Altrincham produced a devastating display of attacking football at Mill Farm, inflicting a heavy 5-0 defeat on a hapless AFC Fylde side. The visitors took the lead inside five minutes when Regan Linney, latching onto an Alex Newby pass, fired home to give Altrincham an early advantage. Linney doubled the lead just five minutes later, this time converting a Liam Humbles assist to make it 2-0 before the ten-minute mark. Fylde struggled to contain Altrincham’s fluid attacking movements, and their afternoon worsened on the stroke of half-time as Linney completed his hat-trick, again profiting from Newby’s creative work to give Altrincham a commanding 3-0 lead at the break.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Altrincham continuing to dominate proceedings. Having set up three goals in the first half, Newby deservedly got his name on the scoresheet in the 54th minute, finishing a move that saw Linney return the favour with an assist. The rout was completed in the 80th minute when substitute Elliot Osborne added a fifth for the rampant visitors, compounding Fylde’s misery. The closing stages were punctuated by a flurry of yellow cards as frustrations boiled over for the home side. Massey, Davis, Long, and Mitchell all received bookings for Fylde, while Altrincham’s Banks and Kosylo were also cautioned late on. Several substitutions from both sides throughout the second half failed to alter the one-sided nature of the contest.
Altrincham’s clinical finishing and incisive passing proved far too much for Fylde to handle. The emphatic victory saw Altrincham climb to 9th in the National League table, leaving Fylde languishing in 20th. The result further strengthens Altrincham’s recent dominance over Fylde, adding to their previous win and draw in recent encounters between the two sides.