The Pitmen arrest their concerning slide in recent form this afternoon as they earn a useful, if uninspiring, point at Northern Premier League leaders Lancaster City

Having made the 340-mile round trip to Whitby Town on Tuesday night, the Pitmen and their supporters made their second long journey north in five days with a 230-mile round trip up the M6 to Lancashire. Gavin Hurren had been busy in the transfer market in the intervening days, bringing in midfielder Max Sheaf after he had left Vanarama National League side Gateshead, winger Jermaine Hilton and goalkeeper Xander Parke from Leek Town. Sheaf was one of two changes to the XI that had started at Whitby as he replaced Dan Trickett-Smith in midfield, with Ryan Wynter passed fit to return to the side in defence ahead of Kieron Freeman

Table-toppers Lancaster - unbeaten in their last ten league games - had picked up a 1-0 at Leek Town last weekend to move three points clear at the top of the Northern Premier League table. Dolly Blues manager Jimmy Marshall made one change to his side for today’s return to the Giant Axe as Jim Craig came in up front for Christian Sloan

In front of Lancaster’s largest crowd of the season so far - 1,003 - the hosts looked to start on the front foot as a quickly-taken corner kick in the second minute from Sam Bailey found Bobby Bjork, whose pull-back to Joe Amison was blocked and cleared by Ollie Harrison before the midfielder could get his shot away

The Pitmen responded through top scorer Ahkeem Rose three minutes later, with the burly striker picking the ball up from deep and driving at Toby Oliver, only to see his low driven effort from the edge of the box blocked by the defender

A foul on Steven Yawson by Harrison earned Lancaster a free-kick twenty yards from goal in the seventh minute, with Sam Bailey striking a dipping, curling effort at goal that was a touch too high as it drifted over Tony Breeden’s crossbar

On a narrow and seemingly unmowed Giant Axe pitch, the Pitmen looked to exploit space down the left as Chris Hussey made a driving run down the flank on ten minutes, chipping a cross to the back post where Dom McHale arrived late to challenge Dylan Thompson for the ball but headed well, well wide of the target

Two minutes later, the Pitmen were denied an opening due to an offside flag against Montel Gibson after the striker had got in behind Oliver and chested down a pass from McHale, only to have been guilty of moving a little too quickly as the ball was played

Yawson and Lawson combined to create a good chance for the home side in the seventeenth minute as neat interplay between the pair saw Lawson drive in a low shot from fifteen yards out that forced Breeden into a save low down to his right to push the ball away. The rebound ran kindly to Charlie Bailey, who followed the ball in at the far post but lifted his rebound high over the crossbar. The midfielder followed he ball in with such vigour that he collided with Breeden’s right-hand post, prompting a lengthy spell of treatment for the player before he could continue

The Pitmen had really struggled to create much in the way of any real openings in the opening quarter of the game, despite Rose and Gibson working hard in chasing down the Lancaster defence and dragging the back line out of shape with their movement. Hussey again looked to offer width for the visitors down the left on twenty-one minutes, making a superb run down the flank and showing some neat footwork to step past Sam Bailey twice before seeing his teasing cross towards Rose that was headed behind by Oliver for a corner kick

McHale fluffed the game’s best opportunity thus far on twenty-four minutes, somehow turning Rose’s low cross over the crossbar from close range at the far post after good work from the striker saw him get to the left-hand byeline and pull the ball back across the face of goal

Two minutes later, Lancaster had arguably their best chance of the game as well as Sam Bailey made a great run down the right flank and crossed for Dylan Moonan, who got up ahead of Wynter but glanced his effort from close range wide of Breeden’s far post

Charlie Bailey was still feeling the ill effects of colliding with the post a few moments earlier and was finally forced off on the half-hour mark as he was replaced by Matty Clarke

Wynter very much took ‘one for the team’ on thirty-three minutes as he floored Yawson with a crude tackle that ensured that the forward couldn’t run into space in front of him and was booked for the challenge

Another mazy run from McHale on thirty-six minutes saw the playmaker take Sheaf’s pass and dribble past two Lancaster players and shape to shoot. With a pass to Gibson the more logical option, McHale elected to shoot instead and allowed Oliver to make a block tackle just outside the penalty area

With five minutes of the first half remaining, Harrison finally tested the reflexes of Lancaster goalkeeper Brad Kelly as he rose highest to head Hussey’s outswinging corner kick towards goal but didn’t get enough on his effort and made it an easy stop for the former Rochdale man

In the first of three added minutes, McHale and Joe Doyle-Charles lined up on the right flank, with Doyle-Charles playing a deep all over the heads of both Rose and Gibson, finding Hussey in space on the opposite side of the penalty area. After stepping inside, Hussey looked to drive the ball back into the six-yard box but saw his cross cleared by the covering Clarke

It hadn’t exactly been a riveting encounter so far it has to be said, with chances at an absolute premium at both ends of the pitch. The return of Wynter to the defensive ranks had certainly proved a massive plus for the Pitmen, who had looked considerably more organised and rigid at the back against a shot-shy Lancaster attack

