Belper Town emphasised their play off credentials with a fine victory over Sheffield FC at Christchurch Meadow last Saturday.

The Nailers made just one change from the side that started against Brigg Town in midweek with Ryan Hindley returning to the starting line up after a five week absence.

The player to make way was Andy Rushbury who had to be satisfied with a place on the bench.

The Sheffield side, managed by former Nailer Chris Dolby, had suffered a player exodus as result of their well publicised financial problems and to add to their woes, striker Mick Goddard and midfield man Jordan Eagers were both suspended.

Ryan Hindley registered the first on-target shot on goal with an effort from the edge of the penalty area in the 2^nd minute but it was a comfortable save for Leigh Walker.

However the Nailers went in front in the 5^th minute after Richard Haigh’s cross rebounded to Dean Oliver who turned and scored from an acute angle, although Sheffield defender Paul Smith played a part in helping the ball over the line.

Belper broke quickly in the 12^th minute and the move deserved a better conclusion after Lee Stevenson headed Hindley’s deep cross just over the cross bar.

Sheffield were playing some neat football and forcing Belper into errors and in the 18^th minute they came very close to scoring when Jack Muldoon beat the offside trap and crossed for the unmarked Steven Woolley to miscue and in doing so missed an easy opportunity to equalise.

Dave Clarke had just punched the ball away following a 23^rd minute corner and Ben Walker streaked away, beating everyone for pace before putting the ball into the path of Lee Stevenson whose searing shot clipped the cross bar.

Moments later Walker punished the Sheffield defenders again with his speed of the mark but with only Leigh Walker to beat he lifted his shot over the bar.

Dean Oliver should have done better with a more difficult chance on 27 minutes but he completely mis-kicked and the ball went embarrassingly wide of the target.

Clarke had to dive quickly to his left to prevent the ball creeping inside the far post although it was difficult to tell which player had provided the final touch.

Oliver then attempted to flick a 32^nd minute corner kick goal bound however the spin of the ball caused it to veer away from the near post but the visitors kept chipping away at the Belper defence and the Nailers knew that they couldn’t relax.

A quickly taken free kick by Micky Harcourt in the 40^th minute nearly resulted in a goal for Ben Walker who went very close with a header, then Ryan Hindley had the ‘keeper struggling to hold on to his shot moments later.

In the dying seconds of the first half Ben Walker couldn’t direct the ball into the goal after everyone missed Danny Hudson’s corner kick.

Ryan Hindley got the ball in the net seconds after the restart only to have the effort ruled out for offside but the Nailers didn’t have long to wait for the second goal when in the 48^th minute Hindley’s inswinging cross was met by Ben Walker whose diving header flew into the corner of the net.

Lee Stevenson fired in a good effort that had the ‘keeper scurrying across the goal line but the Nailers tightened their grip on the game with another Ben Walker strike on 54 minutes after Stevenson supplied the cross to the near post.

In a rare attack from the visitors Steven Woolley was allowed to run with the ball but his left foot shot flashed past the upright and, despite having caused the Belper defence very few problems throughout, Sheffield were doing their best to find a way back into the game.

The Nailers should have wrapped things up in the 79^th minute after Sam Litchfield nutmegged Lloyd Gelsthorpe and send Stevenson away down the left but Richard Haigh couldn’t convert the cross that was put on a plate for him.

Litchfield twisted and turned his way in to the penalty area on 85 minutes but after doing all the hard work he failed to make the crossing opportunity count.

But while Belper perhaps should have won more emphatically they had never looked in danger of relinquishing their lead against a lively Sheffield side and victory saw them move into the play-off zone for the first time this season.

Ilkeston Town went into their first game since the departure of David Holdsworth with players Paul Hurst and Rob Scott taking over the reins. Sheffield were struggling with availability but the Robins were also without Anthony Howell, Amari Morgan-Smith, Lee Thompson and Louis Briscoe through suspension, injury and being cup tied respectively.

Both teams started brightly with chances being created in both penalty areas. Tom Cahill and Jon Douglas all had chances and Douglas actually put the ball in the back of the net only for the assistant referee ruled it out for offside. At the other end Vill Powell was proving to be a handful and Chris Adamson was required to make a number of excellent saves to keep the Robins in the game.

After the interval Ilkeston pressed Sheffield back into their own half and took the lead after 48 minutes when Sam Duncum's shot was blocked by Cahill. Cahill recovered quickly, turned and crashed the ball in to the net from  six yards out.  The visitors responded well and the impressive Powell again caused havoc and one shot rebounded off the post and Ilkeston managed to scrambled the ball away.

