The Pitmen will have to do it all again for the second round in a row as they churn out an inspiring and drab draw at Midland Football League side Shifnal Town this afternoon to earn a replay in today's F.A. Cup third qualifying round game

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Manager Steve King was unimpressed with the manner of his side's 2-1 defeat to Chasetown in the F.A. Trophy last weekend, making one attacking change to his XI for today's short trip across to Shropshire with Rob Stevenson coming back into the side up front in place of Jake Jervis

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Step five Shifnal had shocked Southern Premier League Central side Redditch United in the previous round to set up today's local derby, matching the club's longest-ever run in the competition over forty years ago. Manager Connor Patterson made three changes to his side from the one that had lost on penalties to Atherstone United in last weekend's F.A. Vase tie, with Aaron Simms, ex-Hednesford man Kyle Bennett and Kev Monteiro replacing Jack Fishman, Nathan Oyemade and Harvey Solley. There were other players in the Shifnal side with previous links to the Pitmen, with mercurial winger Joe Cuff starting on the left flank and striker Tom Hill amongst the substitutes for the home side

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The F.A. Cup brought the crowds out in numbers, with the Pitmen once again backed heavily by a good percentage of the 1,106 crowd that was also swelled by several AFC Telford United fans. Cuff looked to have an immediate impact against his former club as he lined up a free-kick to the left-hand side of the Hednesford penalty area in the second minute but lifted his effort high over the crossbar and failed to test Jack Rose with a wild effort

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The Pitmen responded with a solid spell of possession that forced the game's first run of corner kicks, with Sion Spence sending over a delightful outswinging ball to the far post in the sixth minute that was met by the head of Kory Roberts at the far post, powerfully heading towards goal but seeing his effort come clattering off the crossbar

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Neat play from Jack Bearne three minutes later saw the winger jink one way, then the other, escaping the attention of Kane Lewis to the right of the Shifnal penalty area and whipping in a good ball that drifted across the face of goal and away from danger

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Bearne was involved once more for the Pitmen as he earned his side a free-kick in a dangerous position on twelve minutes after being brought down by Lewis. His ball into the box was a touch too heavy, however, as his outswinging cross sailed over the head of Stevenson, Roberts and Duku as they arrived at the far post

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The pitch had been subject to some heavy downpours over the past few days, with several players on both sides struggling to keep their footing throughout the first period. Manny Duku was one of those unlucky few who came a cropper on the turf in the fifteenth minute, slipping at the vital moment as he took the ball into the penalty area to the left-hand side of the box and shaped to shoot, only to lose his footing as he lost control and allowed Jack Rowley to clear the danger

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More neat play down the left from the Pitmen on eighteen minutes saw Duku win the ball from Simms and play the overlapping Joel Taylor into space behind the Shifnal defence. However, Taylor's attempted ball in towards Stevenson was caught in the wind and drifted narrowly over the crossbar and behind at the far post, with Shifnal goalkeeper George Scott happy to watch the ball out of play

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Kyle Bennett linked up well with his brother, the former Shrewsbury Town playmaker Elliott, in midfield on twenty minutes and sent Cuff away down the left with a clever angled pass. Blaine Rowe had to have his wits about him to firstly deny the winger space to cross and then eventually dispossess him on the edge of the box, with a little help from the excellent Roberts as he came across to cover the space

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Three minutes later, Rowe and Bearne linked up down the right before playing the ball into the path of Maye, who had made a move into the Shifnal third of the pitch. Rather than shoot on sight, the midfielder elected to play a pass to Spence, whose first-time effort sailed high over the crossbar and into the Hednesford fans who were perched at the top of the grassy bank behind Scott's goal

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On twenty-seven minutes, Duku got on the end of a flowing move from the Pitmen that started with Elliott Johnson and was played through Spense and Joel Taylor into the path of the striker, who did well to get to the byeline down the left and cross for Bearne, who arrived late at the far post but like Duku earlier in the half, lost his footing on the greasy turf at the most inopportune moment and could only scuff his weak shot wide of goal

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Shifnal were struggling to break down the experienced Hednesford back line but looked to exploit the Pitmen's weakness from set-pieces on the half-hour mark as a corner from Elliott Bennett on the right was met by a free header from Monteiro, who was left in acres of space six yards out but could only divert his header wide of Rose's right-hand post

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The game's first yellow card of the afternoon was dished out to Elliott Bennett on thirty-five minutes as his poorly-timed challenge on Duku saw referee Mr Brown take the veteran's name for the foul

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A minute later, the visitors worked the ball well through midfield as Johnson, Bearne and Maye all had a hand in playing it into the path of Spence once more, who looked to work an angle on the edge of the Shifnal penalty area but once again fired over Scott's crossbar from eighteen yards out

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Elliott Bennett replied with a good chance for the hosts on thirty-nine minutes, picking up the ball from deep and taking it into space before unleashing a shot at goal from fully twenty-five yards out that Rose watched wide of his right-hand post

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A minute later, Duku picked the pocket of Lewis as the Shifnal full-back dithered on a clearance in his own third of the pitch, allowing Duku to win the ball and attempt to play a cross into the feet of Stevenson, only for Rowley to turn the ball behind for a corner kick

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In the final minute of the half, another set-piece almost unlocked the door for the Pitmen as Bearne overruled Dom McHale and whipped in a free-kick from the right that was met by a full-blooded header from Duku at the far post, only for the ball to flash a couple of inches over the crossbar

