Behind Closed Doors

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Dan Turner

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W L L W W W W

 

Hebburn Town (A) 9.8.25

The Pitmen put four goals past the PFA Free Agents XI at a sunny Lilleshall National Sports Centre this afternoon, rounding off their pre-season programme with a fourth win on the bounce in a hugely entertaining game of seven goals

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With Keys Park still out of commission due to ongoing building works, today's game had been switched to its Shropshire location at short notice to allow the game to take place. On the pitch, Gavin Hurren made the bold decision to go with four attacking players at the start of the game, pairing Jonny Edwards and Ahkeem Rose for the first time in pre-season and being supported by Dan Turner and Niall Watson on the flanks

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The PFA Free Agents XI was packed with EFL experience, boasting the likes of strikers Jermaine Hylton (ex-Motherwell and Newport County) and Olufela Olomola (ex-Bromley and Carlisle United), goalkeeper La'Trell Jones (ex-QPR), defender Anthony Forde (ex-Wrexham and Wolves) and midfielders Adam Reach (ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough) and Jordan Davies (ex-Wrexham and Brighton) in their starting XI

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It proved to be a strong start from both sides, with chances at both ends inside the first minute; Turner forced Jones into an early save as he got in on goal after a pass from Jamie Morgan, controlling the ball well before shooting across goal and forcing the goalkeeper into a flying save to palm the ball away

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​The PFA XI went straight down the other end through the pace of Hylton on the left, leaving Morgan for dead and crossing for Olomola, only for Tony Breeden to make a goal-saving claim at his far post to deny the burly striker

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The professionals continued to press, with Forde making a forceful run down the right a minute later and playing the ball into the path of Olomola, who made an early move towards the ball and was flagged offside

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Turner had started well for the Pitmen, driving into the box on four minutes but saw the ball taken away by former Swindon Town full-back Jake Cain before he could get a shot away after latching onto a ball across the field from Joel Taylor

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Good play from Ahkeem Rose two minutes later saw the striker win a corner off ex-Cambridge United defender Jubril Okedina down the left after looking to swing a cross in from the corner of the box. Kieron Freeman's resultant corner from the left was whipped into the far post and narrowly out of reach for Rose, who just failed to make the connection from close range

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Good play from Watson down the left in the tenth minute saw the former Southport man play a neat ball through to Edwards, who was denied by a covering challenge from ex-West Brom defender Josh Shaw, turning it behind for a corner kick to the Pitmen

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Despite the Pitmen having the better of the opening exchanges, the PFA XI got their noses in front with their first real sight at goal on twelve minutes; a quick counter down the left flank saw Jamie Morgan caught out of position as the impressive Hylton broke into space, playing Davies in on goal with a delightful outside-of-the-boot pass. Davies took a touch before firing past Breeden and into the far corner of the net from a tight angle

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The Pitmen responded almost immediately as the impressive Turner levelled matters once more for the Pitmen; Wynter's long ball over the top was latched onto by Turner, beating Cain to the ball and firing beyond the reach of Jones and into the far corner of the net from the edge of the box

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Cain had fallen awkwardly in the build-up to the Hednesford goal, with the left-back requiring a lengthy spell of treatment before he could return to the pitch a few moments later

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On sixteen minutes, Rose broke quickly down the left and stood up a cross to the far post, getting a little too much on it as it drifted over the head of Edwards and wide of the far post

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Two minutes later, Watson did well again against Forde with a run and low cross into the box from the left that found Rose, whose first-time shot was deflected behind by Shaw to prevent a clear shot at goal and force a corner kick to the Pitmen. Freeman's corner was floated into the box and met by the head of Wynter, who saw his looping effort come back off the crossbar and back into play

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Midway through the first period, Ex-Ipswich Town and Rotherham United midfielder Grant Ward tried his luck with a curling shot from just outside the Hednesford penalty area after a pull-back from Hylton on the left, but saw his effort drift well, well wide of Breeden's left-hand post

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Edwards also attempted a curling effort from the edge of the penalty area at the other end of the pitch two minutes later, but saw his effort take a nick off Shaw for yet another Hednesford corner kick

