401

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Cohen Bramall

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W W L D D W L W

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Ashton United (H) 17.9.16

What a difference a week makes for the Pitmen, as Liam McDonald's men banish memories of last Saturday's humbling F.A. Cup defeat by hammering bottom of the table Frickley at Keys Park to move up to fourth in the Evo-Stik Premier League table

The fall-out from last week's defeat to Belper had seen McDonald think long and hard about his formation and tactics after a frank and honest conversation with unhappy supporters last week. He responded with four changes to the side, bringing back Sean Geddes, Danny Glover and Jamie Matthews for Ashley Sammons, Joel Logan and Gurjit Singh, with Lloyd Ransome making his first start of the season in place of regular number one Dan Crane

Frickley's start to the season had seen them sink to the foot of the table after six rounds of games, having failed to pick up a single point in six games. Former Hednesford midfielder Karl Rose had left his role as manager two weeks ago due to the poor start with former Buxton and Frickley striker Lee Morris arriving this week alongside three new signings ahead of today's game

Heavy rain in the area during the morning had left the Keys Park pitch slick and perfect for the home side's passing game, with the hosts forcing Frickley onto the back foot with successive corner kicks early on

And yet, it was Frickley who had the best chance to open the scoring in the seventh minute, as Cameron Rigby fired narrowly wide from the edge of the penalty area with a curling effort

Geddes went within the width of the crossbar of giving the Pitmen a deserved lead on seventeen minutes, striking a rising shot that clattered off the crossbar and bounced back into the path of Simeon Maye, whose weak header was easily saved by Frickley keeper Sebastian Malkowski

Playmaker Geddes - playing further up the pitch in place of Sammons - tried his luck with another long-range effort five minutes later, picking up Glover's pass before drilling a shot wide of goal

 Two minutes later, another shot from Geddes was turned around the post by former Polish International Malkowski after the attacking midfielder had picked the ball up deep and driven into the Frickley third of the pitch unchallenged

A corner kick from Geddes on the right-hand side led to the hosts being awarded the first of two penalties on twenty-five minutes, as Rhys Meynell was penalised for man-handling George Carline in the penalty area. Glover stepped up to confidently fire past Malkowski to notch his second goal of the season from the post

The Pitmen's second penalty kick was awarded nine minutes later, as Matthews was rewarded for sheer perseverance as he chased a through ball with Frickley's Jack Waters. The striker managed to get goal side of the centre back and rob him of the ball, leaving Waters with little option but to bring Matthews down. Waters was shown a straight red card for being the last man and Glover sent Malkowski the wrong way from the spot to double the Pitmen's advantage

A lovely flowing move down the left saw Hednesford break at speed on thirty-eight minutes, with Matthews playing in the excellent Cohen Bramall, who fired into the side netting with an angled drive

The home side were dealt a blow just before half time, as Simeon Maye was forced off after a clash in midfield saw Maye fall heavily on his wrist. Singh came on in his place in a free role, with Geddes and Carline adapting to different roles in midfield

A minute later, Glover's floated ball in was headed goalwards by Matthews, who forced Malkowski into a save low down to his right with a flicked header at the far post that the stopper clawed away from goal

The final action of the half came in added time, as a delightful cross from Bramall was somehow headed wide by Carline at the far post as he arrived late to powerfully head into the crowd behind the goal

The second half was totally dominated by the Pitmen, who used the numerical advantage they had to stretch the Frickley players all over the pitch with their neat, incisive passing game

Carline finally got himself on the scoresheet on fifty-seven minutes, courtesy of a fantastic cross from that man Bramall. Making a run down the wing, Bramall got the better of Macaulay Parkinson and crossed with a 'rabona' style ball, allowing Carline to nod the ball over the head of Malkowski and loop it into the corner of the net

The hosts were now rampant, with Singh almost adding to the scoreline straight from the kick-off, winning the ball back and running in on goal, only to be denied by a superb save from an overworked Malkowski

Another superb Bramall run and cross caused widespread panic in the Frickley ranks on sixty-five minutes, with Glover denied a tap-in by a combination of luck and last-ditch defending

The fresh legs and tricky style of Logan was introduced to the game on sixty-eight minutes as the inside forward replacing Matthews, who had impressed with his tireless running of the channels

His first act was to torture Parkinson down the left with neat footwork, turning the right back inside out and firing in a low shot that was saved at his near post by Malkowski

Five minutes later, the Pitmen made their final change of the afternoon, with Glover getting a standing ovation for his efforts as he was replaced by Sammons

More superb play from Logan on seventy-six minutes saw him jink his way past three tired-looking Frickley challenges as he cut in from the left, before unleashing a curling, swerving shot from the edge of the penalty area that missed the far upright by a matter of inches

Substitute Logan followed this up four minutes later with a low drive from twenty yards out that Malkowski had to palm away for a Hednesford corner kick down to his left-hand side

The tally at this stage could really have been six, seven, even eight goals for the Pitmen who had created chances at will and had been left frustrated by the brilliance of Malkowski in the Frickley goal as his defence had crumbled in front of him

Carline missed another great chance to add to his tally on eighty-five minutes, played in by Bramall after another marauding run from the left-back. This time, however, the midfielder fired wide of the near post with a low shot from ten yards out

Ransome had had nothing to do during a dominant Pitmen display in the second half but was alert to make a fine save a minute later to turn away a Luke Hinsley effort from a Frickley free-kick

Malkowski denied Bramall the goal his efforts deserved on eighty-seven minutes, making a good save to his right to push Bramall's shot away for a corner

Sammons fancied getting involved in the fun, with the substitute trying his luck with a trademark long-range shot in the last minutes, only for Malkowski to make another fine save

Sammons did, however, claim an assist in added time, picking up the ball on the edge of the penalty area before laying the ball into the path of the onrushing Singh, who gave Malkowski the 'eyes', sending him one way before side-footing the ball the other to complete the scoring with his second goal of the season

An excellent reaction from the Pitmen then who will be pleased with their performance, and more importantly, their clinical finishing to put themselves out of sight. Next week's opponents Ashton will offer a far sterner test, but with Tristian Dunkley still to return as a striking option on top of some excellent individual displays this afternoon, things are looking up for McDonald and his team

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Hednesford Town: Ransome, Wright, Bramall ▆, Maye (Singh 42), Mutton, Flanagan, Geddes, Thorley ©, Glover (Sammons 74), Matthews (Logan 67), Carline      Subs Unused: Crane, Williams

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Frickley Athletic: Malkowski, Parkinson, Grant (Palmer 72), Waters, Meynell, Valentine, Rigby (Kabaye 60), Hinsley, Curtis, Gascoigne, Williams (Hana 65)      Subs Unused: Burton, Diggles

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