Alfreton Town Football Club
Match reports
2004/05

Close this window to return to the Results page

2004/04 - Match No. 3
Nationwide North
Tuesday, August 17th, 2004
Gainsborough Trinity 1, Alfreton Town 2
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic

ALFRETON Town made it two Nationwide North wins out of two as former Reds boss Paul Mitchell’s Gainsborough suffered their second defeat at The Northolme on Tuesday night.
Just as on Saturday, when new boy Peter Duffield notched the Reds’ winner against Bradford Park Avenue, this time it was the turn of fellow newcomer Mitch Ward to put away the winning goal.
In fact both the Reds’ strikes came from central midfield, Matt Fisher having fired them into a 31st-minute lead,which was cancelled out by Ben Purkiss’ solo effort 10 minutes later.
Ward, though, did not leave it quite as late as Duffield had done on Saturday, his 64th-minute strike coming at the end of a spell of Trinity pressure.
Meanwhile, debutant Ben Chapman, signed as a left back from Boston, played left midfield - and did so well that the match sponsors named him their man of the match. He looked as if he had played in that position for the Reds for years and might even have marked his debut with a couple of goals.
Reds fans may love him for what he achieved at Alfreton, or hate him for walking out on the club to join arch-rivals Worksop, but Mitchell’s sides will always try to play quality football, and the side he put out on Tuesday was no exception.
Indeed they gave the Reds’ defence a thorough examination and could well have claimed a point.
But with big men Mark Hume and Grant Brown in commanding form at the heart, and full backs Mark Blount and Carl Bradshaw also on top of their game, the defence passed its test with flying colours.
Purkiss’ goal apart, when the home side did find a way through, Lee Butler was there to keep them out - in fact it was his magnificent save from Jason Maxwell’s downward header eight minutes from time that preserved the win.
Manager Dave Lloyd reflected: “It was a hard game for us and we had to battle. They were a big threat and we coped particularly well.
“Mark Blount has done exceptionally well for us at left back, and Chapman has played wing back before so he enjoyed getting forward.
“The defence worked hard, Ward and Fisher in central midfield got into the box to support the front two, and it paid off with a goal each.
“The only down side was Carl Bradshaw tweaking a hamstring - we’re not getting much help with injuries just now, but I hope we can get one or two back for Saturday.”
Adam Burley and Matty Caudwell were prominent along the left for Trinity, and it was from Caudwell’s quick break and cross that the dangerous Lee Ellington’s bullet header was just wide in the fifth minute.
Thereafter, the game developed into a compelling contest between two well-matched sides - Gainsborough will certainly win more games than they lose - and Burley had to come up with a saving header as Emeka Nwadike ran in from the right to meet Chambers’ hanging cross.
The full back then charged down Ian Robinson’s 18-yard shot after good play by the hard-working Mick Godber.
The referee was unimpressed when Godber went down in the box under Burley’s challenge in the 26th minute. But five minutes later Alfreton had their noses in front.
Persisitent work on the right by Nwadike enabled him to centre, Robinson helped it on, and Fisher arrived to apply the finishing touch.
Maxwell tried an overhead effort at the other end from a corner, but that flew over the bar. However, a surging solo run by Purkiss in the 41st minute ended with a superb 25-yard equaliser.
Butler produced an acrobatic save two minutes later to deny Wood who had cut inside Blount, but Chambers almost restored Reds’ lead in stoppage time at the end of the half, meeting Bradshaw’s accurate cross with his head at the far post but guiding it just wide.
Butler was relieved to palm away after James Sherlock’s effort took a deflection in the opening seconds after the restart. But play immediately swept to the opposite end where Fisher was unlucky not to get a second goal, clipping the bar from Chambers’ lay off following persistent work from Godber on the right.
Trinity then embarked on a spell of intense pressure, during which they won a free kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the box, however Bradshaw charged down Burley’s direct shot.
But the visitors rode the storm and hit back with the killer goal in the 64th minute. Chambers and Robinbson combined well on the left, Robinson played the ball in low, and Ward was on hand to slot it past Jamie Holmshaw.
Chambers almost made it 3-1 six minutes later, pouncing on Neil Allison’s poor pass along the 18-yard line to Purkiss but flashing his shot just wide.
Butler came up with an early candidate for ‘save of the season’ on 82, diving and superbly tipping Maxwell’s close range header onto Burley’s cross around the post. And, from the resulting corner, substitute Mark Sale popped up in defence to head from under the bar.
MATCH DETAILS
GAINSBOROUGH: Holmshaw, Purkiss, Burley, Allison, Dixon, Sherlock, Wood, Hurst, Ellington, Maxwell, Caudwell, Subs not used: Smith, Ford, Staton.
ALFRETON: Butler, Bradshaw (Sale 80), Blount, Brown, Hume, Fisher, Nwadike, Ward, Godber, Robinson, Chapman. Subs not used; Knapper, Duffield, Holmes, Woolley.
REFEREE: Alan Greaves of Doncaster.
ATTENDANCE: 444.
SCORERS: Gainsborough - Purkiss 41. Alfreton - Fisher 31; Ward 64.
CAUTIONS: Alfreton - Fisher 60 (foul on Wood); Nwadike 67 (foul on Ellington).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Mark Hume.