The ten-man Pitmen crash to their first home defeat of the season this evening as visitors Stockton grab a late winner at Keys Park to take all three points back to Teeside

 

Having had a ten-day break between games, the hosts were able to get some of their walking wounded patched up and ready for action for this evening’s game; Joel Taylor was the notable return to the squad, with the left-back passed fit after missing the past month due to a hamstring pull. Hurren made one change to the starting XI from the one that had started against Lancaster two Saturdays previously, as Jermaine Hylton came in for his first start in place of Simeon Maye. Hurren was still without the services of several of his first team, with Nathan Blissett, Jacob Gwilt, Elliott Johnson, Jake Jervis, Dan Trickett-Smith and Kieron Freeman all missing from the first team squad

 

Stockton – tipped to push the likes of Hednesford to the title this term after a highly impressive first season at this level last year – sat seventh in the Northern Premier League table ahead of their long trip down the Staffordshire. Anchors manager Michael Dunwell made one change to the side that had started their F.A. Trophy defeat at Clitheroe ten days ago as skipper Adam Nicholson came back in ahead of Steve Thompson in midfield

 

The Pitmen’s recent spell of ropey form didn’t appear to have affected the confidence in the players from the supporters, with another bumper crowd of 1,630 in attendance for tonight’s long-awaited return to Keys Park. They didn’t have to wait long for the night’s first moment of drama as the hosts stole into the lead in bizarre circumstances in the fourth minute; Jamie Morgan made a run down the right, running past Josh Baggs and forcing the full-back into a crude challenge that drew the evening’s first yellow card from referee Mr Hall. Chris Hussey swung in a superb free kick from the right that caused goalkeeper Nathan Harker all sorts of issues, with the stopper inexplicably diverting the defender’s ball into his own net as he looked to punch the ball away from a crowd of players at the far post but could only watch in horror as the ball dropped behind him and into the net

 

Tony Breeden was to have a busy night between the sticks for the Pitmen, making the first of a string of fine saves in the seventh minute to deny the lively Josh Scott, pushing the forward’s effort away after Scott had picked the ball up just inside the Hednesford penalty area and showed some neat footwork before striking towards goal from ten yards out

 

Scott was to prove something of a thorn in the Pitmen’s side all evening long, taking advantage of a rare slip from Hussey in the tenth minute to make progress down the right. After spotting Breeden off his line, Scott attempted a lob over the head of the veteran stopper but could only clip his shot onto the roof of the net

 

Two minutes later, Montel Gibson looked to get off the mark on his home debut as he made a driving run into the box from the left, curling in an effort at goal that forced ex-Newcastle United trainee Harker into a save, parrying the ball into the night sky before claiming it at the second attempt

 

Ahkeem Rose made one of his typically bustling runs into space in the sixteenth minute, forcing his way past Tom Coulthard before being brought down by the defender. Hussey came across to take the resultant free-kick but got a little too much on his cross that was headed away by Arjun Purewal

 

Arjun’s twin brother Amar wasted Stockton’s best chance of the half so far as the former Morpeth Town striker headed high over the crossbar on twenty-one minutes as he leapt to meet a corner from Kevin Hayes at the far post

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Excellent play from Hylton two minutes later saw the winger make a driving run into the Stockton box after teasing his way in from the left, leaving Arjun Purewal in his wake before striking a firm shot across goal but firing just wide of Harker’s left-hand post

 

The Pitmen were made to pay for some more sloppy marking inside their own penalty area on twenty-four minutes as Stockton grabbed themselves an equaliser from a free-kick out on the right; Jake Petitjean's ball in was not dealt with by the hosts, with Amar Purewal’s initial shot blocked but falling nicely into the path of Nicholson, who fired into the roof of the net from close-range with a first-time effort

 

The Pitmen really should have put themselves back in front within four minutes, however, as top scorer Rose was guilty of a really poor miss; skipper Dom McHale darted into the box down the right and stood up a fine cross to the near post which was attacked by the striker, who somehow headed inches wide of Harker’s left-hand post with the goal at his mercy

 

The already-booked Baggs was walking a fine line with Mr Hall, receiving a final warning from the official on twenty-nine minutes after he brought down Gibson in full flight down the Hednesford left. Once again, however, Hussey’s delivery lacked any real direction and was headed away by Coulthard

 

The game was turned on its head ten minutes before half-time as home debutant Max Sheaf was shown a straight red card after striking out at Petitjean in frustration after a clash between the pair in midfield and right in front of the official, who instantly gave the midfielder his marching orders without a second thought

 

The Pitmen looked to close ranks as Stockton pressed for another goal before the break; successive corner kicks on the left were dealt with by Ryan Wynter and the fist of Breeden, with Scott lifting an effort high and wide of goal

 

Breeden was again alert to the danger on thirty-nine minutes, making a timely claim from another deep corner kick on the right to deny both Scott and Nicholson at the far post

 

Another outstanding save from Breeden kept the scores level a couple of minutes before half-time as he brilliantly turned Cam Painter’s curling effort from eighteen yards out away for a corner with an instinctive stop to his left. From the resultant corner kick, Ollie Harrison conceded a free kick on the edge of his own penalty area as he brought down Amar Purewal, with Nicholson to striking the resultant kick straight into the three-man Hednesford wall

 

The final action of the half saw Hylton play a clever reverse pass into the feet of Hussey, who had made a run in behind him down the left; the defender got goal side of Arjun Purewal before striking an audacious angled shot at goal from the left-hand byeline that beat Harker but came back off the top of the crossbar

 

