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[hsmith1]

Alty v Wrexham in the FA CUP in the mid 60s last game weymouth away 2007/8,next game Weymouth away 2008/9

[TheCultOfIanTunnacliffe]

Cult.  Thank you so much for the report of the Alty 8 -1 vs. Vics.

That was my first ever game, and you could atrgue that nothing has ever beaten that since (including Wembley, Spurs the first time, Everton, Eastbourne  etc).  My memories are sketchy but I remember us kicking to the Golf Road in the first half and me being amazed that there were so many goals.  I vaguely remember a 1-1 against Boston as my second game soon after because the players had to go off for 20 minutes because of a monsoon.  

The only 2 times I have ever sat in the main stand.

Hemel Dave,

Consider it a pleasure.
Who can ever tire of reading about an 8-1 thrashing of the Vics?!

As for your other recollections, well, your memory is spot-on.

1st February 1969
Altrincham 1 Boston United 1
Brian Taylor scored Alty's goal.

Here's an extract from the report in the Manchester Evening News Football Pink:

"The monsoon eventually forced referee Cartlich of Hull to call the players off after 38 minutes.
He said there would be a 10 minute break to see if the weather improved sufficiently for play to go on.
After a delay that eventually stretched to twenty minutes, the referee decided that play could go on.
He played the remaining seven minutes of the first half, then turned straight round for the second period."

[Alty TV]

It will be my 30th anniversary as an fully fledged Alty fan this year.
My dad used to take me to Moss Lane as toddler in the late 60's, I don't remember anything of those days other than rolling down the grass bank at the chequers end. We moved out of the area in the early 70's and returned in about 75. My dad always watched out for the Alty scores in the pink and I remember standing in the scoreboard end at Old Trafford for the replay against Everton. But at some point during the 1978/1979 season I went to my first Alty match on my own, a win over Bangor City, and that was that, I was hooked.
Perhaps one of you statto's out there could remind me of the date and score ( I seem to remember it being 3-0 but could be wrong)

Could it be this one?

16th September 1978
NPL
Altrincham 3 Bangor City 2

Thanks Cult, thats the one!
Not a bad season to start a life-long obsession with Alty.

[jiminlondon]

Alty local Gareth Smith was the goalkeeper.

when i saw that i was going to say i saw him a while ago but now i think about it it was the japan world cup do its 2002
blimey life goes by quickly doesnt it
i was mates with gareth at school and after and in all the time i played against him only scored a few times. i think thats when i realised that good players are actually miles better than you

[Ballers]

I took an interest immediately cos he had the same first name as me (this matters when you are 4 and at your first football match). Now I don't recall whether he was a good or bad goal keeper. However, on this occasion at home to Runcorn he had a howler of a game, very bad.

[Brian Flynn]

Also, just out of interest (who's sad?) while I've got the programme from the 1996-97 season in front of me. The memory plays tricks sometimes with reagrds to how things used to be.

Our top 5 home attendances during the 1996-97 season

3,063 v Crewe Alex FA Cup 1st rd - 0-2 - 21/11/95
1,648 v Macc - 0-4 - 18/11/95
1,085 v Halifax - 3-0 - 23/09/95
1,076 v Vics - 3-4 - 1/1/96
1,057 v Bath City - 1-2 - 7/10/95

Our only attendances above 1000 in fact. Lowest league atts 580 v Farnborough 2-2 Tue 24 feb 96, 608 v Stalybridge 1-0 Tu 23 Apr 96 and 633 v Telford 1-0 Sat 16 Dec 95.

Average 852.

About 200 per game better now, couldn't imagine we'd get less than 1,700 against Macc and pretty certain we'll get more than 1,076 when we play Vics on New Years Day.

Alty v Vics games not as well attended through the 80's and 90's as you'd think actually.

