NEIL Sorvel hailed the perfect response to Altrincham's shock FA Cup defeat after they demolished Farsley Celtic 6-0 at The J.Davidson Stadium on Tuesday.

On a night when sixes filled the air down the road at Emirates Old Trafford, in England's one-day cricket win against the West Indies, Alty produced one of their own with an attacking masterclass that eased the pain of a 1-0 FA Cup exit at Shildon three days earlier.

Josh Hancock scored twice and flying winger John Johnston ran Farsley's defence ragged, as Alty turned on the style in a way they hope will attract a bumper crowd for Saturday's home game with Grantham (3pm) as they bid to close in further on the promotion places.

"We asked the lads for a reaction after the disappointment of Saturday, and they were at it from the word go," said assistant-manager Sorvel.

"When the opposition set up to defend and counter-attack, it's really important the first goal goes your way, so it was ideal to score so early. We pushed on from there, and it was an outstanding performance all round.

"We moved the ball around really well and were able to break them down, so much so that we could have had double figures.

"It would not have been an injustice if we had scored 10, we were that good.

"We were having a little laugh to ourselves when one of our centre-halves (Tom Hannigan) got man of the match after we scored six goals, but really that just illustrated how everyone contributed.

"It was nice to see all the front players on the scoresheet, but there's no doubt the lads at the back played their part as well in restricting Farsley's chances to an absolute minimum and keeping a clean sheet.

"The table is looking more positive, now we are up to eighth with games in hand.

"It's about getting into the play-off places and showing the consistency to stay there, and we will need more of the same against Grantham. They will be a decent test for us."