Words John Edwards | Pictures Jonathan Moore

Altrincham 1 Southend United 0

Liam Humbles lashed home an unstoppable first-half goal, and a resolute rearguard action ensured it counted as a winner for an Altrincham side in no mood to surrender so much as an inch, never mind a point, to promotion-chasing Southend United at a sun-baked J.Davidson Stadium.

On-loan midfielder Humbles was first to react when Southend failed to clear their lines from a corner, and his venomous shot from close range was in the roof of the net before keeper Collin Andeng-Ndi could even blink, as the Robins stormed into a 14th-minute lead.

They were stretched to hold on to it at times, it has to be said, but it's a measure of the way Alty stood up to the test that while Luke Hutchinson was named man of the match, the on-loan keeper has had busier afternoons during his time with the Robins, such was the protection afforded him by his team-mates.

Some good closing down, such a feature of Alty's performance throughout, led to an opportunity being carved out in the eighth minute.

Humbles seized possession after a defender was forced into an error close to his own area, and when the ball was transferred to Tylor Golden, the defender's shot looked bound for the top corner until striking another Southend player and spinning away from its target.

Alty went even closer in the 13th minute when Tom Crawford's cross from the left was flicked on by Declan Howe to Lucas Weaver, whose close-range effort was tipped over by Andeng-Ndi.

Southend remained on the back foot from the ensuing corner, and when the ball broke loose no more than eight yards out, Humbles latched on to it to put his side in front with a powerful first-time drive.

Southend gradually began to work their way into the game, as might be expected of a team in the play-off positions, though, as the half-hour mark came and went, it was more a case of dominating possession rather than posing any serious threat to Alty's goal.

Even so, Hutchinson had to be his usual alert self to keep the lead intact, the keeper reacting superbly to block a shot from Joe Gubbins with an outstretched leg.

After a prolonged spell of defending their box and keeping Southend attacks at arm's length, Alty broke free and went close to a second goal in the 32nd minute.

The ever-lively Humbles found Weaver with a pinpoint pass, and when the Alty winger cleverly hooked the ball over a close marker and bore down on goal, it took a smart save by Andeng-Ndi to keep him off the scoresheet.

A second goal again narrowly eluded the Robins in the 44th minute when Kahrel Reddin teed up Isaac Marriott for a shot that was headed away from its target - the top left corner of Southend's net - by a well-placed defender.

Southend made their intentions clear from the outset in the second half.

Harry Boyes tested Hutchinson with a low drive that the Alty keeper saved well, diving to his right, in the 48th minute, while Tom Hopper was not far away from converting a left-wing cross from close range two minutes later.

As the action continued to unfold in and around the Alty area, Hutchinson denied Boyes with a fine reflex save in the 55th minute and then handled flawlessly to catch and hold on to another testing effort from Gubbins seconds later.

Alty had their moments on the counter, but the essence of a resilient display was perfectly captured in the 75th minute, when a cut-back towards Andrew Dallas looked to have presented the striker with a routine tap-in until Crawford appeared from nowhere to knock the ball away from a poised right boot.

A prime instance of a captain leading by example, if ever there was one.

Beeline VIP Travel Man Of The Match Luke Hutchinson

Altrincham Hutchinson; Cooepr, Grant (Barnes, 68'), Marriott, Howe (German, 90'+4), Weaver (Knowles, 79'), Reddin (Reed, 68'), Crawford (c), Golden, Humbles (Kirk, 79'), Jones. Subs not used: Bailey, Fallon.

Southend Andeng Ndi; Dallas, Austin, Hopper (Spasov, 61'), Gubbins (Bridge, 62'), Taylor (c), Appiah-Forson (Walker, 78'), Morton (Massey, 78'), Golding (Goodliffe, 78'), Coker, Boyes. Subs not used: Kendall, Mawene.

HT 1-0

Goals Humbles 14' | None

Yellows Howe 56', Reed 75', Hutchinson 87' | Coker 34'

Reds None | None

Referee Dean Watson

Assistants Declan O'Regan & Jamie Waters

Fourth official Bilal Moosa

Attendance 2,101 (389 away)

Next Up

The start of a mini run of three Enterprise National League away games in a week, beginning with Boston United at the Jakemans Community Stadium on Tuesday (7:45pm).

All your ticket info for the game can be found here. Alternatively we'll have full radio commentary on Radio Robins or you can watch the game live on DAZN.