Roffey Robins defeated by Crawley United

Atletico used the encounter to try some players in new positions with Joshua Gibson and Lucas Byrne manning the left wing, Romario Moratalla in midfield and Josh Davidson in defence.

Atletico struggled to get out of the blocks, with United being physically stronger, more determined and winning most of the 50-50 balls. That said, the Atletico defence was strong, with Tim Clifford in particular showing a fine return to form.

Despite the United possession, their attack was largely nullified with United heading into the break with a one goal advantage.

Atletico created more chances in the second half. Moratalla was tenacious in his more familiar attacking role although Atletico’s first shot on target was a speculative long range effort from left back Will Anderson, although it failed to trouble the keeper.

Moratalla was then harshly adjudged to have committed a foul with some in a strong battle against the United defence. An Aaron Woodhams corner presented Anderson with another chance although his cheeky lob just went over the bar.

Byrne’s pace caused problems and Davidson’s move into midfield brought more steel to that area of the pitch as Atletico finished strongly, although ultimately were unable to find a break.

Atletico manager Ricardo Moratalla said: “Ultimately we weren’t strong enough today although we played some really good football at times and I was pleased to see that the recent focus on passing in training is having an impact. I was impressed with the attitude of the players we tried in new roles, particularly Josh Davidson who did very well in defence.”

Report contributed