At last! The Pitmen finally record their first league win of the 2023-2024 season this afternoon with a confident win over a poor Newcastle Town side at Keys Park to hand them three crucial points in their bid to escape the drop

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Manager Harry Harris had once again been active in the transfer market in midweek, making no fewer than three signings ahead of today's game; as widely expected, winger Dan Gyasi linked up with his former Walsall Wood manager once more after a short spell at Boldmere St. Michaels, whilst highly-rated young midfielder Max Martin had linked up with the club on a month's loan from Solihull Moors. The third signing of the week had seen Harris bring in a new striking option, snapping up the experienced Will Mellors-Blair after the 31-year-old had left Kettering Town. All three players came straight into the side for today's game as Gyasi replaced Joe Morley, Martin came in ahead of Demetri Brown and Mellors-Blair was a late addition after Ryan Boothe pulled up in the warm-up. The final of four changes came in central defence as the fit-again Josh Endall came in ahead of Ritchie Sutton

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Mid-table dwelling Newcastle - one of only two sides the Pitmen have beaten so far this season - made their first-ever league visit to Keys Park off the back of a tight 1-0 win over Vauxhall Motors last week, courtesy of a goal from former Hednesford loanee Dan Cockerline. Blues manager Paul Moore made three changes to his side for their trip to the south of the county as Daniel Harrison came in ahead of the injured Joe Slinn between the sticks, whilst Kyle Stubbs replaced Tommy Van Der Laan in defence and former Hednesford winger Reinaldo Forbes was preferred to Callum Speed on the left flank

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With positive news regarding the imminent takeover of the club spreading around Keys Park, there was a spring in the step of many Hednesford supporters as it appeared that the club was finally taking a turn in the right direction after seven difficult months on and off the pitch. This seemed to have transferred to the players, as the men in white started with authority looking for an early breakthrough. Jai Verma - Hednesford's star man in last week's draw against 1874 Northwich - was quickly into the action in the fourth minute as he picked up Jack Kelly's pass on the left, jinked his way past Roman Allen and forced young stopper Harrison into a smothering save down to his right, pushing the ball behind for a Hednesford corner kick

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Newcastle looked to the tricky Forbes for inspiration going forward, with the former Hednesford man picking the ball up wide on the left in the seventh minute, teasing his way past Lucas Yeomans but only succeeding in crossing straight into the arms of Kieran Boucher

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Three minutes later, Mellors-Blair exchanged passes with Verma and sent the winger away down the left, onyl for the assistant on the Wimblebury side of the ground to raise his flag for a tight offside call against the former Stoke City man as he looked to get past Allen once more

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The lanky Cockerline looked to ruffle the feathers of Michael Williams and Endall at the back, doing well to hold play up with his back to goal on eleven minutes after picking up a long throw from Stubbs and laying the ball off to Jack Van Der Laan, who skewed his effort high and wide of goal from twenty yards out

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Forbes was enjoying his match-up against former team-mate Yeomans, running at the right-back at every opportunity. However, a clash between the pair just inside the Hednesford half on fourteen minutes saw the winger come off worst in a coming-together between the pair that required a lengthy bout of treatment before the winger could continue

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Verma was being fed the ball by the hosts at every opportunity in a bid to make the breakthrough, with the lively forward working his way into a pocket of space on seventeen minutes and shooting from twenty-five yards out with the powerfully struck low effort that Harrison did well to hold down to his right

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A minute later, more woeful, wasteful set-piece action from the Pitmen saw Tom Thorley play a short corner to Kelly, whose cross was easily claimed by Harrison on his six-yard line with no one in white looking to attack the ball

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The Pitmen were spending more and more time in the Newcastle third of the pitch and you did get a sense that a goal may be coming at this stage. On twenty-one minutes, that man Verma once again led Allen a merry dance down the left, showing some superb wing wizardry to get past the full-back and stand up a cross to the far post, where the tall figure of Martin arrived late with a downward header that looked to be heading for the far corner of the net until a brilliant one-handed save from Harrison denied him, turning the ball up and over the crossbar for a corner kick. A superb, Gordon Banks-esque save from the young stopper

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More Hednesford pressure saw them force successive corner kicks out of Newcastle midway through the first period, with both Thorley and Kelly yet again wasting good openings from corner kicks as the visitors stood firm inside their own six-yard box with timely clearances

