8.10.2024
Pitching In Northern Premier League West
Witton Albion
McGee (10), Dasilva (90)
Hednesford Town
Bearne (53), Duku (58)
(1) 2
(0) 2
Attendance
MoTM
Current Form
Next Match
438
Josh Endall
W W L D W L D W D D
Gateshead (H) 12.10.24
The Pitmen drop two more crucial points in the Pitching In Northern Premier League West this evening as a goal deep into added time from hosts Witton Albion sees them earn a late draw
Steve King had been left with plenty of selection headaches for tonight's game after seeing no fewer than three players limp off in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Wythenshawe, ruling out Joel Taylor, Sion Spence and Kory Roberts from contention in tonight's trip up to Cheshire. King made five changes to his side as a result as Omar Holness replaced Spence, the fit-again Dan Sparkes came in for Taylor at left-back and Josh Endall made his first start of the season at centre-back in place of Roberts. Up front, Manny Duku was dropped after an indifferent display at the weekend and replaced by Rob Stevenson and Abdulrasaq Alamu-Tajudeen made a rare start in place of Jake Jervis on the left flank
Eighteenth-placed Witton had been handed an F.A. Trophy thrashing at the hands of Northern Premier League giants Macclesfield at the weekend, losing 6-1 at Moss Rose to a rampant Silkmen side. Manager Ben Harrison - recently handed the reigns permanently after a spell as caretaker manager - rang the changes himself with Ellis Allen coming in between the sticks for his debut as he replaced the departed Danny Roberts, Elliott Rokka preferred to Owen German, Kyle King coming in for Mamadou Djabi and Joel Bailey was replaced by Wealth Dasilva
The hosts looked to shake off Saturday's disappointment with a quick start to proceedings as they pushed the hastily thrown-together Hednesford defence back early on. With the first attack of the game, Harry McGee's pass into the feet of Rokka saw the former Macclesfield man play a reverse ball into the path of Kevin Spinelli, whose shot at goal was turned behind by the torso of Jack Rose from eight yards out for a Witton Albion corner
Three minutes later, more quick feet from the hosts saw Rokka involved again as he took the ball into space and played it out to Mike Koral on the right flank. His deep cross looked to pick out Spinelli, but a timely glancing header from Endall cleared the danger inside his own six-yard box
On eight minutes, the Pitmen lost possession cheaply in midfield as they tried to play their way out of danger, allowing McGee to run into another yawning gap between defence and midfield and size up a shot. However, Elliott Johnson took responsibility for this by forcing the player onto his weaker foot and eventually clearing the danger from the edge of his own penalty area
Witton were rewarded for their enterprising start to the game with the opening goal of the evening in the tenth minute; perhaps unsurprisingly for the large away following, the goal was to come from a set-piece as Koral's free-kick from out on the right touchline found it's way onto the head of McGee, who stooped in ahead of Johnson to guide the ball past Rose from six yards out. Another one to add to the gallery of shame this season from the Pitmen's perspective
Bearne looked to get onto the ball for the Pitmen down the right, looking to cut in on his left foot at every opportunity from the touchline and take on Lee Jackson with his trickery. On thirteen minutes, a great run from the diminutive winger saw him drift past two challenges as he entered the penalty area but drove his resultant effort wide of Allen's left-hand post
Three minutes later, Dom McHale and Bearne linked up on the right once more to play Simeon Maye into space, whose cross-field pass found Alamu-Tajudeen out on the left flank. After stealing a yard on Koral, Alamu-Tajudeen looked to pick out Stevenson in the six-yard box but saw his low cross cut out by new Witton skipper Callum Grogan
Rokka was causing the Pitmen issues with his play, looking to pick out Spinelli once more with another through ball on eighteen minutes that saw the Italian striker race clear of Endall but was adjudged to have been offside in the build-up by the assistant on the far side
Koral picked up the game's first booking of the evening from referee Mr Lamb as he was penalised for flattening Alamu-Tajudeen in full flight after the winger had beaten him to a Sparkes through ball down the left
Alamu-Tajudeen was growing into the game after a quiet opening quarter and had the Pitmen's first real sight at goal a minute later as Trickett-Smith's looping free-kick into the box from the left found the head of the former Bromsgrove Sporting man, whose flicked header towards goal was claimed by Allen on his goal line
Bearne was involved again for the Pitmen as he got onto the end of a flowing move through midfield on twenty-five minutes as Holness, Trickett-Smith and McHale fed him the ball in space behind Jackson. After teasing his way into the box, Bearne pulled the ball back towards the incoming Stevenson, who was denied a tap-in by some stout defending from Ollie Hitchcox
