2004/05 - Match No. 22
FA Challenge Cup, 1st Round
Saturday, November 13th, 2004
Alfreton Town 1, Macclesfield Town 1
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics: by Phil Lucic and Kev Miles
ALFRETON Town could hardly have a better incentive to win next week’s FA Cup replay at Macclesfield following Sunday’s second round draw.
Victory at Moss Rose will earn the Reds a dream visit to the futuristic KC Stadium to meet Hull City, complete with former Town favourite Ryan France, in a second round tie that would be a real money spinner played before a five-figure crowd.
The financial implications, given the club’s ambitions, are enormous, and although Alfreton will go into the replay very much as underdogs, if they pull it off there will be no need for the sun to come out over the town – the faces of the fans will provide all the illumination that is required.
Although Saturday’s draw was the result of a marvellous team effort, the fact that the Reds have a second bite of the cherry must be primarily down to goalkeeper Lee Butler and substitute striker Mark Sale.
With such a sound defence in front of him, Butler rarely gets the chance to show what he can do, but he proved that he still has all the quality amassed from years of experience at a high level with a man of the match display.
As for Sale, well, we’ve seen it all before. One has to cast the mind back only as far as the third qualifying round potential banana skin at Cammell Laird to recall how he changed the game when he came on.
And - hey presto! – the big man did it again with a goal two minutes into the four of stoppage time added on.
Macclesfield had grabbed the lead with just four minutes of the 90 remaining, when Danny Whitaker’s 25-yard effort took just enough of a deflection off the unlucky Mark Blount to divert it out of Butler’s reach.
Most of the 2,251 crowd, the biggest at the ground since that epic four-times-played tie against Barrow in 1969, must have been convinced that Alfreton’s brave effort had been shot down in flames.
If they did, then they reckoned without the spirit that is within the Alfreton camp these days. The Reds added a touch more steel to their play, Ian Robinson won a corner taken by Mitch Ward, the ball was not cleared, Grant Brown hooked it back into the six-yard box, and Sale was on hand to force it over the line.
Macclesfield were furious. They were adamant after the match that their 25-times-capped Irish goalkeeper Alan Fettis had been impeded. But the BBC Match of the Day camera did not appear to give much credence to the Silkmen’s claim.
And Alfreton might even have won it with virtually the last kick of the contest, Mick Goddard’s 25-yard low drive fizzing narrowly wide of the far post.
It must be said that Macclesfield created the better chances for most of a match in which both sides had cause to both curse and give thanks for the goal frame.
But Alfreton were not about to be walked all over by a side who, in their non-League days, were renowned giant killers themselves and who, since their elevation to the Football League in 1997, have never been knocked out of the competition by a non-League club.
And some three quarters of the crowd erupted when Sale’s equaliser went in – they knew, as to be fair did most of the visiting fans, that it was as richly deserved as the tumultuous applause to which the Reds players left the field on the final whistle.
Surely some of the locals who were making their first visit to the Impact Arena saw enough to tempt them back for more – if not, then the question must be asked what more the club has to do.
Predictably Alfreton opened with purpose, winning a couple of early free kicks which ought to have tested the Silkmen’s defence more than they did, before Macclesfield began to show that they were the League club around here.
Once again, though, the back four did their usual effective job with Blount the pick on the day. They did have their work cut out, however, with the visitors prepared to shoot on sight, but then there was always the larger than life frame of the ebullient Butler in goal.
Hearts were in mouths in the 29th minute when Mike Sheron tried his luck from distance. For once Butler was beaten, but the ball came back off the foot of the post, falling kindly for Jon Parkin, who really thought he had scored until the still grounded keeper stuck up an arm to turn the ball to safety.
Alfreton rallied again towards the end of the half, winning two corners, both of which Blount headed over the bar.
Butler showed his prowess again seven minutes into the restart. Matthew Tipton cut in from the right and was denied by a fantastic double save. The striker had a third bite at the cherry, but this time Blount was on the line to clear.
At the other end the home strike force of Mick Godber and Peter Duffield were being quickly closed down before they could test Fettis, but that changed with the substitutions.
First on was Ian Robinson in the 69th minute, and within five minutes of his arrival he received a half-clearance from a corner out of the Silkmen’s defence and , from 25 yards, volleyed first time, beating Fettis all ends up but seeing his effort strike the angle.
Macclesfield were still asking questions of Butler, though, and the keeper produced yet another top drawer save low to his right to divert away Whitaker’s low drive from outside the box.
Sale made his entry, and his height began to pose new problems for the League side’s defence, but it was heartbreak time for the home fans in the 86th minute when Whitaker finally broke the deadlock.
Alfreton, though, were not finished, and Emeka Nwadike scraped the bar after bursting between two defenders two minutes later.
Macclesfield did not heed the warning, and they paid the price when Sale came up with his ‘super-sub’ party piece – a price which would have been even heavier but for last gasp substitute Goddard’s narrow miss right at the death.

MATCH DETAILS

ALFRETON: Butler, Bradshaw, Chapman, Blount, Brown, Ward, Bettney (Robinson 69), Fisher, Godber (Sale 82), Duffield, Nwadike (Goddard 89). Subs not used: Knapper, Holmes.
MACCLESFIELD: Fettis, Potter (Brightwell 78), Carragher, Barras, Harsley, Parkin, Tipton (Miles 78), Widdrington, Whitaker, Sheron, Welch. Subs not used: Wilson, Rooney, Briscoe.
REFEREE: Mick Fletcher of Worcestershire.
ATTENDANCE: 2,251.
SCORERS: Alfreton – Sale 90 + 2. Macclesfield – Whitaker 86.
CAUTIONS: Alfreton – Bettney 45 (kicking ball away). Macclesfield – Barras 71 (foul on Godber); Parkin 90 (foul on Bradshaw).
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Lee Butler.

POST-MATCH QUOTES:

Dave Lloyd (manager): What a dramatic climax to an excellent game! I just can’t praise the players enough – we’re top of the Conference North, and have earned a replay against one of the top teams in League Two. I’m bursting with pride of them. We showed character and we’re still in the competition. Lee Butler was outstanding – he’s going on 358 or something but is still like a 21-year-old. He’s a great personality to have on the field and in the dressing room. Mark Sale did it at Cammell Laird and he’s come back and done it again, in fact al three subs made a difference. It would have been a gross injustice if we had lost.

Mark Sale (scorer): It was a dreadful feeling when their goal went in, but we showed that the spirit here really is great. A lot of non-league teams would have gone under at that point, but we’ve got bags of experience out there, and I was the lucky one who got the touch – it could have been anybody. As a full-timer I’ve been on the wrong end of cup upsets and I know how hard it is for a league club to come to a place like Alfreton knowing they are on a hiding to nothing.

Lee Butler (man of the match): I’ve also been on the receiving end of cup shocks, but we have won nothing yet – we’ve still got to go there and win it. We defended very well but a League club will always make more chances than we usually allow. Because we have such a strong defence I’ve not had a lot of work to do during my time at Alfreton, so at least I had the chance to prove I can still make the odd save now and again. I might have got to the ball when they scored if it had not been deflected, but that’s no blame on Mark Blount, he was just unlucky. And then the ‘big man’ has come on and kept us in it. Macclesfield would probably have settled for 1-1 before the match, and will go home thinking they’ve done the hard part. But we’re not out of it yet.