An excellent performance from Steve King's side sees them earn themselves a replay against Vanarama National League high flyers Gateshead this afternoon as the Pitmen bridged a three-division gap to put themselves into the hat for the first round proper of this season's F.A. Cup

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There was plenty of good news for King and the Hednesford supporters ahead of today's game, with injured trio Joel Taylor, Kory Roberts and Sion Spence all shrugging off knocks picked up in last week's draw against Wythenshawe to come back into the side for today's game ahead of Omar Holness, Dom McHale and Abdulrasaq Alamu-Tajudeen. The club had also confirmed earlier in the day that they had agreed a deal with Leek Town to sign giant centre-back Olly Harrison for an undisclosed fee, although the defender was cup-tied for today's game and would play no part in it

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Gateshead sat in fourth place in the National League coming into today's tie, although a 2-1 defeat up the road at Tamworth had checked their progress in midweek. Interim manager Ben Clark made five changes to his side for Heed's first visit to Keys Park in sixteen years as Brandon Haustrup, Owen Oseni, Ben Worman, Kain Adom and Tyrelle Newton all came back into the side at the expense of Robbie Tinkler, Dan Jones, Tom Allan, Charlie Colkett and Jovan Malcolm

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Urged on by yet another huge Keys Park crowd and watched many others watching live via the BBC iPlayer, the Pitmen made a bright start as they looked to use their home advantage well in the opening stages of the game. In the very first minute, Rob Stevenson exchanged passes with Taylor to the left-hand side of the Gateshead penalty area before turning on a sixpence and firing in a shot from twenty yards out that was well blocked by Jacob Butterfield

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​The game's first real talking point came the Pitmen's way in the fifth minute as Taylor was involved once more, looking to get a cross in from the left before laying it back to Sparkes; his deep, floated cross was met by the head of Dan Trickett-Smith, whose looping header came back off the top of the crossbar via a slight touch from the fingertips of Gateshead goalkeeper Harry Moss

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Trickett-Smith's resultant corner kick from the right was played along the deck and into the feet of Stevenson, who had broken clear of Butterfield momentarily to get onto the end of the pass, but saw the former Luton Town man get across and make the block

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Moss was very much the busier of the two goalkeepers in the opening exchanges, racing out of his goal to make another claim in the ninth minute to smother the ball in front of Trickett-Smith and Jack Bearne after Taylor had played a delightful low cross in from the left-wing

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Gradually, however, Gateshead started to find their way into the game, playing neat, tidy and quick-to-feet football that forced the Pitmen onto the back foot. On fifteen minutes, Sparkes gave away a free-kick right on the edge of his own box, allowing the experienced Butterfield to lift a cross into the box and aim for former Rushall Olympic loanee Oseni at the far post, only to be foiled by an excellent headed clearance from Roberts

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More neat play from the visitors down the right three minutes later saw Adom latch onto Regan Booty's pass, skipping past Taylor and getting to the byeline before pulling the ball back into the path of Worman, who looked to get a shot away but was forced to play the ball wide to Callum Whelan, whose cross was bludgeoned away by the head of Endall. Newton managed to recycle the ball out on the left and sent over a low cross to the far post that was picked up by Adom once more, who supplied Oseni inside the box with the cross. However, Gateshead were perhaps a little guilty of over-playing, as they tried to work an angle rather than shoot and only succeeded in allowing Taylor to clear for the hosts

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Jack Rose was called upon to make his first save of the afternoon on twenty-one minutes as Booty's raking forward ball from midfield dropped into the path of Oseni, who had escaped the attentions of Endall momentarily and got goal side of the centre-back but was to be denied by a deflection off the arm of the on-loan stopper, doing enough to turn the ball behind for a corner kick

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Another Gateshead free-kick on twenty-five minutes tested the Pitmen's flaky resolve from set-pieces as Butterfield's ball in from the left-hand byeline was lifted into the six-yard box and aimed at Booty, who saw his header back across goal diverted away by the excellent Taylor for a corner kick

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More good build-up play on twenty-seven minutes saw Butterfield, Worman and Newton all link up as they were forced wide on the left by the resilient Hednesford defence. Newton stole half a yard on Roberts with some neat footwork but was denied once more by some excellent covering from the former Walsall man as he diverted the cross behind for a corner once more

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Oseni was causing the Pitmen's defenders plenty of headaches with his movement as he looked to get in front of Endall at every opportunity. On the half-hour mark, a good run in behind Endall was rightly flagged as offside by the assistant on the Wimblebury side

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From the resultant free-kick, the home side were presented with a glorious chance to open the scoring as Stevenson's nuisance value saw him force Moss into a scuffed and hurried clearance just inside his own penalty area that fell straight into the path of Trickett-Smith. The former Liverpool man tried to steer the ball home with a first-time effort from twenty yards out but put his effort just wide of the post

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The momentum swung back the other way sixty seconds later as Newton took the ball down the left before playing in Haustrup on the overlap; his cross was met by the head of Oseni at the far post, but he could only turn the ball wide of the goal under pressure from Sparkes

