Words Jack Worswick | Pictures Jonathan Moore

AS Altrincham’s first team gained more minutes, the squad progressed with another victory on the road. They have also identified two attackers they can rely on, with Matty Kosylo and Regan Linney finding the net in consecutive games.

On Tuesday, at Cheadle Heath Nomads, both attackers made their first contributions of the season in a 3-0 win away from home.

Then on a Saturday afternoon in Warrington, the duo became the deciding factor in a competitive game against Vanarama National League North opposition. Kosylo opened the scoring with his long-range effort that he later admitted wasn’t intended to be a shot on goal.

Linney ultimately doubled the Robins’ lead with a late penalty that he dispatched calmly, thus completing a successful completion to a tough test in the Robins' fourth pre-season outing.

In a similar vein to the prior friendlies, Phil Parkinson selected two completely different line-ups. The first half saw an Xl mostly made up of trialists, new signings and academy graduates, in an attempt to give them minutes to prove why they should be in his plans for the coming season.

An end-to-end affair is one way to describe the first half, with both sides having opportunities to take the lead. An example of this was Warrington’s early chance as they capitalised on a short pass from Joel Bailey to Ethan Ross which put them through on goal but the keeper managed to prevent the goal. 

Many chances also materialised for Alty’s attack as they began to control the game. New signings Joe Nutall and Lucas Weaver were supplied with plenty of opportunities on goal from midfielders Max Haygarth and Trialist 6 but lacked the quality to find the net.

A more notable chance came for the right-hand side as Alty's trialist winger hit the woodwork in an attack carved out by himself as he continued to cause issues for the Warrington defence all afternoon.

Furthermore, Bailey also proved his talents. He reacted to his early mistake maturely and went on to be assured on the ball, whilst defending well against the opposition forwards.

The other line-up went on in the 60th minute and consisted of more first-team options. This was similar to the set-up at both Lancaster and Cheadle Heath Nomads so that the players could build chemistry and understand each other more.

Once the changes were made, chances came at a much quicker rate, similar to the two previous pre-season friendlies. Linney, Kosylo and Newby proved to be a threat to the Yellows' defence with their tricky style; as they often utilised combinations.

This eventually led to the goal coming in the 67th minute as Dan Atherton left his goal to collect the ball, only to be disposed, leaving the ball in the path of Kosylo. He found the open net with an instinctive finish from distance.

After a few more near misses for Phil Parkinson’s side, the second goal came in the 92nd minute of the game from the penalty spot. Linney was brought down in the box by Sam Williamson leaving the referee no other choice. The striker then beat the keeper from 12 yards away with a strike aimed at the top of the net, to make it three goals in three games so far for the striker.

Overall, another competitive fixture for the Robins squad who continue their Vanrama National League preparations with a return to The J.Davidson Stadium this Tuesday against Salford City.

Warrington Atherton; Walker, Gumbs, Southern, Trialist, Dixon, Harris (c), McDonald, Grivosti, Trialist, Rodwell-Grant. Subs from Gill, McAuley, De Souza, Williamson & Trialists

Altrincham Ross (Fallon, 46'); Trialist (Banks, 62'), Trialist (E.Jones, 62'), Bailey (Cooper, 62'), J.Jones (c) (Baines, 62'), German (Osborne, 62'), Trialist (Crawford, 62'), Haygarth (Wilson, 62'), Weaver (Kosylo, 62'), Trialist (Newby, 62'), Nuttall (Linney, 62')

Next Up

Our first outing of 2024/25 at The J.Davidson Stadium - Salford City the opponents for Tuesday evening's friendly (7:45pm).

Tickets are available here priced £12 over-18s and £5 under-18s - we'll also have cash turnstiles open on the night from 6:30pm.

If you fancy hospitality it's available in the John King Lounge for just £30 - you can secure your spot here.

(Don't forget, season tickets are no longer valid for home friendlies)