The Pitmen keep the pressure on league leaders Widnes courtesy of a comprehensive four-goal victory over the already-relegated City of Liverpool at the DBCL Stadium this afternoon

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Hednesford manager Gavin Hurren - looking for his players to extend their unbeaten run to fourteen games today - made two changes to his starting XI from the one that had beaten Newcastle Town last weekend as Kory Roberts returned in place of Chris Hussey at centre-back and Nathan Blissett passed fit to come back in ahead of Dan Trickett-Smith. There was a rare appearance amongst the substitutes for centre-back Josh Endall, who had recently been out on loan at Redditch United in a bid to gain valuable match time

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The Purps - relegated to step five a couple of weeks ago after a rotten season on and off the pitch so far - were still looking for their first league win of the season at their new home of the DCBL Stadium, with manager Andy Owens making four changes to his side from the one that were beaten 3-0 at Atherton Collieries last weekend as Matthew Mallon came in ahead of Musa Jobe at full-back, Evan Smith was preferred to Glenn Matthews, Lewis Williams returned to the XI ahead of Tom Dean and striker Kostas Minios replaced Hugo Rodriquez up front. Such was the lack of options for Owens to pick from, the former Marine striker could only name two substitutes for today's game. The hosts also left some of today's observers a little bamboozled with their kit selection for the afternoon, electing to wear their light grey away shirt for today's game rather than their purple home shirt, thus creating something of a shirt clash with the Pitmen's white shirts

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Keen to lay an early marker down and roared on by an away following that made up at least three-quarters of the 249-strong crowd, the visitors were straight on the front foot from the kick-off and went close in the very first minute as Jack Bearne made a marauding run down the left and cross low into the near post, where Jake Jervis saw his first-time effort come back of the foot of the post. However, the assistant on the far side had flagged the striker as offside in the build-up and so the goal would not have counted had it found the net

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The Pitmen continued to press early on, with Dom McHale making one of these swashbuckling runs in from the right-hand side in the fourth minute, beating three players as he took the ball across the face of the City of Liverpool penalty area but saw his shot blocked and subsequently declared by Smith

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Roberts went even closer than Jervis to opening the scoring in the eighth minute, as the centre-back got on the end of an outswinging Bearne from the right but saw his downward header at goal from six yards out pushed away on the line by City of Liverpool goalkeeper Conor Robson

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It was all Hednesford in the opening exchanges, with the away side making the breakthrough in the tenth minute; Bearne earned his side another corner after breaking through the middle of the Purps defence before seeing his attempted shot turned behind by John Osifo. Bearne took the resultant corner kick and played it short to McHale, who teased his way past Ethan Jones and crossed low into the near post, where Robson got enough on the ball to push it away from goal but only as far as the lurking Ollie Harrison, who poked the rebound home from six yards out to register his second goal for the club

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Still the Pitmen pressed, taking full advantage of some terrible defending from the hosts in the twelfth minute as Blissett started and ended a swift counter-attack by simply brushing off a half-hearted challenge from Osifo wide on the right and firing in a low shot from an angle that ended up in the side-netting

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A minute later, Bearne was left with his head in his hands as he somehow failed to grab a second goal for the Pitmen; Jervis was the architect as he flicked the ball on into the path of the onrushing winger, who raced clear of the retreating City of Liverpool defence down the left and into acres of space before firing in a shot across the face of goal that beat Robson but agonisingly dribbled wide at the far post

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Blissett's height and aggression was causing City of Liverpool plenty of problems, with the big man rising highest on seventeen minutes to meet a deep cross from skipper Elliott Johnson, but nodding his effort at the far post to just wide of the post under pressure from Smith. The assistant on the far side had deemed the veteran striker to be an offside position anyway, so once again the goal would not have stood

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Bearne was having a field day down on the left flank, running at will at Jones and creating space for himself and his team-mates in the final third. The former Liverpool man drew a foul out of the former Bala Town youngster on twenty minutes, taking responsibility for the free-kick ahead of McHale and curling his attempted shot at goal straight into the City of Liverpool wall as he failed to get enough height or swerve on the effort from twenty-five yards out

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A minute later, Jervis picked up the latest in a long line of self-inflicted cards for the season as the striker was played through on goal by Bearne but was pulled back by an offside flag against him. In his frustration, the experienced striker took a touch before petulantly firing the ball into the net from twelve yards out, picking up a needless yellow card from referee Mr Wood for dissent