That Stalybridge game was live on TV......but which channel

A pint of Jenny Heslop's finest on Sunday for the first correct answer

[Brian Flynn]

My first Alty game was against Glossop in the FA Cup, I think probably the 4th or 3rd Qualifying round in 1973 I think.   Mum and Dad wouldn't let us go to United at the time because of the aggro but thought Alty was fine, thats how I ended up supporting Alty as well.    Irony is, as posted elsewhere today, I probably was witness to a lot more aggro at Alty games in those times than I ever saw at United when I was watching them on a regular basis in the '80s!!!  Also in that first Alty game I remember Lennie Dickinson offering out members of the Popular side who were having a go at him!  Maybe Graham as a youngster at the time learned it all from Lennie!!

I think that this was a First Qualifying Round match & I think both full backs scored (Stan Allan & John Davison).Graham Hetahcote scored the first one,if I remember correctly, a calm side foot finish at the near post from a left wing cross (Chequers End).

15th September 1973
FA Cup First Qualifying Round
Altrincham 3 Glossop North End 1
Goalscorers: Broadhead, Allan and Heathcote (G).

Doh!!!!

Well Tony Broadhead did look a little like John Davison......in a completely dissimilar type of way

[Ballers]

The Pritchard/Macc game flynny?

[jiminlondon]

I took an interest immediately cos he had the same first name as me (this matters when you are 4 and at your first football match). Now I don't recall whether he was a good or bad goal keeper. However, on this occasion at home to Runcorn he had a howler of a game, very bad.

to be honest i had moved away by then so i didnt see him play that often. good enought to play a-team and occasional reserves at united but not good enough to make it. wasnt really big enough as he isnt over 6ft which is small for a keeper. he carried on playing (for a while for hayes i think) when he moved to london for his job.
i always remember him saying that training with alty was a culture shock after united, that he would catch a high ball, brace himself and close his eyes because sometime in the next couple of seconds jeff johnon would barge into him....

[Sarf London Alty]

My first was the famous 6-0 win against Dagenham (as I think they were just called then) the last game of 87-88 I think. I was 6 and went in the Main Stand with my dad, I seem to remember I was sick and he had to take me outside at half time, I can't remember anything about the game other than we won 6-0. As I have since heard on here Daggers managed to let in their 100th league goal of the season during that game and it produced a loud shout of '100' from the Main Stand as the goal went in (guessing they went down that year). My first regular season I can really remember was 89-90, Mark 'Yosser' Hughes my first Alty hero.

[Ballers]

Yes, Lloyd Scott who had leaukimia was in goal for Dagenham, he went on to do the London marathon in a divers outfit a few years back. I think Nicky Daws, Ronnie Ellis and Gary Stewart may have got amongst the goals that day.

[viennaalty]

First game was Welling at home in 1987. Pretty non-descript - we won 1-0 if I remember correctly although I was only five at the time.

Mark,

Could it have been this one?

30th January 1988
Altrincham 1 Welling United 0
Goal courtesy of Ossie Smith.

Yes, I'd imagine so. I remember it was freezing cold and I was pretty bored. Have never heard Ossie Smith talked about on here - take it he doesn't come under the legend category??

I met Paul Cuddy a couple of years back and assume he was in the starting line up for that one.

[TheCultOfIanTunnacliffe]

SW -"Somewhere I have an old programme for a game where the lights were used for the first time, I reckon 65 or 66. I'll have to dig it out."

- I think that programme was reprinted and given away as a souvenier edition last year for the first game of the new floodlights against Cambridge.

The Macc game talked about was Tuesday January 30th 1996 at moss Rose (att 1301, I've got a programme from that season in front of me). You are right that Macc cleared a hell of a lot of snow off the pitch to get that game on, so much so that you actually couldn't amke out what was on the advertising hoardings it was piled so high.

*Spits* They had a good team at the time and wanted to get it on so much as we had only won 1 of our previous 15 games (including *spits again* a truly dismal 0-4 reverse at home to Macc and 2 back to back xmas/nyd defeats v Vics *spits once more for effect*).

Now the scorers in the programme are down as Terry 2 (1 pen) and Dean Pritchard but no mention of a young man called Marc Clancy. Now if the memory serves, Clancy was a ginger haired winger plucked from Cheale Town and he DID play that night I'm sure of it. His sole purpose in the game seemed to be tracking up and down the wing man to man marking Darren Lyons I think it was, seriously he did nothing else of note except neutralise Lyons (who had totaly destroyed us at Moss Lane).

