Late goals secure Alfreton Town victory

Manager Billy Heath said a change in formation was behind an Alfreton Town resurgence.

Good results and confidence have returned to the Reds since the switch to three central defenders — a move that saw them beat complete the double over Ashton United with a 2-0 win.

Bobby Johnson, direct from a free kick, and Declan Bacon on the follow-up scored in the final 18 minutes to secure victory.

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Heath said: “The change of formation has helped. We started with three centre-halves and that’s helped us keep successive clean sheets.

“You start winning games on a regular basis [Alfreton have won four successive matches in all competitions] and the confidence starts coming through. You have that belief.”

Heath admitted his side were “were quite poor in the first half” and lacked quality, but he said they improved after half-time.

“In the second half we were much better. We had a good penalty appeal turned down again, but once Bobby scored the free-kick l think we felt quite comfortable after that.

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“l was really pleased for Declan. He came on and made an impact, and the goal was the icing on the cake He deserves that, he’s done everything l’ve asked of him, he’s got a great attitude, he injects pace into the game and he got a goal.”

Neither side recorded a shot on goal in a turgid first half.

Former Reds’ midfielder Ryan Jennings shot wide from a good position on 48 minutes and at the other end Bacon had a header cleared off the line from a Josh Clackstone cross.