Thompson picked up the home side’s first booking of the afternoon on fifty-four minutes as he was rightly shown a yellow card for sending McHale sprawling out on the Hednesford right. Hussey’s resultant ball into the box picked out Harrison once more, but the centre-back’s flick-on drifted well wide of goal

The Pitmen moved early on in the half to make a tactical shift, with new signing Hylton - a former Swindon Town, Motherwell and Ross County winger - coming on in place of Sheaf on fifty-five minutes

Two minutes later, Sheaf was played into a pocket of space as the Pitmen quickly worked the ball across the penalty area from left to right through Gibson and Rose. The new boy took a touch but made the mistake of dallying on his shot, electing to take another touch instead before shooting at goal and bobbling a weak effort straight at Kelly from the edge of the penalty area

Maye was the latest player to incur the wrath of the referee, picking up the game’s latest yellow card on fifty-eight minutes for bringing Craig down on the halfway line

The quality of football on offer continued to disappoint, with both sides lumping aimless balls forward for a short spell that both goalkeepers fielded with ease. Hylton showed some neat footwork for the way side on sixty-two minutes with a mazy run past both Bailey and Bjork before running out of pitch before he could pull the ball back to Rose

Lancaster made a double personnel change midway through the second half as Lewis Mansell replaced Lawson and debutant Adam Fairclough - signed on loan from local rivals Morecambe in midweek - came on for Craig

Hussey took it upon himself to rate a chance for the Pitmen on sixty-seven minutes as he made a driving run in from the left into space; with play opening up in front of him, the veteran let fly from twenty yards out but screwed his effort well wide of goal

Dan Turner was given a chance to offer some much-needed attacking flair to proceedings on sixty-eight minutes as the former Chester man was brought on in place of Gibson up front

A neat passage of passing play from the Pitmen on seventy-two minutes saw Hylton, Turner and Doyle-Charles all involved in playing the ball into the feet of McHale, whose left-footed drive from fifteen yards out flashed just wide of Kelly’s left-hand post

With fifteen minutes remaining, Hylton and Hussey exchanged passes out on the left, with Hussey's cross towards Rose picked up by McHale on the right; he laid the ball back into the path of Morgan, whose deep cross drifted over the heads of everyone in white as it ended up out of play

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Breeden had had very little to do for the Pitmen but produced a wonderful save to deny Fairclough a debut goal on seventy-nine minutes, making a wonderful flying save to his left to push Fairclough’s shot from sixteen yards out away from goal and handing Lancaster a corner kick

Two minutes later, Rose did brilliantly to get goal side of Oliver as he made his way into the right-hand side of the penalty area to pick up a through ball from McHale; after taking a touch, Rose drove in a powerful rising shot that ruffled the side-netting on its way out of play

Lancaster made another substitution on eighty-two minutes as Yawson’s game was brought to a close, replaced by former Workington striker Nic Evangelinos

Despite offering very little as an attacking force for the majority of the afternoon. Lancaster looked to nick the points late on with a late flurry of set-pieces. On eighty-five minutes, Bailey’s deep corner from the left was headed goalwards by Oliver at the far post, but his effort lacked any sort of power and was easily claimed by Breeden

The Dolly Blues’ final change of the afternoon came with three minutes of normal time remaining as ex-Blackpool youngster Charlie Cox came on to play on the left as he replaced Bjork

Cox looked to have a late impact for the hosts in the first of four added minutes, picking the ball up in acres of space to the left of the Hednesford penalty area and looping in a shot at goal that Breeden had to tap over the crossbar for a corner kick

Bailey’s corner kick was played deep to the far post, where Oliver headed the ball back across the face of goal. A scrum inside the six-yard box saw the Pitmen finally clear their lines through Maye, sending Hylton away down the left flank. The substitute tricked his way past Clarke and looked to pick Turner out with a clever reverse ball that didn’t quite have enough on it and was cleared by some desperate cover in defending from Lancaster

In truth, neither side can really claim that they had done enough to take all three points in what had been a largely nondescript ninety minutes of football. The Pitmen now face another ten-day break from match action before they finally return to Keys Park a week on Tuesday with the visit of Stockton Town. With two training sessions between now and then, it is hoped that this will give the recent flurry of new signings a chance to really bed in and help push the Pitmen’s flagging league campaign forward once more

Lancaster City: Kelly, S. Bailey, Thompson ▆, Amison, Oliver, C. Bailey © (Clarke 30), Moonan, Bjork (Cox 87), Lawson (Mansell 65), Craig (Fairclough 65), Yawson (Evangelinos 82)     Subs unused: none

Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan, Hussey, Maye ▆, Harrison, Wynter ▆, Rose, Doyle-Charles, Gibson (Turner 68), McHale ©, Sheaf (Hylton 55)       Subs unused: Freeman, Trickett-Smith, Parke

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