A late, late winner off the boot of Keith Lowe hands hosts Basford all three points in this evening's return to league duty, dumping the Pitmen back to the foot of the Southern Premier League Central table in the process

​

Having recorded back-to-back wins in their last two games, the Pitmen arrived at Greenwich Avenue with plenty of confidence, having grabbed nine goals in the wins over AFC Rushden & Diamonds and Rushall Olympic. Kyle Bennett had sat out Saturday’s thrilling win at Rushall due to suspension but came straight back into the side for tonight’s game as the only change to Steve Burr’s XI, replacing Samir Nabi in the attacking midfield role.

 

Basford - moved laterally in the summer from the Northern Premier League - sat tenth in the table going into tonight’s game, having made progress in the F.A. Trophy on Saturday with a penalty kick victory over Market Harborough Town to set up a home tie with Marine in the next round. Manager Mark Clifford made five changes to his side for tonight’s game as Dom Roma, Stern Irvine, Adam Chapman, Gregg Smith and ex-Pitman Anthony Dwyer replaced Brad McGowan, Riece Bertram, Luther Munakandafa, Matt Thornhill and Tyreace Palmer respectively

​

It was a cool evening in Nottinghamshire, with a small crowd greeting the players onto the pitch. The first period proved somewhat frustrating in both penalty areas, with chances at a premium at both ends of the pitch. A strong run from Smith in the third minute of the game saw him beat two players and attempt to pull the ball across goal to ex-Hednesford man Courey Grantham, only for Ben Bailey to clear the danger and hand Basford the game's first corner kick

​

Bailey himself had the first real chance of the evening two minutes later as the Pitmen's first corner kick of the game from Todd Parker was flicked on by Keith Lowe into the path of the Hednesford skipper, whose flick-on at the far post failed to test former Hednesford loanee Kieran Preston in the Basford goal

​

A neat piece of play from Basford in the eighth minute saw Palmer and the portly Smith link up to play Ben Starkie into acres of space, only for his fiercely-struck drive from twenty-five yards out to take a deflection off Lowe and sail harmlessly wide

​

Another one of the ex-Hednesford brigade, Anthony Dwyer, linked up well with Josh Barnes four minutes later as he drove at the away defence from deep before playing the midfielder through on goal. However, Lewis Ison was alert to the danger to snuff out the chance and turn the ball behind for a corner kick

​

Tiernan Brooks - man of the match in Saturday's win at Rushall - made another timely stop to deny Basford in the sixteenth minute of the game as he raced off his line to beat Starkie to the ball after the Basford man had made a late run into the penalty area to reach Grantham's pass

​

Bailey was perhaps lucky not to receive a yellow card from referee Mr Kaye a minute later as successive fouls on Grantham only brought about a ticking-off from the match official rather than a card

​

The dangerous Grantham was giving the Hednesford defenders plenty to think about with his pace and movement, getting on the end of a pass from Dwyer down the right on twenty-two minutes and sending over a dangerous cross that Brooks struggled to deal with until an offside flag against Dwyer put paid to the move for the hosts

​

More quick movement from Basford two minutes later saw Barnes seize upon the ball and play a lobbed pass into the path of Dwyer, whose run into the penalty area was stopped by a combination of Brooks and Lowe, who managed to clear the ball ahead of the striker

​

Basford had enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the opening quarter but had struggled to really make an impact, with the excellent Bailey and Ison ensuring the likes of Grantham and Dwyer were kept quiet in the final third. A free-kick from Starkie on twenty-six minutes was flicked on at the near post by Roma but hacked clear by the non-nonsense Lowe inside his own six-yard box before Grantham could react

​

Joe Cuff had seen very little of the ball so far, making a rare foray into the Basford half on the half-hour mark and looked to slip the ball through to Leroy Lita, only for an offside flag to scupper the veteran's chances of a shot at goal

​

Lita was to have two good chances to hand the Pitmen the lead soon after, however but was to be denied by the experienced Preston on both occasions. On thirty-three minutes, Adam Livingstone's angled pass played the striker in on goal, but his angled drive across the face of goal was diverted away by the legs of the former Bristol Rovers goalkeeper as he came out to meet Lita

​

Two minutes later, Preston made a superb stop to deny Lita the game's opening goal as the former Swansea City man let fly from the edge of the Basford penalty area after a flick-in from Cuff, striking a low effort that forced Preston into a flying save to his right to turn the ball away from goal

​

The Preston versus Lita battle continued on thirty-nine minutes as the Basford number one was called into action once more, again blocking Lita's low shot with his legs and turning it behind for a corner kick after a clever through ball from Bennett had played Lita in on goal

​

At the other end, Brooks was called upon to make another good save shortly before the half-time break as a deep cross from Barnes was toe-poked towards goal at the far post by the Tanzanian midfield man, only for the on-loan Notts County man to claw the ball away from goal with a one-handed save to his right

​

From the resultant corner, a flick header from Smith's downward header caused the Pitmen some issues in their six-yard box, with Chris Clements eventually volleying the ball away from danger at the near post

​

It had been a first-half low on chances, with both defences very much on top as both attacked had struggled to find a way through and create clear-cut openings throughout. The Pitmen will have been pleased with their defensive stability after conceding three soft goals on Saturday and could have taken the advantage into the break if Lita had converted one of the clutch of decent chances that had fallen his way

