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Saturday 29 December 2007
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Alsager Town 1-4 Belper Town
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Nailers overcome Alsager and weather
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Belper Town defied
the elements and a determined Alsager team to emerge comfortable winners
and get their play off hopes back on track.
The Nailers were making their second visit to The Town Ground during
December and were hoping for a repeat of the victory they achieved four
weeks ago.
Joint managers Andy Carney and Danny Hudson selected an unchanged team
from the one that gained a last gasp draw at Quorn on Boxing Day which
meant that there was no starting slot for the goal scorer, Sean Gummer.
Striker Anthony Wilson was serving the last of a four game suspension,
and Krystof Kotylo was still injured while defender Gary Middleton was
once again named as a substitute.
Heavy rain and a strong breeze greeted the players at kick off and within
a minute Ross Hannah had broken through the back line thanks to Richard
Tracey’s quick thinking, but Alsager ‘keeper Matt Conkie got to the ball
first.
However Belper took the lead in the 3rd minute when James Colliver hit a
sweetly struck, and wind assisted shot wide of Conkie and into the net.
Ashley Miller took on and beat Colliver on 11 minutes but Jon Hobson got
to the cross at the near post before it could do any damage’
The strong wind and driving rain made passing difficult for both teams
and when James McCarthy headed Dean Stokes 14tth minute cross goal bound,
the ball never reached its target.
The Nailers were relying on breaks at this stage and in the 20th minute
Andy Rushbury got away down the left but Charlie Reeves made an important
interception to prevent the ball reaching Tracey.
Miller teased the Belper defence with a jinking run across the edge of
the penalty area but a Belper player got in the way of the eventual shot.
Tracey took the ball to the bye-line on 29 minutes and put over an
awkward cross that Conkie failed to hold but there was no Belper player
in the vicinity to take advantage.
Despite allowing the Bullets to come on to them for much of the first
period, the Nailers began to press in the latter stages of the half and
when Rushbury took receipt of the ball on the left in the 39th minute,
Conkie spread himself well to make a good save.
Moments later Ross Hannah found a gap in the Alsager defence and even
though he was pushed wider than he would have liked, Conkie still did
well to save his shot at the foot of the near post.
The home team started the second half strongly and Michael Owen put a
47th minute header just wide of the upright, but the Nailers soon began
to stretch the Alsager defence and Lee Stevenson raced clear to put his
shot into the side netting.
Almost straight away Richard Tracey missed a great chance to score when
he had only the ‘keeper to beat but put the ball high over the cross bar.
But Belper were causing big problems for Alsager on the break and in the
57th minute they gave themselves some breathing space when Richard Tracey
slid in to convert an excellent first time cross from Andy Rushbury after
Ross Hannah had started the move.
The rain was incessant but then so were the Nailers.
When most teams would have been content to play out the rest of the game,
Belper went for more goals and in the 65th minute Rushbury scored a
brilliant individual effort.
He collected the ball inside his own half before taking it to within 12 yards
of the goal where he coolly slotted it in past Conkie who had watched him
run through his covering defenders like a hot knife through butter.
Ross Hannah shaved the upright with a low drive from 15 yards in the 68th
minute, but Jon Hobson’s rash tackle on Karl Espley in the 75th minute
gave the Bullets an opportunity to reduce the arrears from the penalty
spot, and Dave Whittaker duly obliged.
Andy Rushbury provided a carbon copy cross for the fourth goal on 78
minutes and this time it was Ross Hannah who was on the end of it to send
his total for the season to 17 goals.
Rushbury forced Conkie into a diving save from a well-struck effort from
the edge of the penalty area in the 90th minute as the Nailers ended the
game very much in the ascendancy.
Belper were back to their irrepressible best despite the awful conditions
and the home side had no answer to Belper’s swift, direct and forceful
counterattacking that is becoming a hallmark of their tactical approach
to games nowadays.
Tim
Harrison’s Photo Gallery
Nigel
Oldrini
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Belper
Town:
Ogden, Colliver, Lowe, Smith, Appleyard, Hobson, Hudson, Stevenson,
Tracey, Hannah, Rushbury. Subs. Not used: Middleton, Gummer, Harcourt.
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Alsager: Conkie, Pitts,
Stokes, Owen (Budrys 45), Reeves, Espley, Sobolojew (McGraw 86), Baker,
McCarthy, Whittaker, Miller (Proffitt 72).
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Referee: N Hobbis
(Birmingham)
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Attendance: 80
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Match Sponsors: -
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Jasper’s 25-yarder screams into the net to give
Belper the lead after only 3 minutes.
Photo: Tim Harrison
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