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On twenty-six minutes, the hosts worked the ball quickly out of defence and down the left to Verma once more via Thorley, with the winger cutting inside from the touchline and seeing his low shot from twenty yards out diverted just past the far post for a corner by the boot of Josh Jordan

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Another wayward Hednesford corner kick on the left two minutes later was only cleared as far as Verma, who showed more great feet to work space for himself on the edge of the box before setting up the incoming James McQuilkin, whose follow-up shot sailed high and wide of goal from fifteen yards out

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At the other end, Boucher had to be alert to a chance for Cockerline, pushing the striker's low shot away from goal with a parry on his goal line after Forbes had set up the striker twelve yards from goal. The rebound dropped to Van Der Laan, who was again off-target as he struck his shot from twenty yards out high over the crossbar

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Another McQuilkin shot ended up sailing over the crossbar shortly after the half-hour mark as Thorley played a short corner into the path of his midfield colleague, who snatched at his effort and shanked it well over the crossbar once more

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The Pitmen were forced into their first substitution of the afternoon on thirty-five minutes as Yeomans made a run down the right before seemingly being taken out by a foul from Ollie Ritchie. Despite calls from some on the Wimblebury terrace for a free-kick to the Pitmen after the foul on Yeomans, referee Mr Stott waved away the protests and play continued. Yeomans lay in a heap on the pitch after the clash, holding his knee and requiring a lengthy spell of treatment from physio Adam Paget before having to admit defeat and was swiftly replaced by Joe Thompson. This saw McQuilkin slotting in as an auxiliary right-back, with Thompson taking McQuilkin's role in central midfield

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Newcastle looked to use the height of target man Cockerline to good effect on thirty-nine minutes as an inswinging corner kick from Van Der Laan was glanced goalwards by the striker as he beat Endall to the ball, only to head straight into the hands of Boucher

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Debutant Gyasi had looked assured and dangerous on the right flank so far, giving Ritchie plenty of issues with his pace and direct running. The winger was the first player to receive a booking from Mr Stott with five minutes of the first half remaining for a foul on the left-back as the pair challenged for the ball

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Cockerline's opportunistic long-range effort on forty-two minutes sailed harmlessly into the Heath Hayes terrace, prompting plenty of colourful language from the home fans towards a player whose loan spell at the club in 2018-2019 was, it can be said, not exactly a roaring success

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Allen followed Gyasi into Mr Stott's book in the first minute of added time as Verma once again left him for dead with more superb wing play, prompting the hapless full-back to bring him down twenty-five yards from goal and earn himself a yellow card for his actions

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From the resultant free-kick, Kelly, whipped in an outswinging cross from the left that was met by a full-blooded header from the lanky Endall, only to see his effort drift inches wide of the far post with Harrison beaten

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With the game seeingly drifting into half-time with no goals, Verma changed the whole dynamic with a breathtaking strike to open his Hednesford account deep into added time; picking the ball up in midfield, Verma drove towards goal from the left and into space created for him by the back-tracking Newcastle defenders. Just as he had done in last week's game against Northwich when he hit the crossbar, Verma unleashed a dipping, swerving effort from fully twenty-five yards out that beat Harrison all ends up and nestled in the top far corner of the net. A divine effort and one that will most likely be a goal-of-the-season contender come May

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It had been a positive attacking first period from the Pitmen, with Verma's outstanding strike no less than they deserved at the break after having the better of the first forty-five minutes. Newcastle elected to make a half-time change at right-back as Allen - who had been given a torrid time by Verma in the first half and was one a yellow card - was replaced by Sam Lynch

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The Pitmen were in no mood to throw this lead away this time, having seen many winning positions at Keys Park taken away from them this season, and doubled their lead just a few moments into the second half. Unsurprisingly, it was that man Verma was involved once more as he dragged Lynch into his own penalty area with another jinking run inside before curling a cross into the penalty area that Mellors-Blair appeared to get a flick on with his head to guide the ball into the far corner of the net. Despite the goal initially being given to Verma, on closer inspection it appeared that Mellors-Blair got the final touch and was awarded the goal

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Thorley's superb pass out to Verma sent him on his way once more on forty-nine minutes, with the winger once again dancing past his marker as he left Lynch in his wake before Jordan came across to put the ball behind for a Hednesford corner

