A Regan Linney brace helped Altrincham defeat a 10-man Shaymen.
A Jake Bickerstaffe strike, followed by two goals from Linney, made it 0-3 to the Robins after Lewis Leigh saw red.
Last time out, Town picked up an important victory at AFC Fylde; a Ryan Galvin goal separated the sides and made it 1-0 at Mill Lane.
The visitors, Altrincham, sat in 9th place at the start of the day with an outside chance of making the playoffs. The Robins were without a win in four games and had only picked up one in their last ten games.
Lewis Leigh let off the first attempt on goal after seven minutes, an effort from 30 yards out that dipped just over Charlie Ansen’s crossbar.
10 minutes in, Altrincham went 0-1 up through striker Jake Bickerstaffe. Alex Newby flicked on a header to Bickerstaffe, who took a touch into the box and wrapped the ball into the far corner. Bickerstaffe then picked up a yellow in the 24th minute for handling the ball.
Jamie Cooke had a chance on the edge of the box in the 35th minute but sliced his effort wide of the goal. Isaac Marriot received the second yellow of the day five minutes later for a late challenge on Galvin. Daniel Nkrumah found himself in the referee’s book for a sliding tackle less than a minute later.
Lewis Leigh saw a straight red in the 58th minute for a late challenge on Lewis Banks that the referee deemed high and dangerous. The afternoon worsened for the Shaymen when Adam Senior committed a handball in the penalty area.
Regan Linney converted the penalty in the 65th minute, sending Toby Savin the wrong way for his 22nd goal in the National League this season and making it 0-2. Chris Millington responded by replacing Tom Pugh with Owen Bray.
After 72 minutes, Phil Parkinson brought Lucas Weaver off the bench for the goalscorer Bickerstaffe. Cooke, shortly after, received a yellow for dissent.
A minute later, Altrincham made it 0-3, their top goalscorer Linney finding the back of the net for a second time in the afternoon. Newby carried the ball past his man, slid the ball through to the substitute Weaver, who provided Linney with a tap-in.
Town made their second change of the day with 14 minutes to go, Nkrumah making way for Dubem Eze as Altrincham’s Callum Dolan came on for Marriot. Five minutes later, Parkinson made his fourth change of the match, replacing Charlie Olson.
Halifax then made a double change with Jack Jenkins and Luca Thomas making way for Sean Tarima and Zak Emmerson. Millington’s final substitution of the day saw him bring Harvey Sutcliffe on for Angelo Cappello in the 85th minute.
The Robins saw the game out, the fixture ending 0-3, as Chris Millington’s side face Braintree at the Shay Stadium on Saturday, with the pursuit of playoffs still in the balance.
FC Halifax Town
31 Toby Savin, 5 Adam Senior ©, 3 Ryan Galvin, 20 Jack Jenkins (29 Sean Tarima 82), 28 Lewis Leigh, 9 Luca Thomas (21 Zak Emmerson 82), 23 Tom Pugh (26 Owen Bray 66), 8 Daniel Nkrumah (22 Dubem Eze 77) , 10 Jamie Cooke, 11 Angelo Cappello (14 Harvey Sutcliffe 84), 16 Josh Emmanuel
Subs: 12 Nathaniel Ford, 27 Adam Adetoro
Altrincham:
21 Caleb Ansen, 2 Lewis Banks, 4 Lewis Baines (c), 6 Elliot Osborne, 8 Isaac Marriott (77 Callum Dolan 77), 9 Regan Linney, 10 Alex Newby (7 Olly Crankshaw 87), 19 George Wilson, 23 Tylor Golden, 29 Jake Bickerstaffe (17 Lucas Weaver 81), 31 Charlie Olsen (16 James Jones)
Subs: 20 Kahrel Reddin, 30 Harvey Randle, 42 Matt Penney
Referee: Ollie Yates
Goals: Bickerstaffe 10, Linney 65 (pen) & 73
Yelow Cards: Bickerstaffe 24, Marriott 41, Nkrumah 42, Cooke 73
Red Cards: Leigh 58
Attendance: 1896 (296 away)
FC Halifax Town 0 Altrincham 3
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