Words John Edwards | Pictures Jonathan Moore

Brackley 0 Altrincham 2

A brilliant piece of improvisation from Jake Cooper and cool-as-you-like finish by Declan Howe deep into stoppage time were the highlights of an outstanding Altrincham away performance at St James Park this afternoon.

Cooper might normally have met an inswinging corner with a header at the far post, but he responded in an instant to the ball dipping towards his waist with a first-time volley that could not have been better executed as it flashed into the net in the first half.

Howe had a penalty saved in the second half, but he more than made amends seconds from the end by waltzing past a defender and the keeper to give the Robins a richly-deserved win on the road.

After a cagey opening 10 minutes, Alty put together an impressive spell of possession that ended with Jimmy Knowles playing Liam Humbles in on the left side of the Brackley area.

The Alty midfielder cut inside his marker and curled a right-foot shot that looked to be heading for the far corner of the net until striking a defender and bouncing to safety.

It was an encouraging passage of play from the Robins, who were keeping the ball well and making good use of it inside the Brackley half.

Humbles was operating on the left of midfield, and when he once more stepped past a defender and crossed into the area after 16 minutes, Matty Kosylo met it with a header that drifted wide of the right-hand post.

Humbles was again involved in the 23rd minute as Alty carved out the best chance of the match so far.

The pass he played through to Howe was measured to perfection, and when the Alty striker darted inside on the left of the area to open up a shooting opportunity, it took a smart save from Jonny Maxted to deny him a goal.

For all the pressure Alty were starting to exert, it was Brackley who came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 27th minute when Ryan Haynes took aim from 25 yards and hit the underside of the bar with a thunderbolt of a drive.

It was difficult to tell whether the diving Luke Hutchinson got the faintest of touches with an outstretched hand, but if he did, it was another exceptional save by Alty's impressive young on-loan keeper.

A minute from half-time, Alty took the lead, and there could be few complaints from the home camp, given how Neil Gibson's side had gone about their task.

What a finish it was, too, by Cooper, who seemed to sense Eddy Jones' right-wing corner wasn't going to reach him at head height, so stuck out a boot and met it with a first-time volley that fairly flew into the roof of the net.

In a distinctly low-key start to the second half, Brackley forced a series of corners, while, for Alty, Olly Crankshaw had a couple of shots from distance blocked by defenders, as the hour mark came and went with the Robins' lead still intact.

The lead really should have been doubled in the 73rd minute after Kosylo crossed to the far post and Knowles knocked it back into the middle to the unmarked Howe.

Alty's on-loan striker was only a couple of yards out but couldn't quite convert the chance as Maxted somehow managed to block his point-blank effort.

What an escape that was for Brackley, and the theme continued as two more followed in quick succession.

First, Kahrel Reddin was millimetres away from making contact with a low driven cross from fellow-substitute Sam Reed as he slid in at the far post in the 77th minute.

Then, in the 82nd minute, a second goal eluded the Robins in bizarre circumstances as a corner from the right was met by a clean header into the net, Crawford appearing to be the Alty player in a crowded six-yard box, only for the referee to point to the spot and award a penalty.

There were protests from both sets of players - Alty's presumably asking why the goal could not stand - but the official was adamant, though the reason for the spot-kick was far from clear.

When calm was finally restored, Howe's penalty was saved by Maxted, who diverted it over the bar with an outstretched boot.

Howe had the final say, though, in the fifth minute of added time, as he latched on to a long ball by Reed and skipped past a challenge before rounding Maxted and scoring in an empty net to round off an excellent afternoon in Northamptonshire for the Robins.

Brackley Maxted; Morrison, Brown, Roberts, Lowe, Nottingham, Elliott-Wheeler (Hall, 80'), Lilly, Byrne (C) (Andrews, 80'), Harratt (Wodskou, 68'), Haynes (Calder, 53'). Subs not used: Price, Dean, Worby.

Altrincham Hutchinson; Cooper, Grant, Crankshaw (Reed, 67'), Marriott, Howe, Knowles (Forde, 90'+3), Kosylo (Barnes, 90'+3), Crawford (c), Humbles (Reddin, 67'), Jones. Subs not used: Weaver, Fallon, Kirk.

HT 0-1

Goals None | Cooper 44', Howe 90'+5

Yellows Nottingham 85', Lowe 90', Hall 90'+8 | Cooper 41', Grant 55', Reed 71'

Reds None | None

Referee Robert Massey-Ellis

Assistants Christopher Darling & William Murray

Fourth Official Jake Allsopp

Attendance 862 (88 away fans)

Next Up

Back home next Saturday to take on Truro City in our first Enterprise National League clash of March (3pm).

General admission tickets are available online here but hospitality in The John King Lounge is already SOLD OUT.