2006/2007 season Match no. 1 - Nationwide North
Saturday, August 12th, 2006
ALFRETON TOWN 2, Lancaster City 1

Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic.

ALFRETON’S new look side began their Conference North season on Saturday with a hard-earned victory over another club who had undergone a close season upheaval.
But visitors Lancaster City will have trooped off the field at the end of the first half wondering how they managed to find themselves 2-1 down.
The Dolly Blues had been much the better side until Ryan Black’s 24th-minute goal was cancelled out only seconds later by Reds substitute Matt Glass, who had only been on for eight minutes after replacing the injured Tristram Whitman.
Mark Turner then headed Alfreton into the lead two minutes before the break and the home side then had the better of a goalless second half, although Black was cursing his luck in the final five minutes of the match.
Turner’s header which gave Town the lead had a touch of irony about it, for Alfreton had been forced to defend eight corners, before their own first flag kick of the match led to the goal.
The home side began with only three players on the field who had served the club last season – Ryan Clarke, Mark Turner and Emeka Nwadike, while Lee Featherstone and manager Gary Mills were on the bench.
Mills pointed out afterwards: “We had only brought Stephen Melton in from Boston United on Thursday – he still didn’t know half the team’s names – and Stuart Wall had only come in for the final friendly at Burton on Tuesday, so it was not easy for them to gel.
“So to come through and win the three points was fantastic.
“I was especially pleased with our second half showing which was outstanding.
“It’s nice to start with a win – last year it took us a while to put our first points on the board, so to start well puts a good feeling through the club, it breeds confidence, and the pleasing thing is the way we’ve done it.
“Lancaster were the better side early on, but there’s no better answer when you concede a goal than to equalise straight away.”
Alfreton survived a couple of early corners, before the busy and impressive Andy Tiday set up Jermaine Palmer who shot wide.
Whitman suffered an ankle injury in the 13th minute after a challenge by Jimmy Kelly on the touchline, but while the Reds were down to 10 men Ryan Clarke engineered a chance for Palmer who was harried into shooting hurriedly wide as Darren Ryan closed in on him.
Glass put in his appearance in the 17th minute, but it was still the visitors who were dominating possession, and it came as no surprise when they took the lead.
With the Alfreton bench yelling for offside, Kingsley Jones was allowed to run onto Jamie Tandy’s header forward, and although Dale Roberts did very well to block the shot in a one-on-one, Black was on hand to plant the rebound into the unguarded net.
However, the visitors were caught cold by Alfreton’s quick reply. Melton drilled a low cross in from the left, and Glass was there at the back post to sweep it in.
That marked the start of Alfreton’s improvement, but when Glass beautifully sent Clarke on the overlap to the by-line, beating the advancing keeper on the way, no-one was sufficiently well placed to put away the ensuing pull-back.
Ryan was disappointed to see his tight-angled cross shot hit the bar and go to safety, before Alfreton snatched a 43rd-minute lead.
Ashley Burbeary’s left wing corner was not a good one and was cleared, but he regained the ball and, when he played it in a second time, Turner’s stooping header from within a crowd of players caught Jon Kennedy in no man’s land as it went in.
A measure of the Reds’ second half improvement came from a sublime move in the 53rd minute. Burbeary picked out Tiday with a pinpoint crossfield pass right to left, Tiday laid it off for Mark Barnard, but when he put over the cross, Palmer could only head over the bar.
David Bayliss headed another City corner onto the roof of the net, and the visitors should have equalised in the 70th minute, but substitute Lee Spike, with a clear sight of goal, contrived to scoop Kelly’s cross over the angle.
Alfreton continued to keep their shape, and a leveller began to look less and less likely until the final five minutes, when Black was denied twice in quick succession. First, set up by Jones, he looked certain to score but Barnard appeared from nowhere and somehow managed to get his body in the way.
The resulting corner was not cleared, and when it fell to Black he had probably already turned to celebrate his ‘goal’ and didn’t see Roberts pull off a magnificent save, acrobatically turning it over the bar.
The home fans then had to endure four minutes of added time before Mr Haycock’s whistle confirmed the three points.
ALFRETON: Roberts, Clarke, Barnard, Wall, Turner, Melton, Nwadike, Burbeary, Palmer (Mitchell 77), Whitman (Glass 17), Tiday (Featherstone 90). Subs not used: Magee, Mills.
LANCASTER: Kennedy, Winne (Gray 90), Ryan, Kelly, Bayliss, Taylor, Uberschar (Skinner 68), Lally, Jones, Black, Tandy (Spike 60). Subs not used: Greenwood, Elderton.
REFEREE: Ken Haycock of Bradford.
ATTENDANCE: 279.
SCORERS: Alfreton – Glass 25; Turner 43. Lancaster – Black 24.
CAUTION: Alfreton – Tiday 83 (foul on Kelly).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Andy Tiday.