Hednesford exit the F.A. Trophy at the second qualifying round stage this afternoon after another hugely frustrating and disappointing defensive display from the hosts allowing local rivals Chasetown to get the better of them from two set-pieces once more and move into the next round

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Tuesday night's dominant display against Rugby Town had handed the Pitmen a route through to the third qualifying round of the F.A. Cup and a winnable away tie at Midland Football League side Shifnal Town next weekend. For this weekend's cup tie, manager Steve King shuffled his pack once more with one change to his side as Sion Spence replaced the unavailable Simeon Maye in midfield

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Chasetown were in decent form ahead of their short trip across town, having beaten Grimsby Borough in the previous round to set up today's tie and followed this up with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Widnes last weekend. Mark Swann also elected to make changes to his side as Mitch Clarke, Lewi Burnside and ex-Pitman Joe Thompson all came into the side ahead of another ex-Hednesford man Sam Griffiths, Luke Yates and Max Chimenes. The Scholars' bench read as a who's who of ex-Pitmen as well, with Joey Butlin, former player/manager Danny Glover and veteran midfielder Kris Taylor all named as substitutes by Swann

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The game was to kick off in bright sunshine, although this was soon to change quite dramatically later on in the first half. Another excellent crowd of 1,351 was in attendance - the largest in the competition for this round by some considerable margin - and witnessed another quick Hednesford start as the hosts looked to get their noses in front early on; on five minutes, Jake Jervis flicked Elliott Johnson's long, raking pass into the path of Manny Duku, who had made as run in behind his strike partner. The Dutchman looked to catch goalkeeper Curtis Pond out with an early strike from outside the box, forcing the former Hereford stopper into a diving save to his right to push the ball away from danger

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Three minutes later, good approach play from Dom McHale saw the midfielder win a free kick just outside the Chasetown penalty area after he was floored by former Hednesford man Sam Wilding's tackle. Dan Trickett-Smith and McHale pondered the free-kick for a moment, with Trickett-Smith eventually whipping the ball into the box, where Kieren Fenton was able to clear ahead of Kory Roberts at the far post

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Trickett-Smith's delivery into the box a minute later - this time from a corner kick - was begging to be turned into the gaping net by a player in white as the former Leek man's beautifully weighted cross somehow skipped across the face of goal and out of play on the far side

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McHale was still looking to get his range quite right as he drove a chance well wide of goal in the twelfth minute. Picking up a pass from Blaine Rowe, the former Telford man turned past Wilding with some typically audacious footwork before drilling in a low shot that was three yards wide of Pond's left-hand post

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Despite Chasetown offering absolutely nothing as an attacking entity in the opening exchanges, the visitors got their noses in front on fourteen minutes as they once again exploited the Pitmen's vulnerability in the air from set-pieces; Jack Langston stood up a corner kick to the back post, where Tom Unwin arrived to powerfully head towards goal as he shrugged off a poor challenge from Rowe. Jack Rose made a superb initial save down at his post but could do nothing to stop right-back Clarke from following up, lashing the loose ball into the roof of the net from four yards out

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McHale thought that he had conjured up an immediate response for the Pitmen on seventeen minutes as Trickett-Smith played a short corner into his feet, with McHale's low, driven effort beating Pond at his near post but ending up the wrong side of the post as it ruffled the side-netting. Many on the main stand side of the pitch thought that the ball had gone in and had their celebrations cut short

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On twenty minutes, Jack Bearne's run and cross from the right found the head of Jervis inside the six-yard box, only for the big striker to be denied by the right hand of Pond as he palmed the ball away from goal

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Midway through the second half, more impressive approach play from the Pitmen saw Trickett-Smith tripped by Langston just outside the Chasetown penalty area. The in-form Duku stepped up to take the resultant free-kick but lifted his effort a yard or so over the crossbar

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The clouds overhead had been getting darker and darker as the first half had progressed, with the first rumble of thunder and jagged fork of lightning striking in the distance just before the half-hour mark. This was followed shortly after by a torrential downpour that enveloped Keys Park and had many fans rushing for cover for the remainder of the half

