Altrincham 1 Warrington Town 1 (Alty win 3-2 on penalties)

Alty qualified for the second round of the Cheshire Senior Cup with a hard-fought penalty shootout victory over Warrington Town at The J.Davidson Stadium.

Alty dominated possession in the first half and were unlucky to not be ahead well before Pharrell Brown's debut goal on the stroke of half-time.

Kahrel Reddin saw two efforts blocked inside the area, as he combined well with Remi Raymond down the right flank, causing Paul Carden's Northern Premier League outfit a host of problems.

Eddy Jones, captain for the evening, also saw a shot blocked by the busy visiting defence after turning well off a loose ball following a corner.

It looked like the contest would enter the second 45 minutes goalless, until Brown took control of a ball on the left, cut inside and hit a shot that caught Harry Roper in the Warrington goal off guard, giving Alty a deserved lead at the break.

The second half saw the 65th minute introduction of five more of Paul Fay's academy squad - Sammy Neville, Ben Mensah, Josh Obamwonyi, Ben McNamara and Josh Herreaman - joining Kian Mattison and Josh Dempsey in making their first team debuts.

This was after an outrageous equaliser from Harry McHugh, who took aim right from kick-off and scored from halfway.

The goal shocked the Robins, who took a little time to rediscover their composure. Raymond almost found the net on 54 minutes, only for Roper to just about hold his close range effort.

At the other end Michael Acquah made two excellent stops to deny Callum Edwards, as Warrington tried to make their added experience tell in the final 20 minutes.

Ultimately, though, it would be penalties that decided who would go forward to face Runcorn Town in the next round, and after Michael Acquah made three saves, it was left to Dempsey to find the top corner to send Alty through.

Altrincham Acquah; Jones (c) (Neville, 65'), Hinchy (Herreaman, 65'), Mattison, Dempsey, Dennis (Mensah, 65'), Breckin (McNamara, 65'), Raymond, Brown, Reddin (Obamwonyi, 65'), Bailey.

Warrington Roper; Irabor, Doherty, Morgan (Rodwell-Grant, 46' (Carden, 68')), Gumbs (c) (Butler, 46'), Sellers, Hawkins (Bjork, 29'), Edwards, Elliott (Williamson, 68'), McHugh, Denton. 

HT 1-0

Goals Brown 45'+1 | McHugh 46'

Yellows Hinchy 8' | None

Reds None | None

Referee Matthew O'Shea

Attendance 329

Next Up

It's a return to Enterprise National League action on Saturday and another top seven clash - this time at Harrogate Town.

Tickets are available here and Union Golf Road travel is on sale here.

(With thanks to Manon Benevise for the photos)