2005/06 season match No.16
Nationwide North
Saturday, October 29th, 2005
Stafford Rangers 1, Alfreton Town 0
Match report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic.


A WINNING goal just three minutes from time broke the resilient Reds’ hearts and took Stafford Rangers to the top of the league at Marston Road on Saturday.
Rangers completed a 100 per cent October of five wins out of five, during which time they have conceded just one goal, but the result kept Alfreton too close to the relegation zone for comfort.
The Reds deserved a point from a match which resembled the previous week’s cup tie at Hereford in many ways.
And they may well have got it had they been awarded a penalty in the last minute following what looked like a handling offence on the Stafford goal line.
Manager Gary Mills was adamant, and accused referee Mr Smallwood of ‘bottling it’. Ironically that non-decision dislodged the official’s home town side Northwich Victoria from the top of the league.
But who knows? Maybe he is a Witton Albion fan!
Mills, though, was far from amused by such whimsical speculation.
“I don’t like commenting on referees, but he showed no consistency at all,” fumed the manager afterwards.
“We’ve worked hard, we’ve played well, and we’ve matched an in-form team who went into the game in second place.
“We’ve defended well, we’ve created chances of our own and we deserved to get something from the game.
“Instead, their players are laughing at the referee. Mark Turner’s shot was not just handled on the line, it was two-handed, and he’s let it go. It’s very disappointing to lose in such circumstances.
“Things like this wind you up, but we’ve just got to keep doing what we are doing and the results will come.”
The unbelievable thing was that it took until the 87th minute for the deadlock to be broken.
Chances were in abundance at both ends, yet neither side could capitalise.
Stafford were the more profligate, and maybe their misses were the more glaring, with so much of their end product going off target, while at least the Reds made home keeper Dean Williams work for his clean sheet, even if their chances were fewer.
Williams’ opposite number, though, showed his versatility in only the fourth minute. Dave Robinson, back in defence for the injured Mark Blount, had not realised that Adam Legzdins had come out for the ball, and the skipper’s back-header almost went over the keeper who, despite his height, had to leap high twice to head away from the challenge of Rangers’ big centre-forward Peter Thomson.
As Stafford pushed forward in the first half-hour Thomson was the chief culprit in the missed chances stakes, although the Reds’ defence dealt well with some enterprising and fast-moving approach play.
Lee Featherstone in particular shone at left back, and Turner and Robinson got in numerous excellent challenges.
Stafford did have the ball in the net in the 21st minute from a melee in the Reds’ six-yard box, but that one was ruled out for a foul on Legzdins.
Alfreton finally got forward to good effect in the 32nd minute. Until then their moves were breaking down in the final third, despite Chris Bettney looking almost uncontainable along the right.
It was Bettney who latched onto Featherstone’s cross, and although his volley rebounded off Neil Grayson it fell to Ryan Clarke, whose clever sidefooted volley over the defence had Williams stretching up to tip over his bar.
Alfreton had a let-off two minutes later though. Mick Godber’s crossfield pass was intercepted by Grayson who sent Thomson clear. The striker was forced wide by Legzdins and Robinson, but managed to round the keeper and should have scored, but was well off target, and Emeka Nwadike booted for a corner.
But it was Williams who preserved parity two minutes before the break, when Jason Blunt’s low drive from a Nwadike lay-off looked destined for the bottom corner until the keeper got down well to push it aside despite the close attentions of Jon Stevenson.
Alfreton began the second half on top, and after Willliams turned another Bettney cross for a corner, Godber’s header from the flag kick was stopped on the line by Nathan Talbott.
Stevenson headed another corner onto the roof of the net, and Featherstone was unceremoniously brought down by Wayne Daniel as he broke along the left, earning the Stafford man a booking.
But it was Alfreton’s turn to breathe again in the 66th minute, Kevin Street’s rising drive slamming against the underside of the bar and rebounding into the arms of the grateful Legzdins.
The goal frame also came to Stafford’s rescue shortly afterwards, Bettney’s 20-yard free kick beating the defensive wall but just clipping the angle and going over.
Thomson scorned another gilt-edged opportunity 10 minutes from time when the referee played the advantage following a foul by Robinson, the front man again failing to test Legzdins when clear in the area.
But then came the heartbreak. Stafford countered-attacked in numbers with Thomson in possession and supported by three colleagues. This time he elected to slip the ball inside to Nathan Smith, and he drove it inside the far corner giving Legzdins no chance.
It still was not all over though. Featherstone’s downward header from Bettney’s 89th-minute corner dropped just wide, and then in stoppage time, amid a goalmouth scramble, Turner’s attempt ricocheted off three bodies, the owner of one of which must have been thankful not to be penalised for handling on the line.
However, that is the kind of ill fortune that clubs at the wrong end of the table tend to suffer.
STAFFORD: Williams, Groves, Talbott, Todd, Daniel, Grayson, Downes (Reid 73), Street, Thomson, Smith, Edwards. Subs not used: Gibson, P. Robinson, Walker, Murray.
ALFRETON: Legzdins, Clarke, Featherstone, D. Robinson, Turner, Nwadike, Blunt, Fisher (Harbottle 86), Godber (Ross 86), Stevenson, Bettney. Subs not used: Duffield, Powell, Woolley.
REFEREE: W. D. Smallwood of Northwich.
ATTENDANCE: 913.
SCORER: Stafford – Smith 87.
CAUTIONS: Stafford – Daniel 54 (‘professional’ foul on Featherstone); Edwards 60 (foul on Blunt). Alfreton – Clarke 41 (time wasting); Stevenson 45 (late challenge on Groves).
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Lee Featherstone.