ALTRINCHAM missed a chance to go third in the Skrill North on Tuesday night when Harrogate Town became the first team to complete the double over the Robins with a thoroughly deserved and convincing victory at the J.Davidson Stadium.

The Yorkshire side were disciplined and organised defensively and deployed their pacy counter-attacking style well to dominate proceedings in the second half and could have won by more than the final 3-1 scoreline.

Altrincham manager, Lee Sinnott, reflecting on his team’s third home defeat in the league this season, said: “I thought that we started the game really well and were asking a lot of questions of Harrogate defensively.

“You could say that they scored against the run of play, but having equalised through a good goal from Damian Reeves, we never got going in the second half and I’ll be interested to see their second and third goals again, but it seemed that we didn’t react quickly enough to either situation.”

Defeat means that the Robins are now 11 points adrift of Telford and 12 points behind leaders North Ferriby with a couple of games in hand on both teams.

Automatic promotion by winning the league, looks a bit of a long shot at the moment but at least Altrincham are back in a play-off spot, courtesy of a dramatic victory in Northamptonshire against Brackley Town on Saturday.

Trailing to a first half goal, the match was turned on its head in the last 10 minutes as two goals, in as many minutes, from Damian Reeves and James Walshaw snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Altrincham travel to face sixth placed Solihull Moors on Saturday and will be hoping for better fortune than on their previous visits to Damson Park, which have both ended pointless.