The Pitmen's bandwagon keeps rolling on as they make it ten league games unbeaten this afternoon with a narrow victory over in-form Bootle at the Berry Street Garage Stadium

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Having had a full week's break since last weekend's 0-0 draw with league leaders Widnes, Hednesford manager Gavin Hurren shuffled his pack once more for the trip to Merseyside with two changes to his starting XI; the injured Elliott Johnson was replaced by Joel Taylor at left-back, whilst Nathan Blissett came in ahead of Jack Bearne, who dropped to the bench

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Bootle - sitting down in mid-table after a recent resurgence in form during the early stages of 2025 - returned home after a 2-1 win on the road at Stafford Rangers last weekend, with manager Mike McGraa making just the one change of his own as ex-Hednesford midfielder Sean Williams came in for Ben Dufton-Kelly

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It was bright, sunny and fairly mild early spring afternoon, although the wind off the Mersey would cause both sides issues with balls up in the air. It was the Pitmen who made the flying start, however, as their physical 4-4-2 formation garnered instant results with what was to prove to be the only goal of the game inside the first minute; Jamie Morgan's throw-in from the right found Ahkeem Rose, who controlled the ball well on the right-hand corner of the Bootle penalty area before quickly turning past Lewis Earl and rifling in an unstoppable shot across goal and into the far corner of the net. Bootle goalkeeper Tony Thompson had no time to even react to the shot, such was the power of the effort and how early Rose had hit it on the turn

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Within a minute of the restart, the Pitmen almost doubled their lead as skipper Dom McHale looked to take advantage of a shellshocked Bootle defence, driving in from the right after picking up Chris Hussey's cross-field ball before the ball ran to Joe Doyle-Charles, whose low driven effort took a nick off Jack Lenehen and skipped inches wide of Thompson's right-hand post

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More McHale magic in the fifth minute saw him earn the visitors a free-kick just outside the Bootle box after a foul on him from Sean Smith. Hussey took responsibility for the kick with his left foot, curling in a shot from range that was easily saved by Thompson on his line

 

It had been a blistering start to proceedings from the away side, who had shown a ruthless streak to strike early on and put Bootle onto the backfoot, leaving them to chase the game. In the eighth minute, the excellent Morgan played the ball into the feet of Blissett, whose clever ball into the feet of McHale was halted by the assistant's flag on the far side for an earlier offside against the giant striker in the build-up

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Bootle started to find their way into the game, with Ben Hodkinson involved regularly in and around the Hednesford box as the hosts probed. He took Taylor on with a driving run into the box in the eleventh minute, pulling the ball back into the direction of Courtney Duffus but could only find the commanding figure of Hussey in his way, clearing the ball from danger at his near post

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The first genuine sight at goal for the home side came in the sixteenth minute as the ball bounced around in the Hednesford penalty area before being scuffed into the path of Sam Hughes by Lenehan, only for the youngster to slip at the vital moment and sent his scuffed effort from ten yards out well wide of goal

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More outstanding defending from Hussey three minutes later saw the former Coventry City man glide across the excellent Berry Street Garages Stadium turf to dispossess Duffus, blocking the initial shot before bringing the ball out of his own penalty area and clearing up to Dan Trickett-Smith

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Midway through the first period, a long throw from Morgan dropped over the head of Blissett and into the path of Rose, who once again showed excellent quick reactions to bring the ball down and get a strike away all in the same movement, but this time lifting his shot over the crossbar from twelve yards out

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At the other end, a free kick wide on the right flank from Hodkinson in the twenty-fourth minute was floated into the penalty area and met by the head of Earl, whose flick-on was cleared behind for a corner kick by the covering Harrison before Duffus could reach the ball

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A succession of Bootle corners followed, with some good delivery into the box dealt with by Harrison, Hussey and Tony Breeden all in succession as the Pitmen dealt with the aerial threat well from the home side, something that had been lacking at earlier points in the campaign

