Alfreton Town 1 AFC Fylde 1: Ten-man Coasters drop first points but stay unbeaten with Burke piledriver

Alfreton’s Elliott Reeves equalised early in the second half before Fylde substitute Jack Sampson was given his marching orders for a late tackle on former Coasters midfielder Dan Bradley.

The unbeaten start to the National League North campaign continued for the Coasters as they battled for a hard-fought draw which lifted Jim Bentley's side to the top of the table.

A mixture of hard work, organisation and a ruthless edge in front of goal has been key to the team’s excellent start to the season, but that clinical touch was absent on this bitter evening at the Impact Arena.

Fylde made two changes to the side that beat Farsley Celtic on Saturday, with Jordan Hulme and Ben Tollitt replacing Kurt Willoughby and Sampson, and they began proceedings in their usual positive fashion.

The first opening came in the fourth minute, when Hulme managed to get in behind Alfreton’s back four and fire against the woodwork only to see the linesman raise his flag.

A minute later, Alfreton captain Bradley looked to haunt his old team. He found some space just outside the area and fired a low goal-bound effort which keeper Chris Neal got his body behind.

Nathan Shaw tested George Willis in the Alfreton goal on 14 minutes as he shimmied inside and struck a venomous effort that the keeper palmed away.

Danny Philliskirk tried his luck from range on 26 minutes but his effort found only the top of the stand. After half an hour, Bradley saw a shot blocked by Fylde skipper Alex Whitmore.

With 36 minutes on the clock, Burke broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion. After some slick football, the ball was played out to the energetic full-back on the right.

Burke took a touch inside before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed strike into the top corner, leaving Willis with no chance.

Both teams battled hard but struggled to carve out any more opportunities before the interval.

Alfreton flew out of the traps after their half-time oranges, with Bradley once again at the heart of a dangerous move.

It was the midfielder's intelligent pass that released Reeves on the right wing and his cross flashed across the face of goal.

Half-time substitute Nicky Walker was next to try his luck for Alfreton with an audacious 48th-minute effort that almost caught Neal out, but Fylde’s number one managed to tip the ball over the crossbar for a corner.

The visitors had the perfect chance to regain the initiative when Whitmore got his head to a Nick Haughton free-kick, but the ball somehow stayed out after ricocheting around the six-yard box and rolling along the goal-line.

Hulme was then presented with a one-on-one with the goalkeeper three minutes later. A poor backpass was pounced on by the former Altrincham forward but he struck the legs of Willis, who charged out to close the angle.

Fylde’s inability to convert their chances was punished by the home side after 64 minutes, and it was the impressive Reeves who got his name on the scoresheet.

The number 10 beat Neal at the second time of asking, tapping home from close range to halve the deficit and tee up an exciting finish.

Reeves nearly grabbed his second shortly after, his effort just missing the top left corner after he wriggled between Jack Sanders and Whitmore.

In the 76th minute, Fylde substitute Sampson took a heavy touch and lunged in on Bradley, a tackle which the referee deemed dangerous and so showed the striker a straight red card.

With AFC Fylde now down to 10 men the hosts began to apply pressure, pushing more bodies forward to try to find a winning goal.

Bradley and Reeves saw further efforts beaten away by Neal before Nathan Fox forced the keeper into an outstanding save.

However, the final chance fell to the away side, Tollitt bending his shot over from 18 yards out with a minute to play.

Fylde were made to work hard for their point and will be glad to head back to the Fylde coast with their unbeaten run intact.

Fylde: Neal, Burke, Conlan, Whitmore, Sanders, Tollitt, Philliskirk, Perkins, Shaw (Sampson 67), Haughton (Mondal 62), Hulme (Willoughby 80); Subs not used: Ogle, Lussey.

Alfreton: Willis, Atkinson, Branson, Jones, Lees, Smith, Bradley, Clarke (Walker 45), Reeves Johnson (Clackstone 60); Subs not used: Lund, Unwin-Marris, Day.