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Taylor looked to catch Moss out with a drifting cross from the left on thirty-two minutes, sending over a deep, curling ball that the ex-Burnley stopper had to claim on the stretch to stop Stevenson from turning the ball home

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Moss was again involved for the Heed nine minutes before the break to deny Taylor, making a great stop to deny the Pitmen's outstanding player of the half after Bearne's ball put Taylor in behind the Gateshead defence, only for Moss to parry the former Chester man's shot away from twelve yards out

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Adom went close for the visitors a minute later, picking the ball up on the right and taking on Sparkes on the edge of the box before looking to catch Rose out with a snapshot at goal that drifted just wide of the upright and into the side netting

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Still the chances kept coming for the Pitmen, with Trickett-Smith going close once more on thirty-eight minutes as Taylor once more supplied the ammunition with a pass into his path twenty-five yards from goal. With nothing else on, Trickett-Smith lashed in a shot at goal that dipped narrowly over the crossbar

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Stevenson was still looking for the goal that his efforts deserved throughout the first half and forced Moss into yet another save on forty-one minutes after Rose's clearance was latched onto by the striker, who turned inside from the right before leaving Butterfield on his backside and driving in a low shot at goal from fifteen yards out, with Moss diverting the shot away with his right boot for a corner kick

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A run into the Gateshead box from Simeon Maye on forty-three minutes saw the midfielder left in a heap following a challenge on him from Butterfield, with Heed electing to play on rather than put the ball out. After the ball was eventually put out of play, Maye could receive treatment from therapist Adam Paget, although the time it had taken for the visitors to put the ball out irked the Hednesford bench. Assistant Manager Junior Lewis remonstrated a little too much for referee Mr Humphries' liking, and the former Leicester City man was shown a yellow card for his arguments

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In the final minute of the half, Adom tried his luck with a run and shot off the right flank, but his effort at goal lacked any power and was easily fielded by Rose at his near post

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There was still time for Rose to make another good stop, however, as the former Walsall stopper made a good save deep into added time down at his near post to deny Whelan after a bout of pinball inside the Hednesford six-yard box saw the ball drop into the feet of the former Solihull Moors man

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It had been a well-balanced first forty-five minutes, with both teams having good chances to score but not having enough in the final third to apply a finish to any of their chances. Stevenson and Taylor had been excellent for the hosts, although collectively they had done an excellent job in bridging the yawning gap in league position between the sides with a disciplined, organised display thus far

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Gateshead made a very strong start to the second half as they looked to grab the all-important opener early on. Three corners in succession from Booty on forty-eight minutes penned the home side in their own penalty area as Elliott Johnson, Taylor and Maye cleared their lines inside the penalty area

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Another Gateshead corner on fifty-two minutes - earned by a superb run and cross from Adom - was taken by Butterfield and played short into the path of Worman, whose deep cross was headed wide by Radcliffe as he attempted to back across the face of Rose's goal

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The dominance of Gateshead's play was evident in all areas, with the Pitmen struggling to clear their lines as the ball just kept coming back to them. Newton's run on fifty-four minutes drew the foul out of Maye thirty yards from goal, allowing Booty to line up the resultant free-kick that was played to the far post where Taylor beat Adom to the ball with a timely defensive header away

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Some last-ditch defending from the Pitmen saw them eventually clear their lines a minute later as Butterfield's cross from the left was diverted back into the danger zone by Taylor​ and struck towards goal by Worman, bobbling around inside the six-yard box before Endall headed away and Johnson finally completed the clearance

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Rose required a bout of treatment for a mystery injury just before the hour mark after the stopper went to ground without anyone around him to make a challenge, picking himself up off the turf after Paget had taken a look at the goalkeeper's leg

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Within a few seconds, Gateshead were on the attack once more with another run and cross from Newton on the left, aiming his ball at Adom at the far post. The winger's acrobatic effort came back off the ​shoulder blade of Taylor, who had turned his back on the ball but did enough to divert the shot away from goal

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The home side's first change of the afternoon came on sixty-three minutes, as the mercurial McHale replaced Sparkes. This saw a shift in personnel with Taylor dropping to left-back, Bearne moving to the left and McHale staking up a position wide on the right

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Within sixty seconds, Hednesford found themselves a goal down as Gateshead finally found a way through to open the scoring. A quick-footed, one-touch move involving Whelan and Oseni on the edge of the box opened up the Hednesford defence, allowing Newton to drift in unchallenged from the flank and finish from close range with a toe-poke beyond Rose

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Heed looked top press home their advantage with a quickfire second goal on sixty-seven minutes as a corner from Butterfield was whipped into the near post and cleared as far as Newton, whose chance to put the ball back into the box was wasted as he dithered on the ball for too long and allowed Roberts to make the challenge

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The home side, to their credit, didn't allow the Gateshead goal to affect their confidence, and conjured up an equaliser on sixty-nine minutes; Roberts' throw-in on the right was returned to him by McHale, with the right-back swinging in a cross that was cleared as far as Taylor - his low drive back in at goal fell kindly to Stevenson, who took a touch before firing low past Moss from ten yards out to send Keys Park wild

