Words John Edwards | Pictures Jonathan Moore

Altrincham 1 Solihull 1

Regan Linney added another entry to his growing collection of wonder goals, but Altrincham's advance towards the play-off places was stalled, in part at least, by a controversial red card for Justin Amaluzor at The J.Davidson Stadium.

The dominant Robins looked to be on course for a return to seventh position in the Vanarama National League after Linney once more made curling the ball into the top corner from distance look simplicity itself in the 17th minute.

Solihull levelled from the penalty spot after 51 minutes and were given a further boost in the 59th minute when an attempt by Amaluzor to win a tussle for possession with James Clarke was interpreted as violent conduct by referee James Westgate, whose red card was greeted with disbelief by the Alty winger and his team-mates.

To the Robins' great credit, the 10 men kept pushing for a winner, only for one chance after another to go unconverted.

Alty were superior with 10 as they had been with 11, but you couldn't help feeling a full complement for the duration might have made all the difference and a way through would have been found, so second-best were Solihull throughout

There was one of precious few scares for Alty in only the sixth minute after Matty Kosylo was harshly adjudged to have committed a foul 25 yards from his own goal.

Joe Dodoo stepped up to try his luck with a low raking drive, and, for a disconcerting moment or two, it looked to have sneaked past Rob Lainton's dive and just inside the left post.

To the relief of everyone of an Alty persuasion, it soon became clear the ball had actually passed fractionally the wrong side of the upright, from a Solihull perspective.

Alty responded with a lightning break down the right in the 13th minute that ended with Amaluzor reaching the bye-line and crossing low towards Alex Newby a couple of yards out at the far post.

A routine close-range tap-in appeared a formality for Newby, but Reece Hall-Johnson had other ideas, as he lunged in front of the Alty attacker to divert the ball behind for a corner.

The Robins were warming to their task and went close again in the 15th minute when a wonderful crossfield pass by Tom Crawford sent Lewis Banks scampering down the right flank.

Linney read what was coming, nipping in front of his marker to meet the full-back's cutback with a smart first-time shot that was superbly pushed round the post by Ollie Wright.

It was a shortlived reprieve for the Moors keeper as Linney beat him all ends up in the 17th minute.

Alty's top scorer just managed to keep the ball in play as it was about to cross the touchline on the left, and, in almost the same motion, he then changed direction and set off towards the edge of the area before curling a typically precise shot that flew into the top far corner of the Solihull net.

There may well have been a sense in the Solihull camp of what was about to unfold as Linney made his way from left to right, but doing something about it was always going to be an entirely different matter, as many an opposing defence can readily testify after facing exactly the same peril during the course of this season.

Linney can also act as provider, as he demonstrated in the 27th minute with a clever lay-off that was ballooned over the bar by Tylor Golden, who looked down accusingly at the pitch to suggest a bobble may have been responsible for the unwanted trajectory.

When the ball broke to Newby 20 yards out, he curled a first-time effort a couple of feet over as Alty continued to press for a second goal with the half-hour mark approaching.

At the other end, Lainton was flattened by what looked a poor challenge by Manny Duku in the 35th minute.

The Alty keeper was always a clear favourite to reach a bouncing ball in the area first, but that didn't stop Duku ploughing into him, as he duly made the catch, and leaving him in need of treatment for a shoulder injury.

It came across as an unnecessary foul by the Solihull player, who was always going to be second to the ball, and he was rightly booked for it.

Lainton was unable to continue and had to be replaced by substitute keeper Caleb Ansen.

It did little to disrupt the flow of Alty attacks, and they were so near to a second goal again in the 38th minute when Jake Cooper met a Newby corner from the right with a thumping header against the post.

It had been all Alty, but, out of nothing, Solihull hauled themselves level after 51 minutes.

When an overhead kick sent the ball bouncing into the Alty area, the referee deemed contact by Kosylo on Robbie Cundy to be a push in the back, and new signing Dodoo stepped forward to send Ansen the wrong way from the spot.

Worse followed for the Robins in the 59th minute when Amaluzor tangled with Clarke and was sent off.

The two players were tussling for possession near the right corner flag, and when Amaluzor stuck out a leg in the direction of Clarke, the referee reached for his pocket and produced a red card.

Suddenly, after being in complete control, Alty found the game was in the balance, with the odds beginning to stack in Solihull's favour, given their numerical advantage.

So it would have seemed, anyway, but Alty were having none of it as they rolled up their sleeves and kept pummelling the Solihull back line.

Linney, of all people, squandered a great chance in the 70th minute after a wayward pass from Clarke gifted Alty possession 25 yards out. The ball was swiftly transferred to Linney near the edge of the area, but, possibly hampered by a divot, the Alty marksman skied his effort over the bar.

A run by the ever-lively Kosylo that started on the halfway line almost yielded a spectacular second Alty goal in the 79th minute.

Kossy ran and ran until finally reaching shooting range and the shot that followed needed a flying full-length save from Wright to deny him a goal worthy of winning any game.

The Solihull keeper then blocked efforts from Kosylo and Linney in quick succession as Alty turned up the heat, with time running out.

When a chance fell Lewis Baines' way after 80 minutes, the Alty centre-back couldn't quite direct his volley on target as Alty continued to crank up the pressure.

Even with 10 men, the Robins had been by far the better team, more energetic and more threatening, but they couldn't quite conjure up that all-important second goal, much to their frustration, given that victory would have lifted them back into the play-off places.

Harvey Nichols MOTM Regan Linney

Altrincham Lainton (Ansen, 37'); Banks, Baines (c), Cooper, Marriott, Linney (Weaver, 81'), Newby, Amlauzor, Kosylo, Crawford, Golden. Subs not used: Osborne, Wilson, Reddin, Olson, Pasiek.

Solihull Wright; Clarke, Osborne (c) (Bostock, 82'), Whitmore, Cundy, Duku, Oakley (Whyte-Hall, 84'), Labadie (Tipton, 58'), Wells-Morrison, Dodoo, Hall-Johnson (Stevenson, 72'). Subs not used: Flahavan, Tunnicliffe, Holmes.

HT 1-0

Goals Linney 17' | Dodoo 52'

Yellows Marriott 90', Kosylo 90'+4, Cooper 90'+5 | Osborne 19', Duku 35, Clarke 50', Cundy 65'

Reds Amaluzor 60' | None

Referee James Westgate

Assistant Scott Chalkley & Tim Walker

Fourth official Jonathan Chadwick

Attendance 1,336 (49 away)

Next Up

We're off to Kent to round off our March schedule against Ebbsfleet United in the Vanarama National League. Tickets for the game can be bought online via our hosts here.

If you're looking for away travel, our friends from Union Golf Road are running a coach which can be booked here.