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A quick throw-in from Joel Taylor on twenty-nine minutes found Trickett-Smith in space, giving him time to take the ball into the box and drive in a low angled shot to the near post that Clarke diverted behind for a corner kick with his right boot. From Trickett-Smith's inswinging corner kick, Duku made a late charge into the six-yard box and beat Clarke to the ball by glancing it past Pond from close range to register his fifth goal in the last three games and level matters once more

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With the rain now coming down incessantly, the players were handed a brief break from the elements on thirty-three minutes as Duku required a lengthy bout of treatment from Adam Paget after being floored by Fenton thirty yards from goal as the pair challenged for a high ball

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Chasetown skipper Danny O'Callaghan picked up the game's first yellow card of the afternoon from referee Mr Brown on thirty-three minutes after a crude challenge on Bearne to stop the winger from progressing down the right

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Two minutes later, Bearne seized upon a loose pass from O'Callaghan on the right-hand corner of the Chasetown penalty area and tried his luck with a curling, dipping effort that Pond claimed at his near post with a confident stop

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Bearne himself was to pick up the Pitmen's only yellow card of the afternoon on thirty-eight minutes as he slid in Joe Dunne and brought the left-back down as he looked to clear his lines

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Another brilliant run and cross from Joel Taylor on forty minutes saw the left-sided player beat Clarke for pace, getting to the byeline and pulling the ball back into the six-yard box where yet again no one in a white shirt was gambling with a run that would have to handed them a simple tap in

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Chasetown finished the half strongly with successive Langston set-pieces that gave the nervy Hednesford defence problems. On forty-four minutes, a corner kick from the right saw the ball drop once more in the six-yard box, with several players in blue trying to force the ball over the line until Elliott Johnson finally cleared the danger

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It had been another one of those frustrating halves of football that we have seen plenty of so far this term; lots and lots of possession from the Pitmen, a whole host of chances created but more defensive frailties at set pieces undoing all of their other good work in the attacking third of the pitch

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Johnson went agonisingly close to putting the Pitmen ahead just three minutes after the restart as Trickett-Smith's cross from the right was headed away by Unwin but only as far as the Hednesford skipper, whose volleyed effort from sixteen yards out beat Pond but bounced inches wide of the far post

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At the other end, a free-kick to the left-hand side of the Hednesford penalty area was taken by Fenton on fifty-three minutes, who curled his effort around the Hednesford wall but into Rose's side-netting

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With the pitch incredibly greasy and slick after the earlier downpour, several players struggled to keep their feet in the early stages of the second half; Duku was played in on goal by a fantastic ball from Joel Taylor on fifty-seven minutes but lost his footing at the key moment as he looked to take the ball past Unwin, allowing the centre-back to clear the danger

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Another run from Duku just after the hour mark saw him take the ball wide on the left, holding off a challenge from Clarke before playing a firm pass into the box that Pond managed to claim ahead of Jervis

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The first of the ex-Hednesford club emerged from the Chasetown bench midway through the second period as Butlin was brought on for the largely anonymous Thompson on sixty-four minutes

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Butlin was involved straightaway for the visitors as Langston's free-kick was aimed towards the head of the burly striker on sixty-six minutes, whose flick-on towards Ben Lund saw the assistant on the Wimblebury side pull up the substitute for a marginal offside call

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More defensive worry for the Pitmen on sixty-nine minutes saw Langston's lofted corner kick from the left drop onto the head of Fenton, who was off-target with his effort on this occasion as he glanced the ball wide of goal. Worrying, however, that the centre-back had time and space to get on the end of the cross with such ease

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A neat piece of play from the Pitmen on seventy-two minutes opened up the Chasetown defence once more as McHale's clever through ball sent Jervis away down the right flank, standing up a cross to the far post where Bearne arrived late to volley his effort at goal and force Pond into yet another smothering save

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Chasetown made another attacking change to their personnel on seventy-four minutes as Chimenes came on to play down the left in place of Burnside as the away side looked to win the tie inside ninety minutes

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Chimenes' first involvement in the game was to earn himself a yellow card from Mr Brown just sixty seconds after coming on as a crunching tackle on McHale earned the Pitmen a free-kick in a dangerous area. Trickett-Smith's delivery was disappointing, however, as his ball into the far post just drifted over the heads of everyone inside the penalty area

