Words Josh Herreaman Picture Jonathan Moore

Altrincham1 Radcliffe 3

The accent was on youth more than ever for Altrincham as no fewer than five under-16 players took to the field for this National League fixture.

They did the club proud, too, as the young Robins went ahead in the first half and gave as good as they got before finally succumbing to Radcliffe pressure late on.

Radcliffe started the game on the front foot, looking to break Alty down, but they were unable to get past a well-organised and resilient defensive shape.

Alty's youngsters worked hard and showed great determination, and they were rewarded with an early breakthrough inside the opening 16 minutes.

Callum McCormack (pictured) opened the scoring after reacting quickest to a rebound from Ben Mensah’s shot, which had deflected off a Radcliffe player.

As the first half progressed, Radcliffe saw plenty of the ball and continued to search for a way through Alty’s defence. Their persistence paid off from a set-piece, as a free-kick led to a close-range finish to level the score at 1-1 going into half-time.

Alty began the second half with a substitution, as under-16s player Farrar came on, prompting a switch in formation from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3, with Afernee Denise making way.

However, Radcliffe applied immediate pressure after the restart and took the lead for the first time after an hour.

Their left winger cut inside and drove into the middle before laying the ball off for the striker, who finished to make it 2-1.

As the game went on, Alty remained under sustained pressure, creating a few chances but struggling to convert them.

Radcliffe extended their lead from a corner, heading the ball into the back of the net to make it 3–1.

In the final 20 minutes, Alty pushed forward and created several opportunities, including free-kicks and a penalty, but they were unable to find the net.

A strong and disciplined first-half performance from an Alty team with so many under-16 players, including Sammy Neville, who joined the club at under-six level, was undone by sustained second-half pressure, as Radcliffe capitalised on their chances to secure the win.

Squad on the day:

Charlie Noble
Connor Summerfield
Raffi Fereday
Ben McNamara
Chris Antoniades
William Molloy
Joshua Herreaman
Afernee Denise
John Gbolagun
Ben Mensah
Callum McCormack
Zack Crisp 
Tom Tattersall
Sammy Neville
Giovanni Ezomo 
Dan Farrar