Words John Edwards | Pictures Jonathan Moore

Altrincham 1 Wealdstone 0

Jimmy Knowles bagged a priceless winner as Altrincham dug deep to add three much-needed points to their Enterprise National League tally at The J.Davidson Stadium on Tuesday night.

Wealdstone had already done their fair share of attacking prior to Knowles' 35th-minute strike, and they did plenty more afterwards as they went in search of an equaliser that would have been hard to take for Alty in the wake of Saturday's agonising setback at the hands of Yeovil Town.

But, to their eternal credit, the resilient Robins stood tall, Dan Sassi winning one header after another in a rearguard action that duly delivered the much sought-after clean sheet.

There was a scare for Alty in only the third minute when Wealdstone's Sak Hassan weaved his way in from the left and sent an angled effort flashing across the face of goal and wide of the far post.

Alty responded within 60 seconds as Knowles surged clear through the middle and delivered a pass that would have put Declan Howe clean through but for a timely intervention by a defender.

With heavy rain falling incessantly, players of both sides had a zippy, challenging surface to contend with, but there could be little doubt that Wealdstone were making a better fist of it in the early stages.

Significantly, though, clear-cut chances were being kept to a bare minimum, for all the visitors' tidy approach play.

Luke Hutchinson's renowned shot-stopping capabilities came to Alty's rescue in the 25th minute after Hassan made the most of a couple of fortuitous rebounds on the left to find himself in space for a shot from about 12 yards.

The winger could not have hoped for a cleaner connection, as the ball fairly flew off his boot towards the top far corner, but Hutchinson took off to tip it over with what was an exceptional reflex action.

When Tylor Golden won possession with all his customary tenacity in the 35th minute and rolled the ball towards Howe, the on-loan striker turned and hit a shot that was deflected behind for a corner.

Wealdstone failed to clear their lines from the flag-kick, and they paid the price as Knowles showed all his predatory instincts to poke a close-range shot just inside the right-hand post.

Alty so nearly doubled their lead in the 41st minute when Matty Kosylo motored down the left and flicked a clever pass inside to Knowles, who advanced towards the area and curled a shot that was diverted behind, just as it looked bound for the far corner of Wealdstone's net.

The Robins might have had a penalty in the 47th minute when Tom Crawford challenged for a cross, only to be flattened by a challenge that could easily have been seen as a foul inside the area.

The referee was having none of it, and, to make matters worse, Alty's stand-in skipper needed lengthy treatment before being able to continue.

Alty had a fair bit of defending to do as the second half wore on, but, as was the case in the opening 45 minutes, they stuck to their task in a manner that kept Hutchinson well protected.

And when they managed to break free and venture upfield in the 79th minute, they almost finished off Wealdstone with a second goal, as a snap-shot by Kosylo from distance so nearly caught out Dante Baptiste, as the keeper parried it high into the air and looked on in relief as a team-mate hurriedly scrambled it away.

A couple of minutes later, Alty threatened again, as a Kahrel Reddin cross was only half-cleared to Eddy Jones, whose first-time shot was beaten away by Baptiste.

Eight minutes of added time did little to ease nerves in the home camp, but a 'what we have, we hold' mentality persisted until the last kick, as the Robins saw it through to secure a vital three points.

Beeline VIP Travel Man Of The Match Declan Howe

Altrincham Hutchinson; Grant (Cooper, 70'), Marriott, Howe, Knowles (Forde, 70'), Kosylo, Reddin (Weaver, 90'+3), Crawford (c), Golden, Jones, Sassi. Subs not used: Bailey, Fallon, Olson, Kirk.

Wealdstone Baptiste; Woodman (c), Kadji (Agyemang, 84'), Olomola (Dixon-Bonner, 73'), Hassan (Adu-Poku, 77'), Obiero (Adarkwa, 84'), Hutchinson, Tshikuna, McAvoy, Spencer, Waller (Georgiou, 73'). Subs not used: Johnson, Tiensia.

HT 1-0

Goals Knowles 35' | None

Yellows Crawford 62', Reddin 70' | None

Reds None | None

Referee Callum Jones

Assistants Adewunmi Soneye & Mark Bates

Fourth official Matt Parry

Attendance 1,104 (45 away)

Next Up

We're off to Surrey to take on Woking in the Enterprise National League on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

Away end tickets can be purchased from our hosts here. Tickets are cheaper when bought before midday on matchday - there is no away travel for this game.