A backs-to-the-wall second-half display from the Pitmen sees them earn themselves a hard-fought point at in-form Avro this evening to make it three games without a win

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Having seen Saturday's home game against Stalybridge Celtic called off due to the aftermath of Storm Darragh, manager Gavin Hurren was faced with several selection headaches as Dom McHale and Ollie Harrison were missing due to suspension, joining Jack Bearne (illness), Rob Stevenson, Kory Roberts and Simeon Maye (all injured) on the sidelines. This forced the new Hednesford manager into making four changes to the side that had lost 4-2 to Bootle last Tuesday night as Ryan Brown was preferred to Jack Rose in goal, Joel Taylor came in for Bearne, fit-again Josh Endall replaced Harrison at centre-back and Jake Jervis was restored to the starting XI ahead of McHale. Due to the extreme lack of numbers at his disposal, Hurren called up sixteen-year-old academy player Josh Mabbley to the squad to fill the final spot on the substitute's bench

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Avro were in the midst of a fine run of recent form, having remained unbeaten in the last six games to lift them to thirteenth in the table ahead of kick-off. Joint managers Mike Norton and Dave Birch made two changes to the side that had beaten Clitheroe 3-1 last Tuesday night as James Dwyer and Kane Wallwork came in for Geffry Ebhote and Max Harrop

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It was another freezing cold Tuesday night for the hardy supporters to endure, reflected in the poor attendance at Avro's Vestacare Stadium as only just over 100 souls made the effort to venture out for tonight's game. The men in grey looked to make one of their quick starts to the game as they sprayed the ball around with confidence early on. Dan Trickett-Smith got on the end of a partially cleared Blaine Rowe free-kick in the fifth minute on the left-hand side of the Avro penalty area, chipping the ball back into the danger zone where Omar Holness struck a low shot at goal from eight yards out that was well blocked by Dwyer

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Three minutes later, Avro were handed the chance to launch their first attack of the game so far as they were handed a free-kick to the left of the Hednesford penalty area after a high boot from Rowe on Dwyer gave the Vulcans a free-kick; Deane Smalley floated the ball into the box but got a little too much on it as it sailed over the heads of the incoming players and dropped out of play

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Avro had to wait until the fourteenth minute of the game to really register a shot in anger as Wallwork forced Brown into a fine save down to his right, picking up a pass from Benito Lowe on the left-hand side of the Hednesford penalty area before striking a firm left-footed shot at goal that Brown parried away for a corner kick

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The Pitmen were handed the lead in quite bizarre circumstances two minutes later as the vastly experienced Smalley was guilty of a huge gaffe to put Hednesford 1-0 up; Dwyer's firmly-struck square ball to the centre-back put him under pressure from Trickett-Smith, forcing the 36-year-old to play a first-time ball back to goalkeeper Grant Shenton. However, Smalley's blind backpass from thirty-five yards out had a little too much on it as it sailed over the head of the burly stopper and bounced into the unguarded net, much to the delight of the Hednesford players and the embarrassment of Smalley

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Endall went close to marking his return to the team with a goal four minutes later as he rose highest to meet Trickett-Smith's looping, inswinging corner kick from the left and powerfully headed towards goal from six yards out, forcing Shenton into a brilliant, instinctive save to his left to palm the ball onto the base of the post and back into his arms

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A late offside flag against Lowe was greeted with plenty of abuse from the aminated home supporters on twenty-three minutes as the striker looked to latch onto a pass from Dwyer but was pulled back by referee Mr Aldred

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On twenty-six minutes, the Pitmen broke quickly through Trickett-Smith down the middle of the pitch, laying the ball off to the incoming Holness on the edge of the box but seeing the Jamaican International shank his first-time shot high over the crossbar

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However, Avro did get themselves back into the game with their next attack a minute later as good play from AJ Warburton saw him start and finish a quick break through the centre of the park, firstly playing Ellis into space to the right of the penalty area and then following the ball in, turning Ellis's low cross past Brown from six yards out with a neat sidefooted finish from six yards out. It was the in-form Warburton's fourth goal in as many games for the home side

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Avro were putting the away side under pressure with a constant stream of long punts forward for the likes of Lowe, Liam Ellis and Wallwork to chase down. A flick-on from Ellis into the path of Lowe on thirty-one minutes saw skipper Elliott Johnson in commanding form, jockeying the striker to the right of the Hednesford penalty area and forcing him wide before making a good block tackle

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Two minutes later, Brown denied Wallwork a second Avro goal with a smart save down at his near post, pushing the forward's left-footed shot away after Lowe's excellent pass had found Wallwork in space to the right of the Hednesford penalty area

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The resultant corner kick was swung in from the right by Jack Morrow was cleared as far as Warburton once more, whose follow-up shot failed to test Brown on this occasion as he fired high and wide of goal from eighteen yards out

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The game turned scrappy in the final ten minutes of the first half, with chances at a premium at both ends of the park. The Pitmen were lacking the creative sparks of McHale and Bearne down each flank, with Manny Duku completely isolated up top on his own against Dwyer and Smalley. Avro continued with their aggressive, long ball game up to Lowe and Wallwork, but excellent gatekeeping from Endall and Johnson saw them manage the aerial bombardment from the Vulcans

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In the final minute of the half, a neat ball around the corner from Taylor sent Jervis away down the left and past Cheikh Thiam, only for the assistant on the far side to pull play back for a marginal offside against the former Blues striker

