Regan Linney hat-trick inspires Altrincham to thumping win over Fylde

Regan Linney fired a first-half hat-trick as Altrincham cruised to a 5-0 win at National League rivals Fylde.

Linney put Altrincham 2-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes, opening the scoring with a superb curling effort after cutting inside from the left before arrowing his second into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

The former FC United forward tapped home his third from close range shortly before half-time after being teed up by Alex Newby.

Fylde, who appointed former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips as their new head coach earlier this month, were 4-0 down in the 55th minute when Newby produced a neat lobbed finish and substitute Elliot Osborne pounced on a defensive error to fire home Altrincham’s fifth.