A rollercoaster afternoon of emotions sees the Pitmen make their return to step three with victory over Congleton Town at Keys Park, clinching promotion in today's Northern Premier League West play-off final in front of a new record Keys Park crowd

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Despite there only three days of preparation since Tuesday night's semi-final win over Vauxhall Motors, Hednesford manager Gavin Hurren elected to stick with the same XI that had got his side through to today's final after Ahkeem Rose had shaken off a shoulder injury sustained against Motors

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Congleton had been pushed all the way by Chasetown in their epic semi-final tie in midweek, finally overcoming the Scholars on penalties after a 2-2 draw in extra time. Player/manager Richard Duffy was without the experienced former Hednesford goalkeeper Dave Parton after the stopper had picked up an ankle injury against Chasetown, bringing teenager Travis Ziglam in as Parton's replacement for only his third-ever first-team game; the other change for the Bears from the XI that had started against Chasetown saw young defender Owen Morris come in for Matty Gillam

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The final had once again captured the imagination of the public, with Keys Park witnessing its largest-ever turnout of a scarcely believable 4,701 spectators. It proved to be a very cagey start from both sides in the opening exchanges, with several misplaced passes from at both ends of the pitch on the heavily watered Keys Park pitch. The influential Peter Williams looked to get Congleton going in midfield in the fifth minute, playing one of his cultured balls forward to Max McCarthy that forced Ollie Harrison into action as the big man managed to come across and sweep up in front of the striker before he could get a shot away from the edge of the penalty area

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The game finally spluttered into life in a minute later as Magic Man Dom McHale earned the hosts an early chance to take the lead from the penalty spot; cutting in from out wide on the right, the playmaker took the ball into the box and drew the foul on him from Morris, who was half a yard too slow to get to the ball as McHale took it past him. Referee Mr King had no hesitation in awarding the hosts a penalty, with McHale picking himself up to take the resultant kick. However, just as he had done earlier in the season at Witton Albion, McHale was nonchalant and arrogant with his run up and failed to get much in the way of power on his shot, making it a fairly easy save for youngster Ziglam down to his left to palm away from goal

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Ziglam was on hand to deny the Pitmen once more a minute later, fielding a bouncing Dan Trickett-Smith cross from the right at his near post ahead of Rose after Chris Hussey's recycled corner kick on the right fell at the feet of the midfielder on the corner of the Congleton penalty area

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Congleton's danger man Max McCarthy - scorer of twenty-three goals so far this term - made a run through on goal in the tenth minute, picking up a Williams pass and looked to get goal side of Ollie Harrison; however, the big striker got his studs caught in the turf as he looked to steady himself, falling awkwardly onto his left leg and snapping his ankle in the process in a sickening leg break that left his foot sitting at a different angle to his leg. Both sets of players quickly notified the medical staff of a serious problem for McCarthy, with the striker receiving a lengthy spell of treatment from physios and St John Ambulance crew before being stretchered off and sent to hospital

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After eight full minutes of inaction following McCarthy's injury, the game could finally restart with Gillam making a swift return to the pitch as he replaced the stricken former Stoke City man

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Trickett-Smith - picking up where he had left off on Tuesday night with his man-of-the-match performance against Vauxhall Motors - had what he felt was a very good shout for another penalty kick on nineteen minutes as he made his way down the right and looked to tease a cross into the box, with the ball in clearly striking the hand of the covering Garner-Knapper a yard or so inside the penalty area. Despite Trickett-Smith's vociferous protests, Mr King allowed apply to continue and Congleton could clear their lines

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McHale - looking to make amends after his poor penalty miss a few minutes earlier - drew ironic cheers from the 800-strong travelling support midway through the first half as he let fly from the edge of the Congleton penalty area with a wild and frustrated effort that flew high over the Hednesford end stand and out of play

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Congleton skipper Darren Chadwick took advantage of a rare foray into Hednesford territory on twenty-six minutes, floating a free-kick from the right-hand side deep into the Hednesford penalty area, forcing Breeden into making a nervy-looking claim at his far post ahead of Carl Dickinson

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Congleton were proving a hard nut to crack during the first half hour of play, holding their two defensive lines well and frustrating the hosts as they struggled to break the lines with any of their approach play. A free-kick taken by Hussey from the right on thirty-two minutes looked to pick out Harrison at the far post, only for the big man to be beaten to the ball by some excellent defensive play from former Wrexham man Shaun Brisley to head it behind for a corner kick

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Brisley was involved at the other end a few moments later as he lined up a free-kick on the right, handed to the Bears after a foul on Needham by Jamie Morgan. The veteran's ball in had a little too much on it, however, and dropped over the heads of everyone in the penalty area and out of play on the far side of the pitch