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Despite dictating long spells of the game throughout the first half, it had been another largely frustrating, pedestrian display from the Pitmen, who had looked a little out of ideas in the Shifnal third of the pitch and had lacked quality with their final ball. The likes of Stevenson and McHale had barely in the attacking third featured as the visitors had struggled to find the right blend in attack

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The Pitmen were forced into an early change at the start of the second half as Rowe appeared to pull something in the aftermath of a challenge from Cuff just outside the Hednesford penalty area and was helped off by therapist Adam Paget before being replaced by Omar Holness. This saw a shift in personnel with Maye moving to right-back to allow Holness to play in central midfield

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A quick break from the men in grey on fifty-one saw Spence play Duku in with a slide-rule pass down the inside left channel, one for the Dutchman to fire just over the bar with a rising effort

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Rose was called upon to make his first save of the game two minutes later, pushing the ball away down to his right to deny Monteiro after a quick break from Shifnal down the left saw Cuff play the ball into the path of the former Walsall Wood man

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This seemed to give the Midland Football League side a little confidence in attack, with the hosts forcing successive corners through Elliott Bennett and Cuff that the Pitmen were forced to clear at the near post each time on fifty-six minutes

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Holness's introduction seemed to be a positive for the Pitmen in midfield, with the Jamaican international adding more drive to the previously static middle of the park. A one-two with Duku on the hour mark saw Holness shape to shoot on the edge of the box but a covering challenge from Kyle Bennett blocked his effort before Spence's attempted follow-up was hacked clear by Brad Maslen-Jones

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Stevenson's luckless afternoon was brought to an end by King on sixty-two minutes as the striker was withdrawn and replaced by Jake Jervis on the left side of the Hednesford attack

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Two minutes later, Rose was in action once more as he held Elliott Bennett's shot after the 35-year-old had struck a shot at goal from twenty yards out following good hold-up play from Monteiro

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The Pitmen went straight up the other end of the pitch as Johnson's punt forward finding the boot of McHale, who showed great feet to take the ball past two Shifnal players before striking a twenty-five yards effort inches wide of Scott's left-hand post

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The game was starting to get stretched at both ends, with Shifnal having another good chance on sixty-seven minutes through Cuff as Elliott Bennett's pass was taken forward by the winger, whose low snap-shot at goal was just wide of Rose's near post

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Kyle Bennett followed his brother into the book on seventy minutes as a cynical foul on Bearne stopped the winger from breaking into the penalty area down the right and resulted in a booking for the veteran playmaker

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Rose had to make another brilliant flying save to deny the hosts a minute later, diving full-length to his right to push away Joe Thomas's goalbound effort after more good approach play from deep from Elliott Bennett

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On seventy-six minutes, Shifnal made their first substitution of the afternoon as Oyemade returned to the side, coming on to play up front as he replaced Thomas

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McHale just hadn't got into the game for the Pitmen throughout and had been a peripheral figure for much of the game, but did go close to breaking the deadlock on seventy-seven minutes as he picked up Spence's pass and fired in a shot from twenty yards out that beat Scott but just skimmed the top of the crossbar

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Duku was also left frustrated for the Pitmen two minutes later as he showed great feet to take the ball into the Shifnal penalty area after good play from Holness, working the ball onto his right foot but seeing his effort narrowly miss the target as it drifted just wide of the far post

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With ten minutes of the game remaining, former Wolves Sporting striker Hill was brought on to add his guile in front of goal against his former club as he replaced Cuff

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With the game there to be won in the last few minutes, Shifnal threw bodies forward and went agonisingly close on two successive occasions to winning the tie; on eighty-three minutes, man of the match Roberts had to be alert to clear the ball off the line after a corner kick caused the Pitmen issues, with Maslen-Jones trying to force the ball home from close range but being denied by the former Walsall defender

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A minute later, the crossbar came to the Pitmen's rescue as an audacious long-range effort from Elliott Bennett saw him strike a beautifully-flighted effort that beat Rose but came back off the underside of the crossbar. Hill followed the ball in and should have had a simple tap-in on the rebound, only to lose his footing at the crucial moment and allow a relieved Pitmen defence to clear their lines

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The Pitmen looked to spring a late break through Jervis on eighty-seven minutes as the striker brought down Johnson's pass on his chest and looked to play Alamu-Tajudeen in on goal, only for a sliding challenge from Rowley to divert the ball away from goal and behind for a corner kick

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With the game ticking into its final minute, the Pitmen made a third change of the game late on as Abdulrasaq Alamu-Tajudeen came on to add energy to the flagging midfield as he replaced the disappointing McHale

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So, we will have to do it all again on Tuesday night for the second round in succession. By then, we will know the outcome of Monday's fourth qualifying round draw, with both sides having sufficient reason to win the replay and move into the next round, with only ninety minutes standing between them and the first round proper. King will be unhappy with his misfiring attackers, who despite their individual talents were made to look a little ordinary by their step five opponents today, something that will have been a concern for the Pitmen's manager ahead of Tuesday night

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Shifnal Town: Scott, Simms, Lewis, Rowley, Maslen-Jones, K. Bennett © ▆, Jarman, Monteiro, Thomas (Oyemade 76), E. Bennett ▆, Cuff (Hill 80)      Subs Unused: Clapp, Beddows, Fishman, M. Taylor, Solley

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Hednesford Town: Rose, Rowe (Holness 48), J. Taylor, Maye, Johnson ©, Roberts, Spence, Stevenson (Jervis 62), Duku, McHale (Alamu-Tajudeen 90), Bearne    Sub Unused: Trickett-Smith, Brown, Endall, Gwilt ​

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