2004/05 - Match No. 19
FA Cup, 4th Qualifying Round
Saturday, October 30th, 2004
Worksop Town 1, Alfreton Town 1
Report by Gordon Foster (Mansfield CHAD)
ALFRETON Town made it into the hat for the first round proper draw, but face a Tuesday replay to decide whether they or local arch-rivals Worksop Town would go forward to entertain League Two side Macclesfield Town on Saturday week.
A draw was a fair result from a contest which never really lived up to its billing, and sent the 1,200-plus crowd home questioning whether they had received value for money.
Midway through the first half Mick Godber cancelled out Chris Cleary’s ninth-minute strike, which had given the Tigers the lead.
But neither side was able to make any real impression on a second half in which both were more concerned with giving nothing away than with taking anything.
Nevertheless, Reds boss Dave Lloyd was justified in his claim afterwards that “We deserve to be in the first round draw – there’s no doubt about that.
“And it gives you a feeling of pride to see us included in the televised draw.”
He added: “The soft pitch made it a bit difficult, and we know we can play better.
“But Lee Butler didn’t have a real save to make in the second half, and we had a couple of chances to wrap the game up. We have another chance on Tuesday, and we know the incentive is a home tie against a league club.”
Worksop, on the back of a seven-match unbeaten run including six wins, went straight for the jugular from the off, and Alfreton had to resort to conceding a series of free kicks to stem their early tide.
Even so, the first chance of the match, in the seventh minute, fell to Peter Duffield who was put clear on goal through the inside right channel, but shot too hurriedly wide.
Two minutes later the pace of the home attack caught the Reds flat-footed. First, Brian O’Callaghan turned past Ian Robinson and fed the ball forward to Cleary.
Then the American striker evaded Grant Brown’s challenge before hitting home from the right of the area.
Play became confined to midfield for a spell afterwards, as Alfreton began to get the measure of the task in hand, but Mark Blount – who was assured in central defence – could find no direction onto Mitch Ward’s free kick.
The equaliser arrived on 23 minutes. Persistent work on the left by Emeka Nwadike and Matt Fisher enabled Nwadike to play the ball infield, Duffield stepped intelligently over it, and Godber was left with a simple chance to sidefoot inside Kris Rogers’ left hand post.
Godber could well have had a second two minutes later but, hurling himself at Chris Bettney’s far post cross from the right, he headed wide – and to rub salt in he landed awkwardly and needed treatment before resuming.
Cleary should have restored Worksop’s lead when a half-cleared corner reached Steve Nicholson, who drilled the ball back into the box. Butler missed it, but Cleary could only turn it wide from against the post.
Fisher was prominent again, winning Alfreton a 39th-minute corner, which the towering Anthony Jackson managed to head clear under pressure.
And a minute later the visitors won another flag kick, which Nwadike headed into the net, only to see the goal ruled out for a push.
Again Worksop attacked first on the restart, but when Alfreton hit on the counter, Robinson saw his angled drive parried for a corner by Rogers.
Then Jackson again needed all his height to glance a dangerous Nwadike cross away from the lurking Godber. How useful the even taller but injured Mark Sale might have been against the big central defender.
Worksop began to put some pressure on the Reds’ defence who stood up well, with Blount and Brown letting nothing through.
However, as the half went on the two sides began increasingly to cancel each other out, although home skipper James Dudgeon’s bullet header onto a Nicholson cross cleared the bar.
At the other end Godber could not find enough power onto his shot on the turn from Duffield’s intelligent downward header.
Danger briefly threatened the Reds 15 minutes from time when home substitute Gary Browne fed the ball down the left to Cleary. His lay-off found the well-placed Gary Townsend, but the fast ground shot was straight at Butler, before the game petered out into a draw.
WORKSOP: Rogers, Nicholson, Davies, Thorpe, Jackson, Dudgeon, O’Callaghan, Dempsey, Cleary, Townsend (Bambrook 79), Norton (Browne 62). Subs not used: Wilson, Lancaster, Bowling.
ALFRETON: Butler, Bradshaw (Chapman 81), Robinson, Blount, Brown, Ward (Knapper 84), Bettney (Holmes 89), Fisher, Godber, Duffield, Nwadike. Subs not used: Dolby, Goddard.
REFEREE: Paul Barnes of Peterborough.
ATTENDANCE: 1,263.
SCORERS: Worksop – Cleary 9. Alfreton – Godber 23.
CAUTIONS: Worksop – Browne 71 (unsporting conduct). Alfreton – Bradshaw 10 (foul on Norton).
REDS MAN OF THE MATCH: Mark Blount.