The Pitmen's horribly inconsistent recent form continued this afternoon as they conceded an injury-time goal to Max Harrop and allowed hosts Stalybridge Celtic to take the points at Bower Fold

Having seen his team produce a battling display against Chasetown on Bank Holiday Monday, manager Danny Glover was without the services of defenders Callam Mendez-Jones and skipper Sam Griffiths so made two enforced changes to his side for today's trip up north, with Michael Williams and Tom Thorley coming back into the side in their place. The final change came between the sticks as veteran stopper Dan Crane returned after serving his two-game suspension for his red card at Darlaston two weeks ago


Stalybridge's Bank Holiday Monday game at newly-promoted Avro had ended in a 3-2 defeat for the Celts in Oldham, leaving the hosts in sixth place ahead of today's hastily-re-arranged league game at Bower Fold. Manager James Kinsey made two changes of his own for their return home as Jordan Burton and Matty Bryan came in for Jake Kenny and Lucas Cook

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The hosts were quickly out of the traps on a lovely sunny afternoon in Cheshire, with Aaron Dwyer having the game's first sighting at goal in the second minute as a corner kick from Jordan Burton was met by the former Buxton striker, who leant over the ball and struck his first-time volley over Crane's crossbar

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Stalybridge were rewarded for their good start to the game with the game's opening goal in the fifth minute; another corner from Burton was floated to the far post, where Connor O'Grady headed the ball back across the face of goal and into the path of Greg Wilkinson, who had the simple task of nodding the ball home as he beat Max Dixon to the ball from a yard out

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Back came the men in red, with Rivel Mardenborough making a run down the left two minutes later to stretch the Stalybridge defence out of position. The youngster looked to pick out Wembanvuanda Star Mayemba with a low cross into the box that was cut out by a timely intervention from the backtracking Michael Brewster

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Mardenborough was in action once again in the ninth minute, wriggling his way into the Stalybridge penalty area after taking on a pass from Tom Thorley and striking a rising shot over the crossbar from sixteen yards out

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The same player got the better of Brewster once more in the thirteenth minute, racing onto a pass from Dixon and getting goal side of the Stalybridge defender, but once again struck a shot high over the crossbar and failed to test on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Luke Hewitson

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Two minutes later, good wing play from Bryan saw him cut inside from the right flank, drifting past Jack Kelly with relative ease and striking a shot from the corner of the penalty area that Crane watched over his crossbar

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The Pitmen failed to take advantage of some indecisive defending from the hosts in the seventeenth minute as Kelly delivered the third in a series of corner kicks into the box that failed to be cleared by the home defenders effectively. Mayemba and Williams tried to apply the finish to the bouncing ball inside the six-yard box, but Bryan was on hand to eventually complete the clearance

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Monday's goalscorer Jacob Gwilt went close to adding to his season's tally on twenty-one minutes as he got on the end of a patient piece of build-up play from the visitors and struck a low shot at goal from the edge of the penalty area but saw his effort skip just wide of Hewitson's left-hand post

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Brandon Newell was a little lucky to avoid being the first player to go into the referee's notepad on twenty-two minutes as he brought Mardenborough down in full flight to stop the striker from bursting into the Stalybridge penalty area

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Kelly's free-kick was initially dealt with by the Stalybridge defence, with Thorley picking up the loose ball and playing a superb lofted pass through to Mardenborough, who timed his run to perfection as he broke the offside trap and steered the ball past the onrushing Hewitson with a fine finish across the face of goal from twelve yards out and finding the far corner of the net. The Stalybridge players appealed in vain for an offside flag against Mardenborough, but the goal stood despite the home side's protests

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The Pitmen suddenly had the momentum swinging their way for a spell, with Mayemba looking to burst into the Stalybridge penalty area on twenty-six minutes after a pass from Jack Sang, only to be pulled back by the assistant on the far side for a foul on Burton in the build-up

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Mayemba was a little too aggressive once more in trying to get to the ball just after the half-hour mark as he beat Brewster to a Kelly cross but was penalised for clambering all over the defender to reach the ball

