It was the proverbial game of two halves, with the visitors enjoying a promising enough first half and Alty by far the better side after the break.

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But ultimately neither team got the three points they so desperately craved, a 0-0 draw leaving Celtic five points behind their rivals in the battle for Blue Square Premier survival, albeit with two games in hand.

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Deacey said: "I've got to be pleased with a point. Our first-half performance I thought was excellent but Altrincham came back in the second half.

"We worked like mad, like we did in our two previous games, and we have to build a platform from this to get the points back on Altrincham and Weymouth in the relegation dogfight.

"We've always been confident we can get out of this."

The first half was a dull, dreary encounter – a typical bottom of the table clash.
Celtic did at least look marginally sharper than their hosts though and might have gained early reward had Dominic Krief converted one of the two decent chances that fell to him.

There was no disgrace when his 20-yard free kick was saved by Stuart Coburn but he really should have done better than blast straight at the home stopper with a shot from 10 yards.

Sadly though, the most exciting moment of the half came when the ground was plunged into darkness 12 minutes in, a floodlight failure far eclipsing any of the football on display.

The problem was quickly fixed, but those on the pitch were not and it wasn't until late in the first half that either side produced anything of worth.

It came from the hosts, as Chris Senior's delightful throughball sent Ryan Toulson clear, only for Curtis Aspden's outstretched leg to divert his shot wide.

Thankfully, the game burst into life after the break, although it was Alty who had the better of the chances.

Liam King had a goal ruled out for offside on 52 minutes and struck another effort against the bar just two minutes later.

The on-loan Rotherham midfielder then turned provider, playing in Senior, only for Aspden to once more get something, anything, on the shot to keep it out of the net.

A combination of Aspden and the post kept out Tom Cahill 10 minutes from time and, despite all the pressure, Farsley held out.

They might have even snatched victory late on had Andy Watson showed a touch more composure. But the sub blazed wildly over the bar from 12 yards after Krief had picked him out.

ALTRINCHAM: Coburn, Shotton, Tinson, Young, Jennings, Toulson, Lawton, King, Peyton, Little, Senior. Subs not used: O'Neill, Cahill, Lane, Battersby, Scott.

FARSLEY CELTIC: Aspden, Jackson, Iqbal, Santos, Serrant (Watson 42), Bentham, Gardner, Krief, Prendergast, Torpey, Reeves. Subs not used: Bambrook, Tuck, Heath, Backhouse.

REFEREE: Mo Matadar.

ATTENDANCE: 1,154.