JAKE Moult will miss a massive double-header for Altrincham this weekend after being sent off in Saturday's 3-0 FA Trophy win against Clitheroe at The J.Davidson Stadium.

The Alty skipper was shown a straight red card for dissent in the second half and will be suspended for Saturday's home game against in-form Buxton and Monday evening's away showdown with main title rivals Shaw Lane.

It could have been worse for Alty, who are home to Ramsbottom United in the next round, after referee Kristian Silcock deemed the words used were not delivered in an aggressive manner, meaning Moult's ban is for two games, rather than three.

Alty still face a selection dilemma, with fellow midfielder Simon Richman also suspended for the Buxton game and Sam Sheridan bracing himself for a lengthy lay-off.

"With Sam, it's possibly a hernia, and if it is, he's looking at six to eight weeks out," said assistant manager Neil Sorvel.

"It's not ideal, but at least Laurence Taylor should be available again after being able to train this week, and we just have to adapt and adjust as we see fit.

"We gave Max Harrop a go in that midfield anchor role against Ashton United the other week, and he did really well.

"You think of him as an attacking player, but he can play there without a doubt, and that's why we gave him more time in that position on Saturday.

"He and James Poole sat in there as a two and were really reliable and disciplined, so we'll look at what we've got, in terms of options.

"We went through a spell of being sloppy playing the ball out from the back in the first half on Saturday, but we still managed to find ways and solutions for breaking the opposition down and scoring goals.

"We were just finding our composure again when we had Jake sent off, but fair play to the 10 men – it was a real professional job, the way we limited Clitheroe to virtually nothing from then on."