Mansfield Town put a halt to Altrincham's seven match unbeaten run in a fiery contest at Moss Lane which saw the home side reduced to nine men.
In an extraordinary match which saw referee Andy Halladay the centre of attention, Stags should have killed the game off long before the final whistle, but ultimately they had to settle for a nervy finale.
But in the end it didn't matter, as Town returned to winning ways on the road.
It was a match to set the pulses racing, and never short of incident. Manager David Holdsworth was delighted with the points yet disappointed in his strikers' lack of ruthlessness in front of goal.But the win means that the Mansfield Town promotion bandwagon keeps on rolling.
Altrincham, in fine form prior to the start of the contest, attacked first when Chris Senior made a surging run towards the byline and drilled in a dangerous cross, but the advancing Colin Little was unable to connect from short range.
Stags broke the deadlock on seven minutes when Kyle Perry bagged his seventh goal of the season. Captain Gary Mills did well to drift in a cross from the right and the home side could only clear to the edge of the box, where Matt Somner was on hand to drive goalwards.Stuart Coburn did well to make the save, diving to his left, but he could do precious little about Kyle Perry's thunderous follow up.
Altrincham's Senior blazed wide five minutes later, and should have done better from inside the area following Matt Doughty's left-wing cross.
Mansfield had a great opportunity to double their lead on 16 minutes when Louis Briscoe brought the ball down well on the edge of the area before laying off the unmarked Kyle Perry inside the 18 year box. But the burly front man hit it straight at the home goalkeeper and Altrincham were let off the hook.
Then came the moment of controversy, when on 27 mintes, Altrincham lost their cool after Gary Silk was fouled on the far side. The mêlée to follow resulted in the referee brandishing a red card to Chris Senior after an attack on Kyle Perry.Nicky Clee and Matt Doughty also went into the notepad, but under the 'yellow card' column.
But Alty weren't prepared to lie down and die despite their numerical disadvantage and they were unlucky not to equalise ten minutes from half time. Shaun Densmore's inch perfect cross from the right was superbly headed off the underside of the bar by Colin Little and onto the goal line, where Mansfield managed to scramble clear.
Then at the other end, Rob Duffy assisted Kyle Perry on the right, but Perry misfired when a connection must have surely forced Coburn into a save.
By now the game had reached boiling point, and even Alty substitute Greg Young went into the book for showing dissent during his warm up on the touchline.
Substitute Aaron Burns kept Alan Marriott on his toes in the first minute of added time. As a long high dropping ball was aimed towards the Stags' goal, Burns headed goalwards and Marriott scooped it away, almost in slow-motion.
Mansfield raced out the traps in the second period and doubled their advantaged after just 11 seconds - the same time it took for Altrincham to score in this fixture last season. Paul Heckingbottom played the ball forward for Rob Duffy to flick on, and Louis Briscoe, returning to the side did the rest from inside the area to double Stags' lead.
Stags by now were playing with confidence in abundance.Matt Somner drifted it out wide for Kyle Perry, and then to Gary Mills through the middle, but his effort was hit straight at Coburn.
Altrincham were dealt another set back on 53 minutes when they were reduced to nine men.Gary Silk fouled Matt Doughty on the right, and Silk went into the referees' book.As did Doughty, for the second time, showing dissent at the referee, and was subsequently given his marching orders.
Jake Speight then replaced goalscorer Kyle Perry with 35 minutes left and Ryan Williams came on for Steven Istead five minutes later.
Altrincham were handed a lifeline when Burns broke the offside trap halfway inside the Stags' half.Colin Little slipped him in through the middle and the backtracking Paul Heckingbottom was unable to chase him as Burns finished coolly to slot home from inside the area to reduce the deficit.
Ryan Williams scurried forward on 72 minutes and drifted in a telling cross which eluded both Rob Duffy and Louis Briscoe as it skimmed the post.
Four minutes later, Blair Sturrock came on for Louis Briscoe and within seconds he was harshly cautioned for a 'high foot' on Altrincham's Shaun Densmore.
Skipper Gary Mills hit a long range pile driver just over the bar from 20 yards with ten minutes to play. Two minutes later, Jake Speight wriggled past his man on the edge of the area, but his shot was also off target.
Ryan Williams then tried his luck with minutes of normal time remaining as Stags searched for a third.
Speight had another try on 87, doing all the hard work by twisting his marker inside and out, but smashing his effort into the stand.
Alty hearts were broken in the dying moments when they put the ball in the back of the net, only to be ruled out for offside by a linesman's flag. Rob Williams rose highest to head into the net following a cross, but his joy turned to sadness in an instant as he looked across to see his goal disallowed.
The home side, desperate for an equaliser, tried in vain to reduce the deficit as Stags returned to winning ways on their travels, but it could have been by a wider margin with stronger finishing in front of goal.
