junior
Saturday’s match in one word:
Erin – Entertaining.
John – Aperitif.
Pre-match thoughts:
Erin – I thought we’d come out fighting having lost our last two pre-season friendlies. To add to that, I also thought most of our starting XI for the season would start against County.
John – I wasn't expecting too much of a contest, more an opportunity to get a look at the new recruits and see how the established players were getting on.
Post-match thoughts:
Erin – A game of two halves. Altrincham dominated the first and looked the better side, with a 1-0 lead at half-time. However, in the second half County came out all guns blazing and dominated the second 45.
John – In the first half we looked a bit goal-shy and vulnerable on the break. Second half, we tore them a new orifice with our much improved pressing game.
Verdict on Altrincham:
Erin – Very impressive in the first half. As most of our starting XI were playing we saw a lot of the ball and took the lead thanks to a great build-up and a nice finish from Regan Linney. In the second half we made a lot of substitutions and played with a completely different XI. Despite the flurry of goals from County, Altrincham never gave up, and Justin Amaluzor was rewarded for his efforts with a lovely curling effort into the top left corner from 25 yards past Ethan Ross in the 90th minute.
John – Looked good on the break, exposed us a couple of times.
Verdict on County:
Erin – County’s confidence grew throughout the game. In the first half Altrincham dominated, which seemed to cause panic stations for County. In contrast to the first half, County dominated in the second and managed to score four past us after making a number of strong substitutions.
John – Not bad overall but there were some frailties in the first half that need addressing. Early days, of course.
Top Robin:
Erin – Joey Jones.
John – I'm more County fan than student of the beautiful game so I don't take much notice of the opposition. If I had to pick one, Chris Conn-Clarke looked a menace.
Top Hatter:
Erin - Macauley Southam-Hales.
John – Given the number of changes, we only got glimpses but some of the new lads looked promising. Touray impressed and Powell looked a cut above. Keep him fit and motivated and we've got a player on our hands.
Atmosphere:
Erin – I was up in the gantry for this one! Both sets of fans were beneath me and both were in fine voice throughout the game creating an immense atmosphere at Moss Lane.
John – Because I can't stand for a whole match, I'd bagged a seat in the Family Stand. Alty had segregated it with too much bias towards them rather than us but eventually sense prevailed and the divide was moved so more of County's 990 thrill-seekers were able to get out of the monsoon and under cover. There was the occasional song from the County fans on the Popular Side, including the first "Scarf" of the season (in England at least).
Hopes for the season ahead:
Erin – With the squad we have, we can hopefully push for quite a high finish this season, with a good run in the FA Cup and FA Trophy as well.
John – Given the players we've brought in and the way we competed last season after the initial few games, I think we're entitled to expect at least another play-off place or even automatic promotion. Obviously Wrexham and Notts County will hope to compete so we can't take anything for granted.
The British Library receives a copy of every single book published in the UK. In the same fashion, Des Junior believes a detailed record of every County game should be preserved for the history books. So here’s the full story of our 4-2 victory at Altrincham on Saturday 15 July 2023, as told from his County-related WhatsApp groups…
2.05pm: Much like the Tour de France has the Yates twins, County’s very own Trialist brothers – A and B – are back on the teamsheet.
3.39pm: Alty take the lead.
3.47pm: First half we were terrible. Alty 1-0 up, although they could have had three. No idea up front. Crankshaw’s the only one looking useful.
4.13pm: Sarcevic equaliser. Really hoping we’re going to see him at his best this season.
4.14pm: It’s the hope that kills you!
4.16pm: Camps makes it 2-1.
4.34pm: Powell makes it 3-1.
4.38pm: Lemon-head makes it 4-1.
4.50pm: Goal for Alty. 4-2.
5.19pm: Powell was class. Looked liked he has all the time in the world. If he stays fit then we have a winner.
10.44pm: Without wanting to read too much into it, I note Evans was wearing Will Collar’s number. Hopefully that doesn’t mean Collar is getting sold. Is he still injured does anyone know?
11.09pm: I thought Lemony Snicket was going out on loan?
11.20pm: I would say you are reading too much into it. We haven't finalised our squad, how can we have finalised numbers? Focus at present has to be getting players fit to complete the season rather than being able to start the game against Gillingham.
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