Altrincham 2 FC Halifax Town 0

Match report by Alty player Jacob Martin.

The young Robins came into the game with heads held high, looking to extend their unbeaten run in the National Youth League.

The game kicked off, and Altrincham looked dangerous down the wings. The first big chance came in the first few minutes, as Jacob Martin drove down the wing and hit a shot that was saved by a strong hand by the Halifax keeper.

Alty kept pushing for a goal as Halifax looked to be getting caught out in possession due to the Robins' lethal mid-block press.

The Robins took advantage of this, with the first goal coming in the 15th minute after the ball was played out to Ryan Knowles on the right side of the field.

Knowles looked to shoot, but it got deflected and dropped to Harley Renshaw, who hit the left side of the goal with power and precision to open the scoring.

The Robins continued to look the more dangerous side, creating big chances. Raymond picked up the ball in the middle of the park and drove through the Halifax midfield.

Now with his head up, Martin made a run in behind the Halifax defence. Raymond, with pinpoint accuracy, dropped the ball to Martin's chest, but he couldn’t convert this big opportunity.

The game settled down for the last 15 minutes of the first half. Neither team could grab a goal, and it looked all even. The first half ended with the Robins up 1-0.

In the second half, Halifax looked a bit more comfortable on and off the ball, defending very well to make it hard for the Robins to break through.

The young Shaymen had a few opportunities, but they were denied by Alty goalkeeper Louie Fallon, who didn’t look fazed by anything that was thrown at him.

Later on into the second half, the Robins cleared the ball up the pitch. The Halifax centre-back misread the ball's trajectory, and Martin pounced on it and looked through on goal, but again he couldn’t convert.

In the last 15 minutes, a few adjustments were made within the squad, with two bright wingers brought on, in Afernee Denise and Chris Antoniades, who both made a big impact.

Antoniades picked up the ball near the halfway line and drove forward, surging past two players and lifting his head to pick out Martin in the box. Martin took a touch and rolled it into the path of Afernee, who finished it off first time inside the near post to double Alty's lead.

Squad on the day:

Charlie Noble, Will Knowles, Jacob Hill, Chris Antoniades, Jimmy Taafe, Henry Watts, Charlie Hough, Harry Watson, Nathan Taylor, Harley Renshaw, Kian Gonzales-Moghaddam, Charley Jarrald, Jacob Martin, Noah Lavin, Isaac Mannion, Ryan Knowles, Afernee Denise.