Droylsden match report here and match pics album by Dave Pursglove here
ALFRETON TOWN SIGN TYEISSE NIGHTINGALE
ALFRETON Town manager Nicky Law has strengthened his squad with the signing of striker Tyeisse Nightingale (left) from UniBond League Premier Division neighbours Hucknall Town.
Nicknamed 'TJ', Nightingale, 24, joined the yellows from the highly-rated Nottingham-based community project team Unity FC in July 2009. He had an immediate impact, firing a hat-trick on his league debut in a 3-0 win over Ossett Town.
He is a tall, powerful front runner with a very good eye for goal and has hit 18 goals for Hucknall Town this season.
FARSLEY CELTIC FC FINALLY DISBAND
The BBC have officially reported that Farsley Celtic Football Club have been disbanded after the club's administrators rejected numerous improved offers from the Palmer-Farrell consortium.
Their expulsion from the Football Conference was expected to occur later this week after they failed to fulfil their last three Blue Square North fixtures.
The club entered administration at the start of the season with reported debts of £750,000.
A statement from administrator Robert Adamson said: "The consortium has known for three months the required level of funding to enable to the club to exit the administration via a CVA [Company Voluntary Arrangement], as required by League rules, and they simply haven't been able to raise sufficient funds.
"As an officer of the court, one of my statutory obligations is that I must be satisfied, in my professional capacity as an insolvency practitioner, that a CVA is viable.
"I cannot move forward this offer and meet that statutory obligation. The deal was based on creditors' accepting a reduced return but not all creditors were agreeable to this."
O'NEILL: "DROYLSDEN WAS A TOP DRAWER PERFORMANCE"
ALFRETON Town assistant manager Russ O'Neill labelled Tuesday night's 5-0 victory over play-off chasing rivals Droylsden as the best display of the season and a complete performance.
The Reds are now 12 games unbeaten and appear to be getting better with each game.
After Paul Clayton had smashed in the opener on 13 minutes and Jake Moult added a second on 29, Liam Hearn produced a tremendous hat-trick in 20 minutes to wrap up a first ever Alfreton win in Blue Square North against the Bloods who have held the Indian sign over the Reds for years.
O'Neill reflected: "I thought it was a hard-fought win. They started off quite well and they passed it about, but we knew what to expect from them.
"They are a good side with good players going forward but when we got tight, I think we just overpowered them. We were exceptional in parts and it was a great result in the end."
The victory was enhanced by some first class finishing, a fact which O'Neill thinks is the difference between the Reds and most other sides in the division.
O'Neill added: "The first half was an even affair. They had good spells and possession, but when you have got people like Liam Hearn and Paul Clayton you have always got a chance of winning games.
"It's not just about the strikers though and Paddy Gamble has produced two great saves at the end of the first half to send us in 3-0 up.
"This was a top drawer all-round performance. You can't pick any bones out of that. We worked hard. We know what we are all about and if we get tight to teams we know we can beat them.
"I have seen Droylsden four or five times this season and if you sit off them they will take you to the cleaners and run you ragged.
"To be fair though, we forced them into mistakes and we wore them down in the end."
The Reds now have ten league games left in which to seal their play-off place. They are currently third and have opened up an 11-point gap on the fifth, sixth and seventh placed clubs.
The run-in looks tough on paper but O'Neill isn't worried about the calibre of the opposition to come.
He ended: "We don't even look at who we are playing. If we get ourselves right I fancy us against anybody."
This Saturday the Reds make travel to face a resurgent Gainsborough Trinity side who have won three and only lost one of their last five.
Manager Brian Little's team have beaten league leaders Fleetwood Town and also drawn at second-placed Southport in that run so another tough game lies in wait.
Alfreton boss Nicky Law will be without Chris Shaw who serves a one-match suspension after being sent off at Stafford Rangers, but he does have defender Matt Wilson fit and available again and there are no other injuries.
Supporters' Association transport departs at 10.30am and seats can be booked via Mark Thorpe on 01773 836251.
ALFRETON TOWN 5, DROYLSDEN 0
ALFRETON Town extended their unbeaten Blue Square North run to 12 games in exhilarating fashion as they destroyed fifth-placed Droylsden.
Paul Clayton rifled home the first on 13 minutes, Jake Moult stabbed in the second on 29 before Liam Hearn netted the third on 38 from an acute angle.
Hearn added two more superb finishes on 56 and 58 minutes to wrap up his hat-trick and the man of the match award.
It was a first ever win over Droylsden by the Reds in Conference North.
Attendance 410.
Results for Tuesday, March 9
ALFRETON TOWN 5, Droylsden 0 (410)
Blyth Spartans 0, Workington 0 (414)
Gainsborough Trinity 2, Hyde United 1 (298)
Harrogate Town v Farsley Celtic, OFF
Northwich Victoria 2, Corby Town 2 (359)
Stalybridge Celtic 0, Southport 1 (471)
Table
ALFRETON TOWN v DROYLSDEN, TUESDAY, MARCH 9th, 7.45pm
ALFRETON Town face number one of 11 cup finals to the end of the season on Tuesday evening when fifth-placed Droylsden are the visitors to the Impact Arena.
The Bloods arrive eight points behind the Reds, but with two games in hand, so this fixture definitely falls into the 'crucial' category with important play-off place points at stake.
