The two sides will do it all again on Monday night at Keys Park after this afternoon's uninspiring goalless draw at the New Lodge, with the incentive for the winners a home tie against League Two outfit Oldham Athletic

​

Last weekend's last-gasp win over Boston United was a timely result heading into this afternoon's cup tie, with the Pitmen looking to make their mark on a competition that had raised the club's profile immeasurably in recent seasons. Manager John Baldwin welcomed back Stuart Lake after he had missed last week's trip to York Street due to a bout of flu, with the combative utility man coming straight back into the side in place of Mark Haran as the only change to the side from the one that had started against Boston

​

Ryman Premier League outfit Billericay had played through two rounds of this season's F.A. Cup already, beating Wingate & Finchley 5-1 at the New Lodge in the second qualifying round and winning 2-1 at Bishop's Stortford in the last round to set up today's tie. Manager Gary Calder made two changes to his side from the one that had been heavily beaten 5-0 at home to Sutton United last weekend as Russell Penn came in for Kofi Nyamah and Kevin Jordan replaced Simon Spencer

​

The past week's weather across the country had been awful, with regular showers and a strong southerly wind hampering players' actions throughout proceedings. On the tight New Lodge pitch, the Pitmen made a good start to the game as they forced three successive corner kicks inside the first two minutes, testing the organisational skills of goalkeeper Gavin King and his defenders

​

The visitors' first real chance of the afternoon fell to last weekend's hat-trick hero Scott Bonsall in the sixth minute as he was played into space by Mark Cooper's pass before looking to chip King from the edge of the Billericay penalty area, only for the stopper to race back and tip the ball over the crossbar before it could dip into the net

​

Lake was off target three minutes later as he met a Cooper corner kick with his head from six yards out but glanced his effort a yard over the crossbar as the ball came to him a little quicker than he expected

​

A speculative cross from Evans on the right in the eleventh minute was headed away by Chris Moore and into the path of Bonsall, who spotted the run of Bagshaw in behind the Billericay defence down the left and lofted the ball into the path of the winger, whose first-time volley was skewed horribly wide of goal from fifteen yards out

​

The hosts had started slowly but started to come back into the game as they played on the counter-attack for much of the first period; a run from Jordan in the fifteenth minute saw him drift past Evans and cross towards skipper Dean Parratt, who was just behind play and could not take advantage as he missed the ball by a matter of inches as he looked to toe-poke the ball past Mark Gayle

​

Four minutes later, Paul Linger stepped forwards to take the ball twenty yards into the Hednesford half before trying his luck with an ambitious shot from thirty yards out that sailed well wide of Gayle's right-hand post

​

Midway through the first half, Bonsall made an enterprising run down the left and crossed for Neil Davis, who was beaten to the ball by a clearing header from Moore. The ball dropped kindly into the path of the incoming Cooper, whose first-time shot from sixteen yards out flew just wide of the post

​

Good play from the impressive Linger on twenty-six minutes saw him take advantage of a slip from Lee Colkin to get to the right-hand byeline and whipped in a cross towards Richard Dunwell, whose comedy airshot worked in favour of Jordan, whose follow-up shot was inches past the post

​

The blustery wind had a hand in the Pitmen's next chance on thirty-one minutes as a forward punt from Russell Bradley was held up in the air and caught Moore out as Davis made a move in behind him. The striker did well to chest the ball down and take the ball into the Billericay penalty area but pulled his shot wide of the far post as King came out to narrow the angle

​

King turned a shot from Airdrie over the crossbar for another corner to the Pitmen on thirty-six minutes as the winger's run across the edge of the Billericay penalty area saw him ghost past three players before striking a rising shot at goal that the stopper pushed over the woodwork

​

Cooper was having another good game for the Pitmen, curling a free-kick into the grateful arms of King with six minutes of the half remaining after Bagshaw had been brought down by Jeff Woolsey just outside the Billericay penalty area

​

The weather conditions intervened once more a couple of minutes before the break as Dunwell managed to get on the end of a pass from Dave Culverhouse that was once again held up in the wind, getting the better of a hesitant Colkin as he entered the penalty area but was denied the game's opener by a fantastic save from Gayle as the stopper pushed the ball away at his near post

