It's as you were at the top of the Northern Premier League West table this evening as the Pitmen match Widnes and Vauxhall Motors' wins with another single goal victory, this time against play-off chasing Congleton Town at Keys Park

​

Manager Gavin Hurren - looking for a continuation of his side's fine recent form - was able to call upon club captain Elliott Johnson once more after the defender had recovered from a knock, with the former Barnet man the only change to the side that had started last weekend's win at Bootle as he replaced the suspended Ollie Harrison

​

Congleton's recent form had checked their dramatic progress at step four this term, with the Bears having lost their last three games to drop down to fourth in the table after briefly challenging Widnes at the top of the league in January. Player/manager Richard Duffy made three changes to his side for their trip down the M6 from Cheshire as veteran defender Shaun Brisley replaced Marco Fregapane, Kieran Garner-Knapper was preferred to Max McCarthy and George Sankey returned to the side in place of Tom Hampton

​

The crowds at Keys Park continue to grow as the season progresses and Hednesford's fortunes continue to improve, with just shy of 1,400 in attendance on a sunny but chilly March afternoon, boosted by a heathly sprinkling of away supporters. The hosts were handed an early free-kick in a dangerous position after Ahkeem Rose was brought down just inside the Congleton half by Will Arnold. The experienced Chris Hussey stepped up to take the free kick and sent over a cross that was turned away by Duffy for a corner kick to the Pitmen

​

Duffy himself committed the next defence for Congleton in the seventh minute, bringing down the lively Rose thirty-five yards from goal and handing the Pitmen another chance to launch the ball into the box. Hussey's deep ball into the penalty area was aimed at the giant figure of Blissett but was eventually cleared by Arnold as the big man looked to get a flick on

​

Congleton were defending well, dealing with the incessant balls into the box from the hosts with relatives in the opening stages. Another Hussey free kick in the ninth minute was played in with a little more pace than the previous two, forcing Owen Morris to hack the ball clear from the looming presence of Johnson

​

Joel Taylor took a blow to to the midriff in the eleventh minute as he tried to block a downward header from Garner-Knapper and stop the midfielder from getting goal side of him, coming off worst in the challenge and requiring attention from therapist Adam Paget

​

Good approach play from Congleton in the fifteenth minute saw the influential Peter Williams play Sankey into acres of space to the left-hand side of the Hednesford penalty area. Jamie Morgan came across to challenge and managed to get enough on the ball to deflect the winger's goalbound effort just wide of goal for a corner kick. After a long bout of pushing and shoving inside the Hednesford penalty area and two interventions from referee Mr Constable, Williams then completely wasted the resultant corner kick by curling it onto the roof of the Hednesford net

​

Three minutes later, an excellent run down the right from Arnold saw him get goal side of Taylor for the first time in the afternoon, sending over a delightful low cross that just evaded the foot of the incoming Dan Needham as the ball skipped across the face of Tony Breeden's goal and away from danger

​

The assistant on the Wimblebury side of the ground didn't do much to endear himself with the Hednesford supporters on twenty minutes as he raised his flag to halt Morgan's progress after the right back had made a wonderful late run in behind the Congleton defence to reach Dom McHale's clever reverse pass. On closer inspection, the full-back had looked to have made a perfectly timed run and was at the very least level with the last man but the assistant - who was not level with play - disagreed with the Pitmen players and fans' belief that Morgan was well onside

​

Breeden had to be alert just sixty seconds later, racing off his line to make a timely intervention as a clever through ball from Matt Gillam was snatched away from the incoming Garner-Knapper by the veteran stopper on the edge of his penalty area

​

Dan Trickett-Smith assumed corner duties for the home side on twenty-three minutes, sending over an inswinging ball from the left flank that was flicked on by Johnson but cleared by Duffy before it could reach Blissett

​

The visitors seem content to allow the Pitmen to play their football in front of them and look to catch them on the counter attack, much in the same way as many teams have tried to play the hosts on their own pitch this season. A quick counter from the Bears on twenty-six minutes saw Williams play Sankey into yet more room on the left-hand side, only for the winger to dither the wrong moment and allow Johnson to make a very timely challenge to take the ball away from him before he could sort his feet out

