Radcliffe take to the pitch for the 54th and final time of the campaign against Alfreton Town, looking to end the season on a high following the 5-0 defeat at Chorley.

The Boro could still climb to 18th in the table depending on results elsewhere, but both sides will be motivated by pride, wanting to enter the summer in high spirits following a long and tough season.

The Opposition

After a poor run of form between Boxing Day and late March, Alfreton, now comfortably midtable, picked up 12 points from their last six matches to end the season on a good run. Since the 15th of March, Billy Heath’s men have lost just once which was a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Chorley.

On Monday, Alfreton beat Buxton 3-2 to dent the play-off chasing side’s hopes, the second time within a week that the Derbyshire-based outfit defeated the Bucks. In the final of the Derbyshire Senior Challenge Cup, a goalless 90 minutes saw Buxton dominate the ball with 68% of the possession, before Alfreton went on to win 4-3 in the penalty shootout.

The highlight of the Reds’ 2024/25 campaign is their FA Cup run, which led them to the First Round proper where they were defeated 5-1 by Notts County, although they did take the lead in the first 15 minutes.

Ones To Watch

23-year-old Dutch midfielder Jed Abbey has played in a vast number of positions this campaign, including central midfield, left winger and right winger. The former Wolves academy product had an electric start to the season where he netted five goals in the opening six games, but he hadn’t scored since January 14th until his brace on Monday.

Alfreton’s highest league goalscorer Lewis Salmon also converted a brace recently, and he’ll be aiming to finish the campaign well on Saturday. The 23-year-old forward put two past Peterborough Sports on matchday 43, adding to his 10 goals for the season. Salmon has been with Alfreton since his release from Nottingham Forest at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Stat Pack

20th – League Position – 14th
45 – Games Played – 45
50 – Points – 58
13 – Wins – 15
11 – Draws – 13
21 – Losses – 17
55 – Goals For – 53
74 – Goals Against – 58
Jordan Hulme (12) – Top Goalscorer – Lewis Salmon (12)

Last Time Out

Saturday 21st December: Alfreton Town 2-1 Radcliffe

Inside two minutes, Alfreton gained a one-goal lead to put Radcliffe on the back foot in the opening exchanges. Electric build-up play by Cosmos Matwasa allowed Jed Abbey to find a pocket of space and pick his spot, firing into the top left corner beyond a diving Mateusz Hewelt.

Radcliffe attempted to restore parity on a number of occasions before the break. Josh Hancock’s audacious shot from the halfway line and then Matt Sargent’s threaded through ball aiming for Brad Jackson, but George Willis was able to comfortably deal with the Boro’s efforts.

Lois Maynard had a golden opportunity to level the terms after 61 minutes and it took a brilliant piece of defending to deny a Radcliffe equaliser, his glanced header from Danny Greenfield’s in-swinging corner looked to be goalbound, however George Cantrill’s clearance off the line kept the scoreline at 1-0.

Only moments after coming onto the field, David Moyo converted to give Alfreton a two-goal lead against the run of play. From a swift counter attack, Jake Day finished off by laying the ball into space for Moyo to take a touch and strike into the far corner of the net.

Four minutes later, Radcliffe halved the deficit through Greenfield. A quick one-two with Jordan Hulme allowed the 23-year-old to fire into top corner with a thunderous strike, the ball was then immediately picked up to quicken the restart.

Luca Navarro and Mo Doro entered the pitch to try and replicate a similar ending to the last away game at Solihull Moors, but after five additional minutes at the end of the 90, Alfreton held out to gain all three points at the Impact Arena.

Matchday Information

Date: 26/04/25
Time: 3pm kick-off
Location: Neuven Stadium

Adult: £15
Concession: £10
U16: Free

Tickets can be purchased online here.

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Around The Grounds

Brackley Town v Farsley Celtic
Buxton v Warrington Town
Curzon Ashton v Leamington
Darlington v Needham Market
Hereford v Scunthorpe United
King’s Lynn Town v Chester
Marine v South Shields
Peterborough Sports v Scarborough Athletic
Rushall Olympic v Chorley
Southport v Kidderminster Harriers
Spennymoor Town v Oxford City