Now we attacked down the slope in the 1st half and went 2-0 up, both goals from Stuart Terry, the second one was a penalty awarded when Macc's keeper, a regular nemesis of ours called Steve Farrely got sent off for a professional foul, on Terry(?) but I remember it being quite dubious as it looked to be outside the area.

None the less 2-0 it was and macc had to put an outfield player in goal. i don't remember who but I think it could have a right cock called Steve Wood!

Needless to say, this being Alty we managed to throw away the two goal lead, before Dean Pritchard broke away late on (83rd minute springs to mind but certainly in the last 10) cut inside from the wing (main stand side?) and lashed a shot past the 'outfield' goalkeeper.

Quite an astonishing win and night, I think a bottle got thrown at the supporters coach after as well. In fact this might be a spine tingling Alty moment.

I've got that largely right haven't I Flynny/Cult/Ecky/Joe/Pete/Others??

Sod it, whilst we're on memory lane the programme lists the team as

1.  Paul Collings
2.  Steve Cross
3.  Darren Heesom
4.  Paul France
5.  Andy Reid
6.  Lee Anderson
7.  Stuart Terry
8.  Neil Doherty  
9.  Dean Pritchard
10. Neill Hardy

Ah I see the mis print now.

11. Marc Clancy

Subs

12. Darren Royle (came on for Clancy)
13. Jerome John (GK about the size of Chris Senior)
14. Mick Carmody ?
15. Phil Bolland (yes Cambridge's current centre half!, came on for Dean Pritchard)

Also programmes reveal that the Runcorn game I remember as my first was in August 1983 (Gareth Smith was in goals), I would have been 4 at the time and have come to home games regularly ever since (missed a few 2000-2005 whilst atrociously impersonating a footballer, although jsut realised I played with or against 6 of the players mentioned above***) which all in all means I have been supporting Alty for 25 years now. 25 YEARS, that's incredible, I can't believe that, I'm going to buy a birthday cake now and celebrate tonight!!  

*** A slice of cake if you can guess the 6, clue - a few of them became 'Robins' for another club after leaving Alty.

Ballers,

I think that the Macc goalkeeper who was sent off that night was Ryan Price rather than Steve Farrelly.

Just under a fortnight later, I recall Marc Clancy being pulverised by some Yorkshire henchmen at Guiseley in our infamous 4-0 FA Trophy defeat there.
He never played for us again after that match...

[TheCultOfIanTunnacliffe]

First game was Welling at home in 1987. Pretty non-descript - we won 1-0 if I remember correctly although I was only five at the time.

Mark,

Could it have been this one?

30th January 1988
Altrincham 1 Welling United 0
Goal courtesy of Ossie Smith.

Yes, I'd imagine so. I remember it was freezing cold and I was pretty bored. Have never heard Ossie Smith talked about on here - take it he doesn't come under the legend category??

I met Paul Cuddy a couple of years back and assume he was in the starting line up for that one.

Team that day:

1. Phil Jackson
2. Trevor Ross
3. Jimmy Birch
4. Paul Cuddy
5. Bobby Fraser
6. Mike Farrelly
7. Gary Stewart
8. Ossie Smith
9. Ronnie Ellis
10. John Timmons
11. Andy Kilner

12. Lawrence Iro
14. Jeff Parker.

Ossie Smith started at Alty circa 1979/80 but couldn't break into the first team (he played in a Cheshire Senior Cup game or two, as I recall).
He moved on to Runcorn, where he became an England Non League International and was a stalwart of their successful team during the John Williams era at Canal Street.
He returned to Moss Lane for the 1987/88 season and then injury ended his Alty career early on in the 1988/89 season.   
 

[SW]

SW -"Somewhere I have an old programme for a game where the lights were used for the first time, I reckon 65 or 66. I'll have to dig it out."

No Ballers, mine is an original. Full programme etc, Perhaps a collectors item. Its mine though, no ones having it!!

On the subject of programmes, how do people generally feel these days? Once, pre Internet, pre TV coverage of anything below "Div 1" there was just no information. A visit somewhere with the programmes sold really would spoil my afternoon. Nowadays I rarely buy.