Words John Edwards | Pictures Jonathan Moore

Altrincham 1 Boston 0

Altrincham emerged victorious from a tale of two penalties to claim three precious points courtesy of their first Enterprise National League win in two months at The J.Davidson Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Boston United would have taken a 32nd-minute lead but for Beeline VIP Travel man of the match Luke Hutchinson reading Jordan Hiwula's penalty spot intentions expertly and diving full length to his right to pull off a brilliant save.

A couple of minutes later, Alty midfielder Elliot Osborne showed his Boston counterpart how a spot-kick should be taken with a perfectly-placed finish that gave keeper Rhys Lovett no chance and put the Robins in the ascendancy.

It was a lead they flatly refused to surrender, as they resisted a late Boston onslaught with a fiercely-committed rearguard action that included a remarkable goalline stop with his chest by a kneeling Tylor Golden to deliver a priceless win for Neil Gibson in the interim manager's first home game in charge.

If the game got off to a low-key start on the pitch, it was anything but quiet off it, as the stadium reverberated to the noise of fireworks exploding into the night sky all round.

Kahrel Reddin was given the chance to exhibit his rapid acceleration after six minutes as he tore down the right and whipped in a low cross that just eluded James Gale and Charlie Kirk in the middle.

Alty should have gone ahead in the ninth minute when Tom Crawford's through ball gave Reddin the opportunity to test Lovett in the Boston goal.

The keeper could only parry Reddin's low left-foot effort and was left looking on helplessly, flat out on the turf, as the ball spun into the path of the lurking Gale.

Unfortunately, the Alty striker was forced to rush his shot and could only steer it wide from an inviting position.

Alty thought they had taken the lead in the 23rd minute when Kirk swung a free-kick in from the right and Crawford met it with a thumping header that flew into the roof of the net from close range.

The celebrations were cut short, though, by the linesman's raised flag, indicating that Crawford may have advanced towards the edge of the six-yard box a fraction early.

Boston had scarcely threatened the Alty goal but were handed the ideal opportunity to stamp their mark on proceedings, just after the half-hour mark, when Crawford was adjudged to have upended Hiwula after the Robins defence failed to clear their lines.

But when Hiwula climbed back to his feet to take the spot-kick, he met his match in Hutchinson, who flung himself to his right to get a strong hand to the midfielder's firmly-struck effort.

In no time at all, the referee was pointing to the spot at the other end of the pitch, and, this time, there was no mistake by the taker.

The penalty was won by Reddin, who surged clear on the right and drew back his boot as if to shoot, only to fool his marker Dylan Hill by changing direction and cutting inside in a deception that drew a foul from the Boston midfielder.

Up stepped Osborne with a coolly-taken kick, drilled unerringly into the bottom corner to give Alty a deserved lead.

A second goal almost followed in the 53rd minute when Gale met an Osborne cross from the right with a header he couldn't quite direct on target.

Reddin's electrifying skills prised Boston's defence open again in the 55th minute, as he latched on to a pass from Matty Kosylo and turned his marker inside out with a brilliant spin before rolling the ball across the area towards Kirk, who fired a first-time shot under pressure over the bar.

The Robins had looked the more purposeful side up to this point, but there could be no resting on laurels with just a one-goal advantage to show for their endeavours.

That much became clear just after the hour-mark when Boston suddenly carved out two openings in as many minutes.

First, Hutchinson had to block a close-range effort from Alex Lankshear in the 64th minute, and then the Alty keeper reacted in stunning style to a stinging drive by Kieren Donnelly, throwing an arm up to palm it away to safety.

After seemingly being in control, the Robins were coming under mounting pressure, not least when the visitors hit the frame of the goal in the 74th minute.

When a corner was not properly dealt with, the ball was played back into the area for skipper Zak Mills to thunder a volley against the bar. Hutchinson may well have got a fingertip to it - such was the pace of the shot, it was difficult to tell - and if that was the case, it was another eye-catching example of the on-loan keeper's razor-sharp reflexes.

More last-ditch defending rescued the Robins once again in the 88th minute when Ken Aboh let fly from 15 yards, only to be denied by Dan Sassi throwing himself in the way with a goal-saving block.

Into added time that stretched beyond eight minutes, and Boston were foiled again when Golden, on his knees just inches from his own line, somehow managed to block a shot with his chest and, at the same time, prevent either arm making contact with the ball.

Substitute Olly Crankshaw was then denied a spectacular goal when his audacious chip was tipped over at full stretch, but it hardly mattered - Alty had held on to end a run of eight league games without a win.

Beeline VIP Travel Man Of The Match Luke Hutchinson

Altrincham Hutchinson; Baines (c), Cooper, Osborne (Marriott, 88'), Gale (Knowles, 68'), Kosylo (Ward, 72'), Reddin, Crawford, Golden, Sassi, Kirk (Crankshaw, 88'). Subs not used: Hinchy, Fallon.

Boston Lovett; Mills (c), Hill, Donnelly, Carson (Kelly, 90'+3), Hiwula (John-Lewis, 54'), Lankshear, Fogarty, Richards (Aboh, 73'), Waldock (Maguire, 54'), Lavinier. Subs not used: Grist, Coyle, French.

HT 1-0

Goals Osborne 36' | None

Yellows Cooper 56', Kosylo 70' | Fogarty 59'

Reds None | None

Referee Matthew McQuillan

Assistants Alex Grey & Thomas Harland

Fourth official Scott Henry

Attendance 1,273 (126 away)

Next Up

It's the longest away trip of the season - we head for Cornwall to take on Truro City in the Enterprise National League, Saturday at 3pm.

Alty fans have till 6pm on Thursday to buy their tickets online here from our hosts. Away travel, provided for FREE main shirt sponsor AO, is SOLD OUT!!!