An extraordinary final ten minutes of play saw the Pitmen turn the game on its head to remain very much in the title hunt with a late, late win over fellow title rivals FC United of Manchester
 
Having got back to winning ways with victory over Prescot Cables on Good Friday, manager Kelvin Davis made just the one change to his side as the fit-again Max Sheaf came in for Ahkeem Rose, who had limped off four days ago to join the long list of injured players. There was one bright spot for Davis on the injury front as he welcomed back Ryan Wynter to the squad after the centre-back had been ruled out for several weeks
 
FC United’s consistent recent form had lifted them to the top of the table with four games to play, with manager Mark Beesley - an ex-Hednesford player some fifteen years ago - making one change to his Reds side from the one that had won 3-1 at Whitby Town four days ago as Ruben Grewal replaced Michael Donohue in midfield after Donohue had pulled his hamstring in the warm up. Former Hednesford pair Paul Ennis and Rudi Misambo had to be content with places on the FC United bench
 
It was a beautifully sunny Easter Monday afternoon, with the problematic Broadhurst Park pitch patched up sufficiently by the hosts ahead of today’s huge top-of-the-table clash. Both sides were vocally backed by their supporters, with the visitors cheered on by over 800 travelling fans in an overall attendance that tipped past 4,000. With just three minutes on the clock, referee Mr Hales halted the game before FC United could take a corner kick as he had spotted that both Liam Kinsella and Max Sheaf were both wearing the number eight shirt, with Kinsella having to leave the pitch temporarily to put on his correct number four jersey
 
Once this administrative oversight had been fixed, Jay Fitzmartin played the corner short to Grewal and took it back off him, driving into the box before curling an effort at goal that beat Tony Breeden but came back off the outside of the stopper’s right-hand post and back into play
 
The Pitmen had started the game in a compact and organised fashion, working hard to win the ball back and doubling up on dangerman Fitzmartin to stop the in-form winger from supplying crosses from the right. An excellent sliding challenge from Joe Doyle-Charles halted the winger’s progress in the seventh minute as he drifted past Jamie Morgan and along the byeline, only to be denied a cross to skipper Adam Le Fondre by the right boot of the makeshift centre-back
 
Omari Sterling-James – scorer of that wonderful goal on Good Friday against Prescot – looked to add to his impressive scoring tally in the ninth minute after winning a free-kick to the right of the FC United penalty area. His dipping, swerving free-kick from twenty yards out beat the Reds' wall but was a fairly comfortable take for on-loan Leeds United goalkeeper Darryl Ombang in the FC United goal
 
The visitors were settling into a rhythm and enjoyed more of the ball in the attacking third of the pitch; Chris Hussey swung in a fine corner kick from the right for the Pitmen in the thirteenth minute that somehow ended up going all the way through the host of bodies inside the FC United six-yard box
 
Fitzmartin’s dynamic wing play opened up the Hednesford defence in the seventeenth minute, drifting in from the left and taking on Morgan before firing narrowly over the crossbar with a right-footed effort that Breeden watched over
 
Big man Ollie Harrison was off-target for the Pitmen a minute later, rising highest at the far post to get his head on an angled free-kick from Hussey on the right, but headed well wide of Ombang’s right-hand post and into the large terrace behind the goal
 
Harrison went closer to the target on twenty minutes as Hussey delivered another fine ball into the box from the right after Gibson had won a free-kick twenty-five yards from goal; Hussey’s free-kick was aimed at Harrison once more, who beat Jan Palinkas to the ball but headed wide once more
 
Both sides seemed content to play for set-pieces in a bid to open up the opposition, with Le Fondre taking a long throw from the right midway through the first half that was aimed at Grewal, only for Harrison to tower over the midfielder and head away inside his own six-yard box
 
Two minutes later, Morgan was tied up in knots by Fitzmartin, leading to the right-back bringing the winger down in a dangerous position on the FC United left flank. The same player took the kick and played it into the near post, where the backtracking Jervis headed the danger away from the lurking Le Fondre
 
