2007/2008 Season. Pre-season friendly no. 6
Monday, July 30th, 2007
ALFRETON TOWN 0, Mansfield Town 5

Report by John Lomas (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic.

ALFRETON Town matched League Two neighbours Mansfield for 35 minutes at the Impact Arena on Monday night, but were then taught a lesson in finishing by a much stronger outfit.
A Danny Reet hat-trick and two sparkling efforts from Nathan Arnold gave the Stags fans plenty to enjoy.
Reet stuck away three goals inside 23 minutes - the first thanks to an error from debutant home keeper Ale Barcherini - the other two superbly taken finishes.
But even his triple was outshone by two magnificent Arnold goals, the first which saw him hare away from the halfway line and the second which saw him race 40 yards and inside three defenders.
As promised, Stags boss Billy  Dearden played a strong side, but they were almost caught napping when Scott Ellis got a dangerous cross into the six yard box inside the first 30 seconds which was headed clear.
Big John McAliskey really should have put Stags ahead on nine minutes from a superb Dan Martin through ball. But, with only the keeper to beat, he placed his low finish wide from a great position.
Daniel Douglas-Pringle sent a strong shot from a good position 20 yards out straight at Carl Muggleton, and the keeper then did well to cut out a good by-line cross from Mark Barnard as Pringle lurked again.
But Arnold produced a moment of magic on 35 minutes to conjure up the first goal from nowhere.
Mansfield were under pressure but cleared the ball towards halfway where Arnold showed a superb first touch on the halfway line.
He then turned and ran at the home side, leaving them all trailing in his wake before slotting home past the keeper.
A minute from the break it was 2-0 as Reet zipped in a daisycutter shot from 25 yards, and Barcherini got it all wrong as he somehow dived over the ball when he looked certain to stop it.
Alfreton swapped keepers at half time and within three minutes James Lindley had to make a fine save to deny Reet.
On 50 minutes Tommy Hannigan sent a hurried clearance inches over his own crossbar and, from the corner, McAliskey headed against the far post.
A two minute passage of play sealed the result as, on 56 minutes, Muggleton got down well to deny Matt Glass after he got goal side of the visiting defence.
And, within two minutes, McAliskey headed on and Reet cleverly flicked the ball neatly over a defender’s head before rifling home an unstoppable finish.
It was 4-0 on 67 minutes and a deserved hat-trick for Reet.
Under fire for his weight and lack of match fitness since midway through last season, Reet gave another reminder of his immense capabilities as he spotted Lindley off his line and lobbed him to perfection inside the far post from the right of the box.
Alfreton made a triple substitution and tried hard for a consolation and Muggleton did well to tip over Laurie Wilson’s dipping 20 yard shot on 82 minutes, and then got in the way of Brian Cusworth’s finish from Barnard’s cross.
But the final word went to youngster Arnold who this time pounced quickly onto Barnard’s slip 15 yards into the Alfreton half, taking possession and again racing away on the right.
This time he had defenders in front of him but simply cut inside three of them with a burst of pace and crashed home a finish into the top left hand corner, giving Lindley no chance.
ALFRETON: Barcherini (Lindley ht), Wilson, Barnard, Hannigan (Henshaw 59), Winder, L. Wilson, Ellis (Glass ht), Brown (Walton 71), White (Cusworth 71), Douglas-Pringle (Outram ht), Morning (Bowler 71).
STAGS: Muggleton, Mullins, Wood (McGhee ht), Bell (Burrell 66), Kitchen, Buxton (John-Baptiste 61), Arnold, Jelleyman (Storey 66), McAliskey (Trimmer 61), Reet, Martin. Sub not used: White.
REFEREE: Mark Hutchinson.
ATTENDANCE: 281.
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Nathan Winder.

It's spelled Barcherini chaps!

Former Reds striker Keith Edwards (right) makes a guest appearance at Monday's pre-season friendly against Mansfield Town. Introducing him to the crowd is commercial manager Spencer Taylor. Edwards scored 22 goals in 35 appearances for the Reds during the 2993/93 season.