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It had been something of an attritional half of football, with neither side really laying claim to a potential three points as chances or any quality football had been in short supply. Hurren will have been pleased with his side's physicality in the game so far, however, something that they have lacked in recent weeks against the more aggressive sides in the division

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Avro looked to start the second half on the front foot through Warburton once more, picking up the ball from deep on forty-nine minutes and being allowed to make time and space for himself just outside the penalty area before lifting his effort high over Brown's crossbar

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Ellis received the evening's first caution from Mr Aldred on fifty-two minutes as he was penalised for blocking Joe Doyle-Charles and not allowing him to take a free-kick quickly inside the Hednesford half

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Holness looked to get the men in grey going at the start of the second half with a good chance on fifty-three minutes, picking up a Dan Sparkes backheel fifteen yards from goal but striking a shot with the outside of his boot that curled just wide of Shenton's left-hand post

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It was Avro that were to get the head of steam up as the half progressed, however, with consecutive corner kicks on fifty-six minutes leading to a half-chance for Smalley; firstly, Lowe's instinctive effort at goal from six yards out was deflected over by Johnson, leading to a save from Brown from the resultant second corner to deny Smalley

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Three minutes later, a miscued low clearance from Brown dropped only as far as Morrow, whose right-footed effort from twenty-five yards out flashed just wide of the young stopper's left-hand post. Close

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The away side thought that they had a legitimate shout for a penalty kick on sixty-two minutes as a Sparkes free-kick on the right was cleared back to the left-back, whose follow-up shot appeared to strike the arm of Kane Hickman as it headed towards goal. Despite the Pitmen's protests, Mr Aldred was unmoved and the game continued

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The Pitmen's first booking of the evening came midway through the second half as Rowe was rightly shown a yellow card by Mr Aldred for bringing down Hickman with a mistimed, clumsy challenge

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Rowe was swiftly followed into the referee's notebook by Smalley a minute later as the defender also picked up a caution from Mr Aldred for a foul on Trickett-Smith

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The Pitmen's first change of the evening came on sixty-seven minutes as Duku - who had struggled to get himself into the game - was taken off and replaced by Zidan Sutherland

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On seventy-one minutes, Avro looked to press home their advantage with their first change of the evening as Wallwork was brought off and replaced by the vastly experienced Jake Cottrell

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A minute later, Avro made a further personnel change as former Oldham Athletic central midfielder Sam Davidson came on in place of Morrow to add his youthful verve to the game

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The game had once again turned scrappy and had become a really poor spectacle for the NPLW; both sides were content to sit back and lump the ball forward at every opportunity, dealing with each other's direct football and hoping that they could force the opposition into a late mistake. Without the likes of Stevenson, Duku, McHale or Bearne, the Pitmen were of ideas or quality and, put very franky, looked a very ordinary step four team that would have fared little better than last season's poor side

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On seventy-nine minutes, Norton and Birch made a further attacking change as the hard-running Ellis was brought off and replaced by the much-travelled striker Kyle Hawley

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Doyle-Charles picked up Hednesford's second booking of the evening from Mr Aldred on seventy-eight minutes as​ he looked to win the ball in midfield from Davidson but fouled the substitute in the process

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Avro looked the far likelier of the sides to grab a late winner, forcing the Pitmen onto the back foot as the game entered the last ten minutes with ball after ball being pumped high into the penalty area to test the away side's fragile resolve. Endall headed over his own crossbar to clear an inswinging Warburton cross on eighty minutes as Lowe lurked behind him and looked to turn the loose ball home from close range

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On eighty-three minutes, Avro's final substitution of the game saw Smalley's topsy-turvy evening brought to an end as club captain Sam Rathbone replaced him

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Warburton went within the width of the woodwork of giving Avro the lead a minute later as he picked the ball up on the right once more, dancing past Taylor's challenge before curling in a shot at goal that beat the outstretched arm of Brown but came back off the underside of the crossbar

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With their very next attack, Avero hit the crossbar once again as Thiam made a superb run from right-back, going past three half-hearted Hednesford challenges from Taylor, Sparkes and Holness as he made his way into the penalty area before striking an angled shot at goal that rattled the woodwork once more

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With three minutes remaining, the Pitmen made their final change of the game as the versatile Jacob Gwilt was brought on to help see the Pitmen over the line as he replaced Sparkes

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Deep into added time, Trickett-Smith picked up a late booking for the Pitmen for time-wasting as he took a little too long for Mr Aldred's liking at a free-kick

 

On one hand, the Pitmen will be pleased at coming away with a point that they had to battle hard for against an aggressive and unrelenting Avro side, but on the other, it's yet another winless game for the visitors that leaves them four points adrift of the play-off places and with no games in hand on any of the sides in the top five anymore. The second of three away games in succession sees the Pitmen heading back up the M6 on Saturday when they make a first-ever trip to relegated Atherton Collieries

 

Avro: Shenton ©, Thiam, Fitzpatrick, Hickman, Dwyer, Smalley ▆ (Rathbone 86), Warburton, Morrow (Davidson 72), Lowe, Ellis ▆ (Hawley 79), Wallwork (Cottrell 71)      Subs Unused: Edmundson

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Hednesford Town: Brown, Rowe ▆, Taylor, Doyle-Charles ▆, Endall, Johnson ©, Trickett-Smith ▆, Holness, Duku (Sutherland 67), Jervis, Sparkes (Gwilt 87)     Sub Unused: Spence, Rose, Mabbley

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