This week in County History ... 2000

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With the season's opener at Gillingham due on 12th August, County had a couple of friendlies to negotiate that week.

 

They had completed a tour of Denmark and Sweden earlier in pre-season, but the first game this week was down the road at Altrincham.

 


 

 

Some matches at this stage of a club's preparations can be interesting and entertaining. Not this one, with no goals scored by a mixture of first team and youth squad men.

 

 

The teams on Wednesday 2nd August 2000 were:

Altrincham: Stuart Coburn, Barry Crowe (Jason Gallagher), Danny Adams, Mark Maddix (Adam Farley), Gary Talbot, Steve Hawes (Mark Ward), Stuart Quinn (Paul Walsham), Stuart Scheuber, Richard Landon (Carl Furlong), Leroy Chambers and Kevin Ellison (Scott Wilson). Unused Sub(s): Mark O'Connor, Phil Power

Three of those men had or would have time on County's books, namely Adams, Landon and Ellison.

County: Andy Dibble, John Myers, Colin Woodthorpe, Jonas Larsson, Ben Johnson, Rob Clare, Brian Carrigan (Phil Carratt), David Smith, Alan Bailey, Neil Ross (Michael Hennessy) and Chris Byrne (Martyn Andrews). Unused Sub(s): Andrew Thomas, Sam Turner

Keeper Dibble had just signed a full contract having to date been on monthly terms since joining early in the summer.

………………….

 

The big game of the week was a match that a committee of County supporters had been working on for some months, Jim Gannon's Testimonial……. and what a day it turned out to be!


 

 

A large crowd ,boosted by the signing earlier in the week of former World Footballer of the Year, and future Liberian president, George Weah by the visitors Manchester City .


 

 

 

 

 Edgeley Park was packed in honour of the man whose final County game would turn out to have been against the same opposition on the same day Kevin Francis last appeared competitively in a Hatters shirt.


 

 

It was the County men who rose to the occasion though establishing a 2-0 half time lead.

 

Record signing Ian Moore took only 35 seconds to put the County team in front. 

 


 

 

Then after the father of the current Manchester City top scorer, Inge Haaland felled Kevin Cooper, Tony Dinning, a player who thrived under boss Andy Kilner, curled the free kick home to increase that lead on 11 minutes.

 




 

 

 

 

Haaland was replaced a little later on the advice of the referee after another two mis-timed tackles!

 

One of our small number of French signings over the years ,Karim Fradin ,would be next to score as County went three up on 50 minutes.

 


 

 

Then the Manchester City supporters at least got to see their new star man score as he headed a goal of his own around the hour mark.

 

Moore completed the scoring with his second on 84 minutes, and although many claim friendly games do not matter, the faces of the City fans belied this attitude.... and what a great tribute to Jim the game was although sadly his continued recovery from an injury suffered during that previously mentioned meeting meant he could not play himself.

 

A reminder of the teams on that afternoon of Saturday 5th August 2000

 

 County: Lee Jones, Sean Connelly, Peter Clark, Leyton Maxwell (Jon Daly), Mike Flynn, Freddie Bryngelsson (Rob Clare), Kevin Cooper, Ian Moore (Alan Bailey), Karim Fradin, Tony Dinning (Jonas Larsson) and Ali Gibb. Unused Sub(s): Andy Dibble, David Smith

Manchester C: Nicky Weaver, Lee Crooks, Tony Grant (Shaun Wright-Phillips), Jeff Whitley (Jamie Pollock), Richard Jobson, Gerard Wiekens, Danny Granville, AIf-Inge Haaland (Kevin Horlock), George Weah, Paul Dickov (Robert Taylor) and Mark Kennedy. Unused Sub(s): Lee Peacock, Tommy Wright

 

 

 

We will be back with another look at a week in County history soon.

 

Ian Watts

 

             

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