Alton manager Kevin Adair praised his side for progressing in two cup competitions.

The Brewers won 3-1 at Ringwood Town in the Hampshire Senior Cup last Tuesday night (August 22) before thrashing Newport (IoW) 5-0 at Anstey Park in the FA Vase on Saturday afternoon.

Oli Page broke the deadlock against Newport from the penalty spot in the 28th minute, before scoring his second on 65 minutes. Mohammed Regragui added two goals before Archie Larkham made it 5-0.

“We had six players 18 and under on the pitch on Saturday, won 5-0 and at times I was a little bit disappointed,” said Adair. “I went home on Saturday night and I felt I was a little bit harsh on them because I didn’t look back at the bigger picture in terms of a group of young lads beating a side 5-0 in a tough competition.

“I was disappointed with the decisions we made in the first half because I thought we could have been a little bit closer to home and dry by half-time, by at the end of the game we’ve won it 5-0 and won it convincingly.

“I felt we could have been better in areas, but having evaluated it and looked at the bigger picture to beat a team 5-0 with six under-18s is credit to the lads.”

Next up for the Brewers is a trip to Tooting & Mitcham United in the league on Saturday, and Adair is expecting a tough test for his side.

“They came down last season and will probably be in the mix for the top five places,” said Adair.

“You don’t necessarily get success from just having good backing – it’s about what you build at this level.

“People come and want to play for clubs where the environment is good – and we’ve got a good environment. We can’t attract people with certain things but we can attract them with other things.

“The group behind me is brilliant, and the group above me in terms of the people that run the club give me the freedom to do what I feel I need to do to make it better – I couldn’t ask for more.”