On 73 minutes the home sides nerves were calmed when Duncum broke again down the left and made an intelligent pass to Ben Pringle who fired the ball home from ten yards out.  Within seconds Ilkeston were 3-0 up when Cahill swap passes with substitute and then slotted the ball past Walker in the Sheffield goal. The goal effectively killed the game off and the Robins ran out comfortable winners.

Man of the Match – Chris Adamson – His saves kept Ilkeston in the game when Sheffield had reasonable hopes of causing an upset.

In Brief – In view of the recent upheaval at the club this was an excellent win. Many players had good games and Ilkeston were technically superior in most departments. However Sheffield worked hard and with the combative Vill Powell providing their main threat they could easily have won the game. Joint managers Rob Scott and Paul Hurst can now look forward to engineering an Ilkeston giant killing when the Robins take on Kidderminster Harriers for what is the biggest game the club played in since they took on Swindon Town in the FA Cup just after they had parted company with manager Keith Alexander.

Bamber Bridge fell at the first hurdle in the FA Trophy, going down to a 3-5 defeat in this ‘roses clash’ at Sheffield in a thrilling Preliminary Round cup tie. Brig went in at half-time just one goal behind, but with plenty to play for. However, the South Ribble side were completely undone when Sheffield ran in two quick goals within six minutes of the restart, and the game was all but over bar the shouting. The Yorkshiremen scored a fifth later on and although the visitors made a spirited rally with a couple of goals late in the game, they came away a well beaten side.

Brig arrived in Dronfield for this FA Trophy tie against the oldest football club in the world, Sheffield, and were on a high after having won six of their last seven league and cup fixtures. Bamber Bridge have never gone beyond the Second Round and were hoping to have a good run in the competition this time out. It was the first time that the teams had met. Their Yorkshire hosts have done well in various cup competitions so far this season, having won four and drawn one of the five ties that they have played and held down a comfortable mid-table position in the First Division South.

Brig manager Phil Entwistle made just one change to the line-up that had done so well against Radcliffe Borough seven days previously. Mike Mason was drafted in on the left hand side of midfield, replacing Tom Ince who was unavailable. Club skipper Glenn Steel passed a late fitness test, but midfielder Steve Flitcroft and defender Dave McCann, remained out of contention through injury.

Bamber Bridge kicked off at a very windswept Coach and Horses ground and were the first to show when Ryan-Zico Black threaded a neat through-ball into the path of Alex Porter who was immediately closed down by a couple of defenders before he had chance to get in a shot at goal.

The home side responded with a slick sweeping move down the inside-right position, and full-back Gavin Smith shot narrowly wide from distance.

Bamber Bridge almost got their noses in front after six minutes when a Stephen Brown cross was headed back across goal by Adam Tong and Sheffield goalkeeper Leigh Walker got down quickly to bravely block a Stuart Howson shot from six yards.

The visitors were knocked back on their heels however, when Sheffield snatched the lead two minutes later. Former experienced Football League player Scott Partridge, cut out an opening down the right, before expertly laying the ball off for the inrushing MATT OUTRAM to firmly shoot home beyond the despairing outstretched hands of Brig goalkeeper Andy Banks.

The goal lifted the Yorkshire side who began to play some cultured football with Matt Outram, Michael Goddard and Scott Partridge particularly impressive.

Brown worked tirelessly for Brig down the right but was constantly checked by some resilient defending. However, he was instrumental in the visitors grabbing an equaliser in the 25th minute. From his free-kick from deep on the right, Tong headed across the face of goal and full-back STUART HOWSON was on hand to tuck the ball home neatly on the half-volley from close in.

The goal galvanised the visitors who put together some flowing moves and seemed to have knocked the sparkle out of Sheffield for a while. However, Brig got caught out with a sucker-punch on 33 minutes. Danny Mahoney went close with a long range effort, as Brig drove forward in numbers, and Mike Mason brought a fine save out of Walker. However, Gavin Smith cleared the danger with a long punt out of defence, which caught the visiting rearguard flat-footed. The ball found Partridge who got away down the right flank. and his lay-off was put away clinically by STEVE WOOLLEY; the shot brushing a post on its way into the net.

Brig were stunned and nearly went further behind shortly afterwards when Tong hacked a Goddard effort off the goal-line following a fine cross by Partridge.

Despite the setback, the visitors came storming back and nearly equalised for a second time just prior to the break when Black put Mahoney away down the right and Mahoney’s cross was just missed at the back post by the inrushing Mason.