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Watson was denied a clear strike at goal by the alertness of Jones on twenty-six minutes, running onto a loose backpass from Ben Stevenson and looking to nip past the young goalkeeper, only for Jones to make up the ground and claim the bouncing ball ahead of Watson

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On twenty-seven minutes, Jones made a good save at his near post to deny Taylor after a good run into the box from the left-back saw him latch onto a reverse pass from Watson, striking an effort at goal that was pushed away by Jones for a corner kick. Rose thought that he had handed the Pitmen the lead from Freeman's corner kick as he turned the ball home at the far post, but this was ruled out as the striker had diverted the ball into the net with his arm

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Edwards was in the mood to add to his goal in last week's win at Wolverhampton City and tried his luck from range once more a minute later, lettng fly from the left-hand corner of the penalty area after a loose pass from Okedina; Jones once again made a superb stop at his near post to turn the ball away for a corner kick

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Shortly after the half-hour mark, Watson ghosted in at the far post to meet Morgan's deep cross with his head and loop the ball back across the face of goal, but no one in mint green was able to turn the ball home in the middle of the pitch as the ball bounced to safety

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Rose was within a matter of inches away from grabbing another pre-season goal on thirty-three minutes but was  just unable to turn Taylor's inswinging cross home at the far post; the former Grimsby Town man was inches away from getting his toe to the ball as the left-back's deep cross evaded everyone in black

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The Pitmen finally made their pressure pay with ten minutes of the half remaining as Rose took the ball forwards from his own half before playing Edwards clean through on goal with a superb slide-rule pass. Edwards took a couple of touches to steady himself before sidefooting the ball past Jones from twelve yards out and into the far corner of the net via a touch off the post

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Back came the PFA XI, forcing Breeden into a save two minutes later as a header from Davies was easily saved by Breeden on his line after Forde had made a run and crossed from the right

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The men in all-black were level once more within sixty seconds as Hylton took full advantage of a mistake at the back from the Pitmen, running into space down the left and pulling the ball back across goal, where Omolola was beaten to the ball by Johnson, who unfortunately turned the ball into his own net under pressure from the striker

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Breeden was forced to come off his line to make a smothering save in front of Davies on forty-one minutes, blocking the striker's shot after a clever through ball from Olomola had played him in on goal

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In the final minute of a highly competitive half, Watson was the creator once more on the left, controlling the ball well and pulling the ball into the near post, where Rose got goal side of Shaw but nodded wide of goal

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The Pitmen had given as good as they had got in the first period against their professional opponents, dominating large parts of possession and creating several good chances, particularly from Freeman's dangerous corner kicks. However, the likes of Hylton and Olomola were an obvious threat on the counter with their star quality, and you certainly didn't feel that the scoring was over for the afternoon. The PFA XI made three of their available changes at the break as ex-Hull City man Adama Diamande came on for the injured Cain, former West Brom defender Reece Hall came on for Stevenson and former Fleetwood Town favourite Ash Hunter replaced Hylton

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The Pitmen wasted little time in getting their noses back in front as they made it 3-2 with the first attack of the second half; Edwards rose highest to flick the ball on to Watson, whose clever flick played Rose in on goal. The in-form striker took a touch before firing past Jones from a tight angle and made it four pre-season goals

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Hall picked up the ball on forty-nine minutes and played a neat pass forward towards Olomola, who was denied again by more competent goalkeeping from Breeden, claiming the ball ahead of the striker on the edge of his box

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The Pitmen's star man Turner did well to get past Ward on fifty-one minutes, getting into space down the right before playing the ball across the box to Rose, who was denied by a covering tackle from Okedina inside the six-yard box after Morgan's throw-in had given Turner the time and space required

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The Pitmen took the opportunity to make their first three changes of the game on fifty-three minutes as Dan Trickett-Smith, Jake Doyle-Charles and Jacob Gwilt all came on in place of Rose, Freeman and Maye respectively

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A minute later, Diomande was played through on goal by an intelligent pass from Hall, with the substitute pulling the ball back cross back across goal to Davies; he was denied his second goal of the afternoon by Breeden, who made the save down low to his left to keep the striker's shot out

