2005/06 season match No.47
Saturday, April 8th, 2006
Nationwide North
Alfreton Town 1, Nuneaton Borough 0
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic.

IT IS a truism in many walks of life that ‘what goes around comes around’, and Saturday at the Impact Arena proved that football is no exception to that old adage.
On 31st January Alfreton lost to a controversial 95th-minute penalty at Nuneaton, but the tables were turned in the return fixture as Michael Rankine’s 95th-minute header gave the Reds the three points that may have all but guaranteed their Conference North survival.
Apart from a couple of isolated incidents the match itself was forgettable, and unlike at Manor Park there was nothing controversial about the winner on this occasion – except maybe to wonder where the referee had found so much stoppage time from.
The Reds fans, though, weren’t about to complain about that, any more so than happy manager Gary Mills after the match.
“If anyone asks me at the end of the season which was our best performance I would say without a doubt that it was at Nuneaton – yet we lost that one, regardless of the circumstances,” he commented.
“Today was a massive win for us, and the pleasing thing for me, as it has been in most of our games lately, was our work rate.
“My players are currently, I think, working harder than anyone anywhere else in the league, and after a couple of disappointments in the last two games when we’ve only drawn matches that we could have won, they’ve got their reward today.
“We’ve kept a clean sheet against a side almost certain to be in the play-offs, and our record against the top sides shows that we ought to be higher in the table than we are.
“It’s true that we haven’t scored enough goals, but I’m pleased it was a striker that got it today. Michael needs to get fitter but he’s worked hard and got his reward, Jon Stevenson has never worked harder at his game and was unlucky not to score, and Sam Litchfield’s work rate is unbelievable.”
Certainly an excellent defensive display deserved the clean sheet, while motorman Matt Fisher also won a lot of ball in a battling midfield performance.
And for all that Nuneaton, with the gale and squally rain behind them, stormed into the attack during the first half, so competent was the home back line – and young Notts County loanee Emmet Friars in particular - that Simon Rayner, had only one worthwhile save to make.
The young keeper has grown visibly in confidence these last few weeks, his handling is much more assured nowadays, and that is certainly giving the defence in front of him a confidence boost.
That showed, for apart from an excellent 28th-minute point blank save to deny Scott Rickards, his only real job was to deal with balls into the box, and he did that with assurance.
Rickards had earlier glanced a near post header over the angle following a cross by David Staff, whose early threat along the left was nullified as the game went on.
But it was Nuneaton keeper Darren Acton who was probably closest to a first half goal for the visitors, from a free kick inside the centre circle. It eluded everyone and was not far off target.
Alfreton came more into the picture towards the end of the half, and Acton made a fine save from Litchfield’s shot on the turn in the 41st minute.
Borough did make optimistic penalty claims when Mark Noon went over in the box under Ryan Clarke’s challenge, but another ‘Alf’ – York referee Mr Greenwood – was having none of it.
The second half was slow to get going. By this time the wind had abated somewhat and that probably helped Alfreton’s cause.
Stevenson was desperately unlucky in the 65th minute with what was, apart from the goal itself, the game’s high spot. The pint-sized striker showed clever control 20 yards out to evade two defenders in one movement before his volley beat Acton all ends up, but came back off the bar.
It deserved a goal, and could have been a goal of the season candidate had it come off.
It was now Nuneaton’s turn to defend in depth, and when Litchfield got around the back on the left by-line and pulled back a low cross, both sub Chris Howard and Rankine had shots charged down.
But most of the action was reserved for stoppage time.
As the game entered the added minutes Stevenson was let in by a defensive slip, Acton stretched an arm to parry the shot, and Litchfield’s follow-up was cleared by Derek Brown with the keeper still out of his goal.
Duane Darby, who had been kept pretty much in Friars’ pocket for most of the match, was allowed to go on when he looked offside three minutes into overtime. Lee Featherstone charged down his initial shot, and the striker blazed his second attempt wildly off target.
But with the assembled press men already starting to write up a 0-0 draw there was one final twist. Stevenson got away along the left, crossed high to the near post, and Rankine leapt to bury a header from close range.
It was a goal which, it transpired afterwards, was worth its weight in gold, as other results came through.
Alfreton were the only club in the bottom seven to win, the gap over the bottom two was stretched to six points, and with Hednesford all but down and four clubs sharing 35 points, surely they can’t all catch up in the few remaining games.
Maybe Gary Mills can, at last, begin to plan for next season.
ALFRETON: Rayner, Clarke, Featherstone, Friars, Turner, Fisher, Mills (Howard 73), Nwadike, Rankine, Stevenson, Litchfield. Subs not used: Robinson, Powell, Godber, Brooks.
NUNEATON: Acton, Oddy, Love, Fitzpatrick (Reeves 83), Moore, Brown, Collins, Noon, Rickards (Murphy 73), Darby, Staff (Whittaker 83). Subs not used: Foster, Wilkin.
REFEREE: Alf Greenwood of York.
ATTENDANCE: 436.
SCORER: Alfreton – Rankine 90+5.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Emmet Friars.