by John Edwards

LEE Sinnott saluted Altrincham’s ‘incredible spirit’ after they made it three unbeaten games in a row with a hard-fought goalless draw at Blundell Park on Tuesday night.

Following up back-to-back wins over Macclesfield and FC Halifax, Alty made light of a demanding schedule and a sickness bug to stand firm in the face of a second-half onslaught and frustrate promotion hopefuls Grimsby.

"Any neutral would point out Grimsby had the lion’s share of possession, and I have to admit that when we had the ball, we didn’t use it as well as we can,’ said Alty boss Sinnott.

"But those are the only negatives I am going to say, because when you look at how the players have been to the well three times in such quick succession, it was an incredible show of spirit.

"We could have buckled, after all our exertions over the past week, but we didn’t. To a man, they stuck to the cause and put their bodies on the line, and you can’t ask for more than that.

"The boys were tired by the end, but I was really proud of them for sticking at it and getting their just rewards at a place that is going to be a difficult venue for any visiting team."

Reflecting on an exceptional 3-1 win at high-riding Halifax last Saturday, Sinnott added: 'People might not have seen that coming, but I told the players that if they are on their mettle, as they were against Macclesfield, they can be a match for anyone.

"Halifax are always going to ask you questions, and you have to answer them. Not only did we do that, we got the ball down and played and scored three clinical goals. I was delighted with the players, especially after all the effort they put in against Macc the previous Tuesday."

Sinnott cancelled Thursday night's training session, ahead of this Saturday's home game with Woking (3pm), to stop the spread of a bug that prevented James Lawrie taking any part at Grimsby and has so far affected eight Alty players.

'It seems sensible to try and isolate it, and we wouldn't have done that much anyway after a long journey to and from Grimsby,' added the Alty manager.