The Pitmen make it five games unbeaten at Keys Park this afternoon as they beat Kings Langley by a solitary Steph Morley goal and condemn their visitors to relegation in the process

 

Bank Holiday Monday's defensive display against play-off chasing Rushall Olympic had extended Hednesford's impressive recent run of results at home to four games, three of which had seen them keep clean sheets. Player/manager Danny Glover made one defensive change to his personnel for this - the second of three home games in succession - as Ben Kaninda replaced Harvey Portman a centre-back. Despite his red card in the Rushall game, Chay Tilt kept his place in the XI for today's game

 

Nineteenth-placed Kings Langley made the long journey up from Hertfordshire in desperate need of a positive result to keep them in contention with the clubs directly above them in the table. Manager Chris Winton made one change of his own for today's crucial game as Sami Bessadi came in up front ahead of Liam Sole

 

The Keys Park pitch was heavy and soft underneath after a prolonged spell of wet weather in the past three days but eminently playable ahead of kick-off. The visitors - keen to get going as they looked to earn themselves that win required to stay in the hunt - had the first chance of the game in the third minute as the dangerous Wilson De Carvalho was afforded too much time and space as he darted into the penalty area to latch onto a pass from skipper Jorrell Johnson, firing in a shot that was pushed away by Oliver Basey at his near post. The ball ran to the incoming Bessadi, who scuffed his effort well wide

 

Two minutes later, Isaac Galliford was the player given too much time to line up a long-range effort from twenty-five yards out, lifting his fiercely-struck effort narrowly over Basey's crossbar

 

A neat piece of passing from the Pitmen saw them enter the Kings Langley penalty area for the first time in the game on seven minutes as Zac Hartley was played into space down the right flank by James McQuilkin. The right-back got past Alex Lafleur but sent his cross over the bar as he looked to pick Jordan Graham out in the six-yard box

 

Tilt did well to jink his way down the left flank for the Pitmen in the ninth minute, making some room for himself before seeing his cross deflected behind for a corner kick. The winger took the resultant kick and looked to pick out Ethan Patterson at the far post but found Galliford in the way with a towering clearance

 

The away side continued to look to spring quick breaks on the counter-attack against the Pitmen, with De Carvalho a constant threat as he looked to drag Patterson and Kaninda out of position. The former Corby Town striker made a strong run into the penalty area on thirteen minutes but was denied a clear shot at goal by some excellent tracking back by skipper Steph Morley

 

More patient possession from Hednesford in the fifteenth minute saw them work the ball from right to left across the face of the penalty area through Todd Parker and Asomugha and into the path of Tilt, who was beginning to get the better of Kings Langley right-back Ethan Light. The former Stourbridge winger cut inside and took the ball around the defender before chipping the ball into the penalty area, where Glover was unable to get enough on his header as the visitors scrambled the ball clear

 

On twenty minutes, it was the turn of Asomugha to take the ball down the flank for the Pitmen as the winger picked up Hartley's throw-in down the right and looked to pull the ball back to the incoming Graham, who had the ball taken off his toes by some alert defending from Ezekiel Danso

 

The Pitmen were growing into the game and you felt that there could be a goal incoming as they looked to find that killer pass into the Kings Langley penalty area. Morley's free-kick on twenty-three minutes was whipped into the box from the left and flicked on by Glover towards Patterson once more, only for Johsnon to clear the danger with a no-nonsense clearance

 

The Pitmen were handed a chance to put themselves into the lead on twenty-seven minutes as they were awarded a penalty kick by referee Mr Shepherd. Asomugha made a driving run into the Kings Langley penalty area down the right as he was fed by Glover's clever through ball before taking a tumble in the box under a challenge from Lefleur. Mr Shepherd took a long, hard look at it, standing just outside the penalty area, before pointing to the spot. Kings Langley's players and officials surrounded the officials as they felt that the award of the penalty was soft, but the decision had been made. Glover showed some interest in taking the spot-kick but allowed Morley to take the penalty, with the experienced left-back firing beyond the reach of goalkeeper Jack Berman to make it 1-0

 

Kings Langley looked to strike straight back on the half-hour mark as they broke quickly in numbers through Johnson, whose slide-rule pass to De Carvalho was stopped by the assistant on the main stand side as he raised an offside flag against the striker

 

A superb following move from the Pitmen four minutes later almost conjured up a second goal of the game as a superbly crafted pass from the excellent McQuilkin found Tilt in acres of space on the left-hand side of the Kings Langley penalty area; his low cross found the incoming Glover, whose goalbound effort was turned around the post by the boot of Danso for a corner kick

 

Morley's resultant corner kick was sent over to the far post where it was met by the firm head of Patterson, who rose above Berman and Galliford but headed narrowly wide of goal from six yards out

 

The away side's early threats going forwards had started to dissipate as the half had gone on, with the Hednesford defence looking to keep its fourth clean sheet at home in their last five games - something that would have been unthinkable earlier in the campaign - Patterson and Morley had looked solid and resolute on the left-hand side of the back line, whilst Basey had claimed everything that had been thrown at him in the air so far

 

Indeed, the Pitmen looked the more likely to add to their tally as the half entered its final five minutes as another Morley cross found Asomugha on the right-hand side of the box on thirty-nine minutes, with the former West Brom man bringing the ball down but sending his cross straight into the side netting from a promising position

 

A mistake from Kaninda almost allowed Kings Langley a chance on forty-three minutes as a momentary lack of concentration from the centre-back saw him dispossessed by De Carvalho before Patterson managed to do enough to put the player off before he could shoot

 

In the final minute of the first half, Asomugha was handed a great chance to grab his first Hednesford goal as he was played into the Kings Langley penalty area by Graham's flick but once again got his angles all wrong as he drove his shot wide of Berman's left-hand post