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Butlin went close to handing Chasetown the all-important lead once more a minute later as Wilding's superb chipped pass caught the Hednesford defence off-guard and gave Butlin acres of room to run into down the left. However, Butlin wanted a little too much time to make up his mind, taking a touch too many inside the penalty area and allowing Roberts to make the crucial block

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Glover was given a mixed reception from the Keys Park crowd on seventy-eight minutes as the veteran striker was handed his first minutes of the season by Swann as he came on in place of Lund

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Another Trickett-Smith free-kick a minute later was floated into the box and aimed at Duku at the far post, who just couldn't quite wrap his foot around the ball, turning it wide of goal after the ball had come to him a little too quickly

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King had laboured in making any changes, despite the Keys Park crowd becoming restless throughout the second half with him and his management team in looking to his bench to change things up. On eighty minutes, he finally elected to bring Rob Stevenson on up front, taking off goalscorer Duku

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However, more defensive failings were to befall the Pitmen again on eighty-two minutes as Butlin once again came back to haunt them with what was to prove to be the winning goal. Langston's initial long-range shot was parried away by Rose for a corner kick, with Butlin somehow denied by Rose down at his post to scramble the ball away for another corner kick. Langston was on the money with his second corner, however, floating the ball into the six-yard box where Butlin was on hand to head home from six yards out as the Pitmen once again simply switched off. Unacceptable from such experienced players week in, week out and something King will have to address quickly if his side are to cut this clumsy, lazy part of their game before it affects their promotion credentials

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The final ten minutes of play saw the Pitmen essentially camped out inside the Chasetown thirds of the pitch as they desperately looked for a late leveller. Pond somehow denied Bearne once more on eighty-five minutes with another brilliant stop after Johnson laid the ball back to the winger twelve yards from goal, striking a first-time shot at goal that bounced back off the burly stopper

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Langston nearly sealed the win in audacious circumstances a minute later as he picked up a defensive header away from Johnson and struck a ridiculous first-time volley at goal from fully thirty yards out that came back off the post, with Rose completely beaten

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Pond was at it again on eighty-eight minutes, denying Bearne once more with another parry at his near post after Bearne had been played through on goal by Trickett-Smith

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More last-ditch defending from Chasetown on eighty-nine minutes saw Fenton throw his body on the line for the Scholars' cause, blocking a Spence shot at goal that looked goalbound from twelve yards out

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With the game moving into added time, the Pitmen made a late attacking change as Zidan Sutherland came on to play down the right as he replaced Rowe. At the same time, 40-year-old Kris Taylor was brought on by Chasetown as he replaced Langston in midfield

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Deep into three added minutes, successive corner kicks from Trickett-Smith looked to pick out Roberts once more at the far post, with Chasetown struggling to clear their lines. McHale earned his side a free-kick on the very edge of the Chasetown box on ninety-two minutes after a foul on him from Dunne. However, Triuckett-Smith's tired cross had a little too much on it and Pond gratefully plucked the ball out of the air ahead of Jervis

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A hugely disappointing way to exit the F.A. Trophy for the Pitmen, certainly in the context of the opposition and how they had been handed two soft goals from set-pieces. King has alluded to the need for a new, dominant centre-back option, having seen an experienced defender turn the club down this week to sign for a step three side instead. However, this defeat may end up becoming a blessing in disguise for the club in the longer term as they can now turn their attention back to their stuttering league campaign, starting with a home game against newly-promoted Wythenshawe in a fortnight. Before then, it's the big F.A. Cup tie at Shifnal, with the chance to move into the final qualifying round and the chance to be only ninety minutes away from a draw against the likes of ex-Premier League clubs Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic, Bolton Wanderers or Huddersfield Town

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Hednesford Town: Rose, Rowe (Sutherland 90), J. Taylor, Johnson ©, Roberts, Spence, Trickett-Smith, Jervis, Duku (Stevenson 80), McHale, Bearne ▆   Sub Unused: Brown, Gwilt, Holness

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Chasetown: Pond, Clarke, Dunne, Fenton, Unwin, Wilding, Burnside (Chimenes 74 ▆), Langston (K. Taylor 90), Lund (Glover 78), O'Callaghan © ▆, Thompson (Butlin 64)     Subs Unused: Evans

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