​A sensational final few minutes at Keys Park sees the Pitmen snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with two injury-time goals to defeat a resilient Ilkeston Town side this evening
 
Returning home following a battling 2-2 draw at Warrington Rylands at the weekend, manager Gavin Hurren rewarded Nathan Blissett for his goalscoring cameo on Saturday with a first start of the season as he replaced Dan Trickett-Smith, whilst Ollie Harrison returned to the back line ahead of Kieron Freeman.  The third change was forced upon Hurren as Joel Taylor was ruled out with a hamstring injury and replaced by the fit-again Ahkeem Rose
 
Ilkeston had made a mixed start to the new campaign, with Ian Deakin’s side having lost their last two league games against Whitby Town and Bamber Bridge. Deakin made just the one change to his Ilson side for tonight’s journey to South Staffordshire as veteran striker Craig Daniel came in for recent signing Essa Janneh
 
Backed by another highly impressive midweek crowd, the Pitmen looked to make a bright start to proceedings back on their majestic Keys Park pitch; in the second minute, Dom McHale picked up Sam Essien’s attempted headed clearance just inside the penalty area, working it onto his left boot but lifting his shot high over goalkeeper Adam Wharton’s crossbar
 
McHale went even closer to opening the scoring two minutes later as he latched onto Chris Hussey’s deep cross at the far post and fired inches over the crossbar once more with a well-hit effort from the edge of the penalty area
 
The Robins looked to utilise the pace and trickery of L’Varn Brandy and Dylan Youmbi on either flank on the counter-attack, with Youmbi making a driving run into the Hednesford box down the right flank in the sixth minute, cutting inside past Chris Hussey but driving his low effort into the side-netting rather than cutting it back to the incoming Robbie Fox
 
Wharton did well to spot a dangerous-looking ball forward from Tony Breeden in the ninth minute as the veteran stopper punted a long ball over the top of the Ilson defence and into the path of Jake Jervis, who was denied a clear shot at goal by a smothering save by former Gainsborough stopper Wharton just inside his box
 
Two minutes later, McHale was denied a clear shot at goal by Jamie Walker as another deep cross from Hussey found the Magic Man at the far post, only for McHale to be denied by a late hooked clearance from the former Alfreton Town man before he could get a shot away
 
Rose went closest to breaking the deadlock for the Pitmen in the twelfth minute, rising highest at the near post to glance Ryan Wynter’s long throw just past the near post as he beat Tom Marshall to the ball
 
Another quick break from the away side in the sixteenth minute saw Brandy and Fox link up down the left, with Fox breaking into the penalty area and forced Wynter into a sliding challenge to turn the ball behind for a corner kick to Ilson
 
Right-back Jordan Stevens played a quick one-two with Fox from the resultant corner, swinging in a fine cross from the left that drifted over the heads of all of the incoming players in the six-yard box and wide of the far post
 
Rose was looking lively for the Pitmen, looking to play off the shoulder of Marshall and chase onto any long balls in behind the Ilkeston defence. On twenty minutes, the former Grimsby Town striker raced onto Blissett’s flick-on to get goal side of the Ilson captain, but was to be denied a clear shot at goal by a last-ditch block tackle from the experienced centre-back
 
A minute later, Joss Labadie forced Wharton into a save as the midfielder struck a first-time effort from just outside the Ilson box that forced the stopper into a save down to his left to push the ball away at a comfortable height
 
The Pitmen looked to catch Ilkeston out with a quick and incisive counter-attack in the twenty-sixth minute as Jamie Morgan and McHale linked up to send Blissett away into acres of space down the right; Joe Doyle-Charles had made a superb run into the box, with Blissett looking to hook the ball onto the midfielder that would have played him clean through on goal. However, Blissett’s ball lacked enough power on it and was cut out by the backtracking Sam Parker
 
