Clitheroe

Wilkins (25), (53), Massey (34)

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Hednesford Town

Jervis (14)

(2) 3

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(1) 1

956

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Jake Jervis

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L L W D D W L D L L

 

Bootle (H) 27.4.24

The Pitmen's relegation to step five is essentially rubber-stamped this afternoon as another poor, lacklustre display from the men in red sees them make it four games without a win with a disappointing and meagre defeat at Clitheroe

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Having been completely outplayed by mid-table Avro in last week's home game, head coach Paul Moore rolled the dice once more as he looked for a response from his fast-fading squad with three changes for today's game - Ryan Brown was deemed fit enough to come back into goal after an error-strewn spell between the sticks from Rhys Williams, with Lewis Farmer returning ahead of Michael Williams and Eden Bailey coming in for the injured Nathan Delfouneso. This saw several players starting the game out of position in defence, with James McQuillkin continuing at right-back, left-back Jack Kelly moving across to centre-back and utility man Jacob Gwilt dropping in at left-back

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Clitheroe had recently parted ways with manager Danny Caldecott after failing to make the play-off places, with former Accrington Stanley assistant manager Jimmy Bell handed the reigns at Shawbridge until the end of the season. The experienced Bell made two changes to his Blues side from the one that had dished out a 4-1 hammering to 1874 Northwich last Saturday as Matt Clarke came in for Will Hall and Louis Potts replaced the suspended Sefton Gonzales up front

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Despite the Pitmen's lowly league position and seemingly inevitable drop to step five, the club's supporters once again turned up in great numbers for today's final away game of an appalling campaign for the club, with many electing for fancy dress to add a dash of colours to today's game. On a beautiful early Spring afternoon, the game started quickly with efforts at both ends early on; in the third minute, Brown was alert to an effort from the tricky Jack Massey, tipping the winger's rising shot over the crossbar after Massey had left Gwilt for dead with a mazy run into the box out on the right

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Two minutes later, the Pitmen worked the ball well out to Jake Jervis on the right flank through Tom Thorley and Adriano Moke, with the big striker lashing his first-time effort from the edge of the penalty area high over the crossbar

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Kelly was still adapting to his new role in central defence early on and was caught out by striker Danny Wilkins as he dallied on the ball a little too long on six minutes. The experienced former Stalybridge man attempted a cheeky lob over Brown from sixteen yards out but could only tamely send his effort wide of the post

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Brown made another good save to deny Domaine Rouse in the eighth minute after a corner kick was cleared as far as the experienced left-back, whose half-volley from the edge of the penalty area lacked power and was claimed by the Hednesford stopper down to his left

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James McQuilkin picked up the game's first booking on thirteen minutes as he was shown a yellow card by referee Mr Watson after tripping Veron Parny in full flight to stop the French winger from breaking past him down the left

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The away side gave their travelling supporters some much-needed cheer a minute later as they took a surprise lead through the experienced Jervis; a quick counter-attack from the men in red saw McQuilkin intercept a loose pass before sending Jervis away into space down the right, with the former Birmingham City man showing Rouse a clean pair of heels before drilling a low shot into the far corner of the net past goalkeeper Hakan Burton from a tight angle

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Back came the hosts, with Rouse going close to an equaliser for Clitheroe on seventeen minutes as he picked the ball up to the left-hand side of the penalty area and elected to fire in a low shot at goal that skewed well wide of Brown's right-hand post

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Another quick counter from the Pitmen midway through the first half saw Brown quickly deliver an out-ball to Jai Verma, who had acres of room to run into down the left. The mercurial winger jinked his way past the challenge of Clarke and stood up a cross towards former Clitheroe man Bailey that was headed clear by that old warrior Andy Teague, a Chorley legend who had been the thorn in many a Hednesford team over the years in the Northern Premier League and Conference North

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However, the makeshift nature of the Pitmen's defence finally told as Clitheroe grabbed themselves an equaliser on twenty-five minutes; Wilkins picked the ball up in a confined space down the left and was allowed to dribble past both Farmer and Kelly as he took the ball along the byeline before somehow squeezing a shot between Brown and his near post and finding the net from an incredibly acute angle. A soft, soft goal to concede, it has to be said