The game was put beyond the visitors reach within just six minutes of the restart with both goals coming from set-piece moves. Sheffield skipper Steve Hawes sent in a free-kick from a deep inside-right position on 47 minutes and MICHAEL GODDARD rose high to glance a header over the defence and beyond Banks. Four minutes later an unmarked GODDARD headed home at the near post, for his second of the game, following a Steve Woolley corner-kick.

To their credit, Brig kept plugging away and Walker was forced into making a couple of fine saves, first from Black following a neat Mason lay-off and then from a Howson header, following a Brown free-kick.

Sheffield went further ahead with a fifth strike on 74 minutes when substitute MATTHEW RONEY drew Banks from his line, before shooting home through the keepers legs, after a superb Matt Outram through-ball had completely unlocked the visitors defence.

Still Brig kept plugging away and reduced the deficit on 81 minutes when Tong sent a long ball down the right to Porter and the resultant cross was headed powerfully home by STUART HOWSON for his second of the game. The visitors then survived two near escapes, when both Woolley and Roney missed good opportunities before scoring a third in the dying seconds when RYAN-ZICO BLACK sneaked in at the back post to prod home a Mason corner from the right.

In time added-on Banks saved a Goddard effort with his feet as the striker bore down on goal.

Sheffield: Walker, Smith.G, Smith.P (Davy 45mins), Cochrane, Wright, Winter (Lipka 76mins), Outram, Hawes, Goddard, Partridge (Roney 45mins), Woolley. Unused subs: Gascoigne, Furness

Goals: Outram (8mins), Wolley (33mins) Goddard (47, 51mins), Roney (74mins)

Bamber Bridge: Banks, Fleming, Howson, Steel, Tong, Edmeads (O'Neil 60mins), Brown, Mahoney (Henders 60mins), Black, Porter, Mason. Unused sub: Nay, Peterson (GK)

Goals: Howson (26, 81mins), Black (90mins)

Attendance: 245

Bacup Borough going into their biggest fixture for some time was faced with a mountain of problems before a ball was even kicked.

A superb team performance saw Shepshed Dynamo take all three points from a highly entertaining 2-nil Unibond League Division One South victory at Sheffield FC on Tuesday night.

With Stocksbridge losing to Goole and Rushall ‘washed out’, the win saw Shepshed leapfrog the two to go level top with last season’s champions, Retford United, who have an identical goal difference, but have played a game more for their 13 points.

Shepshed came out of their blocks running and might have taken the lead as early as the third minute. Rhys Powell, making his seasonal debut for the absent Ricky Hanson, floated into the home penalty area a free kick which caused havoc. Dynamo’s Matt Millns and Sheffield keeper Leigh Walker both unsuccessfully challenged for the high ball and somehow the ball deflected out for a corner. From the corner Shane Benjamin’s header was brilliantly palmed round the post by Walker. The second corner was headed into the net by Benjamin but the ‘goal’ was cancelled by the referee for foul play.

Shepshed continued to dominate and Sam Saunders flicked a pass from Benjamin inches over the bar. Then Benjamin was unlucky when he managed to get his head to a long ball by Shepshed keeper Gary Hateley only to see the ball bounce of the post and out of play.
As the half wore on Sheffield began to see more of the ball and put together some good passing movements but they lacked penetration. Hateley having few problems with the long range shots.

Minutes before the break Benjamin was hugely unlucky when, at the far post, he got onto the end of a cross from the left flank by Sam Saunders. The ball flew across the Sheffield custodian to hit the angle of post and bar and deflect safely away.

In the 47th minute Shepshed finally took the lead. The Dynamo broke down the left through Ben Saunders and his cross found Benjamin at the far post who had the easy task of heading past Walker.

For ten minutes or so Sheffield made little impression with Shepshed continuing to hold the balance of play. Then the home side made two substitutions and for twenty minutes they virtually laid siege to the Shepshed goal.

Just on the hour mark Hateley made three brilliant saves in the space of as many minutes. First he produced an unbelievable save to push a point blank header from Daryll Winter round the post. Then he somehow managed to fall on the ball on the goal line when Scott Partridge seemed destined to force it into the net. Sheffield captain Asa Ingall was then left shaking his head when his goal bound header was tipped over the bar.

Just when it seemed that Sheffield must score the pressure was lifted with the award of a penalty to Shepshed in the 81st minute, Gavin Smith handling in the area. The spot kick being gleefully netted by Benjamin.

Thereafter the result was hardly in doubt as one sensed that Sheffield had concluded they were never going to breach the Shepshed defence and certainly not get the ball past man-of-the-match Hateley.