All the damage was done to Maidenhead in the first half of this game, with the second half largely a non-event.

The stand-out feature was Alex Newby's hat-trick but the win also completed Alty's first "double" of the league season, having won the reverse fixture at Maidenhead 1-0.

Alty went ahead in the ninth minute when a superb diagonal ball by Osborne, from the left touchline, located Golden, whose cross from the right was finished by Newby.

There had been little further threat to the visitors' goal before Newby struck again, sweeping home another ball played in from the right, by Crawford (27 mins). Six minutes later it was 3-0 when Linney got to the left bye-line and went down as keeper Ross dived on the ball at the near post. A penalty was decreed and Linney converted it comfortably (33 mins).

The visitors did go close a couple of times but Alty made it 4-0 when Newby completed his hat-trick after Linney had again got to the bye-line (45 mins).

The second half produced little in the way of goalmouth excitement as Altrincham comfortably held their lead despite the visitors spirited attempts to retrieve something from the evening.

SCORERS:

• 9 mins: Alex NEWBY (Altrincham 1 Maidenhead United 0)
• 27 mins: Alex NEWBY (Altrincham 2 Maidenhead United 0)
• 33 mins: Regan LINNEY (pen)(Altrincham 3 Maidenhead United 0)
• 45 mins: Alex NEWBY (Altrincham 4 Maidenhead United 0)

Altrincham's starting eleven included three players with just one previous league start this season between them; they were Marriott and debutant league starters this season Crankshaw and loanee defender Pasiek.

Missing today was the suspended Matty Kosylo, as well as Lewis Banks who had been in every previous league matchday squad this season except the one when he was serving a suspension. Presumably he and fellow absentee James Jones were injured as only six names could be mustered for the bench.

Known-to-be-injured absentees were Justin Amaluzor (who has missed 10 league games and counting), Eddy Jones (5 games) and George Wilson (1 game)

So compared with the last game, ten days earlier in the FA Trophy, Banks and Bickerstaff did not start as Pasiek and Crankshaw came in.

For the visitors the veteran Clerima returned to start and Korboa made his debut.

ALTRINCHAM (Red & white striped shirts, black shorts, white socks): 1. Ethan ROSS, 23. Tylor GOLDEN, 4. Lewis BAINES (c), 31. Charlie OLSON, 32. Casper PASIEK, 8. Isaac MARRIOTT, 6. Elliot OSBORNE, 22. Tom CRAWFORD, 7. Ollie CRANKSHAW, 10. Alex NEWBY, 9. Regan LINNEY Subs: 5. Jake COOPER, 17. Luke WEAVER, 20. Kahrel REDDIN, 24. Joe NUTTALL, 29. Jake BICKERSTAFF, 30 Harvey RANDLE (gk).

MAIDENHEAD UNITED (All purple) 13. Craig Ross (c), 3. Tyrese Dyce,3. Will De Havilland, 5. Kevin Lokko, 8. Nathan Ferguson, 9. Shawn McCoulsky, 16. Casey Pettit, 17. Reece Smith, 20. Remy Clerima, 23. Trsitan Abrahams, 31. Ricky Korboa. Subs: 1. Harvey Collins, 6. Thierry Latty-Fairweather, 12. Bradley Keetch, 19. Owen Cochrane, 25. Sam Barratt, 30. Manny Onariase, 33. Noah Stewart.

Both teams had had blank weekends due to the weather. Tne visitors were in the bottom four at kick off with Altrincham lying eleventh.

This game had survived an 11am pitch inspection but the groundstaff had done an excellent job to cope with the meltwater from the recent covering of snow and produce a playable surface.

REPORT:

On a misty, damp evening at the J. Davidson Stadium, Maidenhead won the toss and elected to change ends so, unusually, Altrincham kicked off towards Golf Road.

After a few minutes of early exchanges which did not amount to much, Altrincham took the lead in the ninth minute. The goal came from a superb cross-field diagonal ball by Osborne, from the left touchline just inside the Maidenhead half.

The ball reached the advancing Golden who swept the fall into the goalmouth where Newby finished off the impressive move.

