Words John Edwards Picture Jonathan Moore

Altrincham 1 AFC Fylde 2

Altrincham's long unbeaten run came to a frustrating end as AFC Fylde twice took the lead in the first half and held on in the second to record an unlikely win that eased their relegation fears at The J.Davidson Stadium.

A speculative shot from distance by Charlie Jolley put the visitors in front in only the seventh minute, but Alty seemed to have absorbed the shock of going behind so early when Lewis Banks drilled an equaliser in off the post in the 16th minute.

That should have set in-form Alty up for another three points, but Fylde struck again when Caleb Ansen was beaten by an angled effort from Nick Haughton in the 26th minute for a 2-1 lead they flatly refused to relinquish, despite mounting Alty pressure in the second half.

An undefeated sequence stretching back to the end of last year had to end sometime, but it was particularly frustrating to see it halted at home against lowly opposition so soon after the Robins had taken seven points out of nine away to Oldham Athletic, Gateshead and Hartlepool United.

There can be few players as full of confidence as Regan Linney right now, and he demonstrated as much after exactly 50 seconds.

Jake Bickerstaff chested a ball down near the centre circle, and Linney had not the slightest hesitation in stepping in and connecting first time with an audacious shot from over 40 yards that had startled keeper Ben Winterbottom moving hurriedly to his right to keep it out.

Against the run of play, Fylde stunned the Robins by going ahead in the seventh minute.

There seemed to be nothing on for Jolley when the ball broke to him at least 25 yards out to the left of the area, but he unleashed a fierce drive that Ansen appeared to get both hands to but couldn't prevent nestling in the right corner of the net.

Linney was again to the fore as Alty tried to hit back in the 12th minute.

A move on the right involving James Jones and Elliot Osborne was switched to the left by Tylor Golden, who found Linney in a familiar position near the corner of the penalty area.

Moving forward menacingly, Alty's leading scorer went past his man on the outside before firing a left-foot shot that Winterbottom did well to tip over.

From the resulting corner, the ball was knocked back to Jones, who turned and hit a low shot that was bundled round the post for another flag-kick.

The pressure was building, and it led to an equaliser in the 16th minute when Justin Amaluzor slipped a pass through to Banks, whose well-directed shot struck the inside of the left post and rolled just inside the opposite one to deservedly put the Robins back on level terms.

Fylde's defence were becoming the latest in a long line to discover what a handful Linney can be, and when he cut inside and let fly in the 18th minute, it would surely have been a second Alty goal but for a defender inadvertently getting in the way, at the expense of a corner.

Alty went close again in the 23rd minute when, following a corner that led to an almighty scramble, Tom Crawford hammered a rising drive that appeared to clip the bar on its way over.

There was another difficult moment for Ansen as Fylde restored their lead in the 26th minute.

Danger man Haughton advanced towards the bye-line on the left before drilling a shot from a tight angle that went through Alty's young on-loan keeper and into the far corner of the net.

To their credit, Alty kept playing in their usual bright, positive manner, and it almost brought an equaliser in the 36th minute when Bickerstaff latched on to an Osborne pass and brought the best out of Winterbottom from outside the area.

Wonderful skill from both Osborne and Linney in the 49th minute served notice of Alty's determination to achieve parity as quickly as possible and remain unbeaten in 2025.

Osborne's sweeping crossfield ball was measured to perfection, and the way Linney brought it down with an immaculate first touch was an object lesson in watching the ball all the way on to your boot.

Linney's sublime control was followed by an electrifying burst of pace that took him past two defenders before his angled drive was charged down by a third.

When Winterbottom went full length to get both hands to a fine effort from Crawford in the 66th minute, manager Phil Parkinson decided it was time for a change to break the Fylde resistance, Lucas Weaver and Kahrel Reddin replacing Amaluzor and Kian Taylor.

But it was Fylde who produced the next goal threat three minutes later when Haughton followed a brilliant slalom run in the tightest of spots in the area with a low shot that Ansen smothered well.

A Crawford flick landed on the roof of the net in the 74th minute, and Alty had one corner after another as the game headed into added time, but Winterbottom's safe handling proved decisive as Fylde held out to take the points.

Altrincham - Ansen, Banks, Baines, Osborne, Linney, Amaluzor (Weaver 66), Taylor (Reddin 66), J.Jones, Crawford, Golden (Pasiek 76), Bickerstaff (Nuttall 76). Subs not used - Randle, Cooper, Griffiths.

Goal - Banks 16.

Yellow card - Golden 70.

AFC Fylde - Winterbottom, Davis, Jolley, Mitchell, Haughton, Bardell, Whelan (Roberts 52), McFayden, Boatswain (Adom 52), Massey (Hugill 77), Riley. Subs not used - Clark, Obi, Long, Da Silva.

Goals - Jolley 7, Haughton 26.

Yellow card - Riley 23.

Referee - James Bancroft.

Attendance - 2,034 (140 away).

Harvey Nichols man of the match - Lewis Banks.