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Wynter struck the crossbar for the second time in the afternoon on fifty-five minutes as Trickett-Smith's corner was looped goalwards by the defender from ten yards out but once again saw his effort clip the woodwork

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More changes for the Pitmen on fifty-eight minutes saw Magic man Dom McHale come on for the excellent Turner and Jake Jervis replaced Watson on the left flank

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On the hour mark, a long-range effort from Olomola after a loose pass from Jervis was seized upon by the striker, whose effort from thirty-five yards out sailed just wide of Breeden's goal with the burly stopper backtracking

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The Pitmen hit the woodwork for the third time in the game midway through the second half as Jervis laid the ball into the path of McHale on the edge of the box, with the Pitmen's top scorer last term striking a rising effort that clipped the crossbar via a touch from Jones for a corner kick

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Two minutes later, Breeden's race was run as the veteran stopper was replaced by Ryan Brown between the sticks; at the same time, goalscorer Edwards was taken off and replaced by Nathan Blissett, whilst youngster Harley Barlow came on at right-back ahead of Morgan. Triallist 1 - who had been involved in the past three pre-season games for the Pitmen - also came on, replacing Wynter at centre-back

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Hunter looked to work the ball onto his favoured right boot on sixty-eight minutes off the left, striking a bobbling shot from the edge of the box that was easily fielded by Brown on his six-yard line

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Before play could restart, Hylton returned to the pitch after the former Solihull Moors man had sat out the past twenty minutes, replacing Ward wide on the left flank

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The vastly experienced ex-West Brom man Reach fired just wide at the far post on seventy-four minutes after Diomande's flick was deflected into the path of Reach by Brown at his near post, with the midfielder drilling his effort wide of the far post when he really should have hit the target

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A terrible pass out of defence from Jones almist led to a fourth Hednesford goal on seventy-seven minytes as the goalkeeper was rushed into a panicky clearance by Blissett; Jervis picked up the loose ball and saw hs effort deflected into the path of Gwilt, whose angled effort was pushed away by Jones at his near post to atone partially for his error

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With twelve minutes remaining, Jones made a superb flying save to deny Blissett after Trickett-Smith's outswinging corner on the right was met by the giant striker, whose downward header was pushed away by the former QPR man for another corner

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At the other end, Davies should have done better with a free header at goal from ten yards out on the penalty spot after an inswinging corner from Forde on the left was met unchallenged by the former Wrexham striker

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Davies finally grabbed his second goal of the afternoon on eighty-two minutes as a clever reverse pass from Hylton on the edge of the box played Davies in on goal, with Davies giving Brown 'the eyes' before slotting past the young goalkeeper at his near post​

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Three minutes later, Diomande thought that he had won the game for the PFA XI as he made a run clean through a tired-looking Hednesford defence and slotted the ball beyond Brown from twelve yards out, only to be pulled back by a late offside flag against him

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The Pitmen went down the other end of the pitch and grabbed a goal of their own as Blissett flicked a long ball onto McHale, whose clever pass played Trickett-Smith in on goal through the inside-right position. The former Liverpool man confidently fired past Jones from an angle from twelve yards out to register his fourth goal of pre-season, with what was to prove to be the winner

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The PFA XI looked to counter this a minute later as Hunter was played through on goal by a neat pass from Davies, but once again a tight offside flag pulled the play back

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It had been an excellent overall display from the Pitmen, who had more than matched their illustrious opponents for eighty of the ninety minutes before tiredness and a raft of changes had disrupted their flow. Attention moves to next weekend and the start of the Northern Premier League season, when Hurren's side make their second-longest trip of the season to Hebburn Town

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Hednesford Town: Breeden (Brown 64), Morgan (Barlow 64), Taylor, Johnson, Wynter (Triallist 1 64), Freeman (Doyle-Charles 53), Watson (McHale 58), Maye (Gwilt 53), Edwards (Blissett 64), Rose (Trickett-Smith 53), Turner (Jervis 58)     Subs Unused: None

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PFA Free Agents XI, Jones, Forde, Okedina, Shaw, Cain (Diamande 45), Ward (Hylton 68), Stevenson (Hall 45), Davies, Hylton (Hunter 45), Reach, Olomola     Subs Unused: None

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