A fifth game without a win at the start of this season is enough to end Keenen Meakin-Richards' managerial stint at Hednesford this afternoon as the Pitmen's management team resign after today's defeat to Bedford Town at the RACE Stadium

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A full week had passed since the Pitmen's 1-0 defeat at Stratford Town, leaving the club languishing in twentieth place in the Southern Premier League Central table as they headed into the fifth round of games today. Meakin-Richards - starting to come under pressure from supporters to arrest their early season slide - made two changes to the side that had started at Knights Lane as Harry Manton was handed his full debut at left-back in place of Harvey Portman, whilst mercurial winger Joe Cuff returned after serving his three-match ban and replaced Luke Rowe in midfield

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Newly-promoted Bedford were still reeling from their 8-1 humiliation at home to Tamworth last Saturday and were looking for a positive response from their players today after such a heavy defeat on their own turf. Manager Gary Setchell made three change to the side that had started the Tamworth game as Sam Warburton, Drew Richardson and Joe Butterworth all came in for Kai Phelan, Charley Sanders and Will Summerfield respectively

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On another beautifully sunny August afternoon, both sides made a cagey start to proceedings in front of the Pitmen's first sub-500 gate of the campaign. A good run and cross from Cuff in the third minute saw him hook the ball back from the left-hand byeline and into space at the far post, where Bedford's summer signing from AFC Rushden & Diamonds, Sam Warburton, cleared before Riley O'Sullivan could get on the end of the cross

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Bedford thought that they had opened the scoring in the fifth minute as a cross from Matt Moloney was headed home by Richardson from close range, only for an offside flag from the assistant on the main stand side to cut short their celebrations and award the Pitmen a free-kick

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The visitors were content to sit in front of the Pitmen and keep the space between players narrow, forcing the hosts into some wayward early passing as they looked to get Cuff and O'Sullivan involved. The rangy figure of Tyrone Lewthwaite caused problems for Nathan Cameron and Lewis Ison, forcing them into hurried clearances and passes out of defence

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In the twelfth minute, a good run from Lewthwaite saw him make an enterprising run onto a lofted pass from Hugh Alban-Jones, controlling it well with his chest before taking the ball around Cameron but running out of pitch and taking the ball across the byeline before he could shoot at goal

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Three minutes later, the visitors underlined their growing confidence in the game as a neat piece of play saw Lewthwaite lay the ball off the Alban-Jones on the edge of the penalty area, whose weakly-struck shot was easily fielded by Lewis Gwilliams

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A feature of the Pitmen's season so far has been their wastefulness from set-pieces, highlighted once more on sixteen minutes by a long, aimless free-kick into the penalty area from Todd Parker that was easily fielded by Bedford goalkeeper Alex Street

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Gwilliams had to be alert to more good Bedford approach play on twenty minutes, claiming a cross from Connor Tomlinson on the right ahead of Lewthwaite at his near post

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Bedford's Callum Donnelly was lucky to escape with only a warning midway through the first half as he was penalised for a blatant shirt pull on Cameron to stop the defender from moving forwards

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The home side's first genuine sight at goal came in the twenty-fifth minute as Webb did well to break into the Bedford penalty area through the inside right position, pulling the ball back from the byeline but saw his cross headed over the crossbar by O'Sullivan from six yards out

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Bedford were rewarded for their front-foot start to the game with the game's opening goal on twenty-seven minutes; Liam Brooks broke down the right flank, beating Manton and sending over a cross that found the incoming Donnelly, who curl a delightful shot beyond the reach of Gwilliams and find the far corner of the net from eighteen yards out

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Parker incurred the wrath of the RACE Stadium crowd once more two minutes later as he failed to heed the warning from his earlier free-kick, clipping another lazy effort straight into the hands of Street from thirty yards out, with no one in white anywhere near the ball to attack it and put the former King's Lynn Town man under pressure

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More excellent play from Lewthwaite on thirty-two minutes saw the striker get on the end of a swift counter-attack from the Eagles, taking on Lewis Ison but seeing his shot deflected behind for a corner kick

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Successive corner kicks from the Eagles a minute later cranked up the pressure on the Hednesford back line, with only a foul on O'Sullivan by Luke Pennell denying them another shot at goal

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Good hold-up play from the horribly under-utilised Leroy Lita on thirty-seven minutes won the Pitmen a free-kick thirty yards from goal, which was taken on this occasion by the peripheral figure of Kyle Bennett. The midfielder's curling effort took a nick off the Bedford wall and flew just over the crossbar, handing the hosts a corner kick

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From Cuff's resultant corner kick out on the right, Cameron rose highest to meet the ball at the far post but could only head tamely wide of the woodwork as he was pressurised by Lewthwaite

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Despite offering next to nothing in the final third once more, the Pitmen conjured up a goal out of nothing to level matters on forty minutes through the returning Cuff; picking up a long ball forwards from Manton outside the penalty area, Cuff showed excellent close control to turn past Richardson before firing into the right-hand corner of the net with a powerfully-struck low shot. This was the Pitmen's first home goal of the season and only their second in four and a half league games so far

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However, the home side's fragile confidence was shaken once more as Bedford regained the lead almost immediately; Brooks beat Manton all ends up with another powerful run down the right before pulling the ball back into the path of Lewthwaite, who fired past Gwilliams from ten yards out with an angled drive into the far corner of the net

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In the final minute of the first half, O'Sullivan wasted a glorious chance to level matters once more as a free-kick from Bennett was dropped by Street on the penalty spot and seized upon by Lita, whose lay-off to O'Sullivan was blazed high over the crossbar from an angle by the former Coventry United man

