Photo special - relive all the drama from a result and performance to remember!

It was an afternoon that started with raw emotion, as we remembered Mark Maddox, but ended with joyous celebrations as Altrincham did the great man proud with a pulsating second-half performance that was too good for Vanarama National League title favourites and previously unbeaten Chesterfield.

How our redoubtable former central defender would have approved as the Robins roared back from 1-0 half-time arrears to run the Spireites ragged and climb into fifth place in the table with a famous 2-1 victory before a bumper crowd of 2,714.

Paul Cook's side were left wondering what had hit them when Dior Angus combined brilliantly with Justin Amaluzor to fire Alty level in the 83rd minute and were well and truly out for the count when second-half substitute Dior volleyed a sensational winner into the roof of the net in the fourth minute of added time.

What a day of drama and excitement! Well worth revisiting, in fact, which is what we are doing here with the aid of pictures by Jonathan Moore and words by John Edwards.

A poignant moment before kick-off, as the teams come out to strains of You'll Never Walk Alone in memory of Liverpool fan and former Alty great Mark Maddox, club President and former Chairman Grahame Rowley delivers a personal eulogy to one of the most courageous individuals any of us will ever have known and the Golf Road End unfurls a flag bearing his nickname Mad Dog.

Alty's players ring the centre circle and lead the minute's applause for a giant of a man who adopted the same ferocious approach to battling Motor Neurone Disease as he did to marshalling the Robins defence in his playing days.

Not exactly the ideal start as Chesterfield take control in the first half and go in front with this far-post header by skipper Jamie Grimes from a deep left-wing corner.

Jeff King's attacking forays down the right flank were one of the main features of the first-half threat posed by Chesterfield, but he is out of line here with a rash lunge at Matty Kosylo that rightly earns him a yellow card.

Signs at last that Alty might finally be coming to terms with the task in hand as James Jones wins the aerial duel for Eddy Jones' right-wing corner late in the first half and sends a header goalwards. It's a routine save for Harry Tyrer, but Alty are starting to get on the front foot - which is where they stayed virtually throughout the second half!

The momentum has been building, and no-one from Chesterfield can say they didn't see this coming - a brilliantly engineered and executed equaliser from substitute Dior Angus, perfectly placed just inside the left upright from the edge of the area.

Justin Amaluzor joins in the goal celebrations, and quite right, too, after the livewire winger linked up superbly with Dior to carve the Chesterfield defence wide open and create the chance that was put away with aplomb by Alty's match-winning substitute.

No stopping Alty now as they go flat out for a winner. All eyes are on Harry Tyrer (out of picture) as the Spireites keeper reacts brilliantly to get in the way of this low drive by Alty danger man Regan Linney.

No denying Alty this time, though it's anything but simple for Dior. The net is to his right but the ball is bouncing towards him to his left. In an instant, a solution flashes into his mind and is put into practice in quite stunning fashion as he swivels 180 degrees and smashes a volley into the roof of the net. An exceptional finish worthy of winning any match.

It all happens in a blur, certainly too fast for experienced centre-back Ash Palmer to do anything about it, as he falls in a heap beneath the tumbling Dior, with substitute George Wilson already hailing his team-mate's breathtaking opportunism.

Hands up if you've been beaten by the better team! With just seconds remaining, a frustrated Palmer appears to have accepted the inevitable as Dior gives a nod of approval to ecstatic Alty fans on the Golf Road terraces.

Cue pandemonium as keeper Ethan Ross races the length of the pitch to join every other Alty player in celebrating Dior's winner. Not to mention the Alty fan jumping the highest - just look at his face!

Job done, and here's a player who did as much as anyone, if not more, to orchestrate one of THE performances and results of the Phil Parkinson/Neil Sorvel era. It's Elliot Osborne, a revelation again at the heart of Alty's midfield.

AFC Fleece Scarf

Altrincham FC

AFC Fleece Scarf

$25.67 USD