Altrincham Reserves 2 Knowsley 1

A goal in each half gave a dominant Alty Reserves side a thoroughly-deserved win over Knowsley.

It looked like being a much closer encounter when the Robins started slowly, with Knowsley trying to get on the front foot and applying pressure from the off.

But once our boys settled, it was one-way traffic with the game becoming a bit like attack versus defence and Knowsley doing their utmost to repel a series of Alty advances.

The visitors succeeded for a while and held firm until the last minute of the half, when George Raftery pounced on a spillage by the Knowsley keeper from a corner to make it 1-0.

The second half started in much the same way as the first, but again once the young Robins settled into their stride and began to dominate.

It led to an inevitable second Alty goal, as substitute Charley Jarrald capitalised on a lovely though ball by Max Whittle to find the corner of the net.

There could easily have been more goals, but when Alty switched off for a moment, Knowsley took the chance to grab a consolation effort in the 90th minute.

All in all, it was a good game for the boys to bounce back in and a more than useful opportunity to cast an eye over the next batch of Academy players coming through the ranks.