Chester 1 Altrincham 0

Match report by Alty player Kian Gonzalez

Pictures by Luke Reynolds Photography

A late goal condemned Alty's Academy side to a narrow defeat and left them empty-handed after they had done more than enough to come away from the King George Sports Hub in Chester with a point in this closely-fought National League clash.

Keen to win individual duels to set a positive tone for the game, Alty's youngsters played a full part in a fast and intense start as they set out to stop dangerous long balls from the home side to their pacey striker.

The first real chance for Alty stemmed from a well-worked move that started at the back and advanced steadily through the midfield, helped by some great unselfish movement in that area, enabling Shtyhlian to receive the ball and play a well-placed pass to Gonzalez, who had his first chance to run at the defence.

A well-timed cross from Gonzalez was met by the determined Howells, whose flick looked like giving a sweeping move the perfect finish, only for the home keeper to make an unbelievable save, tipping it on to the post.

This gave Alty confidence, but there was a warning for them when the Chester striker began to threaten, despite the best efforts of Cooper and Powell to keep him quiet, and finally managed to get a shot on target which forced Fallon to make a difficult save.

Chester’s full-backs continued to cause problems by getting forward and adding numbers to their attacks. An evenly-matched half ended with shots from the edge of the box by Shtyhlian and Howells that underlined Alty's attacking intent but failed to break the deadlock.

An interesting second half was brewing as both teams looked to pounce on a chance to take their lead in this hard-fought game. Both teams showed a fiery approach and plenty of desire, with Chester starting the quicker and going close when they hit the post.

Alty hit back and went close themselves when Whittle played a creative pass to break the line, but Gonzalez took one touch too many, and the chance was lost. Alty made changes and introduced substitutes to energise the team in the hope of finding the elusive breakthrough.

The last chance of the game, however, fell directly to the feet of the Chester striker after confusion in the box, and he made no mistake to claim what proved the winning goal. It was tough to take for the young Robins, who felt their strong defensive display merited some reward.

Squad on the day:

Louie Fallon

Kaiden Powell

Ajani Oshidin

Harry Douglas

Max Whittle

Kian Gonzalez

Afernee Denise

Jack Chandler

Harrison Howells

Vladislav Shtyhlian

Sekouba Camara

Lucas Edwards

William Knowles

Oscar Cooper

Remi Raymond