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Shortly before the half-hour mark, Blisett went close to adding to his debut goal against Witton Albion earlier in the month as McHale made progress down the right-hand side, taking on Smith before pulling the ball back along the ground into the path of the incoming Blissett. The big striker's shot from ten yards out took a huge deflection off the covering Earl, looping the ball over the head of Thompson and onto the roof of the net

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A minute later, McHale spotted Thompson standing outside his penalty area and attempted an audacious lob from the halfway line that was caught in the wind and dropped safely wide of the goalkeeper's right-hand post, much to the relief of the veteran stopper

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Blissett and Rose linked up once more for the visitors on thirty-five minutes, with Blissett flicking on Morgan's long ball into the path of his strike partner who took the ball into the penalty area but was denied a clear shot at goal by a timely block from Tom Hannigan, turning the ball behind for a corner kick to the Pitmen

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There were mute calls for a penalty kick from the home side on thirty-seven minutes as Hodkinson took a tumble in the penalty area as he looked to get on the end of a cross from Smith on the left in a challenge with Taylor. Despite the forward's pleas, referee Mr Cox waved away the protests and the game continued as Taylor cleared his lines

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Trickett-Smith - playing in an unfamiliar left-wing role that most certainly stunted the playmaker's creative talents - looked to lob Thompson from range once more with a couple of minutes of the first half remaining, picking up a pass from Simeon Maye on the edge of the penalty area and attempting to lift the ball over the goalkeeper. However, Trickett-Smith's effort lacked any height or power and was easily claimed by the Bootle goalkeeper

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It had been a satisfying first-half display from the Pitmen, who had once again looked defensively solid throughout the half whilst remaining a threat on the counter attack at the other end through the likes of Blissett, Rose and McHale. It had been a testament to this defensive solidity that Breeden had not had to make a single save of any note in the first half against a side that had been scoring regularly in recent games

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Just as it had been the case in the first half, the Pitmen came flying out of the blocks at the start of the second as well with Blissett picking up the ball and playing a delightful reverse pass into the path of McHale, who made a run in behind the static Bootle defence but couldn't quite get to the ball as Thompson beat him in a foot race on the edge of the penalty area

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A quick break from the men in white on fifty minutes as McHale brought the ball out of defence before sending Rose away down the right flank; his ball back across was missed by three incoming players but picked up and recycled by Trickett-Smith, who picked Rose out once more with a fine ball back into the box, only for the striker to have moved into an offside position as he looked to volley the ball home from a tight angle

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Bootle blinked first with the game's first substitution of the afternoon just six minutes into the second half as Kyle Campbell was brought off and replaced by former AFC Fylde attacker Jack Morris

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A quickly-taken corner from Williams almost caught the Pitmen cold on fifty-five minutes, finding Duffus in a pocket of space just inside the Hednesford penalty area. However, the striker's shot lacked any power or precision and ended up dragging his effort wide of the far past

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McHale provided Blissett with another sight at goal on fifty-eight minutes, sending the striker away with a finely-threaded through ball to the left of the Bootle penalty area. With the angle narrowing and Hannigan coming across to block, Blissett could only drag his low shot back across goal and straight into the arms of Thompson from eight yards out

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On the hour mark, Trickett-Smith's inswinging corner kick from the left was met by the towering figure of Harrison, whose firm header at the far post drifted high and wide of Thompson's far post

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Midway through the second half, Bootle made their second change of the game as Roberts was taken off and replaced by the experienced Michael Simpson at full-back

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A rare chance for Bootle fell at the feet of Hughes on sixty-seven minutes as the youngster cut inside from the right, taking the ball past Taylor and Hussey but getting all his angles wrong as he fired well wide of goal. On closer inspection, the shot took a nick off the boot of Harrison that should have resulted in a corner kick to the hosts, only for Mr Cox to hand the Pitmen a goal kick instead

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Hednesford's first change of the game came on sixty-eight minutes as Scouser Niall Watson was given a run out up front as he replaced the superb Blissett

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Breeden had been a complete spectator for the majority of the game thus far but was called into action on seventy-two minutes to make a regulation save down to his left and claim a low volley from Duffus inside his own six-yard box after the former Everton striker had seized upon a loose ball on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area

