Words Harry Stratton | Pictures Jonathan Moore

Altrincham 0 FC Halifax Town 0

Alty dug deep to secure a share of the points in the traditional Boxing Day tussle with FC Halifax Town at The J.Davidson Stadium.

The game was a cagey affair, with neither side having too many true sights of goal. Tom Crawford had the first chances of note for the Robins, seeing a header go just wide and forcing a good save from Halifax goalkeeper Sam Johnson.

It was then Halifax’s turn to gain some momentum, with Ryan Galvin driving down the left-hand side before squaring the ball to Florent Hoti, who forced a great save from Ethan Ross.

The rest of the first half was mostly uneventful, other than Alex Newby and Hoti having decent efforts at goal. Then, as the match entered added time, the in-form Regan Linney drove into the box but could only find the side-netting with his shot.

An altercation in the tunnelat the end of first half saw Alty return for the second half minus Matty Kosylo, with Shaymen manager Chris Millington also failing to appear after the break.

With the home side down to 10 men, most of the possession and chances in the second half fell the way of the visitors, albeit the majority of shooting opportunities being half chances. 

Ethan Ross stayed alert throughout, especially when forced into two impressive stops by Billy Waters and Hoti.

With three minutes left on the clock, Alty found some drive and pushed for a winner, with Alex Newby managing to test Johnson from an outrageous angle.

The final chance of the game came in the first minute of added time, when substitute Jake Bickerstaff found a bit of space and had a shot from the edge of the box, only for it to be blocked by Adam Senior.

Harvey Nichols MOTM Lewis Baines

Altrincham Ross; Banks, Baines (c), Osborne (E.Jones, 46'), Linney (Bickerstaff, 80'), Newby, Kosylo, Wilson (Marriott, 20'), Crawford, Golden, Olson. Subs not used: Cooper, Weaver, Reddin, Randle.

Sutton Johnson (c); Galvin, Senior, Evans, Cooke (Wright, 20'), Cappello (Oluwabori, 60'), Smith, Hoti (Pugh, 90'+4), Alimi-Adetoro (Emmerson, 72'), Waters, High. Subs not used: Cummings, Ford, Jenkins.

HT 0-0

Goals None | None

Yellows Newby 45'+2, Linney 45'+8 | Alimi-Adetoro 39', Waters 79'

Reds Kosylo HT | None

Referee Richard Aspinall

Assistants Niall Felton & Tom Bowkett

Fourth official Callum Jones

Attendance 3,312 (535 away)

Next Up

We open 2025 with a Vanarama National League trip to Rochdale on New Year's Day (3pm). Tickets are available from our hosts here.