ALFRETON gave Darron Gee a present of three points against Leigh RMI from his first game in charge on Saturday without knowing whether it would also be his last.
Chairman Wayne Bradley acted swiftly following the sudden departure of Gary Mills to Tamworth at the end of last week, offering the job to Gee who had been number two to Mills, with skipper Marcus Ebdon as his assistant.
But Mills would like to take his friend with him to the Conference National side, and Gee, who goes back a long way with the departed Reds boss, was left with a heart-wrenching decision to make.
“It’s fantastic to have made a winning start,” said Gee after the match. “The lads gave me everything without knowing – because I still don’t know – what the future will be here.
“The chairman came into the dressing room and said his piece before the match, and the lads responded against one of the form teams in the league, and in conditions which were not conducive to the way we like to play, getting the ball down and passing it around.
“I know I have a very difficult decision to make, because the chairman has been nothing short of magnificent with me, and I owe it to him, to Alfreton Town and to Tamworth to make a decision quickly so that everyone knows exactly where they stand.
“Everything has happened so suddenly over the last 48 hours that’s it’s taken the breath away a bit, and the players have had a lot to take in, a lot to endure. But they have responded by doing what they do best, that is going out and getting another three points.”
The windy conditions once again did not help the game, but Alfreton used them to their advantage when they had the breeze at their backs better than Leigh had in the first half, and the second period was almost all one way traffic.
However, it was not until the 77th minute that Emeka Nwadike marked his return to the side after a one-match ban with what proved to be the deciding goal.
The visitors, with the benefit of the wind, put the Reds under early pressure, but Nathan Winder was again commanding in the heart of defence and Tommy Hannigan made a couple of important interceptions, while Mark Barnard not only got in some ball-winning challenges but also got forward when he could to put over some good crosses.
One such centre was lobbed over from the left in the 11th minute, and when keeper John Lamb’s weak punch out only reached Mark Rawle just outside the area the striker’s dipping volley came down just too late to carry it under the bar.
Chris Simm always posed a threat for Leigh, but his and the Railwaymen’s best chance of the first period, on the half-hour mark, saw him shoot straight at Dale Roberts after being put through well by Steve Settle.
The home keeper needed two attempts to save from his namesake Owen Roberts towards the end of the first period, and the Reds ended the half with 10 men as Andy Tiday picked up a knock.
From the way Tiday limped to the dressing room it seemed his game was over, but he emerged for the second half and, although not looking comfortable at times, he still played a key role as the Reds pushed forward for most of the rest of the game.
Tiday curled one effort around the post from the left in the 51st minute, and two minutes later he and Danny Mayman worked a fluent interchange to make ground into the area. The ball was played to Nwadike who teed it up for Tris Whitman.
Whitman really should have scored from an excellent position but shot just wide.
Ryan Clarke had, uncharacteristically, not enjoyed as much success going forward as had Barnard on the opposite flank, but when he did so for almost the first time in the 65th minute his cross into a packed box was returned to him. From his follow-up Rawle rose high but saw his header saved.
Lamb’s heart must have been in his mouth six minutes later. The keeper seemed to have diverted Whitman’s low cross from the left into his own net, but managed to dive back and smother the ball on the line.
In the next couple of minutes he saved well from both Mayman and Tiday, but could do nothing about Nwadike’s goal in the 77th minute.
Another telling Barnard cross was met by the towering Rawle, who headed down for Nwadike to drive it home from six yards.
Roberts had to race out of his net three minutes later to prevent Simm’s through pass from putting Ben Jones in on goal.
But it could have been game over on 86, when Ashley Burbeary’s free kick from inside the semi-circle came back off the bar.
Sadly the game ended with a melee in front of the home dugout, during which Eddie Hussin appeared to throw a punch at substitute David Reeves. The assistant referee had a clear view, but after consulting him the senior official produced only a yellow and also booked Reeves for his part in the fracas.
Settle followed the pair into the notebook in stoppage time when he went over too easily in the box and was then too vehement in confronting Mr Morbin with his somewhat optimistic penalty claims.
ALFRETON: D. Roberts, Clarke, Barnard, Hannigan, Winder, Nwadike, Mayman, Burbeary, Tiday (Reeves 86), Rawle, Whitman. Subs not used: Glass, Brown, Turner, Flanagan.
LEIGH: Lamb, Cusworth, O. Roberts, Hussin, Dunne (Filipeck 86), Briscoe, Settle, Porter (Girdlestone 16), Simm, Jones (Lugsden 82), Roscoe. Subs not used: Taylor, Owen/
REFEREE: Andrew Morbin of Sheffield.
ATTENDANCE: 233.
SCORER: Alfreton – Nwadike 77.
CAUTIONS: Alfreton – Reeves 90 (off-ball incident). Leigh – Hussin 90 (off-ball incident); Settle 90+4 (dissent).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Mark Barnard.