CUP football has not been too kind to Altrincham so far this season, as they have exited at the first hurdle to both Mansfield Town in the FA Cup and then to Witton Albion in the Cheshire Senior Cup.
Witton's last minute winner was scored by no other than John McAliskey, the former Wrexham striker, who has since signed for the Moss Lane club.
The Robins have been as high as seventh in the table this season, following Tom Kearney's winner at Rushden & Diamonds in early October, but like the Dragons, their inconsistency in front of goal has seen them slip back into mid table.
There was a little flourish in late November, when they won 3-1 at Chester City and followed it up with a 2-0 success at Tamworth, but since then no goals against either Barrow or Histon.
The 200% website reported eloquently on the Histon encounter last Saturday.
"If football precisely mirrored life, people wouldn't be that excited by it, so football contains a higher proportion of exciting moments than your normal life.
"Sometimes, however, all you get is the bread and butter, and it feels as if "the football" is going on elsewhere, and sometimes the writing is on the wall.
"Histon against Altrincham in the Blue Square Premier. Twelfth against eleventh in the table. Three weeks before Christmas.
"There's something in the air which seems to be indicating that this isn't going to be one of the greatest matches of the season, yet 676 doughty souls have had it sold to them that this match is worth being at.
"'Not bad for a village team', says a sign that hangs limply from one of the two stands that line one side of 'The Glassworld Stadium'... Histon's team is different to the one that surprised so many people last season (manager Steve Fallon is still there [although he has since been suspended], but John Beck has now gone).
"One can stand right next to the dug outs and listen to the uncensored wisdom of the management team. This is a particularly welcome development, considering that Altrincham's manager is Graham Heathcote, who marauds around his technical area like a caged tiger, throwing forward comments with liberal abandon.
"In the first half, he has plenty of cause for profanity. Histon settle to their task quickly, and Altrincham's attacks are uninspiring.
"Heathcote doesn't seem impressed by his team or by the referee - every free-kick against his team is treated like a miscarriage of justice of Birmingham Six proportions - and he provides considerably more entertainment than the two evenly matched teams, who spend most of the first half cancelling each other out.
"Too good to go down and probably not good enough to go up, it seems like that Altrincham and Histon, barring anything cataclysmic happening to either club, will continue to sit in the middle of the table."
Altrincham's Moss Lane woes continued as they crashed 1-0 to visiting Barrow the previous weekend.
The Robins, who have won only twice at home all season, were punished for missed chances when Craig Nelthorpe struck five minutes from time to send them spinning to a fourth defeat in front of their own fans.
The loss sees Alty drop one place to 11th in Blue Square Premier - a position they owe largely to their superb away form.
Last season's encounter at the Racecourse saw the Cheshire club win out on Easter Monday, to ease their relegation worries, as French defender Mansour Assoumani saw red and ended his season early.
