A dramatic afternoon at Keys Park sees the Pitmen return to National League North football after a decade away, courtesy of a penalty shoot-out win over Warrington Rylands

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Having dispatched of Stockton Town in Tuesday night's semi-final, Hednesford manager Kelvin Davis saw no reason to tinker with his side, electing to stick with the same XI for today's big final showdown

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Rylands had downed FC United of Manchester at Broadhurst Park on Tuesday night in the other semi-final to set up today's Keys Park clash, with the vastly experienced Neil Reynolds making one change to his side for their trip down the M6 as Guy Hall came in for the injured Dean Furman

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Another 4,000-plus crowd greeted the two sides at kick-off, with Rylands backed by over 400 of their own supporters housed in the Hednesford end of the ground. Rylands - looking to play on the counter-attack from the off - forced Tony Breeden into early action as Alex Kiwomya was played through on goal by Harrison Wood's pass, with Breeden racing out of goal but being beaten to the ball by Kiwomya, whose low angled shot at goal lacked any real pace or power and was cleared by the covering Ollie Harrison

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Breeden's early involvement in the game saw him boot the ball out of play in the fifth minute, complaining that the match ball was flat. Referee Mr Murray took a look at the ball and called for a new one to be used instead

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Omari Sterling-James looked to get the hosts going with a flowing run inside from the left on eight minutes, cutting inside as he took the ball past Cluve Smth before taking a tumble just outside the penalty area under pressure from the ex-Atherton Collieries man. Mr Murray was keen to let the game flow and waved away the forward's pleas for a free-kick

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There was more frustration from both sets of players and fans on eleven minutes as a second match ball of the afternoon needed replacing after deflation issues following a goal kick from Rylands goalkeeper Luke Pilling. It was perhaps fitting that this was to be the final game for the much-maligned Chryso balls before they are replaced by a new supplier for the Northern Premier League next season

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Liam Kinsella handed Rylands a free-kick in a dangerous position on thirteen minutes as he hauled George Waring down twenty-five yards from the Hednesford goal. Ben Hardcastle - skipper for the day in the absence of Furman - swung in a deep free-kick looking for the head of the ex-Hednesford man Matt Regan, only for a superb clearing header by Harrison inside his own six-yard box

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Neat build-up play from Rylands a minute later saw the ball worked into the path of Charlie Muro, standing in a central position twenty-five yards from goal - his dipping effort took a nick off Hussey and forced Breeden into action, tipping the ball over the crossbar for a corner kick to the visitors

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Good play from Jamie Morgan and Ahkeem Rose in the eighteenth minute saw the pair work the ball down the right flank, with Rose's deep cross headed just wide of the far post by strike partner Montel Gibson, who had got goal side of Regan for the first time in the afternoon

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Jermaine Hylton made progress down the left for the Pitmen a minute later, teasing his way past Smith before floating a cross into the box that was easily fielded by Pilling at his near post

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Midway through a cagey first period that had seen chances at a premium, Sterling-James once again looked to make a run into the box off the left but saw the ball taken off his toe by a covering challenge from Hall to put it behind for a corner kick. Hussey's ball in was wasteful, however, as his corner sailed over the heads of everyone in the six-yard box and went out on the far side of the pitch

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Hussey delivered a better ball into the box on twenty-eight minutes, playing an outswinging corner kick into the box that Rylands cleared back to the defender, whose recycled cross was easily claimed by Pilling inside his own six-yard box

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Mr Murray incurred the wrath of the home fans on thirty-two minutes as he allowed Munro to escape without a yellow card, despite a late challenge on Sterling-James midway inside the Rylands half. Hussey was once again on free-kick duty and picked out Gibson at the far post with a deep ball into the box that the striker just couldn't keep in play as he attempted to lift it back into the danger zone

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Two minutes later, a neat passage of play from the hosts saw Gibson played in on goal, but his left-footed effort lacked power and was easily fielded by Pilling at his near post 

