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Lewis Hayden

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L

 

Mickleover (A) 13.8.22

The Pitmen make a losing start to their 2022-2023 Pitching In Southern Premier League Central as Redditch United claim a single-goal victory at the RACE Stadium in today's curtain raiser

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Having seen his side win six of their nine pre-season friendlies, manager Keenen Meakin-Richards surprised many inside the ground with the inclusion of Harvey Portman at centre-back in favour of the experienced Martin Riley and striker Riley O'Sullivan as a right winger coming in ahead of both Cameron Ebbutt and Chay Tilt, who were more natural performers on the flank

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Redditch - looking for an improvement on last season's fifteenth-placed finish - had reshaped their squad with several new signings during the summer months. Most notably, manager Matt Clarke had taken the Pitmen's top scorer Reece Flanagan to the Trico Stadium to pair him up with his brother Calum, whilst also signing former Hednesford youth team player Ryan Nesbitt after a prolific spell with Bedworth United last term. Cain Smith - who had a spell at Hednesford towards the end of last season - was also included in the starting line-up. The Reds had also clinched the late signing of the talented Max Sheaf from Gloucester City just twenty-four hours previously to bolster their attack for today's game

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It was a beautifully bright, warm and sunny afternoon in South Staffordshire, with a good 500-plus crowd supporting both teams at the start of another season. It was a typically cagey affair in the opening ten minutes, with both sides looking to settle into a rhythm and find their passes early on. Summer signing Joe Cuff had the first sight at goal in the eighth minute of the game as Kyle Bennett's floated free-kick into the penalty area was met by the winger at the far post, only for his shot to fly well wide of Kieran Boucher's far post

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A minute later, Cuff was involved again as his corner kick was cleared back to him on the edge of the penalty area; Cuff's rebounded shot lacked power or precision, however, and drifted over the crossbar

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Striker Leroy Lita picked up the Pitmen's first booking of the new season in the tenth minute of the game as he flattened former team-mate Reece Flanagan in midfield and was shown a yellow card by the picky referee Mr Kaye

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Redditch's first move forwards saw two of the ex-Hednesford club involved on twelve minutes as Boucher's long free-kick forwards was not cleared effectively by the hosts, falling to Nesbitt out on the left-hand side of the penalty area - his angled drive towards the near post was palmed away by Lewis Gwilliams but into the path of the incoming Smith, who was denied by Carter Lycett's timely clearance away from goal to stop him from turning the ball home from close-range

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From the resultant Flanagan corner kick, Sheaf did well to keep the ball alive at the far post before laying off to Calum Flanagan, whose low ball into the box was turned wide by Nesbitt at the near post

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A neat passing move from the Pitmen four minutes later saw Bennett pick the ball up to the right-hand side of the Redditch penalty area and swing in a fine cross to the near post that Cuff beat Boucher to but headed over the crossbar from six yards out

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Midway through the first period, Redditch picked up their first booking of the season through defender Kieren Donnelly as he brought Cuff down in full flight on the left wing to halt the flying winger's progress. Clarke had too much to say about the incident on the touchline as he felt that Cuff had over-exaggerated the foul and was warned by the referee about his conduct

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O'Sullivan returned the favour on Donnelly just a couple of minutes later, leaving his mark on the defender after the ball had gone just inside the Redditch penalty area that left the pair squaring up to each other

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Bernard Mensah - now a permanent Redditch player after joining the club from Gloucester in the summer - forced Gwilliams into another save on twenty-six minutes as the winger shimmied his way past a couple of challenges just outside the Hednesford penalty area before striking a left-footed shot from twenty yards out that Gwilliams gathered comfortably at his near post

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Just before the half-hour mark, a patient piece of build-up play from the Pitmen saw Lycett and Todd Parker link up well down the left before Parker pulled the ball back from the byeline and into the path of the dangerous-looking Cuff, whose angled left-footed shot was pushed away at his near post by Boucher

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On thirty-three minutes, Lita was left a frustrated figure as he was pulled back for an offside decision against him as he looked to race onto a Parker through ball, a rare example of the hosts playing to the strengths of the veteran striker in the first half with a quick, incisive pass beyond Calum Flanagan

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Four minutes later, Mensah and Nesbitt linked up well down the right to lay the ball back to Donnelly, whose looping cross was headed away by Lewis Ison at the far post to deny Sheaf a clear goalscoring opportunity

 

Another Reece Flanagan corner kick on forty minutes was floated into the near post, where Gwilliams struggled to get a fist to the ball as he was crowded out and had to rely on a combination of Harvey Portman and Lycett to clear the ball out of the six-yard box as Nesbitt lurked

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An almighty scramble in the Redditch six-yard box almost led to the Pitmen taking the lead just a couple of minutes before the break as Cuff's corner kick from the right was headed back to him at the near post, allowing the winger to change the angle and drive in a low shot to the near post that Boucher initially spilt, allowing O'Sullivan and Lita to pounce but were denied by the goalkeeper's claim. Calum Flanagan was angry at O'Sullivan's attempts to turn the ball home and a bout of pushing and shoving ensued

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In the final minute of added time at the end of the half, Sheaf almost grabbed himself a debut goal for the Reds as he cut inside from the right, drifting past Portman but seeing his curling effort from twenty yards out just drift over the crossbar

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It had been a fairly entertaining first forty-five minutes of the season, although both sides looked like they would need some time to get themselves match-fit after some wayward passing and shooting thus far. The hosts had been far too conservative in their attacking approach, lacking a cutting edge or supply to Lita who had struggled to get into the game with no real support from midfield

