Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic.

ALFRETON’S Burscough bogey struck again as Ciaran Kilheeney’s double meant that the Reds had beaten the Linnets just once in 10 meetings.
Kilheeney’s winning goal came in the 90th minute after Alfreton had dominated most of the second half, although the visitors were fair value for their 1-0 interval lead.
On a gluepot of a pitch after heavy morning rain Kilheeney fired Burscough into a 16th-minute lead, which Chris Walton cancelled out in the 65th minute.
A draw would have been a fair result at the end of the proverbial game of two halves, but Kilheeney had other ideas, and the Reds suffered their third defeat in eight days.
Burscough themselves came into the game on the back of three defeats.
Alfreton were without injury victims Mark Barnard, Laurie Wilson, Rob Pacey and Josh Law who failed a fitness test, as well as the unavailable Kyle McFadzean, while Matt Glass got the nod ahead of Danny Reet to fill Law’s wide berth. There was also a welcome return, albeit to the bench, for keeper Kyle Sutcliffe.
The game began on a gluepot of a pitch after heavy morning rain and, had it not been so close to the season’s end, it may have been called off.
Burscough made the brighter start but Alfreton posed the first real threat in the fifth minute, when Tony McMillan had to come out of his area to clear as Chris Walton tried to put Brian Cusworth in on goal.
Anton Brown got in the way of Kilheeney’s ninth-minute effort, but a minute later the Reds fans behind the goal were appealing in vain for a penalty as Paul Clayton went down in the six-yard area trying to meet a cross from Brown, which went for a corner.
But the visitors punished the home defence for their failure to clear their lines when, in the 16th minute, Kilheeney was allowed time and space to turn and fire Flynn’s cross low into the corner and break the deadlock.
The Reds suffered a further setback three minutes later as Jordan Hall limped off, Dan Gray substituting.
From then on Burscough shaded first half possession, although McMillan did well to turn Steve Warne’s spearing 22-yard drive around a post three minutes after the goal.
For all their possession, though, the Linnets created little, although Kilheeney went close with a header from Craig Noone’s by-line cross.
There were more loud appeals on the half-hour when Cusworth looked clearly to have been pushed in the back while looking to meet Gray’s probing free kick into the area.
Noone wriggled to find a way between Gray and Tony Butler, but when he tried to feed Kilheeney the striker was well policed by Brown and could only shoot over the bar.
And the Reds’ defence was all at sea when Allan Smart crossed beyond the far post to give Noone a good chance which he wasted by aiming wide.
Alfreton took a grip on the second half, and four minutes in a well-worked move on the left ended with Bowler’s chip beaten away from under the bar by McMillan.
The Reds drew a blank for a third time when another penalty appeal was turned down – this time Bowler received from Glass and went down in the area under a challenge.
Town were doing all the attacking at this stage, but when Steve Warne found Glass on the left and ran in to meet the return it was just too far ahead of him.
Burscough finally got forward just after the hour through a sparkling run by Kilheeney who set up Noone for a shot which Butler got away for a corner.
But Alfreton drew level in the 65th minute as Walton’s downward header from Bowler’s corner was cleared and an assistant’s flag indicated it had crossed the line.
Within a minute Alfreton could have been in front when Cusworth laid off for Clayton who finished disappointingly wide.
Burscough made a triple substitution in the 73d minute, and that marked the start of a good spell for them.
Brown thwarted Noone at the end of a dazzling run into the area, and the Linnets went close four minutes from time when Laurence Matthewson tipped Earl Davis’ header over the bar at full stretch.
But the visitors had the last word as Farrell Kilbane set up Kilheeney to fire home from the left of the area to seal victory.
ALFRETON: Matthewson, Hall (Gray 19), Brown, Walton, Butler, M. Wilson, Glass, Bowler, Cusworth, Clayton, Warne. Subs not used: St-Juste, Reet, McDonald, Sutcliffe.
BURSCOUGH: McMillan, Flynn, Clancy, Davis, Kilbane, Moogan (Price 73), McCulloch (Fitzhenry 73), McGinn (Parry 73), Smart, Kilheeney, Noone. Subs not used: Tomlinson, Booth.
REFEREE: Phil Bramley of Leeds.
ATTENDANCE: 299
GOALS: Alfreton –Walton 65. Burscough –Kilheeney 16, 90.
CAUTIONS: Alfreton – Bowler 90+2 (foul on Kilheeney). Burscough – Moogan 71 (foul on Brown).
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Chris Walton.