It had been a low-quality but action-packed first half, with the home side going from an authoritative position at 1-0 up to now facing the reality of playing over an hour of the game with ten men against a useful Stockton side who had grown into the game. Rose was sacrificed by Hurren at half-time as he brought on Joss Labadie to play in the midfield role vacated by Sheaf’s red card

 

Looking to keep it tight and play on the counter attack, the Pitmen looked to use the pace of Gibson to good effect on forty-eight minutes as a long punt forward from Harrison looked to play the striker goal side of Coulthard. However, Harker had spotted the run of the former Hereford man and made a timely interception to deny Gibson a shot at goal

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McHale looked to get his side going with a slalom-like run at goal down the left on fifty-two minutes, beating three players before lashing his angled effort from eighteen yards out over the crossbar 

 

Some more shaky goalkeeping from Harker saw the stopper make a nervy punch away from goal on fifty-four minutes as Hussey’s inswinging corner kick was aimed at Harrison at the far post

 

Two minutes later, Coulthard followed Baggs into the referee’s notebook as the defender was booked for a foul on Hylton. Hussey looked to pick out Wynter at the far post as he clipped his free kick into the box, but more stoic defending from the visitors saw them smuggle the ball away from danger

 

A quick break down the left from Stockton on fifty-eight minutes saw Painter play Scott into acres of space in behind by Morgan; however, a late offside flag against the forward pulled play back before he could square the ball to the unmarked Amar Purewal in the six-yard box

 

On the hour mark, Stockton really should have taken the lead through Amar Purewal as a cross from Hayes was headed downward by Scott into the path of the striker, whose acrobatic effort narrowly cleared the crossbar from eight yards out. A great chance missed

 

Scott continued to lead the Pitmen’s defenders a merry dance, forcing Breeden into another superb save midway through the second half as he picked up a clearance from Wynter just inside the penalty area and struck a low shot at goal that forced a brilliant save out of the Hednesford goalkeeper, turned the ball away to his left before Harrison could complete the clearance

 

A minute later, the Pitmen made their second change of the evening with an attacking substitution as Dan Turner came on in place of the fading Gibson, who had struggled to get a foothold in the game in the second half

 

The away side’s first change of the evening came on seventy-three minutes as former Middlesbrough man Thompson returned to the side in place of Petitjean

 

Labadie denied Stockton a superb chance on the break a minute later, sliding in to dispossess Scott at the crucial moment on the edge of the penalty area as the forward shaped to shoot at goal

 

It seemed as though Scott was destined not to cap off a fine attacking display with a goal, as he missed another good chance on seventy-nine minutes with a firmly struck low effort from twenty-five yards out that skipped just wide of Breeden’s left-hand post with the stopper at full stretch

 

Stockton made their second and final change of the evening with ten minutes of the game remaining as Michael Sweet replaced the hard-running Amar Purewal up front

 

Patient build-up play from the Pitmen on eighty-two minutes saw Hylton pull the ball back from the left into the path of the incoming McHale, who had to check back onto his favoured left boot on the edge of the penalty area and struck a low shot at goal that was blocked by the covering Coulthard

 

Breeden capped a man-of-the-match display for the Pitmen with another excellent save two minutes later, pushing a low shot from Baggs away from goal down to his left after good approach play from the visitors down the left

 

However, the ten-man Pitmen’s brave resistance was finally broken by Stockton on eighty-six minutes as Scott finally got the goal his efforts deserved. A run and cross from Sweet found Scott, whose initial shot was tipped onto the crossbar by a fantastic save from Breeden on his line; however, Scott  followed the ball in on goal and had the simple task of forcing the loose ball home from close range

 

The Pitmen committed more bodies forward in the final moments of the game as they desperately looked to find a late equaliser; Wynter pushed forwards to add his height to the attack, challenging for a ball with Arjun Purewal on eighty-eight minutes before going down under the defender’s challenge. Despite muted protests from the men in white, Mr Hall was unimpressed and the game continued

 

A visibly frustrated McHale picked up a late booking for the Pitmen in the final minute of the game for a kick out at Nicholson to stop the midfielder from making his way forward

 

He was followed into the book by Labadie a minute later as the midfielder’s crunching challenge on Sweet led to a bout of pushing and shoving amongst both sets of players

 

The Pitmen rolled the dice one last time in the first of five added minutes as recent signing Ollie Wilson came on up front for his home debut in place of Wynter

 

Stockton could have finished the Pitmen off deep into added time as they sprung a quick counter attack down the right through Scott, racing through on goal but striking a bobbling shot beyond the reach of Breeden and wide of the stopper’s right-hand post

 

It had been a valiant display from the hosts, who had played for just over an hour with ten men and very nearly hung on for a battling point until Scott’s fortuitous late strike. However, that makes it six games without a win in all competitions for Hurren’s men, who are starting to slip away from the top of the Northern Premier League table with teams around them in far more consistent form. They hit the road once more on Saturday with a trip up to struggling Guiseley in desperate need of halting their recent slide in form and in search of some much-needed confidence in front of goal that, despite the quality and expense of the current crop of forward players at their disposal, is really lacking

 

Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan, Hussey, Sheaf ▆ (36), Harrison, Wynter (Wilson 90+1), Rose (Labadie 45 ▆), Doyle-Charles, Gibson (Turner 65), McHale © ▆, Hylton   Subs unused: Taylor, Parke

 

Stockton Town: Harker, Baggs ▆, Arjun Purewal, Bramwell, Nicholson ©, Coulthard ▆, Scott, Petitjean (Thompson 73), Amar Purewal (Sweet 80), Painter, Hayes      Subs unused: Gallacher, Steels, Spears

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