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Redditch started the second half well, with Mensah narrowly missing a good cross from Lewis Hudson just sixty seconds after the restart as he tried to turn the low cross home at the far post

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Two minutes later, Gwilliams was forced into another save as he claimed Sheaf's driven shot from twenty yards out after more good approach play involving Reece Flanagan and Smith

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Reece Flanagan assumed responsibility for a free-kick to the left-hand side of the Hednesford penalty area on fifty minutes after a foul on Nesbitt by Ison, curling his shot over the wall but seeing his effort deflected behind for a corner kick

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Three minutes later, the Pitmen caused their own issues at the back as a sloppy pass out of defence from Lycett was seized upon by Mensah, whose attempted through ball to Nesbitt was cut out in a timely manner by the alert presence of the covering Ison

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Former Redditch man Luke Rowe was perhaps lucky to stay on the pitch on fifty-seven minutes as the Pitmen's summer signing was only booked for a horribly mistimed challenge on Smith in midfield after the former Mansfield man had skipped away from him. Clarke was angry at only a yellow card being awarded for the challenge and he himself was booked by Mr Kaye a couple of minutes later for one too many complaints at the assistant on the main stand side

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The visitors grabbed the lead just after the hour mark as they were handed a good opportunity from a free-kick after a foul by Portman on Mensah. Nesbitt stepped up to take the kick, to the right of the Pitmen's penalty area and curled a delightful shot over the wall and beyond Gwilliams into the far corner of the net

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The hosts looked to produce an immediate response as they made a double attacking change before play could restart; Andre Landell came on for a visibly frustrated Lita and new signing Sam Wilding made his debut for the club in defensive midfield as he replaced a disappointing Rowe

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Landell's bustling approach to the game almost created an opening for the hosts on sixty-seven minutes as he picked up a neat pass from Parker just inside the Redditch penalty area, turning quickly and firing a low shot straight into the arms of Boucher at his near post

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The visitors made their first substitution of the afternoon on seventy minutes as the lively Mensah's game to an end as he was replaced by Ryan Boothe up front

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The substitute almost put the game to bed with his very first touch as Reece Flanagan's free-kick found him unmarked in the six-yard box, only for the former Rushall man to head tamely wide when he really should have hit the target

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The lively Landell created a chance out of nothing on seventy-three minutes as O'Sullivan's flick-on found the striker, whose neat nutmeg through the legs of Calum Flanagan played him in on goal, only for Boucher to deny him at his near post with a fine save with his legs

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From the resultant Cuff corner kick, Landell's goalbound header was hacked off the line by the alert presence of Donnelly, who managed to get his foot to the ball at the far post to clear the danger

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Reece Flanagan picked up a yellow card for the hosts on seventy-seven minutes for deliberately stopping Parker from breaking out of midfield with a clear and obvious foul

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The Pitmen made their last change of the afternoon with eleven minutes remaining as winger Cameron Ebbutt came on in place of the fading Bennett, who had shown some nice touches in the first half but had been a peripheral figure in the second period

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Portman's indifferent afternoon continued as he was booked by Mr Kaye on eighty-two minutes for hauling down the flying Nesbitt once more and halting the striker's progress into the Hednesford third of the pitch. He clearly thought that it was not worthy of a card and was ticked off by the referee for his protests

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Sheaf's promising debut was halted with seven minutes remaining as the former Hull City man was brought off in favour of Cameron Moore for the remaining minutes

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Redditch remained resolute and disciplined in their approach in the final minutes, with the two banks of four working well against an out-of-ideas Hednesford attack that seemed content to play for set-pieces in their quest for an equaliser. On eighty-six minutes, Parker's inswinging corner kick was claimed for the umpteenth time in the second half by Boucher, under no pressure at all in his six-yard box, prompting an angry response from the supporters in the Heath Hayes end of the ground

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There was time for one last moment of controversy in added time as the hosts were reduced to ten men in bizarre circumstances; O'Sullivan picked the ball up out on the left-hand side of the penalty area and got the better of Calum Flanagan, driving in a low shot across goal that beat Boucher but was cleared off the line by Hudson. Cuff had followed the ball in and attempted to turn the ball home before Hudson's clearance, clashing with the left-back in the process and leaving the pair in a heap inside the goalmouth. To Cuff's amazement, Mr Kaye showed him a straight red card for the challenge after some Oscar-worthy histrionics from Hudson had planted the seed in the official's head

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This was enough to take any momentum out of the Pitmen in the remainder of added time, with Redditch winning at Keys Park for the first time ever and starting the season with three points on the board. The Pitmen will feel a little aggrieved at Cuff's late red card but cannot have any complaints about the scoreline as they had looked ponderous and slow to move the ball and only created decent late chances through substitute Landell. A rare week's break between game one and game two as we wait until next weekend for the Pitmen's first away trip, making the short journey to Derbyshire to face league new boys Mickleover

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Hednesford Town: Gwilliams, Hayden, Lycett, Portman ▆, Ison ©, Cuff ▆ (90), O'Sullivan, Parker, Lita ▆ (Landell 62), Bennett (Ebbutt 79), Rowe ▆ (Wilding 62)     Subs Unused: Riley, Williams

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Redditch United: Boucher, Donnelly ▆, Hudson, Byrne ©, C. Flanagan, Wollacott, R. Flanagan ▆, Smith, Nesbitt, Sheaf (Moore 83), Mensah (Boothe 70)      Subs Unused: Rowbottom, Culkin, Gyasi

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