Altrincham FC grabbed a vital win over Boston United in a National League clash on Wednesday night at The J Davidson Stadium in the National League, writes Adhi Indra Prasetya.
Altrincham won 1-0 to get their first three points in the league in two months. Elliot Osborne emerged as a hero with his solo goal coming from the spot in the 36th minute.
The hosts looked promising from the start, with Kharel Reddin’s shot being parried by Rhys Lovett in the 9th minute to James Gale, who fired wide.
READ MORE: Sloppy first-half causes Altrincham FA Cup exit
Alty scored in the 23rd minute after Tom Crawford headed in Chris Kirk’s free kick, but it was ruled offside. Jordy Hiwula got his best chance to give the visitors a lead in the 32nd minute after being fouled by Crawford, only for his penalty shot to be denied by Luke Hutchinson.
It became a turning point for Alty as they got their penalty four minutes later following Dylan Hill’s foul on Reddin. Osborne’s shot from the spot went into the bottom left corner past Lovett, who moved in the wrong direction, giving Alty a one-goal lead at half-time.
The hosts again tried to dominate in the second-half, with Gale’s header in the 53rd minute and Kirk’s close-range shot two minutes later sailing over the bar.
READ MORE: Young Red Devils silence Rochdale AFC in a night to forget
Boston also tried to find an equalizer, but Hutchinson produced a heroic save to deny Alex Lankshear’s effort in the 64th minute. The Bolton Wanderers loanee also saved two chances from Kieren Donnelly, one of them a bicycle kick, in the next 10 minutes.
Last chance for Alty came from Olly Crankshaw in the stoppage time, but his lob was saved by Lovett. The score remained 1-0, putting the hosts in 19th place with 17 points, while Boston sits in 14th with three points more.
“It feels really good. The way that the last 10-15 minutes went, it probably got far too edgier for us than we would like it to be,” said interim manager Neil Gibson.
READ MORE: DERBY POSTPONED: Match called off due to waterlogged pitch
“But I think today was probably the real Altrincham, as in a group that sort of mirrors what I would want us to look like. It showed the two different sides of us. I thought first-half we played some okay football at times. We built up quite well. We played some nice attacking football and didn’t maybe finish off the chances we created.”
“And then second-half, we knew that Boston would be fired up and come right back at us. And we had to show the fighting qualities and the desire to win games for our club.”
“And that’s the challenge to the players that we put to them after such a disappointment of Saturday (against Slough Town), and this is just a one step now in terms of trying to change our fortunes and give us something to build on for what’s to come, and they come around quick and really fast on Saturday.”
READ MORE: Bury FC Women fall to West Didsbury in cup match
Alty then journeyed down to Cornwall to face Truro City on Saturday, November 14.
Got a story? Email us at editor@mancsport.com
For more Altrincham news, click here.
