Words Lewis Broderick Picture Jonathan Moore
 
Altrincham 6 Barnsley NWC 1

Altrincham were on the front foot from start of the game, dominating possession and looking for an opener as they piled the pressure on Barnsley.

It led to an opening goal, following a lovely switch of play to full-back Cain, who linked up with  Broderick down the wing. Broderick whipped the ball towards midfielder Sneyd, who was attacking the box and able to score with a first-time finish.

The young Robins kept applying pressure, not letting Barnsley have any time to play and forcing them to have turnovers within their half of the pitch, where Alty capitalised once again for goal number two.

A sequence of passes ended with a deflected shot that bounced back into to the path of Abanwa, who laid it off to Broderick to tap home and extend the lead.

Alty's youngsters did not stop there as they went in search of more goals, Gbolagun providing the third after dancing through a couple of challenges and hitting a shot across the keeper for a tidy finish.

Shortly after, a free-kick high up the pitch was delivered into the box and met by a diving header at the back post from Taafe to extend the lead to 4-0 after only 30 minutes, as Alty rounded off a near-perfect first half.

The second half got off to a slower start, but Alty retained the ball well and had dangerous chances from the likes of Renshaw and Abanwa. Substitutions were made early on in the second period, with Tattersall and Denise entering the fray and helping create more chances.

A fifth goal duly materialised for the Robins following a lovely bit of play from Broderick, who brought the ball down and skipped past his man to blast the home with great power and precision for his second of the match.

The Robins stepped it up even more, and when the ball was crossed towards the back post, there was a return goal for Afernee (pictured on main page) after almost a year out injured to make it 6-0. 

A final goal went Barnsley's way after a lapse of concentration in the final seconds, but while there was some frustration at a clean sheet being surrendered, there could be no doubting the attacking potency Alty's youngsters showed in a dominant performance as they made it two league wins on the bounce.

Squad on the day:
Theo Bunting
Jimmy Taafe 
Connor Summerfield
Chris Antoniades 
Harry Cain
Raffi Fereday
Callum Dakin
Harley Renshaw 
William Sneyd
John Gbolagun
Savior Abanwa
Tom Tattersall
Lewis Broderick 
Afernee Denise