Words Ayush Bhattacharjee | Pictures Sean Walsh

Altrincham 2 Sutton 1

A tale of two halves at The J.Davidson Stadium, with Alty going down early before responding in the second half to claim a third win in four Enterprise National League games.

The visitors took the lead in the early stages of the game with Ashley Nadesan looping an effort over Luke Hutchinson in the 21st minute; despite soaking up the Sutton pressure at first, the Alty defence was breached.

Despite the deficit, the home side weren’t going down without a fight; following some decent chances led by James Gale and Kahrel Reddin, the Robins went into the break a goal down.

Just five minutes into the second half, the home side were level. An initial set piece delivery from Elliot Osborne was eventually cleared back to Alty's number six, whose second cross was flicked home expertly by Jimmy Knowles for this third of the season.

In the 57th minute an absolutely astonishing save from Hutchinson denied Nadesan. The Sutton forward unleashed a close-range effort that the Bolton loanee somehow managed to scramble away from point-blank range. 

Winger Reddin was a thorn in the Sutton defence throughout the second half, continuously attacking the right flank, beating his man and delivering quality balls into the box.

The visitors couldn’t withstand the pressure put on by Reddin in the 80th minute as he beat his man once again and whipped the ball to Crawford whose header was saved onto the bar by Jack Sims. The rebound, however, fell to Gale, who tapped home to complete the Robins' comeback 

Despite a difficult first half, Phil Parkinson’s men demonstrated their resilience and grit; an excellent second half display securing all three points.

Beeline VIP Travel Man Of The Match Kahrel Reddin

Altrincham Hutchinson; Banks (Reed, 63'), Baines (c) (Barnes, 46'), Osborne, Marriott, Gale, Ward (Crawford, 46'), Knowles (Kirk, 89'), Reddin (Weaver, 89'), Golden, Sassi. Subs not used: Crankshaw, Fallon.

Sutton Sims; VIncent, Phipps, Simper, Nadesan, Taylor, Jones (c) (Ecclestone, 74'), Ogbonna (Odelusi, 78;), Wadham, Harris (Njoku, 64'), Boutin. Subs not used: Aziaya, Reeves, Halim.

HT 0-1

Goals Knowles 51'.Gale 80' | Nadesan 22'

Yellows None | Vincent 10', Phipps 24', Harris 36', Boutin 55', Taylor 75', Ecclestone 90'+3

Reds None | None

Referee Richard Aspinall

Assistants Jack Nield & Jamie Waters

Fourth official Luis Griffiths

Attendance 1,604 (77 away)

Next Up

It's Boreham Wood down in Hertfordshire next Saturday (3pm) - tickets for the Enterprise National League clash can be found here.

Away travel is also available courtesy of our friends at Union Golf Road. Click here for all the details.