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Montel Gibson

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Lancaster City (H) 18.10.25

The Pitmen's ropey run of away form continues this evening as a goal in each half is enough to hand improving hosts Whitby Town all three points at Upgang Lane

 

There had been an enforced break of ten days between games for the Pitmen - Saturday’s home game against Hyde United had been postponed due to Hyde’s ongoing involvement in the F.A. Cup, on top of last Tuesday night’s late postponement of the Stockton Town game due to a floodlight failure. On the pitch, Gavin Hurren was still without some of his key performers as Elliott Johnson, Ryan Wynter, Joel Taylor, Jake Jervis, Joss Labadie and Nathan Blissett were all absent for tonight’s long trip north, forcing the Hednesford manager into another ninety minutes of playing Jamie Morgan out of position at left-back whilst continuing with midfielder Kieron Freeman as right-back. Niall Watson’s recent departure allowed new signing Montel Gibson to come straight into the side as one of three changes to the side that had started against Harborough Town at the start of the month, with Ahkeem Rose replacing Jonny Edwards and Simeon Maye coming on for Jervis

 

Whiby had arrested a recent slump in form at the weekend with a fine 4-1 win at Ashton United, lifting them back into mid-table after a winless run of six games had left Gary Liddle’s side sliding down the Northern Premier League table. The Whitby gaffer made one enforced change to his side from the one that had started at Hurst Cross as Alex Nelson came in for the injured Nathan McGinley, who picked up a hamstring strain at the weekend

 

It was a crisp early Autumn evening right beside the North Sea, with the Pitmen backed by another superb away following despite the four-hour-plus journey north on a weeknight. Whitby looked to take advantage of some slack Hednesford defending from a free-kick in the fifth minute as left-back Sam Collins played a quick free-kick square into the path of Layton Watts, who was in acres of space on the edge of the penalty area – his well-struck left-footed curling effort beat Tony Breeden but also beat the stopper’s left-hand post as the shot skipped wide

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Good play from the Pitmen down the left three minutes later saw new boy Gibson do well, holding the ball up and showing some neat footwork before sending Rose into space beyond him. Connor Smith came across and blocked the striker's cross before he could pick out the incoming Trickett-Smith in the box

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A long punt over the top from Ollie Harrison in the eleventh minute was aimed at Rose, who did well to out-muscle Nelson just outside the penalty area but was denied a shot at goal by a covering tackle from Sam Collins

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Gibson – who had joined the Pitmen the previous week from Matlock Town – looked to make an early mark for his new club in the fourteenth minute, doing brilliantly to take down a long ball forward from Hussey with his chest on the edge of the penalty area before firing in a powerful rising shot that narrowly cleared goalkeeper Shane Bland’s crossbar

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A quick counter from Whitby two minutes later saw skipper Lewis Hawkins carry the ball to halfway and play James Harrison into space on the left; the ball found its way out to Donald Chimalilo, whose deep cross to the far post was turned narrowly wide at the far post by Smith, who gambled with a late run into the penalty area

 

Collins was the first player to have his name taken by the very inconsistent Mr Packer midway through the first half, as he was booked by the match official for a foul on McHale just inside the Whitby half

 

Two minutes later, the dangerous and pacy Chimalilo got in behind Freeman down the left flank as he was played through on goal by a delightful ball into the box from Watts, only to pull his effort just past Breeden’s right-hand post from an inviting position

 

McHale looked to work his way into the Whitby penalty area on twenty-four minutes with a typically bustling run inside from the right flank, taking two players out of play with his tricky feet before seeing his attempted shot blocked by the recovering Collins

 

Ahkeem Rose was proving a tricky customer for the Whitby defence in the opening half hour of the game, looking to run onto any ball forward and drag the two centre-backs out of position. Gibson did well in the corner on twenty-six minutes, hooking the ball back into the penalty area where Rose took the ball down neatly, but dragged his low shot back across goal well wide of Bland’s left-hand post when he should really have tested the stopper

 

The game turned on it’s head in a short three minute spell shortly after the half hour mark, with Gibson going agonisingly close to opening the scoring on thirty-two minutes as he picked up a deflected McHale shot on the left of the penalty area, drifting inside before unleashing a fantastic low shot that looked destined for the far corner of the net until a superb fingertip save from Bland turned Gibson’s effort around the post for a corner kick

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Somewhat against the run of play, Whitby took the lead on thirty-five minutes as the Pitmen failed to clear the lines inside their own penalty area; Watts picked the loose ball up on the edge of the penalty area and shaped to shoot before playing a clever concealed pass through to Chimalilo, who turned the hapless Freeman with ease and curled a delightful shot beyond the reach of Breeden and into the far corner of the net

 

Back came the Pitmen, who moved the ball quickly through midfield on thirty-eight minutes as Doyle-Charles and Trickett-Smith supplied McHale with the ball, with the Magic Man scuffing a low shot at goal from twenty-five yards out that Bland pounced on

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McHale turned provider for Rose three minutes later as he made a driving run from his own half before slipping the ball to Rose, who brought the ball inside before firing in a low left-footed shot that Bland palmed away down to his right

 

Two minutes into the four added on at the end of the first half, ex-Stafford Rangers striker Jake Charles broke free down the left as Whitby once again targeted the Pitmen’s weakness down that side – he pulled the ball back to Watts, whose clever lay-off back to the striker set him up, only for Charles to fire wide of goal from a good position

 

Despite having much of the possession and play in the opening half hour of the game, the Pitmen faced an uphill task of getting back into the game in the second half after more poor defending had allowed the hosts to take the lead through Chimalilo. Gibson and Rose had looked lively as a front pairing without reward as yet, having been reliant on long punts forward from the defence rather than clever, crafted play from the likes of McHale and the disappointingly anonymous Trickett-Smith

