Danny Greenfield’s late finish looked to kickstart a Radcliffe comeback, but Alfreton held out with resilient defending to take all three points at the Impact Arena.

Bernard and Jonno made one change to the team that were defeated by Kidderminster Harriers on home soil, as Jordan Hulme reclaimed his place in the starting eleven after suspension last time out.

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 a pocket of space to pick his spot, firing into the top left corner beyond a diving Mateusz Hewelt.

Josh Hancock attempted to restore parity quickly after falling behind with an audacious attempt from the halfway line, but the midfielder’s shot wasn’t high enough to trouble George Willis who comfortably saw the ball into his hands.

For a large part of the first half there was very little action to take note of as possession alternated between the two teams, but Alfreton held the vital advantage with Radcliffe growing further into the game on the half-hour mark.

With a free-flowing attack, the Boro broke forward with pace before entering the final third with possession at the feet of Matt Sargent, he attempted to feed Jackson in behind but his pass was agonisingly overhit, allowing Willis to collect after 27 minutes.

As the clock ticked on, Alfreton’s goalscorer almost doubled his team’s lead as Abbey drifted beyond Olly Thornley before prodding low with his left foot, his effort rolled inches wide of the far post in a good chance for the hosts.

The half-time whistle sounded with the scoreline in favour of Alfreton Town, giving Radcliffe a one-goal deficit to overcome after the interval, needing a fast start in order to do so.

Following a Boro change at the halfway stage which saw Josh Hancock forced off and Tunde Owolabi taking his place, Radcliffe did just that as a wide ball out to Scott Duxbury from Hulme allowed the former Spennymoor Town man to send a driving pass into the near post, Brad Jackson lurked in the space and flicked towards goal but the goalkeeper made an expected save from the tame effort.

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 but George Cantrill’s clearance off the line kept the scoreline at 1-1.

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 it off by laying the ball into space for Moyo to take a touch and striking into the far corner of the net.

However, the deficit was almost immediately halved as Greenfield netted his second goal in Radcliffe colours after 75 minutes. A one-two passing exchange between Hulme and the 23-year-old was put away exquisitely with a thunderous strike into the top corner, 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 our 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.

The Boro will aim to regain form this coming Thursday, as we welcome Chorley to the Neuven Stadium for a Boxing Day clash in our final fixture of 2024 – buy your tickets online here!