2004/05 - Match No. 26
FA Trophy, 2nd round
Saturday, November 27th, 2004
North Ferriby United 1, Alfreton Town 2
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD).
ALFRETON stepped up the pace in the second half at Church Road on Saturday to outgun hosts North Ferriby and book their place in the third round of the FA Trophy.
After an initial 10-minute bombardment by the Reds on the UniBond Division One leaders, the first half turned into something of a non-event.
But Peter Duffield shot the visitors into a 56th minute lead after snapping up the rebound from Paul Sharp’s penalty save, and Mick Godber provided a two-goal cushion 14 minutes later, Ferriby’s consolation goal coming from the last kick of the match.
It was always going to be a difficult tie, as assistant manager Charlie Williamson pointed out afterwards.
“It was far from our best performance on the back of Tuesday night at Macclesfield, but we can’t use that as en excuse,” he said.
“We’ve been here a thousand times before in this ‘After the Lord Mayor’s Parade’ situation, and coming to a side who are on a high and who had nothing to lose, we knew it would be difficult.
“Just because we’re facing a side from a couple of leagues down doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy, and we’ve had enough lessons on that in the time I’ve been here.
“But we started to play a bit in the second half and the goals came at the right time for us, so I’m happy with the result.”
Alfreton – now the giants instead of the potential giant killers - began like a house on fire, and only 45 seconds had elapsed before home keeper Paul Sharp had to save well from Duffield following Ben Chapman’s strong run down the left.
Then, still inside the opening 10 minutes, Sharp held Emeka Nwadike’s header onto a Mitch Ward cross, and won a race for possession on the edge of his box with the same player, while Nick Handley’s leg found a bit of unexpected length as he stretched to prevent Duffield from capitalising on Grant Brown’s defence-splitting through ball.
For the remainder of the half, though, play was largely confined to midfield, although Ferriby hotshot Gary Bradshaw put a couple of long range free kicks not too far wide, while Duffield’s 37th-minute effort after a well-worked interchange with Godber had the sting taken out of it as it struck a defender, leaving Sharp with a routine save.
Whatever was said at half time in the Reds’ dressing room must have worked, for they re-emerged with all guns blazing, and it became a completely different match.
Inside the first minute Alfreton had clear-cut penalty claims refused when Danny Moore tripped Duffield in the aftermath of Ward’s free kick into the area, the unsighted referee allowing only a corner.
And within seconds Godber hit the Ferriby bar, although the offside flag was already up.
Although Gary Bradshaw had a shot charged down at the other end, it was Alfreton who were now calling the shots, and they drew their reward in the 56th minute.
Moore pushed Godber over inside the area, but this time his good fortune did not hold, as referee Gary Brittain pointed straight to the penalty spot. Sharp brilliantly parried Duffield’s penalty at the foot of his left hand post, but the striker followed in to put away the rebound.
Sharp produced a fine one-handed save to prevent Nwadike from doubling the lead four minutes later.
Chirs Bettney made his entry in the 65th minute, replacing Carl Bradshaw with Ian Robinson dropping to right back, and five minutes later the substitute played a major part in the move which brought about the second goal.
Bettney had adopted a central position for Ward’s corner, and when the ball was played out to him from the home defence he again farmed it wide right to Ward.
This time the ex-Everton player delivered a low cross into the box, which Godber received and drilled home on the turn from an acute angle.
With Ferriby needing to push forward, the busy Chapman got away on the left, and although his cross was cleared, it only reached Matt Fisher whose first time follow-up beat Sharp but flew just wide.
The Reds had been well in control, and for all the potential threat from ace marksman Gary Bradshaw, the visiting defence never looked troubled until the third minute of stoppage time.
Then Moore got clear through the inside right, and while Lee Butler parried his first shot, the Ferriby man atoned for conceding the penalty by netting at the second attempt – and there was not even time to re-start the match.
Reds chairman Wayne Bradley added afterwards: “It’s important to come to places like this and compete against a good, workmanlike side after the dizzy heights of Macclesfield.
“Ferriby are not top of their league by accident any more than we are, and we’ve put behind us our FA Cup defeat and made progress in a competition that we are well capable of winning.”
NORTH FERRIBY: Sharp, Moore, Farley, Holtham Handley, Botham, Hartley, Thompson, Fothergill, G. Bradshaw, Gowen (Price 71). Subs not used: Bowsley, Northen, Dewhurst, Gawthorpe.
ALFRETON: Butler, C. Bradshaw (Bettney 65), Blount, Chapman, Brown, Ward (Knapper 72), Robinson, Fisher, Godber, Duffield (Goddard 83), Nwadike. Subs not used: Holmes, Woolley.
REFEREE: Gary Brittain of Beckingham, Doncaster.
ATTENDANCE: 198.
SCORERS: Ferriby: Moore 90+3. Alfreton – Duffield 56, Godber 70.
CAUTION: Ferriby 0 Holtham 16 (foul on Robinson).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Ben Chapman.