Ilkeston’s best chance of the game so far fell to Marshall on thirty-two minutes; a free kick from Stevens into the Hednesford box was met by Marshall, whose angled shot was pushed away by Breeden at his near post to hand the visitors a corner kick
 
Rose used his pace and power to good effect a minute later, out-muscling Stevens down the left as he latched onto a pass from Labadie, but pulled his low shot well wide of the far post with a scuffed effort across the face of Wharton’s goal
 
More good wing play from the nippy Brandy on thirty-five minutes saw him skip past the challenge of Hussey and pull the ball back into the box from the byeline, which was hacked clear by Harrison before Fox could capitalise 
 
With six minutes of a keenly contested first half remaining, Hussey made one of his driving runs into the Ilkeston half, taking the ball twenty yards forward before being tripped by Essien. The veteran defender swung in the resultant free kick but saw his ball in towards Wynter and Harrison headed clear
 
A couple of minutes later, McHale earned the hosts a free kick on the opposite side of the pitch, drawing a foul out of Walker thirty yards from goal. Hussey elected to try his luck from long range with the free kick, striking a firm effort at goal that was blocked by Brandy
 
A frantic end to the half saw Labadie strike a low shot just wide of goal from the edge of the penalty area in the final minute of the half, followed seconds later by a quick Ilkeston break culminating in Colin Daniel also striking a driven effort a couple of feet wide of Breeden’s left-hand post
 
It had been a fairly evenly-matched first period, with both sides lacking that bit of quality in the final third of the pitch to force home their advantage. The Pitmen had looked to play the ball long towards the giant figures of Blissett and Jervis, whilst Ilson had played a more expansive game as they looked to get in down the flanks through Brandy and Youmbi
 
Good play from Brandy on fifty minutes saw him wriggle his way into the Hednesford penalty area, drifting in from the left and attempting to get his shot away; however, the presence of both Wynter and the excellent Jamie Morgan managed to force the winger into a rushed effort that was deflected away from goal
 
Rose looked to get in behind the Ilkeston defence two minutes later as McHale’s delightfully cushioned pass played him in on goal; however, the striker had moved a little too early and was flagged offside by the assistant on the main stand side before he could get his shot away
 
McHale – much improved on his languid Saturday display – made another superb run and cross on fifty-six minutes, leaving Walker completely bamboozled with some clever footwork before sending over a superb cross to the far post. Stevens did well to deny Jervis a free header, glancing the cross away from the former Blues man before he could reach McHale’s teasing ball
 
Sixty seconds later, Hussey’s deep, inswinging corner kick from the right forced Wharton into urgent action, punching the ball away from the head of Wynter at the far post as he stretched backwards to get enough purchase on the cross
 
Ilkeston made the evening’s first substitution on fifty-eight minutes as Deakin looked to change things up with the introduction of former Shrewsbury Town striker Harvey Kirby-Moore in place of winger Brandy
 
More excellent defending from Ilkeston on sixty-two minutes saw Daniel drop back to help his defence, heading Hussey’s swerving free kick away at the far post to deny Harrison after Wharton had struggled to get to the cross coming in from the left
 
An injury to Labadie sparked a double change for the Pitmen a minute later after the Hednesford skipper had gone down inside his own penalty area; he limped off and was replaced by Simeon Mayer, with Jervis also hooked in favour of Dan Turner on the left flank
 
Fox went close for the visitors on sixty-seven minutes, finding space to the left of the Hednesford penalty area before striking a low, driven effort at goal that beat the fingertips of Breeden but skipped just wide of the post
 
Marshall picked up the game’s first booking of the evening from the very inconsistent referee Mr Pattison on seventy minutes for a clumsy late challenge on Rose
 
A minute later, Hurren rolled the dice once more in the final third as he brought birthday boy Trickett-Smith - 30 years old today - on to play in the hole as he replaced Rose
 
McHale was off target once more for the hosts on seventy-three minutes, once again making a move across the face of goal from the right before lifting his effort high and wide of goal and into the packed Heath Hayes terrace
 