A quick break from the Pitmen on twenty-nine minutes saw Bearne ping a superb ball across the field and into the path of Stevenson, who took advantage of Grogan's missed header to pick up the ball just inside the Witton penalty area, only to be forced wide by Allen, who also eventually turned the striker's low shot away from goal with his leg
Two minutes later, Sparkes showed some of the quality that had been missing from the side on the left since his injury in August with a delightful outswinging free-kick into the box that somehow managed to evade everyone inside the six-yard box and drift out of play past Allen's left-hand post
Johnson stepped out of defence momentarily on thirty-five minutes to join the attack as he fed Bearne down the left, taking it back off the winger before allowing McHale to make inroads into the Witton third of the pitch. The playmaker's reverse pass found Stevenson inside the box, only for the striker to turn and see his shot deflected over the crossbar by Hitchcox for a corner kick
McGee picked up Witton's second booking of the evening a minute later as he went in hard on Endall after the pair challenged for a loose ball midway inside the Hednesford half. The men in grey felt that Mr Lamb should maybe have thought about a red card for the poor challenge that left Endall on the floor, but a yellow card was to suffice
With five minutes of the half remaining, the Pitmen were handed their second penalty kick in four days; successive Trickett-Smith corner kicks on the left caused issues with Witton clearing their lines, with the second corner dropping at the feet of Holness who was then tripped by Spinelli as he tried to work a pocket of space eight yards from goal. McHale stepped up to take the kick but produced a lazy, under-hit effort to Allen's left that was easily smothered by the stopper on his line. A dreadful penalty kick from someone so experienced
Witton finished the half strongly as they looked for a second goal to take into the break, with the impressive Endall having to make a timely headed clearance to deny Rokka a chance at the far post on forty-two minutes after a good, deep cross from Koral on the right flank
Once again, the Pitmen had flattered to deceive at both ends of the pitch in a disappointing first-half display, conceding their now customary goal to a set piece and not having enough invention or quality in the final third to worry Allen, whose only save of the half had been from McHale's dreadful spot-kick
Witton looked to pick up where they left off four minutes after the restart as Rokka fired a warning shot over the crossbar after picking up Dasilva's pass on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area before lifting his effort just over Rose's crossbar
A rare mistake from Johnson played his side into trouble on fifty-one minutes as his attempted clearance fell straight at the feet of McGee, who attempted a first-time volley at goal from just inside the penalty area that was easily claimed by Rose
Three minutes later, the Pitmen dragged themselves level with a superb counter-attack goal from Bearne; Holness's punt upfield found McHale, who allowed Stevenson to take charge of the bouncing ball and slip Bearne in behind the Witton defence with a fine through ball. In very much the same style as his goal at Nantwich in August, Bearne took the ball around the onrushing Allen and turned the ball into the empty net from twelve yards out. Game on
King had seen enough from McHale, who had once again flattered to deceive this evening and was dragged off by the Hednesford manager before play could restart as Duku came on in his place
Duku's introduction, added to the good vibes of the goal, seemed to galvanise the Pitmen as an attacking force with wave after wave of attack from the away side. Trickett-Smith's surging run towards the Witton penalty area on fifty-six minutes was checked by Reece Daly, whose cynical challenge on the midfielder earned him a yellow card from Mr Lamb
The turnaround was complete on fifty-eight minutes as a route one ball forward from Rose was flicked on by Stevenson but misjudged by Grogan, who allowed Bearne to pick his pocket and take the ball past him before squaring the ball into the path of Duku, gleefully accepted the gift by tapping into the empty net from eight yards out. Awful defending, clinical finishing
Witton elected to make their first change of the evening before they restarted play as recent signing Djabi came on up front in place of Spinelli, who had faded out of the game in the second half
Stevenson was working incredibly hard up front for the Pitmen, dragging Hitchcox out of position to the left flank constantly and using his physicality to good effect. One such move saw Stevenson control a Sparkes pass on sixty-two minutes and turn the ball into the path of Alamu-Tajudeen, whose run into the box was checked by a last-ditch tackle from Koral to deny him a shot at goal
Duku's involvement in the game was to be a very short one, however, as the Dutchman was forced off midway through the second half after landing heavily just outside the Witton half after challenging for a ball with Hitchcox. Jervis came on in his place, playing to the left of Stevenson up front in a move that saw Alamu-Tajudeen drop into midfield. In the other dugout, Harrison also made a change as King was replaced by Owen Cushion
