Words Jacob Martin Picture Jonathan Moore

Blyth Spartans 2 Altrincham 0 

The early pattern of this National League fixture was of both teams looking to get in behind, with several balls being played over the top and no real possession being played.

However, it looked like Blyth calmed down first, playing some good football in tight spaces to get down the wings.

Within 15 minutes, the home side created their first opportunity, which was saved impeccably by Altrincham's keeper, Max Beddow.

Altrincham couldn’t keep Blyth out for long though, as the ball fell to their number nine, after an outstanding save by Beddow, and he snatched the opportunity, tapping the ball into the net to make it 1-0.

The game went quite frantic nearing the end of the half, with no team keeping real possession of the ball and losing it quite often.

The last opportunity of the half went the way of Altrincham, as Beddow cleared the ball as far as Jacob Martin, who touched it down and saw himself one-on-one with the keeper. With the angle closing, he tried to chip it into the net, but Blyth's number one got a hand to it. 

As the second half got underway, the game finally started to settle, with the Robins looking better on the ball and trying to keep it and play out.

And it didn’t take long for Altrincham to get a chance on goal, as Harry Watson whipped a ball into the box from a corner and Kian Mattison (pictured) headed it against the crossbar. 

Altrincham were still attacking when an interception led to Blyth’s number nine finding himself one-on-one with Beddow, but the Alty keeper came out on top.

Later on, Blyth managed to double their lead from a counter-attack, as their effectively finished off the game by slotting the ball into the corner.

Altrincham kept on battling until the final whistle blew but were unable to claw their way back into it.

Squad on the day:

Max Beddow
Kian Leckey
Jimmy Taafe
Charlie Hough 
Ben McNamara
Harry St Romaine
Kian Mattison 
Joe Weston
Harry Watson
Harley Renshaw 
Issac Mannion
Noah Lavin
Jacob Martin
Ryan Knowles
Josh Obamwanyi