2005/06 season match No.42
Saturday, March 11th, 2006
Nationwide North
Alfreton Town 2, Stafford Rangers 1
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic.

IT MAY be tempting fate, but can anyone now seriously contemplate Alfreton Town being relegated?
Saturday’s victory over runaway leaders Stafford seemed to emphasise how far the Reds have come in the past few matches, but maybe there is still more wood to be touched yet.
Rangers had arrived at North Street as runaway Conference North leaders, and you don’t get into that position without being a very good side indeed.
But suddenly there is a surge of confidence coursing through the veins of Gary Mills’ team, and what a difference it is making.
It was assistant manager Darron Gee’s own – acceptable - version of what he calls the ‘c-word’ that he picked up on in his post-match comments.
“Our performances of late are just getting better and better,” he enthused.
“Right from the start today we were bright, and even when Stafford equalised we still had the confidence to go on and win the game.
“The boss told the lads afterwards that two or three months ago that equaliser by a side as good as Stafford would have knocked us back and we may have gone on to lose by two or three.
“But now, full credit to the team, they just kept going and worked really hard to get the win. It was no fluke, we were the better side and deserved the points.”
One would not argue with that assessment, even though Stafford held the territorial and possession advantage in the first half, and were stunned to concede an own goal five minutes before the break which saw Alfreton go in at half time ahead.
But matches are not always won by the side which has more of the ball. Victory tends to go to the team that makes the better use of it when they have it, especially in key areas, and which maintains the better shape and discipline when the opposition are in possession.
That sums up succinctly why the win was so richly deserved.
Results elsewhere may well have dragged the Reds back into the heart of the relegation struggle had they not won this game.
And how the other clubs must have felt when they saw that their own results gained them no ground at all on the side they would never have expected to beat the league leaders – who had suffered only three previous league losses all season, none of those in the last five months.
Those of us who watch the Reds on a fairly regular basis, though, know that they tend to reserve their better displays for better opposition. And Stafford themselves should have realised as much, for at Marston Road earlier in the season it took them 87 minutes to break the Town defence down and secure their single goal victory.
They did not find it any easier this time around. For all their overall possession in the first half, so on top of the job were the home defence that Simon Rayner was rarely called on to do any more than routine work.
The keeper did do well in the seventh minute to turn over Peter Thomson’s difficult, high-bouncing half-volley, and stretched up in the 37th-minute to hold Nathan Smith’s rising 18-yard drive cleanly.
Other than those occasions, the home defence did an excellent containing job, and the home side still carried a threat when they pushed forward themselves.
Indeed Jon Stevenson was only denied by a brilliant tip around the post from Stafford keeper Dean Williams in only the second minute, after pouncing on a mis-hit clearance and neatly creating half a yard of space for the shot.
There seemed no threat, though, five minutes before half time when Chris Bettney got forward along the right and put in a low cross. Under no pressure, Wayne Daniel tried to clear with a stooping header but somehow succeeded only in turning the ball past his own keeper.
And it might even have been 2-0 in stoppage time when Mick Godber played a neat pass forward to Stevenson who shook off both Daniel and Craig McAughtrie in one amazing movement, but then fractionally over-ran the ball allowing keeper Williams to hack clear.
Five minutes into the re-start, the flu-ridden Matt Fisher, with breathing problems, made way for Emeka Nwadike, and his contribution to Alfreton’s second half performance was immense to the point where he was a just a whisker behind Stevenson for man of the match.
“Emeka was magnificent,” said Gee. “He’s had to bide his time and wait to get back into the side but he did really well went he went on.”
But Stafford contrived to equalise in the 57th minute when, following a foul by Ryan Clarke on Robin Gibson near the left corner flag, Paul Groves ghosted in to head Smith’s free kick home at the near post.
Alfreton responded well and still held the upper hand, and Daniel cleared Dave Robinson’s header off the line from Bettney’s long free kick.
However, the Reds breathed a sigh of relief in the 71st minute. Smith turned youngster Lewis Brooks inside out, and the ensuing cross shot was only parried by the diving Rayner. The keeper appeared hurt and was slow getting to his feet, but with the empty net in front of him, Thomson completely missed the target with his follow-up.
Five minutes later Stevenson showed how it should be done. Godber typically laid off from a long free kick, and Stevenson delicately chipped the ball over the defensive wall and under the bar for the three valuable points.
Stafford made a triple substitution in a last gasp bid to salvage something, and there was a setback for Alfreton when Chris Howard suffered an ankle injury and had to be replaced by manager Gary Mills, but none of that had any bearing on the final outcome.
Gee, though, rightly highlighted one more star of the show – groundsman Dick Dennett.
“When we arrived on Thursday for training the ground was under water, and there seemed no chance of a game today,” he said.
“Dick has worked wonders, not only to get the game on in the first place, but to restore the pitch to such good condition in such a short time that it held up so well. He’s done a fantastic job and the win today was as much down to him as anyone.”
ALFRETON: Rayner, R. Clarke, Brooks, Robinson, Turner, Howard (Mills 86), Bettney, Fisher (Nwadike 50), Godber, Stevenson, Featherstone. Subs not used: Duffield, Flanagan, Rankine.
STAFFORD: Williams, Groves (Murray 85), Talbott, McAughtrie, Daniel, Lovatt, Reid, Smith (Walker 85), Grayson, Thomson (M. Clarke 85), Gibson. Subs not used: Downes, Edwards.
REFEREE: Matt Foley of Sheffield.
ATTENDANCE: 480.
SCORERS: Alfreton – Daniel og 40; Stevenson 76. Stafford – Groves 57.
CAUTION: Alfreton – Godber 48 (foul on Daniel).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Jon Stevenson.