Tony Browne challenges Altrincham forward Richard Landon.
| Nationwide Football Conference - Saturday 4 September 1999 - Moss Lane | ||
| Altrincham | 3 - 0 | Dover Athletic |
|---|---|---|
| Talbot (27), Ellison (32, 54) | Att: 938 | |
| Dover Team: Hyde, Browne, Norman, Munday, Shearer, Beard, Carruthers (Virgo 82), Leberl, Vansittart, Hynes (Brown 60), Coates (Manning 86) |
| Substitutes Not Used: M.Clarke, Mitten |
| Booked: None |
| Sent Off: Norman |
| DAFC Website Man-Of-The-Match: Matt Carruthers |
Dover were swept aside by strong performance from Altrincham at Moss Lane. The Whites started brightly with Mark Hynes and Lee Shearer going close, but the game was effectively lost in a five minute period in the middle of the first half. Alty's Paul Ellender was fouled on the edge of the Dover area in the 27th minute, and Gary Talbot ghosted onto Brendan Burke's excellent cross from the free kick, to head powerfully past a helpless Paul Hyde. Five minutes later any chances Dover may have had of getting back into the game disappeared when Steve Norman brought down Jason Gallagher on the edge of the area. The referee showed Norman the red card and Kevin Ellison made it 2-0 with a well-struck effort from the resulting free kick.
Despite being a man down, Dover continued to create chances but Altrincham keeper Stuart Coburn was in fine form.
After the interval, Altrincham grabbed a third as Dover failed to clear from the edge of their area and Ellender found Ellison who hit an excellent drive into the top corner.
Altrincham should have scored more but Burke, Ellender and Ellison all missed good chances.
Dover contributed to an entertaining match but lacked the cutting edge and defensive discipline shown by their opponents.