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Midway through the first period, more McHale magic saw the former Scarborough Athletic winger make a jinking run past now fewer than three defenders before seeing his attempted shot at goal turned behind for a corner kick. Bearne looked to repeat the feat of the opening goal as he took his corner quickly and played it into the path of Jarvis, whose first-time shot from fifteen yards out was blocked and cleared by a desperate home defence that was struggling to keep pace with their visitors

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McHale finally ended his mini-run of games without a goal as he doubled the Pitmen's advantage on twenty-four minutes; after drifting inside once more from the right and inviting a rash challenge on him from Mallon, McHale picked himself up and took ownership of the resultant free-kick, brilliantly curling his effort over the City of Liverpool wall and into the far corner of the net, giving Robson absolutely no chance with a rocket of a set-piece to make it sixteen goals this season for the Magic Man

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Back came the hosts, with a rare move into the opposition half through the centre of the park involving Minios and veteran Astley Mulholland, teeing up Williams on the edge of the box but seeing the midfielder fire well, well wide of goal with a wild effort

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There was a break in play two minutes later as Joe Doyle-Charles came off worst in a challenge with Ismail Sonko out on the Hednesford right, with the combative midfielder receiving a bout of treatment before returning to the game

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Shortly after the half-hour mark, Doyle-Charles had to admit defeat on what appeared to be a calf problem, with the former Leamington midfielder coming off and being replaced by Trickett-Smith

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Great play from Bearne on thirty-four minutes saw the winger dance past Jones once more after being played into space by Johnson, pulling the ball back across the face of goal where both Blissett and Jervis failed to make the connection with the ball just a touch too far in front of them

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Simeon Maye will not have had many easier days in a Hednesford shirt thus far, making a rare move into the opposition half to draw a foul out of Mulholland on thirty-seven minutes and earning the Pitmen a free-kick to the right of the penalty area. McHale and Trickett-Smith stood over the ball, with McHale taking responsibility for the kick once more but this time hitting the City of Liverpool wall with his rasping effort

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The already-struggling hosts were dealt yet another blow on forty minutes as coach Simon Willis - who had already had an altercation with Hurren and his coaching staff ten minutes earlier after the foul on Doyle-Charles - was embarrassingly shown a red card by Mr Wood for deliberately shielding the ball from Bearne and then kicking it away to stop the winger from taking a throw-in quickly down the left. The large away following certainly let the Purps coach their thoughts as he headed off down the tunnel to a chorus of jeers

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There was time for one more great chance for the Pitmen to further extend their lead in the final minute of the first half as another quick counter from the visitors saw Trickett-Smith feed Jervis, whose clever lay-off inside to Bearne saw the winger take the ball on in the inside left position and place his shot beyond the reach of Robson and into the net, only for a tight offside call against Jervis in the build-up to disallow the goal and pull play back to the edge of the penalty area

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It had very much been one-way traffic in the first period, with the Pitmen completely dominating the play and chances throughout, although Horan and his coaching staff will have been disappointed at the sheer amount of chances that I've been wasted by their team in the final third, which really should have put the game to bed before the half-time whistle. Jervis had been holding his hamstring toward the end of the first period, and as a precaution was replaced at the start of the second half by Niall Watson

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The Pitmen were back on the front foot at the very start of the second half with Bearne playing a short corner along the ground into the path of McHale on forty-eight minutes; the playmaker turned onto his right foot and floated a cross into the box that somehow evaded everyone in a white shirt as the ball skipped across the face of goal and out of play on the far side

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Harrison looked to add to his earlier strike on fifty-two minutes, making a late run into the danger zone to meet an inswinging Trickett-Smith corner kick from the left but headed wide of goal from six yards out as Minios did enough to put the big man off

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A run from deep from Maye was not checked by the Purps midfield three minutes later, with the defensive midfielder allowed to cover fifty yards unchallenged before playing a slightly overhit pass into the feet of Watson, who looked to take a touch before looking to shoot but saw the ball dribble away from his grasp and allowed Jones to clear the danger finally

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The visitors entered a sloppy passage of play for the next five minutes of the game, struggling to clear their lines effectively and giving the ball away in dangerous areas. The pacy Bahula picked up a rare sloppy pass from Maye on fifty-five minutes, exchanging passes with Sonko before looking to play the big striker Minios in, only for Harrison to finally snuff out the danger and turn the ball behind for a City of Liverpool corner kick

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Minios - a gangly and ungainly presence up front for the hosts - again looked to cause problems for the Pitmen three minutes later as he picked up a pass from Bahula to the left-hand corner of the Hednesford penalty area, stepping inside but striking a daisy cutter of an effort well wide of Tony Breeden's goal as Harrison closed him down once more