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Top scorer Ahkeem Rose had been a mere bystander for much of the first half hour of the game, struggling to get into the game up against some tough defending from the away side. On thirty-five minutes, Sterling-James made a darting run into the box from the left and cut it back to Rose, in space just outside the box; his curling effort, however, was too high to worry Pilliing as it sailed over the crossbar from eighteen yards out

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Wood was lucky to escape a yellow card after yet more overly generous refereeing from Mr Murray on thirty-eight minutes as the Blackburn Rovers loanee brought Hylton down just to the left of the Rylands penalty area, handing Hussey another chance to deliver a cross from a dangerous position. However, his ball into Harrison lacked height and was headed away by Hall

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A quick counter from the visitors down the right on forty-two minutes saw a throw-in from Smith play Wood into a good position ahead of Hussey, with his low cross into the box just a little too far in front of both Waring and Kiwomya

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With the final action of the half, the talented Hardcastle looked to pick out the lanky Waring with a lofted free-kick into the penalty area that he took quickly, but got far too much on it and played the ball straight out of play for a goal kick to the Pitmen​

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It had been a largely attritional and slightly nervy first period, very much in keeping with the way finals tend to go, with neither side really asserting themselves in the final third of the pitch. There had been very few clear-cut chances at either end, with the game mirroring the tight nature of both league games between the sides, both of which had both finished in score draws

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With the first meaningful attack of the half on forty-seven minutes, the pacy Kiwomya got in behind Morgan and looked to pull it back towards Waring, only to get too much on his cut-back and the ball rolled harmlessly away from danger

 

However, just sixty seconds later,  Rylands blew the tie right open as they grabbed the all-important first goal of the final; a corner kick from the right was swung in by Hardcastle to the near post, where Smith got goal side of Doyle-Charles and firmly planted his header past Breeden and into the net from six yards out. It was the right-back's second headed goal in the past week, having grabbed the equaliser at FC United in a similar manner 

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Keys Park became a restless and jittery place following Smith's goal, with the home side struggling to conjure up a response against a well-drilled Rylands defence. Hylton picked up some well-deserved flak from the Heath Hayes terrace on fifty-two minutes as he did well to make space for himself down the left, but wasted his cross by casually chipping it straight into the grateful arms of Pilling with no-one in a white shirt even close to the ball

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Four minutes later, Hussey broke into space beyond Hylton with a driving run behind Smith, clipping in a cross to the near post that was aimed at Rose, forcing Pulling into a smothering save ahead of the striker

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The pressure had started to ramp up on the Rylands defence with back-to-back corner kicks from Hussey first forcing Regan into defensive action and then Pilling into a punch away under pressure from Harrison. Warrington broke on the counter down the left, with Hall played into space by Kiwomya and crossing for Waring, forcing Doyle-Charles into a last-ditch defensive block at the near post

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Regan produced a miraculous goal-line clearance to deny Gibson just after the hour mark, somehow managing to hook the striker's goal-bound angled shot off the line after Hussey's cleverly-threaded free-kick had slipped the striker in behind the static Warrington wall

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Rose was left frustrated once more a minute later, taking a tumble in the penalty area under pressure from Patrick Gamble but having his pleas for a penalty waved away by Mr Murray

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The misfiring Pitmen made their first change of the afternoon on sixty-six minutes as the disappointing Hylton - who had created very little in the way of end product out on the left - was replaced by Jake Jervis

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Breeden produced an absolutely breathtaking save to keep his side in it on sixty-nine minutes, diving full length to his left to somehow turn Smith's goalbound header away from goal after an excellent free-kick into the box from Hardcastle on the right was met by the defender. A brilliant save from the veteran stopper

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Wood picked up the game's first booking a minute later, with Mr Murray issuing him a yellow card for a foul on Hussey out on the Hednesford left flank. This drew ironic cheers from the home supporters, who had felt that the match official's lenient approach to the game had been going against them so far

