2006/2007 season Match no.16 - Nationwide North
Saturday, November 4th, 2006
Farsley Celtic 1, ALFRETON TOWN 1

Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD).

PRETTY it may not have been, but workmanlike it certainly was as re-jigged Alfreton put a hard earned point in the bank at Throstle Nest on Saturday.
It was only the Reds’ second match in five Saturdays after a couple of blank weekends through FA Cup dates and the Kettering game having been pulled forward to a Friday night.
During that time the side has undergone something of an upheaval, and the latest moves, following the defeat at Redditch, saw two new central defenders brought in – one on loan, and one bid farewell.
The result will have left the travelling supporters sharing player-manager Gary Mills’ mixed feelings. It was a point gained on the road against an in-form side, but it was a disappointment that, having taken the lead in first half stoppage time, the Reds let Farsley back into it within five minutes of the re-start.
“The Redditch game showed that we were not consistently strong enough, and I’ve tried to address that by bringing in Nathan Winder from Hucknall and Tommy Hannigan from Notts County,” said the manager.
“And it was certainly better. We won a lot of second balls that we had not been winning previously and the new lads have done well.
“I wouldn’t say for a minute that it was pretty, but we’re in the situation where we’ve got to show that we have big hearts, that we have the desire to win matches, and that we will keep on going.”
Leaving the club in the intervening period was defender Gary Suchaewycz who has gone to Hednesford Town, but without Ryan Clarke and Mark Barnard, Mills opted for a 3-5-2 formation, with Emeka Nwadike and Anton Brown on the midfield flanks.
It looked a successful arrangement, until Mark Turner pulled his groin just before half time and the Reds were forced to reshape to 4-4-2.
Mranwhile there was no sign from Farsley that their minds may be on next weekend’s FA Cup tie against MK Dons – indeed they probably lost out on a bumper crowd by electing to put tickets on sale for that match in the adjacent leisure centre instead of inside the ground – most un-Yorkshire-like if certain generalisations are to be believed.
In a lively opening, Andy Watson for the Celts and Andy Tiday for the Reds flashed angled efforts beyond the far post, then Dale Roberts had to be quickly off his line to beat Gareth Grant to Mills’ under-hit back pass.
Farsley had optimistic penalty appeals waved away in the 11th minute when they claimed hands against Ashley Burbeary following a throw-in.
At the other end two minutes later, Ryan Crossley had to stretch his neck to head away a dangerous lofted cross from Winder, with Tiday and Mark Rawle in close attendance, but after that the game went into a quiet midfield spell.
It flickered back into life again when Hannigan, a 19-year-old loanee, showed his capability with a fine interception as Grant tried to send Remo Nesa clear, and Roy Stamer tried a 25-yard rising drive which just cleared the bar.
But in between, Brown could not quite connect with a probing ball in from Mills, and lost out in a race with keeper Paul Cuss onto Marcus Ebdon’s astute through ball.
The Reds suffered a setback when impressive central defender Mark Turner was injured in the 37th minute. After a couple of minutes of unsuccessful treatment it meant a reshape, with the hard-working Nwadike pulled back into the defence along with Mills, Andy Tiday dropping from centre-forward into midfield, and David Reeves coming on up front.
But it’s an ill wind that blows no-one any good, and it was Reeves who found the first goal in the second minute of stoppage time. Ebdon took a throw-in from the left into the area, the head of Brown flicked it on, and Reeves was there to divert a back-header into the net.
They say that just before half time is psychologically a good time to score, but every rule has its exception, and five minutes into the restart Watson played the ball infield from the right to Nesa, who advanced a couple of paces and drilled a 25-yard effort under the dive of Roberts to level the scores.
Two minutes later the same combination almost worked again, this time Watson spreading the ball out wide left to Nesa whose terrific angled drive brought a fine reaction save out of Roberts.
Generally, though, the home side were finding little change out of the Reds’ re-organised defence, in which the two new men caught the eye, as did the example of Mills (45 next Saturday), while the versatile Nwadike looked as if he had been playing there all his life.
But there was a heart-stopping moment midway through the half when Hannigan miskicked an attempted clearance of the overlapping Stabb’s cross. Fortunately for him, Simeon Bambrook also miskicked in front of goal as Nwadike closed him down quickly.
The match was summed up when the first corner was not won until the 83rd minute, by Farsley, while Alfreton got their first flag kick four minutes later – though neither came to anything.
But Farsley might have robbed the Reds of a deserved point deep into stoppage time, when Roberts had to stretch to his left to divert substitute Damian Reeves’ effort around his post.
FARSLEY: Cuss, Stabb, Stamer (Walls 89), Krief, Crossley, Thackray, Watson, Bambrook, Grant, Midgley, Neas (Damian Reeves 89). Subs not used: Nestor, Morgan.
ALFRETON: Roberts, Nwadike, Brown, Hannigan, Turner (David Reeves 39), Winder, Mills, Ebdon, Tiday, Rawle, Burbeary (Mitchell 75). Subs not used: Glass, Harcourt, Whitman.
REFEREE: Ross Joyce of Middlesbrough.
ATTENDANCE: 275.
GOALS: Farsley – Nesa 50. Alfreton – David Reeves 45+2.
CAUTIONS: Farsley – Stabb 69 (dissent); Nesa 74 (unsporting conduct – dive). Alfreton – Nwadike 65 (foul on Midgley); Winder 88 (foul on Watson).
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Emeka Nwadike.