The Pitmen have to be content with a point on the road this afternoon as Jack Bearne comes off the bench to earn the visitors a draw at struggling Clitheroe

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Last weekend's frustrating draw against Avro had left the Pitmen in the final play-off place ahead of today's longest trip of the season; manager Gavin Hurren elected to make two changes to his side as the injured Elliott Johnson missed his first game of the season and was replaced by Joel Taylor. The other change came up front as recent signing Niall Watson was handed a full debut in favour of Bearne in the inside left position. In Johnson's absence, the captaincy was handed to Dom McHale for today's game

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Clitheroe - sitting in seventeenth place in the table after a troubled time on and off the pitch recently - were down to the bare bones as a result of the issues within the club. New player/manager Sean McConville also made two changes to the Blues XI that were beaten at Bootle last weekend as Cameron Lancaster and Jack Massey came onto the side ahead of Connor High and Luke Gill

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In front of the Pitmen's fifth successive four-figure crowd, the combative Joe Doyle-Charles picked up a very early booking from referee Mr Kearney in just the second minute of the game as he went in hard on French youngster Emmerich Poilly on the halfway line and picked up a deserved yellow card that was to prove costly later in the game

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Clitheroe skipper Ross Dent also picked up a early booking by Mr Kearney in the sixth minute of the game as he was cautioned for a mistimed challenge on Manny Duku thirty yards from goal. From the resultant free-kick, Chris Hussey floated the ball into the box with a deep cross that was headed away by Sam Olawumi ahead of Ollie Harrison

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Tony Breeden made the first of what was to be several good saves in the game on eight minutes, making a flying save to his left to deny the talented Vernon Parny with a fine stop after the forward had cut inside from the right and driven in a shot at goal. The rebound dropped to Olawumi, who turned his rebound high over the crossbar

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The Pitmen's first chance of the afternoon fell at the feet of McHale a minute later as he made a typically swashbuckling run across the face of goal and past two Clitheroe players, taking the ball into the box before firing a left-footed effort inches wide of goalkeeper Liam Isherwood's right-hand post

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Clitheroe somehow failed to take the lead in the thirteenth minute as the Pitmen's goal led a charmed life with not one, but two, goal line clearances; Parny was alllowed to make a driving run into the box from the right, shooting from a tight angle that forced Tony Breeden into a save down by his left-hand post. The ball ran to the long-serving Dent, whose follow-up shot was blocked by the experienced stopper as he looked to get back to his feet

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Successive Clitheroe corner kicks tested the Pitmen's resolve on seventeen minutes, with Breeden doing brilliantly to claim Parny's deep cross from the right after Taylor had cleared the initial corner back to the Frenchman

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More neat play from the hosts a minute later saw Dent supply Parny once more on the right, with Parny picking out the run of Leon Creech inside the Hednesford penalty area. The shot, however, lacked any power or precision and flew well wide of Breeden's left-hand post

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On twenty minutes, Jamie Morgan should have done better as he made an unchallenged run into the Clitheroe penalty area and found the loose ball suddenly dropping into his path, only for the right-back to scuff his first-time shot just wide of Isherwood's far post

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Dent forced Breeden into another superb flying save midway through the first half as Parny's inswinging corner from the right was met by the diving header from the midfielder, forcing Breeden into a fingertip save to turn the ball over the crossbar

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Massey wasted another good chance for the hosts on twenty-five minutes as he made a run into the Hednesford penalty area to pick up a pass from Poilly but drilled his shot well wide of goal as Ollie Harrison looked to shut him down

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McHale was probing and pressing for the visitors and looked to get a shot away on the edge of the Clitheroe penalty area on twenty-seven minutes, only to see his attempted left-footed effort blocked by Lancaster

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On the half hour mark, McHale followed Doyle-Charles into the referee's notebook as he brought Dwyer down on the Clitheroe left flank with a mistimed challenge

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After winning a free kick on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area on thirty-three minutes, Parny took the free kick himself and floated his effort over the Hednesford wall but straight into the arms of Breeden, who made an easy save on his goal line

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A quick break from the hosts in thirty-five minutes saw Parny involved once more down the right, crossing low into the box where Massey picked up the ball and took a shot that was deflected around the post by the covering Hussey

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The two French attackers for Clitheroe were giving the Pitmen a tough time at the back, with Parny playing Poilly in down the right a minute later with an incisive ball. His low cross looked to pick out Massey in the six yard box but was cut out by the covering Harrison, as the big defender hoofed the ball clear and out of play

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Despite being solidly second-best throughout the whole of the first half, the Pitman created a wonderful chance to open the scoring right on the stroke of half time; Dan Trickett-Smith played a delightful pass down the right flank to find the run of Duku, who did well to reach the byeline and cut the ball back into the path of the incoming Watson at the near post. However, the former Southport striker was off target as his first time shot flew inches wide of the post

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Clitheroe will probably have been a little disappointed at not being ahead at the break, having had much the better chances over the first forty-five minutes but being denied by some stoic Hednesford defending and Breeden's reflexes. The Hednesford attack was once again struggling to fire, with Duku feeding off scraps up against two centre-backs alongside an ineffective pair of McHale and Watson either side of him

