Altrincham FC manager Lee Sinnott gives us the inside track on the Robins’ progress this season in the Vanarama National League. Here’s his latest column for Altrincham Today.
I must place on record a massive thank you for the support we had at Colchester on Sunday. Given the distance involved, the time they had to set off for a 2pm kick-off and the expense, it was quite exceptional, and every single one of them was a credit to Altrincham Football Club… 398 travelling supporters for a game in Essex is quite superb.
The level of vocal backing most certainly played a part in lifting the players and driving them on to a performance that so nearly took us over the line.
Maybe mistakes cost us in the end, but I don’t want to be critical after the way we stepped into the arena of a League One team. You have to respect that, and when you consider how we responded and took the game to Colchester, you have to say there were plus points wherever you looked.
Sam Heathcote coped superbly with the occasion for such a young lad… Scott Leather as well. Jake Moult and Simon Richman were superb in the middle of the park, and as a team, we pushed them for 93 and a half minutes.
I had a very quiet dressing room in there after the game. I would imagine that people looking on with an even eye would say we deserved a replay at least, but you don’t always get what you deserve in football.
It can kick you in the teeth. Sixty seconds has dictated the outcome. Nicky Clee has gone through and twisted and turned, only for the keeper to make a great block, then they’ve gone down the other end and won it with a third goal. It was like a boxing match with two big punches going in, but theirs has counted, unfortunately.
We made a great start and scored a wonderful early goal through Jake Moult, but each time we went ahead, they pegged us back a bit too quickly. You just wonder whether, if we could have held on a bit longer, it might have been different.
It will take a bit of getting over, but they’ll do it, because when the dust settles, they will realise just how much they put into the game and how well they performed against a League One side that had home advantage.
We start our FA Trophy campaign on Saturday with a home game against Leamington, a competition that gives us a realistic chance of getting to Wembley. We reached the last sixteen last season and I’d like to think that we can go further this time round.
Pictures: Michael Ripley