Alfreton have found it difficult to prise results from fixtures against Droylsden down the years and there would be no better time than now to halt that trend.
Manager Nicky Law has no new injury worries and no suspensions to contend with, just the recovering Matt Wilson being unavailable.
Law's side will go into the game in fine fettle with an 11-game unbeaten run bolstering confidence. Home form in the league is very good and the Reds are unbeaten in their last six on home soil, winning the last four in a row.
And, with a deficit of away games in the run-in, another home win would be extremely useful in the grand scheme of things.
Last season, Droylsden won the corresponding fixture 3-2 in Derbyshire and went on to record a league double over the Reds with a 2-0 home success.
The Bloods also won 3-1 at the Impact Arena in both 2006/07 and 2005/06 and 1-0 in 2004/05.
Although Droylsden go into the game searching for a first win in four league games, one major point of note is that they are averaging almost two-goals-a-game on their travels in the league having scored 27 off 15 games. They have conceded only 21.
The 15 games on away turf have yielded five wins, five draws and five defeats so far for Dave Pace's side.
The Bloods surprisingly went down 2-1 in the Tameside derby at Hyde United on Saturday but have won two of their previous three games away from home prior to that.
Droylsden have recorded wins at Workington (1-0), Northwich Victoria (5-2), Vauxhall Motors (2-1), AFC Telford United (2-1) and Gloucester City (4-1).
Draws have been achieved with Stafford Rangers (2-2), Harrogate Town (2-2), Stalybridge Celtic (2-2), Blyth Spartans (2-2) and Hinckley United (1-1).
Defeats have been suffered at Hyde United, Corby Town (0-1), Ilkeston Town (0-1), Eastwood Town (1-2) and Gainsborough Trinity (2-4).
Top scorers in the league for Droylsden are Tony Gray with 19, Shaun Whalley with 14 and Paul Brown with ten.
Another very tough game is in prospect.
ANOTHER FARSLEY CELTIC GAME OFF
The BBC are reporting that: "Tuesday's game between Farsley and Harrogate has been postponed after administrators in charge of Celtic failed to find a buyer for the club.
The Football Conference has charged Farsley for a third time for failing to fulfil a league fixture and will discuss it at a meeting on Tuesday.
Administrators called off last Tuesday's game against Telford and Saturday's match with Workington.
Farsley are reported to owe around £750,000 to creditors.
They currently stand mid-table in Blue Square North, despite being hit with a 10-point deduction for going into administration.
Meanwhile, Leeds City Council officials have now weighed in after the administrators continued to reject rescue packages by the Palmer-Farrell consortium.
The club face closure if they fail to secure a buyer."
Gloucester City match report here
REARRANGED DATE FOR RAMS v BLADES RESERVES
The Impact Arena will host Derby County's rearranged totesport.com Reserve Central Division fixture against Sheffield United Reserves on Wednesday, March 24. The fixture has a 2pm kick-off.
Gloucester City match pics courtesy of Dave Pursglove, online here
ALFRETON TOWN 3, GLOUCESTER CITY 1
ALFRETON Town comfortably extended their unbeaten Blue Square North run to 11 games as they made it a double [over] Gloucester with a 3-1 win over City at the Impact Arena.
Paul Clayton put Nicky Law's side in front on 31 minutes from close range, Chris Hall netted his first goal for the club on 49 to double the lead before Liam Hearn smacked in a stunning goal from the right-hand angle of the penalty area into the opposite far top corner of the net on 54.
Matt Rose reduced the arrears on 57 after the home defence failed to clear properly.
This was a good day for Alfreton as they moved back up to third and saw several play-off chasing rivals dropping points.
The Reds are back in action on Tuesday evening when fifth-placed Droylsden visit the Impact Arena. Kick-off is 7.45pm.
Results for Saturday, March 6
AFC Telford United 0, Solihull Moors 0 (1,525)
ALFRETON TOWN 3, Gloucester City 1 (410)
Blyth Spartans 0, Northwich Victoria 1 (483)
Corby Town 4, Vauxhall Motors 1 (261)
Eastwood Town 0, Stafford Rangers 0 (442)
Farsley Celtic v Workington, OFF
Harrogate Town 0, Stalybridge Celtic 4 (365)
Hinckley United 0, Fleetwood Town 2 (642)
Hyde United 2, Droylsden 1 (518)
Redditch United v Ilkeston Town 2 (316)
Southport 0, Gainsborough Trinity 0 (891)
Table
CONFERENCE STATEMENT
"The Football Conference confirm that the fixture between Farsley Celtic and Workington Town scheduled for Saturday 6th March 2010 in the Blue Square North has been postponed due to further written confirmation from the Administrators overseeing the financial affairs of Farsley Celtic that the club are unable to fulfil this fixture.
Farsley Celtic will now face a further charge in respect of Football Conference Rule 8.6 and the Board of the Football Conference will seek to issue a futher statement in the week commencing 8th March as this now constitutes two breaches of the said rule."
FARSLEY CELTIC GAME OFF
The Yorkshire Post have reported that
"Farsley Celtic's match at home against Workington in the Football Conference tomorrow is OFF.
The news came amid mounting speculation that an 11th-hour bid by club president John Palmer to resurrect a rescue deal for the club had failed".