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The lively Dwyer continued to be a threat to the newly-formed Hednesford back line of Sam Paddock and Williams on thirty-three minutes, racing onto a through ball from Obua Mugalula but moved a little too soon for the assistant's liking and was flagged offside

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A minute later, Sang went close to giving the Pitmen the lead as he hit a first-time shot across goal from a tight angle but hit the side netting with his low effort that had Hewitson scrambling across his goal

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With ten minutes left in the first half, Stalybridge went within a hair's breadth of taking the lead once more as a good run and cross from Dwyer from the right looked to pick out Bryan at the far post, with the prolific former Wythenshawe Town striker somehow failing to apply the finish at the far post as the ball skipped across goal and out of play

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Bryan warmed the palms of the returning Crane on forty minutes as he hit a firm snap-shot at goal from the edge of the Hednesford penalty area that was straight at the veteran in the centre of his goal. Either side of Crane and it most likely would have found the net

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Mayemba continued to avoid having his name taken by the referee despite a constant string of niggly fouls from the striker, the latest coming just before half-time on Newell that had the hosts asking the question about what Mayemba had to do to earn a booking

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It had been a good reaction from the Pitmen to going 1-0 down so early on in the game, with plenty of chances coming and going for the visitors in a competitive first half from both sides. Stalybridge made a change at the break at full-back as Brewster was taken off in favour of Kenny ahead of the second half

 

Bryan - still looking for his first Stalybridge goal since his summer move from Cheadle Town -  again went close for the hosts on forty-eight minutes as he shot narrowly wide of Crane's right-hand post after a quick break down the left from Burton had played him into space

 

Two minutes later, the Hednesford back line stood off Max Harrop as he made his way towards goal, allowing the experienced former Ashton United midfielder time and space to size his shot up from twenty yards out and strike a powerful effort straight at Crane

 

At the other end, the Pitmen's first attack of the second half saw Mayemba go agonisingly close to giving his side the lead on fifty-one minutes as Dixon's cross to the far post was headed onto the outside of the post by the Congolese striker as he rose to beat Newell to the ball

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A minute later, the impressive Mardenborough drove another good chance just wide of the Pitmen after good feet from Dixon had slipped the ball into the path of his strike partner just inside the Stalybridge penalty area

 

The Pitmen were to rue this missed chance for Mayemba as Stalybridge took the lead once more through Dwyer on fifty-five minutes; Burton made another fine run down the left flank and sent over a deep cross to the far corner of the penalty area where the ball was met by a full-blooded volley from the former Bury man that sent the ball acting beyond the reach of Crane and into the top corner of the net. A fine goal no doubt, but yet more questionable defending from the Pitmen in the build-up, something that is quickly becoming a feature of their season

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Brad Byrne was the first player to pick up a booking shortly before the hour mark as the former Celtic youth teamer was shown a yellow card for a foul on Mardenborough thirty yards from the Stalybridge goal

 

Bryan followed his team-mate into the book just two minutes later as he was shown a yellow card for pulling Paddock back to prevent the young Hednesford defender from clearing his lines

 

The hosts made their second substitution of the afternoon on sixty-three minutes as the tiring Mugalula was taken off by Kinsey as he replaced the former Workington man with Joe Edwards 

 

Mayemba had worked hard for no reward thus far, but finally got the goal that his efforts deserved as he equalised for the Pitmen midway through the second half; Kelly's inswinging corner kick was headed goalwards by the young striker, with the ball scrambled away from goal by Hewiston in the melee that followed. Despite Stalybridge protests that the ball had not crossed the line before being cleared, the goal stood and the Pitmen were back on level terms once more

 

It was anyone's game at this point, with the ball moving back and forth up and down the pitch like a basketball game for a spell. Gwilt picked up the Pitmen's first yellow card of the afternoon on sixty-eight minutes for bringing down Bryan as the striker looked to take the ball past him the former AFC Telford United youngster on the left flank

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Dywer drove a good effort inches over the crossbar for Celtic on seventy-one minutes as he was once again afforded far too much time and space to decide what he wanted to do, flashing a right-footed effort just over Crane's crossbar from twenty yards out