 

There was a response from the visitors after the restart, as they spent long periods camped inside the Whitby half of the pitch in search of an equaliser. Trickett-Smith finally got in on the act in the attacking third for the Pitmen on forty-seven minutes, getting on the end of a patient passing move on the edge of the penalty area and striking a first-time shot all along the ground and into the hands of Bland

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McHale made another tricky run down the right for the Pitmen on fifty minutes, driving past two Whitby players as he ran along the byeline before looking to cut the ball back to Gibson inside the six-yard box, only for Smith to hack the danger clear for a corner kick at the near post

 

Sixty seconds later, a quick break down the left once more from Whitby saw Chimalilo involved as he drifted past Freeman once more down the left before pulling the ball back to Watts on the edge of the penalty area; after his initial shot was blocked by Maye, Watts rattling the underside of Breeden’s crossbar with a looping effort that beat the stopper before coming back into play. Adam Gell followed the ball in but lifted his first-time shot on the rebound over the crossbar, under pressure from Doyle-Charles

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Four minutes later, a late, late offside flag denied McHale an equaliser as the assistant on the far side of the pitch pulled the playmaker up for drifting in behind the Whitby defence, with McHale driving the ball into the net in frustration at the flag being raised against him

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Shortly before the hour mark, the Pitmen made their first substitution of the evening as Dan Turner came on to offer a different option for the away side on the left as he replaced Trickett-Smith. This saw Gibson move inside to partner Rose as a two up front

 

A foul from Whelan on Rose on sixty-three minutes drew a yellow card for the player from Mr Packer, prompting ironic cheers from the away supporters, as they felt that the match official had handed Whitby more than their fair share of marginal decisions so far in the game

 

The hosts doubled their lead on sixty-eight minutes as the ubiquitous Chimalilo was involved once more down the left, turning provider for Collins as he made a driving run at goal before being brought down just outside the penalty area by Freeman’s clumsy challenge. Despite the home supporters calling for a free-kick, Mr Packer made a rare good decision and allowed play to continue, with Collins picking the ball up and firing low past Breeden and into the far corner of the net with a first-time effort from twelve yards out

 

However, the Pitmen struck back almost immediately as the impressive Gibson got himself on the scoresheet for the first time in Hednesford colours; a free-kick from Hussey on the left flank was played into the box and turned home by the former Hereford man, showing his striker’s instincts to get goal side of Nelson and loop the ball past Bland from six yards out

 

The hosts made their first change of the evening on seventy-two minutes as the versatile former Ossett Town man Aaron Haswell replaced the hard-running Charles

 

With fifteen minutes of the game remaining, the Pitmen rolled the dice once more as Jonny Edwards came on to add his physicality to the forward line as he replaced Rose, who had drifted out of the game in the second half

 

Haswell was straight into the action, and more accurately the referee’s notebook, as the substitute was booked within four minutes of coming on for a foul on Edwards, who had looked to burst past the Whitby man and into the final third for the Pitmen

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Hussey again took responsibility for the free-kick but produced a poor effort that dropped into the grateful hands of Bland inside the six-yard box before anyone in white could react

 

Haswell was followed into Mr Packer’s book by Doyle-Charles on seventy-nine minutes, as the midfielder capped a very indifferent display with a yellow card for a crude body check on Chimalilo to stop the winger from breaking down the left

 

The string of yellow cards kept coming, as a visibly frustrated Freeman became the latest player to pick up a yellow card on eighty-three minutes for blatantly pulling Watts back as he broke down the left

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Mr Packer wasn't quite yet done with his flurry of late yellow cards, showing Smith a yellow card on eighty-seven minutes for a clumsy challenge on Turner as the pair tangled down the Hednesford left

 

The Pitmen’s final change came before Hussey could line up the resultant free-kick, as recent signing Ollie Wilson came on in place of McHale to line up alongside Ollie Harrison at the far post. Hussey's deep ball in was flicked on by the centre-back, but drifted harmlessly out of play on the far touchline

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Doyle-Charles was perhaps a little lucky not to pick up a second yellow card on eighty-nine minutes as he blatantly tripped Chimalilo to stop him from making progress down the left, but was handed just a final warning from Mr Packer for what was a very frustrated challenge

 

Chimalilo was afforded a well-deserved ovation from the home crowd in the final minute of the game as the Whitby man of the match was replaced by Harley Dawson

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In an attempt to kill a few extra seconds and dent the Pitmen’s late momentum, Whitby made a late, late change in the fourth minute of added time as Ronnie McGrath came on in place of James Harrison

 

A disappointing evening for the hardy souls that had made the four-hour journey north, even more so with the sight of Freeman and McHale having words with each other at the end of the game to further add to the disgruntled nature of the club. Hurren will need to summon up all of his managerial skills to pull his side out of an untimely and costly mini-slump of three successive defeats, with only one goal to show for their efforts and a regular shipping of poor goals at the other end. The tough games continue on Saturday as they face another long trip north, this time to face league leaders Lancaster City at the Giant Axe

 

Whitby Town: Bland, Smith ▆, Collins ▆, Gell, Whelan ▆, Nelson, Chimalilo (Dawson 90), Hawkins ©, Charles (Haswell 72 ▆) , Watts, J. Harrison (McGrath 90+4)       Subs unused: Woods, Tymon

 

Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan, Freeman ▆, Maye, O. Harrison, Hussey, Trickett-Smith (Turner 59), Doyle-Charles ▆, Rose (Edwards 75), McHale © (Wilson 87), Gibson      Sub unused: Brown

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