Altrincham's youngsters showed their senior counterparts the way with an outstanding performance to lift the Manchester FA Under-18s County Cup in an action-packed final at Broadhurst Park yesterday.

It's a week of seeking silverware for the club, with manager Phil Parkinson hoping for a bumper crowd as his side take on Congleton Town in the final of the Cheshire Senior Cup at The J.Davidson Stadium on Thursday evening.

And what an example the young Robins set in their midday Sunday showdown with Trafford under-18s as they were crowned County Cup champions in convincing style at the home of FC United of Manchester.

There was no sign of cup final nerves from the Alty boys as they took the occasion in their assured stride and stamped their mark on proceedings from the start, going 2-0 in front with first-half goals from Edson Cata and JJ Kelly.

Trafford reduced the arrears with a penalty in the 40th minute, but Alty were always in the ascendancy in a manner that was soon reflected in the half-time scoreline as Edson and Owen German finished off chances in the 44th and 45th minutes.

What an end to an incident-packed first half, with Alty going in 4-1 to the good and with one hand on the trophy after an exhilarating show of slick, passing football at its best.

Owen scored from the spot after the resumption, and when a red card for Trafford left them with 10 men, the outcome looked a formality.
Credit to the Shawe View youngsters, who appeared galvanised by the setback and stepped up their game to close the gap to 5-3 with two goals in the space of 10 minutes.

Credit also to Alty, though, for the way they responded to the unexpected threat to their cup triumph by crushing it with a solo goal from Sheriff Njie that was worthy of winning any game.

It certainly settled this one as Alty ran out 6-3 winners - a score that could easily have been doubled, given the clear-cut chances their excellent approach play carved out - and were presented with the cup amid jubilant scenes at the side of the Broadhurst Park pitch.