LEE Sinnott saluted the character of his Altrincham players as they bounced back from Saturday’s disappointment with a stunning 2-1 win at Lincoln City on Tuesday night.

There was none of the lethargy or wastefulness that cost them a 1-0 home defeat by lowly Alfreton as Simon Richman fired them in front with a brilliant goal and Damian Reeves doubled the lead with a header early in the second half.

Lincoln pulled one back in the 66th minute, and exerted late pressure, but Alty stood firm to leave Sinnott beaming:

"For 65 to 70 minutes, we were superb. We got the ball down, passed it round the park really well and caused a few problems. It is understandable, when you are away, that you are going to have to do some defending, but for the majority of the time, we stood up to the test.

"There were a couple of near-misses towards the end, but overall I couldn’t have wished for a better response to Saturday. It was a great reaction that really showed our character.

"No-one could class it as a fluky result. There was nothing fluky about it whatsoever, and I told the players that if we had passed the ball like that on Saturday and been as ruthless in and around the box, we would be looking at six points out of six.

"We are still coming to terms with the consistency needed at this level, but it was a great win secured by two great goals."

Alty switch their attention to the FA Cup on Sunday, with a second- round trip to Blyth Spartans.

Keeper Stuart Coburn is available again, after missing the Lincoln game due to his wife giving birth to their second child, but Nicky Clee is out with a broken toe. Ryan Crowther has an outside chance of being fit, as he continues his recovery from a back problem.

"If people think we are going up there believing that turning up will be enough to put us in the hat for the next round, they’ve got another think coming,’ said Sinnott. ‘That’s not how I work. We face a tough test and will prepare for it accordingly."