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Despite enjoying most of the
possession throughout the 90 minutes, Belper had to be satisfied with a
narrow victory over a battling Alsager side.
James Colliver returned to the
Belper Town side following injury, whilst the Nailers also recalled Andy
Rushbury for this must-win encounter at Christchurch Meadow.
Ben Walker had to settle for a
place on the substitutes’ bench but there was no place at all in the
squad for Michael Harcourt and Karl Ashton, both of whom had featured in
the crucial midweek defeat by Sheffield FC.
Alsager showed up well in the
early stages and Chris Budrys might have done better when the Belper
offside trap was breached but he tamely allowed the ball to roll to
Belper ‘keeper, Paul Pettinger.
After a spell of Belper
pressure, the Bullets nearly opened the scoring when Lee Talbot
dragged his shot wide from 12 yards but the same player made no mistake
after 20 minutes when he was given time and space to find the far corner
of the net with an accurate finish.
The Nailers were clearly
shaken by the setback but they were back on level terms after 30 minutes
after Hannah had chased the ball into the corner. From his near-post
cross, Anthony Wilson sent a glancing header into the net
As the half time interval
approached, Belper turned up the pressure and started to lay siege to the
Alsager goal. Anthony Wilson and Lee Stevenson both saw shots blocked as
Belper fought to gain the ascendancy.
Krystof
Kotylo was out of luck when Liam McMann deflected his shot just wide of
the post and then Danny Hudson was only inches away with another
stunning strike as the Nailers pressed strongly towards the interval.
Belper though made a perfect
start to the second period, taking the lead after 48 minutes when Andy
Rushbury headed Wilson’s pinpoint cross past James Jowsey’s
despairing dive.
It was all Belper at this
stage and when Stevenson got his head to Hudson’s cross, Jowsey was
positioned perfectly to keep out his effort.
Alsager had a glimmer of
a chance but Jimmy McCarthy took too long to make up his mind when the
ball found him clear inside the area whilst, at the other end, Anthony
Wilson scooped the ball high over the bar when the tried his luck from 20
yards.
Jowsey came to Alsager’s
rescue again when he bravely blocked the ball as Ross Hannah again raced
clear of the visitors defence.
Belper should have added a
third goal mid way through the second half when leading scorer Hannah
left the chasing Alsager defence in his wake again only to slice his shot
wide of the post with the goalkeeper stranded.
Andy Whittaker then headed
powerfully over the bar for the Bullets after Belper had given him too
much space from a flighted free kick and the Nailers had been given a
stark reminder of the fragile nature of their lead.
Indeed, Belper looked a little
edgy in the closing stages as they tried to close down the game and a
number of substitutions did not appear to help their cause.
But, Lee Stevenson could have
made the game safe for the Nailers in added time but Tim Sanders cleared
his shot off the line after Jowsey had been beaten.
The victory maintained
Belper’s play off position ambitions as other results worked in their favour.
Tim
Harrison’s Photo Gallery
Dave Laughlin
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