In a strange first half Alty's much-changed side struggled for half an hour to produce anything in the way of impressive football against a Coasters' side which dominated possession without really testing Ethan Ross. Then Alty scored twice in as many minutes.

They took the lead on 33 minutes when the home keeper failed to hold an Angus shot from the right and Linney tapped the ball home.

Then, a good ball from Osborne gave Linney possession on the left and he fed an unmarked Angus in the central, outer reaches of the box and he beat the keeper with a fine shot, his third goal in 48 hours. So Alty led 2-0 at the break.

Fylde won a clear penalty when James Jones brought down Haughton left of goal. Haughton's penalty was well saved by Ross to his right but as the ball bounced away in the box from Ross's save, debutant starter George Wilson went to hook it clear. From behind him Whitehead went for the ball too and the referee construed the incident as a second penalty, just seconds after the earlier spot kick. This time Houghton converted confidently to make it 1-2 (58 mins).

Substitute Omatayo headed in an equaliser from a cross from the Fylde right (79 mins). But despite not threatening at all from open play in the second half, Alty sub Amaluzor wrestled with Obi on the byline, left of goal, and the referee pointed to the spot. Conn-Clarke's hop-skip-and-jump penalty kick fooled the keeper to put Alty ahead again (88 mins).

But as ninety minutes approached, George Wilson was injured and, though he resumed after lengthy treatment, he had to go off soon afterwards leaving Alty to negotiate what turned into more than ten added minutes.

Fylde pressed forward against the ten men and got a very late corner on the left which was taken short to Whitehead, whose cross was headed in at the back post by Obi to leave the result 3-3 (90+10 mins).

SCORERS:

• 33 mins: Regan LINNEY (AFC Fylde 0 ALTRINCHAM 1)
• 35 mins: Dior ANGUS (AFC Fylde 0 ALTRINCHAM 2)
• 57 mins: Nick HAUGHTON (pen) (AFC Fylde 1 ALTRINCHAM 2)
• 78 mins: Gold OMOTAYO (AFC Fylde 2 ALTRINCHAM 2)
• 88 mins: Chris CONN-CLARKE (pen) (AFC Fylde 2 ALTRINCHAM 3)
• 90(+10) mins: Emeka OBI (AFC Fylde 3 ALTRINCHAM 3)

With two games in 48 hours, Altrincham made five pre-match changes from the game 48 hours earlier against Chesterfield. Four players dropped to the bench (Conn-Clarke, Marriott, Roscoe and Amaluzor) whilst Kosylo dropped out altogether after hobbling off on Saturday.

The fifth place on the bench went to George Burroughs, making his first appearance in the squad.

Into the starting eleven came Baines, Cooper, Joey Jones and, for their first starts for the club, Angus and Wilson.

AFC Fylde likewise made five changes as they sought an improvement after failing to win any of their first five fixtures. Harry Davis, Taelor O’Kane, Danny Whitehead and Siya Ligendza replaced Alex Whitmore, Connor Barrett, Jon Ustabasi and Gold Omotayo.

LINE-UPS:

AFC FYLDE (All white, blue trim) 25. Theo Richardson, 3. Luke Conlan, 4. Harry Davis, 5. Emeka Obi, 10. Nick Haughton, 14. Josh Kay, 16. Kieran Glynn, 18. Owen Evans, 23 Danny Whitehead, 27. Siyabonga Ligendza, 34. Taelor O'Kane. Subs: 6. Alex Whitmore, 17. Connor Barrett, 8. Danny Philliskirk, 19. Jon Ustabasi, 11. Gold Omotayo.

ALTRINCHAM (All dark blue with yellow sash on shirts): 29. Ethan Ross, 2. Lewis Banks, 3. Eddy Jones, 5. James Jones (c), 6. Lewis Baines, 15. Jake Cooper, 6. Elliot Osborne, 9. Regan Linney, 19. George Wilson, 22. Joey Jones, 14. Dior Angus, Subs: 10. Chris Conn-Clarke, 11. Justin Amaluzor, 8. Isaac Marriott, 16. Sam Roscoe, 32. George Burroughs

AFC Fylde had been promoted back to this level after being controversially relegated under the PPG rules that applied during the COVID epidemic. AT the same time Altrincham had been promoted back to this level so the sides swapped divisions.

Altrincham kicked off but it was the hosts who soon eatablished dominance, in terms of possession and territory as the visitors' five changes seemed to create an unfamiliarity amongst team members.

A poor shot from the hosts' Kay ran to Ross, before the same player had a better effort blocked by a defender (6 mins).

The Coasters went on to win three corners over the next seven minutes as Altrincham laboured to settle. The second of the corners came after a vital block by James Jones after the visitors had been opened up (11 mins).

