2005/06 season match No.44
Saturday, March 18th, 2006
Nationwide North
Harrogate Town 1, Alfreton Town 0
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic.

IF, at the end of the current season, the worst happens and Alfreton Town drop to the UniBond League, they may point to one incident at Wetherby Road on Saturday and say that one linesman’s flag cost them the point which ultimately took them down.
Decisions have a habit of evening themselves out over a season, but it’s the ones that go against you that stick in the mind.
And Alfreton had what looked a good equaliser ruled out 12 minutes from time by a questionable offside flag, which robbed them of a deserved point at play-off chasing Harrogate.
The upshot of that and other results is that the Reds’ safety margin is now down to five points, and with five of the remaining eight matches away and the Reds having won only once on their travels this season, there still remains some sweating to be done.
Harrogate’s ace marksman Danny Holland had put his side ahead on the hour, but 12 minutes from time Gary Mills’ long free kick into the home area led to the ball bouncing around and Mark Hume ultimately forcing it over the line.
But the celebrations were cut short by the offside flag. And although the decision went unchallenged, Reds fans behind the goal were not alone in believing the goal should have stood with two defenders on the line, for that view drew also some sympathy from some of the home fans.
Had it been allowed, it would have been a deserved one for both Alfreton and Hume himself.
Hume had marked his return to the side after his long absence through suspension with a man of the match performance in a three-man defence.
In the absence of Lewis Brooks on England U18 duty, player-manager Gary Mills had opted for 3-5-2 with Hume, Mark Turner ad Dave Robinson at the back, and Ryan Clarke and Lee Featherstone operating the full length of the flanks – a decision which surprisingly left Chris Bettney to start on the bench.
A month ago, chairman Wayne Bradley had suggested to the media after a dire show at Stalybridge, that they should talk to him again in a month’s time.
With that month having elapsed, Mr Bradley admitted that, although there had been a decided improvement, “we will still be looking over our shoulders until the points have been won to allow us to focus on next season.”
The chairman added; “We’ve come away from home, dug in deep looking to generate a point if not three, and the manager would probably reverse that and say we came for all three and were disappointed not to get one.
“This season has a bigger focus than we would like, for the wrong reasons, but I don’t know what pessimism means, and I’m optimistic that we will find the answers that will keep us in this division next season.
“The month since we last spoke has been a great one, we’ve had the response we wanted, picked up points, and shown character and resilience.
“And Gary has been working hard to create the room for manoeuvre. Three players have moved out of the camp this week, which has generated the ability and flexibility to recruit the right character to come in and give us one more lift.”
Away points still have to be ground out, and Alfreton looked like doing just that in a dour first half in which they created, but failed to take, the better openings, against a keeper who showed signs of flappability at times.
Hume was just wide with a header onto a corner in the 16th minute, and just before the break Mick Godber released Emeka Nwadike in the right of the box, but he pulled his cross shot just beyond the far post.
Harrogate, in contrast, had created nothing. Giant former Eastwood striker Marc Smith, who had looked a likely source of problems three weeks earlier in Reds’ handsome 4-1 home win against the North Yorkshire side, this time got little change out of Hume who was commanding at the back.
Harrogate did sound a warning in the 56th minute when Holland, released by Anton Lally, sent his rising drive just too high.
Four minutes later home skipper Roy Hunter flicked on to Smith, he fed Holland in the right of the box, and this time Harrogate’s leading scorer made no mistake.
Godber had a great chance to equalise in the 70th minute, when Mills’ free kick was laid off by Hume, but the striker contrived to sky his finish well over from around six yards.
Then came that controversial disallowed goal.
With Liam Powell and Bettney already on, Alfreton made their last throw of the dice five minutes from time when forward Michael Rankine replace defender Turner.
But it was Holland who almost had the last word with a 35-yard dipper that Simon Rayner, off his line, superbly tipped over the bar.
The fact remains that, with Hume’s effort disallowed, Alfreton have now gone five away matches without scoring, and maybe this will be the problem that Mills seeks to address now that he has generated the room to move.
HARROGATE: Anyon, Dunning, Clark, L. Wood, Stoneman, Ellerker (Mason 90), Lally, Hunter, Smith, Holland, Philpott. Subs not used: Ryan, Jones, Grant, M. Wood.
ALFRETON: Rayner, Clarke (Powell 62), Featherstone, Robinson, Hume, Turner (Rankine 85), Nwadike, Mills, Godber, Stevenson, Fisher (Bettney 73). Subs not used: Blount, Bodkin.
REFEREE: Alan Harper of Blaydon.
ATTENDANCE: 468.
SCORER: Harrogate – Holland 60.
CAUTIONS: Harrogate – Lally 10 (foul on Clarke); Smith 80 (retaliation on Hume). Alfreton – Hume 80 (foul on Smith).
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Mark Hume.