Hednesford take another positive step forward this afternoon after showing tremendous character to play half of the game with ten men and earn themselves a battling point at Avro

Having overseen a 1-1 draw against high-flying Stalybridge Celtic in his first game in charge last weekend, the new man at the helm Harry Harris had elected to bring young left-back Tom Armitage back to Keys Park on a dual registration deal with Hinckley AFC. The 20-year-old former Nuneaton Borough man had to be content with a place on the bench, however, as Harris chose to stick with the same XI that had put in a spirited display against Stalybridge the previous week

Newly-promoted Avro had enjoyed a fine start to life at step four in the first third of the season, sitting just three points off the play-off places in ninth position at the start of play. Manager Alex Frost - having seen his side suffer a 1-0 win at Bootle in midweek - made three changes to his side as James Rother, the returning Louis Potts and Bebeto Gomes came into the side ahead of Jack Morrow, Joe Rathbone and Jack Sloan

It had been yet another soggy week across the country, with the Pitmen once again finding fortune favouring them with regards to the weather as Avro’s Vestacare Stadium was fully equipped with a 3G surface to cope with the wet and windy conditions. It proved to be a slow start to proceedings, with the Pitmen content to keep possession in midfield whilst Avro were keen to punt the ball long whenever possible. A long boot forward from James Dwyer in the third minute of the game looked to play Liam Ellis in behind the Hednesford defence, only for the assistant on the far side to raise his flag against the former Radcliffe man

Two minutes later, Tom Thorley and Joe Morley linked up well on the edge of the penalty area with Thorley’s angled ball into the penalty area headed back to Shenton by Dwyer under pressure from Demetri Brown

A quick counter-attack from Avro in the sixth minute saw Gomes break down the right and send over a deep cross for Potts, whose looping header dropped wide of goal as he beat Ritchie Sutton to the ball

A minute later, Matty Crothers was allowed to make a deep run to the byeline down the right and sent over a low cross that evaded everyone making a run into the  Hednesford six-yard box

Griffiths received a ticking-off from referee Mr Schofield in the tenth minute as the Hednesford skipper brought down Smalley in the centre circle with a mis-timed challenge

Demetri Brown picked up the game’s first booking of the game in the eleventh minute in a cheap manner for not retreating ten yards from the ball after Avro had been awarded a free-kick just outside their own penalty area, with Dwyer’s attempted clearance cannoning off the back of the striker’s legs

A superb flick on from Demetri Brown from McQuilkin’s long ball forwards in the thirteenth minute played Martin through on goal momentarily, only for the midfield man to drag his low shot wide of Shenton’s right-hand post

Dwyer had to be alert to deny Morley a chance a minute later as he came across to intercept a good through ball from Martin to the winger and play the ball back to Shenton to kill off any threat from the former Chasetown man

The Pitmen were forced into making their first change of the afternoon in the eighteenth minute as the injury-plagued Callam Mendez-Jones was forced off once more after picking up a knock and was replaced by Armitage at left-back

The hosts were also forced into an earlier-than-expected substitution in the twenty-second minute as Ellis was taken off and replaced by Muis Bibire Bello

A quick break from the Pitmen just a few seconds after the substitution saw Demetri Brown make a run onto a Thorley pass, breaking into the penalty area but driving his low shot just wide of goal. Close from the burly striker

Thorley played a fine through ball towards Demetri Brown in the twenty-sixth minute, sending the striker away from Dwyer inside the penalty area. The Avro man did enough to clear the danger despite the presence of the former Rushall Olympic man, with Brown coming off worse in the clash and receiving treatment before he could continue with the game

Just before the half-hour mark, Reinaldo Forbes was guilty of bringing Gomes down right by the corner flag as the pair challenged for the ball on the Avro right. Smalley played the resultant free-kick low into the box but was wasteful with his effort and allowed Demetri Brown to clear at the near post

The tricky McQuilkin drew a foul out of Potts with some clever footwork on thirty-two minutes, with the Avro man fouling the experienced midfielder just inside the home side’s half. McQuilkin and Sutton took exception to the challenge, with Mr Schofield having a word with the former Ashton United man before play could continue