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Before play could restart, Gateshead made their first change of the afternoon as French defender Jean Belehouan came on in place of Haustrup at left-back

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Gateshead midfielder Luke Hannant wasted a good opening for his side on seventy-one minutes as he fired high and wide of goal and into the Hednesford fans in the Heath Hayes terrace with a wild effort from twenty-five yards out

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A minute later, Heed made a further double attacking change as ex-West Brom and Cheltenham Town striker Malcolm came on for Oseni and Allan replaced Adom

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On seventy-three minutes, Spence was given a well-earned rest after covering every blade of grass in a hardworking afternoon's display, replaced by Manny Duku. This saw another positional shift with Trickett-Smith dropping into central midfield from his usual attacking role behind the strikers

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The Pitmen went agonisingly close to turning the game on it's head on seventy-four minutes as Bearne - who had been a little subdued throughout - played a sumptuous angled ball in behind the Gateshead defence to find Stevenson once more, with the striker forced a little wide by Belehouan before he drove in a shot from the edge of the box that took a deflection off the substitute and carried the ball over the head of Moss and onto the crossbar. So close from the striker

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Substitute Malcolm picked up the game's first booking of the afternoon on seventy-seven minutes as Mr Humphries showed the striker a yellow card for pulling back Maye out on the Hednesford left

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Taylor almost came up a freak goal for the hosts on eighty minutes as he picked up a pass from Trickett-Smith wide on the left and swung in a deep, curling cross that Moss seemed to lose in the late afternoon sunshine as the ball dipped only a foot or so wide of the far post

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34-year-old Butterfield's game was run on eighty-two minutes as the veteran midfielder was replaced by former Chelsea and Charlton Athletic midfielder Colkett

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A minute later, Trickett-Smith swung in a low corner kick to the near post that was flicked on by Stevenson but just too far in front of Duku, who was lurking at the far post

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At the other end, a Gateshead corner kick two minutes later from Worman was worked to Booty on the edge of the box, who in turn slipped the ball through to an unmarked Whelan in the inside left position; his shot cannoned back off the covering McHale, who did brilliantly to chase the loose ball down and deny Newton the chance to cross once more from the left

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It was end-to-end fare, typical of an F.A. Cup tie, with the Pitmen looking to break through Stevenson on eighty-six minutes before Gateshead countered through Allan down the right, crossing low into the box and requiring Endall to put the ball behind for a corner kick at his near post

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The Pitmen looked to further protect their hard-fought result with a more defensive-minded change on eighty-nine minutes as Jamaican International Omar Holness replaced Trickett-Smith in the centre of the park. At the same time, Gateshead made their final change of the afternoon in midfield as Birmingham City loanee Josh Home came on for added time as he replaced Worman

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There were groans of frustration on ninety minutes as the added time board produced a mammoth nine minutes of added time at the end of the game - from where, we can only guess, with no real stoppages in play other than the substitutions. For the Hednesford fans who had witnessed Witton's late, late show in midweek, there was a feeling of deja vu as Gateshead continued to press for a late winner

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Johnson showed all of his experience to head away from goal on ninety-four minutes, heading away from goal despite facing the wrong way to divert Allan's deep cross behind for a corner as Newton bore down on him at the far post

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Endall's excellent afternoon at the back for the Pitmen continued in the fifth minute of added time as he made another brave block with his head to divert Allan's goalbound shot away for a corner kick to the Heed

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Home followed fellow substitute Malcolm into the referee's notebook deep into added time for a mistimed challenge on Bearne as the pair challenged thirty yards from the Hednesford goal

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With the final action of the game, youngster Home went close to clinching a late win for the visitors as the Pitmen struggled to clear their lines, with the teenager lashing a first-time effort from the edge of the box narrowly wide of Rose's left-hand post, with the goalkeeper at full stretch to ensure the ball stayed out of the net

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A very pleasing performance from the Pitmen, and one that once again proves that the quality in the squad is there in spades but doesn't transfer over to league games anywhere nearly as much as it should. It's now a long trip up to Tyneside for the side on Tuesday night for the replay, although by then they will know who they will have been paired against in Monday night's draw for the first round proper, potentially giving them a real incentive to go out and complete the job at the International Stadium the following night

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Hednesford Town: Rose, Roberts, Sparkes (McHale 62), Maye, Endall, Johnson ©,  Bearne, Spence (Duku 73), Stevenson, Trickett-Smith (Holness 89), Taylor     Sub Unused: Sutherland, Brown, Alamu-Tajudeen, Gwilt

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Gateshead: Moss, Haustrup (Belehouan 70), Butterfield (Colkett 82), Booty ©, Oseni (Malcolm 72 ▆), Whelan, Worman (Home 90 ▆), Adom (Allan 72), Radcliffe, Hannant, Newton    Subs Unused: Basey, Carr

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