On Saturday, I attended my 250th game at Boundary Park, and my main expectation was that the performance would be significantly better than what I had seen at Fylde earlier in the week.
As I mentioned last week, Micky Mellon made a few changes to the squad, including the return of right back Kieron Freeman, demonstrating that he had clearly learned a lot from that encounter.
Right from the start, Freeman improved our balance in both attack and defence. He also played a great role in the fantastic build-up to James Norwood’s goal, which was expertly taken by the centre forward, who will undoubtedly score many goals for us if we provide him with the right kind of support.
That was the equaliser after Altrincham had taken the lead entirely against the flow of play in the first fifteen minutes, when Devarn Green and Hallam Hope both wasted great chances that could have put us ahead by at least one goal.
We kept striking the ball well, but a completely absurd refereeing call momentarily took the wind out of us.
The handball penalty against Hope was, at best, soft and, at worst, ridiculous. This was perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that neither an Altrincham player nor a staff member appealed the call, and some even had to figure out what the referee had given before the superb Chris Conn-Clarke converted. Referees have a tough job, so I try not to talk about them too much, but this penalty was the worst of several dubious choices made during the match.
We continued to dominate the second half, and even though we didn’t exactly constantly barrage the opposition goal with attack after attack and shot after shot, we definitely deserved the equalizer—and Nathan Sheron’s effort was outstanding.
That kind of pinning back the opposition is something we very seldom see from Latics, and it is something I think they should work on, especially at home. We hardly ever really apply consistent pressure to the opposition for a prolonged amount of time when a goal looks certain. This is something we must have the courage to do if we are to succeed.
After listening to Mellon and Gary Brabin from my seat in the paddock, I can say that while they will undoubtedly attempt to instill that bravery in their team, it will take some time for the team’s mindset to shift in that direction.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad result—a well-earned point with a hint of disappointment that it wasn’t all three—before a fortnight off from National League play and a trip overseas to play Newport County in the FA Cup.