 

It had been a fairly entertaining but largely low-quality first forty-five minutes, with the Pitmen just about edging their lead at the break having defended stoutly again and limiting their opponents to a handful of half-chances. Goalscorer Morley was replaced at the break, presumably due to a knock picked up, as Portman came on in his place at left-back

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The lively De Carvalho looked to get his side going early in the second period as he broke quickly down the middle of the park to latch onto a pass from Leon Chambers-Parillon but was ajudged to have been offside when he made his move towards the ball by the assistant on the Wimblebury side of the ground

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On forty-nine minutes, new skipper Parker took responsibility with an inswinging free-kick from the left that was met by the head of Graham, who looped his effort over the crossbar at the far post from eight yards out

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Danso - guilty of several niggly fouls in the first half - was finally shown a yellow card by Mr Shepherd on fifty-one minutes as he was booked by the match official after bringing Graham down just inside the Kings Langley half

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Two minutes later, an outswinging corner from Zac Hartley was cleared as far as Glover, who controlled the ball well just outside the penalty area before striking a low shot at goal that was deflated away by an errant Kings Langley boot

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You felt that Mr Shepherd was as likely to even things up with regards soft decisions, and so it proved as the official awarded Kings Langley their own contentious penalty kick on fifty-five minutes. Asomugha turned from hero to villain as he chased down De Carvalho to the right-hand side of the Hednesford penalty area, clashing with the Portuguese forward and sending the former Kettering Town man sprawling to the floor. Despite there being minimal contact, Mr Shepherd pointed to the spot once more, much to the displeasure of the home players and supporters. De Carvalho dusted himself down and spotted the ball up for the resultant penalty kick but saw Basey guess right, with the Birmingham City loanee pushing the ball away low down to his right-hand side

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Danso was walking a bit of a tightrope with Mr Shepherd and was handed a final warning by the official on fifty-seven minutes after another petty foul, this time to stop McQuilkin from moving forwards in the centre circle

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Parker joined Danso in the referee's notebook a minute later as the Hednesford midfielder was rightly booked for bringing down Johnson with a mistimed challenge

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A minute later, the hosts made their second change of the game as Asomugha's mixed afternoon on the right flank was brought to an end as he was replaced by West Bromwich Albion's young loanee midfielder Fenton Heard. 

 

Kings Langley made their first change of the game shortly after the hour mark as they looked to try and get back on level terms as young striker Frederick Buers came on in place of midfielder Danso, who was most likely taken off before he was sent off

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The Pitmen were content to keep the ball for long periods of the game, limiting Kings Langley's possession and sheilding their defence well through Parker and McQuilkin's quality on the ball. Portman made a move down the left flank for the hosts on sixty-four minutes and played a one-two with Tilt before seeing his cross turned behind by Galliford for a Hednesford corner

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Midway through the second half, De Carvalho played the ball out to Cain Keller on the left, whose looping cross was claimed well by Basey at his far post ahead of the incoming Bessadi

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On sixty-nine minutes, the Pitmen made their final substitution of the afternoon as the experienced Kemy Agustien came on to add more cover to the Hednesford defence as he replaced Graham. The visitors also made a change at this juncture as Joseph Chidyausiku came on in place of Chambers-Parillon

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Glover made a timely interception inside his own six-yard box on seventy-one minutes as a corner kick from the right-hand side dropped at his feet, with the Pitmen's gaffer hacking the ball away from the clutches of De Carvalho

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Patient build-up play from the Pitmen on seventy-five minutes saw the ball worked down the left wing to Tilt, who in turn played the ball into the path of Glover; his lay-off to Agustien saw the veteran midfielder drill a low effort inches wide of Berman's left-hand post from twenty-five yards out

 

Two minutes later, Tilt did well once more down the right wing as he took the ball past Lefleur and stood up a cross into the six yard box that was headed narrowly over the bar by the incoming McQuilkin

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Kings Langley responded with a quick break of their own a minute later as Chidyausiku's lay-off to Keller was pulled back to Bessadi, whose shot was blocked and subsequently cleared by Patterson

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The final ten minutes saw the game open as both sides looked to play on the counter-attatck, only for several moments of bad decision-making or sheer tired limbs limiting the clear-cut chances. On eighty-three minutes, Tilt broke down the right as McQuilkin's long ball palyed him in behind the Kings Langley defence, only for the winger to elect to try and pick out Glover with an ambitious angled pass that was cleared

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Two minutes later, Keller and Buers exchanged passes on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area but a slack first touch from the substitute saw Portman clear his lines

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Another counter form the hosts on eighty-seven minutes saw Tilt make ground once more down the right flank, only for his attempted pull-back to McQuilkin turned behind by the covering Galliford for a corner kick that was claimed by Berman

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Another morale-boosting result for the Pitmen, who maintain a gap to bottom-placed AFC Rushden & Diamonds and could now finish as high as third bottom if they can produce positive results in their final two games of the season. Needham Market make the long trip up to Keys Park from Suffolk on Thursday night before the Pitmen end their rotten season with their own trip to Suffolk as they travel to title-chasing Leiston

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Hednesford Town: Basey, Hartley, Morley © (Portman 45), McQuilkin, Kaninda, Patterson, Asomugha (Heard 59), Parker ▆, Glover, Graham (Agustien 69), Tilt     Subs Unused: Sang, Williams

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Kings Langley: Berman, Light, Lafleur, Galliford, Danso ▆ (Buers 61), Johnson ©, Chambers-Parillon (Chidyausiku 69), Okoye-Aheneku, De Carvalho, Bessadi, Keller      Subs Unused: Georgiou, Tokarczyk, Amu

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