A nervy, disjointed first-half performance from the Pitmen sees them get their National League North campaign off to a losing start with defeat in South Wales this afternoon 

A new season brings yet another new division for the Pitmen - their third in succession starting in a different league - and a huge amount of changes, both on and off the pitch. Having turned professional in the summer, there had been a huge turnover of playing staff with no fewer than nine players making their debuts today; only Omari Sterling-James and Liam Kinsella started today’s game from the remnants of last season’s play-off-winning team

Merthyr themselves had undergone something of a summer of change too, with the Martyrs losing some of their key men who finished eighth in the table last season. Manager Paul Michael had been busy in the transfer market over the summer, bringing in Lloyd Humphries (Eastleigh), Jacob Maddox (Yeovil Town), Ben Margetson (Barry Town), Kane Simpson and Elis Watts (Gloucester City), Will Spiers (Cardiff City), Iwan John (Caerphilly) and Jay Foulston (Torquay United); five made their full debuts in the starting XI, with another two amongst the substitutes

On a beautifully warm and sunny afternoon, much in keeping with your typical opening day weather, a superb crowd of just shy of 1,800 greeted both sides, who didn’t have to wait long for the first action of the afternoon. In the third minute, Merthyr broke quickly down the left through Sam Pearson, whose cleverly threaded through ball to Maddox caught Aaron Hayden out as the centre-back tried to track back and recover his ground; Maddox only needed one touch, turning the ball past advancing Sam Hornby from six yards out and into the unguarded net. A terrible start for the league newcomers

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The hosts pressed again in the eighth minute as a neat passage of play saw them work the ball across the pitch from Spiers to Kieran Evans and then on to the dangerous Pearson; his skill took him past George Langston before a cross towards Simpson was cut out by a panicked clearance from Niall Maher

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Two minutes later, Merthyr broke down the right-hand side through Simpson, who did well to hold off Hayden's challenge before laying the ball off to Kieran Evans, whose low driven effort from sixteen yards out skipped inches wide of Hornby's left-hand post

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It had been one-way traffic in the opening fifteen minutes of play as Merthyr continued to dominate both possession and chances; on thirteen minutes, Pearson picked the ball up from Fouslton before looking to play a quick one-two with Maddox; the ball was cleared as far as Aneurin Livermore, whose dipping effort from twenty-five yards out beat Hornby but just cleared the goalkeeper's crossbar

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The Pitmen's first real foray into the Merthyr half came on seventeen minutes as an Omari-Sterling-James free-kick from the right was played to the far post, looking for Aaron Jarvis and Langston, only for Merthyr's Australian stopper Jaimie Cogman to make the claim

Kinsella picked up the Pitmen’s first booking of the afternoon on twenty-one minutes as he was shown a yellow card for bringing the flying Pearson down on the Pitmen's left touchline. Pearson had a lengthy spell of treatment from the medical staff before gingerly returning to play

Merthyr were forced into making the game’s first change of the afternoon as Pearson was unable to shake the knock that he had received in the clash with Kinsella, hobbling off and being replaced by Morgan Wigley

The away side felt that they had a very legitimate claim for a penalty kick a minute later as Jamie Cooke made a darting run into the six-yard box to reach a Dale Gorman free-kick, going down in the area under a challenge from Pearson. Despite the protests from the visitors, the referee was unmoved and play continued with a corner kick given to the Pitmen

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With the corner dealt with by Merthyr, the Pitmen recycled the ball well on the left-hand side, with Cirino and Gorman patently keeping the ball before Gorman sent over a deep cross to the far post that was met by Jarvis, whose tame effort was easily saved by Cogman

Lenni Cirino made a powerful run down the left for the Pitmen on thirty-two minutes, beating Livermore for pace and sending over a fine outswinging cross that was just a touch too high for anyone in a navy blue shirt to meet inside the six-yard box

A minute later, Hornby denied Merthyr a second goal with a fine stop to deny Simpson, sticking his leg out to divert the striker's low angled effort away after Maher had been beaten for pace by the experienced forward 

The Pitmen’s ploy of trying to get in at half-time only one goal down was undone on forty-four minutes as their defensive fragility struck once more. It was another ball over the top that caused the away side issues, with Maher this time making a complete hash of his attempted clearance, allowing a long, searching ball from Foulston to drop behind him and into the path of Maddox once more, who outmuscled the former Eastleigh man with ease before clipping the ball over Hornby once more from eight yards out and into the empty net. Easy for Maddox, desperately poor from the visitors

It had been the stuff of nightmares for the Ptmen so far, who had looked disjointed and completely off the pace so far against a neat, tidy Merthyr side that had pressed high and moved the ball quickly around a very lacklustre Hednesford midfield to create openings for their front men. Despite this, Davis resisted the temptation to make a half-time change, giving his players fifteen minutes to react at the start of the second half instead

