The Pitmen grind out a valuable point in their quest to avoid the drop in front of a huge New Year's Day crowd at Church Street, despite having to play the final forty minutes of the game with ten men after a red card for James McQuilkin

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Boxing Day's morale-boosting win over Nantwich Town had finally lifted the Pitmen off the foot of the league table after a long spell holding up the rest of the league, giving renewed optimism to the club and its supporters that Harry Harris could guide the club away from the bottom two at long last. Harris had once again been wheeling and dealing in the week between games, bringing in experienced midfielder Ahmed Ali from Nantwich and young defender Hayden Reeves from former club Walsall Wood. Reeves missed out on today's derby after failing to have his registration confirmed in time but Ali came straight into the side as the only change as he replaced James Carvell in the number eleven shirt

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Mid-table Chasetown had been in mixed form since their return to Church Street at the start of the month following the installation of their new 3G pitch, drawing 1-1 at Hanley Town on Boxing Day. Manager Mark Swann made three changes to his Scholars side for today's game with three ex-Pitmen coming back into the side; goalkeeper Bradley Clarkson replaced Matt Sargeant between the sticks, veteran Kris Taylor came back in ahead of Luke McGinnell and the recently-returned George Cater was preferred to Ben Lund on the left flank. Other familiar faces in the Scholars ranks with Hednesford links were midfielders Ryan Shaw and Sam Wilding, with the most notable name on the Chasetown team sheet the indomitable figure of former player/manager Danny Glover

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In front of a new league record crowd of just over 2,000 people, the Pitmen made a flying start to proceedings and really should have been ahead just seconds into the game; star man Jai Verma got the better of Jordan Evans for the first time in the afternoon down the left, surging past the full-back before standing up a cross to the far post where Dan Gyasi arrived to head narrowly over the crossbar from close-range when it looked easier to head home

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Verma was at it again two minutes later as he showed some excellent footwork down the left to leave Evans standing, pulling the ball back across the face of the Chasetown penalty area but out of reach of either Gyasi or the incoming Will Mellors-Blair

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Taylor - soon to turn 40 later this month -  was called into action for the first time in the seventh minute as he swung in a corner kick from the right that the Pitmen struggled to clear until Jack Kelly hacked the danger clear

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A minute later, Cater's first real contribution to the game saw the former Hednesford and Tamworth man pick the ball up from deep, taking the ball into the penalty area down the left before creating half a yard of space for himself and driving in a low shot from twelve yards out that skipped just wide of Kieran Boucher's near post

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Shaw - who had a brief spell with the Pitmen midway through the 2018-2019 season - was the first recipient of a yellow card in the thirteenth minute as he clattered into Gyasi down the Hednesford right

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Ali was proving to be an astute acquisition of the Pitmen already, mopping up several early attacks from the hosts and giving the likes of Tom Thorley and McQuilkin that extra layer of protection in midfield to allow them to play their natural passing game on the pristine 3G surface. On sixteen minutes, Verma picked up a pass from Thorley and worked the ball onto his right foot once more, only for Chasetown to clear the danger before he could pick Mellors-Blair out

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Danny O'Callaghan had Boucher stretching across his goal three minutes later after he had seized upon Josh Endall's headed clearance, flashing a volley just wide of Boucher's left-hand post with a strike from twenty-five yards out

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Cater was proving a tricky customer for Michael Williams down the left for Chasetown, darting past the veteran with a willful run at goal on twenty-one minutes but seeing his cut-back towards Glover turned behind by Ritchie Sutton for as Chasetown corner

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Gyasi's game was to be cut short just after the midway point of the first half as the winger fell awkwardly challenging for a ball on the right-hand touchline and immediately signalled to the bench that he would not be able to continue. Ryan Boothe - who had missed the last two games with injury - came on in his place

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Thorley - a man not known for his prowess in front of goal despite his late winner against Nantwich from the penalty spot - had a clear sight at goal for the Pitmen on twenty-nine minutes as the away side worked the ball patiently across goal via Kelly and Verma and into the path of the skipper, whose low, driven effort skipped off the artificial turf and just wide of Clarkson's right-hand post

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On thirty-two minutes, the lanky O'Callaghan rose highest to meet a cross from Cater out on the left and nodded the ball towards goal but saw his effort drift just wide of Boucher's right-hand post

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Chasetown went even closer from a corner kick two minutes later as Cater's inswinging corner kick from the left picked out O'Callaghan once more on the six-yard line, only for the former Rushall man to see his latest effort come back off the crossbar with Boucher beaten. The ball ended up back at the feet of the striker after the Pitmen failed to clear their lines, with his crisp low effort from fifteen yards out well held by Boucher down to his right

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Verma had the whole crowd on their feet with a sublime piece of skill on thirty-six minutes, leaving both Evans and Luke Yates for dead with some superb footwork out on the left, driving past two more players before slightly over-running the ball on the edge of the penalty area and allowing Tom Unwin to tidy up for the hosts

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Two minutes later, more excellent play from Verma saw him win a free-kick off Evans twenty-five yards from goal after another tricky run from the winger. However, the tired, familiar trend for the Pitmen this season at set-pieces was again in evidence as Thorley tamely floated his ball straight into the arms of Clarkson with no one in white able to challenge the former Darlaston man

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McQuilkin was the Pitmen's first recipient of a yellow card on forty-one minutes for a foul on Shaw in the centre circle to stop the former Boldmere St. Michaels midfielder from playing Glover into space down the left

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It had been something of an attritional first period as befits many local derbies, with Chasetown having the better of the openings but the Pitmen threatening on the counter through Verma and giving the home defence plenty to think about. Half-time saw a veteran on each side leave the field as Taylor was taken off in favour of McGinnell and his former midfield partner at Keys Park Thorley also came off as Joe Thompson replaced him. McQuilkin took the captain's armband off Thorley for the second period, although it was to prove to be a short-lived thing....

