4 min read
28th Jan 2025
Altrincham 2 (Piasek 66, Weaver 73) Wolves 1 (Sutherland 31)
Wolves under-21s fell to a narrow defeat away at Altrincham in the National League Cup on Monday evening.
Despite Wolves taking a first-half lead through Ethan Sutherland, Altrincham completed a second-half comeback to overcome James Collins’ side.
The first started slowly, with just one shot on target, courtesy of Nathan Fraser. Justin Hubner gained a yard on his marker before delivering an inviting cross, Fraser connected with the cross but could only divert his effort into Harvey Randle’s gloves.
The match eventually ignited in the 20th minute, Wolves started to dominate play and found themselves in advanced areas. First, Mackenzie Bradbury collected a loose ball following a corner, but his shot was blocked, before Leo Lopes had his turn to test Randle from distance but the ‘keeper saved.
Wolves continued to play on the front foot, this time Wes Okoduwa found himself inside the Altrincham penalty area with teammates to find, however his cross failed to find a gold shirt.
Lucas Weaver was Altrincham’s key threat, driving his team forward as they gained momentum. Weaver was twice denied by Alfie Pond and Fil Mabete inside the box with excellent defensive work.
Moments later, a defence-splitting pass from Kacper Pasiek put Weaver through on goal, faced with Wolves ‘keeper Josh Gracey, who did enough to force the forward to steer his effort wide of the post.
The away side found the opening goal just minutes later through Ethan Sutherland. Altrincham failed to deal with a ball inside their area as Fraser showed unmatched desire to win the loose ball, before laying it off to Sutherland to fire into the far corner.
Despite taking the lead, Wolves’ fortunes shifted just before half-time. Jake Bickerstaff attempted to chase down a loose ball heading towards Wolves’ penalty area, however after challenging to win possession back, Pond received a straight red card for a foul on Bickerstaff.
Half-time | Altrincham 0-1 Wolves
Altrincham started the second half the better side with Weaver central to everything dangerous from the home side once again. This time his shot-cross from a tight angle after driving into the Wolves box failed to connect with anyone and trickled out for a goal-kick.
Pressure started to mount on Wolves as the home side were patiently probing to find the equaliser and chances were accumulating. A loose ball inside the Wolves penalty box provided a scare as the ball never seemed to be cleared, however Gracey was able to jump on the ball and finally put the defence at ease.
Despite Wolves’ strong defensive display with 10-men, Altrincham found their leveller on the 66th minute. Gracey connected with a corner with his punch falling kindly to Pasiek on the edge of the box, he gained a yard on a defender closing him down, before firing home with a long-range effort.
Wolves had limited chances to get forward throughout the second half, however substitute Dani Angel went close after he tried an ambitious effort to catch Randle off his line from distance, but his effort was too low.
Altrincham’s pressure paid off when Weaver struck their second. Regan Griffiths stung the palms of Gracey who did well to keep the long-range effort out, however Weaver was there to finish off the rebound inside the six-yard box.
Gracey was to thank for his team not falling two goals behind after he was faced one-on-one with Weaver for the second time during the 90 minutes, and this time he excellently kept out the forward’s effort with an outstretched leg.
Despite the young Wolves side’s best defensive efforts, it ultimately was not enough to keep Altrincham at bay as they completed the comeback. Wolves will be looking to win their final group game against Rochdale on February 11 to avoid group stage exit in the National League Cup.
Full-time | Altrincham 2-1 Wolves
LINE UPS
Altrincham | Randle, Banks (Golden 45), Cooper, Newby (Weaver 18), Amaluzor (Reddin 45), Kosylo, Jones, German, Crawford (Griffiths 18), Nuttall (Bickerstaff 18), Pasiek.
Subs not used | Baines, Fallon.
Wolves | Gracey, Okoduwa (Edozie 83), Hubner, Mabete, Pond, Voice, Lopes (Reynolds 83), Ashworth (Whittingham 74), Fraser (Angel 69), Bradbury (Rawlings 74), Sutherland.
Subs not used | Amos, Olagunji.
NEXT FIVE
03/02/2025 | Sunderland (H) PLC
07/02/2025 | Sunderland (A) PL2
11/02/2025 | Rochdale (A) NLC
17/02/2025 | West Bromwich Albion (H) PL2
21/02/2025 | Tottenham Hotspur (A) PL2
Report by Callum Greybanks
