The Pitmen and Hyde will have to do it all again at Keys Park on Tuesday night after the two sides drew an entertaining third qualifying round tie at Ewen Fields this afternoon

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Injury to new signing Trevor Benjamin saw him miss out on today's tie whilst winger David Brown was cup-tied after playing in a previous round for Glapwell. The starting line-up was altered after Tom Marshall pulled up in the warm-up with veteran Scott Stamps coming in to replace the youngster. Adam Burley swapped places with Anthony Maguire in the other defensive shake-up of the afternoon. All of these changes left the away side with only three substitutes to pick from

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Hyde - struggling towards the foot of the Blue Square North table in nineteenth place - joined the F.A. Trophy at this round off the back of an exciting 4-4 draw against Workington last weekend, extending the Tigers' winless run to four games in all competitions. Player/manager Neil Tolson made two changes to his side for today's Trophy clash as Dino Maamria and Wayne Maden were replaced by Mark Innes and Steve Williams

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The Pitmen made all of the early running against their step two hosts, passing the ball with a crispness on a well-tended pitch. On four minutes, Ross Dyer was presented with a goalscoring opportunity after striker partner Tyrone Barnett had nodded the ball into his path. As he shaped to shoot, however, two Hyde defenders closed him down and the chance was gone

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The Pitmen were clearly in the mood to take the game to Hyde early on, and skipper Ross Draper was at the heart of everything positive for the away side. His driving run on goal was halted by Tigers keeper Craig Dootson as he burst through the middle to get on the end of a ball from Barnett

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Back came the hosts, who started to show more of the quality that a team from a higher level should show. The hardworking Barnett got back to help out his defence as Hyde forced three corners in a row. The best effort from any of Hyde's set-pieces was a disappointing long-range effort from Nathan Wharton that flew well over the crossbar

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Chris Simm looked to be Hyde's best bet for a goal, as he probed the Hednesford back line in search of the opener. He tested Stuart Brock's reflexes with a well-hit effort that the experienced campaigner turned past his left-hand post for a corner kick

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The Pitmen should have taken the lead on fifteen minutes, but resolute defending from the home side denied the UniBond Premier leaders a goal. Barnett got on the end of Sam Hall's cross, firing at goal with a first-time shot. His effort was blocked on the line, before falling back at his feet; his follow-up attempt was also blocked on the line. Draper's last-ditch attempt was saved easily by Dootson as he arrived late into the box

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Brock had to be alert five minutes later, denying Simm with a smart save after the striker had capitalised on a rare error from Decio Gomes on the edge of his own box

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The Hednesford supporters politely informed the referee a minute later as to the striking similarity in the outfit worn by Dootson and the Pitmen's sky blue change kit. Dootson was ordered to change his shirt by the official, who in truth should really have spotted this as the teams emerged

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The best move of the match saw the Pitmen take the lead on twenty-six minutes. Draper's persistence in midfield saw him win the ball before he set Elliott Durrell on his way down the right-hand side. Sam Hall made a run beyond the little playmaker, with Durrell playing an excellent ball into Hall's feet. Hall's cross was missed by Barnett at the near post, but not by Dyer at the far post, as he slid in to knock the ball past Dootson

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Durrell almost doubled the Pitmen's advantage just after the half-hour mark, as he rose to meet Burley's cross, but headed straight at Dootson

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Despite being on top, the away side were reeled in by Hyde on thirty-six minutes. A cross from Adam Oakes seemed to catch the Hednesford defence unawares, allowing the ball to drop to Simm, who fired confidently past Brock from six yards out

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The Pitmen felt that there was a fair shout for a penalty with five minutes of the half remaining. Dyer's run into the area was checked by a defender as he headed towards goal, but nothing was given

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A minute into the restart, the away side almost took the lead for a second time. Draper's ball to Barnett saw the striker get a shot in at goal, but the ball was turned away via the aid of a deflection for a corner kick. From the resultant kick, Danny Harvey headed wide at the far post

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Brock was called into action again eight minutes later to deny the dangerous Simm again after the forward had broken through the Hednesford defence to set up a one-on-one with the Hednesford keeper

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It was a typical cup-tie in many respects, with chances yo-yo-ing from one end to the other. Two minutes later, Dyer had a chance to add to his tally, forcing Dootson to make a great diving save after he had shimmied his way down the touchline and back inside

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By this point, the Pitmen had Hyde where they wanted them, forcing them back into their own half as the visitors looked to kill the game off to stop the need for a replay on Tuesday night. Durrell hit the bar from close range with an instinctive strike following a Chad Sheppard corner

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That was Durrell's final act of the afternoon, as he was withdrawn in favour of Mark Briggs. The midfield man's first real contribution was to fire a shot against the upright three minutes after coming on

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Hyde's best chance of the second half fell to Nicky Clee, who broke clear with ten minutes remaining, but could not beat Brock, who made a great save low down

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The hosts sensed a winner, and Phil Marsh was presented with a great opportunity to win it with moments remaining after a slip by Stamps. Man of the match Decio Gomes managed to get back and make a superb tackle on Marsh to deny him a shot on goal

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After the game, manager Dean Edwards was downbeat about the draw which gives an indication of how high he sets his benchmark when many would have been pleased with this result. The Pitmen get another chance to prove their step two credentials on Tuesday night when Hyde visit Keys Park in the replay

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Hyde United: Dootson, Morley, Oakes, Brass, Williams, Innes, Wharton, Cartwright (Tolson 74), Simm, Maden (Marsh 70), Clee      Subs Unused: Owens, Munroe, Bernstein 

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Hednesford Town: Brock, Hall (Platt 81), Burley, Gomes, Harvey, Stamps, Sheppard, Durrell (Briggs 63), Barnett, Dyer, Draper ©       Subs Unused: Maguire, Platt

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