Shaymen held to goalless draw by ten-man Altrincham after ex-Halifax man Kosylo sent-off

All the best action happened off the pitch, with Matty Kosylo and Chris Millington both sent off by referee Richard Aspinall as the teams headed into the changing rooms at half-time.

The Shaymen can add this game to their list of matches where they've been unable to press home the advantage of having a man extra though: they controlled the second-half, but failed to find the net.

A point at Altrincham isn't a bad one considering only Eastleigh have won here this season, but in the circumstances, you feel it should have been three.

Tom Crawford twice went close for Altrincham inside the first six minutes, after Scott High had fired wide inside the opening 60 seconds.

The frenetic start continued as Florent Hoti could only scuff a shot straight at Ethan Ross after a great run down the left by Ryan Galvin, one of two to come into the Halifax side, along with High.

Alex Newby then had a shot saved by Sam Johnson after some clever footwork inside the Town box.

Jamie Cooke and Angelo Cappello started on the left and right flanks respectively, a plan that was scrapped 20 minutes in when Cooke was injured and Max Wright replaced him.

The Shaymen had imposed themselves from the off, with High and Hoti influential: Halifax looked sharp and aggressive, and played the better football too.

But stoppages for injuries didn't help the flow of what had been a watchable start to the game, to such an extent there were eight added minutes at the end of the half.

Chances started to appear again during that eight minutes after the match had flat-lined from the opening half's mid-point: Regan Linney could have done better than hitting the side-netting from inside the box, while Jack Evans had a shot saved from 25 yards.

It was hardly a thriller in the mist as the fog descended at Moss Lane, but Altrincham were also denied a penalty for Will Smith's challenge on Newby, who was booked for diving.

There appeared to be some festive fisticuffs in the tunnel as the teams headed off at half-time

Whatever happened, it was enough for Town boss Chris Millington and ex-Halifax man Matty Kosylo to be sent-off as both failed to reappear for the second-half.

That changed the complexion of the contest and put Altrincham firmly on the back foot, with the hosts deploying two banks of four and surrendering territiory and possession.

Halifax laboured in their attempts at applying serious pressure though.

Billy Waters had a good chance just before the hour mark, latching onto High's pass before his shot was saved by Ethan Ross.

Other than that, it was sporadic shots blocked by the Altrincham defence.

Altrincham were offering nothing going forward, but were seeing enough of the ball to prevent Halifax from completely dominating.

Waters brought another save from Ross with 20 minutes remaining, before Zak Emmerson was brought on and Town switched to a back three.

Altrincham were tiring as the second-half went on, with Town pinning them back more often.

There only looked one winner. All Town were missing was a clear chance.

Andrew Oluwabori looked to have one at the far post from Wright's dinked cross but his shot was deflected into the side-netting.

Lewis Banks might have won it against the run of play late on with a fantastic shot at an angle but Johnson kept it out.

Altrincham: Ross, Banks, Baines, Olson, Golden, Osborne (Jones 46), Crawford, Wilson (Marriott 20), Kosylo, Newby, Linney (Bickerstaff 80). Subs not used: Cooper, Weaver, Reddin, Randle.

Shots on target: 3

Shots off target: 8

Corners: 5

Halifax: Johnson, Senior, Smith, Adetoro (Emmerson 72), Galvin, High, Evans, Cooke (Wright 20), Hoti (Pugh 90), Cappello (Oluwabori 60), Waters. Subs not used: Ford, Cummings, Jenkins.

Shots on target: 7

Shots off target: 16

Corners: 2

Attendance: 3,312 (535 away)

Referee: Richard Aspinall

Town man of the match: Scott High. Great to have him back on loan and would be even better if he can stick around for longer.