(1) 1​​​​​​​​​​

​​​​

​​​​​​​​​​​

(0) 1

2,033

​

Chris Hussey

​

W W W W W L W W W D

 

Runcorn Linnets (H) 25.4.25

The race for the Northern Premier League West title will indeed go down the final day, but the Pitmen will now require a very specific set of results going their way after they were held to a draw at local rivals Stafford Rangers this Bank Holiday Monday afternoon

​

As is they way at this time of the year, there was a quck turnaround of games from Good Friday's 2-0 win over Mossley, with manager Gavin Hurren making a couple of surprise changes to his side for today's short hop across the Chase; out went the creative influences of both Dan Trickett-Smith and Jack Bearne and in came Nathan Blissett and Niall Watson in the places. Skipper Elliott Johnson was passed fit enough to line up amongst the substitutes, with Ahkeem Rose also looking to add to the minutes he got late on in the Mossley game four days ago

 

Neil Kitching had got Rangers organised and back in form since his re-appointment in January, sitting in twelfth place in the table ahead of their final home game of the season. On the pitch, Kitching made five changes to the side that had ground out a late 1-1 draw at Avro on Saturday, with Jimmy O'Neill, Jon Atherton, Ashley Fallon and ex-Hednesford duo Dan Cockerline and Jame McQuilkin all coming back in ahead of another ex-Pitman Joe Morley, Ackeme Francis-Burrell, Joe Thomas and Henry Brereton. Left-back Ben O'Hanlon - the final of the former Hednesford player's club at Marston Road - started at left-back for the hosts

​

In front of Stafford's largest league crowd since 1991 of 2,033, swelled by over 800 Hednesford supporters, the home side made a flying start as O'Neill's quality from long throws opened up the normally-watertight Hednesford defence in just the second minute; the skipper's deep throw from the left hand touchline was flicked on by Cockerline into the path of Kaiman Anderson, who gleefully poked the ball past Tony Breeden from six yards out to gve the hosts the early advantage

​

O'Neill looked to use his long throw to good effect once more in the sixth minute, launching another rocket from a very similar position to the one he had taken up for the goal, only on this occasion Ollie Harrison recovered well to deny Cockerline a clear-cut chance with a no-nonsense clearance

​

Referee Mr Stott was to have a pretty desperate afternoon in the middle, giving bizarre decisions either way and failing to really stamp his authority on the game at any point. After handing Rangers a free-kick twenty-five yards from goal in the eighth minute for a soft decision against Joel Taylor, O'Hanlon's delivery into the box was met by the giant figure of Scott Wara, whose looping effort sailed high over Breeden's crossbar

​

Stafford were bright, hard-working and first to every ball in the opening exchanges, as the Pitmen struggled to assert themselves on the game. This was highlighted most in the twelfth minute as the usually combative Joe Doyle-Charles lost out cheaply in midfield to McQuilkin, with the veteran sending Anderson away with a long punt over the top. Harrison, however, recovered well and made up the ground sufficiently to jockey the striker away from danger and clear the ball after making the block

​

The Pitmen's first break into Stafford's half came in the fifteenth minute as neat play involving Jamie Morgan and skipper Dom McHale saw them link up well to send Jake Jervis into space down the right. The big man took a couple of touches before drilling the ball across the face of goal, where on-loan Tamworth stopper Leon Phillips made the save low down to his right

​

Fallon was ticked off by Mr Stott for a foul on Harrison in the eighteenth minute, handing the visitors a free-kick twenty-five yards from goal. Chris Hussey placed the ball down and whipped in a deep cross to the far post that Wara did well to head clear from as Jervis and Blissett both lurked with intent

​

Wara denied the Pitmen once more in spectacular circumstances midway through the first period after the men in grey had opened up the Rangers defence for the first time; McHale's wonderful feet saw him dance past two challenges before spreading the ball out to Watson, who in turn played Joel Taylor into acres of space in the inside-left position. The left-back's ball back across goal found Jervis, whose first-time effort looked to be heading into the net until Wara - standing on the goal line - managed to deflect the shot over the crossbar for a corner kick

​

The large away support were getting frustrated with the Pitmen not taking advantage of set-pieces in the opening quarter of the game and were left in despair once more in twenty-four minutes as a good free-kick into the box from Hussey was not attacked by anyone in a grey shirt, allowing Phillips to make a ten-yard run off his line and claim the ball completely unchallenged on the penalty post

