Alfreton Town Football Club

Match reports
2004/05

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2004/05 - Match No. 10
Nationwide North
Tuesday, September 14th, 2004
Moor Green 0, Alfreton Town 1
THEY say ‘What a difference a day makes’ - but for Alfreton Town it was a case of ‘what a difference seven years make’.
For seven years ago almost to the day, the Reds suffered their heaviest ever defeat on their only other visit to The Moorlands, when they crashed 9-1 to Moor Green’s then ground-sharers Solihull Borough in the FA Trophy.
Reds’ goal on Tuesday night came at just about the same stage of the game, and in similar style, as on that dreadful day in the West Midlands - but this time, far from conceding nine, this time they kept a clean sheet.
The win put them up one place in the table to second, and set up a tasty weekend clash against new leaders and most people’s title favourites Southport.
Hero of the hour on Tuesday was Ben Chapman, whose second goal for the Reds, allied to some superb defensive work, sealed the three points.
Chapman struck in the 76th minute, by which stage Alfreton had got themselves on top.
Receiving Peter Duffield’s visionary squared pass some 30 yards out, the ex-Boston skipper embarked on a solo run into the area and hit the ball hard and low under the diving Adam Rachel who got a hand to the ball but could not prevent it from crossing the line.
Alfreton began the game well, and inside the first minute Emeka Nwadike had a shot on target, teed up by Duffield, well saved.
Reds hearts were momentarily in mouths in the fourth minute when Neil Davis centred across the face of Lee Butler’s goal. However, pulse rates returned to normal as no-one was able to apply the final touch.
It was the home side’s turn to sweat in the 11th minute, when Rachel held Mark Sale’s header onto Mitch Ward’s free kick under the bar and, in so doing, stepped dangerously back almost over the line.
A 15-minute spell of play confined to midfield ended when Sale set up Duffield for a shot on the turn inside the area, which brought a flying save to his left by Rachel.
Butler had not been seriously troubled in the first half, but five minutes before the break Phil Trainer pounced on Chapman’s sliced clearance and sent a goal attempt just wide.
Both Duffield and Nwadike had goal attempts off target as the second half got under way.
Sale needed treatment after colliding with a post while trying to get onto the end of Chris Bettney’s deep cross, but was able to resume.
Moor Green had a let-off on the hour. Rachel blocked Nwadike’s goalbound effort which rebounded off the Reds midfielder and fell for Bettney.
He looked certain to score, but Luke Bradley stuck out a leg on the goal line and managed to deflect the ball for a corner.
Alfreton were getting more on top at this stage, but when play switched briefly to the other end Chapman came up with a timely header to deflect Trainer’s deep cross for the first of three successive corners.
From the second of these the ball was cleared off the line in a mass of bodies.
Matt Fisher set up Nwadike for another blocked effort which rebounded to Fisher, whose 20-yard follow-up fizzed just past the post.
But the Reds drew their reward with Chapman’s deserved goal in the 76th minute.
Having put the Reds in front, it was Chapman who then preserved the victory in the 90th minute with a crucial back post clearing header from a left wing free kick.
MATCH DETAILS
MOOR GREEN: Rachel, Williams, Bradley, Collins, Sanders, Foy (Doyle 82), Hall, Middleton (Dowdall 71), Davis, Martin (Foulds 82), Trainer. Subs not used: Harris, R. Robinson.
ALFRETON: Butler, I. Robinson, Chapman, Blount, Brown, Ward, Bettney, Fisher, Sale, Duffield (Godber 85), Nwadike. Subs not used: Knapper, Goddard, Holmes, Woolley.
REFEREE: Carl Dunn of Stoke-on-Trent.
ATTENDANCE: 242
SCORER: Alfreton - Chapman 76.
CAUTIONS: Moor Green - Bradley 32 (foul on Duffield); Trainer 36 (retaliation on Bettney). Alfreton - Nwadike 80 (foul on Hall).
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Ben Chapman.