The Pitmen's dreadful run of form continues this evening as Bromsgrove condemn the nine-man hosts to a seventh defeat in succession and leave them three points adrift at the foot of the Southern Premier League Central table

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A narrow defeat at Coalville Town at the weekend had seen Steve Burr's side sink to the foot of the league table for the first time this season. Burr had once again dipped into the transfer market ahead of tonight's return home and had brought back experienced midfielder James McQuilkin and striker Ryan Nesbitt to add to his ranks. Both players were added to the substitute's bench, with the only change to the XI that had started at Coalville coming in attacking midfield as Kyle Bennett replaced the injured Riley O'Sullivan

 

Sixteenth-placed Bromsgrove made the short journey up the M5 off the back of a 1-1 draw at home to Basford United on Saturday, with manager Thomas Baillie making one change to his starting XI as Ammar Dyer replaced Dominic Perkins at left-back. Baillie's squad was full of players who had turned out for the Pitmen over the past few years, naming Lewis Wright, Kieron Dawes, Mike McGrath and Dan Sweeney in the starting XI with Callum King-Harmes, George Forsyth and Matthew Barnes-Homer all amongst the substitutes

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Underneath the newly-installed LED floodlights, the Pitmen had the first sight at goal of the evening in the third minute as a strong run and pass from Bennett played Cuff into space to the right-hand side of the Bromsgrove penalty area, only for the winger to lift his shot over the crossbar from sixteen yards out

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The hugely experienced Mikey Taylor was also guilty of a high, wide and not-too-handsome effort for Bromsgrove in the sixth minute as the burly striker found a pocket of space just outside the Hednesford penalty area but lifted his effort high over Tiernan Brooks' crossbar

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Brooks was forced into the first of a string of good stops to deny Sweeney in the ninth minute of the game as a free-kick from Joe Curtis out on the right was cleared as far as Ryan Edmunds, whose through ball found the former Hednesford striker lurking in behind Lewis Ison in the inside left position; his first-time effort was pushed away by the on-loan stopper at his near post to hand Bromsgrive their first corner of the evening

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The Notts County loanee made an even better double save to deny the Rouslers in the twelfth minute, denying both Miro Pais and Sweeney in quick succession after Mikey Taylor had initially got the better of Ben Bailey to get onto a Pais header before returning the ball to the midfielder, whose shot from the edge of the penalty area was pushed away by Brooks. The ball ran kindly to Sweeney, whose follow-up shot was brilliantly saved by Brooks once more as he turned the ball behind once more

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Two minutes later, Todd Parker's teasing corner kick somehow flashed straight across the face of the Bromsgrove goal and out of play on the far side of the pitch as no one in white could apply the finish inside the six-yard box

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More good approach play from Bromsgrove on seventeen minutes later saw Pais once again involved, exchanging passes with Harvey Gregson before turning past Harvey Portman and crossing for Sweeney, who lashed his shot high over the crossbar with a wayward effort from twelve yards out

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Somewhat against the run of play, however, the Pitmen gave themselves a huge boost as they took the lead a minute later through arch-poacher Lita once more; Portman and home debutant Adam Livingstone combined down the left to play the ball into the path of Lita, who allowed Bennett to clip the ball into the penalty area where Cuff had made a run across the back of the Bromsgrove defenders. With the ball bobbling around, Cuff just managed to get enough purchase on it to lay the ball off to Lita once more, with the veteran applying the finish as he sidefooted the ball past Oliver Taylor in the Bromsgrove goal from twelve yards out. It was Lita's sixth goal of the season - a superb return for a struggling side that had only scored seven goals in total so far this term

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Back came the visitors, who exerted more pressure on the Hednesford defence in search of an equaliser. Portman handed them a free-kick right by the corner flag on twenty-one minutes after bringing Pais down, with Bailey doing well to clear his lines from the resultant free-kick to hoof the ball away inside his own six-yard box to deny former team-mate Sweeney a chance

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Three minutes later, Portman's topsy-turvy display saw the teenager receive the first booking of the evening from referee Mr Hales as he hauled Sweeney to the ground to stop the striker from bursting into the penalty area. Edmunds took the resultant kick and tried to place it around the wall but could only succeed in clipping the edge of it and sending the ball behind for a corner kick

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The resulting corner was cleared by the Pitmen but only as far as Pais, whose run was checked by Livingstone but still managed to find Edmunds; his cross was flicked on by Sweeney, only to see his effort first inches wide of the far post

