JAMES Lawrie scored a spectacular first-half strike as Altrincham were held to a 1-1 stalemate by promotion-chasing Eastleigh to extend their unbeaten home run to four games.

After three successive wins at Moss Lane the Robins were confident of claiming another scalp, but Eastleigh held control of possession in the opening minutes.

The away side remained the dominant team but were restricted to shots from distance that were comfortably dealt with by the Altrincham defence.

Skipper Shaun Densmore and Jordan Sinnott began to find some joy on the right flank before the hosts broke the deadlock through Lawrie’s wonderful individual effort on the half hour mark.

Eastleigh over-committed going forward when Jake Moult broke up play and set through Lawrie down the wing, who struck an early left-foot shot as he entered the left side of the penalty area, finding the far corner of the goal in superb fashion.

With the score remaining 1-0 at half-time, the game suddenly exploded into life after the break with five bookings in six minutes as tensions boiled over.

Substitute Ryan Crowther thought he had doubled the lead with 20 minutes to play when he tapped the ball into the back of the net following a corner from Lawrie, but target man Michael Rankine was adjudged to have fouled the ‘keeper in the build-up.

Man of the match Lawrie then saw his left-foot shot courageously blocked on the line to prevent a two-goal cushion.

Eastleigh rallied with time running out as wave after wave of pressure finally took its toll when lively substitute Yemi Odubade fired a first-time volley from outside the area into the top corner with four minutes to go to break the hearts of the Alty faithful.

Speaking after the match, Altrincham manager Lee Sinnott said: “We can do better than that. I’m a little bit frustrated if I’m totally honest.

“I wanted to push on and get three points but it’s not meant to be,” he continued, “we haven’t got a clean sheet yet and that’s very frustrating as well.”

The Robins will quickly turn their attentions to the weekend visit of Braintree Town: “The players will be disappointed but there’s no time for that – there’s another three points available on Saturday,” Sinnott added.

ALTRINCHAM: Deasy, Densmore (C), Leather, Havern, Griffin, Parry, Moult, Sinnott (Heathcote, 85), Bowerman (Crowther, 62), Lawrie, Rankine.

Unused subs: Reeves, Davis, O’Keefe.