Town came back from behind to lead at half-time, then substitute Gareth Seddon stole the show with a second-half double – a real case of Seddon Impact.

Alfreton played out the final 12 minutes with only nine men but Fleetwood were already cruising to victory by then.

After having Aiden Flint sent off, Alfreton then found themselves unable to replace injured captain Richard Pell.

Alfreton boss Nicky Laws could muster only two substitutes for the game and both had been used by the time the skipper pulled up.

Town manager Micky Mellon made four changes to the side which had beaten Northwich Victoria in the FA Trophy the previous weekend.

Having kept clean sheets in two of his three matches for Town, Craig Dootson had to make way for former no.1 Danny Hurst because a contract clause prevents him playing against his former club.

Alan Wright returned from Masters duty in Asia to replace John Hills at left-back, while Sean Clancy got the nod ahead of Steven Torpey out wide and Mike Wilde was chosen instead of Tom Cahill to partner leading scorer Adam Warlow up front.

Alfreton were the first to threaten, when Ben Mills' long-range shot was deflected away for an eighth-minute corner which Flint could only head over.

But Town soon took control as Warlow headed over from Jamie Mullan's cross and Steve Connors won a corner with a shot which tested keeper Paddy Gamble.

Having scored his first Town goal to kickstart the 8-0 rout of Redditch, Wright went close to his second but his 20-yard shot flew just wide.

Hurst was called into the action on 28 minutes, saving low from Anthony Howell's free-kick after Warlow had been booked for a foul on Ian Ross.
But Town failed to heed the warning sign and Alfreton broke the deadlock two minutes later.

After Connors was penalised for upending Pell, Josh Law found space to send Andy Todd clear up the middle and he won a one-on-one with Hurst.

But Connors wasted no time in redeeming himself, winning the penalty from which Steve McNulty scored his second of the season – the central defender's other goal was in last month's 2-2 draw between the clubs at Highbury.

Gamble then saved from Clancy but the hard-working midfielder was not to be denied a second time, scoring from Warlow's lay-off five minutes before half-time.

Warlow was replaced at the break by Seddon, who took only three minutes to announce his presence, beating Gamble from close-range to put Town firmly in command.

Mellon's mantra of picking his team to match the opposition saw the creativity of club captain Jamie Milligan again sacrificed in order to combat big and physical opponents, with the midfield pairing of Connors and Jamie McGuire fulfilling their battling task ably.

Torpey replaced scorer Clancy on 56 minutes and Town remained in the driving seat, restricting the home side to a few chances.

The best of these fell to Mills, who hooked over after Howells headed a corner down to him.

Flint's stamp on Connors was spotted by the assistant referee, whose report resulted in a straight red card.

And the hosts had lost Pell too by the time Seddon crowned the victory with his eighth Town goal since his September signing – a tap-in after Shaun Beeley reached the byeline and cut the ball back.

The victory moved Town up two places, and winning their games in hand would see Mellon's men overtake everyone bar leaders Southport, who they face in a mouthwatering double-header over the festive season.

Before then, Town are next in action at AFC Telford on Saturday.

Town team: Hurst, Beeley, Wright, Taylor, McNulty, McGuire, Clancy (Torpey), Connors (Pond), Wilde, Warlow (Seddon), Mullan; subs not used: Milligan, Cahill

Derick Thomas