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The Pitmen felt that they had a strong call for a penalty kick four minutes later as Lita's attempted shot from inside the box ricocheted into the path of Bennett, who appeared to be scythed down by a strong challenge from Dyer. Despite the Pitmen's appeals, Mr Hales gestured to the former Doncaster man to get back to his feet

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The Pitmen were made to pay for this as Sporting conjured up a deserved equaliser a minute later through the excellent Pais. Bailey was at fault as he allowed a long ball forwards from Wright to run to Pais, who showed the centre-back a clean pair of heels before getting the better of Martin Riley and chipping the ball past the advancing Brooks

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The Rouslers went in search of another quick goal to turn the game on its head, with Mikey Taylor seeing a low shot blocked by Riley on thirty-three minutes after more good play from Pais

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The ever-dangerous Sweeney once again showed his power and pace to good effect on thirty-six minutes as he left Riley for dead with a driving run in from the left flank before drilling a low shot just wide of goal from eighteen yards out

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Livingstone had seen very little of the ball to showcase his talents to his new club but had one chance to make a darting run down the left two minutes later as he cut inside from the left flank with a mazy run past two Bromsgrove players, but lifted his angled shot high over Ollie Taylor's crossbar

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Brooks made yet another fine stop to deny the visitors on the stroke of half time as Gregson was allowed to make a run from deep and into the Hednesford penalty area, drifting past three players before unleashing a shot that Brooks palmed away down low to his left

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If you were taking any positives out of the first period as a Hednesford fan, you could at least say that they had looked a lot more threatening going forwards than in recent games, with Cuff and Lita giving the away defence plenty to think about. However, poor defending had led to the Bromsgrove goal and had been a concern through the first period as the visitors had cut through the flimsy Hednesford back line again and again, only to waste plenty of good chances. The hosts made a double change before the second half kicked off, as Bailey and Parker were both removed from play and replaced by Mason Birch and McQuilkin respectively. This saw Ison move back into the centre of defence to replace Bailey, with Birch playing at right-back

 

Bromsgrove emerged much the better of the two sides at the start of the second period, with Sweeney's early shot from twenty yards out blocked by Riley and cleared by Birch before Edmunds could seize upon the ball

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However, the Rouslers took the lead for the first time in the game on fifty-two minutes as more poor defending from the hosts saw Dyer nutmeg Birch and play Sweeney in down the left; he drifted inside but saw his effort cleared by Portman, only as far as Curtis twenty yards from goal. The midfield man slipped the ball into the path of Edmunds down the left, who was allowed time and space to take a couple of touches before firing a low angled shot beyond the reach of Brooks and found the far corner of the net

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The Pitmen were stung into action and won a couple of corners in succession as they looked to put the Bromsgrove defence under pressure; Bennett's deep cross on fifty-five minutes was headed upwards by Lita, but hacked out of the danger zone by Curtis before anyone from the home side could react

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It was Ison's determination to win the ball back that led to the Pitmen equalising just before the hour mark as the defender's initial heavy touch saw him lose the ball but win it back from Dyer with a determined, but fair, lunge for the ball thirty yards from goal. Ison then managed to get past Edmunds before slipping the ball through to Cuff, who cut in from the left before rifling a shot beyond Ollie Taylor at his near post and into the roof of the net from an acute angle. Game on once more

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The Rouslers made their first change of the game soon after as former Hednesford loanee Forsyth was brought on to add his height and power to the midfield as he replaced Sweeney, who had looked tired in the second period

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The hosts enjoyed a mini spell of pressure as they pushed Bromsgrove back into their third for a spell, with the excellent Cuff making two mazy runs in succession down the right flank, the second of which saw him whip in a cross that evaded everyone in the six-yard box as it sailed harmlessly away from danger on sixty-seven minutes

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However, more dreadful defensive errors were to catch up with the Pitmen on sixty-eight minutes as they gifted Mikey Taylor what was to be the winning goal for the away side; Forsyth's angled cross from the right seemed to be bread and butter for the Hednesford defence as Taylor looked to bustle his way through, only for McQuilkin's attempted clearance to run kindly into the path of the striker once more, with the veteran hitman firing into the roof of the net from fifteen yards out

