21st April 2000   

Six put past reserves

ANDY RITCHIE will demand a show of pride from erratic Athletic tomorrow when Cardiff City arrive on a survival mission. The Welshmen are third from bottom of the table and striving desperately to avoid a nightmare return to the league basement. They provide the same challenge as midweek visitors Chesterfield — and Athletic fluffed their lines badly on Tuesday night. A repeat tomorrow would bring Athletic's 10th home defeat of the season, only one short of the club record which almost proved costly last year. Ritchie said: "There obviously needs to be a big improvement on Tuesday's display. We can't afford to play like that again. "This game and the one against Blackpool next week are vital for the teams we are playing. But, if we are going to finish the season well up the table, they are important games for us as well."

Athletic could be boosted by Shaun Garnett's return as the defender was back in full training at Chapel Road today. If he has fully recovered from a knee injury, Garnett will definitely come back into the side. Richard Graham played in the reserves' 6-1 hammering at Scunthorpe last night and he will also be involved in the squad, along with Mark Innes, who has recovered from a sore hip. Ritchie doesn't expect many changes to his starting team — "there's hardly anyone fit enough to come in," he moaned — but could opt for Gary Kelly's experience in goal. Former Athletic 'keeper Jon Hallworth misses his Boundary Park return after being ruled out for the rest of the season. Hallworth broke a finger two weeks ago when he missed a cross and punched a Preston player instead.

CARDIFF (from): Kelly, Faerber, Legg, Perrett, Ford, Bonner, Bowen, Nugent, Eckhardt, Nogan, Carpenter, Hill, Jennings, Low, Young, Brayson.

Athletic take on Notts County at Meadow Lane on Monday (3 pm). Trialist Michael Harrison, who played for the reserves on Wednesday, will not be kept on Boundary Park. A decision has yet to be made on Simon Glover, but indications are that he will also be leaving.

The reserves' home Pontins League match against Grimsby has been re-arranged for next Thursday, April 27 (7 pm). 

AFTER the frustration of Tuesday’s home defeat by Chesterfield, Athletic have a chance to make amends tomorrow when they take on another side battling against relegation. Cardiff City are the visitors to Boundary Park and, like Athletic, the Welshmen must bounce back from a desperately disappointing result. When you are in the bottom four and facing a team who could still be dragged into trouble, it’s a pretty bad time for a crushing home defeat. Cardiff suffered that fate last weekend, losing 4-0 to Cambridge in a game which could lead to a Boundary Park backlash. Ironically, the Bluebirds played well in the first half but couldn’t make their dominance count. They proceeded to fall apart after the break as Cambridge widened the gap on the clubs in most serious peril. That category has swallowed up Cardiff as the season has progressed, and they are now one of four clubs aiming for a single position of safety.

Cambridge are probably out of trouble, while, even after winning at Boundary Park, Chesterfield should go down. Blackpool, Scunthorpe, Cardiff and Oxford are, therefore, the teams who know that one of them — and only one of them — has a realistic chance of side-stepping that wide-open trapdoor. Cardiff, who were promoted from division three last season, have been pro-active in their attempt to avoid an immediate return. And the chief victim of their survival push was manager Frank Burrows. Burrows left Ninian Park by mutual consent in January and was replaced by his assistant, Billy Ayre. The experienced Ayre, who has also been in charge at Halifax and Blackpool, was brought in as a trouble-shooter after pulling off some unexpected deeds at his former clubs.

A prospective takeover has been rocking the Cardiff boat and, financially, it is the familiar story of limited funds leading to few signings and little change in fortune. In The Valleys, however, the supporters stepped in with a dramatic attempt to improve matters. Ayre wanted to buy Preston striker Kurt Nogan, and Nogan himself was keen on the idea of signing for his hometown club. The stumbling block was a six-figure transfer fee. But a fans’ group raised £100,000 for the club and much of that was used to bring in the man Ayre hopes will inspire the revival. Cardiff recruited a second forward before the transfer deadline when Reading’s Paul Brayson signed up on loan. Brayson opened his account for the club in the Wales FA Premier Cup, scoring his first senior goal for two years in an 8-1 aggregate stroll against Caernarfon Town.