Ross was in action again after 18 minutes when he made a comforatble save from Glynn's thirty-yarder. Ross's counterpart, Richardson, was contrastingly unemployed with most of the play continuing in the Altrincham half.

However, it was Altrincham who found the net first, through Linney, albeit after offside had been flagged (22 mins). Following this, a dreadful kick-out by goalkeeper Ross from a Baines back-pass presented the ball Kay but his shot narrowly cleared the bar.

The lively Ligendza became the first player to be booked for felling Eddy Jones (26 mins).

At last Alty put together a promising passing move but it foundered on Eddy Jones's miscontrol inside the box (27 mins).

Fylde had continued to be the better side before Altrincham, quite remarkably, scored twice inside two minutes, distinctly against the run of play.

After Osborne had halted Ligendza, Alty got forward through Angus on the right. His well hit shot was stopped by Richardson but the keeper could not hold the ball and Linney was on hand to score from close range (33 mins).

The roles were reversed shortly afterwards as Osborne found Linney on the left. He cut in and laid the ball back to a remarkably unmarked Angus in the centre of the outer reaches of the penalty area. No one closed him down quickly enough to stop his well-struck beating the keeper to make it 0-2(35 mins).

Unsurprisingly, Fylde were rattled by this sudden reversal in fortunes, whilst Alty were buoyed by their unexpected double strike.

Altrincham retained their two-goal lead to the interval.

After Wilson had been caught, late, by Conlan, it was nevertheless Fylde who gained the half's first corner, which was very oddly driven low to the first Altrincham defender (49 mins).

Alty were not showing much attacking intent before James Jones brought down Haughton, left of goal towards the byline. There were no grounds for complaint at the award of a penalty but what followed was remarkable.

Ross brilliantly saved Haughton's penalty, diving to his right, where he pushed the ball away (57 mins). As George Wilson, facing his own goal, went to hook the ball away from the penalty area, he inadvertently kicked the foot of an opponent who had arrived on his blind side. Mr Westgate pointed to the spot to give the Coasters a second penalty just seconds after they had missed their first attempt.

Haughton stpped up again and, this time, sent Ross the wrong way to make it 1-2 (58 mins).

Alty's response signalled a desire to hold, rather than extend, their lead as Linney was replaced by midfielder Marriott (59 mins).

Soon afterwards Banks got up the right and put a testing ball, low, across the goalmouth but no one was on hand to convert it.

Fylde then brought on Ustabasi for Evans (63 mins). The goal had lifted the Coasters and Ross was soon in action fielding a Ustabasi header (65 mins).

The hosts now made another positive chamnge as Glynn was replaced by Gold Omotayo, the former King's Lynn striker (66 mins). Altrincham survived pressure as they needed three attempts to clear the ball from their own penalty area (70 mins). There was no relief before Osborne conceded a freekick, just outside the front edge of the box, but Ross punched out Haughton's goalbound freekick (73 mins).

Two Fylde players were soon booked for fouls; O'Kane (74 mins) and Ustabasi (76 mins), but Fylde continued to enjoy the lion's share of the attacking momentum.

Their pressure got its reward when a header by Omatayo from a right-wing cross made it 2-2 (79 mins).

Alty responded with the introduction of Conn-Clarke for Joey Jones (79 mins) and, shortly, Osborne had the ball in the net with a well-placed low shot soon afterwards only to be denied for offside (80 mins).

Philliskirk for O'Kane was Fylde's last substitution (81 mins) before Amaluzor replaced Angus for the Robins (83 mins).

Fylde still looked the more likely to score as Ustabasi got to the byline but his cross went uncoverted before the same player hit a shot at Ross (86 mins).

But just as in the first half, Alty were to score again against the run of play. Amaluzor and Obi battled for the ball on the left byline and when the Alty man went down, the visitors were awarded a penalty for what had seemed six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Conn-Clarke performed his "Bruno Fernandes" type of penalty kick and scored past the wrong-footed keeper to put Alty 2-3 ahead (88 mins).

With a minute of normal time left Wilson need lengthy treatment and, during this time, a remarkable eight added minutes were decreed which would inevitably grow longer as Wilson's treatment continued.

The young midfielder returned briefly as a "passenger" but he had to limp off shortly afterwards (90+4 mins). The ten men conceded a corner before Fylde missed a sitter from barely two yards as Conlon somehow put the ball over the bar (90+6 mins). Ross was then booked for timewasting.

Davis then went close from 25 yards (90+8 mins) as Alty tried to hang on to their lead. Another Fylde corner was won (90+9 mins). This was taken short to Whitehead and, from the left, his cross was headed in at the back post by Obi, who rose highest of a knot of players to level the scores at 3-3 (90+10 mins).

Alty had conceded their third headed goal in 48 hours and had twice let their lead slip in this match but no one could argue that the Coasters did not deserve their point. Four draws and two wins left Altrincham unbeaten this season and sixth in the league table.