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The Pitmen started the second half on the front foot but were undone just four minutes after the restart as a quick counter attack from the hosts caught them cold; Hussey's throw in on the right was cleared to Poilly, who took the ball forward down the left flank before sending Olawumi away in behind the retreating Hednesford defence. The centre-back - playing in a more advanced role for today's game - saw his initial shot brilliantly parried by Breeden, only to see the ball loop up kindly for him to nod the ball into the empty net from six yards out

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Breeden was called upon once more to keep his new side in the game on fifty-three minutes, making yet another brilliant double save to deny Poilly down to his right with a fine save before managing to throw his body in front of the ball once more to deny Creech on the rebound from close quarters

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Trickett-Smith's frustratingly ineffective afternoon was brought to a halt on fifty-eight minutes as the playmaker was taken off and replaced by Bearne. Watson moved inside the allow Bearne to take up his regular position on the left flank, dropping in behind Duku

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A minute later, Isherwood also produced some wonderful goalkeeping to deny Watson his first-ever Hednesford goal, making an instinctive save at point-blank range to push the striker's first-time shot away to his right after Bearne's first touch had seen him beat Jakob Hanson for pace down the left flank and cross for the new boy

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On sixty-one minutes, Massey was the latest player to enter Mr Kearney's book as he took the ball around Breeden and frustratingly fired the ball into the empty net after an earlier offside flag had been raised against him

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Two minutes later, the busy match official was reaching for his book again as he booked former Darwen striker Creech for clumsy challenge on Hussey just outside the Hednesford penalty area

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Bearne finally broke the deadlock for ther visitors on sixty-eight minutes as he applied the finish to a fine flowing move from the Pitmen, latching onto McHale's fine through ball to fire across the body of Isherwood from eight yards out and find the far corner of the net with a confident finish. It was Bearne's tenth goal of the season and a timely reminder of his qualities after a couple of off-key recent performances

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Clitheroe made their first change of the afternoon before the restart as former Everton youngster Gill came on up front, replacing ex-Accrington Stanley striker Massey

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The visitors enjoyed a ten minute period of domination at this juncture, keeping the ball for long periods as they looked to turn the game on it's head. Bearne and McHale linked up well on seventy-one minutes to send Duku away behind McEvilly, only for a tight offside against the Dutchman saw play pulled back

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The Pitmen's second change of the afternoon came on seventy-four minutes as Watson's afternoon was brought to a end with the introduction of Sion Spence in his place

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Isherwood made another breathaking stop to deny men in grey with fifteen minutes remaining as a long, punted free-kick downfield from Breeden was met by the head of Harrison, whose looping effort looked to be heading into the net until Accrington Stanley loanee Isherwood produced a brilliant flying save to push the ball away to his right

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The latest in a long line of players to receive a yellow card had Poilly's name added to it on seventy-six minutes as the young striker was booked for a foul on Hussey

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Two minutes later, the stream of cautions continued as Mr Kearney immediately showed Olawumi a yellow card for a foul on the flying Taylor as he cut in from the left

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Morgan was the latest player to test the reflexes of the young goalkeeper on seventy-nine minutes as Duku and McHale linked up to lay the ball off the right-back, who took a touch before trying to sidefoot the ball home from twelve yards out, forcing Isherwood into another good stop down low to his right

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Eighty-three minutes saw a change apiece for both sides as Clitheroe brought Creech off and replaced him with Lenni Cirino; at the same time, veteran striker Matthew Barnes-Homer came on as the Pitmen's target man as he replaced the tiring Duku, who has played a lot of football recently as the Pitmen struggle to fill the void left by the injured Jake Jervis and Rob Stevenson

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The visitors were reduced to ten men with five minutes remaining as Doyle-Charles was shown a second yellow card by Mr Kearney for a blatant shirt pull on Parny to the right of the Hednesford penalty area. The resultant free-kick from Parny was whipped into the six yard box but far too close to Breeden, who made the save at his near post

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The final booking of the afternoon came with two minutes of the game remaining as Dwyer picked up a yellow card after being outpaced by McHale, resulting in a foul on the playmaker by the full-back

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Another Parny free-kick in the first of six added minutes looked to test Breeden once more as the Frenchman hit a dipping, swerving effort from twenty five yards out that the 36-year-old had to watch all the way into his hands on his goal line with Cirino closing him down

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The Pitmen held on to record a hard-fought point, one that keeps them in the play-off places courtesy of a defeat for Nantwich Town at Trafford. The performances of Breeden and Isherwood were arguably the biggest reason why both sides came away with a point, with both stoppers making superb saves in the second period to keep the game level. The Pitmen extend their unbeaten run to five games as a result, although the last two games have seen them struggle to offer much in the final third after a goal-laden festive period that seems to have dried up recently. A return to Keys Park next weekend sees old Northern Premier League rivals Witton Albion make the journey down from Cheshire, looking to push themsleves back into the play-off contention with a win

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Clitheroe: Isherwood, Hanson, Dwyer ▆ , Lancaster, McEvilly ▆, Olawumi ▆, Poilly ▆, Dent © ▆, Creech ▆(Cirino 83), Parny, Massey (Gill 68)      Subs Unused: A. Morgan, Booth, McConville

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Hednesford Town: Breeden, J. Morgan, Taylor ▆, Doyle-Charles ▆▆ (85), Harrison, Hussey, Trickett-Smith (Bearne 58), Maye, Duku (Barnes-Homer 83) McHale © ▆, Watson (Spence 74)    Sub Unused: Gwilt, Brown

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