Match preview: Altrincham v York City (From York Press)

Match preview: Altrincham v York City

11:30am Friday 12th March 2010 in

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ALTRINCHAM will be without skipper Tom Kearney for tomorrow’s home match against York City due to a broken leg.

Midfield lynchpin Kearney suffered breaks to the fibula and tibula bones in his right leg after a challenge by Frank Sinclair during Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw at his former club Wrexham.

Ex-Chelsea and Leicester defender Sinclair was dismissed for the tackle on the stroke of half-time but Kearney now joins fellow long-term casualties Dale Johnson and Matt Doughty at Alty.

Striker Johnson is on his way back from knee ligament damage but will not figure against the Minstermen, while left-back Doughty, like former Halifax midfielder Kearney, has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Robbie Lawton, who replaced Kearney at the Racecourse Ground, is also rated very doubtful after twisting his ankle in North Wales.

As a result, Robins boss Graham Heathcote is likely to recall 37-year-old former Crewe striker Colin Little and switch from a 4-5-1 formation to 4-4-2.

Little would then play alongside Chris Senior, whose recent goalscoring feats saw him clinch the February Blue Square Premier Player of the Month award.

The one-time Scarborough frontman, now 28, has netted nine times in his last 11 matches although he squandered an opportunity to take his season’s tally to 16 at Wrexham when his first-half penalty was saved.

Alty, currently sitting in 11th place, have failed to win any of their last five matches but have shared the spoils in four of those fixtures, including consecutive 1-1 draws against Wrexham, Wimbledon and Grays.

Despite a record of just five home victories in the league, though, the Robins’ recent results at Moss Rose have been encouraging, winning four and drawing one of their last six encounters on their own soil.

In an effort to boost Saturday’s attendance, Alty are also offering a £5 admission price to season-ticket holders from Football League clubs, as well as those at liquidated Blue Square Premier neighbours Chester City.

Team (probable): Coburn, Densmore, Williams, Young, Brown, Denham, Doran, Danylyk, Clee, Little, Senior.

Match facts

YORK City are unbeaten in their four previous league trips to Moss Lane.

In 2005/6, they won 3-0 and the following campaign triumphed 4-0, with Richard Brodie scoring on his debut.

In 2007/8, Martyn Woolford scored twice in a 2-2 draw while, in the corresponding fixture last term, Brodie netted the equaliser in a 1-1 encounter.

The line-up on January 27, 2009, was: Ingham, Purkiss, Critchell, Parslow, Robinson, Rusk (McWilliams), Mackin, C Smith, Brown (A Smith), Brodie, Boyes.

It happened on March 13

1943: A Bootham Crescent crowd of 11,385 saw City beat Newcastle United in a League North War cup-tie. Joe Wilson and Bert Brenen were the marksmen.

1948: A 3-3 draw at Southport with George Little, Sid Storey and Alf Patrick on target in Division Three North. Making his debut that day was full-back John Simpson.

1954: A 5-2 home victory over Barrow thanks to goals from Campbell Burgess (2), Ron Spence (2) and Billy Fenton and City were 17th in the Northern Section.

1971: Chris Topping was the scorer in a 1-0 win at Aldershot. It was the fifth straight victory and City were sixth in Division Four.

1976: Oldham Athletic were beaten 1-0 at Bootham Crescent watched by 4,542 but City remained at the foot of the Second Division (Championship). Micky Cave was the scorer.

1982: Roy Kay (2), Mick Laverick and John Byrne netted in a 4-3 home win over Peterborough United which lifted City out of the bottom four of the Fourth Division. The crowd was 2,178.

1993: Paul Barnes hit a hat-trick in a 5-1 win at Barnet in Alan Little’s first game in charge as manager. Ian Blackstone was the other scorer along with an opponent and City were third in Division Three (League Two).

1999: A 4-2 reverse at Notts County in Little’s last game in charge. It was the tenth match without a victory and the club had slipped to 19th in the Second Division (League One). Scorers at Meadow Lane were Rodney Rowe and Richard Cresswell.

2007: Clayton Donaldson netted a hat-trick in a 5-0 win at Cambridge United with Craig Farrell and Janos Kovacs also on the score-sheet. City were third in the Conference.

Compiled by David Batters