2005/06 season match No.17
Nationwide North
Saturday, November 12th, 2005
Alfreton Town 1, Moor Green 1
Match report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic.

ALFRETON manager Gary Mills was left to reflect on his ’45-minute men’ after Saturday’s draw with a very ordinary-looking Moor Green side at the Impact Arena.
Neil Ross’ goal three minutes before half time, his first for the club, had cancelled out the Moors’ deserved 31st minute lead, and gave the Reds the platform for a much better second half performance.
And they could easily have won it right at the end, when substitute Peter Duffield had a goal ruled out and then hit the bar in quick succession.
But on the basis of the whole 90 minutes a draw was a fair result from the proverbial game of two halves.
To make matters worse, in stoppage time Steven Woolley injured his calf muscle, and now faces a probable lay-off to add to the growing casualty list – just when it seemed that was easing.
Mills, who celebrated his 44th birthday the day before, refused afterwards to look for any excuses for the first half showing, and would not entertain staleness after two weeks’ inactivity as the reason for the slow start.
“We were not good enough in the first 45 minutes – it was unacceptable,” he insisted.
“We had a few words at half time and then we were on the front foot, and looked as if we wanted to win it.
“If we had gone out with that attitude from the start then we probably would have won – it was all the more annoying because although they were the better side in the first half they didn’t put us under all that much pressure.
“We’ve got to work hard for the full 90 if we are going to get the win we need.”
Mills was able to name only four substitutes with Mick Godber suspended, Mark Blount and Chris White injured, and Chris Bettney’s wife having gone into labour during the morning, which meant rare starts for both Ross and Woolley.
Moor Green sounded a warning inside the first three minutes with returning keeper Greg Smith failing to deal with Darren Middleton’s centre into the six yard box – fortunately Gary McPhee could not capitalise at the far post.
Ryan Clarke carried the ball almost the length of the pitch on the right with a fine run before Andy Penny got in a foot to concede a corner, but for the most part Alfreton were on the back foot, the Moors winning six flag kicks inside the first 20 minutes.
Ross did have a shot blocked in the 16th, and six minutes later, put in on a one on one with Daniel Crane by Woolley, his finish was weak.
But the visitors inevitably went ahead in the 31st minute. The hard-working Phil Trainer’s initial shot rebounded off the covering Emeka Nwadike, but fell kindly for Peter Faulds to volley home from the edge of the area.
Two minutes later Faulds intercepted a miscued Clarke pass to send Middleton clear. Mark Turner did just enough to put him out of his stride, giving Smith the opportunity to race out of his box and clear.
From then on Alfreton began to pick up the pace with Jon Stevenson causing the visiting defence a few problems, and when he saw a shot deflected, Clarke headed the resulting corner just too high.
The Moors defence conceded a series of free kicks towards the end of the half, until eventually the referee lost his patience and booked Chris Nurse for a foul on Nwadike some 25 yards out in front of goal. Nurse’s woe was compounded when Ross drilled the free kick inside Crane’s bottom right hand corner, ensuring that it was all square at the break.
The equaliser, and Mills’ half time words, were the spur for an improved second half showing, and in the 54th minute Clarke’s header onto Woolley’s corner hit Trainer on the line, while Collins made an excellent diving headed clearance to prevent Stevenson’s driven cross from reaching the well-placed Ross.
The Birmingham side had an attacking flurry midway through which ended with a Collins header bringing a diving save out of Smith.
Twelve minutes from time Mills sent on Duffield and Liam Powell for Ross and Nwadike, and within four minutes Duffield was involved in probably the best move of the afternoon, flicking Clarke’s forward pass to send Stevenson on a run into the right of the area. As Crane came to meet him, Stevenson shot from a tight angle, and Collins almost steered the ball into his own net.
Blount did have the ball in the net from Jason Blunt’s quick 87th-minute free kick, but an offside flag ruled that one out, and a minute later Duffield’s clever volley bounced up to hit the bar.
It was clear then that it was not to be the Reds’ day, the more so when Woolley was stretchered into the dressing room three minutes into stoppage time.
ALFRETON: Smith, Clarke, Featherstone, Robinson, Turner, Nwadike (Powell 78), Blunt, Fisher, Ross (Duffield 78), Stevenson, Woolley (Mills 90+3). Sub not used: Bodkin.
MOOR GREEN: Crane, Scott, Midworth, Collins, Bridgwater (Davis 76), Penny, Nurse (Petty 86), Middleton, Faulds, McPhee, Trainer. Subs not used: English, Elmes, Coates.
REFEREE: John Sheffield of Walsall.
ATTENDANCE: 267.
SCORERS: Alfreton – Ross 42. Moor Green – Faulds 31.
CAUTIONS: Alfreton – Robinson 85 (dissent); Featherstone 89 (dissent). Moor Green – Nurse 41 (foul on Nwadike).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Ryan Clarke.