The Pitmen made it three games unbeaten for the first time this season as they come from behind to earn themselves a point against play-off chasing Ilkeston at Keys Park this evening

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Saturday's goalless draw against Basford United had continued the Pitmen's recent encouraging form, making it four points from the past two games for Danny Glover's side. The Hednesford player/manager made three changes to his side for their second home game in four days as Jordan Graham came back in up front in place of Glover, Tom Thorley was preferred to James McQuilkin and Harvey Portman replaced Ben Kaninda, who had been recalled by parent club Wycombe Wanderers to play in the Chairboys' Berks and Bucks Cup game against Bracknell Town this evening

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Ilkeston - still clinging on to the possibility of a play-off place in seventh position in the Southern Premier League Central table - arrived at Keys Park for the first time since March 2017 having drawn 1-1 at home with fellow play-off chasers Rushall Olympic at the weekend. Manager Martin Carruthers chose to make just the one change to his Ilson side for tonight's trip across the Midlands as Declan Eratt-Thompson came in for former Hednesford midfielder Mitch Woakes. Former Hednesford striker Leroy Lita led the line for Ilson after bagging seven goals in seven games since his controversial switch from Keys Park last month

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On a cold evening on the last day of February, it was the visitors that made the brighter start as they looked to exploit Lita's pace and movement against the young and inexperienced Hednesford centre-back partnership. In the third minute, he forced Ethan Patterson into conceding a corner kick as the veteran's run was checked by the former Alvechurch man with the ball being played into the box down the right

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Lita continued to have early involvement in the game as he was adjudged to have fouled Patterson two minutes later to stop the defender from clearing his lines, earning him a ticking-off from referee Mr Walker and handing the hosts a free-kick just outside their own penalty area

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Patterson and Lita's early battle saw the defender come out on top once more a minute later as he tracked back well to dispossess the striker as he took Kieran Fenton's pass into the box, only for Patterson to stick out a leg and take the ball away from him

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Ilkeston were enjoying plenty of possession, particularly in midfield, but were struggling to break down a stoic and well-organised Hednesford defence that was being well marshalled by skipper Steph Morley. An inswinging corner kick on eleven minutes from Mason O'Malley cleared the heads of everyone in the six-yard box and drifted out of play at the far post

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Three minutes later, another O'Malley corner kick was cleared back to him at the near post by Portman, with the Scunthorpe United loanee floating in a deep cross onto the head of Fenton, whose glancing effort at the far post drifted wide of goal as he stretched to reach the ball

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Lita was pulled up for a tight offside decision against him on seventeen minutes as he raced onto a long ball forwards from Fenton once more, seeing his low shot saved by Luke Jackson but play being pulled back by the assistant's flag on the main stand side of the ground

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The Pitmen started to come back into the game as the likes of Thorley and Max Brogan got more time on the ball to create openings for the hosts. A reverse pass from Solihull loanee Brogan on eighteen minutes was aimed at Chay Tilt, only for the winger to be adjudged offside by the assistant on the Wimblebury side of the ground

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The hosts' best chance of the game so far came two minutes later as a corner kick from Todd Parker out on the left was met by the head of Patterson, whose firm header towards goal was parried away from goal by Callum Hiddlestone in the Ilkeston goal and cleared by Finn Delap

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Midway through the first half, Joe Wilson delivered a fine cross into the penalty area from the left-hand corner flag after Henri Wilder had been fouled by Lucas Yeomans, finding the head of Lita whose flick-on was turned goalwards by striker Jordan Hallam, only for Jackson to pounce on the bouncing ball and claim it on his goal line

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A scrappy ten minutes of play saw both midfields on top as chances were at a premium at both ends. Another tight offside call against Graham put paid to a quick Hednesford attack on thirty-one minutes as Parker's slide-rule pass played the loanee forward in behind Delap

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Two minutes later, Lita was once again played into space down the right-hand side of the Hednesford penalty area by Wilson's pass but was once again pulled back for an offside call as he drilled a shot in at goal

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Good play from the away side on thirty-seven minutes saw Fenton and Campbell combine to play O'Malley into space down the left, with the youngster's low cross gathered by Jackson at his near post to deny a lurking Lita a tap-in from close-range

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A minute later, the Pitmen stole into their lead through Graham's first Hednesford goal since returning to the club on loan from Kettering Town; Tilt picked the ball up out on the left flank and took the ball into the Ilkeston penalty area, dribbling past Wilson before picking out Graham with a superb low cross that was turned home by the forward from close-range

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Delap picked up the game's first booking of the evening on forty-one minutes as he hauled down Tilt just outside the Ilkeston penalty area to halt the winger's progress. Morley stepped up and curled an inswinging free-kick over the Ilson wall and inches wide of Hiddlestone's right-hand post. Close from the skipper

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A free-kick at the other end from Wilson with a minute of the first half remaining saw the full-back whip the ball into the six-yard box, seeing his effort skip wide of goal as it just evaded the boot of the incoming Lita

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The Pitmen could be pleased with their first-half efforts and holding the lead at half-time through Graham's strike, having defended resolutely once more to nullify the threat of Lita and limit the visitors to a handful of chances. There was a positional shift to the Hednesford side before the start of the second half as the hosts elected to make a change with the introduction of winger Stanley Asomugha in place of veteran holding midfielder Kemy Agustien