With twenty minutes to go, Jervis flicked on Johnson's angled punt forwards into the path of Bearne, who looked to go past Jackson with more great wing play but was denied a shot at goal as the angle was narrowed by the covering Grogan and eventually cleared by Jackson
A minute later, some desperate defending from the visitors saw Endall just about manage to scoop the ball clear in his own six-yard box after good approach play from Rokka and a deep cross into the box from Dasilva on the left-hand side of the Hednesford penalty area that looked for substitute Djabi
On seventy-eight minutes, Jay Salkeld came on to add to the Witton options up front as the ex-Widnes attacker replaced McGee, who had already been booked earlier in the game
On seventy-four minutes, the Pitmen made a change of their own as Alamu-Tajudeen was warmly clapped off by the away fans after a really positive display on the left, being replaced by the more defensively-minded Jacob Gwilt
You felt that there was to be plenty of late pressure on the Hednesford defence from Witton in the latter stages of the game, with Rokka going incredibly close to a leveller on seventy-nine minutes as his curling, dipping free-kick from twenty-five yards out cleared Rose's crossbar by a matter of inches
Djabi was handed a great chance to level things up for Witton on eighty-two minutes as Jackson's through ball from the left somehow found it all the way through to the striker, who stole a couple of yards on the Hednesford defence and charged through on goal, only to put his effort just past Rose's far post from twelve yards out. Close from the former Northwich Victoria man
The Pitmen were being pushed into their own third of the pitch for long periods now, with King's side struggling for an out ball and watching it come straight back to them when they were able to clear their lines temporarily. Endall cemented his Man of the Match nomination with another towering header inside his own six-yard box on eighty-five minutes, somehow managing to get enough on the ball to deny Grogan after Rose's initial punch away from a Rokka corner was played back out to the forward to cross once more
Another great chance fell at the feet of Daly on eighty-eight minutes as the Pitmen struggled to clear the ball just outside their own penalty area; the young Chester loanee seized upon the loose ball and volleyed a first-time effort inches wide of Rose's left-hand post when some in the ground thought that he had found the bottom corner of the net
Sparkes had done well to maintain his fitness up and down the left for the ninety minutes after returning from his long spell out and was finally replaced in the last minute of normal time as veteran Matthew Barnes-Homer came on in his place
There was to be an incredible eight minutes of added time, leading to plenty of late drama at both ends of the pitch, starting with a wonderful chance for Stevenson in the second of the added minutes. Rose's long ball forwards was misjudged again by Grogan - who had had a very mixed evening at centre-back it must be said - and seized upon by Stevenson, who went steaming through the centre of the Witton defence with only Allen to beat, but fluffed his one and only chance of the game as he tamely drilled his effort against the legs of the stopper. Bearne retained possession and managed to recycle the ball with a cross to Jervis, who couldn't turn the ball home at the far post as Allen made another good save
Still the home side pressed, winning a free-kick just outside the Hednesford box six minutes into the added time. Daly stepped up and struck a well-hit shot that was heading for the net until Rose conjured up a remarkable flying stop to his left to turn the ball away, with Endall managing to somehow divert the rebound over the crossbar for a corner kick
However, Witton's pressure eventually told from the resultant corner as Salkeld's corner kick from the right somehow found it all the way through a forest of legs and into the path of Dasilva, whose low first-time effort from thirteen yards out also somehow managed to avoid contact from anyone in front of him as his low shot found the back of the net, much to the delight of the home crowd
It was a cruel late blow to the Pitmen for their second-half efforts, although if you view the game over the ninety minutes then a point apiece was probably a fair result after Witton's authoritative first-half showing. More dropped points for the Pitmen leaves them floundering in lower mid-table, and the pressure will start to grow on King and his players if they continue their deeply erratic and bi-polar form throughout October and beyond Saturday gives Hednesford Town Football Club a taste of the glitz and glamour of the F.A. Cup once more, as they pay host to Vanarama National League side Gateshead at Keys Park in front of the nation as the BBC's pick for live coverage of the fourth qualifying round
Witton Albion: Allen, Koral ▆, Jackson, King (Cushion 65), Hitchcox, Grogan ©, McGee ▆ (Salkeld 78), Daly ▆, Spinelli (Djabi 58), Rokka, Dasilva Subs Unused: McGeady, Da Silva
Hednesford Town: Rose, Holness, Sparkes (Barnes-Homer 90), Maye, Endall, Johnson ©, Bearne, Trickett-Smith, Stevenson, McHale ▆ (Duku 53 (Jervis 65)), Alamu-Tajudeen (Gwilt 74) Sub Unused: Sutherland