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Another penalty shout from Rose followed on seventy-one minutes, as his strike from fifteen yards out appeared to strike the hand of Regan as the defender looked to close him down, with Mr Murray only awarding the frustrated home side a corner kick. Hussey's resultant ball in was met by the towering Harrison, whose ball back across was deflected over the crossbar by Regan for another corner kick

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Two minutes later, a forceful run from Jervis down the left saw him drift inside of Smth and line up a shot at goal from the edge of the box, only to be denied by another excellent block challenge from Gamble as the defender threw his body in front of the ball

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Harrison was off-target once more from yet another Hussey corner kick on seventy-five minutes, lifting his looping header over the crossbar from six yards out after Hussey had picked him out at the far post

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With time starting to slip away for the hosts, Davis made a second attacking substitution on seventy-seven minutes as the mercrial Dom McHale was sent on to try and change the game, replacing Morgan in a move that Davis had used to good effect against FC United and Cleethorpes Town recently

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Rylands continued to threaten on the counter through Hardcastle, whose run down the right on eighty minutes saw him burst into the box before being denied a shot at goal by a sliding challenge on him from Hussey to turn the ball behind for a corner kick. Yet again, Smith proved to be an issue from Hardcastle's ball in as he rose to meet it at the far post, but the ball in was just a little too high for him and ran out of play on the far side of the pitch

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McHael's first real involvement saw him pick up the loose ball on the edge of the Rylands box on eighty-two minutes, turning and twisting as he worked it onto his favoured left foot, but striking a wild shot high and wide of goal under pressure from Gamble

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Looking to stem the tide of Hednesford attacks late on, Reynolds made his first change of the afternoon on eighty-four minutes as the booked Wood was brought off and replaced by Ben Hough in midfield

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Davis made a bold move with three minutes remaining as he sent on centre-back Ryan Wynter as an auxiliary target man up front as he replaced Rose, who simply hadn't been in the game all afternoon long and had been well shackled by the Rylands defence

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A minute later, Sterling-James earned the Pitmen a free-kick in a dangerous position as Hardcastle tripped him out on the left flank. Hussey's ball into the box caused Ryland's issues as they struggled to clear their lines, with Regan once again doing enough to hack the bouncing ball away from danger

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Just as it seemed that the visitors would hang on, the Pitmen grabbed that all-important lifeline with one of the six added minutes already gone; Breeden's long punt forward from his own half was labrought down by Gibson and into the path of Williams, who showed a wonderful instinct for a centre-back to drill home a fine first-time finish past Pilling from sixteen yards out, sending Keys Park into raptures and the game into extra time

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Deep, deep into added time, McHale went close to turning the game on its head as he danced across the face of the Rylands penalty area before curling a left-footed effort inches wide of Pilling's right-hand post

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​The final whistle was greeted with a fair amount of relief from the majority of the crowd, who recognised that their side had been fortunate in taking the game to the extra half hour when it had looked for long periods in the second half that they just didn't have enough in the final third to trouble Rylands

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Pilling was on his game four minutes into extra time, plucking a deep cross from Williams out of the air after the defender had broken into space down the right flank to pick up McHale's pass 

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Two minutes later, Hardcastle joined Wood in Mr Murray's notebook as the playmaker was booked by the match official for a late and clumsy challenge on Sterling-James

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Rylands freshened up their flagging forward line with a change on ninety-eight minutes as Jake Burton came on in place of Kiwomya, who had given the Hednesford forward line plenty to think about all afternoon long with his hard running

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A brilliant save from Pilling denied the Pitmen what they thought was a certain goal on 100 minutes, diving to his left to push Gibson's shot away from goal after Hussey had entered the box down the left and pulled the ball back to the striker, standing ten yards from goal

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The final yellow card of the afternoon was brandished in the direction of Munro a minute later, as the former FC United midfielder tripped up Doyle-Charles just inside the Rylands half of the pitch

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Another marauding run from Jervis down the left on 103 minutes  saw the veteran forward make a lung-busting run in past Smith and into the box, before cutting the ball back across the face of the Rylands penalty area - somehow, neither Gibson or Sterling-James could get on the end of a tempting ball in as it skipped harmlessly wide of the far post