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Mellors-Blair did get himself on the scoresheet legitimately a minute later as another quick break from the Pitmen down the left saw Thorley and Kelly combine before the left-back drove a low cross into the feet of the incoming striker, who showed a poacher's instinct to get goal side of Jordan to turn the ball home at the near post with a sharp finish from close-range

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The confidence in the Hednesford team was evident in all areas, with players comfortable on the ball and finding their team-mates with ease, something they have really struggled to do at times this season. At the back. Williams and Endall had looked solid and organised, with Endall doing well to throw himself in front of Cockerline on fifty-six minutes to block the striker's low shot back across goal from the right

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The unplayable Verma went close to grabbing his hat-trick goal just before the hour mark as he worked the ball onto his right foot on the edge of the penalty area and chose to shoot rather than lay the ball off to Thorley, seeing his effort skip inches wide of Harrison's right-hand post

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More excellent defending from the Pitmen midway through the half saw Williams make a towering clearance ahead of Cockerline after Van Der Laan's right-wing cross looked to pick the striker out in the six-yard box

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On sixty-eight minutes, Newcastle made their second change of the afternoon as the out-of-luck Cockerline was replaced by Tom Jones, prompting the Heath Hayes terrace to give their former loanee the bird as he trudged off

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Skipper Thorley was presented with a good chance for the Pitmen on sixty-eight minutes as Gyasi's superb run and cross down the right ended up at the feet of the midfielder on the edge of the Newcastle penalty area, only for Thorley to choose to lay the ball off to Verma rather than shoot and the chance was gone

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More excellent play from Gyasi three minutes later saw the winger get the better of Ritchie with a clever darting run, crossing towards Mellors-Blair but seeing Stubbs clear the danger at his near post as the striker looked to nip in once more

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More catching practice for Boucher on seventy-five minutes saw the stopper come off his line to claim a deep corner kick after Van Der Laan had crossed towards the burly figure of Stubbs at the far post

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With eleven minutes of the game remaining and both sides seemingly consigned to the result, the Pitmen allowed Mellors-Blair to take the plaudits from the home crowd as he was warmly applauded off after a superb debut performance before being replaced by Callum Niven up front

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Three minutes later, Martin was also given a great reception from the Keys Park faithful for a solid and confident debut in midfield as the youngster was taken off in favour of Jacob Gwilt

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McQuilkin had proven to be a more than able deputy for Yeomans at right-back since the youngster had been forced off in the first half, although the veteran picked up a booking on eighty-four minutes as he sent the lively Forbes sprawling with a mistimed challenge and was shown a yellow card by Mr Stott

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Forbes enjoyed a lively end to the game for Newcastle, picking up the ball on eighty-five minutes and driving into the penalty area - almost Verma-esque, you could say - before Williams came across and blocked his effort at goal

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In the final minute of the game, Niven laid the ball off to Verma on the left, whose cross was a little too far in front of Niven or Gyasi at the far post as it drifted away from goal and out of play for a goal kick

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The final whistle was greeted with cheers of delight from the home fans, with a large amount of relief mixed in no doubt as their side finally shook off their Keys Park hoodoo to record three absolutely crucial points. The new additions of Gyasi, Mellors-Blair and Martin, on top of the significant contribution of the unplayable Verma, have given the Pitmen a new attacking dimension and will give the Hednesford fans reason to be positive about their club's survival chances if they can replicate this performance on a more regular basis. Another vital six-pointer next weekend sees the Pitmen travel to fellow strugglers Trafford, with a win potentially lifting them out of the bottom two for the first time in nearly two months and pulling them closer to the sides directly above them in the league table

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Hednesford Town: Boucher, Yeomans (Thompson 35), Kelly, Thorley ©, Williams, Endall, Verma, McQuilkin ▆, Mellors-Blair (Niven 79), Gyasi ▆, Martin (Gwilt 82)    Subs Unused: Boothe, Morley

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Newcastle Town: Harrison, Allen ▆ (Lynch 45), Ritchie, Derbyshire, Jordan, Stubbs, Adu Gyamfi, J. Van Der Laan ©, Cockerline (Jones 68), Thompson-Edwards (Mazurkiewicz 86), Forbes       Subs Unused: Ukatu, T. Van Der Laan

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