By Jay Rowland

The National League side ran out 4-0 winners over their NWCFL hosts on a chilly Tuesday evening.

Ramblers manager Declan Swan welcomed former Sandbach man Robbie Hatton back after he departed for Winsford United last season, but his defensive selection troubles continued as Lewis Barker remains weeks away from returning, whilst Liam Fitzpatrick and captain Jordan Stafford served the final game of their respective suspensions.

With Daniel Brady also still side-lined along with Will Booth, Swan moved central midfielder Niall Cope into the centre of defence whilst continuing the midfield partnership of Ollie Jones and Stan Tatters.

With five divisions and 105 league places separating the two sides, Altrincham were the heavily favoured side as kick-off approached, and they started the game strongly.

Keeping possession for long spells, they largely nullified Sandbach's attacks whilst constantly probing for a route through the defence.

After 15 minutes, the visitors took the lead through Zak Goodson. The Altrincham man shifted the ball onto his left foot 18 yards out and had just enough space to fire a powerful shot into the top left corner leaving Eric Merner with no chance.

Harry Cain and Max Buckley-Benbow worked well together down the left-hand side for Sandbach, and it was through their interplay that Sandbach carved out their first shot on target when Cain was brought down for a free kick. The resulting cross was met by a Sandbach head but lacked the power or accuracy to trouble the goalkeeper.

Sandbach had their moments in a first half largely controlled by the visitors, but suffered a nightmare start to the second half that saw them go 2-0 down less than a minute after the restart.

Some aggressive Altrincham pressure was rewarded when Aaron Bennett capitalised on a loose touch in the Sandbach defence, then he made no mistake when one on one with Merner and slotted his shot into the bottom right corner.

The Ramblers then went down to 10 men in unfortunate circumstances when Cope, who had been one of his sides standout performers on the night, raced back onto the line after Merner had been beaten, but saw the shot clip his arm and left the referee with no choice but the award the penalty and dismissal. Bennett converted the spot-kick to put Altrincham out of sight.

Altrincham made their man advantage count as they scored a fourth in the 78th minute, when a loose ball in the Sandbach box was controlled by Jordan Hulme and smartly backheeled into the net through a sea of bodies.

The National League side then comfortably saw the game out and secured their passage into the next round of the Cheshire Cup. Speaking after the game, Swan said "Their quality showed through in the end. We knew we were up against it, but I thought we worked hard and showed glimpses of our own quality at times. I was proud of the boys today against some really good opposition so I'm hoping we can take that into the next game."

Sandbach turn their attention to their third cup game in 7 days at the weekend, as they travel to Winsford United in the Macron Cup.