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A visibly tiring Smith did brilliantly to deny Gibson two minutes after the restart, toe-poking the ball away from the striker with a last-ditch sliding tackle after the former Hereford striker had taken the ball down and entered the penalty area

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Wynter's resultant throw-in was launched into the box from the right and into the path of Harrison, who once again headed over the crossbar under pressure from Waring

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On 109 minutes, Rylands goalscorer Smith was sacrificed by the visitors as Reynolds elected to bring on some more presence further forward as the right-back was replaced by teenage midfielder Sam Muyengwa. This substitution saw Waring move from striker to defender to cover for Smith at the back

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The Rylands counter-attack had been blunted since Kiwomya's departure, although a quick break from Hardcastle down the right on 111 minutes saw him pull the ball back to Hough, whose effort from the edge of the box flew high over Breeden's crossbar

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Jervis was denied by Pilling once more three minutes later, with the stopper holding the striker's glancing header at his near post after Jervis had got on the end of Hussey's left wing cross ahead of Gamble

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McHale was still looking to be the Pitmen's late hero, once again working the ball onto his left foot again as he drifted in from the right flank before striking a shot at goal that took a nick off Regan and looped up over the head of Pilling and onto the roof of the net for a corner kick

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The Pitmen's final change came with just seconds of extra time remaining - presumably with penalties now in mind - as Dan Trickett-Smith came on in place of Gibson, who had picked up a later knock

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And so to penalty kicks, with Rylands winning the toss and choosing to take the kicks at the end housing their own fans. Hardcastle stepped up first for the visitors and fired straight down the middle of the goal and into the net, despite Breeden's best attempts to keep it out; Sterling-James then confidently sent Pilling the wrong way to equalise for the hosts

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Munro sent his effort to Breeden's right to make it 2-1, slotted into the corner of the net before Jervis - scorer of a penalty in last season's play-off final - confidently dispatched the Pitmen's second penalty, sending it high to Pilling's left

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Pilling surprisingly took Rylands' third penalty and again was on the spot with a well-struck spot-kick to Breeden's right-hand side to make it 3-2. McHale was next up for the Pitmen and, like Jervis, fired high into the net past Pilling to the goalkeeper's left to level once more

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Caddick sent Breeden the wrong way to make it 4-3 to Rylands, putting pressure on Hussey to respond - the veteran showed all of his years of experience to send Pilling the wrong way with a cool low effort to the goalkeeper's left

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Waring was next up for Rylands and initially sent Breeden the wrong way, only to watch in horror as his rising shot came back off the crossbar. This left Doyle-Charles with the chance to win it for the Pitmen, with the terrace favourite striking a first shot beyond the reach of Pilling and into the net, sparking a pitch invasion from the home supporters and rapturous celebrations

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After ten long years of some considerable ups and downs in the club's long history, the Pitmen finally return to the National League system after back-to-back promotions via the play-offs. The next few weeks will be extremely interesting as the club now has to make several key decisions; firstly, its ambitions to turn professional, which may well be accelerated now that promotion to step two has been achieved. Next, the future of Davis and his staff, whose contracts only ran until the end of the season, but have delivered promotion in their short time at the club. And finally, the players, most of whom are coming to the end of their deals but will be well aware of the club's desire to turn professional and may not necessarily be part of the overall plans should this happen. Expect a whole barrage of information, new faces and a whole lot of changes to the club before they return for pre-season in July. Exciting times ahead

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Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan (McHale 77), Hussey, Kinsella, Harrison, Williams, Hylton (Jervis 66), Doyle-Charles ©, Gibson (Trickett-Smith 120), Sterling-James, Rose (Wynter 87)      Sub unused: Sheaf

 

Warrington Rylands: Pilling, Smith (Muyengwa 109), Regan, Hall, Gamble, Caddick, Wood ▆​ (Hough 84), Munro ▆, Waring, Kiwomya (Burton 98), Hardcastle © ▆       Subs unused: Ascroft, Webster