​

Goalkeeper Craig Ellison - who had recently returned to Congleton from Bradford (Park Avenue) - made a wonderful stop to deny Blissett the game's opening goal shortly before the half hour mark; McHale was the provider with a run and cross from the right that was stood up for the giant striker to head goalwards, forcing Ellison into making a wonderful acrobatic save to tip the ball away to his left and deny a certain goal

​

Rose had struggled to get into the game so far despite a bright opening to the game, driving at Arnold with intent on thirty-one minutes after picking up a pass from Joe Doyle-Charles but shooting well, well wide with a long scuffed shot from the edge of the penalty area

​

Sankey had continually found himself in good positions to the left hand side of the Hednesford penalty area throughout the first half, picking up the ball once more on thirty-five minutes and taking it across the face of the box before curling a shot over Breeden's crossbar from eighteen yards out

​

McHale felt that they had a very strong shout for a penalty kick a minute later, taking the ball into the box and past three players with typical McHale flair before being pushed to the ground by Brisley's shoulder-barge. Despite the protests of the men in white, Mr. Constable was unimpressed and continued with the game

​

Hussey earned the Pitmen a free kick on the edge of the Congleton penalty area with seven minutes of the first half remaining, taking the ball into space before being brought down by Garner-Knapper, who was booked for the challenge. The 36-year-old rolled the resultant free-kick square and nto the path of Trickett-Smith, whose long range effort flashed just wide of Ellison's right hand post

​

Morgan was punished for the rarest of things on forty-three minutes, as the full-back was penalised by Mr Constable for a foul throw level with the Congleton penalty area, despite the assistant standing next to him failing to flag for an offence

​

With time starting to slip away at the end of the half, Taylor almost handed the Pitmen at half-time lead as he picked the ball up twenty-five yards from goal and lashed a first-time effort at goal that was a matter of inches wide of Ellison's post

​

And yet, there was still time for late drama at the end of the half as the hosts finally made the breakthrough in added time; Trickett-Smith's inswinging corner from the left was inch-perfect for Blissett at the far post, with the former Bristol Rovers striker powerfully heading home from six yards out as he was allowed time and space to score by the Congleton defence

​

It had been a timely goal for the Pitmen, handing them a half-time lead that they had just about deserved on the balance of play, thus completely altering Duffy's half-time talk to his players and giving the Congleton player/manager something different to think about at the start of the second half. Rose was withdrawn by Hurren at the break, electing to bring Jack Bearne on to add more pace and creativity down the left flank in the second half

​

A flurry of early activity inside the Congleton penalty area within the first minute of the second half saw ​the Pitmen move the ball quickly across pitch and into the path of Bearne, whose initial angled shot was blocked by Arnold. The ball ran kindly into the feet to Blissett, whose follow-up shot was also blocked, this time by Brisley

​

More good play down the left from the Pitmen two minutes later saw Taylor and Bearne link up, with Bearne's cheeky chipped cross to the far post looking to pick out the late run of Doyle-Charles, who only just missed connecting with the ball and ended up running into the post as he momentum carried him into the six-yard box. The midfielder required a short spell of treatment from Paget before getting back to his feet and continuing with the game

​​

Bearne was looking to test the resolve of Arnold at every opportunity, making a superb run past the full-back on fifty-two minutes before being tripped by Brisley. However, the Pitmen were wasteful with the resultant free-kick as Trickett-Smith's ball in was far too deep for anyone in a white shirt could reach and was cleared

​

Morris picked up what was to prove to be a costly yellow card from the match official on fifty-four minutes as the left-back pulled McHale to the floor to the right of the Congleton penalty area and handed the Pitmen another free-kick in the process. Hussey's ball in lacked quality on this occasion, however, as the former Coventry City man chipped his ball into the box but straight out of play for a goal-kick

​​​

The Pitmen's task was made a little easier on fifty-six minutes as Morris earned himself a quickfire second yellow card from Mr Constable; McHale's presence of mind saw him win the ball from the defender on the Hednesford right, with McHale showing some wonderful skill to bamboozle the youngster into a rash tackle that sent the Magic Man sprawling and forced Mr Constable into showing Morris a second yellow card and a red one for good measure

​

Hussey once again elected to roll the ball into the path of Trickett-Smith from the free-kick, with the former Leek Town schemer firing in a low shot that was blocked by the onrushing Congleton defenders as they looked to smother Trickett-Smith's shot

