2004/05 - Match No. 33
Nationwide North
Saturday, January 1st, 2005
Alfreton Town 0, Hucknall Town 2
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD).
Pics by Phil Lucic and John Rose.

UNIBOND League champions Hucknall Town showed that they had well and truly put their poor start to the Conference North season behind them at the Impact Arena on Saturday.
And how they most be regretting that start under Ernie Moss, for since Dean Barrick took over they have surged up the league table with a run of results that, had it started back in August, may well have seen them well clear at the top of the new league.
This display indicated that they are not yet ready to be written off even for this season’s title, as they made it eight wins in the last nine matches.
They were quicker to the ball than Alfreton, they showed greater purpose and desire, more intelligent running off the ball, and they handled the appalling weather conditions better than the Reds.
After a fairly even first half, the Nottinghamshire side took a grip in the second period, and goals by livewire Andy Todd and busy Danny Bacon secured a result about which the Reds could have few complaints.
It was not so much that Alfreton played badly – they did not. Yet had it not been for some heroic goalkeeping by Lee Butler, they could have been reflecting on a rout.
That said, Hucknall keeper James Lindley – facing Alfreton for the second time in less than three weeks after keeping goal against them for Glapwell in the Derbyshire Senior Cup 2½ weeks ago – also had some important saves to make.
Assistant manager Charlie Williamson was directing things from the dugout with boss Dave Lloyd serving a touchline ban for pointing out the error of the referee’s ways in the FA Cup replay at Macclesfield.
Williamson admitted that this was not the result they wanted at the start of a crucial month of fixtures.
“At half time I thought we were quietly in control,” he said. “But they came at us in the second half, and we were perhaps a bit cavalier at times and got caught with a sucker punch, meaning we had to push on more to try and get it back.
“We’ve got a really important game to come at Southport, and if we crucify ourselves over this result we won’t be in the right frame of mind for that game. It’s gone, and we’ve got to put it behind us and get back on track.”
The heavens opened a couple of minutes before kick-off, which, added to the swirling gale, made conditions extremely difficult, but both sides seemed determined not to let the weather win.
Hucknall had the first chance after six minutes when Chris Timons glanced a header over the bar from Roy Hunter’s near post corner.
Lindley had some difficulty in dealing with a Ryan Mallon effort three minutes later, and visiting player-manager Barrick must have been relieved in the 15th minute to see his header back from a Chris Bettney inswinger just clear his own angle by a matter of inches.
Alfreton were having the better of the play at this stage, and Emeka Nwadike was unlucky to see his 20-yard drive strike Hucknall skipper Mchael Heathcote and go to safety.
But Todd sounded a warning with a surging run along the left past Mark Blount before forcing Butler to save with his legs, Blount getting back to complete the clearance before Todd could pounce on the rebound.
Nwadike went close again with a near post header onto another Bettney cross, before Butler did well to cut out Bacon’s dangerous narrow-angled shot from the right.
With Carl Bradshaw feeling the effects of illness and unable to continue, Richard Cooper was given his home debut before half time.
Hucknall again threatened on the restart, Bacon scooping over the bar at the far post from his former Mansfield team-mate Alistair Asher’s cross.
Mitch Ward thought he had put Alfreton into a 53rd-minute lead, but his driven 20-yarder struck the unwitting Peter Duffield and deflected upwards just over Lindley’s bar.
Alfreton were enjoying a spell of pressure at this stage, but three minutes later they were hit on the counter with clinical effect. With too many home players pushing too far forward, Bacon made ground along the left, reached the by-line and pulled the ball back for Todd to sweep it past the exposed Butler and into the net.
Lindley denied Mallon an equaliser on the hour with a great save after the Halifax loanee had pounced on a rebound from Bettney’s initial effort.
The Reds had an amazing let-off on 64, as both Ricketts and Bacon failed to connect in front of a gaping goal from Mark Smith’s driven right wing centre, then Butler produced magnificent saves to deny each of those two strikers in turn.
But there was nothing the keeper could do about Hucknall’s second on 74 minutes. Ricketts sent Smith away in the right, he rounded Grant Brown and laid the ball inside to leave Bacon with a simple tap in.
Alfreton had introduced Mark Sale by then, but the big striker was unable to work his customary miracle against his old club, despite the Reds trying desperately to salvage something in the last 15 minutes.
Bettney’s looping header from Ben Chapman’s curling cross brought an excellent save out of Lindley, and when Sale laid the ball forward from a corner to Duffield, the normally prolific striker scuffed wide from six yards when on any other day he would have made no mistake.
And in stoppage time Lindley denied Alfreton even a consolation goal with a great one-handed stop from Chapman’s low shot.
MATCH DETAILS
ALFRETON: Butler, Bradshaw (Cooper 34), Blount, Chapman, G. Brown, Mitch Ward (Teather 79), Mallon, Nwadike, Godber (Sale 70), Duffield, Bettney. Subs not used: Dolby, Woolley.
HUCKNALL: Lindley, Asher, Barrick, Hunter, Heathcote, Timons, Smith (Cooke 87), Palmer, Ricketts, Bacon, Todd. Subs not used: Mark Ward, S. Brown, Winder, Harding.
REFEREE: Craig Grundy of Sheffield.
ATTENDANCE: 837.
SCORERS: Hucknall – Todd 56; Bacon 74.
CAUTIONS: Alfreton – Ward 76 (foul on Palmer). Hucknall – Timons 61 (foul on Godber).
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Lee Butler.