At the other end, Sterling-James’s pace and trickery drew a foul out of Palinkas twenty-five yards from goal on twenty-eight minutes. Hussey assumed responsibility for the resultant kick and curled a wonderful free-kick over the wall, forcing Ombang into a flying save down to his left to push the ball away from danger
 
Young stopper Ombang – highly regarded at Elland Road and tipped for bigger things – did well to claim another Hussey corner kick at his far post on the half hour mark, plucking the ball out of the air to deny both Jervis and Harrison a free header at goal at the far post
 
The Pitmen got themselves in a tangle in their own penalty area four minutes later as Fitzmartin’s ball in initially fell at the feet of Adam Sudworth, whose shot was blocked by Harrison but not cleared fully, with Le Fondre and Sudworth again both attempting to force the bouncing ball home from close range before Doyle-Charles finally cleared the danger
 
Montel Gibson was presented with his one and only opening of the game so far on forty-one minutes as he raced clear of Evans to latch onto an inch-perfect pass from Kinsella, but dithered at the vital moment and allowed the onrushing Ombang to make a smothering save - a touch over the goalkeeper and surely Gibson would have found the unguarded net
 
The hosts found a way through the stoic Hednesford back line on two minutes later as they grabbed the all-important opening goal; the tricky Fitzmartin made half a yard of space for himself on the left, sending over a low cross beyond both Morgan and Doyle-Charles and into the path of Matt Grivosti at the far post, who confidently side-footed past Breeden from fifteen yards out to open the scoring at a very opportune moment in the game with half-time looming
 
The men in mint green looked for a response as the game drifted into three added minutes at the end of the half as Hussey swung in another corner kick from the right that was again aimed at Harrison at the far post – Ombang came off his line and managed to get enough on the ball to punch it away from the head of the centre-back
 
The FC United goal was perhaps a little harsh on the men in mint green, who had worked incredibly hard in the first half and kept their shape well, limiting the dangerous Reds attack before Grivosti’s late opener. Kinsella, Doyle-Charles and Harrison had been the pick of a solid defensive display, which would now need to be turned into an attacking display in the second period as the Pitmen chased the game
 
Breeden had to be alert to an early chance carved out by the visitors just two minutes after the restart, making a smothering save down to his right to deny Grewal by diverting his angled shot around the post with his legs for an FC United corner kick
 
FC United’s strong start to the second half saw Grewal given far too much time and space to size up a shot from eighteen yards out on fifty minutes, with the busy and buzzy Kinsella doing well to come across and deflect the shot behind for a corner kick
 
Hednesford’s first foray into FC United territory on fifty-two minutes saw Gibson hold off the attentions of Matty Thomson before being brought down by the defender, prompting a yellow card from Mr Hales for the former Southport man. Hussey’s ball in from the left had far too much on it, however, and drifted well wide of the far post, much to the disgruntlement of the 800-plus away fans inside Broadhurst Park
 
Just before the hour mark, the Pitmen blinked first with the game’s opening substitution; Sheaf had taken a kick to his right leg a few minutes earlier and was replaced as a precaution by Dan Trickett-Smith in the attacking midfield role
 
Kinsella picked up the Pitmen’s only booking of the afternoon on sixty-two minutes for an accumulation of fouls on various FC United players, culminating in a caution for a foul on Grivosti just outside the penalty area. Evans assumed responsibility for the free kick but struck his low shot straight into the wall of mint green in front of him
 
Grivosti went agonisingly close to doubling FC United’s lead midway through the second half as he struck a rising angled shot from the right-hand side of the Hednesford penalty area that beat Breeden but came back off the crossbar and back into play
 
A cleverly worked corner kick routine from the Pitmen caught FC United on the back foot two minutes later as Hussey rolled the ball into the feet of the unmarked Sterling-James, who whipped a low cross into the six-yard box that was gathered by Ombang before Gibson could react
 
Gibson was involved once more for the away side on sixty-nine minutes after some good build-up play down the right involving Trickett-Smith and Morgan to play the striker in, with his shot at goal being blocked by Palinkas
 