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Before play could restart, McGraa - still looking for a response from his shot-shy side in the second half - made a third change of the game as Conor Harwood was brought on in favour of Lenehen

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Harwood's introduction saw Bootle play a little more on the front foot in the latter stages, forcing another series of set-pieces to test the Pitmen's resolve. The substitute won a corner for the hosts on seventy-five minutes, allowing Williams to swing in a dangerous cross that evaded everyone in a blue shirt inside the six-yard box and had to be hacked clear by Harrison at the far post for another corner kick

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Hednesford looked to make their second substitution of the afternoon with thirteen minutes remaining as Jake Jervis came on up front alongside Watson as he replaced goalscorer Rose

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Good play from Bootle a few seconds later saw Hodkinson and Simpson link up down the right, with the substitute getting in behind Taylor but seeing his low shot blocked by Hussey after Hodkinson had picked out his run 

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Four minutes later, Bearne returned to the pitch for the Pitmen as he came on to add his guile and pace down the left flank, replacing the industrious Trickett-Smith who had worked hard down the left flank but had struggled to be involved in play in his usual manner

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Another good delivery from Williams, this time from the left, saw the former Stockport County midfielder swing in a corner kick on seventy-nine minutes that was met at the far post by the head of Earl, whose goalbound effort was headed away by the covering Maye as he stood firm inside his own six-yard box

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Harrison picked up the game's first booking of the afternoon with ten minutes left as the big centre-back was cautioned by Mr Cox for manhandling Duffus as the tall pair challenged just outside the Hednesford penalty area

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The Pitmen were content to keep the game tight as we headed into the final minutes, keeping a tight line and not allowing Bootle time and space to break the lines with any through balls. Hussey, Harrison and Morgan were all in exemplary form alongside Taylor, continually putting timely blocks in and stopping any attacks from the Bucks at source

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A late double change from the hosts on eighty-nine minutes saw former Vauxhall Motors man Dufton-Kelly come on in place of Smith and the dangerous Hodkinson - who had been well shackled by Taylor and Hussey all afternoon - was replaced by Kane O'Neill, the scorer of two of Bootle's four goals in the reverse fixture back in December

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More late set-pieces peppered the Hednesford goal, with Breeden coming off his line in the first minute of added time to claim a Williams corner at his far post ahead of Duffus and Hannigan

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Watson followed Harrison into the referee's notebook deep into six minutes of added time for a foul on Harwood, handing Bootle a free-kick in a dangerous position thirty yards from goal and to the right of the box. Williams clipped the ball into the box toward the far post, where Breeden again was on hand to make the claim and take the pressure off his defence one last time in the afternoon

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Another satisfying, strong three points for the Pitmen on the road, making it three successive wins away from home in February, all without conceding a goal. Bootle could have no arguments with the result, having only forced Breeden into a single save of note all afternoon as the Hednesford defence showed its quality and experience in spades. Defeats for Congleton Town and Widnes once again tighten up the pack once more, with Vauxhall Motors winning at Mossley to move to within three points of Widnes in the league table, whilst the Pitmen jump above Congleton into third place, six points off top having played a game more. The Pitmen now face a challenging month of mainly home fixtures in March, hosting Congleton next Saturday in a crucial six-pointer at Keys Park before hosting play-off chasing Stalybridge Celtic and struggling Newcastle Town in the following two weeks. A continuation of their current form and strong points haul from these three home games could well propel Hurren's men into a potential title race after all, something that looked highly unlikely just a month or so ago

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Bootle: Thompson ©, Roberts (Simpson 65), Smith (Dufton-Kelly 89), Earl, Hannigan, Williams, Lenehen (Harwood 72), Hughes, Duffus, Campbell (Morris 51), Hodkinson (O'Neill 89)     Subs Unused: None

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Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan, Taylor, Maye, Harrison ▆, Hussey, Rose (Jervis 77), Doyle-Charles, Blissett (Watson 68 ▆), McHale ©, Trickett-Smith (Bearne 81)    Sub Unused: Sutherland, Brown

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