Altrincham 1 York City 1

Match report by Alty player Harrison Howells

After a negative result against the same York side only two days before this game, Altrincham were hungry for revenge.

They sat in mid-table before the game, knowing that a solid performance against a strong York side would put them in good stead for the latter parts of the season.

However, the young Robins started the game on the back foot. The first chance of the game came within the first 15 minutes when a York midfielder found a pocket of space in midfield.

He drilled the ball into his number nine, who controlled it and quickly passed it back to the midfielder, who hit a well-struck shot into the side-netting, narrowly missing the target.

Altrincham gradually grew into the game and began to retain possession much more successfully and utilise their wide players.

Alty’s first major chance was created by Vladislav Shtylian when he slid the ball in behind the York defence to Nathan Wood. Wood was presented with a great opportunity, but he dragged his shot slightly wide of the far post, meaning the first half remained goalless.

The Robins came out of the half-time interval as the better of the two sides by keeping the ball well, with the midfield interchanging effectively. However, their period of possession counted for very little, as a succession of free-kicks and corners for York saw them open the scoring.

A bouncing ball in the box was smashed towards the goal, and with the help of a deflection off Louie Fallon’s face, it ended up in the Altrincham goal.

While going a goal behind can often discourage a team, it helped click Alty into gear on this occasion. After missing several chances to bring the game level, the Robins finally managed to equalise with a moment of excellence from Shtylian.

He received a pass from Kaiden Powell before beating two York defenders and rocketing a shot into the near corner of the net.

The second-half momentum that Altrincham created meant they richly deserved the point that they earned.

Squad:

Louie Fallon

Kaiden Powell

Ajani Oshidin

Harry Douglas

Max Whittle

Kian Gonzalez

Nathan Wood

Jack Chandler

Tom Whyte

Vladislav Shtyhlian

Sekouba Camara

Oscar Cooper

Remi Raymond

Lucas Edwards

Joel Bailey

Charley Jarrald