2006/2007 Pre-Season match no. 4
Saturday, July 29th, 2006
ALFRETON TOWN 1, Mansfield Town 3

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


THE DIFFERENCE between full-time League Two and part time Conference North was evident as Mansfield achieved a comfortable 3-1 victory against hard-working Alfreton at the Impact Arena on Saturday.But Reds' keeper Dale Roberts, signed last week on a year's loan from Nottingham Forest, kept the scoreline to respectable proportions with a string of excellent saves.
Even so, there was encouragement to be drawn, primarily in the first half, for the home side too, especially since they threw a couple of youngsters into the fray - alongside the experience of 44-year-old player-manager Gary Mills - against a side that beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 on Wednesday night.
Stags boss Peter Shirtliff said afterwards that it is important to play local sides like Alfreton in the pre-season build-up.
"It's of interest locally and it was a good workout for both teams," he told Chad after the match.
"We took a strong side because we wanted the game to be part of our build-up to the season proper next Saturday, and it gave me the chance to rotate things.
"It was a decent game and a decent performance by us.
Reds assistant manager Darron Gee thanked the Stags for bringing a strong side.“At this stage of pre-season you want to have a run-out against the best, and that’s what Mansfield gave us,” he said.“I the first half, leaving aside the first goal, I was pleased with our shape and our performance and we played some good football.“But our second half performance was not acceptable – we sat off them and let them play. But then that’s what pre-season is for. “Mansfield are a good, fit side and we have to learn from the mistakes we made. We are, after all, still a young side ourselves.”On Roberts’ starring role, Gee added: “I don’t like it when a goalkeeper is man of the match because it means he’s had too much to do. Dale was disappointed in his own showing against Boston last Tuesday, but today he was back to how we and he know he can be.”
Matt Hamshaw put the Stags ahead in only the seventh minute.Michael Boulding had escaped the attentions of Ryan Clarke, who otherwise had a sound game, on a run in along the by-line, and although his cross looked to have gone to safety, Hamshaw hit home from the far side of the area.
Hamshaw went on to cause several problems for the busy Reds' defence for the remainder of the first half before being replaced at half time.
Meanwhile, Roberts gave a foretaste of what was to come from him with a fine save in the 14th minute, denying Simon Brown.
And three minutes later Boulding turned inside Emeka Nwadike on the 18-yard line to bring another excellent stop out of the young keeper.
Roberts then parried Boulding's close range header, with Mills completing the clearance.
But the keeper was beaten a minute later, on 23, when Richie Barker looped home a head off Hamshaw's free kick from the left.
Alfreton had not been idle themselves, but had not really tested Carl Muggleton in the first half-hour.

But they then began to show more attacking ideas, and on 33 minutes the impressive Clarke got one back.
It stemmed from Ashley Burberry's free kick, Jermaine Palmer's header was charged down, and Clarke was first to the free ball to tuck it past the veteran keeper - a close-season target for Alfreton.
The Stags made five half time changes and the second half was slow to get going, but former Clarke blocked from Danny Reet, and Roberts saved well from Giles Coke.
Reet made it 3-1 in the 65th minute. John Mullins swung over a deep cross to the rangy striker who rose high at the far post to guide his header under the angle and out of the reach of the brave Roberts.
Stags could have had more after that as Alfreton wilted somewhat.
Clarke made a tremendous challenge in the area on Chris Beardsley to deny him a shot after Reet had headed down for his fellow half time substitute.
And even former Doncaster striker Tristram Whitman had to dig out in the Reds' defence to get the ball away as Reet again looked for Beardsley.
Really, though, it was not to be Beardsley's day.
He picked up Mark Barnard's misplaced header and brought another good save from Roberts at his right hand post.
And then, after Reet had headed Nathan Arnold's deep cross back into the six yard box, he could only head wide.
A surging run by Adam Birchall engineered yet another chance for the unlucky striker, who this time saw Roberts come off best with a point blank save.
And three minutes from time he had a shot blocked on the line by Clarke.
ALFRETON: Roberts, Mills, Featherstone, Clarke, Barnard, Fisher (Robinson 79), Nwadike (A. Brown 58), Burberry (Blair 75), Palmer (Mitchell 65), Whitman, Tiday (Redman 75). Subs not used: Ndyenge, Magee.
STAGS: Muggleton, Mullins (McIntosh 77), Jellyman (Kendtick ht), Hjelde (John-Baptisey ht), Buxton, Hamshaw (Beardsley ht), Dawson (D'Laryea ht), Barker (Arnold ht), S. Brown (Reet ht), Boulding (Lloyd 61), Coke (Birchall 61).
REFEREE: Alastair Lindsay of Blidworth.
ATTENDANCE: 412.
MEN OF THE MATCH: Reds - Dale Roberts; Stags - Matt Hamshaw.