Hednesford move four points clear at the top of the Northern Premier League as they dig deep in the pouring rain at Ashton United to make it six wins on the bounce in November

Having moved above Warrington Rylands to the top of the table after victory against Cleethorpes Town last weekend, manager Gavin Hurren made three changes to his side for their first away trip in five games as Dan Turner came in for Dom McHale, Joss Labadie replaced the suspended Joe Doyle-Charles and Ahkeem Rose was preferred to Jermaine Hylton up front. Young Wolves defender Alfie White - who had joined the club on a month's loan in midweek - was named amongst the substitutes

Ashton manager Steve Cunningham had lambasted his side after his frustratingly inconsistent side lost 4-2 at struggling Guiseley last weekend, making three changes to his side as new signing Dylan Cogill, Darius Osei and Louis White came in for Sean Newton, Mikey O’Neill and Enock Lusiama. The Robins had announced the signing of former Hednesford winger Stanley Anaebonam from Rugby United on the morning of the game, with the ex-Stourbridge and Hereford man starting amongst the replacements

 

It had been a miserable, wet past two days around the country, with several games in the Northern Premier League called off due to waterlogged pitches. However, the sloping Hurst Cross pitch had stood up well to the inclement conditions and was in excellent condition ahead of kick-off. The first half-chance of the afternoon fell to the hosts in the fourth minute as Al Byrne made a run down the right flank and played a cross into the far post to the lively Osei, whose attempted shot was blocked by Jamie Morgan

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The Ptmen looked to get themselves going through Montel Gibson, who brought down a long punt forward from Ollie Harrison in the seventh minute, controlling it well on his chest before turning and playing Joel Taylor into space on the left. The full-back's deep cross was aimed at Dan Turner, who was beaten to the ball at the far post by Cogill

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Ashton's top scorer Luca Navarro was given a sight at goal for the hosts in the ninth minute as neat, one-touch approach play from the home side saw Byrne and Osei link up well down the right to lay it off to the striker, whose attempted effort at goal was blocked by Chris Hussey and turned behind for the first corner kick of the afternoon

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Ashton were neat and tidy in possession in their approach play, knocking the ball around well and working the Hednesford defence around the pitch in the opening quarter of the game. However, as has been the issue with several clubs that Hednesford have come across in recent weeks, the opposition lacked a real killer touch in the final third; on thirteen minutes, the ball was worked out to skipper Luke Burke on the right, who got the better of Taylor and whipped in a low ball across the face of goal that Osei somehow failed to turn home at the far post from close range as he toe-poked his effort wide

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Taylor had the Pitmen's first chance of the afternoon on sixteen minutes as he made a run deep into the Ashton half, picking up Simeon Maye's square pass after the men in mint green had worked the ball across the face of the penalty area and into the path of Taylor, who struck a low first time shot at goal that skipped inches past goalkeeper Jordan Eastham's left-hand post

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The Pitmen seemed content to sit deep and look to hit Ashton on the counter, with Turner breaking quickly down the right on seventeen minutes as Morgan swept up and cleared the ball up the line for the striker to run onto. Turner's ball into the box was aimed at Ahkeem Rose, who was beaten to the cross by Louis White to hand the visitors a corner kick

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Hussey's outswinging corner kick from the left was aimed at Harrison, who felt that the ball had struck the arm of German as the pair challenged for the ball six yards from goal. However, the referee waved away the Pitmen's protests and continued with the game as Ashton managed to clear their lines. The Hednesford bench was incensed at the decision, with Hurren picking up a yellow card for taking his protests at the assistant a little too far

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Midway through the half, Navarro and Osei teamed up again to cause havoc down the left, with the Ashton number ten powering past Morgan and Harrison before pulling the ball back into the six-yard box, where Tony Breeden made a smothering save at his near post to deny Owen German a sniff at goal

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Another quick counter from the Pitmen on twenty-four minutes saw Taylor once again making a fine run down the left, controlling the bouncing ball well before sending over a deep low cross to the far post for Turner, who turned his effort into the side netting from a tight angle under pressure from Cogill

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Osei continued to prove a slippery customer for the Pitmen as he made another storming run into the penalty area on twenty-five minutes, tricking one way and then the other before striking a low shot straight into the legs of the covering Harrison from fifteen yards out

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Turner once again found some joy down the right for the Pitmen just before the half-hour mark, taking the ball inside from the touchline and into the box before perhaps taking a touch too many as he entered the penalty area rather than pass to Trickett-Smith, allowing FC Halifax Town loanee Charlie Hayes-Green to clear the danger

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There was a shout for a penalty kick at the other end of the pitch on thirty-four minutes as a deep corner into the box from the right from White saw German rise to meet it alongside Harrison before ending up in a heap on the floor as the two collided. Despite the protests of the Ashton players and bench, the referee once again allowed play to continue

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Eastham was called upon to make a superb instinctive stop on his goal-line on thirty-seven minutes after Hussey's corner from the left dropped to Gibson via a flick from Burke, with the striker firing in a first-time shot from twelve yards out that was brilliantly parried away by the stopper. Either side of Eastham and Gibson would have opened the deadlock

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The Pitmen finished the half strongly, with Harrison rising highest to meet another deep Hussey corner kick on forty minutes but could only loop his header onto the roof of the net

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Labadie almost put the Pitmen into a half-time lead with a great effort just a minute before the break, running onto a loose clearance twenty-five yards from goal and striking a powerful first-time effort that flew inches over Eastham's crossbar

It had been a fairly even first forty-five minutes, with both sides having a couple of decent opportunities to take the lead into the half-time break. The Pitmen made a bold double change ahead of the second half kicking off as Labadie was replaced by Max Sheaf and winger Hylton came on in place of the disappointing Trickett-Smith. With Labadie now off the pitch and none of McHale, Elliott Johnson or Doyle-Charles available to take the armband, Hussey took the captaincy of the team for the second half

