Words John Edwards | Pictures Jonathan Moore

Oldham 2 Altrincham 2

Two goals up a minute into the second half, Altrincham had to settle for a point in a bruising, fiercely-contested derby encounter with Vanarama National League promotion rivals Oldham at Boundary Park.

It was all going according to plan for the Robins as Alex Newby fired them into a 41st-minute lead with a smart piece of skill inside the area and Regan Linney doubled it with a typically-accomplished finish with less than a minute gone in the second half.

But Oldham hit back with a well-taken goal in the 57th minute and were on level terms when a mistake by on-loan keeper Caleb Ansen cost the Robins a second goal nine minutes from time.

To cap Alty's frustration at seeing a winning position torn from their grasp, Elliot Osborne curled a 20-yard free-kick against the post with literally the last kick of the game.

So close to what would have been a notable scalp, but, to add context, the Robins haven't lost any ground on one of their main rivals for a play-off place and can consider a point a decent return from one of the toughest away trips they will face this season.

Norwich City under-21 loanee Ansen might have welcomed an early touch of the ball, but it was fully five minutes before Tom Crawford obliged with a back pass that the giant keeper cleared first time towards the halfway line.

It was a measure of how efficiently Alty's defence were coping with a positive start by the home side, who were dominating possession in the early stages.

When a dangerous cross came in from the right in the 10th minute, Crawford saved the day with a timely block that deflected it for a corner, with an Oldham player lurking behind him near the edge of the six-yard area.

Oldham continued to see more of the ball than Alty as the quarter-hour-mark came and went, but Ansen remained largely untroubled on his Alty debut.

Indeed, as far as chances go, the first one of any note went the way of the Robins in the 17th minute.

Crawford looked up deep inside his own half and picked out Linney in space on the left with a pass that sent Alty's leading scorer scampering towards the Oldham area.

As he cut inside and took careful aim, it looked to have all the makings of a trademark Linney goal, only for his accuracy to desert him for once as his shot sailed wide of the far post.

Ansen was called into meaningful action for the first time in the 20th minute, and he was equal to the challenge, reacting well to block a shot from Billy Waters when the Oldham forward was clean through.

Alty were beginning to assert themselves in an attacking sense after spending much of the first 15 minutes or so on the back foot, and they threatened a breakthrough again in the 26th minute.

Jake Bickerstaff was the instigator with an excellent piece of close control and pass that enabled Linney to fire a shot that was blocked by a defender.

As the game started to open up, Linney was again to the fore in the 31st minute., as he used his pace to cut in from the left, only for a defender's outstretched leg to once more get in the way of his shot.

The way the Robins had grown into the game, it came as no great surprise when they were the ones to take the lead in the 41st minute.

Linney again set alarm bells ringing in the Oldham defence, as he shaped to again cut in from the left, only to play a clever reverse pass to the overlapping Tylor Golden, whose cross was only half-cleared to Newby.

The rest was a masterclass in the art of cool-as-you-like finishing, as Newby feinted to hit a shot first time but, instead, transferred the ball on to his left foot and drilled a low drive into the bottom corner of the net, to the delight of travelling Robins fans at the other end of the ground.

Exactly 35 seconds into the second half, Alty doubled their lead with a brilliant sweeping move from one end of the pitch to the other that was expertly finished off by Linney.

Bickerstaff did superbly to stop a ball down the right touchline going out of play with an outstanding touch to Justin Amaluzor and then did even better to take the return pass from his team-mate in his stride and ping it out to Linney, in space on the left.

We all had a shrewd idea what might happen next, and sure enough Linney delivered, taking a step to his right before curling an unerring shot out of keeper Jacob Dennis' reach and into the bottom right corner of the net.

It was the perfect start to the second half, but the two-goal advantage didn't last long.

It was halved in the 57th minute, as Oldham substitute James Norwood played a one-two that opened up space for a clear sight of the Alty goal, an opportunity that was exploited to the full with a firmly-struck shot that gave Ansen no chance.

Predictably, the home crowd turned the volume up, but Alty had the chance to silence them in the 61st minute when Linney went tearing down the left and found he had support in the shape of Newby in the middle.

The ball was played inside to Newby and promptly switched on to the supporting Lewis Banks, only for the full-back's shot from the edge of the area to lack the power to unduly trouble Dennis, who saved to his left.

The second half was being played at a rip-roaring pace, and while Alty were having to do their share of defending, they were always on the look-out to hit the Latics on the break.

One such counter, with the 80th minute approaching, led to Bickerstaff winning a corner that so nearly yielded a third Alty goal, substitute Jake Cooper meeting it with a towering header that was cleared off the line.

After 81 minutes, Alty were pegged back by an Oldham equaliser, and it was one young Ansen will want to forget.

The Robins keeper looked to have control of a cross angled towards him from the left but let it slip through his gloves and could only look back as it was bundled over the line by former Alty midfielder Josh Lundstram.

It was a traumatic moment for the youngster, but he went some way towards making amends with a fine save six minutes later, plunging low to his left to keep out a header from a corner.

Alty so nearly won it in the most dramatic way possible at the very end of the five added minutes as substitute Kian Taylor was upended 20 yards from goal and Osborne stepped up to curl the free-kick round the wall, only to see it smack against the post and bounce to safety.

It was to prove the last kick as the final whistle sounded to mark a hard-earned point for the Robins that could so easily have been all three.

Oldham Dennis; Kitching (Kay 69'), Fondop, Rossiter (Pritchard, 69'), Raglan, Waters (Norwood, 52'), Caprice (c), Sutton, Worthington (Pett, 52'), Yoganathan (Lundstram, 52'), Leake. Subs not used: Hobson, Kay, Moloney.

Altrincham Ansen; Banks, Baines (c), Osborne, Linney (Taylor, 73'), Newby (Cooper, 73'), Amaluzor (Weaver, 52'), Crawford, Golden, Bickerstaff, Olson. Subs not used: Griffiths, J.Jones, Reddin. 

HT 0-1

Goals Norwood 57', Lundstram 81' | Newby 41', Linney 46'

Yellows Raglan 9' | Olson 13', Linney 58', Golden 85', Cooper 90'+3

Reds None | None

Referee Ross Martin

Assistants Matthew Bacon & Oliver Nolan

Fourth official Robert Claussen

Attendance 5,491 (406 away)

Next Up

Two trips to the North East in the next week. We start at Gateshead on Saturday (3pm) before heading for Hartlepool United on Tuesday (7:45pm).

Ticket and away travel info for both games is available right here.