Burscough 0

Altrincham 2

THE Robins produced one of their best performances of the season to beat Burscough in dreadful conditions - but it wasn't enough to impress manager Bernard Taylor.

They overpowered the home side with a combination of brawn and skill, and the Lancashire team ended up losing their discipline as the game slipped away from them in the second half.

Burscough pressed the self-destruct button midway through the second period when Billy Knowles handballed in the box and his fellow midfielder Ged Hennigan received his marching orders for his furious protest. He was the fifth Burscough player to be sent off this season. Rod Thornley then stepped up to calmly stroke home his sixth goal of the season and put Alty two goals ahead.

But Bernard Taylor clearly thinks the team has more to offer. He said: "I don't think we played that well. We should have had a few more, but after the second goal we sat back. Some time soon we're going to give someone a good hiding."

After an impeccably observed minute's silence for the American disaster, the match threatened to descend into total farce early on. Burscough goalkeeper Matt Taylor was barely getting the ball out of the penalty area with his kicks because of the fierce wind, and both sides struggled initially to judge the flight of the ball. Neither keeper had a save to make for virtually half an hour and it was rare for more than two passes to be strung together in some ugly opening exchanges.

The first clear chance of the game fell to Thornley in the 26th minute, but he uncharacteristically screwed his shot wide after being set up by Steve Hawes. Minutes later they almost found themselves behind when Lee McEvilly challenged Stuart Coburn and the ball fell to Lee Furlong, but the Alty keeper recovered to make an excellent, acrobatic save.

Burscough then had the ball in the back of the net, but McEvilly was judged to have been climbing on an Altrincham defender when he headed the ball in. Alty quickly recovered from this uncertain spell, and Mark Sertori and Jeremy Illingworth both came close to opening the scoring before half time.

Despite having the wind behind them, Burscough were a shambles in the second half. The Robins took the game by the scruff of the neck and never let go, Ian Craney giving a sign of things to come with a rasping drive that was well tipped over by Taylor. The inevitable first goal arrived in the 52nd minute, when Burscough's defence went to sleep and Hulme charged into the box unmarked to knock in Thornley's precise near post cross from close range.

The onslaught continued and Hulme and Illingworth both had excellent chances to extend the lead. Hulme shot weakly at Taylor after being set up again by Thornley, and Illingworth sidestepped the keeper but shot straight at the defender on the line. Luckily, Burscough made it easy for them as they gave them a penalty and a one man advantage, and the Robins never looked in danger from then on.

It was a hard fought third away win for Alty, who could easily have let the conditions defeat them. The experienced Sertori marshalled the defence expertly, and debutant Stuart Locke had a relatively simple debut at right back. It was the ideal way to bounce back after the defeat at Emley, and it keeps them right in the thick of it at the top of the table. A couple more quality players wouldn't go amiss, but, after last season's fiasco, it's hard to complain.

Altrincham: Coburn, Locke, Adams, Maddox, Sertori, Hawes, Hulme (Murphy 70), Craney (Swannick 75), Gallagher, Thornley, Illingworth (Poland 62).