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Brisley somehow avoided a yellow card from Mr King on thirty-six minutes after the Congleton defender had made contact with McHale's head with his thigh as the pair challenged for the ball in the centre circle. McHale wasn't happy with the lack of action from the match official and let his feelings be known as Joe Doyle-Charles took the free-kick quickly

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Ziglam came to his side's rescue once more on forty minutes to deny Morgan, making a smothering save down low at his near post to claim the ball after the right-back had been played through by McHale's unintended pass, with Morgan taking it into the box but slightly overrunning the ball that allowed Ziglam to make the claim

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Due to McCarthy's earlier injury, Mr King added an extra ten minutes to the first half for the stoppage, with Hednesford spending most of this added time camped inside the Congleton third of the pitch in search of that elusive opening goal. McHale was inches away from breaking the deadlock in the second added minute as he took the ball on through the middle of the park, lining up a left-footed effort from twenty-five yards out that curved agonisingly wide of Ziglam's right-hand post. Close from the former AFC Telford United man
 

Congleton's main playmaker Williams picked up the game's first yellow card five minutes into added time as he was rightly booked by Mr King for a poorly-timed challenge on Hussey thirty yards from the Congleton goal that upended the veteran defender in full flight

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Deep into added time, The Pitmen were handed another opportunity from twelve yards out as they were handed their second penalty kick of the half; it was McHale again who was the instigator, taking a bouncing ball on into the box before being tripped by a diving challenge on him from Ziglam  Despite desperate calls from the thousands of home fans for a straight red card for the former Crewe Alexandra goalkeeper to be sent off for the challenge as he was last man, Mr King only showed the nineteen-year-old a yellow card for the indiscretion. Jervis was handed the responsibility for the penalty, with the former Plymouth Argyle man confidently dispatching his kick straight down the centre of goal and past the dive of Ziglam to give the hosts a half-time lead

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The last action of the first period saw Mr King once again at the centre of the action after Williams had gone in late on Morgan right in front of the two benches, with the match official only choosing to have words with the ex-Leek Town man rather than show him a second yellow card that the home crowd were expecting

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It had been a chaotic first forty-five minutes of action, with the Pitmen having done just enough to hold the lead against a resilient Congleton side that had set up well and limited the hosts to a handful of chances so far. Without the presence of McCarthy, the Bears had struggled to create much of note in the final third and would have to come up with something different in the second period if they were to get themselves back in contention

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More early pressure on the Congleton defence in the second half saw Jervis make a strong run down the left, beating Fregapane for pace before drilling in a low cross that Dickinson turned away for a corner kick. Trickett-Smith's ball into the box was cleared back to him out on the left-hand side, with his cross-cum-shot across the face of goal headed away by Gillam

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Rose had struggled to get any change it to the Congleton defence in a frustrating afternoon for the striker so far, although he did create an opening for himself on fifty-three minutes as a clever reverse pass from Jervis played the striker in on goal, with Rose turned well past Bears skipper Chadwick and onto his left foot, firing into the side netting from a tight angle with a well-struck effort

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Rose's game was run three minutes later as the burly striker was replaced by the giant figure of Nathan Blissett after a frustratingly blank afternoon in front of goal for the former Grimsby Town striker

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Ziglam once again performed heroics to keep his side in contention on the hour mark, making a wonderful one-handed save to his right to push Elliott Johnson's flick header away and deny the Hednesford skipper a certain second goal for the hosts after Hussey had played a delightful free-kick into the box from the right

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The resultant corner kick was played short by Hussey to Trickett-Smith, working the ball onto his right foot before unleashing a shot at goal that floored Fregapane on the edge of the box after the full-back had taken the shot full in the face

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On sixty-three minutes, Duffy made his second change of the afternoon as veteran former Port Vale defender Dickinson came off and was replaced by striker Tom Hampton. Within sixty seconds, the visitors made another tactical change as George Sankey came on in midfield in place of Garner-Knapper

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Early substitute Gillam failed to see out the afternoon as he himself was replaced on sixty-four minutes by ex-Port Vale striker Lewis Porter after picking up a knock

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The excellent Morgan had some defending to do to deny Congeton on the counter-attack midway through the second half, turning Needham's cross behind for a corner kick after a ball in from the right looked to pick out Gillam at the far post for what would have been a tap-in

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Yet more great work from Ziglam further frustrated the Pitmen on sixty-eight minutes as three separate chances fell the home side's way; McHale's pull-back from the right touchline found its way to Jervis at the far post, whose initial shot was blocked by Fregapane. Trickett-Smith's follow-up shot was pushed away by the young stopper before Blissett's touch played it back onto the path of Jervis once more, with his rebounded effort blocked by some last-ditch defending from Williams

