ALTRINCHAM made it Ukraine night at The J.Davidson Stadium on Tuesday evening, with their national colours of yellow and blue to the fore, and Matty Kosylo applied the most fitting of finishing touches with a second-half winning goal against Chesterfield.

In a pre-planned show of support for war-torn Ukraine, the Robins switched to their away kit of yellow shirts and blue shorts and Ukrainian flags were flown as the teams emerged, while a collection for the Red Cross relief effort was held in the community sports hall.

How appropriate, then, that a player of Ukrainian descent should be the one to settle the outcome, as Kosylo struck the only goal in the 48th minute to secure Alty’s fourth straight home win.

“My grandad was from a small town quite near Kyiv,” said the Alty midfielder.

“He’s no longer with us, unfortunately, but he came over here in the last war, and we recently found a box in the garage full of relics from back then, like id passes and US army stuff.

“It’s terrible, what is happening in Ukraine at the moment, but that just shows what he had to go through as well.

‘It was extra special for me, scoring the winner in a setting like that.

“My dad was here, and it meant a lot to him, seeing the club show their support for Ukraine.”

This Saturday’s home game with Aldershot promises to be one of the most eventful of the season, with a packed programme lined up to mark both Non-League Day and the National Lottery’s Football Weekends initiative.

A free kids’ party in the community sports hall and a football freestyler going through his repertoire of tricks on the pitch are among the attractions, while England v Switzerland will be shown live in the CSH after the game, with Swiss burgers featuring on the bar menu.

There are free tickets on offer from the Lottery scheme, and full details can be found on the club’s website at www.altrinchamfc.com.

“We’re hoping for a great response from the local community and a bumper crowd for what should be a fantastic day,” said Kosylo.

“The players are all really looking forward to it.”