Forbes had been struggling since his clash with Gomes a few minutes earlier, requiring two separate bouts of attention from physio Corinne Willis in quick succession before he could return to the field of play

The first real sight at goal for the home side came with ten minutes of the half remaining as Crothers played Potts into space down the right wing - he returned the ball to Crothers, whose cross was headed firmly towards goal by Geffry Ehbote and saved by Ryan Brown

Sutton followed Demetri Brown into the referee’s book on thirty-six minutes for taking his options a little too far and was booked for dissent after one conversation too many for the match official

Whilst Sutton was being booked, Forbes was finally forced off the pitch after admitting defeat on his injury and was replaced by Joe Thompson. This saw Jose Morley move to the left-hand side of the pitch as the visitors adapted to the loss of the winger

Martin’s impressive collection of cards for the season continued on thirty-nine minutes as the combative midfielder was booked for allegedly raising his arm towards Ebhote. However, the decision seemed to be heavily influenced by the Avro player’s reactions as they surrounded the referee demanding retribution. Cottrell was also booked by Mr Schofield for taking his protests a little too far in the aftermath

The spectre of the Pitmen’s appalling disciplinary record was to come back once again to haunt them on forty-two minutes as Brown’s soft yellow card earlier in the game came back to bite him and his team as he was shown a second yellow card for a high challenge on Smalley, leaving Mr Schofield with no choice but to send the striker off. A visibly unhappy Harris was also booked by the referee for his protests on the sidelines towards the match officials. Another woeful and shameful lack of discipline from a side struggling at the foot of the table, something they just can’t afford in their current perilous position

In the final minute of five added minutes at the end of the half, a deep cross from Kane Wallwork on the left flank evaded everyone inside the Hednesford penalty area as no one in a blue and black shirt could get into place in time to have a shot at goal

Brown’s red card left the Pitmen with a huge amount of extra work to do in the second half, having hustled well for most of an evenly-matched first half. Both sides had struggled in the final third of the pitch with chances at a premium at both ends, although you felt that Avro will have been confident of taking advantage of the extra man on the park in the second half, especially with the Pitmen’s proclivity for conceding second-half goals and tiring badly in the last twenty minutes of games. Harris had remarked in midweek that he would expect his teams to be fitter and work harder, something that may see several players move on in the next few weeks if stamina does not improve sufficiently

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Avro looked to make an authoritative start to the second half as a long throw from Wallwork on forty-seven minutes was headed away by Thompson but only as far as Cottrell, whose first-time volley effort skipped just wide of Ryan Brown’s right-hand post

Thompson went incredibly close to opening the scoring for the ten-man Pitmen two minutes later as Morley’s pass into the feet of Thompson saw the substitute drive a low shot across goal and narrowly wide of the far post via a slight touch from the diving Shenton

Crothers was proving a useful outlet for the hosts down the right, with the full-back whipping in another cross that was not seized upon by a home player on fifty minutes after he had made space for himself twenty yards from goal

Another Crothers cross three minutes later fell at the feet of Cottrell, whose low effort from twenty-five yards out was easily fielded by Ryan Brown. The Pitmen looked to catch Avro on the counter-attack from here as Armitage and McQuilkin worked the ball into the Avro half and into the feet of Thompson, who got his ball caught under this legs on the edge of the penalty area and had his pocket picked by Dwyer

Morley forced Shenton into a save two minutes later as the visitors worked the ball across the pitch from right to left and into the feet of the youngster, whose low shot was saved by the Avro skipper as he worked the ball onto his left foot twenty yards from goal

Thompson also managed to force a save out of the burly stopper on fifty-eight minutes as Morley supplied the tall midfielder with a pass, with the substitute taking a couple of touches before firing straight into the hands of the stopper

Ryan Brown got in ahead of Potts a minute later, confidently punching a Crothers cross away from goal before being fouled by the striker in the follow-through and being handed as free-kick

A quick break down the right from Avro nearly caught the Pitmen napping on sixty-two minutes as Crothers was again given the freedom of the pitch to run into, sending over a deep cross that just evaded Potts and Bello and drifting out of play for a goal kick