Davis got something of a reaction from his players early on in proceedings as they pressed Merthyr back into their own half for the opening five minutes of the half - Jarvis tested the reactions of Cogman again within sixty seconds of the restart as he climbed highest at the far post to meet a deep free-kick from Cirino on the left flank, but headed fairly tamely into the stopper’s hands once more

 

More good play from the Pitmen three minutes later saw Cirino and Kinsella link up to play Jamie Cooke into space, with the ever-willing running of the former Halifax forward snuffed out by a timely clearance by Foulston for a Hednesford corner kick

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Merthyr did well to weather the early second half storm from the visitors and settled back into a rhythm of patient, accurate passing from back to front, left to right as they forced the men in navy blue to chase around on the 4G surface. Cooke and Jarvis were left fighting for scraps with very little supply line from the disappointing trio of Sterling-James, Mottley-Henry and Gorman

Having seen enough from his mis-firing side, Davis made a triple change on the hour mark as Aaron Harper-Bailey replaced the unconvincing Hayden, Jay Fitzmartin replaced Cirino down the left and recent signing David Abimbola came on for Sterling-James up front

Fitzmartin wasted no time in getting involved just a minute later, making a mazy run down the left and fizzing in a fine cross from the byeline that Abimbola couldn't turn goalwards inside the six-yard box as Merthyr struggled to clear their lines. The ball was won back in midfield by the Pitmen and worked back out to Fitzmartin, whose return cross was headed over the crossbar by a looping effort from Abimbola from seven yards out

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Good play again from Merthyr on sixty-six minutes saw Cogman play the ball out from the back, with the hosts confidently playing around the Hednesford attack with ease before springing a forward ball to Simpson, who was denied a clear shot at goal by an important challenge on him from Maher on the edge of the box before he could shoot

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Simpson felt a little aggrieved that further punishment wasn't handed out to Langston on sixty-nine minutes as he was brought down to the right of the Hednesford penalty area after running onto a pass from Spiers, but the referee took a different view and allowed play to continue instead

Mottley-Henry - who had struggled to get into the game throughout - produced a brilliant moment on seventy-two minutes with a powerful run down the right, standing up a cross for Jarvis at the far post who tried to bundle the ball home at the far post, only to be denied by Cogman's smothering save on the line 

 

Livermore was denied a spectacular opening-day goal by Hornby two minutes later, as the defender's well-struck free-kick from just outside the Hednesford penalty area was acrobatically turned over the crossbar by the former Walsall stopper

Merthyr made a further personnel change on seventy-seven minutes as summer signing Watts came on for his first-team debut as he replaced Kieran Evans

Sixty seconds later, the Pitmen made their final two changes of the afternoon as Jai Curran-Nicholls replaced Gorman in midfield and new signing Will Merry came on up front for Jarvis

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The Pitmen's afternoon was probably best summed up on eighty-two minutes as they worked the ball well to the right-hand side, with Curran-Nicholls doing really well to get in behind the Merthyr defence and pull the ball back into the path of Merry, whose neat touch and shot at goal was cleared off the line by the backtracking Jay Williams

On eighty-four minutes, the Martyrs made two further changes to their team as they looked to run the clock down - Humphries replaced Livermore in defence, whilst veteran former Swansea City defender Lee Lucas came on for Maddox

 

Two minutes later, Cogman claimed another Merry effort with ease after the former Southampton youngster's effort was deflected into the arms of the former Cardiff City stopper

 

Wigley almost put a gloss finish on the afternoon for the home side as he broke quickly into the Hednesford box on eighty-nine minutes but was denied a shot at goal by a last-ditch challenge on him from Langston

In the first of four added minutes, Merthyr made their final change of the game as club legend Matt Harris replaced Simpson for the remaining moments of added time

A lot of harsh lessons had been learned by the Pitmen and Davis on matchday one, least of all that there will be no perceived weak teams in this division; for all of the club’s riches and backing, the majority of sides at step two will prove highly competitive and the players will have to match the desire and hunger of the other teams to ensure success. There has been a feeling amongst the fanbase that perhaps the players haven’t played enough football over pre-season and that some of the relationships haven’t yet been built (it was the first time Hayden, Langston and Maher had played together as a defence, for example), so it appears that a longer bedding-in period may be needed. Next up - Scarborough Athletic at Keys Park next weekend
 

Merthyr Town: Cogman, Foulston, Livermore (Humphries 84), Margetson, Maddox (Lucas 84), Simpson (Harris 90+1), Pearson (Wigley 26), J. Evans ©, K. Evans (Watts 77), Williams, Spiers      Subs unused: Thomas, Smerdon

Hednesford Town: Hornby, Langston, Hayden (Harper-Bailey 60), Cooke, Gorman © (Curran-Nicholls 78), Jarvis (Merry 78), Sterling-James (Abimbola 60), Mottley-Henry, Kinsella ▆, Cirino (Fitzmartin 60), Maher      Subs unused: Parke, Sharples

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