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It’s
been a wait of 28 years but Belper Town finally got their hands on the
Derbyshire Senior Cup with a 4-3 aggregate win over old adversaries, Alfreton
Town at Christchurch Meadow.
Ross
Hannah’s 69th minute penalty had cancelled out Chris Walton’s
opener for Alfreton just four minutes earlier and, after enduring five
minutes of added time, the referee’s whistle sparked scenes of unbridled joy
as players and supporters were locked in joyous celebration.
The
score line may well have sent shockwaves around the non league circuit
but this was no fluke, with Belper fully meriting their victory over
opponents who play their football two divisions above the Nailers.
The
pitch was again in pristine condition and a warm spring evening welcomed
the players onto the pitch in front of a lively crowd, swelled by a large
contingent of supporters from up the A38.
The
Nailers were again forced to call upon the services of Sheffield United
academy goalkeeper, Marc Furniss, as cover for the ineligible Paul
Pettinger and the unavailable Adam Ogden.
Captain
Jon Hobson took his place at the heart of the Belper defence, having
missed the first leg of the final through suspension.
Belper
thought that they had got off to a perfect start when Danny Hudson headed
in from Ross Hannah’s cross after only two minutes but the Nailers
celebrations were cut short by linesman’s flag.
Alfreton
then started to step up the pace and Furniss did well to palm away Tony
Butler’s fierce header. Then the Belper ‘keeper grabbed the ball at the
second attempt as Butler’s looping header from the resulting corner
caused a moment of panic in the Nailers defence.
Belper
were beginning to live dangerously at this stage and Alfreton were a
whisker away from opening the scoring when Rob Pacey’s header shaved the
post from another Alfreton corner.
Andy
Rushbury was the first of many players who found their way into the
referee’s notebook, this for a late challenge on Pacey, which forced the
Alfreton player off the field for treatment.
Krystof
Kotylo nearly took advantage of the temporary lack of numbers in the
Alfreton defence after Anthony Wilson had played the ball into his path,
but his shot from the edge of the area drifted wide.
Hannah’s
cross from the right was just too far in front of Wilson but generally
the tension of the evening was evident by the number of misplaced passes
from both sides.
Hannah
was very unfortunate to be cautioned when Alfreton defender Matthew
Wilson was injured in a 50/50 challenge on the Belper striker as Hannah
bore down on the Alfreton goal.
Then
Scott Lowe was the third Belper player to see yellow for a challenge on
Law as the referee’s decisions began to infuriate the home supporters.
Wilson
almost gave Belper the lead after 40 minutes when he ghosted into the
area from Hudson’s free kick but his header flew a yard wide of the near
post with Laurence Matthewson scrambling across his goal line.
Richard
Haigh did brilliantly to clear the ball under intense pressure from Matt
Glass but as Belper swept down to the other end, Hannah’s trickery set up
Wilson but his low shot from 18 yards was aimed directly at Matthewson to
keep the scores level at the interval.
Alfreton
came out for the second half in determined mood and started to put the
Belper defence under increasing pressure but the Reds were unable to
fashion a clear opening during their spell of ascendancy.
Belper
though regained their feet and Matthewson did brilliantly to force the
ball away from Hannah as the Belper man tried to round the ‘keeper
following a pinpoint pass from Hudson that had split the Alfreton
defence.
Then
the Reds ‘keeper was in the right place again as Stevenson latched onto
Hannah’s squared pass into the penalty area.
Alfreton
stunned Belper after 65 minutes when they conceded a needless free kick
out on the touchline and, when the ball broke free inside the six yard
box, Chris Walton gleefully hammered the loose ball into the net.
Belper
were back on level terms after 69 minutes when Ross Hannah was
pulled back inside the area by Matt Wilson and he coolly stepped up to
fire the spot kick low into the corner of the net.
Stevenson
then tried a speculative overhead kick that sailed high and wide before
the same player was pole axed in other challenge that went unnoticed by
the referee.
Glass
was the latest man in the referee’s notebook for a blatant elbow on
Colliver as the tempers threatened to spill over the final stages.
Belper
survived an amazing goal line scramble as the game entered stoppage time
as the Reds threw caution to the wind but after that Belper comfortably
played out a generous chunk of added time to clinch the silverware.
Tim
Harrison’s Photo Gallery
Dave Laughlin
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