Alsager Town rue missed chances in Abbey Hulton defeat

Alsager Town 0-1 Abbey Hulton United

Alsager Town welcomed fourth place Abbey Hulton United to Wood Park in an important game in the Bullets’ push for promotion. Despite recording few victories of late, Alsager were only one point outside the play-offs ahead of the match.

First half

Abbey Hulton were the much better team in the first half and should have gone into half-time with at least a one-goal lead. They started the game brightly and looked effective with their direct play.

Alsager on the other hand were often slow to react and struggled to keep hold of the ball. Through passes and balls over the top were heavily relied upon, but the execution of these plays were problematic.

The away side were awarded a penalty when Alsager goalkeeper Joe Lawton committed a foul against Kie Brown. Lawton made up for his error by diving to his right to save the spot kick, keeping the score level.

*Joe Lawton recovered from his mistake with an important save to prevent Alsager falling behind*

Abbey Hulton continued to look a threat and had the ball in the back of the net, however the goal was disallowed when the linesman raised his flag for an offside call.

They won another penalty when Brown was brought down and it was Lawton who once again committed the foul. Alsager manager Matty Russell was visibly frustrated and launched a water bottle at his dugout whilst angrily addressing his players for their repeated mistakes.

Once again, Abbey Hulton failed to convert from the spot. Lewis Bergin took the penalty and he had the beating of Lawton, but his effort struck the post.

Shortly before half-time, a hefty challenge which saw Abbey Hulton awarded a free kick caused a delay due to a player needing treatment and both team’s managers were booked due to a heated exchange.

Half-time: Alsager Town 0-0 Abbey Hulton United

Second half

Alsager immediately looked far better after the break and created two big chances which were wasted by Jamie Walker. He was central to the opposition goal on both occasions and struck two tame efforts straight at goalkeeper Daniel Roberts. Those would go on to be the only real chances the Bullets had to take the lead.

*Jamie Walker failed to generate any power on his shots, resulting in straightforward saves*

After that it was all Abbey Hulton. The visitors were comfortable on the ball and there were times when Walker was the only player applying any real pressure.

It looked as though the Abbey might take the lead in style. Jack Gumbley struck the ball from range and it hit the inside of the post and bounced back out.

They came close again when Jamie Turner had a headed chance on goal. A few minutes later, Brown had a great opportunity to make the difference, but he fired over his attempt from close range.

Eventually the deadlock was broken by Turner, who scored into the bottom left corner to give his team the lead with about 10 minutes left to play. An all too familiar story for Alsager, who managed to keep things level until conceding late on, a scenario which seemed inevitable based on the way the game was being played.

Alsager made one last gasp push to get something from the game, but were unsuccessful in doing so. Things then turned ugly as a brawl erupted in Abbey Hulton’s box after Dillon Kirkman jumped into Roberts when he had already caught the ball.

The goalkeeper was perhaps lucky to remain on the pitch, though, after appearing to throw a punch during the unsavoury scenes.

*Both sets of players engaged in the fight as tempers flared*

Full-time: Alsager Town 0-1 Abbey Hulton United

Alsager now have only four matches remaining to play this season. Promotion is still a possibility, but the Bullets will need to be at their best if they are to have a chance. Having to play league leaders Winsford United on the final day of the season is far from ideal.

Next weekend Alsager will head to Ashville, who are now one position above them in seventh. The score was 1-1 when the two teams met in late December.