In a feisty match played in a misty atmosphere, former Shayman, Matty Kosylo, got himself sent off for the second successive league match against his former employers, having been dismissed at the Shay on New Year's Day 2024. But the ten men of Altrincham defended well in the second half and finished the game on the front foot against a Halifax side who showed why are the lowest scorers in the top half of the National League.

Kosylo was sent off after a brawl in the "tunnel" as the teams left the field at half-time. Halifax manager Chris Millington was also, reportedly, red-carded during the interval.

The opening quarter of an hour was reasonably entertaining before stoppages for injuries to Alty's George Wilson and Halifax's Cooke, arising from separate incidents but simultaneously treated, broke up the flow of the match. That lengthy stoppage was soon followed by the same two players briefly resuming before both had to be substituted during another protracted stoppage.

The rest of the half, which had started nearly four minutes late, and was then subjected to eight added minutes and was as scrappy an encounter as witnessed at the JDS all season. In the first-half period of added time, Newby went down in the box but referee Aspinall, who made a number of strange decisions, booked Newby for alleged simulation, a device he also employed in the second half against a Halifax player, Waters.

With many spectators unaware of the red card, Alty started the second half with only ten men after Kosylo's off-field dismissal. Halifax applied pressure but a series of excellent defensive blocks and wayward shooting meant that Ross was limited to a couple of decent saves before it was ten-man Altrincham who ended the game as the attacking force.

SCORERS:

• NONE

Following their defeat at Woking five days earler, Altrincham made no changes to the starting eleven but, on the bench, Haygarth gave way to Bickerstaff

For the Shaymen, Galvin and High replaced Oluwabori and Jenkins in the starting eleven.

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, white socks): 1. Ethan ROSS, 2. Lewis BANKS, 4. Lewis BAINES (c), 31. Charlie OLSON, 23. Tylor GOLDEN, 19. George WILSON, 6. Elliot OSBORNE, 22. Tom CRAWFORD, 14. Matty KOSYLO, 10. Alex NEWBY, 9. Regan LINNEY Subs: 5. Jake COOPER, 8. Isaac MARRIOTT, 16. James JONES, 17. Luke WEAVER, 20. Kahrel REDDIN, 29. Jake BICKERSTAFF, 30 Harvey RANDLE (gk).

FC HALIFAX TOWN (All blue) 1. Sam Johnson(c), 3. Ryan Galvin, 5. Adam Senior, 27. Adam Alimi-Adetoro, 15. Will Smith, 11. Angelo Cappello, 6. Jack Evans, 18. Florent Hoti, 30 Scott High, 10. Jamie Cooke, 29. Billy Waters. Subs: 2. Jo Cummings, 21. Zam Emmerson, 7. Max Wright, 12. Nathaniel Ford, 20. Jack Jenkins, 22. Andrew Oluwabori, 23. Tom Pugh

The Shaymen arrived on the back of a credtable draw at Barnet five days earlier, whereas Alty had lost at Woking that day.

Before kick-off, co-chairman Bill Waterson read the Roll of Honour for 2024 to commemorate the deaths during the calendar year of people associated with Altrincham FC as players, supporters or officials.

REPORT:

On a misty afternoon, Altrincham kicked off, almost four minutes late, kicking towards the away end but it was the Shaymen who had the first shot, an effort from thirty yards that flew wide (1 min).

It took Matty Kosylo just 70 seconds to commit a foul on his former employers but Altrincham were to gain the match's first corner when Linney swivelled smartly to get in a shot which was deflected out of play (6 mins).

Taken short, the corner led to a cross which Crawford back-headed wide at the back post. Referee Aspinall allowed two apparent fouls on Alty players to go unchecked, a charitable explanation being that he was allowing a potential "advantage" to develop.

A fumbled save by Johnson soon gave Alty a second corner but this came to nothing (8 mins).

Next, a fifty yard run on the left by Galvin led to a ball inside to Hoti whose first-time toe-poke brought an excellent one-handed save, low down, by Ross (11 mins).

Alty then enjoyed a good spell as, firstly, Kosylo saw a shot blocked before Newby made space smartly and his deflected shot forced a a good save from Johnson (14 mins).

The next passage of play ended with with Akty's Wilson and Halifax's Cooke both prostrate a few yards from each other, injured in separate challenges. Mr Aspinall had allowed play to carry on before having to halt proceedings.

Protracted treatment saw both players recover sufficiently to walk off the pitch but, a couple of minutes later, both players went down again and had to be substituted. Wright replaced Cooke for the visitors (20 mins) and Marriott came on for Wilson for Altrincham (21 mins).

The five minutes of disruption caused by these injuries and substitutions were, in retrospect, to mark the end of the first-half entertainment with the remainder of the half scarcely rising above the mediocre.

An Altrincham corner now came and went before another injury stoppage, this time for tratment to Cappello (30 mins). The crowd was subdued by the Boxing Day poor fare being served up on the pitch before Hoti fired well wide from 20 yards (36 mins).

When the giant Alimi-Adetoro felled Kosylo, the Alty man stayed down and the defender was justifiably booked (39 mins). Mr Aspinall's attitude to fouls continued to be capricious as the 45-minute mark approached, a point that was then marked by a wild shot from Kosylo that curved well wide of the back post.

To the crowd's dismay, at the end of the 45 minutes, their suffering was to be extended by eight minutes of added time.

However, the added time was to encompass more incident than most of the preceding 45 minutes.

After a Linney effort had gone wide (45+1 mins), Newby got into the box and went down under a challenge. With home fans expecting a spot-kick the referee, instead, brandished a yellow card at Newby for alleged simulation (45+3 mins).

There was then a long-range shot from Halifax to sting Ross's hands (45+5 mins) before the interval whistle sounded.

As the players entered the "tunnel" a fracas broke out. It was only during the interval that it emerged that Kosylo had been shown a red card as had the visitors' manager, Chris Millington. Linney, too was apparently booked in the unseemly episode, his third successive yellow and his eigth of the season, indiscipline which threatens to lead to a second suspension this season for the leading scorer.

At the interval left-back Eddy Jones replaced midfielder Osborne, a seemingly strange move for many in the crowd who were unaware of the interval red-card for Kosylo which had necessitated the sacrifice of the midfielder to allow the defence to be bolstered in anticipation of forty-five minutes' playing with a man short.

The misty conditions were worsening as the sun set but it was the ten men who gained the first corner of the second period, through Linney (51 mins).

Halifax now mounted some pressure which Baines and his defence countered imprssively. The Shaymen brought on Oluwabori for Cappello (59 mins) before play drifted on beyond the hour mark. Next Emmerson came on Alimi-Adetoro, who had been the pantomime villain to the home supporters, who booed him off (73 mins).

Walters then joined Newby in Mr Aspinall's book for alleged simulation after a challenge on the Halifax forward in the penalty area (79 mins).

Alty now replaced Linney by Bickerstaff (80 mins) before the hosts won a corner. Next Ross sat down for treatment which was presumably a means by which to allow timef for management to conduct a tactical talk on the sidelines (84 mins).

Halifax had seemingly shot their bolt as it was Altrincham who finished the game the more threatening of the sides. A fierce shot from the Alty right by Newby was beaten out by Johnson before the Robins also won a corner (90 mins).

Mercifully only four added minutes were proclaimed but no one was able to break the deadlock before one of 2024's least memorable games reached its conclusion.