Stoppage time penalty gives Quakers deserved point
By Ray Simpson
Altrincham 2 Darlington 2A last minute penalty by Terry Galbraith gave Quakers a deserved point at M...
A last minute penalty by Terry Galbraith gave Quakers a deserved point at Moss Lane. They were behind twice, but Quakers battled away and Tez kept his cool to convert a spot kick in front of the delighted Darlo fans.
Alty tried to put the Darlo defence under early pressure, but there were some timely clearances from Gary Brown and Kevin Burgess.
Quakers had their first chance when a long throw by Gary Brown was headed out as far as Adam Mitchell, but his shot from the edge of the box was charged down.
Quakers then forced three corners , and from the third, a glancing header by Kevin Burgess was turned away for a fourth.
But they went behind on 14 minutes, when a cross from the left was met by James Lawrie, who beat Jameson with a looping bacvk header into the net.
Quakers tried to hit back, but a header by Amar Purewal from a long diagonal ball by Gary Brown went a few yards wide.
Quakers nearly levelled on 25 minutes. Leon Scott was fouled 30 yards out, and Josh Gillies curled the free kick over the wall and narrowly wide of the left hand post.
Adam Mitchell then nearly equalised with a low right foot shot from the edge of the box that went just wide of the left hand post.
Gillies nearly levelled on 52 minutes. He picked up a through ball from Brown, turned quickly, beat two men and then hit a right foot shot that went just over the bar.
Altrincham nearly made it 2-0 on 53 minutes. Gary Brown was penalised and booked for a foul, and Lawrie’s right footed free kick was going in the top corner but Jameson pulled off a flying save.
But Quakers were soon back at the home defence, and a low cross from the left by Gillies was cleared as far as Mitchell, whose right foot shot went just over the top.
Sub Liam Hardy, on for Nathan Cartman, then showed great skill when he controlled a high ball on the left side of the area, turned, and hit a left foot shot into the side netting.
After Quakers had a penalty appeal turned down for a foul on Scott, they equalised from a corner.
Terry Galbraith whipped the corner in from the right, and skipper Burgess, steaming in, headed into the top corner of the net!
But with two minutes left, Jameson brought down Richman in a goalmouth scramble, and Jake Moult hammered the penalty into the roof of the net.
But in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Burgess was pushed in the area, the ref pointed to the spot, and Galbraith sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot for the equaliser!
Attendance 1,506, including 434 Darlo fans
Darlington
Jameson, Marrs, Galbraith, Turnbull, Burgess, Brown, Mitchell (sub Nowakowski 70), Scott, Purewal (sub Portas 57), Cartman (sub Hardy 57), Gillies
Subs: Bell, Nightingale, Nowakowski
Booking: Scott (dissent), Brown (Foul)
Altrincham
Dawber, Patterson, Heathcote, Cyrus, Hannigan, Goodall, Lawrie, Moult, Miller, Reeves, Lynch
Subs: Menagh, Richman, Garner, Hobson, Preston
Goal: Lawrie 14 mins
[caption id="attachment_24215" align="alignnone" width="300"] Tom Portas stands with a number 25 shirt in front of a Virgin train[/caption]