​

In first-half added time, Bradley was off-target once more from a Cooper corner kick, rising highest but heading the ball wide of goal at the far post as he beat Jordan to the ball

​

Despite the awful conditions, both sides had given a good account of themselves despite the game still being scoreless. The step one visitors had quite possibly edged the game on possession but their lower-level hosts were a consistent threat from deep through the likes of Linger and Dunwell

​

The Pitmen were forced into a change before the start of the second half as Owen came on in place of Bonsall, who was struggling with the repercussions of the injury he picked up late on in the Boston game

​

Another downpour early in the second half left the New Lodge pitch sodden, with players on both sides struggling to keep their footing in the early stages of the second period. Lake's long-range driven shot from twenty-five yards out on fifty minutes skipped across the turf and bounced straight into the arms of King

​

Four minutes later, Bagshaw's run and pass sent Davis away in behind the Billericay defence, only for the ball to run away from the forward on the greasy turf before he could strike the ball at goal

​

Just before the hour mark, another driving run from Linger saw him make a move into the Hednesford penalty area before pulling the ball back to Joe Baker, whose attempted shot was blocked and cleared by Lake

​

A trademark run from Airdrie on sixty-two minutes saw the winger dribble past three Billericay players as he drifted in from the right before laying the ball off to Owen, whose curling effort drifted over King's crossbar

​

Midway through the second half, Pointon's free-kick sent Davis away down the left, with the striker turned well and crossing for Airdrie at the far post; the winger's first-time effort rippled the side-netting as he attempted to score from a tight angle

​

A great run from Colkin on seventy minutes saw the left-back make a strong run down the flank and crossed for Davis, who was denied a simple tap-in from close range by superb defending from Moore, who headed the ball behind for a corner kick as he got in front of the striker at the near post

​

There was a loud shout for a penalty kick from the visitors on seventy-four minutes as another superb run from Airdrie saw him trick his way into the Billericay penalty area before he appeared to be brought down by Culverhouse. Despite the pleas of the Hednesford players and the supporters gathered behind King's goal, referee Mr Harrison was unimpressed and the game continued

​

With twelve minutes remaining, another positive run from Airdrie saw him nutmeg Culverhouse on his way into the Billericay penalty area; his attempted cross to Davis was cleared to Evans by Baker, with the right-back shanking his shot high over the crossbar

​

Parratt had struggled to get much change out of the Hednesfoird defence throughout the game but did have a good chance to settle the tie on eighty-two minutes as he got goal side of a dawdling Bradley to meet a forward pass from Baker, but slashed his right-footed shot wide of goal from twenty yards out

​

With five minutes remaining, Dunwell had arguably the best chance of the second half as the Hednesford defence opened up in front of him and invited him to shoot from twenty yards out, only for the midfield man to pull his shot inches wide of Gayle's post

​

The Pitmen made their second substitution of the afternoon on eighty-seven minutes as Robinson came on in place of Pointon in a move that saw Bradley move to left-back and Evans slot in on the right side of central defence for the remaining minutes

​

In the final minute of the game, Dunwell's knock-down from a Woolsey cross was aimed at substitute Gary Henty, only for a late interception from Lake to take the ball away from the Billiecay number fourteen

​

A stalemate of a tie means that the two sides will reconvene at Keys Park on Monday night for the replay. The draw for the first round paired up the winners with League Two side Oldham, who will travel to either Keys Park or the New Lodge on 18th November in the first round proper

​

Billericay Town: King, Woolsey, Culverhouse, Linger, Moore (Gentle 79), Baker (Spencer 83), Penn, Williams, Dunwell, Parratt ©, Jordan (Henty 79)       Subs Unused: Southgate, Newell

​

Hednesford Town: Gayle, Evans, Colkin, Lake, Bradley, Pointon (Robinson 87), Airdrie, Cooper ©, Davis, Bagshaw, Bonsall (Owen 45)     Subs Unused: Haran, Russell, Carney

​