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Another Trickett-Smith corner kick on sixty-two minutes almost led to a goal for the visitors, as the Hednesford substitute floated the ball into the box and onto the head of Harrison once more - his attempted header at goal looped up into the air and onto the boot of defensive partner Roberts, who is acrobatic volley back at goal from sixteen yards out was cleared off the line by Mulholland

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Blissett had done everything but find the net on his return to action so far this afternoon and was left frustrated once more midway through the second half as Bearne's corner was met by the head of the giant striker, who glanced his effort wide of the post from eight yards out

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A minute later, City of Liverpool made the first of their two available substitutions for the afternoon as Jobe returned to action as he replaced Jones, who had had a rough afternoon dealing with the pace and trickery of the excellent Bearne

 

More sloppy play from the hosts on seventy minutes saw Jamie Morgan get in behind the Purps defence, latching onto Trickett-Smith's cross-field ball and turning past the dawdling Jobe before drilling in a low cross from the byeline that had to be claimed by Robson at his near post before Blissett could turn the loose ball home

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Four minutes later, Robson had to be on point once more to deny the shot-happy away side as he made the save down to his right to deny another header from Harrison after Bearne's deep corner kick from the right was met by the centre-back at the far post

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Trickett-Smith - a scorer in last week's win over Newcastle - looked to add to his season's tally on seventy-six minutes with an audacious long-range effort from fully twenty-five yards out, latching onto a Blissett knockdown and attempting a first-time looping shot at goal that dipped just over the crossbar

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With ten minutes remaining, the Pitmen made their final change of the afternoon as Jacob Gwilt was given some more late minutes by Hurren as he replaced Blissett, who received a standing ovation from the away support for another excellent target man's performance, showing all of his years of experience to good effect. At the same time, City of Liverpool also made their final change as Alex Northover came on in place of Mallon

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Yet another quick can attack from the Pitmen on eighty-two minutes saw Watson get behind the retreating City of Liverpool defence on the right, driving into the box and past Northover before squaring the wall across to Bearne on the opposite side of the penalty area; his first time shot lacked any power, however, and was easily claimed by Robson when the Pitmen's man the match really should have found the net

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With four minutes remaining, McHale had another wonderful chance to add to his earlier goal after Watson had once again made a run in behind the City of Liverpool defence to reach Harrison's raking ball forward, holding the ball up well before playing it back to the Hednesford number ten, who took a touch before attempting a curling effort at goal from an angle that missed the far post by a matter of inches. So close from the Pitmen's second goalscorer of the day

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The Pitmen finally put an extra gloss finish on their display with a late double salvo as City of Liverpool finally caved in after a difficult second half chasing shadows. On eighty-nine minutes, McHale picked up Johnson's overhit cross on the right-hand side of the Purps penalty area before pulling it back into the path of Maye, who was standing in space in the 'D' on the edge of the City of Liverpool penalty area. The midfielder - not know his goal-scoring process - took a touch before delightfully curling a shot beyond the reach of Robson and into the net to record his first goal for the Pitmen since his return to Kerys Park in the summer

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There was still time for more Hednesford joy as we headed into the three added minutes at the end of the game as Maye broke quickly through midfield and played a lovely threaded ball into space for Bearne down the left once more, taking advantage of a slip from Smith to run into acres of space behind the defender. After taking a touch, Bearne picked out the late run of Watson at the far post and squared the ball into the path of the substitute, who managed to bundle the ball home from close range at the second attempt when he looked to have initially got the ball stuck under his feet

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Three points for the Pitmen simply maintain the order of things at the top of the Northern Premier League West table, with all of the top seven recording victories. With only six games to play and seven points separating Hednesford and league leaders Widnes, it's looking increasingly unlikely that the Pitmen will have enough games left with which to topple the long-time leaders in the final six weeks of the campaign. They will, however, continue to plug away in the event of a Widnes collapse, starting with a return to Keys Park next Saturday to face mid-table dwellers Trafford, 2-1 losers today at home to Stafford Rangers

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City of Liverpool: Robson, Jones (Jobe 66), Mallon (Northover 80), Osifo, Smith, Musanhu, Sonko, Mulholland, Williams, Minios, Bahula ©      Subs Unused: None

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Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan, Johnson ©, Maye, Harrison, Roberts, Bearne, Doyle-Charles (Trickett-Smith 32), Blissett (Gwilt 80), McHale, Jervis ▆ (Watson 45)   Subs Unused: Endall, Brown

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