Words John Edwards | Picture Jonathan Moore

Gateshead 0 Altrincham 2

Altrincham are up and running on the road after goals by Lewis Banks and Tylor Golden illuminated a performance that was far too good for Gateshead at a rain-soaked International Stadium this evening.

From the first whistle, Alty were everything Phil Parkinson could have hoped they would be, moving the ball swiftly and slickly and reflecting their superiority on the scoreline with a crisp finish from Banks early on and exceptional second goal by Golden later in the first half.

Alty had the Gateshead defence stretched in only the third minute after a link-up between James Gale and Kahrel Reddin on the right gave Banks the chance to whip in a cross that was bundled behind for a corner.

Dan Sassi met the resulting delivery with a goalbound shot that was blocked, and when the Alty defender seized on the rebound, his follow-up effort was deflected behind for another flag-kick.

Alty were motoring forward with some impressive approach play, and when Keaton Ward threaded a pass through to Reddin on the right of the area, his angled drive was knocked wide for yet another flag-kick.

It came as no surprise after such a bright, dominant start by the Robins that they were the ones to open the scoring in the 12th minute.

Neither was it entirely unexpected that the goal came from a corner, given the number they had won in the early stages.

Ward rolled it along the bye-line towards Reddin and then met the return pass from the winger with a first-time cross that Banks met unerringly with an unstoppable drive that gave Gateshead keeper Tiernan Brooks no chance.

There was no sitting on the lead, either, as Alty went in search of a second goal and went close to one in the 19th minute when Reddin released Banks down the right for a low cross that James Gale just failed to convert at the near post.

Another Alty chance came and went in the 25th minute when Reddin beat the offside trap and found himself clean through, only to be denied by a goal-saving last-ditch sliding tackle as he shaped to shoot with his left foot.

Reddin was proving a thorn in Gateshead's side, and when he skipped past a challenge inside the area in the 29th minute, Brooks had to be alert to beat away the resulting fiercely-struck shot.

The lead was duly doubled in the 35th minute, and there could be few complaints from Gateshead after they had been played off the park by a free-flowing Alty performance.

What a goal it was, too, as Jimmy Knowles brilliantly worked an opening to measure a probing ball down the left touchline for Golden to latch on to. The Alty full-back still had plenty to do, but he made it look easy as he cut inside a defender and hammered a low drive into the far corner.

Knowles might have made it 3-0 just before half-time but for the ball running away from him on the edge of the area, with no defender between him and the goal, as Alty continued to keep their foot firmly down on the pedal.

There was no sign of the initiative being surrendered as Alty stepped up their search for a third goal in the second half.

The lively Reddin could hardly have done more to try and ensure one materialised in the 58th minute after he fastened on to a fine pass from Ward.

Alty's flying winger sidestepped a covering defender to open up just enough space for a curling right-foot shot that looked a goal all over until Brooks flung himself to his left to pull off an outstanding fingertip save.

Finally, Gateshead managed to test Luke Hutchinson in the 68th minute, but Alty's on-loan keeper was up to the task as he reacted well to get a hand to a fierce drive from Max Sheaf that prevented it flying into the top left corner.

It was a rare sight of the Alty goal for a Gateshead side whose night went from bad to worse in the 75th minute when defender Connor Pani was shown a second yellow card for blatantly pulling back the persevering Gale.

Gateshead Brooks; Johnson, Ferguson, Richardson (c) (Williams, 90'+1), Flint (Home, 46'), Adom, Nouble, John (Sheaf, 46'), Hurst, Pani, Chapman (Fitzhugh, 82'). Subs not used: Shelvey, Bone, Thompson.

Altrincham Hutchinson; Banks, Baines (c) (Barnes, 67'), Osborne, Marriott, Gale (Kosylo, 83'), Ward (Weaver, 83'), Knowles (Kirk, 73'), Reddin (Crankshaw, 73'), Golden, Sassi. Subs not used: Raymond, Fallon.

HT 0-2

Goals None | Banks 12', Golden 35'

Yellows Pani 60'. 75' | None

Reds Pani 75' | None

Referee Aaron Bannister

Assistants Wayne Grunnill & Declan O'Regan

Fourth official Drew Dutton

Attendance 696 (48 away)

Next Up

It's the early kick-off on Saturday in the Enterprise National League - live on DAZN - Alty taking on Sutton United at The J.Davidson Stadium (12:30pm).

Get your tickets here, your hospitality here and join us post-match in the Fan Zone for drinks offers, live music and a quiz.