Hednesford Town

Patterson (60)

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Whitby Town

Campbell (50), Southern (89)

The cup competitions continue to frustrate all associated with Hednesford Town, as the Pitmen follow up their early F.A. Cup exit with the same problem in the F.A. Trophy, as Whitby snatch a late, late winner to progress to the next qualifying round

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With AFC Telford United loanee Danny Carey-Bertram cup-tied, manager Rob Smith took the opportunity to give new signing Marvin Robinson a debut following his move from Evo-Stik Premier side Nantwich Town. He was one of a number of changes to the side, with fellow new signing Gavin Hurren coming straight into the team at the expense of Alfie Carter. Aaron Gibson was also restored to the starting XI, with Jimmy Turner dropped and likely to be on his way out of Keys Park. Chris Clements had recovered from the injury that kept him out against Oxford City last week and replaced fellow former Crewe man Cheyenne Dunkley. There were two new faces amongst the substitutes, with former Wrexham man Simon Brown and ex-Birmingham City youngster Darren Campion named amongst the replacements

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Evo-Stik Premier League side Whitby arrived at Keys Park off the back of a draw at home to Kendal Town last weekend, extending their unbeaten recent run to four games in all competitions. Caretaker manager Bob Scaife made two changes to the side that had started against Kendal with Nick Liversedge and Kevin Burgess replacing David Campbell and Dave Southern respectively

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A cloudburst just before kick-off greeted the arriving supporters, with the wet weather leaving the surface slippy as the two teams kicked off. The hosts were quickest to adapt to the awkward conditions, with Kyle Patterson into the action in the first five minutes

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On three minutes, the former LA Galaxy man forced Whitby's stand-in keeper Nick Liversedge into a fine save after the forward had latched onto a fine Chris Clements through ball and fired across him

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A minute later, Patterson muscled his way through to the ball before firing in a low shot with his left foot that Liversedge again made a good save to turn the ball away from goal

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Jamey Osborne was struggling to get a foot into the game as the first half progressed, with a number of meaty challenges on the young playmaker that went unpunished

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Clements, on the other hand, was having a good game, as he sprayed the ball around the pitch in an attempt to get the Pitmen going. One superb ball over the top saw Robinson appear to get the better of his marker, only to be pulled back by the referee for an innocuous foul as he shaped to shoot

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Centre back Liam Francis went close to opening the scoring on the half-hour mark, as Hurren sent over a cross from the left which was flicked on by Ben Bailey into the path of his defensive partner; however, his flick header missed the far post by inches

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Whitby had offered very little in the way of an attacking threat, although Jimmy Beadle - with fifteen goals already this term - hit a long-range effort that forced Dan Crane into a fine save on thirty-four minutes

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New boy Robinson was impressing the more knowledgeable supporters at Keys Park with his play up front, giving Whitby problems with his height and power, but showing intelligence to bring the likes of Patterson and Clements into the game. His knock-down on forty minutes fell to Clements, whose long-range shot lacked direction and ended up sailing into the car park at the Hednesford end

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A reasonable first-half showing from the Pitmen was undone by the players after Smith's half time team talk, as they were made to pay for a slow restart with Whitby taking the lead. Beadle was the provider for the Yorkshire side, holding the ball up with his back to goal, before slipping the ball into the path of the onrushing Andy Campbell, who curled the ball into the top corner of the net - Hednesford supporters were left questioning their defence's part in the goal, with Whitby allowed to score with consummate ease

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With some 'supporters' starting to voice their concerns rather graphically, Hednesford attempted an immediate response, with Clements again involved with a run across the area that was checked by Ibby Hassan. Clements picked himself up and took the free-kick, but fired straight into the Seasiders' wall

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Clements and Robinson combined on the hour mark to present Patterson with the perfect chance to put the Pitmen back on level terms. Clements' ball up to Robinson saw the big striker flick the ball on into the path of his partner, with Patterson holding off Hassan's challenge to fire past Liversedge from twelve yards out with a well-struck low shot

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Despite this boost, this was about as good as it got for the Pitmen, as Whitby enjoyed the better of the final quarter. Beadle continued to show why he had been Whitby's star man this term, making another run from midfield on sixty-four minutes to steal the ball from Francis and hit a shot that Crane saved well

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Beadle went agonisingly close to giving Whitby the lead once again on seventy minutes, hitting a rasping drive that beat Crane at his near post but came back off the foot of the far post

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Osbourne's frustrating game was ended by Smith a minute later, as he was replaced by new boy Brown. The signing from Corby went out onto the right-wing, with Aaron Gibson pushing further forward on the left into the space vacated by Osborne

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Both sides had the ball in the net in a five-minute spell, with Patterson's sidefooted effort closely followed by Andrew Leeson's clever finish in being disallowed by offside flags - Patterson's, in particular, looked harsh, as he appeared to be level when Gibson played the ball in

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Patterson's game was ended with ten minutes remaining, with Carter replacing him up front as Smith looked to power and physical presence to win the game

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Clements had two good chances to win the game for the hosts in the final five minutes, hitting identical efforts from range narrowly over the bar on both occasions, with Liversedge struggling across his goal to see the second one inches over the upright

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Whitby themselves continued to threaten, and with a minute to go, snatched the all-important winner to put the Pitmen out of the Trophy at the first hurdle for the second successive season. Hackworth's run down the right saw him get the better of Gibson before squaring the ball to substitute Dave Southern, who sidefooted past Crane from three yards out

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It was too late for the Pitmen to launch another attack, with Campion introduced late on to add a threat down the left. The damage was already done, however - the Pitmen were out and problems already mounting for Smith and Larry Chambers as they look to arrest this inconsistent form from their new side. Expect more comings and goings in the next week or so before the Pitmen host lowly Weymouth at Keys Park next weekend as they return to league duty

 

Hednesford Town: Crane, Platt ©, Gibson, Bailey, Francis, Denny, Osborne (Brown 70), Clements, Robinson, Patterson (Carter 80), Hurren (Campion 90)     Subs Unused: Dunkley, Fuller

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Whitby Town: Liversedge, Craddock, Scott, Hassan, Burgess, Batchelor, Lyth, Hackworth ©, Leeson (Southern 83), Beadle, Campbell      Subs Unused: McIver, Owens, Dalton, Oakley

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