Magnay takes positives as Gateshead fall to Altrincham defeat

Carl Magnay insisted he will take the positives from Gateshead’s narrow home defeat against National League play-off rivals Altrincham.

The Heed boss handed home debuts to goalkeeper George Shelvey, defender Branden Horton and Jack Roles as his side looked to build on last weekend’s 4-0 win at Wealdstone as they returned to the International Stadium for the first time in three weeks. After making a promising start as new addition Roles struck the crossbar inside the opening three minutes, Magnay’s side fell behind on the quarter-hour mark as Kian Taylor’s low drive beat Shelvey after Gateshead failed to deal with a cross down the right-hand side.

Both sides continued to create chances throughout what was an intriguing contest with the likes of Roles, Jovan Malcolm and new loan signing Tyrell Sellars-Fleming all going close to grabbing an equaliser during the second-half. A last-ditch push from Gateshead saw defender Dan Jones left frustrated as his goalbound header was cleared from the line and both Roles and midfield partner Regan Booty were unable to convert well-placed free-kicks.

Despite the defeat against a top seven rival. Magnay believes his side’s performance showed his squad are moving on from a challenging period of change at the International Stadium.

He told The Echo: “We are making progress and that comes with getting players on the pitch that are more capable of playing our way. We hadn’t been brave enough but last weekend at Wealdstone, we showed what we can do, and we have tried to do that again against a tough side in Altrincham. We created a lot more opportunities, there are a lot of positives, and although we are disappointed to lose because losing kills us when we lose, there were a lot of things we can take from the game. It’s given me a lot of food for thought ahead of Tuesday’s game.”

Magnay opted to hand a start to striker Jovan Malcolm after on-loan Brighton and Hove Albion youngster Louis Flower was sidelined with a knee injury he suffered in last weekend’s win at Wealdstone. The former West Bromwich Albion frontman produced a lively display before being paired with recent loan addition Tyrell Sellars-Fleming as the Heed pushed for an equaliser inside the final 20 minutes. Magnay felt there were aspects of Malcolm’s game that require improvement but was satisfied with the striker’s performance overall.

“I was pleased with his performance today but was disappointed he didn’t score. I felt like he could have grabbed a goal today with the chances he had but I was pleased with his effort and some of his quality. He just has to get that clinical edge and he is guilty of taking that extra touch in and around the box. He’s an explosive player and he just needs to create half a yard and hit it - but generally, I was pleased with Jovan and he has staked a claim and made me look at the team in a different way today because I think him and Tyrell were a threat together and Jovan has the intelligence to drop in and create problems at the top end of the pitch.”

That game will see Gateshead make a quickfire return to the International Stadium as Sutton United are their visitors on Tuesday night.

Your next non-league read: Horden CW boss eyes promotion after Boldon CA win as Seaham Red Star boost survival hopes with home victory