> 29.9.2007

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The Pitmen kept their second clean sheet of the week, thus earning a replay against Blue Square North side Alfreton Town on Tuesday night after the two sides had, in essence, cancelled each other out over ninety minutes

There was a slight reshuffle to the side that had beaten Ilkeston Town on Monday night, with Alan Nagington returning to the side after an injury lay-off; he replaced the cup-tied Lindon Dovey. In defence, on-loan Sam Hall was dropped to the bench, with Dave Macpherson returning to the side after just one game amongst the substitutes

The Pitmen started well, with Nagington making an immediate impression, forcing former Stafford Rangers keeper James Lindley into an instinctive save with his legs inside the first five minutes

Lindley had to come to Alfreton's rescue again on fifteen minutes, taking the ball off the toes of Nagington as he shaped to shoot

At the other end, Brian Cusworth will feel he should have done better with a shot from the edge of the area that flew wide of Rene Gilmartin's post. He did, however, force Gilmartin into a save on the half hour, firing in from the right which the Hednesford keeper did brilliantly to turn away from goal 

Cusworth was causing the Pitmen problems, and he almost opened the scoring ten minutes from half time with a header that went just wide with Gilmartin beaten

The visitors could have taken the lead two minutes before half time, but Matt Wilson's shot cannoned off the post and away from danger

The Pitmen came out far more positive in the second half, with Macpherson's extravagant overhead kick dropping wide of goal from a Nagington ball in

We almost witnessed a sense of deja vu on the hour mark, as Chris Adam picked the ball up and fired in a cross-shot, reminiscent of his goal against Ilkeston on Monday night, but this time he missed the far post by inches

Gilmartin was having a fine game, and kept Cusworth out again as the game entered it's final stages. At the other end, Nagington's speculative effort was easily saved by Lindley

With eight minutes remaining, there were loud calls for a penalty as Adam jinked his way across the penalty area, only to be brought down just inside the box. Despite the protests, the referee denied the Pitmen what looked a certain penalty, and to add further insult, booked Adam for diving. A highly contentious moment in the tie

Ashley Woolliscroft could have won it for the Pitmen late on, but skied his shot after being set up by Tom Ward, who once again worked hard up front for little reward. So, it's everyone back to Alfreton on Tuesday night, for the right to visit local rivals Rushall Olympic in the third qualifying round cds

Alfreton Town (A) FAC

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Action from Keys Park:  1. Chris Adam makes a run down the left wing for the Pitmen  2. Dave Macpherson returns to the starting line-up  3. Substitute Mario Pedro is closely monitored by Alfreton

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