Alty 3 FC United 0

11:30pm Tuesday 22nd July 2008

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ALTY'S second United clash in four days ended on a much happier note as they put away FC United of Manchester 3-0.

It was just the pick up the Robins needed after Saturday's friendly against Manchester United reserves had ended in acrimony - abandoned after a pitch invasion five minutes from time.

That, coupled with a 3-0 defeat, meant there seemed to be few positives to take from the game. On Tuesday there were plenty.

A healthy crowd of 831, a friendly - if slightly subdued - atmosphere at Moss Lane and a composed Robins performance to go with two more Chris Senior goals.

There was also the reassuring presence of trialist Danny Williams, recently released by Wrexham, at the heart of defence, suggesting Alty may be closing on a solution to their centre half problems.

But the most impressive aspect of the performance was the partnership of Senior and Dale Johnson up front.

The duo were Alty's yin and yang, little and large, and they combined to give FC United the runaround all night long. On this evidence Colin Little may have a fight on his hands for a place up front, something that would have been unthinkable prior to preseason.

In truth, the first half wasn't much of a spectacle.

There's two divisions between these teams and it showed - badly.

After losing prolific forward pair Rory Patterson and Stuart Rudd to the lure of mega bucks at Bradford Park Avenue earlier in the summer, FC United lacked any kind of punch up front.

They struggled to keep the ball for much more than a few passes at a time and although Alty were far from their best, they bossed the game.

It took them just seven minutes to open the scoring and it came as the result of a fluid passing move.

Alex Meechan, so disappointing against Manchester United on Saturday, found space on the right and whipped in a dangerous delivery. Warren Peyton's effort was blocked by a defender but Senior, sharp as a dart, pounced to ram the ball home.

Chances were few and far between for the remainder of the half but the ones that were created fell to Alty.

Both Meechan and Peyton were denied by keeper Sam Ashton at his near post, while Robbie Lawton blasted a 20-yard effort wide after receiving a lay-off from Johnson.

FC United's only effort of note fell to former Robin Carlos Roca but when he was handed a free kick 25 yards out he shot woefully over the bar.

The visitors improved somewhat after the break, something that can be almost directly attributed to the introduction of young striker Danny Allen.

He was a livewire presence up front and twice came close to an equaliser, firing just off target on both occasions.

New keeper Andy Ralph also did his best to replicate James Coates' error against Manchester United, making a complete mess of a backpass only for Nick Robinson's effort to be blocked by the retreating Greg Young.

But that was only a blip for the Robins and soon their own Allen, Damien that is, laid the groundwork for them to double their lead.

The former Stockport youngster chased the ball into the corner, won possession and laid off to Chris Lane. His first time cross was flicked on for Senior and he scored with an acrobatic overhead kick.

Senior hit the bar just two minutes later as Alty reasserted their dominance but the icing on the cake came 10 minutes from time when Greg Young's header from a Lawton cross slipped through Ashton's grasp and into the corner of the net.

FC United still had a chance to salvage some pride a minute from time but Robinson was once again unable to capitalise on an error from the keeper - this time Coates.

ALTY (4-4-2): Andy Ralph (James Coates 85); Chris Lane (Richard Battersby 87), Danny Williams, Greg Young, Matt Doughty; Alex Meechan, Robbie Lawton, Kevin Street (Alex Morris 73), Warren Peyton (Damien Allen 51); Chris Senior (Charlie Weir 81), Dale Johnson (Tom Bailey 80).