ON Monday, Athletic complete their Easter programme with a difficult trip to Notts County’s Meadow Lane. County will be chasing a league double against the Boundary Park side after a 2-1 victory early in the season. The result kept them right on course for promotion, a path they trod with confidence for several weeks afterwards. Athletic, by violent contrast, had lost seven of their nine league games at that stage and had a meagre total of four points. The two sides looked destined to finish at opposite ends of the table. Yet things have changed since that October day and now both are playing out time until they launch what they hope will be promotion campaigns next season. County have slipped out of the play-off picture since manager Sam Allardyce headed for the exit in controversial circumstances.

It wasn’t long before he walked straight through the entrance at Bolton. And that left County fuming, especially when a hearing into Allardyce’s move failed to award them any compensation. In charge now is former assistant-manager Gary Brazil, who is trying to fashion a team based on attack. Mark Stallard is the top scorer with 12, but Andrew Hughes — a player who came through the ranks at Athletic — has chipped in with seven from midfield.

However they celebrated because they’d seen a glimpse of the future potential of the side and it was a very welcome glimpse of something that looked good. Ryan Williams and Roger Willis grabbed the headlines, deservedly so after their goals combined with two excellent performances. They scored after former Saltergate target Steve Whitehall had put The Latics ahead early on to earn a victory built on solid team play, a desire to attack and will to win that has all too often been missing from Chesterfield performances in recent times. The early moments were tense, neither side managing to overly worry the other until Lee Duxbury headed just wide from a home corner after 10 minutes. However it was a warning of Athletic’s prowess, for they went ahead on the quarter-of-an-hour mark when ex-Stag Whitehall rounded off a rapid movement forward with a far post tap-in following a quick goalkeeper’s throw out from David Miskelly to Matthew Tipton, whose left-wing raid and subsequent inch-perfect cross set up the striker for his 11th goal of the season.

That blow prompted Nicky Law’s men to perform with a steely determination not usually associated with teams on the brink of relegation. Ian Breckin hit the side netting before Chesterfield squandered a glorious opening. ‘Harry’ Willis shook off a marker in the centre circle and all of a sudden it was three against two as David Reeves on the left and Williams on the right bore down on the home goal. Willis fed Williams, his diagonal ball was received by Reeves who didn’t manage a shot from a great position but he found Willis whose shot was charged down. No goal from an opening carved out by ambition. However with 29 minutes gone it was all square. Williams’ angled run from right to centre was broken up with a neat one-two with Willis who teed up the little man to left- foot home from 20 yards. It was no more than Chesterfield deserved.

The visitors continued to look the better side and they thought they’d gone in front four minutes before the break when Tony Carss’ corner led to Steve Payne heading across the goal for Willis to nod towards the net. Miskelly scrambled the ball away after it looked to have crossed the line but the officials waved play on — much to the disbelief of the red-shirted Spireites. Within two minutes the disappointment of that incident had gone as Willis scored for real. Williams turned provider, crossing from the left for Willis to turn it home from close in on the near post. However the greatest credit has to go to Reeves who chased a lost cause to retrieve a loose ball that looked destined to hit touch prior to the two scorers combining to grab the glory. Oldham defender Stuart Thom was booked right on half-time for a reckless foul on Reeves after he’d been given the runaround by Williams in particular. The second half never hit the highs of the first, Reeves, Willis and Breckin going closest while, right at the end both Duxbury and the impressive Phil Salt almost spoiled Chesterfield’s party. Steve Woods and Ryan Sugden were booked for a fracas after a foul by the Oldham man but that will be forgotten long before the result of this match, particularly by the success-starved travelling fans who celebrated at the final whistle in a way that they’d almost forgotten.