Ten-man Alty secured a remarkable point after being 2-0 down late in the match.

Oldham had much the better of the first half and deservedly led at the interval after Nuttall scored (23 mins).

In a scrappy second half James Jones conceded a freekick just outside the box. Though Byrne saved Rooney's freekick the ball was recycled for substitute Sambou to nod home from close range to make it 2-0 (75 mins)

Two minutes later Jones rashly slid in on Sambou and was given a red card (77 mins), his second of the season.

Ten-man Alty then scored out of nothing when Oyedele lashed in a fine half-volley following a corner (81 mins). And amazingly they levelled in the 90th minute when Sinclair, arguably the shortest man on the pitch, headed home an Eddy Jones corner.

• 23 mins: Joe NUTTALL (Oldham Athletic 1 ALTRINCHAM 0)
• 75 mins: Bassala SAMBOU (Oldham Athletic 2 ALTRINCHAM 0)
• 81 mins: Maxi OYEDELE (Oldham Athletic 2 ALTRINCHAM 1)
• 89 mins: Tyrese SINCLAIR (Oldham Athletic 2 ALTRINCHAM 2)

Altrincham made three changes from their last league outing as Welch-Hayes, James Jones and Hulme returned to replace Perritt, Pringle and Sinclair. Oldham loanee, Luke Burgess was, of course, unable to play against his employers.

Oldham had Fondop suspended for this game whilst goalkeeper Norman, Reid and Shelton came into the Latics' starting eleven.

OLDHAM ATHLETIC (Blue and white): 19. Magnus Norman, 4. Liam Hogan (c), 14. Nathan Sheron, 15. Devarn Green, 32. Will Sutton, 16. Mark Shelton, 17. John Rooney, 25. Alex Reid, 26. Mark Kitching, 44. Josef Yarney, 45. Joe Nuttall Subs: 13. Mathew Hudson, 18. Ben Tollitt, 21. Bassala Sambou, 11. Hallam Hope, 42. Peter Clarke,

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts and red socks): 1. Oliver Byrne, 34. Miles Welch-Hayes, 26. James Jones, 5. Kyle Ferguson, 6. Lewis Baines, 2. Eddy Jones, 8. Josh Lundstram, 4. Isaac Marriott, 10. Elliot Osborne, 9. Jordan Hulme (c), 29. Regan Linney. Subs: 30. Harry Perritt, 18. Ben Pringle, 28. Maxi Oyedele, 39. Joe Hugill, 35. Tyrese Sinclair.

Altrincham had won the reverse fixture against an Oldham side which had struggled earlier in the season. They had improved since New Year but had won just one of their previous seven league matches.

The Robins were seeking to rebuild confidence after their traumatic exit from the FA Trophy the previous weekend. Although they had comfortably beaten Runcorn Linnets in midweek in the Cheshire Senior Cup, that had been achieved by a team including just two of the starting eleven today.

Although Marriott had kicked off, it was Oldham who won a first-minute corner. And a second corner soon arrived when Eddy Jones unnecessarily hoofed the ball out amidst appeals against him for handball (3 mins).

Nothing came of either corner, nor of a third won by the Latics when Green's cross deflected off Eddy Jones.

Indeed, Green was much in evidence in the early stages and it was on his right side of the pitch that the hosts almost exclusively directed their attacks.

Altrincham remained on the back foot as, now, Green fired in a low shot, which went narrowly wide of Byrne's left upright (8 mins).

Belatedly Altrincham enjoyed some possession as the game neared the quarter of an hour mark. The improvement was marred by a booking for Linney after a foul in the opposition's half (17 mins).

But Oldham threatened again when Reid was put through towards goal before cover from Baines prompted him to shoot wide (19 mins).

Altrincham continued to misfire with even the dependable Lundstram and Marriott looking under par.

Although it came as no surprise when Oldham now took a deserved lead, the goal itself was a little scruffy. Reid got put through, just to the right of centre, and though Byrne came out and blocked his way, the ball broke untidily for Nuttall to score from close range (23 mins).

Byrne needed treatment before continuing.

After falling behind, Alty did enjoy a brief more decent spell, with Eddy Jones getting into the box before being halted. Soon, however, Green hared up the middle and found Nuttall but the former Scunthorpe man's cross from the right came to nothing (28 mins).

Alty had failed to land a shot on goal before Oldham earned their fourth corner (34 mins). Once again this came to nothing but a harshly awarded foul against Ferguson on Nuttall gave the hosts a freekick just outside the box.

Eddy Jones cleared this before the Latics soon won their fifth corner of the first half as they continued to dominate the first half (39 mins).

Welch-Hayes next had to block a Kitching shot before a Rooney foul on Lundtsram and a Sheldon trip on Lundstram gave Alty two unproductive freekicks before the interval.

So Alty went off for the break with no grounds for complaint about trailing after their lacklustre first-half performance.

Altrincham made an interval change as Baines was replaced by Sinclair, which prompted a move for James Jones to right-back.

Alty enjoyed a bit more of the ball in the opening stages of this half compared with the first half but without creating anything resembling a goal chance.

Sinclair was seeing little of the ball after his introduction before Phil Parkinson made an uncharacteristic double swap to complete his substitutions before the hour mark.

The change saw Manchester United duo Hugill and Oyedele replace Osborne and the booked Linney (58 mins).

And at last Altrincham won a corner when Hugill and Sinclair combined (61 mins). Unfortunately, Eddy Jones's corner was too long.

Not long afterwards, Oldham almost scored a freak goal when Green's through ball evaded everyone and trickled only narrowly wide of the upright (64 mins).

Sambou now replaced Reid for Oldham, Reid only having just returned after a long injury lay off (68 mins).

The game was proving to be a poor spectacle with little to set the pulse racing before a foul on Rooney by Jones, just outside the Alty box gave Rooney a chance with a freekick.

Byrne pushed away the freekick to his left but, from the recycled ball, Sambou executed a simple close-range header into the net, from a cross from the right, to make it 2-0 (75 mins). Byrne now found himself booked presumably for dissent.

And it all seemed to be over for Alty soon afterwards when James Jones rashly slid in to tackle Sambou and was shown a red card, his second of the season after being dismissed for handball at Yeovil at exactly the same stage of the match as this (77 mins).

This time Rooney put the freekick over the bar before Altrincham responded with two successive corners. From the second, taken from the left, the ball was cleared out of the box, where Oyedele acrobatically hit a half-volley into the net from 25 yards with goalkeeper Norman seemingly taken my surprise to his left. So it was 2-1 (81 mins).

The goal lifted the Robins before Lundstram, fired over, left-footed, from just outside the box (83 mins). But Oldham still seemed to be safe with their lead as they won a corner and then introduced Hope in place of Nuttall (87 mins).

But, after a foul on Hugill, Jones's freekick led to a corner off Hogan. From the right, Eddy Jones's corner was improbably headed in by Tyrese Sinclair in the centre of the goalmouth, the Rochdale loanee being arguably the shortest player on the pitch (89 mins).

Five added minutes were declared but Oldham were unable to regain the lead and they left the pitch to sporadic booing from supporters who had witnessed them surrender what had seemed a certain three points for just a single one.

For Altrincham it had been a remarkable comeback from two goals behind and one man short, to secure a valuable point.