​

On the hour mark, neat one-touch play from the Pitmen on the counter saw Bearne neatly cushion the ball into the path of Trickett-Smith, who dragged his first-time shot past Ellison but into the side netting

​​

Ethan Hartshorn also picked up a booking for the Bears a minute later, as the former Kidsgrove Athletic midfielder was cautioned for a challenge on Doyle-Charles in the centre circle

​

You felt that that hosts had the game exactly where they wanted it to be at this point and there was no real requirement to step up the attacking play with the visitors now down to ten men and looking at damage limitation. Set-pieces remained a source of threat for the home side, however, with Trickett-Smith sending over yet another wonderful corner kick on sixty-four minutes that had the Congleton defence struggling to clear at the far post as Blissett looked to turn the ball home

​

Despite this, Congleton conjured up a great chance to equalise midway through the half as Garner-Knapper stole a march on the Hednesford defence, nipping in to take Hartshorn's pass on and looked to chip it over Breeden from just outside the penalty area with the stopper way out of his area. However, the former Runcorn Linnets man couldn't quite get enough purchase on his effort and Breeden was able to reach up to his left and claim the ball at full stretch

​

Two minutes later, the ten men of Congleton made their first change of the afternoon as the talented McCarthy came on in place of Gillam up front as the Bears looked for something different in their quest for a leveller

​

Sixty seconds later, the excellent Simeon Maye picked up the home side's first yellow card of the afternoon after a foul on McCarthy, halting the substitute's progress thirty yards from goal with a mis-timed challenge

​

The Pitmen almost caught their visitors out on the counter attack on seventy-one minutes as a long fall forward from McHale was knocked down by Blissett into the path of Bearne, whose right-footed effort across goal was pushed away by Ellison down to his left

​

Within a minute, Ellison was at it again with another fantastic save low down to his left, pushing McHale's powerful left-footed effort from the edge of the penalty area around the post for another Hednesford corner

​​

Doyle-Charles took 'one for the team' on seventy-seven minutes, earning himself a booking from Mr Constable for a blantant pull-back on McCarthy to stop the Congleton substitute from breaking into the Hednesford half after he had had his pocket picked by the former Stoke City forward

​

Bearne had been fantastic since his half-time introduction, giving Arnold a torrid time on the flank with his pace and swift feet. Another foul on the winger from Arnold handed the Pitmen a free-kick to the left of the Congleton penalty area on eighty minutes, with Trickett-Smith curling his free-kick over the wall and towards goal, which forced Ellison into yet another good parry to push the ball behind for a corner kick to his right

​

The Pitmen made their second change of the afternoon with five minutes remaining as the popular Zidan Sutherland was given a warm reception from the crowd as he replaced the booked Doyle-Charles

​

A minute later, former Port Vale youngster Lewis Porter was brought on to add to the Congleton attack as the ex-Kidsgrove attacker came on in place of Garner-Knapper

​

Congleton looked to rally in the six added minutes at the end of the game, with Ellison's deep free-kick into the Hednesford penalty area causing momentary issues for the Pitmen before Breeden took charge of the situation with a towering claim at his far post to catch the bouncing ball

​​

Mr Constable's final whistle brought cheers of joy from the Keys Park crowd, but also led to a flashpoint as the two sets of players left the pitch. Duffy and McHale entered into a heated exchange - presumably relating to comments made by the Congleton player/manager after the reverse fixture in October - and had to be seperated by their respective management teams before the pair were both shown retrospective yellow cards by Mr Constable. Another win for the hosts then, making it eleven league game unbeaten and maintaining a two-point gap to Chasetown in fourth place with nine games to play. The second of three successive home games next weekend sees another side with play-off aspirations visit Keys Park in the form of Stalybridge Celtic

​​​​​

Hednesford Town: Breeden, Morgan, Taylor, Maye ▆, Johnson ©, Hussey, Rose (Bearne 45), Doyle-Charles ▆ (Sutherland 85), Blissett, McHale ▆, Trickett-Smith     Sub Unused: Roberts, Watson, Brown

​

Congleton Town: Ellison, Arnold, Morris (56) ▆ ▆, Williams, Brisley, Duffy ▆, Sankey, Hartshorn © ▆, Gillam (McCarthy 66), Garner-Knapper ▆ (Porter 86), Needham      Subs Unused: Barton, Hall

​​​​​​​​