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Belper Town
go into the Easter programme nicely tucked in behind the front-runners
and within easy reach of a play off place.
While
Saturday’s draw at Goole may have been a little disappointing given the
amount of possession the Nailers had, a point gained away from home
against one of your close rivals is generally a good result.
Once Belper
had got over the shock of conceding an early goal courtesy of a rather
speculative effort from Goole’s player manager Nigel Danby, the Nailers
quickly got into their stride and troubled the Vikings’ back line for
long periods.
With one or
two exceptions, Belper’s best moves lacked quality in the final pass and
consequently their superior possession and general impetus didn’t get the
deserved reward.
Credit also
due to Vikings’ ‘keeper Craig Parry who managed to thwart the Nailers
when they did create opportunities, and it also has to be said that the
home team had two or three short spells in the game when they should have
scored from relatively east chances.
The last ten
minutes of the first half was Goole’s most productive time of the game
and they carved open the Belper defence at least three times only to
deliver woeful finishing.
But the
Belper equaliser within minutes of the resumption of play after the break
was a delight to watch as Anthony Wilson’s delicate touch played in Ross
Hannah who finished with a low shot in at the near post.
At this stage
the Nailers looked odds on to win the game but the remainder of the half
was a mixture of untidiness and good football on the break.
Both sides
suffered from this affliction but the Vikings played a greater percentage
of the game in their own half whilst successfully preventing Belper
creating any real opportunities.
Joint manager
Danny Hudson felt that it was a two points lost rather than one gained.
“We should
have closed their scorer down and not let him get the shot in, but after
the goal I believe we were the better side overall”, he said.
“For some reason
we play with a quicker tempo away from home and I thought we dominated
the second period”.
“Agreed, they
had two very good chances to score but both players were clearly offside,
yet we suffered at the other end with an over eager linesman who pulled
our players up when they had timed their runs perfectly”
Hudson added,
“in recent games we seem to have been talking about the performance of
the officials rather than the team, and it’s spoiling the flow of games”.
The Nailers
now have to look towards the Easter games and they don’t come much
tougher than Sheffield (away) on Good Friday and Retford (home) on Easter
Monday (both 3.00 pm kick off).
Sheffield
have a hectic run in as they are at least six games behind the rest and
at some stage this fixture pressure will surely have a negative effect on
their play off hopes.
“We are going
into the Sheffield game full of confidence”, said, Hudson, “we have no
reason to fear any team in this division as we have proved this season,
and it will a good competitive game up there”.
Belper travel
to the Bright Finance Stadium in Dronfield confident that their away form
compares well to any other club in the league, and of course Belper have
a score to settle after Club’s 4-1 beating of the Nailers back in early
September at Christchurch Meadow.
Table toppers
Retford United are in town on Easter Monday and here again the Nailers
will be keen to gain revenge following their 3-0 reverse at Cannon Park
at the end of January.
Belper will
have a much better idea of how their play off prospects look after these
two crucial games, and they will also know who their Derbyshire Senior
Cup final opponents will be as Buxton and Alfreton finally meet at the
Silverlands this week.
The Nailers
will be without Ross Hannah for three games and Anthony Wilson for two as
both players begin suspensions on Easter Monday.
Striker
Richard Tracey will miss the Easter games and the trip to Colwyn Bay due
to holiday commitments, and Belper’s striker shortage prompted the giving
of seven days notice to Ossett Town for Ben Walker.
Hudson should
be able to speak to the player on Monday and of course Walker, who needs
no introduction to Belper supporters, will be deemed a valuable asset
should he agree to move to Christchurch Meadow.
Nigel Oldrini
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