SUBS SAVE THE DAY AS FAB ROBINS FIGHT BACK

STUNNED David Unsworth described ten-man Altrincham’s remarkable comeback against his Oldham side as ‘sickening’, as the Robins rescue a point in a gobsmacking finish at Boundary Park.

Goals either side of halftime from Joe Nuttall and Bassala Sambou looked to have given the hosts a first win in six, but a stunning strike from Maximillian Oyedele and a bullet header from Tyrese Sinclair in the final ten minutes meant Phil Parkinson’s visiting team salvaged a draw despite Kyle Ferguson’s red card.

“It hurts,” Unsworth told The NLP. “It’s difficult to understand what has happened in the last ten minutes, against ten men as well. It’s a sickening result for us but we played really well for the majority of the game.

“First half we go in a goal up deservedly and that second goal looks like it’s going to be enough to see us over the line. But then they score a cracker and we go and lose our man at a corner, which isn’t like us. There’s lessons to be learned because we have to be better at killing teams off and holding on to results going forward.”

The Latics began this Greater Manchester derby brightly and took a deserved lead when Alex Reid – back from a hamstring injury – was sent through before taking a heavy touch while going round an onrushing Oliver Byrne in the Altrincham goal. The ball, bobbling on a poor playing surface, found its way to Nuttall who tapped in his sixth league goal of the season on the swivel.

Altrincham, changing from an ineffective back five to a more direct flat four, were not able to find their way back into the game after the break, the second half playing out as one of the dullest contests the National League has seen this season.

Until, suddenly, it wasn’t. John Rooney, a man revitalised since moving to the left of a four-man midfield, saw his free-kick from just to the left of the ‘D’ saved by Byrne, but only as far as Mark Kitching who headed back across the six-yard area for substitute Sambou to score his first Oldham goal in the 74th minute.

Five minutes later, Sambou was involved again as Ferguson came in late and high on the Everton loanee, with referee Paul Marsden showing the Scottish centre-back a straight red card.

Despite appearing out of the contest, the Robins began their comeback just 80 seconds after the sending off with substitute Oyedele controlling a cleared corner before hitting a half volley from 25 yards under Magnus Norman to give the travelling support hope.

Hope, which was rewarded with a minute left on the clock as another corner found the onrushing head of other sub Sinclair, whose powered header left Norman with no chance as it found the roof of the net.