2005/06 season match No.35
Nationwide North
Tuesday, February 7th, 2006
Alfreton Town 1, Worcester City 0
Match report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD). Pics by Phil Lucic.

ALFRETON Town boss Gary Mills was keeping his feet firmly on the ground after a hard-earned victory over Worcester City lifted them out of the relegation places on Tuesday night.
While the picture certainly looks rosier than it did after Saturday’s shambolic defeat by Droylsden, Mills knows that there is still a long way to go before the Reds can breathe easily.
Lee Featherstone’s 38th-minute goal, the first of any match between the two sides after two goalless draws last season, was enough to seal the three points.
It prompted Mills to comment afterwards: “All we have done is win a football match. It’s a nice feeling, but we’ve not done enough of it this season, and we’ve got to do more of it if we’re going to get out of trouble.
“I’m not saying it was great football, but we had some big hearts out there tonight. They and I had taken a lot of stick for Saturday, and to come back in front of our own fans after that was not going to be easy, but we reacted superbly.”
It must be said that having to prove a point after a below-par display has been an unwanted requirement too often this season.
And, too often, the response has been a gutsy performance but with no end product.
On Tuesday the end product was there, but not for the first time Alfreton were clinging on for the win at the end.
Worcester themselves have climbed out of trouble in recent weeks, to the extent that they have their sights set on a play-off place by the season’s end.
Aided by the deteriorating conditions which were in their favour, they went for broke with four attackers for the final quarter.
During that time the Reds gave the ball away far too frequently and ultimately put too much pressure on themselves.
But aided by a couple of touches of good fortune - City did miss two glorious chances - Alfreton defended magnificently. They did so throughout, but the more so when they came under that late onslaught.
Mills referred to the big hearts, and none was bigger than that of Matt Fisher, who epitomises the ‘roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-at-’em’ philosophy more than most. He was an inspiration from start to finish.
Fisher played a key role in the deciding goal, which came from the Reds’ best move of the match.
Jason Blunt launched it with a ball in to the midfield motorman, and he picked out Jon Stevenson with a great ball forward.
Stevenson got to the right by-line, where he produced a bit of pure magic to put in a cross under pressure from three defenders, and Featherstone rose to head gleefully in - it was the third successive Reds goal scored by a wing-back.
Mills added that the recent change of shape  to three central defenders and two wing backs has been a case of ‘horses for courses’.
“I’m really a 4-4-2 man,” he admitted, “but apart from when we had Paul Smith on the left we’ve never quite had the right balance. In Lee Featherstone and Ryan Clarke we’ve got two players who can do a wing-back job to good effect.
“Worcester did push them back in the second half, especially when they went all out with four strikers, but when you are winning you don’t need to gamble. Ryan and Lee did their damage in the first half.”
A change was forced on the Reds in the 27th minute when Chris Bettney asked to come off with chest pains after apparently taking an elbow in the back.
But the consequent introduction of Michael Rankine’s height helped the attacking play, especially with a lack of height in the Worcester defence.
Until Featherstone’s goal there had been few chances at either end as defences tended to dominate. Featherstone did whip in a couple of good crosses which lacked a touch where it mattered.
But Simon Rayner, who until then had only routine work to do, had to produce an excellent tip aside to deny Justin Thompson’s shot on the turn from inside the area two minutes after Featherstone’s goal.
With a strengthening tail-wind and rain, Worcester began the second half in a more attacking mode, and within 27 seconds home skipper Dave Robinson made an important clearance as Mark Danks tried to put Adam Webster through inthe box.
City missed two good chances in the 61st and 66th minutes. First Danks rounded Mark Turner to set up Nick Colley who shot wide.
Five minutes later Colley turned provider, finding Shabir Khan about four yards from goal in a central position, but somehow he steered his shot wide.
In between those two, though, Peter Duffield floated a delightful 30-yard free kick to the left of the area, wher Fisher soared to head into the side netting.
And when Stevenson ghosted in onto a through ball on the opposite side of the box, his narrow angled attempt was beaten behind by keeper Daniel McDonnell.
Worcester player-manager Andy Preece, frustrated at his side’s inability to find a breakthrough, gambled for the final 18 minutes.
He introduced himself and fellow-striker Leon Kelly, withdrawing Khan and former Forest star Des Lyttle, who until then had been a massive influence for the visitors.
The change led to Alfreton coming under intense and prolonged pressure as City looked for a way back to salvage their play-off hopes.
The Reds struggled to get out of their own area, but hardly helped themselves by the number of times they conceded possession.
Stevenson was particularly culpable, and it appeared to be frustration on the bench at his needless generosity that led to his ultimate withdrawal in favour of Emeka Nwadike, who bolstered the rearguard action for the last few minutes.
Before the change, though, Thompson had another shot on the turn well saved, and at one stage the Reds survived four successive corners when Thompson headed the last one too high.
It was nervy stuff for the home fans and the management, with referee Carl Bassindale seeming to consult his watch every five seconds but ignoring the calls from Mills and Darron Gee to sound the whistle.
In fact Mr Bassindale did not play that much overtime - it just seemed that way.
But after time was finally called, City’s manager Preece summed up his side’s defeat in three harsh words - “We were awful!”
ALFRETON: Rayner, Clarke, Featherstone, Robinson, Hume, Turner, Bettney (Rankine 27), Fisher, Duffield, Stevenson (Nwadike 88), Blunt. Subs not used: Godber, Powell, Smith.
WORCESTER: McDonnell, Warner, Khan (McDonald 85), Pearce, Thompson, Lyttle (Preece 72), Wedgbury, Colley, Danks, Webster, Warmer (Kelly 72). Subs not used: Hodnett, Walker.
REFEREE: Carl Bassindale of Doncaster.
ATTENDANCE: 256.
SCORER: Alfreton - Featherstone 38.
CAUTIONS: Alfreton - Fisher 70 (two-footed challenge). Worcester - Danks 43 (foul on Hume).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Matt Fisher.