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Rouse picked up Clitheroe's first booking of the afternoon shortly before the half-hour mark as a string of mistimed and niggly challenges on the likes of Jervis and McQuilkin was finally punished by Mr Watson after one trip too many on Jervis

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You felt that the hosts had the Pitmen's patched-up defence exactly where they wanted them at this point, with the likes of Massey and Parny a constant threat in wide areas. Massey was giving poor Gwilt a torrid time on the right, taking the utility man on at will and creating openings for the Blues at will. One such chance came on thirty-one minutes as Massey laid the ball off to midfield man Ross Dent, whose wild effort from twenty yards out sailed high over Brown's crossbar

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More clever wing play from Verma two minutes later saw him drift in from the left, leaving Clarke in his wake before pulling a low cross back into the six-yard box; Teague's attempted clearance fell to Moke, whose first-time effort from just outside the box was poorly executed and dropped well wide of Burton's right-hand post

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This was to prove as good as it got for the away side, as Clitheroe completed the turnaround on thirty-four minutes through the dangerous Massey; Rouse's cross-field pass put Clarke in acres of space, allowing the full-back to make a move forward and slide the ball into the path of Massey, who once again proved too good for Gwilt as his quick turn and one-two with Potts played him in on goal to sidefoot the ball past Brown from twelve yards out

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More dreadful defending from the Pitmen three minutes later saw Kelly's attempted clearance fall straight to Dent, whose header dropped to Massey once more on the left; he once again got the better of the out-of-his-depth Gwilt and exchanged passes with Wilkins before seeing his low shot saved by Brown down to his left

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More Massey magic on forty minutes saw the Accrington Stanley loanee take the ball on in midfield, drifting past Gwilt again and playing a neat angled pass into the feet of Wilkins, only for an offside flag to be raised against the striker before he could pull the trigger

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With a few seconds of the first half remaining, the Pitmen won a free-kick just outside the Clitheroe penalty area after a foul on Bailey by Jacob Hanson. Jervis and Thorley stood over the ball, with Jervis electing to take the kick, striking a shot at goal that took a nick off the Clitheroe wall and ended up in the safe hands of Burton

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Despite taking an early lead, the Pitmen could have no real argument about the half-time score as yet more woefully inadequate defending from their thrown-together defence had allowed Clitheroe a straightforward way back into the game. Gwilt had struggled massively with the pace of the game at left-back and, perhaps wisely for the player's confidence, was withdrawn at the break as Blaine Rowe came on in his place

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Bailey looked to finally shake off the shackles of former team-mate Teague on forty-nine minutes as he made a late run in behind the Clitheroe defence to latch onto McQuilkin's through ball but was somewhat harshly flagged as offside when the striker looked to be at least level with the veteran centre-back when the ball was played

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Clitheroe put the game beyond their opponents with their first meaningful attack of the second half on fifty-three minutes as Rouse's reverse ball played Wilkins in down the left channel. The burly striker turned back onto his right foot, taking the wrong-footed Kelly out of the game before firing in a shot that was too hot for Brown to hold as the ball deflected off the arm of the stopper and into the net

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Verma looked to get his side back into contention three minutes later as McQuilkin's free-kick on the left was headed out as far as the winger, who twisted and turned on the edge of the area before dragging a low right-footed effort just wide of Burton's right-hand post

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On the hour mark and with very little reason to hold back at 3-1 down, Moore decided to make his second change of the afternoon as the burly Matthew Barnes-Homer came on up front as he replaced Farmer

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Within two minutes of this, Clitheroe chose to make their first change of the game as Parny was taken off by Bell and replaced by ex-Stafford Rangers man Simon Njaria

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The vastly experienced Ritchie Baker was the next player to incur the wrath of Mr Watson on sixty-three minutes, picking up a booking for a foul on McQuilkin just inside the Clitheroe half of the pitch

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Kelly had struggled with the new role that he had been thrust into so far but was given a chance to whip in one of his trademark free-kicks midway through the second half after Verma had drawn a foul out of Clarke thirty yards from goal. The defender's ball in was aimed at skipper Sam Griffiths, who was beaten to the ball at the far post by a combination of Teague and Wilkins as the hosts struggled to clear their lines

