Dan Bradley slams his penalty home.
The Fleet went into this away game with every chance of going home with three points. Unfortunately they were never really in the game as Alfreton walked away with a comfortable 3-0 victory with goals from Dan Bradley, Ben Tomlinson and debutant Jordan Rose.
Liam Daish was forced into a change to the Ebbsfleet starting eleven as Neil Barrett fell ill. He was replaced by Joe Howe, meaning Tom Phipp was back into the centre of midfield after playing the last couple of games at right back. Stefan Payne returned from an ankle injury suffered at Grimsby but was only on the bench, in place of Tobi Alabi.
Alfreton started brightly, having four corners in the opening ten minutes. The Fleet defended everything that was thrown their way until the 14th minute when captain Paul Lorraine bundled Paul Clayton to the floor. Bradley confidently stepped up and hit the ball to Edwards' left. Despite guessing the correct way, the 'keeper wasn't able to keep out the penalty. Nathan Elder's weak effort from outside of the area was saved comfortably by the Alfreton 'keeper Jordan Pickford.
Former Fleet loanee Louie Soares was giving his old team mates a tough time and he almost set up a second goal for the Reds soon after as his ball in was met by top scorer Clayton just eight yards from goal. Fortunately for the Fleet his effort went wide of the goal. The Fleet's best chance of the match came after a flick on from Liam Enver-Marum landed in Matt Godden's path. The on-loan striker's sweetly struck shot beat Pickford but smashed against the post and the Alfreton defence was able to clear, under no pressure from the Fleet forwards.
It was 2-0 soon after as Clayton's byline cross caused confusion in the box and was prodded in by Tomlinson. With a mountain to climb the Fleet showed no will to get back into the game, with Phipp blasting his only effort over the bar from the edge of the area. A swerving shot from outside of the box nearly caught Edwards off guard, but the 'keeper did well to parry over the bar. Clayton's header from the resulting corner was saved. The last chance of the half fell to the Fleet as Godden's first touch set him up for a volley, but his effort was blocked and cleared to safety.
HT: 2-0.
The opening 20 minutes or so in the second half didn't really bring any clear cut chances for either side. The first chance of the half came when Soares' through ball was met by Tomlinson, who's effort was well saved by Edwards.
If it wasn't already game over, it definitely was on 71 minutes. The Fleet failed to defend a corner Rose was there to finish from eight yards out. This capped an excellent debut for Rose, who showed he was capable both in the air and on the floor. Judging by this performance, it's a surprise AFC Telford allowed him to go out on loan!
Edwards was called into action again, making two decent saves from Steven Hewitt and Clayton. Nathan Arnold saw his effort from outside of the box drift just wide of the goal before Clayton's effort in the last few minutes was blocked by Howe.
The last chance of the game fell to the Fleet as an Ashlew Carew free-kick was met by the head of Godden from twelve yards out. His header went just wide of the far post.
Alfreton fans would have been delighted with this victory, although it was a shame only 459 people turned up to watch.
Alfreton move up to 14th with this win and are eight points above safety. No more looking over their shoulder for them now, their Blue Square Premier safety is pretty much secure. Up next for the Reds is Gateshead, who are looking to give themselves a little breathing space from the bottom four. The Fleet remain in 23rd place but due to Hyde's 1-2 victory at Luton, they are now seven points from safety. Southport are the visitors to Stonebridge Road on Saturday, a match the Fleet are desperate to win. Another bad result with other results going against them could see the Fleet slip further in trouble!
Alfreton:
Pickford, Law, Quinn, Rose, Franklin, Soares (Arnold 71), Bradley (Meadows 76), Brown, Arnold, Clayton, Tomlinson (Boden 76).
Subs not used: Franks, Worsfold.
Ebbsfleet:
Edwards, Howe, Gwillim, Lorraine, Walsh, Bellamy (Azeez 54), Carew, Phipp, Enver-Marum (Payne 54), Elder, Godden.
Subs not used: Menz, Blake, Shitta
Attendance: 459.
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