Phil Parkinson saluted Chris Conn-Clarke’s match-winning qualities after he made it three goals in two games and helped lift Altrincham into seventh position in the National League on the back of two victories in three days.

There was no stopping Alty on Saturday, as they hammered Ebbsfleet United 6-1 with a double from Conn-Clarke, and the attacking midfielder found his scoring touch again with the only goal of the game at Maidenhead United on Tuesday night.

That’s six goals so far this season for Alty’s leading marksman, a consistently outstanding performer in recent weeks, and Robins boss Parkinson was full of praise for him as he revealed how the sloping surface at York Road may have played a part in the 25-yard drive that flew beyond the Maidenhead keeper.

“Cometh the hour, cometh the man,” he said. “I spoke to the players at half time about the slope on the pitch. I’ve played on pitches like that and seen what it can do to the ball when you strike it from distance.

“If you get the connection right, it can make the ball dip, and Chris certainly did that. It was moving anyway, but the way it dipped as well actually made me feel sorry for their keeper.

“That’s why I was so desperate to get Chris back to the club after his initial loan spell - he’s a matchwinner. You can point to some things he might not always get right, but if he did, he would be playing in the Championship.”

Parkinson, whose side are on the road again on Saturday in a live TNT Sports fixture at Oxford City (5.30pm), was just as pleased with the defensive resilience that helped secure a second successive away clean sheet.

“The two centre-backs, Jake Cooper and Lewis Baines, were absolutely sensational,” he said. “Their concentration levels had to be on point, and they were. I thought they were real shining lights, and it just shows what competition can do, with James Jones and Sam Roscoe breathing down their necks.”