Play-off hopes severely dented

Joint managers Andy Carney and Danny Hudson made changes to the side that lost at Grantham on Good Friday with James Colliver and Jon Froggatt being recalled to the starting line up and Tom Naylor (pictured)returning after injury.

Making way were Ryan Hindley and Mickey Harcourt who were named on the bench while Anthony Wilson was left out all together following his sending off at the South Kesteven Stadium.

With just four games left, the Nailers were desperate to get prise three points off one of their play off rivals as the season entered its final stages.

After an edgy start from both teams, Chasetown came close to opening the scoring in the 9th minute when John Branch’s cross brushed the chest of Grant Ryan and fortunately the ball went safe.

Moments later, Belper skipper James Colliver met an Andy Rushbury cross but the ball looped harmlessly out of play, then Ben Jevons had a heading opportunity for Chasetown but he sent it straight at Adam Ogden.

Mark Barnard then found Tom Naylor with a great ball down the line but Naylor over hit the cross after showing good control to wrong foot his defender.

The Nailers had a great chance to score in the 27th minute after the ball skated through to the unmarked Jon Froggatt but he couldn’t force the ball past Ryan Price in the Chasetown goal.

Tom Naylor had a storming run, culminating in an Andy Rushbury shot that deflected to Dean Oliver but he couldn’t make the most of a difficult opportunity.

Froggatt had a shot go wide after a neat lay off from Stevenson and while the Nailers hadn’t got anything to show for it, they had been the more adventurous of the two teams.

But it was the Staffordshire side who stunned Belper by taking the lead in the 40th minute when Gary Hay ran in on the blind side to nudge in a far post free kick that eluded everyone except the goal scorer.

Hay went close to getting a second on the stroke of half time with a powerful header from John Branch’s cross and after looking relatively comfortable for most of the first half the Nailers had begun to look uncertain in defence.

Belper began what was potentially was a huge 45 minutes of their season knowing that they had to pick their game up if their play off hopes were to be prolonged.

But Belper’s afternoon hit a further set back when Chasetown cemented their lead in the 52nd minute when the unmarked Grant Ryan turned and struck the ball just inside the far post from the edge of the penalty area.

Dean Oliver turned his man easily but his cross took a slight but significant deflection off a Chasetown defender, but in general the Nailers’ passing wasn’t crisp or accurate enough to cause the visitors the sort of problems that could conceivably lead to a goal.

Ollie Warren’s introduction in the 67th minute almost reaped instant dividends when he nodded the ball into the path of Lee Stevenson, but Belper’s leading goal getter scooped his shot over the top with only the ‘keeper to beat.

Ryan Hindley volleyed just wide after one of Belper’s better moves of the afternoon then Mark Barnard headed into the side netting after a thoughtful pass from Tom Naylor.

Richard Adams saved James Colliver’s embarrassment in the 78th minute after Gary Hay took the ball off him, but Adams tackle prevented an almost certain third goal.

The game petered out as a spectacle as the Nailers tried in vain to try and find a way through the Chasetown defence, but two defeats over the Easter period has probably put paid any hopes of finishing in the top five.

Belper Town: Ogden, Colliver, Barnard, Naylor, Adams, Haigh, Froggatt (Warren 67), Telling, Oliver, Stevenson, Rushbury (Hindley 55). Unused subs: Fedorenko, Harcourt, Pride.

Chasetown: Price, Branch J, Branch M, Slater, Thomas, Saunders, Stephens, Egan, Hay, Ryan (Smith D 74), Jevons. Unused subs: Perrow, Miller.

Referee: A Tankard (Sheffield)

Attendance: 263

Match Sponsor: McDonald’s Restaurant, Belper.

Man of the Match: Tom Naylor

Match Action: http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/ChstwnH0910/index.html