​

Three minutes later, McQuilkin looked to make it two goals in successive games after his late penalty against Avro as he tried his luck from fully twenty-five yards out after play had opened up in front of him, but struck his effort just over Breeden's crossbar

​

Shortly before the half-hour mark, Fallon looked to catch the Pitmen out after they had failed to convincingly clear a corner kick, with the midfielder striking a first-time volley at goal from just outside the box that took a nick off a Hednesford defender and looped onto the roof of Breeden's net for another Rangers corner

​

Goalscorer Anderson's game ended suddenly on thirty-four minutes as he was forced off the pitch through injury, being replaced by young Port Vale loanee attacker Liam Brazier

​

Jervis - looking to pick up where he left off on Saturday with a goal and man of the match display against Mossley - tested the reflexes of Phillips on thirty-seven minutes as he was sent clear down the right by a Doyle-Charles pass, striking a firm half-volley at goal from the corner of the penalty area and forcing Phillips into a save low down to his right to push the shot away

​

Sixty seconds later, Phillips denied the Pitmen once more after Watson had broken away down the left and crossed low into the box for Blissett, who was denied a tap-in by some brave goalkeeping from Phillips to block the shot from close quarters. The ball ran kindly to the incoming McHale at the far post, who nonchalantly turned the ball goalwards with his rebounded effort, only to be denied by a last-ditch block from O'Hanlon

​

From Hussey's resultant corner on the right, Harrison and Blissett rose highest at the far post to meet it, with Blissett heading inches wide of the woodwork with his downward effort, much to the delight of the Rangers supporters behind Phillips' goal

​

It was all Hednesford in the closing stages of the half, with Rangers very much hanging on for the half-time whistle at this point. Hussey took it upon himself to test Phillips as we headed into added time, taking the ball past a couple of Stafford players with one of his trademark runs from deep before striking an angled effort at goal that Phillips had to turn away down at his near post

​

It had been a half of two halves for the Pitmen, having not got started in the opening twenty minutes but largely dominating the last twenty with plenty of good chances to get themselves back into the game. News had filtered through just before the break of a Widnes equaliser at Vauxhall Motors, thus inching the leaders further towards the title as they looked to take full advantage of the Pitmen's current situation

​​

The lanky Cockerline picked up the game's first booking of the afternoon almost straight from the restart as the striker was booked by Mr Stott for a blatant and silly foul on Hussey to stop the veteran defender from making ground into the Stafford half

​

Within a minute, Cockerline had Breeden frantically back-peddling after Atherton had seized upon a poor pass from Taylor and played it to the striker, whose audacious first-time lob at goal drifted just over the crossbar

​

Watson felt that he had a legitimate shout for a penalty kick for the Pitmen on fifty-one minutes as he went down under a challenge from the experienced Andy Burns just inside the Rangers box after a bout on pinball inside the penalty area, but Mr Stott was unimpressed and gestured to the Scouser to get back to his feet

​

It was certainly all go at the start of the second period, with McHale going close to levelling matters once more a minute later as he cut inside from the right touchline in typical McHale style, teasing his way past O'Hanlon before striking a low shot at goal that Phillips turned around his near post for a Hednesford corner kick

​​

Rangers elected to make their second change of the afternoon on fifty-six minutes as Morley came on against his former club to replace veteran midfielder McQuilkin, who had picked up a knock. News was also being passed around the away supporters of another Widnes goal at Vauxhall Motors, which would now be enough for them to seal the title today if this game remained a 1-0

​

On the hour mark, former Rangers striker Blissett picked up the Pitmen's first yellow card of the afternoon as the big man was booked by Mr Stott for a foul on Wara, altough this was likely a totting-up of several niggly challenges from the striker over the course of the game so far

​

Jamie Morgan's penchant for finding himself in goalscoring positions continued on sixty-two minutes as he drifted into the box to pick up a pass from Doyle-Charles, but drilled his low shot into the side-netting from an angle

​

Some neat attacking play from the away side midway through the second half saw Morgan and McHale link up well down the right to send Jervis sprinting in behind the Stafford defence, although he had moved a little too early for the assistant's liking and was flagged offside before he could pick Watson out

​

Looking to take advantage of getting on top, the Pitmen made a double attacking change on sixty-six minutes as Rose came on in place of Simeon Maye and Trickett-Smith replaced Blissett

​

Mr Stott drew ironic cheers from the away supporters on seventy minutes as he finally showed a player in black and white stripes a yellow card with a caution for Fallon for a foul on Maye in the centre circle