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Back came the Pitmen, breaking quickly a minute later through Desean Martin in midfield before the combative midfielder was brought down by Newell, earning the defender a yellow card for the challenge

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Stalybridge's final substitution of the afternoon came a minute later as the already-booked Byrne was replaced in the centre of midfield by former Fleetwood Town youngster Zane Marsh 

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Hewitson denied Mardenborough a chance to give the away side the lead with fifteen minutes remaining as the young goalkeeper pushed the striker's low shot away from goal after good hold-up play from Mayemba brought Mardenborough into the game

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This was to be Mardenborough's final involvement in the game as he was replaced by player/manager Gliver before play could restart; Glover was making his first appearance of the season after suffering a groin pull in the Pitmen's final pre-season friendly at Stafford Rangers last month

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Three minutes later, the Pitmen made another change in personnel as the tiring Thorley was replaced in the centre of midfield by youngster Ryan Andrews

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Bryan went close to giving Stalybridge the lead for the third time in the afternoon on seventy-nine minutes as Dwyer's fine pass sent the striker away on goal, with his goalbound effort beating Crane but was diverted away from goal by a last-ditch clearance from skipper Williams to turn the ball behind for a corner kick

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Andrews tested Hewitson just three minutes after coming on as he struck a first-time shot at goal from the edge of the Stalybridge penalty area that was parried away by the Celtic stopper down to his left-hand side

 

On eighty-four minutes, a poor challenge from Martin on Dwyer saw tempers flare on both benches and between both sets of players as Stalybridge took exception to the midfielder's challenge. Martin was rightly booked for the foul as well as Edwards for the protests. However, once the players had calmed down, Martin exacerbated the issue further with an aggressive response to something said to him by a Stalybridge player three minutes later and a second yellow card for the player. In the melee that followed, goalscorers Dwyer and Wilkinson were also booked for taking their protests too far, with the Pitmen looking to hang in with ten men for the remaining minutes

 

The Pitmen felt that retribution should have been carried out on Marsh two minutes later as the substitute sent Mardenborough sprawling, but only a free-kick was awarded to the visitors thirty yards from goal and no card for the youngster

 

With the game moving into five minutes of added time, the hosts turned the screw on their nervous ten-man opponents as they faced set-piece after set-piece. In the third added minute, Stalybridge grabbed the all-important winner as Harrop was allowed to make progress down the left-hand touchline before curling the ball beyond the reach of Crane at his near post and into the net via a slight touch off the back-tracking Williams, prompting wild celebrations from the home players and supporters

 

There was still time for Bryan to go close to adding a fourth goal for the hosts as he broke through the flimsy Hednesford offside trap and drove a low shot beyond the reach of Crane but into the side-netting from fifteen yards out

 

A hugely disappointing and deflating defeat for the Pitmen, who had been good value for at least a point to most of the second half until Martin saw red late on, inviting pressure on an increasingly incapable-looking Hednesford defence that continues to ship goals at an alarming rate. That is now four of the last five games that Glover's side have conceded three goals or more, something we have seen previous Hednesford sides get into a horrible habit of doing and most likely end in the club being relegated at the end of the season (see 2015-2016 and 2022-2023). This will need addressing very quickly and may well have to see Glover part company with some of the troops he has been loyal to so far this term, as several players are looking out of their depth up against big, strong, aggressive NPL opponents, flaking badly in the second half of games in recent weeks. An intriguing-looking F.A. Trophy tie at home to local rivals Walsall Wood is next up for the Pitmen on Saturday, with the humiliating defeat at Darlaston in the F.A. Cup still fresh in the memory for players and fans alike

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Stalybridge Celtic: Hewitson, Brewster (Kenny 45), Burton, Newell ▆, O'Grady, Wilkinson ▆, Byrne ▆ (Marsh 73), Harrop, Bryan ▆, Dwyer▆, Mugalula (Edwards 63 ▆)        Subs Unused: Jones, Cook

 

Hednesford Town: Crane, Gwilt▆, Kelly, Martin ▆ ▆ (87), Williams ©, Paddock, Sang, Thorley (Andrews 78), Mardenborough, Mayemba (Glover 75), Dixon      Subs Unused: Bower, Wright, Richards

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