FC Halifax Town had to settle for a point against Altrincham despite dominating large parts of the game in an exciting 0-0 draw.
Both teams had chances in the opening stages of the game, but the highlight of the first half actually came after the halftime whistle. As the teams entered the tunnel, Kosylo saw red for an incident, but Alty held firm despite having to do a lot of defending in the second period, much to the Shaymen’s frustration.
Ryan Galvin and Scott High both came into the side for the Boxing Day clash against Altrincham, while the home side named two former Town players in their starting eleven in the form of Mathew Kosylo and Tyler Golden.
Halifax came into the game looking to make it four unbeaten, but playoff-chasing Alty were set to be a tough test.
The Shaymen started the game very quickly; with just twenty seconds played, Scott High’s 25-yard effort fell just wide of the right-hand post. The Robins then had a chance of their own; a deflected cross gave Tom Crawford the opportunity to head goalwards, but it failed to hit the target.
Florent Hoti was next to go close in what was a lively start to the game; Ryan Galvin ran almost the entire length of the pitch down the left flank before cutting the ball back to Florent Hoti, who could only find the palms of keeper Ethan Ross. Sam Johnson was then called into action as Alex Newby took aim, but the Halifax stopper was equal to it.
Both sides were forced into early changes following injuries: Max Wright replaced Jamie Cooke for the Shaymen, whilst Isaac Marriot took the place of George Wilson.
Following a fast start to the affair, the game fell into somewhat of a lull for much of the first half. Adam Adetoro did pick up a booking in this time for a strong challenge on the halfway line.
Eight minutes were added to the end of the first half, which was indicative of how many stoppages had occurred. The dangerous Regan Linney did go close to finding the opening, but his effort found the side netting. Newby and Linney were both then booked for the home side just before the ref blew up for full time.
In bizarre circumstances, Altrincham re-entered the pitch with just ten men as former Halifax man Kosylo saw red at halftime for an incident in the tunnel.
Halifax were looking to capitalise on their man advantage early in the second half as the Shaymen upped the tempo. Billy Waters had the game’s best chance just before the hour mark as he took aim from 8 yards, but Ross denied him brilliantly with his legs. Angelo Cappello then had the chance to volley from the edge of the box, but his effort was well blocked. This was Cappello’s last contribution to the contest as he was replaced by Andrew Oluwabori.
Halifax were totally dominant throughout the second half, but Altrincham defended resiliently. Zac Emmerson was introduced with twenty minutes to go in the hopes of finding the winner.
Max Wright looked lively down the right after his introduction, and he nearly set up the goal Halifax were so desperately looking for. After some tidy footwork, he fired the ball across the box, but Will Smith could only turn it wide of the net.
Another Wright delivery caused all sorts of problems at the back post; the ball eventually fell to Oluwabori, who struck well but was once again denied by Ross, who had a fantastic game.
Altrincham’s best chance of getting anything from the game always looked to be through Alex Newby; his snap shot forced Johnson into a very good save from a narrow angle. After four minutes of additional time the referee blew for full time much to the delight of the home fans.
Match Stats
Altrincham
1 Ethan Ross, 2 Lewis Banks, 4 Lewis Baines ©, 6 Elliot Osborne (3 Eddy Jones 46), 9 Regan Linney (29 Jake Bickerstaff 80), 10 Alex Newby, 14 Matty Kosylo, 19 George Wilson (8 Isaac Marriott 21), 22 Tom Crawford, 29 Tylor Golden, 31 Charlie Olson
Subs: 5 Jake Cooper, 17 Lucas Weaver, 20 Kahrel Reddin, 30 Harvey Randle
FC Halifax Town
1 Sam Johnson ©, 5 Adam Senior, 27 Adam Adetoro (21 Zak Emmerson 74) , 15 Will Smith, 3 Ryan Galvin, 6 Jack Evans, 30 Scott High, 18 Florent Hoti (23 Tom Pugh 90), 11 Angelo Cappello (22 Andrew Oluwabori 60), 10 Jamie Cooke (7 Max Wright 21), 29 Billy Waters
Subs: 12 Nathaniel Ford, 2 Jo Cummings, 20 Jack Jenkins,
Referee: Richard Aspinall
Goals: None
Yellow Cards: Adetoro 39, Newby 45, Linney 45 + 8, Waters 79
Red Cards: Kosylo 46
Attendance: 3312 (535 away)
Altrincham 0 FC Halifax Town 0
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