Bradford (Park Avenue) 0 Altrincham 2

Words Chris Antoniades Picture Jonathan Moore

Altrincham travelled to Bradford for this National Youth League Cup tie, looking to end the year positively. 

The game started with Altrincham comfortably controlling possession, slowly probing away at the opposition's defence and looking to create goal-scoring opportunities.

It wasn’t long before the young Robins were on the front foot, with especially great link-up play coming down the left-hand side between Ryan Knowles and Antoniades. The pair of them got in behind Bradford's defence several times and were unlucky not to get a goal out of it.

Bradford found themselves with a rare attack, but their cross into the box turned out to be wasteful and allowed Renshaw to kick-start a counter-attack.

After driving with the ball and combining with Lavin, Renshaw was brought down on the edge of the box, giving Altrincham a free-kick in a dangerous area. 

Webster stepped up to the free-kick and expertly fired the ball under the opposition's wall, finding the far bottom corner with precision. 

The hosts looked to hit back using an extremely direct approach from the keeper, who attempted to pummel the ball over the Alty defence many times. However, Noble calmly collected these attempts, letting Altrincham keep possession of the ball. 

Noble played out from the back, finding Watts, who advanced with the ball and found Lavin's feet with a pinged pass. Lavin held the ball well and found McCormack in behind, who ran at the opposition with pace.

Although his initial shot was blocked, his persistence paid off as the rebound found his feet, enabling him to calmly slot it in the bottom corner. 

Coming to the end of the half, Altrincham dealt with Bradford's direct approach, with St Romaine and Watts winning a lot of the first balls. Altrincham also continued to dominate possession with Taylor and Webster showing great composure in the midfield, helping the young Robins go into half-time with a two-goal lead.

Altrincham came back out after the break looking to keep their comfortable lead; one change was made as Chandler replaced McCormack on the wing. 

The hosts changed their playing style, looking to play out from the back instead of forcing longer balls. However, Altrincham's press was effective, preventing Bradford from getting out easily and making them resort to playing longer balls again.

As the tie progressed, Altrincham made all their substitutions, with Will Knowles, Hill, Gonzalez, and Taafe entering the pitch. The subs helped to give the young Robins fresh legs in the defence and midfield. 

Bradford enjoyed more possession than in the first half; however, Alty still had the majority of the ball, creating many opportunities.

Chandler was constantly running at Bradford’s full-back, getting crosses into the box, and one of them found Taylor at the front post, who was unlucky not to score, striking the woodwork.

Gonzalez also struck the woodwork, as, after cutting in from the left-hand side, his clever near-post shot was agonisingly close to finding the bottom corner. 

A couple of great saves from Bradford's keeper prevented Chandler and Lavin from getting on the scoresheet. Alty were unlucky not to increase their lead. 

Coming towards the end of the game, Alty's defence stayed solid, staving off any threat. Their game management also ensured they kept control of the match.

As a result, Alty secured themselves a place in the next round of the National Youth League Cup after a comfortable, composed win in Bradford.

Squad on the day:

Charlie Noble 
Harry St Romaine
Charlie Hough 
Jacob Hill
Kyran Webster 
Nathan Taylor 
Jack Chandler
Harley Renshaw 
Kian Gonzalez 
Jimmy Taafe 
Noah Lavin 
Ryan Knowles
Will Knowles 
Chris Antoniades
Callum McCormack
Henry Watts