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There were muted boos and a lot of frustration around the RACE Stadium at half-time, with the home supporters once again witnessing a dreadful half of football from their uninterested and out-of-form players. Meakin-Richards' talk must have been incredibly short and sharp, as his players re-emerged a full ten minutes before the start of the season half with a flea in their ear. The hapless Manton was taken out of the firing line before the game could restart as Lewis Hayden came in in his place, with Webb switching to left-back as cover

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Butterworth was the first player to receive a yellow card early on in the second half as he was booked by referee Mr Bartlett for a crude challenge on Cuff that floored the winger just inside the Bedford half

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Hayden looked to get involved for the Pitmen, offering an outlet down the right flank that had been lacking in the first period. His cross on fifty-two minutes found Bennett lurking, but his attempted shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by Pennell

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A minute later, Webb and Parker combined well down the left with Parker's angled cross into the danger zone just a little too far in front of Lita at the far post as he attempted to turn the loose ball home at the far post

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Cuff was the first - and only - Hednesford player to pick up a yellow card in the game on fifty-four minutes as he was booked for a mistimed challenge on Moloney out on the Bedford right

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More good hustle from Lita on fifty-eight minutes saw the veteran striker hold off a challenge from Pennell, forcing the defender into a foul on him to the right-hand side of the Bedford penalty area. Bennett was once again wasteful with his free-kick as his deep cross was easily headed clear by Bedford. The Heath Hayes terrace  - clearly frustrated with the lack of service into the box - let Bennett know what they thought of his cross in no uncertain terms

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Brooks somehow avoided being shown a yellow card on sixty-two minutes as he clattered into Cameron with a high and late challenge that prompted a bout of pushing a shoving between the two players just inside the Hednesford half. To the crowd's amazement, Brooks was only given a talking to as the Pitmen were awarded a free-kick

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The Pitmen's second change of the afternoon drew more than a raised eyebrow within the ground a minute later as forward O'Sullivan was taken off in favour of the more defensive midfielder Luke Rowe

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As has been the pattern of the first four games for Hednesford, the hosts enjoyed plenty of possession but could not figure out a way through the resolute Bedford defence that was doing the basics well. Parker should have pulled the trigger with a long-range effort midway through the second half but elected to check his run and play the ball out to Webb, despite the play opening up in front of him

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Having seen Parker and Bennett waste good opportunities from free-kicks, Cuff elected to take the next direct set-piece for the Pitmen on seventy-one minutes after another foul on Lita by Pennell. The winger's shot at goal from twenty-five yards took a touch off the Bedford wall and was fielded by Street inside his six-yard box

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Lita went agonisingly close for the Pitmen on seventy-three minutes as Webb did well to get to the byeline on the overlap beyond Cuff on the left, crossing to the far post where the striker headed over the crossbar as he stretched to reach the ball ahead of Richardson

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A minute later, a goalmouth scramble inside the Bedford six-yard box following Parker's corner kick saw Lita and Ison attempt to force the ball home, only for some last-ditch defending from Pennell and a goal-line clearance from Moloney to deny the hosts their equaliser

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Bedford's attacking threat had dissipated as the game had worn on, although they went close to sealing the points on seventy-five minutes as Alban-Jones's low shot on the counter-attack was just wide of Gwilliams' right-hand post

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The home side's final, desperate, roll of the dice came with fourteen minutes remaining as youth team player Numair Rashad was brought on in place of Sam Wilding

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Gwilliams had to be alert to keep his side in contention on eighty-two minutes as he made a full-length stop to his right to tip away substitute Danny Setchell's free-kick that had beaten the Hednesford wall and looked to be creeping into the far corner of the net

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Good play from the Pitmen on eighty-seven minutes saw Lita played into space just outside the penalty area, appearing to out-muscle Pennell as he took the ball into the penalty area and one-on-one with Street. However, Mr Bartlett felt that Lita had fouled the Bedford defender in the build-up and pulled the play back, much to Lita's frustration

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The final minute of the game saw the Pitmen move Cameron up front as a target man, forcing a couple of corner kicks and a free-kick to the right of the penalty area which was well dealt with by the excellent Pennell

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In the second of five minutes of added time, Rowe did well to pick the ball up on the edge of the penalty area and crossed deep to the far post, where Cameron got a run on Butterworth but could only head tamely into the hands of Street from six yards out

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A third defeat in five games for the hosts, who are still winless in the league and sit second bottom of the table with only two points, and two goals, on the board. This stat, on top of the poor performances that had led to it, was enough to convince Meakin-Richards that he could take the club no further and tendered his resignation after the game, leaving the club alongside assistant manager Graham Deakin and coach Jemiah Richards. The Pitmen will need to make a quick appointment, most likely an interim one, ahead of their Bank Holiday Monday trip across the A5 to high-flying Nuneaton Borough, with the F.A. Cup first qualifying round tie against Long Eaton United also looming large next Saturday

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Hednesford Town: Gwilliams, Webb, Manton (Hayden 45), Cameron, Ison ©, Wilding (Rashad 76), O'Sullivan (Rowe 63), Parker, Lita, Bennett, Cuff ▆      Subs Unused: Riley, Ebbutt

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Bedford Town: Street ©, Moloney, Warburton, Pennell, Richardson ▆, Alban-Jones ▆, Donnelly (Setchell 72), Tomlinson, Lewthwaite (Granville 80), Brooks (Sanders 88), Butterworth ▆        Sub Unused: Keeble

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