Nailers eliminated from Derbyshire Senior Cup

Last time out the two sides played out a tense 0-0 over 120 minutes before Alfreton Town claimed the title on penalties so many were expecting a close game this time around.

The Nailers would be looking for revenge after last year’s defeat and Evan Garnett would also have been hoping to show what he could do against his former club.

Belper started positively as Garnett burst into the box but an impressive tackle by Brad McGowan prevented the forward from getting a shot off at goal.

But Alfreton took the lead just 11 minutes in through Mark Shelton who was making his first start since signing for the Reds. His low strike caught Belper keeper Mark Rathbone off guard as it slid into the bottom right of his goal.

The visitors doubled their lead just four minutes later as a Paul Clayton diving header nestled in the top corner. This came from some poor marking from the centre backs of Belper who gave Clayton far too much space and time.

Belper were caught out by yet another cross as Ryan Wilson’s long distance whipped ball into the box picked out Sam Smith who got a faint touch on the ball to turn it past Rathbone and put his side three goals to the good.

The final nail in the coffin for the Nailers came when Michael Armstrong played a poor back pass which went straight to the feet of Paul Clayton; his shot was saved however Mark Shelton followed up well for the simplest of finishes to get his second of the night.

This made for a rather uneventful second half as Alfreton began to wind down as they moved the ball with ease and showed no real ambition to go towards the goal and get themselves a fifth.

The introduction of Sam Birks looked as if it had injected some life into the Belper attack, with some clever runs from the forward that broke through the Alfreton defence on a couple of occasions.

Birks did come close to getting his side a consolation goal as Dominic Allen played an excellent ball through to the forward but unfortunately for Birks his effort was saved well by Fabian Spiess in the Alfreton net.

The Nailers will now turn their attention to Northwich Victoria as they travel to face them this Sunday.