Altrincham 1 Chester 0

Match report by Alty player Blyth Bywater

After a 2-1 win against Warrington Town in the previous round, the young Robins encountered a familiar opposition in Chester, a team that had a record of knocking them out of the FA Youth Cup three years running.

Alty knew they were in for a tough game and would need to battle hard to reach the first round proper.

The first 20 minutes of the match were cagey, with both sides adapting to the challenging playing conditions, with endless rain and strong winds.

The young Robins set out to play from the back, with centre-backs Oscar Cooper and Blyth Bywater often receiving the ball from keeper Louie Fallon from goal kicks and trying to progress the ball into the midfield whilst being faced by Chester’s high press.

Chester looked to be more direct, with long balls and strong set-pieces, meaning Alty's defensive shape needed to be on-point, as well as being aggressive to win first and second balls.

With Alty continuing to play out from the back, they managed to progress the ball high into the Chester half with Remi Raymond sliding in Nathan Wood, who had a cross blocked.

The ball fell back to the feet of Raymond, who looped a cross over the Chester back four, finding Harrison Howells, who kept composure at the back post to put the young Robins ahead with a low and hard header.

The Alty players rushed to the corner flag to celebrate a crucial goal, while knowing they needed to remain concentrated for the full 90 minutes.

The final 15 minutes of the first half saw Altrincham battling hard to keep Chester out, including some good saves from Louie Fallon. The Robins were standing up to Chester’s long throws and corners, which they had been preparing for in training.

This meant Alty went in at half-time 1-0 up, with a lead to hold on to. The sides reappeared for the second half, with Alty knowing Chester would come out all guns blazing to try and get a foothold back in the match.

Alty continued to deal with Chester’s direct style of play, with Henry Murphy picking up countless second balls in the middle of the park. The young Robins continued to bring an attacking threat, with Vlad Shtyhlian holding the ball up well, allowing wingers Harrison Howells and Nathan Wood to spin in behind with Max Whittle finding the pockets.

The 65th minute saw Alty's first substitution, with Charley Jarrald replacing Howells after a nasty head injury. Jarrald immediately made an impact after entering the field, with a powerful run down the left hand side, beating two Chester players in a way which encouraged the Alty fans in attendance.

Shortly after, Afernee Denise replaced winger Wood on the right-hand side with a like-for-like substitution. With Chester continuously growing into the game, the Alty back line remained solid, with outstanding full-backs Lucas Edwards and Tom White expertly dealing with one-versus-one duels against the Chester wingers and central defenders Bywater and Cooper keeping the Chester striker quiet.

An onslaught of late set-pieces from Chester combined with horrible weather conditions challenged the Alty players, but striker Shtyhlian dropping back for the repeated long throw-ins helped the young Robins to clear the danger.

Fresh substitutions Jarrald and Denise helped to run the ball down the channels to relieve pressure for the Alty defence. The final five minutes of the match came with Chester sending more players forward, but Alty remained brave by keeping a high line.

Numerous late corners were swung into the box, but the Alty defence fought back and managed to clear the ball countless times. Eventually, after a long battle, the young Robins managed to fight their way into the next round of the FA Youth Cup, where they will face Carlisle United at home after a deserved 1-0 win against Chester.

Squad on the night: Charlie Noble Louie Fallon Tom Whyte Harry St. Romaine Lucas Edwards Oscar cooper Ben Taylor Blyth Bywater Henry Murphy Remi Raymond Harry Watson Max Whittle Charley Jarrald Nathan Wood Kian Gonzalez-Moghaddam Harrison Howells Afernee Denise Vladislav Shtyhlian.