Heanor Town FC travelled with revenge in mind for the four goal drubbing dished out by Alvechurch in the return fixture earlier this season, that said, Heanor Town minus Karl Demidh, Joe Naylor and Cory Bowler travelled. A mixture of illness and injury preventing the three from making an appearance, a big blow before the warm up even began.
With players missing it always give a manager a selection headache. Imagine being Glen Clarence when Arash Abdollahi and Jordan Simpson then pulled out of the warm up, both already named on the team sheet. Gerry Moran and Simeon Osheboke moved from the bench to the starting line up.

So Heanor Town FC were at the home of the league leaders and missing five players you would gamble on starting most games when available. It is at this point that you can either feel sorry for yourself or stand up and fight. The players who appeared put up stubborn resistance, adding to the selection headache for Wednesday evenings encounter at AFC Wulfrunians.

Both teams sized each other up for the first fifteen minutes with neither side really worrying the other. That was until ‘Church decided that players running in to the penalty area would cause problems, Greg Marriott clipped the heels of a forward and a penalty was given.
Up stepped ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers and Lye Town forward James Spray who ambled up to the ball and aimed for the bottom right corner, Joe McCormack equal to the effort palmed the ball away to safety.

Heanor had two efforts on target in the first half, a rasping strike from Benger that goalkeeper Matt Sargeant claimed with ease. The shot stopper had to be at his finest to stop a Kieran Debrouwer strike a minute before the break, the strike glanced off the head of defender Luke Paskin giving Sargeant the task of tipping the ball round the post.

With only one fit outfield substitute available it was always going to be a hard task for The Lions to keep the score level. The defence of Ryan Seale, Ashleigh Lynch, Nick Hall and Greg Marriott would have to be at their best throughout what was going to be a tough second period.
The picturesque surroundings of Lye Meadow really started to disappear into a blur of torrential rain and driving wind, to the point that the game had to be paused at one point for a stray rubbish bin being blown across the field.

Benger had his name took five minutes into the half for kicking the ball away, he was joined by by Greg Marriott for a foul on the hour. In a game where there wasn’t an unlawful or over-exuberant challenge it was a little on the harsh side.
Alvechurch knocked at the Heanor door over and over, shots coming in from hot shot Jordan Nadat, Josh March and James Spray were dealt with by McCormack and the determined team ahead of him. The defining moment came after seventy one minutes, a long ball controlled beautifully by Nadat with an excellent touch gave Ashleigh Lynch no other option than to stretch a leg out. Over went Nadat and off went Lynch, no arguments given by the Heanor players or management.

Up stepped Spray who chose power over precision, the ball crashing back in to play off the inside of the upright. The forward unlucky to have scored neither of his spot kicks today, maybe Nadat will resume penalty duties for ‘Church in their next game?

Simeon Osheboke had given all he could by the time Alex Brown came on to replace him on seventy four minutes. Osheboke had started carrying an injury in a game where on another day it would have possibly kept him out the squad, credit has to go to him for his effort.

The deciding goal came five minutes from time. Sam Williams was the man in space to tap home Sprays centre, his scuffed effort enough to settle the tie.
In a game where the Heanor squad stood tall it was visible that the goal knocked the stuffing out of them. A horrible end for the likes of Moran, Bettney and Harris who had marshalled the midfield so well throughout the game.

Star Lion: Nick Hall
Attendance: 165
Referee: Benjamin Morris

Heanor: McCormack, Marriott, Seale, Moran, Hall ©, Lynch, Harris, Bettney, Benger, Osheboke (Brown 71), Debrouwer.
Unused: Abdollahi, Simpson, Brown, Hudson.

Next game: AFC Wulfrunians (Away) Wednesday 30th March 2016 7.45PM