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With the second period just five minutes old, Chasetown won a free-kick just inside the Hednesford half. McQuilkin took exception to the decision and booted the ball away in anger, earning him a petulant second yellow card and sending the midfielder to the dressing room. This left the Pitmen with something of a mountain to climb, knowing full well that their leaky and error-strewn defence has struggled to regularly keep teams at bay this season even with a full complement of players. Sutton became the Pitmen's third captain in fifty-one minutes as the 38-year-old took on the armband from McQuilkin

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Nevertheless, Harris's men rolled their sleeves up and dealt well with the expected Chasetown surge forwards as the hosts looked to take advantage of the extra man on the pitch. A Cater corner kick on fifty-three minutes was met by the head of Unwin, whose downward effort was cleared by Williams as he was put under pressure by former boss Glover at the far post

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In a bid to force home their numerical advantage, Chasetown made an attacking change a minute later as the evergreen Jack Langston came on in place of Shaw, looking to add to his 100 league goals for the Scholars

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O'Callaghan was shown a yellow card for the home side on fifty-five minutes as he hauled down Endall as the tall pair looked to challenge for a ball on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area

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The hosts were wasteful from a promising position on fifty-seven minutes as O'Callaghan skied a good chance over the crossbar from close range after Langston and Cater had linked up to set up the striker. A good chance gone for the home side it has to be said

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Still, the Pitmen stood firm in the face of the Chasetowen pressure, with Cater's corner headed back to him by Sutton just after the hour mark, with the winger sending over another cross to the far post that Kelly did brilliantly to block a chance for the tricky Yates as the ball fell to the former Halseowen man

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Langston's first sight at goal midway through the second half saw the former Stafford Rangers striker force Boucher into a superb instinctive save down to his right after the substitute had cut in from the left and drilled in a right-footed shot at goal from eight yards out that looked to be heading for the bottom corner of the net

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From the resultant corner kick, the ball fell to Yates once more, who saw his effort come back off the base of the far post and away from danger as the Pitmen looked to finally get out of their penalty area

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On sixty-eight minutes, Cater once again managed to evade the clutches of Williams as he drove into the penalty area down the left but saw his low effort ripple the side-netting as he fired just wide of goal from fifteen yards out with an angled effort

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This was to prove to be Cater's final involvement in the game as he was taken off by Swann on seventy-one minutes and replaced by former Walsall and Rushall youngster Jayden Campbell

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More corners came and went for the hosts, who were now virtually camped out on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area as they tried to break the deadlock late on. Some heroic defending from the likes of Williams, Endall and Sutton kept the Scholars at bay once more as the men in white threw themselves in front of the ball time and again to deny Chasetown a clear sight at goal. This belief and spirit was something that was sadly lacking at times earlier in the season and has contributed heavily to the Pitmen's lowly league position currently

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With fifteen minutes remaining, Boucher made another outstanding save to deny Campbell after neat interplay from the hosts had seen Glover play the ball out to Yates, whose cross to the far post was driven goalwards by the substitute, forcing Boucher into a fingertip save to turn the ball away from goal and out for a corner kick

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With nine minutes remaining, the Pitmen looked to protect their hard-earned point as striker Mellors-Blair made way for the returning Callam Mendez-Jones, who had been out for a spell injured. The substitute slotted in at right-back, with Williams moving across to central defence to make a three with Suton and Endall

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Despite having been under the cosh for most of the second half, the Pitmen thought that they had grabbed the all-important opening goal with eight minutes remaining; Williams played Boothe into acres of space down the right. Boothe held the ball up well and came inside, elected to curl the ball into the six-yard box but saw his effort take a huge deflection off the boot of Evans, looping up and over the head of Clarkson and almost deceiving the goalkeeper until a fingertip save from the stopper pushed the ball away for a Hednesford corner a corner kick. Kelly's resultant flag kick on the right was whipped into the box and met by Sutton, who looked to turn the loose ball home from close range as he challenged Clarkson and Unwin. Despite the ball looking over the line, the decision was handed Chasetown's way for an earlier foul on Clarkson from the corner kick

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Unwin was the final Chasetown player of the afternoon to be booked as the centre-back was penalised with a yellow card for a bout of dissent following a challenge on Boothe

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With the game drifting into added time, Verma almost lit up Church Street one last time with a late chance for the Pitmen, winning the ball well in midfield before driving towards the box and striking one of his trademark firm shots at goal that forced Clarkson into a fine save to palm the ball over the crossbar for a corner kick

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A point apiece is, on reflection, a point gained for the visitors after a dogged and determined second-half display with only ten men that saw them withstand severe pressure from Chasetown before a later rally saw them go close to taking all the points with two good chances. Chasetown will be ruing their wastefulness in front of goal, particularly in the second half, although Boucher had proved an inspired barrier in front of them with his best Hednesford performance so far. The Pitmen head back to Keys Park on Saturday looking to make it three wins in a row there when mid-table dwellers Widnes make their first-ever trip to South Staffordshire

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Chasetown: Clarkson, Hayward, Evans, Taylor (McGinnell 45), Unwin ▆, Wilding, Cater (Campbell 71), Shaw ▆ (Langston 55), Glover, O'Callaghan ▆, Yates      Subs Unused: Atherton, Lund

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Hednesford Town: Boucher, Williams, Kelly ▆, Thorley © (Thompson 45), Sutton, Endall, Verma, McQuilkin ▆▆ (50), Mellors-Blair (Mendez-Jones 81), Gyasi (Boothe 27), Ali    Subs Unused: Morley, Gwilt

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