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The Pitmen immediately made their final change of the game before play could restart as Nesbitt - a former youth team player at Keys Park before setting off on a nomadic trip around the Midlands non-league scene - came on in place of Livingstone to play up alongside Lita

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Cuff followed Portman into the referee's notebook on seventy minutes as the winger was harshly booked for a slightly mistimed challenge on Dyer that Mr Hales somehow felt inclined to show the player a yellow card for

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A minute later, Bennett was also booked for a late challenge on Pais in the centre circle as the hosts started to show signs of frustration at yet another game that was drifting away from them, coming up against yet another big, strong and well-organised outfit. This was to prove to be a booking the experienced midfielder would regret later on in the game

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Veteran striker Barnes-Homer - a Hednesford player for just one game back in the 2008-2009 campaign - was the latest ex-Pitman to take to the pitch on seventy-two minutes as he replaced goalscorer Mikey Taylor up front

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The Pitmen pushed further up the pitch in search of yet another equalising goal, with Lita going close to grabbing a third for the hosts on seventy-four minutes as Portman made a strong run down the left before laying the ball off to Cuff, whose cross was headed just wide by the striker at the far post from close-range

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Young winger King-Harmes - who had a brief spell with the Pitmen last term before joining Sutton Coldfield Town - was the Rouslers' final change of the evening with fifteen minutes left as he came on in place of Edmunds

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Sixty seconds later, Cuff saw the goal open up for him as he took advantage of a slip from Wright to get on the end of a pass from Bennett, only to see his well-struck shot from twelve yards out strike the outside of OIlie Taylor's right-hand post

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Man of the match Cuff tried his luck from thirty yards out with ten minutes to go, drilling in a low free-kick that had been won by Lita but seeing his effort bobble harmlessly wide of the far post

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Two minutes later, a corner kick from Cuff was headed goalwards by Riley, causing some flutters in the Bromsgrove defence as they struggled to clear the ball. The veteran defender looked to pick up the bouncing ball but could not turn it past Ollie Taylor, who managed to parry the defender's follow-up shot at his far post

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The hosts were reduced to ten men on eighty-four minutes, however, as another player making his home debut - Birch - was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Pais in front of the two benches. Mr Hales deemed it to be a sending-off offence, despite most of the players expecting a caution for the former Aston Villa youngster

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Despite this numerical disadvantage, the Pitmen continued to press for an equaliser and went close through Lita once more on eighty-eight minutes; Ison's delightful cross from the right found the veteran unmarked in the penalty area, only for Lita to nod inches wide of the post from twelve yards out

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Nesbitt had struggled to get himself into the game since coming on, but was handed a chance to make himself an instant hero in the final minute of the game as Cuff and Lita combined to play in on goal down the left, only for the former Solihull Moors striker to take a touch too many before seeing his shot deflected away from goal

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With the game drifting into added time, the hosts saw their ranks reduced by one more in the second of five injury-time minutes as Bennett was also given his marching orders by Mr Hales for a second bookable offence. Chris Clements appeared to be fouled by Forsyth on the edge of the penalty area, yet Mr Hales allowed play to continue, which saw Bromsgrove break quickly down the left through King-Harmes. Bennett came across and committed a silly, unprofessional foul to stop the youngster in his tracks, earning him a second yellow card and an early bath for his troubles

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This ended any chance the Pitmen may have had of getting themselves back into the game in added time, as the visitors held on for the three points to condemn the Pitmen to a seventh defeat on the bounce in all competitions. Once again, the Pitmen's defensive incompetence proves to be their Achilles heel as Bromsgrove took full advantage of a series of errors from the hosts throughout the evening. Saturday sees AFC Rushden & Diamonds visit the RACE Stadium in what has now become a relegation six-pointer so early in the campaign, with Burr's side absolutely desperate to earn their first win of the season over the side directly above them in the league table

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Hednesford Town: Brooks, Ison, Portman ▆, Bailey © (Birch 45 ▆ (84)), Riley, Clements, Cuff ▆, Parker (McQuilkin 45), Lita, Bennett ▆ ▆ (90), Livingstone (Nesbitt 68)      Subs Unused: Wilding, Clayton

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Bromsgrove Sporting: O. Taylor, Wright, Dyer, Curtis, Dawes, McGrath © ▆, M. Taylor (Barnes-Homer 72), Gregson, Pais, Sweeney (Forsyth 65), Edmunds (King-Harmes 75)       Subs Unused: T. Taylor, Byrne

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