Words John Edwards | Pictures Jonathan Moore

Altrincham 4 Maidenhead 0

Alex Newby hit a first-half hat-trick as Altrincham turned on the style for Footy for a Fiver night at a mist-shrouded J.Davidson Stadium.

It was goal poaching at its finest from Alty's attacking midfielder, so often the provider but the predator on this occasion, as he stunned Maidenhead with three of the cleanest and most firmly struck finishes you are likely to see all season.

With Regan Linney chipping in with his 16th goal of the season from the penalty spot, the Robins made further ground on the play-off places and are now just one point away from seventh position.

In truth, over the 90 minutes, it wasn't quite Alty at their free-flowing best, but there was a clinical edge to their first-half work in and around the penalty area that bodes well for what lies ahead.

Just eight minutes in, Alty pierced the gathering gloom with a goal to savour.

It was difficult to see from one side of the pitch to the other for most people, such was the mist hanging in the air, but not for Elliot Osborne.

The Alty midfielder looked up from the left flank and pinged a pinpoint ball across the width of the pitch to Tylor Golden, who controlled it with one touch and transferred it deep into the area with another.

Steaming in to meet it beyond the far post was Newby with a first-time contact that sent the ball hurtling past keeper Craig Ross and into the far corner of the Golf Road End net.

The lead came under threat four minutes later when Reece Smith set up Tyrese Dyce for an angled drive that whistled narrowly wide of the right-hand post.

Smith went close with a similar effort in the 24th minute, but Alty soon soothed any anxiety with a second goal in the 26th minute.

Tom Crawford pulled the ball back from near the bye-line on the right, and Newby again showed his penchant for the perfectly-executed first-time finish with a swing of the right boot that propelled the ball past Ross almost before the keeper could move.

In the 33rd minute, the Robins were surely home and dry after making it 3-0.

Kacper Pasiek launched the move by impressively regaining possession after briefly losing it and clipping a pass to Newby, who swiftly sent Linney surging clear down the left.

After cutting inside a defender and nudging the ball past the lunging Ross, Linney was felled as the keeper's hands succeeded only in wrapping themselves round the Alty striker's ankles.

Referee Andrew Miller had no hesitation awarding a penalty, and Linney clambered to his feet to power the spot-kick beyond the diving keeper's reach.

A flick by Shaun McCoulsky that shaved the outside of an upright in the 38th minute served as a reminder that, while Alty's lead was commanding, there could be no resting on laurels.

It was duly heeded as, in the 45th minute, Linney latched on to a pass down the left touchline and cut in with his customary pace and purpose before rolling the ball into the path of Newby, who completed a notable first-half hat-trick with another assured finish.

It was nearly 5-0 at the break after Crawford sent a raking shot a fraction wide of the right post in first-half added time.

What an opening 45 minutes for the Robins, and it looked like being more of the same at the start of the second half when a fifth goal almost materialised in the 51st minute.

Osborne swung over a corner from the left, and half-time substitute Joe Nuttall met it with a header that beat the keeper but was nodded off the line by a covering defender.

Even then, the danger wasn't over for Maidenhead, as Linney pounced on the rebound, only to fire wide.

To their credit, the visitors kept plugging away, rather than meekly accept their fate, but found that Ethan Ross was in no mood to surrender his clean sheet, as the Alty keeper reacted smartly to deny Smith in a one-on-one with the Maidenhead forward.

With the swirling mist continuing to make conditions difficult, there was little more by way of clear-cut chances, but it was very much a case of job done and value provided on Footy for as Fiver night, a convincing win that stands the Robins in good stead for the busy schedule ahead.

Harvey Nichols Man Of The Match Alex Newby

Altrincham Ross; Baines (c), Osborne, Crankshaw (Nuttall, 46'), Marriott (Bickerstaff, 79'), Linney (Reddin, 76'), Newby (Weaver, 66'), Crawford, Golden, Olson, Pasiek. Subs not used: Cooper, Randle.

Maidenhead Ross; Dyce, De Havilland, Lokko, Ferguson, McCoulsky (Keetch, 69'), Pettit, Smith (Latty-Fairweather, 88'), Clerima, Abrahams (Stewart, 82'), Korboa (Barratt, 66'). Subs not used: Collins, Cochrane, Onariase.

HT 4-0

Goals Newby 8', 26', 45', Linney 33' | None

Yellows Crawford 71' | None

Reds None | None

Referee Andrew Miller

Assistant Will Cavanagh & Wayne Gray

Fourth official Luis Griffiths

Attendance 1,608 (41 away)

Next Up

We travel to Eastleigh on Saturday afternoon (kick-off at 3pm) in the Vanarama National League. Full ticket and travel details available here.