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​Both sides seemed to adopt the same principles as they had ended the first one with, as the Pitmen continued to sit deep and soak up any neat triangles of play Ashton created in and around their penalty area. Navarro looked to break through the tight Hednsford rearguard on fifty-one minutes as he latched onto Osei's slide-rule pass, but was flagged offside by the assistant on the far side before he could shoot from sixteen yards out

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Osei was back at it again three minutes later, taking on Morgan and making space for himself to the left of the penalty area, with his cross towards the incoming German at the far post brilliantly headed away by Hussey, facing his own goal as he did so

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Three minutes later, the Hednesford fans were left frustrated by the referee once more as he somehow failed to award them what appeared to be a clear corner kick after Turner's run and shot from the right seemed to take a clear deflection off the leg of the covering Hayes-Green and behind

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Hylton picked up a nasty knock to what appeared to he his shoulder on fifty-eight minutes as a seemingly innocent coming-together with Burke saw the substitute fall to the floor holding his arm. After a couple of minutes of intense treatment for the former Motherwell winger, Hylton came back on to continue

White was handed his full debut by the Pitmen shortly after the hour mark as the visitors made another double change down the right, coming on in conjunction with McHale as the pair replaced Morgan and Turner respectively

McHale’s influence on the game was immediate, with the Magic Man creating the game’s key moment for Rose just a minute after coming on; some quick feet from McHale in midfield saw him exchange passes with Gibson before ghosting past two Ashton defenders and driving into space and playing Rose through on goal. The Pitmen’s top scorer took a touch and looked to place it beyond the onrushing Eastham, only to be denied by the stopper’s legs. Fortunately for the striker, the ball rolled kindly back into his path, with Rose sliding the rebound into the net from ten yards out

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The Pitmen were in their happy place once more and settled into a shape and rhythm that suited their style of play as they looked to limit Ashton's crosses into the box and the service into both Navarro and German. Osei found himself now marked up by both Alfie White and Harrison, with the Hednesford debutant impressing with some good, honest physicality on and off the ball

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On sixty-eight minutes, Rose and Gibson combined to send Taylor away down the left once more, with his ball into the box skipping across the greasy turf and away from anyone in mint green who was looking to get themselves on the end of the cross

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The home fans were left upset at the inconsistent match official on seventy minutes as he failed to give their side a free-kick following a coming-together between Alfie White and Osei to the left of the Hednesford penalty area. However, as the Pitmen broke, he pulled play back and booked Louis White after the former Hyde United midfielder had brought McHale down in the centre circle

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Sixty seconds later, Anaebonam was handed his Ashton debut by Cunningham as he came on in place of Navarro to add more flair to the flagging Robins' ranks out on the left wing

Four minutes later, Ashton made a further change in midfield with ex-Preston North End man O’Neill coming on in place of the already-booked Louis White in the centre of the park

 

The showers had largely stayed away for most of the afternoon but had now returned with a vengeance for the final fifteen minutes of play, with rain lashing down onto the Hurst Cross pitch. Hylton’s earlier shoulder problem was made worse on seventy-eight minutes as he crashed to the floor once more on the left wing, gesturing to the bench that he wouldn’t be able to continue. Having used all of his outfield substitutes already, Hurren made the bold decision to send reserve goalkeeper Xander Parke on as an outfield player for the remaining minutes to maintain a full compliment of players on the pitch

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Eastham made another fine save to keep his side in it on eighty-two minutes as Gibson picked the ball up midway inside the Ashton half and took it into space before drilling in a powerful rising shot from the edge of the penalty area that the former Blackburn Rovers stopper managed to parry away to his right. Rose followed the ball in but saw his rebounded effort deflected wide for a corner kick

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Parke thought that he had been handed a moment for Hednesford folklore two minutes later as Gibson controlled Taylor's pass and slipped him through on goal, only for an offside flag against the stand-in striker to go up against him as he fired towards goal

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Sixty seconds later, Burke made a great run from deep for the hosts, running past three Hednesford players as he drafted in from the right before shooting at goal, with Harrison diverting his effort wide for a corner kick

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Ashton looked to finish the game strongly with several set-pieces in and around the Hednesford penalty area; a free-kick to the right of the penalty area on eighty-seven minutes was taken by the left foot of Cogill, curling his effort beyond the Hednesford wall and forcing Breeden into a rare save to palm it away down to his right; Chester loanee Scott Burgess followed the ball in but was flagged offside before he could turn the rebound home at the far post

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With the game heading towards five minutes of added time, a familiar old foe to the Pitmen made his way onto the pitch as giant striker Tom Denton - a thorn in previous Hednesford sides during his time at North Ferriby United over a decade ago now - came on in place of German

Victory moves the Pitmen four points clear of the chasing pack as we head towards the halfway point of the season in December. Previous table-toppers Warrington Rylands - beaten 3-1 at Stockton Town today - make their first-ever trip to Keys Park next week as Hurren’s side look to extend their long winning run in the league to seven games. It is shaping up to be a challenging December for Hednesford, as they look to face three of the top eight in the table and some of the most in-form sides in the division in the shape of Warrington Town and FC United of Manchester

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Ashton United: Eastham, Burke ©, Doherty, Cogill, L. White ▆ (O’Neill 75), Hayes-Green, Byrne, Burgess, Navarro (Anaebonam 71), Osei, German (Denton 89)      Subs unused: Tomlinson, Newton

Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan (A. White 62), Taylor, Labadie © (Sheaf 45), Harrison, Hussey, Trickett-Smith (Hylton 45 (Parke 80)), Maye, Gibson, Rose, Turner (McHale 62)     Subs unused: none

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