2005/06 season match No.38
Tuesday, February 21st, 2006
Nationwide North
Leigh RMI 0, Alfreton Town 0

THERE MAY have been no goals, but the point which Alfreton clawed from their relegation dogfight at Leigh RMI on Tuesday night carried the Reds another place up the table to 17th.
In the process it took them above old arch-rivals Worksop Town and only a point behind Paul Mitchell’s Gainsborough Trinity with a match in hand.
Suddenly there are seven clubs involved in the scrap for survival, and the prospect of Conference North football next season looks much more positive than it did a couple of weeks ago.
There is still much to do of course, because it’s a situation which can and may well change by the week, and the job of achieving safety has still hardly started - it’s nowhere near complete.
When one looks for the reason why Alfreton are embroiled in a survival fight, it does not take much research to identify a paucity of goals scored.
Indeed a goalless draw at Hilton Park was always the most likely result of a contest between the two sides with the lowest ‘goals for’ totals in the division.
On the other hand the ‘goals against’ column looks quite respectable, and is the reason why Alfreton top the list of three clubs on 29 points.
Once again it was the defence who were the stars of the show for the Reds, and the versatile and consistent Mark Turner in particular, as Leigh were largely restricted to long range pots at goal.
Alfreton included a couple more Boston United work experience youngsters in the squad alongside Lewis Brooks who made an impressive debut against Barrow on Saturday.
Richard Chinn played the full 90 minutes in midfield in place of the suspended Matt Fisher but defender Jamie Stevens had to be content to watch from the dugout.
It was hardly the best of starts for Alfreton - an accident on the M62  delayed their journey and they did not arrive until around 20 minutes before the scheduled kick-off, which was held back for only three minutes.
The lack of preparation told as it took a while to settle down.
But they almost took a 10th-minute lead when Chris Bettney curled a free kick from the right towards the near post.
Scott Willis tested keeper Simon Rayner from distance, but the young keeper escaped punishment in the 15th minute when he kicked a clearance straight at Chris Simm.
The striker had a clear chance from the error, but unaccountably handled the ball to Rayner’s immense relief.
Crosses at both ends were unproductive as Rankine’s centre from the right did not get the touch it needed in the area, while Simm headed over from Wez Wilkinson’s useful-looking ball in.
Rayner showed his more positive side in the 33rd minute with a good save as Alex Hay tried to turn home a corner, and then held a fierce shot from Scott Willis at the second attempt.
Alfreton ended the half with their best spell of the match. First, Lee Featherstone embarked on a run and cut in to beat keeper John Lamb with his shot, but Gareth Stoker cleared off the line.
The, from the resulting corner Jon Stevenson’s header was also blocked on the line, this time by Andy Roscoe.
When another Bettney corner was played back out to him just before half time, Rankin tried to flick the returned cross into the net, but that, and follow-ups by Stevenson and Ryan Clarke, were all again blocked on the line.
The second half turned somewhat stale with not a lot of real incident.
Bettney drove the ball just over the bar after riding a challenge 10 minutes in.
Then a couple of long range pots, one at either end, might have broken the deadlock, but Simm’s dipper from 25 yards was just too high while Brooks tried his luck from 30 yards and saw it comfortably saved.
Leigh’s best chance of the second half came 11 minutes from time, when Hay ran in towards goal but was closed down by Dave Robinson who harried him into shooting hurriedly wide.
In the last five minutes Willis fizzed an attempt from 30 yards too high.
And then in the 89th minute Turner blocked a free kick which rebounded to Roscoe, and his hopeful follow-up from 30 yards was again just over the bar.
MATCH DETAILS
LEIGH: Lamb, Harris, Roscoe, Stoker (McDowell 75), Melling (Brockley 80), Dunne, Settle (Williams 63), Willis, Simm, Hay, Wilkinson. Subs not used: Shillito, Morton.
ALFRETON: Rayner, Clarke, Brooks, Robinson, Turner, Mills (Nwadike 67), Bettney, Chinn, Rankine (Godber 77), Stevenson (Duffield 85), Featherstone. Subs not used: Stevens, White.
REFEREE: W. D. Smallwood of Northwich.
ATTENDANCE: 148.
CAUTION: Leigh - Willis 88 (foul on Bettney).
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Mark Turner.