Despite playing from the 24th minute with ten men, Altrincham advanced to the Fourth Round of the FA Trophy with a penalty shoot-out win over FC Halifax Town at The Shay.

Sam Roscoe was sent off for a late challenge on Wright (24 mins) after which Halifax went on to dominate the second half, at one stage winning six corners in ten second-half minutes. But Alty defended well and Ethan Ross only had to make a couple of decent saves.

The goalless game went straight to penalties and it took fourteen spot-kicks to separate the sides. Despite Elliot Osborne missing Alty's first penalty, Senior and Thompson-Sommers missed theirs for the hosts and the visitors triumphed 6-5 with the successful conversions coming from Banks, Baines, Linney, Amaluzor, Angus and, finally, Eddy Jones.

SCORERS:

• None - for penalty shoot-out, see details below

There was no involvement for the injured James Jones or Alex Newby but loanee Marcus Dackers started as did Matty Kosylo, the latter facing one of his former clubs.

LINE-UPS:

FC HALIFAX TOWN (All blue): 1. Sam Johnson, 2. Taylor Golden, 3. Ryan Galvin, 4. Luke Summerfield, 5. Adam Senior, 6. Jamie Stott, 8. Jack Hunter, 19. Aaron Cosgrave, 11. Millenic Alli, 16. Jordan Keane 17. Max Wright. Subs: 20. Jamie Cooke, 14. Kane Thompson-Sommers, #TBC Jimiel Takunda Chikukwa, 22. Andrew Oluwabori, 25. Tom Wilson, 9. Robert Harker, 7. Angelo Cappello

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, red socks): 29. Ethan Ross, 2. Lewis Banks, 15. Jake Cooper, 16. Sam Roscoe, 3. Eddy Jones, 6. Elliot Osborne, 7. Matty Kosylo, 8. Isaac Marriott (c), 11. Justin Amaluzor, 10. Chris Conn-Clarke, 25. Marcus Dackers. Subs: 4. Lewis Baines, 9. Regan Linney, 14. Dior Angus 17. Justin Donawa, 19. George Wilson, 21. Matt Gould.

This match had been postponed on the previous Saturday owing to a waterlogged pitch at The Shay. It was a re-run of the previous season's semi-final at Moss Lsne which the Shaymen had won before going on to win the Trophy at Wembley.

In what was to be a match of average quality, it was Altrincham who won the first corner when Eddy Jones's shot went out of play off Stott. And when Amaluzor got the better of Galvin, the Shayman was booked for bringing down the Alty winger (6 mins). Just after this it took action from Banks to stop Alli from converting a tempting cross.

An off-target snap-shot by Wright was the extent to which Halifax thretened the Alty goal at this stage (13 mins). At the other end, Osborne won a freekick, some thirty yards out, but Conn-Clarke's effort went to goalkeeper Johnson (15 mins).

But then Halifax's pantomime villain, their former player, Matty Kosylo, was booked for a foul on Wright (15 mins).

After a nondescript few minutes' play, it was Wright who was clattered again, this time more seriously, as the perpetrator, Sam Roscoe, was immediately shown a red card, a decision which it was difficult to disagree with (24 mins).

Alty's reaction was to bring on Baines to replace Roscoe at the cost of the withdrawal from the fixture of Kosylo, a move which was met with jeering from the home fans and a response from Kosylo himself (27 mins).

The hosts now upped their game but it was the ten-man visitors who forced the first decent save of the evening as Osborne's fine pass located Conn-Clarke, who forced Johnson into action at the cost to his side of a corner (34 mins).

At the other end, a well-struck shot by Wright narrowly cleared the Altrincham crossbar (35 mins) but the hosts were generally not imposing themselves on their depleted opponents. A susprisingly short two-minute period of added time was decreed. During this, Amaluzor conceded a freekick which Banks cleared from Summerfield's cross (45+3 mins).

No doubt encouraged by a stern talking-to from Chris Millington, Halifax started the second half brightly, after the manager had made two interval changes. Harker replaced Cosgrave up front and Thompson-Sommers replaced the veteran Summerfield (46 mins).

Galvin was proving a threat to the Alty defence but Banks did well to halt his advance (51 mins). Next, after Cooper's clearing header had gone to Wright, his effort went well wide from the edge of the box (52 mins)

Alty's reply produced a neat move, which culminated in a Conn-Clarke shot, but it went narrowly wide (54 mins).

The Shaymen's pressure was ramping up and no fewer than six corners were won by then in an eleven-minute spell (56-67 mins). In between the first and second of this sequence a Marriott foul on Wright gave the hosts a freekick to add to their threat. But Alty withstood all of these threats before an Alli shot narrowly cleared Ross's bar (69 mins).

Altrincham then won themsleves a relieving frekick for a foul on Eddy Jones before each side made a change. The Alty swap saw Linney replace Conn-Clarke and the striker was deployed on the left flank with Dackers contining up top (75 mins).

A foul on Amaluzor brouught Thompson-Sommers a booking (78 mins) as the home crowd showed some signs of restlessness at their failure to impose themselves on the ten-men opposition. Soon afterwards Thompson-Sommers did better, firing at goal, but his effort went wide.

Thus far Ross had not been seriously tested but he now had to save impressively from Harker from a Keane feed, a corner resulting (81 mins). Marcus Dackers had worked hard but had received little service from his depleted team-mates and he was replaced by Angus on 83 minutes.

Banks now picked up a yellow card for a timely foul on Alli (85 mins) before Harker headed a cross from Galvin over the bar (85 mins).

As Halifax presssed for a winner, Golden fired high and wide (89 mins). It then took a foul by Cooper to halt Wright, the central defender being booked as a consequence (89 mins).

As in the first half, another surprisingly short two added minutes were computed by Mr Mulligan, to the home crowd's disappointment. In this spell Ross saved from Stott (90+1 mins) before Alty saw out the game with their goal intact.

And so to penalties...

1. FCH: Harker netted with a low shot to the left, which sent Ross the wrong way, 1-0
2. AFC: Osborne's spot-kick was saved by Johnson's parry, 1-0
3. FCH: Senior saw his kick saved by Ross, 1-0
4. AFC: Banks's kick went into the upper reaches of the net, centrally, 1-1
5. FCH: Stott's low shot also went centrally into the net, 2-1
6. AFC: Baines sent the keeper the wrong way as he, too, went down the middle route, 2-2
7. FCH: Though Ross guessed the right way, Alli's shot sailed above him into the net, 3-2
8. AFC: Another shot down the middle saw Linney restore parity, 3-3
9. FCH: Again Ross dived the right way but Golden found the top corner, 4-3
10. AFC: Amaluzor found the bottom corner, 4-4
11. FCH: Keane sent Ross the wrong way, 5-4
12. AFC: Angus sent Johnson the wrong way, 5-5
13. FCH: Thomson-Sommers hit the crossbar, so it remained 5-5
14. AFC: Eddy Jones won the match as he converted the fourteenth spot-kick, 5-6

So Altrincham won 6-5 on penalties and now travel to Kidderminster in Round Four on 13 January 2024.