Match report Joe Weston Picture Jonathan Moore

Morecombe Development 1 Altrincham 0

Alty started fast and strong in the heat up in Penrith, moving the ball quickly and not giving the Morecambe players a chance to breathe in the early stages of the game.

The Robins' positive start made the Morecambe defenders struggle to settle down. Renshaw, Martin and Weston all had attempts on goal around the box which were just not clinical enough to enter the goal.

Alty continued to cause problems for Morecambe, as Weston and Taafe maintained a steady supply of possession to Wood and Renshaw, who had the beating of their man every time and were threatening whenever they had the ball.

However, Morecambe soon recognised they would not be able to play out, due to the press from Alty, and accordingly relied on long balls aimed towards their tall number nine.

Despite the difficult challenge Alty’s back line had to face, Cooper and Hough dealt with it well, winning headers and sweeping up at the back.

After several long balls from Morecambe's two centre-halves, the home side went ahead after their left winger gained possession and cut inside and whipped a good cross into the box.

It was met by their right winger, who was able to free himself from Antoniades and head it past Noble to make it 1-0.

Although they had just conceded, Alty still showed their class, with Weston, Renshaw and Martin continuing to combine down the left-hand side but struggling to convert the opportunities.

A short corner made its way into the box to Wood, who was able to turn past his man and fire in a shot that was blocked by the keeper.

The second half started with the Robins not quite as fast out of the blocks as in the first half and Morecambe retaining the ball more than previously.

However, Alty still made half-chances as Gonzales drove towards the Morecambe defence from midfield and managed to get a shot off that just trickled wide of the post.

Jacob Martin was a handful for the Morecambe centre-halves, managing to roll defenders regularly and win fouls around the box, but Alty could not convert any of the chances that arose.

St Romaine and McCormack showed pace on the right-hand side and created chances in the last 15 minutes of the game.

Watts looked solid after entering the fray and delivered a perfect through ball over the backline to Weston, who ran on to it and lobbed the keeper, only or it to drift just wide of the post.

A flurry of chances at the end of the game from Martin and Renshaw showed that there was no sign of Alty simply accepting defeat. However, they went the way of so many other scoring opportunities throughout the 90 minutes, and the scoreline remained a frustrating one.

Squad on the day: Charlie Noble Chris Antoniades Henry Watts Oscar Cooper Charlie Hough Harry St Romaine Jacob Hill Joe Weston Jimmy Taafe Kian Gonzales Callum McCormack Nathan Wood Harley Renshaw Jacob Martin.