But it was Maidenhead who were next to go close as Korboa, Smoith and Dyce combined for the last-named to strike the ball low across the face of goal but just wide of the back post (12 mins). Soon afterwards, the livelt Abrhamas had a shot blocked before the Berkshire side gained a corner on their left (14 mins).

MCCoulsky headed the corner goalwards but Ross punched clear and was awarded a freekick in the process.

Marriott was then fortunate to escape with just a lecture after deliberate trip on an opponent (17 mins). There was little at this stage to suggest a rout and, indeed, it was Maidenhead who went close again midway through the first half when a ball from their left only narrowly evaded the incoming Abrahams at the back post.

In fact, Alty had not threatened seriously to add to their opening goal when they promptly did so!

Crawford got towards the right bye-line before laying the ball off for Newby to net his second smartly taken goal of the evening (27 mins).

Altrincham were not always moving so slickly and debutant Pasiek, in particular, had a couple of unfortunate moments, losing the ball twice around the half-hour mark. But from the second instance, he regained possession and, via Newby, the ball came to Linney.

He cut in from the left and into the box near the bye-line. Keeper Ross dived for the ball and Linney went down with the referee immediately pointing to the spot. Linney beat Ross from twelve yards with a powerful drive to the keeper's right. So it was 3-0 (33 mins).

Maidenhead underlined that the three-goal gap was perhaps a little tough on them when McCoulsky again went clos as a move on the left culminated in his shot which went norrowly wide (38 mins).

But it was about to get even worse for Maidenhead when Alty netted a fourth goal which again started with Pasiek, on the left, who fed Linney. Again, he cut inside and now fed Newby for his hat-trick goal (45 mins). It was Alty's second hat-trick of the season after Linney himself had achieved a first-half hat-trick at Fylde.

In added time Crankshaw went close to adding a fifth but his shot was just wide of the target. It was to be the reecovering winger's last involvement.

At the break Joe Nuttall replaced Crankshaw who had been starting his first league game since September 2023, sixteen months ago, following injury. His 45 minutes in this game had been his longest in action since then.

An early corner was won by Linney, from which Nuttall headed goalwards only for a defender to clear the ball off the line (51 mins).

Following a stoppage for Mr Miller to lecture Olson and Dyce, who were niggling each other, Golden got forward to win his side a corner (57 mins), which Olson headed over the bar.

The atmosphere in the ground was rather flat as the hour mark passed, with Alty sitting comfortably on their lead.

Midway through the half Lucas Weaver repaced Newby while Maidenhead replaced Korboa by Barratt (66 mins). Three minutes afterwards, Keech replaced McCoulsky. There was almost an immediate impact as a Barratt shot forced a good save from Ethan Ross with the Maidenhead follow-up needing to be blocked by a defender (70 mins).

A foul on Dyce by Crawford earned him his fifth yellow to add to his two red cards this season (71 mins), following which Maidenhead went close again as Barratt's freekick curled across the face of the Alty goal. Then Barratt's twenty-five yarder had to be beaten out by Ross as the visitors refused to give up (73 mins).

Indeed, a Maidenhead corner soon arrived as well, before Alty made another change with Reddin replacing Linney (76 mins).

More changes saw Bickerstaff replace Marriott, who had needd treatment before leaving the pitch (79 mins). And then Stewart was introduced by Alan Devonshire to replace Abrahams (82 mins)

Both sets of supporters were quiet as the game ticked towards its inevitable conclusion and a further change from Maidenhead saw Latty-Fairweather replace Smith (88 mins). Just after Weaver had won a corner, three added minutes were signified.

In that period Bickerstaff chased a ball down to the byeline from where he cut it back to Weaver who sliced his shot badly wide (90+2 mins).

Alty had shown a clinical aspect to their finishing in the first half but Maidenhead may feel that the four-goal margin of defeat was harsh on them.

The fact that the win was achieved with an Altrincham side lacking six players who had each played in at least half of this season's league fixtures [Banks (23 appearances), Eddy Jones (13), James Jones (19), Amaluzor (15), Kosylo (14), and Wilson (18)] will have been encouraging to Phil Parkinson as regards the current depth of his squad.