The Nailers were without injured pair Lewis Austin and Ben Rhodes which meant that Curtis Burrows and Nathan Whitehead were drafted in as replacements.

Sherwood had made a solid start to life at Step 4 after earning promotion from the United Counties Premier North as champions.

The game took place at Kirklington Road, the home of Rainworth Miners Welfare which is where The Wood are playing their home fixtures while their 3G pitch is being laid.

The hosts made a rapid start to the game and forced a corner early on and the Nailers were happy to see Dan Moore claw away a shot that emerged from a ruck of players.

The initial pressure from Sherwood fizzled out as the Nailers started to get a grip on the game, and they took the lead on 16 minutes when Mason Warren’s cross was met by Luke Rawson who headed the ball into the net unheeded.

The omens looked good for Belper who seemed likely to add to their score, however they survived a scare in the 25th minute when Ewan Robson forced the ball through the Nailers defence, only to lift his shot over the target when it looked easier to score.

Nathaniel Crofts made a great run in behind on 28 minutes and crossed the ball for Harry Draper, who unfortunately failed to convert.

It was tough going for Belper as the Nailers struggled to make an impact even though they coped well enough with the attacking efforts of Sherwood.

In the 48th minute Paulo Aguas put across a tantalising ball that Rawson headed wide and then on 56 minutes, following a quick break soon afterwards Draper had a goal bound shot blocked.

Another good move started by Crofts on 72 minutes, saw the ball moved out to Aguas and his cross was met on the volley by Draper, but again a Sherwood defender got in the way.

Aguas was in action again on 80 minutes, when he took the ball through the middle and struck a good shot that Jordan Pierrepont saved at full stretch.

In between times Wood were active on both flanks but couldn’t find a telling pass that could lead to an equaliser. Warren’s free kick on 83 minutes produced a good header from Nailers’ skipper Jack Broadhead, and this time the ball struck the crossbar.

Moments later and Brodie Litchfield was thwarted by some good defending when he burst through to strike a fearsome effort goal bound, but again a Wood defender got his body in the way.

Although this Bank Holiday fixture didn’t produce a classic, the key takeaway from this weekend is maximum points which is all that really matters.

Sherwood Colliery: Pierrepont, Pennington, (Monington 88), Lobley (Eggington 46), Gascoigne, Widdowson, Robson (Conroy 74), York, Bircumshaw, Grant, Pearce (Mitchell 83), Wiesztort (Korpal 71)

Belper Town: Moore, Burrows, Aguas, Whitehead, Broadhead, Evans, Gratton, Draper, Rawson, Crofts (Litchfield 74). Unused subs: August, Austin, Gregory, Tsolakis.

Referee: Josh Howell

Att: 279