With fifteen minutes remaining, Parker went close for Ilson as he rose highest to meet another good ball into the box from Stevens on the right, but glanced his header wide of goal under pressure from Hussey
 
There was an uneasy feeling around Keys Park that the visitors could force home a goal, with Stevens firing in another warning to the pedestrian hosts on seventy-seven minutes as he lifted a free-kick from the right of the Hednesford penalty area just over the crossbar
 
And so it proved, as the Pitmen were made to pay the price as Ilson took the lead on eighty-two minutes. It was the right boot of Stevens that was to do the damage as he lined up a free-kick to the left of the Hednesford penalty area, curling an inch-perfect free-kick beyond the despairing reach of Breeden and beating the stopper to his right, sparking wild celebrations amongst the forty or so Ilkeston fans behind the goal. Breeden will also have no doubt been disappointed with his positioning prior to the goal as well

Ilson’s goal fired the Pitmen up and woke them from their second-half slumber, with the home side camping inside the visitors’ half in search of a leveller. On eighty-five minutes, Hussey’s corner kick from the right was headed back to him, with his recycled cross to the far post headed agonisingly wide by Harrison, who was off-balance
 
A minute later, Hussey switched wings to deliver a cross from the left that looked to be drifting into the far corner of the net until Wharton intervened with a timely tip over the crossbar for a corner kick
 
Hussey took the resultant corner and looked to pick Wynter out, only for Walker to make a very timely block and clearance to deny the defender a clear chance
 
The Pitmen’s increased level of desperation saw them throw as many bodies into the box as possible in the six added minutes; a ball into the box from McHale in the third minute of added time was aimed at the head of Blissett, whose flick-on came back off the arm of Marshall as the pair came together on the penalty spot. Mr Pattison took a long, hard look at the incident before awarding the hosts a penalty kick, much to the dissatisfaction of Daniel, who picked up a yellow card for taking his protests a little too far. Hussey initially looked like he was to take the penalty, but instead opted to hand the ball to Turner, who was still looking for his first goal since returning to the club. The substitute showed no sign of nerves from twelve yards out, calmly slotting the ball past Wharton to bring the game level once more
 
Daniel was still fuming at the decision to award the Pitmen a penalty kick and continued his protest further with the match official, who grew tired of the veteran’s complaining and showed him a quickfire second yellow card, giving the former Port Vale man his marching orders before play could restart
 
With a couple of minutes still remaining and Ilkeston now desperately looking to hold on, the Pitmen pressed heavily in search of what would be a sensational late turnaround. McHale – always the man to create something from nothing – conjured up one of his moments of magic deep, deep into added time as he picked the ball up to the right of the penalty area, drifting inside in typical fashion before whipping in a shot to Wharton’s near post that appeared to catch the stopper on his heels, with Wharton unable to prevent McHale from finding the bottom corner of the net. Cue pandemonium in the stands and on the pitch from the Hednesford players, officials, and supporters
 
A scarcely believable end to what had been a largely forgettable game up to Stevens’ goal, forcing the hosts onto the front foot in the latter stages of the game after a disappointing and limp attacking display up to that point. You do get the feeling that the result puts a huge sticking plaster over the overall display, which will need to improve significantly at the weekend when the Pitmen take the short trip to Coleshill Town in the F.A. Cup if they are to avoid an unwanted upset at the hands of Harry Harris’s Colemen
 
Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan, Hussey, Harrison, Labadie © (Maye 63), Wynter, Rose (Trickett-Smith 71), Doyle-Charles, Blissett, McHale, Jervis (Turner 63)      Subs unused: Johnson, Brown
 
Ilkeston Town: Wharton, Stevens, Walker, Parker, Marshall © ▆, Dixon, Brandy (Kirby-Moore 58), Essien, Fox, Daniel ▆▆ (90+5), Youmbi       Subs unused: Thornhill, Sulkowski, Whyle, Janneh

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