Alsager Town 2-3 Eccleshall
Alsager Town welcomed Eccleshall to Wood Park on Saturday in Matt Russell’s first match in charge, after the departure of Luke Goddard and Lee Duckworth.
The Bullets were without star striker, Kieran Hamm, and recently saw Matty Argent-Barnes and Ashton Brogan leave the club, so there were a few less familiar names in the starting lineup.
The first half was one to forget for Alsager Town, as they struggled to create any real chances and did not look strong in defence.
Eccleshall were by far the better team and after wasting a couple of opportunities, they scored their opening goal. A cross was sent into the box and Macauley Taylor volleyed the ball into the left corner of the net.
Alsager managed a half chance with a long range effort that went wide after some great dribbling in the build up, but not long later the away side made it two. The Bullets lost possession and failed to tackle Josua Waite, who dribbled through the defence and looped his finish straight down the middle over Arran Lyons.
The 2-0 scoreline was a fair reflection of the opening 45 minutes and left Alsager in a challenging position ahead of the second half.
Half time: Alsager Town 0-2 Eccleshall
Alsager looked like a different team in the second half and posed an attacking threat which almost saw them get a result.
The ball was often played forwards to Kaylan Wilkinson, who was playing as a right winger rather than fulfilling his usual defensive role, and he had a big chance to put the Bullets ahead. But goalkeeper, George Scott, was able to adjust his feet and make an important save when Wilkinson attempted to strike the ball straight through his legs.
The Bullets soon got their first goal of the match when debutant, Adam Dahou, sent in a high cross which went over Scott’s head and landed in the corner of the net.
They continued to gain momentum and Wilkinson had a huge chance when Scott abandoned his net and miskicked his clearance. The ball fell to the winger who shot at the open goal, but his effort was fired over the bar. It was not a straightforward finish, as two Eccleshall defenders got back in time to put Wilkinson off.
Alsager continued to have chances, including an Archie Gardiner header which was punched away by Scott, a volleyed effort that was saved, and a half volley from Sam Oko which he hit while jumping in midair.
The match began to slow down, as many players were going down injured, but the referee did often let the play go on, much to the anger of the players, who clearly felt the game was being poorly officiated.
Alsager’s best chance of the match came when they were awarded a bizarre penalty, presumably for a sliding challenge on Wilkinson. Eccleshall’s captain claimed two Bullets players had said the referee had made the wrong decision.
This did not matter though, as Dahou fired his spot kick over the bar, meaning Alsager still trailed by a goal.
Despite Alsager’s dominance in the second half, it was Eccleshall who scored the next goal. A weak initial save by Lyons caused the ball to fall to Jay Ford, who made it 3-1.
Alsager looked like they may have been awarded another penalty, as Scott took Wilkinson out, but the foul was deemed to be outside the box. Scott was shown a yellow, but many in the ground thought he should have been sent off.
The Bullets gave themselves a chance at snatching a point in stoppage time, as Dahou curled an excellent free kick into the left corner of the net to reduce the deficit to one.
And it looked like they had made it 3-3 in the last minute. Eccleshall were unable to make a proper clearance after a corner and eventually Alsager got a shot away which was hit straight at Scott. But he spilled the ball and punched it only as far as Luc Ferry who headed it across the line. But the linesman raised his flag and the goal was ruled out.
Full time: Alsager Town 2-3 Eccleshall
Alsager remained in third after their defeat to Eccleshall, but they now trail league leaders, Stafford Town, by nine points.
Their next match is on Saturday as they take on Market Drayton at Wood Park, a side they have been unable to beat in their two fixtures against them this season.
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