2004/05 - Match No. 43
Nationwide North
Tuesday, February 15th, 2005
Hucknall Town 4, Alfreton Town 0
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic

ANYONE who thought Alfreton Town’s now traditional post-Christmas slump was over received a rude awakening at Watnall Road on Tuesday night.
It was bad enough that Dave Lloyd’s men suffered their heaviest defeat of the season - what was worse was the gutless way in which they rolled over.
This was a local derby against the nearest neighbours, who already had a 2-0 win under their belts at the Impact Arena.
That should have been sufficient motivation in itself, but instead the travelling fans endured an abject performance which was devoid of passion, devoid of ideas and devoid of confidence.
Lloyd himself was moved to use his post-match interview to apologise to the supporters for the unacceptable showing.
“We lost it in the first 10 minutes,” he continued. “We showed a lack of desire and were second best for the vast majority of the game.
“They deserved to beat us, and after a couple of encouraging performances against Lancaster and Worcester no-one could leave the pitch tonight and hold his head up.
“We’ve a tough game at Nuneaton on Saturday, and we must get our heads back up, and roll our sleeves up - there’s a big point to prove.”
Hucknall player-manager Dean Barrick, somewhat charitably said that the four-goal difference was harsh on Alfreton, and admitted that the Reds’ claims for a penalty midway through the second half were justified.
“But we were 3-0 up then anyway, and we’ve played some great stuff in our two matches against them,” he added.
The writing was already on the wall in the fourth minute when home striker Gary Ricketts, the Nationwide North player of the month for January, rose high to meet Barrick’s free kick from the left and forced Lee Butler to save low with a diving header.
Three minutes later Andy Todd - widely linked by speculation to Alfreton - produced a bit of sheer genius on the left, cleverly twisting past Carl Bradshaw and Mark Blount in one movement before drilling in a low shot from inside the area.
Bradshaw’s 22-yarder flew past the angle at the other end on 13 and he had a 30-yard blockbuster well held by home keeper Greg Smith.
In between, Smith was quickly off his line to save at the feet of Mick Godber as the striker chased Luke Foster’s through ball.
This was Alfreton’s only decent spell of the match, and Michael Simpkins landed a 23-yard free kick on top of the net while the home defence was still organising.
The Reds should have been level on 31, when the keeper made a hash of his attempt to claim Grant Brown’s hanging cross and dropped it at the feet of Peter Duffield. But Chris Timons had got back to clear Duffield’s shot off the line.
However, that spell in the ascendancy was ended by Hucknall’s second goal five minutes later. Roy Hunter’s free kick was not properly cleared, Barrick crossed high from the left, and this time the towering Ricketts made no mistake with his downward header.
Grant Brown received a booking after uncharacteristically being reduced to hauling Danny Bacon down from behind as Hucknall, boosted by their second goal, went looking for a third.
But it might have been a different second half had Godber’s speculative volley found the net instead of going just off target shortly before the break.
Lloyd sent youngster Steven Woolley on for Chris Bettney at the start of the second half, and his angled cross in the 52nd minute was headed for a corner by Alistair Asher.
The aftermath of the corner saw the ball finish in the Hucknall net, but an offside flag was already up.
Matt Fisher, already on a booking, was relieved to receive only a lecture after a foul on Mark Smith on the hour, and Brown needed to make a superlative challenge on Todd as he hared goalwards.
Alfreton had spent the greater part of the half struggling to get out of their own territory but, when they did so, Woolley’s ball in found Duffield whose rising drive was too high.
At 2-0 down the match was just about rescuable, and Lloyd gambled by sending on Mark Sale as an extra front man at the expense of defender Simpkins on 68.
Within a minute that move had rebounded on him. Ricketts laid the ball off intelligently for Bacon, and he squared for Mark Smith to capitalise on the consequent gap in defence, nipping in behind to put the outcome beyond Alfreton.
Justifiable penalty claims in the 71st minute might just have opened up a way back, when Bradshaw’s fierce shot from outside the area was handled by Ricketts in the box.
But all they got out of it after besieging Mr Fletcher was a corner, and when nothing came of that Sale was booked for continuing his protest for too long.
Bradshaw drove a free kick within his normal strike range right out of the ground, and Godber’s shot on the turn was smothered by the keeper at his near post, while Duffield volleyed wide from 16 yards.
But it all had an air of desperation about it, and salt was rubbed into the Reds’ wounds with virtually the last kick of the match three minutes into stoppage time.
Foster, who had been just about man of the match for Alfreton if anyone was worthy of that, clattered into Ricketts but, with Hucknall having the advantage play went on, and Foster then fouled Asher on the touchline before he could cross.
The first foul was punished by a booking, the second by the free kick, and when Asher drilled the set piece across the area, substitute Michael Plummer unleashed an unstoppable waist-high volley through a crowded box, which may have taken a slight deflection as it rocketed past the unsighted Butler and into the net to compete the humiliation.
MATCH DETAILS
HUCKNALL: G. Smith, Asher, Barrick, Hunter (Rowland 73), Timons, Cooke, M. Smith (Plummer 75), Palmer, Ricketts, Bacon (Ward 88), Todd. Subs not used: Farncis, Harding.
ALFRETON: Butler, Blount, Simpkins (Sale 68), Foster, Brown, Bradshaw, Bettney (Woolley h/t), Fisher (Cooper 83), Godber, Duffield, Holmes. Subs not used: Nwadike, Teather.
REFEREE: R. Fletcher of Belper.
ATTENDANCE: 712.
SCORERS: Hucknall - Todd 7; Ricketts 36; M. Smith 69; Plummer 90+3.
CAUTIONS: Alfreton - Fisher 38 (foul on Hunter); Brown 43 (‘professional’ foul on Bacon); Sale 69 (dissent); Foster 90+2 (foul on Ricketts).
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Luke Foster.