2006/2007 Season. Match no.46 - Conference North
Saturday, April 21st, 2007
ALFRETON TOWN 0, Redditch United 0

Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic and Kev Miles.

THE scoreline said much of what there was to say about Saturday’s final home game of the season.
It was a result which, before the match, neither side would have wanted, as the Reds ended their home campaign with six winless matches.
Meanwhile, although Redditch knew that victory for them would virtually ensure Conference North football for next season, in the event results elsewhere confirmed their survival, with Alfreton’s old arch-rivals Worksop going down unless they can win at Leigh RMI next weekend.
“It would have been nice to have ended the home season with a win,” reflected manager Marcus Ebdon afterwards.
“But they had a few chances towards the end so I was quite happy to take the draw.
“With one game left at Kettering it would be good to go out on a victory, but although they are assured of a play-off place they will want to finish second for the easier passage into the final.
“Emeka Nwadike will be back for that game, and we have been rather stretched in midfield while both he and I have been out.”
Ebdon did return to the side for the Redditch game, but Nwadike was completing his suspension and his recovery from a hamstring pull.
He did have the bonus of receiving the supporters’ player of the season award after the match though.
Neither goalkeeper was really extended throughout the match, although Redditch, on the face of things with more to play for, were perhaps the livelier of the two sides.
But they were let down in the 86th minute when Simon Hollis stamped on Michael Harcourt – both players had come on as substitute only five minutes earlier.
The referee did not see the incident, but his attention was called by his assistant, and the red card was entirely justified.
Although by and large it was a lack lustre performance, one man who could hold his head up was Anton Brown. The former Mansfield youngster has grabbed his opportunity with both hands to turn in some impressive performances since winning a regular place in the side, after earlier being in and out of the line-up.
Brown worked hard, made some fine interceptions and sound challenges, and his good distribution really went against the general run of the afternoon’s play.
It was Brown whose persistence enabled him to put Mark Rawle through in the 12th minute, only for the striker to fail to connect on the 18-yard line.
And four minutes later Tristram Whitman’s first touch let him down after he ran in to meet a return pass from Ashley Burbeary.
Redditch suffered a 28th-minute setback when, after another interchange between Whitman and Rawle, Whitman’s boot caught Simon Rea’s head as the Redditch man stooped to head off the line. Rea soldiered on for nine minutes but was clearly struggling and had to be replaced by Ashley Walker.
Brown, meanwhile, showed more composure in breaking up a couple of United forays before the first half petered out.
Within seconds of the restart Redditch keeper Richard Anstiss had to be out of his goal very quickly to hack clear as Matt Glass sought to profit from Ryan Laight’s ball over the top.
Brown blotted his copybook a little when he was booked for what looked little worse than a 50-50 challenge on Carl Palmer just outside the area on the Redditch left, but Rawle headed Scott Rickards’ free kick clear.
Dale Roberts needed to be alert for once when he stretched up to hold Rickards’ high-bouncing downward header, and Carl Heggs’ 20-yard shot on the turn was not far off target as the visitors, desperate for the victory, stepped up the tempo.
They gambled in the 68th minute by sending on attacker Graham Deakin for defender Ben Petty, whose over-use of the lip had earned him an earlier booking.
Richard Ball looked the most likely to profit from the change of shape, and his driven pull-back from the by-line eluded two blue-shirted players at the far post before he went close with a shot on the turn.
The loss of Hollis for the final four minutes plus four more of overtime did the visitors no favours, however.
During that added time Burbeary almost pounced on a sliced clearance but Anstiss was quick to smother the ball at his feet.
However, Rickards might have won it for Redditch right at the death with an angled drive from the right of the area that beat the far post.
ALFRETON: Roberts, Clarke, Brown, Winder, Laight, Flanagan (Harcourt 81), Burbeary, Ebdon, Glass, Rawle, Whitman. Subs not used: Reeves, Barnard, Hannigan, Large.
REDDITCH: Anstiss, Petty (Deakin 68), Taylor, Rea (A. Walker 37), Geohaghon, Murray (Hollis 81), Rickards, Downs, Ball, Heggs, Palmer. Subs not used: Whitcombe, D. Walker.
REFEREE: Mark Powell of Halifax.
ATTENDANCE: 272.
CAUTIONS: Alfreton – Winder 83 (foul on Heggs). Redditch – Geohaghon 52 (dissent); Petty 60 (dissent).
SENT OFF: Redditch – Hollis 86 (violent conduct - stamping on Harcourt).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Anton Brown.