Friday, July 22nd, 2005. Pre-season friendly No.3
Alfreton Town 0, Barnsley 3
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic.

ALFRETON were given a searching examination by lively League One side Barnsley at the Impact Arena on Friday night.
But despite their second three goal margin defeat in four days, there were still positives to be taken from the game.
Alfreton, who began with only two of last season’s squad in the starting line-up, were on the back foot for most of the first half and turned round with a two-goal deficit.
But they stepped up their game after the break and competed much better, despite conceding a third, as both sides made the changes which are customary in such games.
Assistant manager Darron Geen agreed that Town were ‘a bit naïve’ in the first half, standing off their visitors and letting them play.
“But we were far better in the second half,” he added after the match. “We competed better, made them hurry a bit more, and created a few more chances.
“We always knew that tonight would be harder than Stockport, and we’d also trained last night. But that’s not an excuse, we were miles off the pace in the first half, although we did get it together in the second, and saw some good individual performances again.
“We’re still getting to know each other, but the more we play together the sooner we’ll settle down. And we’re likely to make fewer changes in the remaining friendlies, to give players 90 minutes.
“We’re trying to fix up an extra game or two to help, although if it’s against a League side it will more likely be their reserves or youth side.”
Barnsley attacked from the start, and Ryan Clarke and Liam Powell both did well to break up threatening raids on the home goal with confident challenges, while Barry Conlon tried an audacious 45-yard lob which went over the bar as he spotted Greg Smith off his line.
Chris White, playing against one of his former clubs, showed some neat footwork on the right to beat a couple of Tykes’ defenders, but no-one was on the end of his driven cross.
For the most part, though, Alfreton were fighting a rearguard action, with Dave Robinson and Clarke both getting their bodies in the way of shots on goal, so it was no real surprise when Barnsley took a 17th-minute lead.
Steve McPhail delivered a long free kick from the right into the area, and Nathan Jarman got enough of a flick on the ball to guide it into the home net.
Smith brilliantly tipped over Robbie Williams’ thunderous 23-yard snap shot four minutes later, but could do nothing about Barnsley’s second on the half-hour, although the linesman probably could.
For Paul Hayes looked offside as Barry Conlon played the ball over the defence to him, and when the flag stayed down he was left with only Smith to beat and made no mistake.
It might have been 3-0 shortly before the break, Hayes somehow contriving to steer wide from in front of goal with a touch onto a Conlon shot that looked on its way into the net anyway.
Alfreton gave deputy keeper Shaun Bodkin a taste of action within a minute of the restart, but it was they who attacked first, former Leicester City midfielder Arron Butcher putting Dave Cockerill through, only for the ball to stick under his feet as he tried to create space for a shot.
Bodkin proved his prowess a minute later, brilliantly throwing himself to his right to turn Conlon’s blistering 20-yard effort around the post.
After Conlon had notched Barnsley’s third on 56, receiving the bal through the inside left channel and giving Bodkin no chance, both sides began to make multiple changes.
White fired narrowly wide from a direct free kick some 10 yards outside the box, but at the other end the stretching Bodkin could not reach Dan Nardiello’s cross shot from the right and was relieved to see it rebound to safety off the bar.
Excellent work by the increasing promising Steve Woolley set Jon Stevenson forward for Alfreton, and his fast ground shot arrowed just wide.
At the other end Bodkin denied Nardiello a last gasp fourth goal with an excellent one-handed save in a one-on-one confrontation.
ALFRETON: G. Smith (Bodkin 46), Powell, S. Smith (Butler 58), Robinson (Blount 65), Clarke, Butcher (Cooper 65), White (Flanagan 75), Fisher (Nwadike 59), Ross (Barnes 54), Duffield (Stevenson 58), Cockerill (Woolley 61). Sub not used: Dolby.
BARNSLEY: Colgan (Flinders 58), Reid (Vaughan 58), Carbon (Wroe 58), Hayes, Conlon, McPhail, Austin (Nardiello 58), Kay (Laight 87), Shuker (Harban 58), Williams, Jarman (Joynes 68). Subs not used: Burns, Tonge, Scarsella.
REFEREE: Michael Short of Barnsley.
ATTENDANCE: 297.