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The Congleton stopper made yet another fine save on seventy-one minutes after the Pitmen had broken on the counter-attack through McHale, who played Trickett-Smith clean through with a defence-slitting ball; however, the former Liverpool man's rising shot at goal from just outside the box was tipped over by the teenager for a corner kick

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The Pitmen's second change of the afternoon came with sixteen minutes remaining as Niall Watson came on in place of Taylor in a move that saw Johnson move to left-back and Trickett-Smith drop back slightly into midfield to compensate

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Jervis had been largely wasteful for the Pitmen this afternoon, despite handing them the lead before the break, lifting a good opening high and wide of goal on seventy-five minutes after Harrison had laid Hussey's deep corner off to him to the left of the Congleton penalty area

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The former Blues striker was equally wasteful with his next attempt on goal three minutes later, dragging his low shot well wide of goal after he had drifted in from the left flank and left Fregapane behind once more

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The Pitmen's task of holding on to their lead was made a lot more simple on eighty-one minutes as Congleton playmaker Williams picked up his second yellow card of the game for a wild and malicious challenge on Trickett-Smith in midfield, leaving Mr King little choice but to send the midfielder off for a second bookable offence

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Doyle-Charles picked up the Pitmen's only booking of the afternoon two minutes later as Mr King showed the combative midfielder a yellow card for a foul on Needham just inside the Hednesford half

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The ten men of Congleton still looked to press for a late equaliser despite their numerical disadvantage, with a deep corner kick from Porter on eighty-five minutes headed over the crossbar at the far post by Brisley, under pressure from Blissett and Doyle-Charles

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The minutes continued to tick away, with the Pitmen able to call upon winger Jack Bearne for what was to prove to be a late cameo on eighty-eight minutes as he replaced McHale, who had picked up a knock

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With the game moving into five added minutes at the end of the game, Congleton rolled the dice one last time as midfielder Will Arnold came on as their final change, replacing veteran defender Brisley

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Jervis almost found a way through in the second added minute after he had taken advantage of a poor clearance from a tired Fregapane, seizing on the loose pass and driving into the box from the left, but over-ran the ball and allowed Ziglam to make a smothering save at his feet

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The hosts sent Keys Park into raptures four minutes into added time as a quick counter from the home side saw Bearne sent clear of goal by Blissett's flick-on from a Hussey long ball out of defence, with the former Liverpool man showing great composure to steady himself before firing a low shot that beat Ziglam across the face of his goal and finding the far corner of the net. The roof nearly came off the Heath Hayes terrace as the thousands of home supporters celebrated what was to prove to be the clincher

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A medical emergency involving a supporter in the Heath Hayes terrace saw the game end in anti-climactic circumstances, with the Pitmen's joy short-lived as the seriousness of the situation became clear. After twenty minutes of paramedics, physios and the Air Ambulance all working wonders the stricken supporter was taken away for further treatment, although the ground had been largely cleared at this point by the police to create a sterile area and avoid any untasteful photos and videos

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Almost forty minutes later, the players and the remaining supporters were allowed to return to the pitch, where Johnson could finally be handed the play-off winners trophy in what was a slightly downbeat ceremony having taken into account what had happened barely an hour earlier

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The Pitmen await their placing at step three in the coming days with the release of the league allocations due at the end of the play-offs; it's highly likely that they will end up back in the Northern Premier League unless there is a sudden, unexpected turn of events elsewhere. This will see the club playing well out of their geographical area once again, facing trips to the North East to the likes of Hebburn Town, Stockton Town and Morpeth Town as well as re-acquainting themselves with older rivals such as FC United of Manchester, Gainsborough Trinity, Ilkeston Town and, of course, this year's title winners Widnes. Of course, they will return to step three in very rude health, with Craig and Amanda Gwilt's backing on and off the pitch pushing the club forward with several big initiatives due for completion this summer; a new Desso Grassmaster hybrid pitch, new bar facilities, new turnstiles and more car parking spaces at Keys Park are all pencilled in during the next three months before the start of the pre-season programme. August can't come soon enough in this part of South Staffordshire

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Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan, Taylor (Watson 74), Johnson ©, Harrison, Hussey, Trickett-Smith, Doyle-Charles ▆, Jervis, McHale (Bearne 88), Rose (Blissett 58)  Subs Unused: Gwilt, Brown

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Congleton Town: Ziglam ▆, Fregapane, Dickinson (Hampton 63), Williams ▆ ▆  (81), Brisley (Arnold 90), Chadwick ©, Garner-Knapper (Sankey 64), Hartshorn, McCarthy (Gillam 17 (Porter 66)), Morris, Needham       Subs Unused: none

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