2004/05 - Match No. 21
FA Trophy, 1st Round
Saturday, November 6th, 2004
Alfreton Town 2, Runcorn FC Halton 0
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics: by Phil Lucic.

ALFRETON took their place in the second round draw of the FA Trophy, but they could so easily have blown it at the first hurdle against revitalised Runcorn on Saturday.
Perhaps a repeat of Tuesday night’s FA Cup thriller against Worksop was an expectation too far.
But, certainly for the first half, the Reds played as if they were still suffering a hangover from that epic tie and they looked like a side with next week’s cup tie against Macclesfield on their minds rather than the immediate task in hand.
And Runcorn looked likely to stretch their unbeaten run to five matches since the arrival as manager of Alvin McDonald.
At least there was one bright spot, which came right at the death when substitute Mick Goddard scored what must have been one of the most spectacular goals ever seen at the Impact Arena.
Assistant manager Charlie Williamson admitted afterwards that, despite the quality of Goddard’s late strike, this had been far from the best performance put on by the Reds this season.
He added: “People may say we didn’t deserve to go through, but I believe things even themselves out over a season – for instance I thought we’d done enough to beat Lancaster a couple of weeks ago when we lost.
“I suppose it’s to be expected that players will have next week’s big game on their minds, but it was made quite clear to them at half time that we still had this job to do first.
“Credit to Runcorn, they played well in the first half and we could have turned round a couple of goals down, but the players responded to what was said, and once Peter Duffield had given us that early second half goal we didn’t look back.
“And what a way to finish! We’d wanted to get Mick Goddard on to get in behind their defence, but at the end we were screaming at him to keep possession, instead of which he comes up with a memorable goal like that, and I’m delighted for him.”
After Tuesday’s pulsating cup tie it was a disappointingly small crowd that came back on Saturday for this game – and both the crowd and the players seemed to have their minds elsewhere.
Chris Bettney did trouble Tony McMillan with a 10th-minute free kick that the Linents’ keeper needed two attempts to hold.
But it was Runcorn who looked the more up for the tie, and had they taken their first half chances Alfreton would have been dead and buried by half time.
Matt McGinn headed over at the back post from a glorious chance in the 12th minute, and a minute later there could have been no complaints had referee Rob Steans pointed to the spot after Matt Fisher clipped Michael Garrity, who stumbled but kept his feet when he might have done better to go down.
It was not all one way, and Mark Blount volleyed over from the edge of the box following two home corners in quick succession, then Mick Godber miskicked after Emeka Nwadike had pounced on McMillan’s spilt ball and laid it off for the striker.
Fisher put Alfreton in real trouble in the 29th minute with a pass along his own 18-yard line to no-one in particular, which Ged Courtney gratefully received but shot against Lee Butler’s legs.
A minute later Blount allowed the ball to run under his boot to let in Young, and it was only thanks to the alert Ben Chapman, who dashed across to tidy up, that the home side escaped.
The hard-working John Knapper had been one of the few players in the first half who could be considered up to scratch, and when he was picked out by David Holmes’ intelligent ball over the top just before half time, McMillan raced out to close him down before he could turn and shoot.
With Dave Lloyd’s words ringing in their ears, it was a different Alfreton who emerged for the second half, and within five minutes they had a goal advantage.
Holmes’ long throw from near the right corner flag was flicked on by the head of Godber to Duffield, who glanced a neat close range header just inside the far post.
Two minutes later Fisher was withdrawn as a precautionary measure with a troublesome calf, Nwadike moving into a more central role to allow substitute Chris Dolby to attack along the left.
Both Nwadike and Duffield had shots charged down during an almighty scramble in the Runcorn goalmouth midway through the half.
Goddard made his appearance, replacing Godber, and soon his pace left Robert Moore for dead, the Linnets’ defender reduced to bringing him down from behind on the edge of the box, which earned him a booking.
Bettney’s resulting free kick clipped McMillan’s bar before bouncing behind.
As the game moved into its closing stages Runcorn began to throw players forward in a bid to force the replay which Alfreton certainly did not want, and they won three corners in quick succession, from the last of which the covering Bettney blocked on the line before Knapper hooked the ball away.
Hearts were in mouths in the third minute of stoppage time when Grant Brown was harshly penalised for what looked a fair challenge on John Robertson just outside the Alfreton area, but Goddard charged the free kick down and Lee Parle blazed the follow-up shot high and wide.
Seconds later it was all over. As Runcorn pushed forward again Dolby won the ball and released Goddard along the wide right, he looked up and unleashed an absolute screamer from 25 yards which rocketed past the startled McMillan and inside the far post.
ALFRETON: Butler, Holmes, Chapman, Blount, Brown, Knapper, Bettney, Fisher (Dolby 52), Godber (Goddard 74), Duffield (Sale 85), Nwadike. Subs not used: Woolley, Pierce.
RUNCORN: McMillan, Ellis, McGinn, Moore, Robertson, Ness, Garrity (Rendell 70), Parle, Young, Durkan, Courtney. Subs not used: Nolan, Carragher, Molyneux, Wright.
REFEREE: Rob Steans of Loughborough.
ATTENDANCE: 386.
SCORERS: Alfreton – Duffield 50; Goddard 90+4.
CAUTIONS: Alfreton – Bettney 68 (dissent). Runcorn – Robertson 52 (foul on Nwadike); Moore 77 (‘professional’ foul on Goddard); Young 82 (foul on Brown).
MAN OF THE MATCH: John Knapper.