Avro switched the play from right to left quickly midway through the second half as full-backs Crothers and Wallwork linked up well with a cross-field pass from the right back found the left-back, who drilled in a low cross that was turned behind by Ryan Brown for a corner kick to the hosts

There were muted calls for a second yellow card for Cottrell from the Hednesford players on sixty-seven minutes as he fell theatrically inside the Hednesford penalty area looking for a foul from Griffiths. Mr Schofield continued with the game, despite some of the visiting players asking about a second yellow card for the midfielder for simulation

Avro elected to make their second change of the afternoon on sixty-nine minutes as Ben Wharton was brought on in place of Gomes on the left side of the pitch

Thompson had looked to be the Pitmen’s best chance of an opening in the second half, picking up a McQuilkin pass on the edge of the penalty area on seventy minutes, turning well and firing in a cross that was charged down by Dwyer

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Having had absolutely no luck run their way throughout most of the seasons so far, the Pitmen were suddenly handed what could have been a crucial lifeline as a defensive mishap from Avro gifted the Pitmen the game’s opening goal on seventy-four minutes; a mistake by Ebhote gifted the ball straight into the path of Thompson, who took the ball into the penalty area, around the dive of Shenton and turned the ball into the empty net, prompting great scenes amongst the Hednesford players and staff on the bench

However, the lead lasted only three minutes as Avro equalised through Dwyer; taking the ball down the right, Dwyer’s cross-cum-shot was too much for Ryan Brown as it drifted over the head of the stopper and into the net off the underside of the crossbar. A slightly fortuitous goal but a good finish nevertheless

The Pitmen’s final change of the afternoon came with nine minutes remaining as Dutch attacker Jez Abbey was given a rare run-out as he came on in place of Morley

Shenton was forced into another good save at his near post a minute later as the impressive Armitage drove into the box down the left and fired in a low shot that the goalkeeper diverted behind for a Hednesford corner kick

Avro quickly broke after the Pitmen’s corner kick broke down as Potts broke down the right before laying the ball back to Crothers, whose shot was blocked by an excellent smothering challenge from Griffiths

Ryan Brown did well to deny Avro once more on eighty-seven minutes as he turned Wallwork's well-struck angled drive away from goal, following this up with a smothering save at the feet of Wharton to deny the substitute on the rebound

With the game moving into six minutes of added time, the influential Dwyer was allowed to drive into the box and cross for Potts, whose looping header ended up over Ryan Brown’s crossbar from six yards out

The hosts continued to press for a later winner, with a cross from Wallwork on the left dropped as far as Dwyer, who laid the ball back to the full-back, only for Wallwork to shank his effort high over the crossbar after good jockeying from Sutton

Mr Schofield was forced into levelled the numbers up deep into added time as Ryan Brown claimed a cross from Crothers at the second attempt before being hacked down by Wharton as he attempted to claim the ball off the goalkeeper. The referee saw this as a sending-off offence and immediately showed the substitute a red card for the challenge, which Wharton can have no arguments with

A point doesn’t necessarily help the Pitmen’s cause, especially with Trafford and City of Liverpool both winning just above them in the table. However, the Pitmen can be very happy with their excellent second-half display that showed real character and grit after the dismissal of Demetri Brown just before the break, something that Harris will no doubt very extremely pleased with as he continues to decide which of the current squad will remain in his long-term plans. Expect at least one striking option to come in through the floor this week with Demetri Brown now suspended for next week’s home game against Prescot Cables. The phrase 'must-win' is banded around plenty these days, but this very much becomes a three points or bust for Harris's new side

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Avro: Shenton ©, Crothers, Wallwork, Dwyer, Smalley, Ebhote, Cottrell ▆, Rother (Kershaw 78), Potts, Ellis (Bibire Bello 22), Gomes (Wharton 69 ▆ (90))      Subs Unused: Anderton, Sloan

 

Hednesford Town: R. Brown, Yeomans, Mendez-Jones (Armitage 18), Thorley, Griffiths ©, Sutton ▆, Forbes (Thompson 36), McQuilkin, D. Brown ▆▆ (42), Martin ▆, Morley (Abbey 79)      Subs Unused: Gwilt, Sang

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