Altrincham Reserves 4 Middlewich 2

Cheshire County League Premier Division

A young Alty Reserves side were intent on returning to winning ways and started brightly against a big, physically strong Middlewich team.

On the front foot from the first whistle, the young Robins carved out three good chances early on as they went in search of an opening goal.

They were unable to take any of them, however, and it looked like proving costly as Middlewich hit them with two quickfire goals against the run of play.

To the Alty youngsters' credit, they took the setback in their stride and continued dictating play in midfield with some attractive passing football.

The threat posed by Tom Jones (pictured on the main news page) and Loui Williams down the flanks was causing Middlewich plenty of problems, and it came as no surprise when Adam Lynch pulled a goal back just before half-time to send Alty into the break 2-1 down.

The young Robins came out firing on all cylinders at the start of the second half, to the delight of a large numbers of spectators who turned out to follow their progress at Egerton.

Lynch underlined his scoring prowess with another goal, and with Tom Jones adding a brace, Alty's youngsters had a scoreline more in keeping with their dominance in what was an excellent all-round performance.

It was gratifying for Alty's coaching staff to see no fewer than four 16-year olds acquitting themselves so well in the Robins line-up, including Kaiden Powell, who was playing his first senior match.

Special mention also for Tom Jones and Loui Williams, not only for the way they played but for showing professionalism and encouragement to the younger members and reminding them of what can be achieved with hard work and commitment after both worked their way through the Academy ranks and graduated to the first-team squad.