The Magic Man Dom McHale was the next man to come in for the visitors a minute later as Davis changed his formation, bringing McHale on for Morgan and moving Doyle-Charles to right-back, making a three-man central defence with Harrison and Hussey
 
This saw the Pitmen play much more on the front foot, creating more openings down the right and forcing FC United into a more defensive shape as the hosts looked to hang on to their slender lead. Gibson’s bustling style saw him beat Palinkas to a bouncing ball on seventy-one minutes, striking a shot at goal that was deflected behind for a corner kick. Trickett-Smith’s ball in bounced around in the muddy six-yard box as the Pitmen tried to force the ball home, but an offside call against Morgan in amongst the scramble saw the hosts clear their lines
 
With sixteen minutes of play remaining, the home side made their first change of the afternoon in defence as the rangy Misambo replaced the already-booked Thomson
 
Sterling-James went closet of anyone for the Pitmen to levelling matters once more on eighty minutes as good play from McHale down the right saw him cut inside and lay the ball off to the forward on the edge of the box, with Sterling-James lashing a low shot at goal that skipped inches wide of Ombang’s right-hand post. Close
 
Beesley looked to freshen up his flagging attacking options with seven minutes of play remaining as recent signing from Whitby Town Donald Chimalilo came on in place of Grewal
 
The Pitmen’s late attacking salvo finally paid dividends two minutes later as they levelled through the in-form Jervis; Hussey’s free-kick out on the right was played short to McHale, who jinked his way past two challenges and stood up a cross to the far post where Trickett-Smith’s looping header was glanced goalwards by Jervis. Despite Ombang’s best attempts to keep the ball out with a good initial save, all he could do was fumble the ball into the far corner of the net as he tried to claw it away from goal. Game on
 
Within ninety seconds, the Pitmen almost threw away their hard work as they inadvertently hit their own post as a long throw from Evans on the right was flicked on by Misambo and into the path of Hussey, who sliced his attempted clearance into Breeden’s left-hand post from six yards out. A huge let-off for the visitors
 
A rattled FC United made a third change of the game came with two minutes remaining as former Warrington Town striker Jordan Buckley replaced Le Fondre up front
 
The hosts were very much hanging on at this juncture and made a late change two minutes into added time as Gerald Sithole replaced Fitzmartin, who had drifted out of the game after a superb first half

With the game now heading into added time, an outswinging corner from Hussey on the left was cleared as far as Sterling-James, whose low half-volley from the edge of the box was deflected behind for a corner kick by a desperate block from Andre Wisdom inside his own six-yard box
 
The resultant Hussey corner on the right was played deep to the far post, where Harrison rose highest to head the ball down to Gibson, standing unmarked on the penalty spot - his first time effort was charged down by ex-Liverpool man Wisdom, only for the ball to struck the arm, which left Mr Hales with no choice but to point to the spot and award the Pitmen their third penalty in four games. With Rose and Gibson both having missed from the spot recently, Sterling-James assumed responsibility and produced a calm, calculated penalty to send Ombang the wrong way, sparking wild scenes behind the goal amongst the travelling supporters
 
In a bid to run down more of the six added minutes, the visitors brought on the fit-again Wynter on in defence as the centre-back replaced goalscorer Sterling-James
 
A sensational end to a frantic afternoon and three points that very much keeps the Pitmen in the title hunt, although they will still need snookers from both Hebburn Town and FC United dropping points in the final three games as well as winning their remaining games against Morpeth Town, Cleethorpes Town and Ashton United. Davis’s side returns to Keys Park this weekend when they face relegation-haunted Morpeth in front of what will most likely be another bumper crowd

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FC United of Manchester: Ombang, Thomson ▆ (Misambo 74), Devine, Wisdom, Palinkas, Evans, Grivosti, Grewal (Chimalilo 83), Le Fondre © (Buckley 88), Sudworth, Fitzmartin (Sithole 90+2)      Sub unused: Ennis

Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan (McHale 69), Hussey, Kinsella ▆, Harrison, Doyle-Charles © ▆, Hylton, Sheaf (Trickett-Smith 59), Gibson, Sterling-James (Wynter 90+5), Jervis      Subs unused: Maye, Watson

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