​

Basford started the second half in menacing mood, however, and should have taken the lead shortly after the restart as Smith did well to get himself into a position to shoot from twenty yards out but lifted his effort just over the crossbar as Ison closed him down

​

Starkie had picked up a knock shortly after the restart and had looked to run off his injury, but was eventually forced off the pitch on fifty-three minutes as he was replaced by Notts County loanee Munakandafa

​

The young substitute almost had an immediate impact on the game with his first touch as Dwyer and Smith combined to play him through on goal on fifty-five minutes, only for his fellow Notts County colleague Brooks to deny him as he struck a rising shot at goal from fifteen yards out that was brilliantly parried away by the young stopper

​

Ison saw a half-chance come and go for the visitors sixty seconds later as he sliced his shot from the right-hand corner of the Basford penalty area well wide of goal after hold-up good play from Bennett

​

On the hour mark, an inswinging cross from Grantham landed at the feet of Smith, who looked to twist and turn past Bailey as he attempted to get his shot away, only for Mr Kaye to pull up the former Tamworth striker for manhandling the centre-back in the build-up

​

A quick break from the Pitmen midway through the second period saw the ball worked to Harvey Portman on the left via Parker, with the full-back taking the ball thirty yards into the Basford half before striking a rising shot that was tipped over the crossbar by a flying save from Preston

​

Another teasing cross from Grantham on sixty-six minutes tested the reflexes of Brooks at his near post as the ball came to him at some pace; the ball spilt out into the play but luckily for Brooks, he was afforded time to collect the rebound before anyone in yellow could react

​

Top scorer Dwyer's game was ended prematurely a minute later as the former Ilkeston Town and AFC Telford United striker was taken off in favour of Palmer for the remaining twenty or so minutes

​

Smith showed great skill and composure to take down a lofted clearance from the Pitmen on seventy-two minutes, exchanging passes with Munakandafa on the edge of the area before skewing a cross-cum-shot across the face of Brooks's goal and wide of the target. With a little more foresight of mind, Palmer may have got the ball but checked his run into the box at the crucial moment

​

Brooks was once again equal to an effort from Smith on seventy-eight minutes as he dived full-length to his right to push away the striker's well-hit half-volley from the edge of the Hednesford penalty area, parrying the ball away and into the path of Barnes - his cut back into the six-yard box from tight on the left-hand byeline was begging to be turned home by Palmer, who completely missed his kick as the ball dribbled past him just four yards from goal

​

The visitors made their first substitution of the evening on eighty minutes as Ryan Nesbitt came off the bench in place of Portman, looking to repeat his goalscoring heroics at Rushall on Saturday

​

Good wing play from young right-back Owen Betts saw him take the ball deep into the Hednesford third of the pitch a minute later and look to pull the ball back to Smith, only for a brilliant covering tackle from Lowe to turn the ball behind for yet another Basford corner kick

​

The pressure was being ramped up on the Hednesford defence the longer the game continued, with Basford forcing three successive corner kicks with seven minutes remaining. Veteran Roma headed wide of the target with the final corner in the sequence, getting into space ahead of Bailey but not being able to divert the ball home as he glanced his header the wrong side of the far post

​

With five minutes remaining, Adam Chapman picked up the game's only booking for a foul on Bennett in midfield to stop the former Doncaster playmaker from starting a new attack for the Pitmen

​

This was to prove to be Chapman's final involvement in proceedings, as he was brought off on eighty-nine minutes in favour of Bertram. The Pitmen also elected to make a late change as James McQuilkin was given a late run out by Burr as he replaced the out-of-sorts Cuff

​

Bennett went close to producing a late winner for the Pitmen with the very next attack as Clements and McQuilkin combined to play Ison into acres of space down the right flank; his cut-back was perfect for the attacking midfield man, who lifted his first-time shot just over the crossbar from twelve yards out. Had it been on target, Preston would have had no chance of getting to it as he was rooted to the spot

​

As football has proven time and again when you are struggling at the foot of the table you don't always get what you deserve, as Basford went straight down the opposite end of the pitch and grabbed themselves a fortuitous late winner. Grantham picked up Palmer's flick-on down the left and whipped in a dangerous cross that was inexplicably diverted into his own net by Lowe as he looked to hack the ball clear of the incoming Palmer. Despite some muted offside calls from the Hednesford defenders the goal stood, giving Burr's men no time left to get themselves back into the game

​

Basford may argue that they had edged the game on chances, but overall no one inside Greenwich Avenue would have been disappointed if the game had ended in a draw. The Pitmen drop back to the foot of the table due to AFC Rushden & Diamonds' surprise win over Nuneaton Borough this evening, meaning that their trip to Hitchin Town takes on a 'must win' mentality once more if they are to close the five-point gap between themselves and the pack above them in the Southern Premier League Central table

​

Basford United: Preston, Betts, Barnes, Patrick, Roma, Irvine, Grantham, Chapman ▆ (Bertram 89), Smith ©, Dwyer (Palmer 67), Starkie (Munakandafa 53)        Subs Unused: Clark, Green

​

Hednesford Town: Brooks, Ison, Portman (Nesbitt 80), Bailey ©, Lowe, Clements, Cuff (McQuilkin 89), Parker, Lita, Bennett, Livingstone       Subs Unused: Riley, Hartley, Clayton

​