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This was to prove to be a crucial shift in position for both sides as Ilkeston took the game by the scruff of the neck at the start of the second half. Hallam went close to equalising for the visitors just a couple of minutes after the restart as he picked the ball up on the edge of the penalty area and drive in a shot but saw it deflected wide by Morley

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Lita was not to be denied a goal on his return to Keys Park, however, as he struck the leveller on fifty-one minutes; sent clear once more by Fenton's pass, he got in behind Patterson and Morley before driving a shot beyond the reach of Jackson and into the far corner of the net from ten yards out

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Ilkeston remained on top and could have turned the game on its head just three minutes later as Eratt-Thompson seized upon a clearance from Portman and hit a dipping volley from the edge of the penalty area that dropped just over Jackson's crossbar

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Two minutes later, O'Malley picked up the ball down the left and crossed for the incoming Wilson at the far post, with the full-back's header dropping straight into the arms of Jackson at the far post

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The visitors took the lead for the first time in the evening on fifty-eight minutes as a pinpoint corner kick from Wilson on the left found the head of skipper Fenton, whose downward header from close-range was too powerful for Jackson to keep out of the net as the ball flew past him

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The shell-shocked Pitmen made their second change of the afternoon before the game could restart as player/manager Glover came on to add his physical presence to the attack as he came on in place of Graham

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You feared for the Pitmen at this point as they struggled to gather their composure and were creating very few openings, looking a little out of ideas in the final third of the pitch. Asomugha made a good run down the right wing on sixty-two minutes and cut inside from the byeline, but his attempted pull-back to Glover was cleared by Eratt-Thompson

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Patterson had to come to the Pitmen's rescue two minutes later as he hacked a bouncing ball off the line for the hosts as Wilson's corner kick was not cleared effectively by the Hednesford defence, with Lita once again looking to pounce

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Ilkeston could have put the game to bed on sixty-seven minutes as they hit the woodwork through Hallam, who had broken clear of the Hednesford defence down the right to latch onto a long pass from Wilson, striking a low shot at goal reminiscent of Lita's equaliser but seeing his effort cannon back off the base of the far post with Jackson beaten

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This was to prove the pivotal moment in the game as the hosts showed great character to pull themselves level once more on seventy minutes. Yeomans and Asomugha combined out on the right to cross for Glover, who pulled the ball out of the cold night sky before controlling the ball well and firing a half-volley beyond the reach of Hiddlestone from ten yards out

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Another one of Ilkeston's former Hednesford brigade made a return to the Keys Park pitch before the game could restart as former loanee Jack Thomas came on in the centre of midfield to replace Eratt-Thompson

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Hallam was wasteful with a wild effort on seventy-four minutes as he shanked an effort from a promising position just inside the penalty area well wide of goal and into the band of Ilkeston fans gathered behind Jackson's goal

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Connor Dixon followed Delap into the referee's notebook three minutes later as he was rightly sown a yellow card for a crude foul on Parker in the centre circle

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The Pitmen allowed Hallam too much time and space to get another shot away with ten minutes of the game remaining, standing off the striker as he picked up a pass from Fenton before turning past Portman and drilling in a shot at goal that was nicked wide of the target by the boot of the centre-back

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A minute later, Hallam was also shown a yellow card by Mr Walker for leaving his mark on Portman as the young defender looked to clear his lines coming out of defence

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Woakes made his Keys Park return with eight minutes of the game remaining as the ex-Tamworth winger was brought on by Ilson as he replaced Campbell, whilst the now-booked Hallam was also replaced by Lloyd Patterson

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With four minutes of the game remaining, the hosts made their final change of the evening as Portman fell heavily on the pitch just outside his own penalty area and was carried off after a spell of treatment, being replaced by McQuilkin for the remaining moments of the game. This saw striker Glover drop back into defence as the Pitmen's auxiliary centre-back with no other defensive options available

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Ilkeston were finishing the game the stronger of the two sides, looking to find a way through late on to earn the three points they needed to stay in the play-off hunt. Neat play involving O'Malley and Wilder down the left on eighty-eight minutes saw former Tamworth man Wilder send over a cross that was turned behind by Ethan Patterson as Lita looked to get goal side of him

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In the first of five minutes of added time, Thomas picked up Glover's headed clearance on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area and elected to try and find Wilson square of him rather than shoot. This allowed Yeomans to make a crucial covering tackle, smothering the ball away from the midfielder and clearing his lines

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Fenton picked up a late booking for an accumulation of fouls and constant moaning at Mr Walker throughout proceedings, finally convincing the match official to show him a yellow card in added time

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A third successive unbeaten game continues the tiny green shoots of improvement for the Pitmen as they make it five points from their last three games. Whilst it is very much too little too late for the hosts, it is pleasing for the loyal supporters to see their side competing well for the first time this season and taking regular points a long last. The Pitmen hit the road once more on Saturday when they make the trip down to mid-table Royston Town looking to make it a fourth unbeaten game in a row in the process

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Hednesford Town: Jackson, Yeomans, Morley ©, Agustien (Asomugha 45), E. Patterson, Portman (McQuilkin 86), Tilt, Parker, Graham (Glover 59), Brogan, Thorley     Sub Unused: Hartley, Williams

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Ilkeston Town: Hiddlestone, Wilson, Wilder, Eratt-Thompson (Thomas 71), Delap ▆, Fenton © ▆, Campbell (Woakes 82), Dixon ▆, Lita, Hallam ▆ (L. Patterson 82) O'Malley       Subs Unused: Hilton, Woodward

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