Altrincham 6 Everton NWC 4

Match report by Alty player Charlie Hough

The young Robins made a bright start to this National Youth League fixture, showing brilliant signs of intent in possession and keeping the ball well.

Early on in the game, the boys figured out how Everton were looking to play and reacted brilliantly after some good defending and smart stops from Charlie Noble in goal.

In the 16th minute, after some early pressure, Alty managed to find the early breakthrough as debutant Jacob Ireland sharply found the back of the net.

Alty continued to be sharp in possession and soon made it 2-0 through Kian Gonzalez.

A few minutes later, a fantastic through ball slotted in behind was latched on to by Jacob Martin, who brilliantly finished for his first of the day.

The young Robins continued to build on this fast positive start and were keeping the ball fantastically, though Everton did launch a couple of quick counter-attacks without really troubling Noble in goal.

Alty got a corner in the 34th minute which was kept in brilliantly and played to Joe Weston, who danced around a couple of challenges and slotted the ball into the far corner for a fantastic goal  by another player making his debut.

The young Robins became very patient in possession, retaining the ball in order to avoid any late scares from a very direct Everton side.

A slight lapse in concentration just before half-time led to a looping strike from the edge of the box for Everton which found its way into the back of the goal to make it 4-1 at the break.

Altrincham may have made a fast start in the first half, but it was Everton who made a fast start in the second half.

Credit to the Everton players who didn’t let their heads drop and were forcing some brilliant saves from Noble and a brilliant block off the line from Henry Watts. Everton soon after managed to find the back of the net from close range to make the game 4-2 to put a slight bit of pressure on to the Alty players.

A couple of minutes later Everton got a free-kick on the edge of the box and their centre back got himself free and managed to get a free header at the back post to make the game 4-3.

This posed a fantastic test of character for the Altrincham players to see how they would react.

The reaction was fantastic, with the players regaining control of the game and managing to be patient to try to carve open the low block of Everton.

That they did in the 65th minute, as Watts played a fantastic diagonal ball into Charley Jarrald, who drove into the box and neatly crossed for Martin to apply a tidy finish.

A few minutes later, Jarrald picked up the ball and drove into the box, again causing problems as he had done all day. He cut the ball back, and Martin was there to complete his hat-trick.

Alty then started to gain control of the game again and were a lot more reliable in possession and resilient at the back.

In the dying embers of the game, Everton managed to pick up the scraps and finish off a chance to make it 6-4, just slightly applying pressure on the Robins to see out the game.

Another test of character for the Robins, who got back to keeping the ball and controlling the game to the final whistle to round off an overall good day for the Alty lads and an exciting game for the neutral.

Squad on the day:

Charlie Noble, Will Knowles, Harry St Romaine, Charlie Hough, Henry Watts, Jacob Hill, Joe Weston, Nathan Taylor, Harley Renshaw, Kian Gonzalez, Jacob Martin, Charley Jarrald, Jacob Ireland, Chris Antoniades, Noah Lavin, Ryan Knowles.