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The long-serving Dent picked up Clitheroe's third booking of the afternoon on sixty-nine minutes as he was shown a yellow card by Mr Watson after a clash in midfield with Moke

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Brown was called upon to keep the scoreline respectable from the Pitmen's point of view a minute later, denying Potts with a fine save at his near post after the striker had got goal side of the hapless Kelly to latch onto an angled pass from Clarke and shoot at goal from a tight angle

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Griffiths suffered a knock for the Pitmen that required a lengthy amount of treatment on seventy-three minutes, going down inside his own penalty area after stretching to block a cross from Njaria and staying on the deck holding his leg

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The busy stopper made an even better save to deny Wilkins with fifteen minutes of the game remaining after Potts had out-muscled Kelly once more and struck a shot at goal from just outside the box, forcing the former Kidsgrove goalkeeper into a fine diving stop to his right to push the ball away

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With eleven minutes remaining and the game quickly starting to peter out, the away side made their final change of the afternoon as Griffiths - still struggling with the knock he picked up a few moments earlier - was forced off and replaced by Danny Edwards. This left the Pitmen with zero centre-backs on the pitch as Thorley moved back to play alongside Kelly in an incredibly makeshift back line for the Pitmen

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The hosts were reduced to ten minutes two minutes later as Jervis looked to streak past Rouse down the Hednesford left, drawing a late challenge out of the full-back that sent the big forward tumbling to the deck and forcing Mr Watson into showing the former Bury defender a second yellow card for the foul. From the resultant Edwards free-kick, Jervis did enough to turn the ball goalwards with an acrobatic flick, striking the base of the far post before Bailey somehow failed to tap the rebound in from close range as Burton managed to get back on his line to block the follow-up shot

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The cards were starting to tot up for the hosts late on in the game, as substitute Njaria became the latest man in blue to receive a caution from Mr Watson on eighty-two minutes for a foul on McQuilkin

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Verma was still looking to create something from nothing for the visitors, winning the ball well down the left off Clarke on eighty-five minutes and taking it to the byeline before seeing his cut-back towards Bailey cleared by Baker

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Massey picked up Clitheroe's fifth booking of the afternoon on eighty-six minutes for pulling back Rowe as the Hednesford substitute tried to take the ball forward into the opposition half

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This was to be Massey's final contribution to the game as he was replaced by youth team graduate Oliver Stephenson on eighty-seven minutes; it was the youngster's first-team debut for the Blues

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The late booking just kept coming, as Hednesford's man of the match Jervis was shown a late yellow card for petulantly kicking the ball away at a free-kick

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In the final minute of normal time, Jervis picked the ball up from Edwards on the corner  of the Clitheroe penalty area and tried a curling shot at goal that was deflected wide of the far post by Clarke for a Hednesford corner

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In the fourth of six added minutes, Jervis went close again for the away side as Verma jinked his way past Clarke once more on the left and sent over a deep cross to the far post, where Jervias arrived late to head tamely over the crossbar from close-range

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The final whistle was greeted with some away fans applauding the team off but also several frustrated boos from a section of the crowd, with Moore and a portion of the crowd having words after the final whistle as relegation to step five was essentially confirmed with defeat. Only a very specific set of results involving Grantham Town, Brighouse Town and Bridlington Town in the Eastern Division can give the Pitmen a chance of staying up on PPG now, and even then there is a likelihood that they will require three points in next Saturday's final game of the season against play-off chasing Bootle, something unlikely to happen based on the Pitmen's horrendous recent form they have carried through to the end of this season

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Clitheroe: Burton, Clarke, Rouse ▆▆ (81), Hanson, Teague ©, Baker ▆, Massey ▆ (Stephenson 87), Dent ▆, Potts, Wilkins, Parny (Njaria 62 ▆)        Subs Unused: Davies, Booth, Bridges

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Hednesford Town: Brown, McQuilkin, Gwilt (Rowe 45), Thorley, Griffiths © (Edwards 79), Kelly, Verma, Moke, Bailey, Farmer (Barnes-Homer 60),  Jervis ▆      Subs Unused: Berks, R. Williams

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