​

And, just like London buses, Mr Stott then promptly followed this up a minute later by also booking young substitute Brazier for stupidly kicking the ball into the empty net long after an offside flag was raised against him in the build-up to a chance

​

Hurren made another bold double substitution before the game could restart as Johnson came on at left-back in place of Taylor and Bearne replaced Watson

​

The pressure was certainly being cranked up on the home defence as the Pitmen pushed more and more bodies forward in search of an equaliser, particularly with news now coming through of a third Widnes goal to kill off any hope of a Vauxhall Motors comeback in the other game of significance at the top of the table. Jervis headed narrowly over on seventy-two minutes as he leapt to meet another Hussey free-kick at the far post, but got underneath the ball and headed over Phillips's crossbar from eight yards out

​

Kitching elected to make his final change of the afternoon on seventy-three minutes as the recently-booked Fallon was taken off and replaced by former Redditch United man Joe Thomas in the centre of the park

​

Another spell of pressure from the Pitmen with thirteen minutes left brought back-to-back corner kicks on the right from Hussey, whose delivery into the box saw Stafford struggle to clear their lines; Wara's initial clearance for the first flag kick fell to Trickett-Smith on the edge of the box, whose follow-up effort was blocked and deflected just wide of the post

​

Trickett-Smith was looking to add his creative spark to the Hednesford performance late on, linking well with McHale on eighty minutes just outside the penalty area before taking a couple of touches to settle himself before drilling in a low shot that skipped past Phillips's left-hand post, again drawing ironic cheers from the home supporters

​

A rare trip into the Hednesford penalty area from Stafford on eighty-two minutes saw Morley send over a corner kick to the far post, where Fijian International Wara arrived late to head back across goal and back into the mix, but no-one in a back and white shirt was on hand to turn the ball into the net as Harrison cleared his lines

​​​

The Pitmen finally found a way hrough the stoic Rangers defence on eighty-five minutes as Trickett-Smith's free-kick from the right was partially cleared by the home defence to McHale on the left-hand side, with the Magic Man showing wonderful close control to bambozzle two Stafford players and leave them for dead as he entered the penalty area, drilling his cross low into the six-yard box where Jervis was on hand to steer the ball home at the far post from a yard out, sparking raucous celebrations from the large away contingent in the Lotus stand

​

With the game tipping in their favour with the equaliser, Hednesford went in search of a late winner that would leave the title on a knife edge on the last day of the season if they could grab it; Harrison was left completely unmarked by some tired-looking Stafford defending on eighty-six minutes as he was allowed to meet Hussey's expertly-taken corner kick from the right with his head, looping his effort over Phillips but also narrowly over the crossbar

​

Rose picked up a late caution for the Pitmen as the substitute was penalised by the hugely inconsistent Mr Stott for a shirt pull on Atherton as the pair wrestled for possession inside the Stafford half

​

With the game moving into five added minutes, Bearne was handed a great chance to win it for the men in grey as he jinked his way into the Stafford penalty area down the left and tried his luck with an angled shot that was brilliantly blocked by the flailing leg of Burns

​

It had been a very typical local derby in many ways; low on overall quality and reliant on a couple of moments of inspiration amid a lot of huffing and puffing from both sides. Widnes's 3-1 win at Vauxhall Motors means that the gap between the sides moves back to three points going into the final round of games on Saturday, with Widnes playing host to mid-table Trafford and Hednesford at home to Runcorn Linnets. Hurren's side will have to rely on Trafford doing them a huge favour at Widnes, whilst the Pitmen keep up their part of the bargain with victory over Runcorn. Either way, it guarantees an exciting last day of the campaign and a position the Pitmen would have gladly snatched your hands off for back in the inconsistent days of November and December, when the thought of automatic promotion would have seemed fanciful at best

​​​

Stafford Rangers: Phillips, Burns, O'Hanlon, Rees, Wara, O'Neill ©, Atherton, Fallon ▆ (Thomas 73), Cockerline ▆, McQuilkin (Morley 56), Anderson (Brazier 34)       Subs Unused: Brereton, Barlow

​

Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan, Taylor (Johnson 70), Maye (Rose 66 ▆), Harrison, Hussey, Watson (Bearne 70), Doyle-Charles, Blissett ▆ (Trickett-Smith 66), McHale ©, Jervis     Sub Unused: Brown

​​​​​​​​​​