The Pitmen's recent mini-revival is brought to a halt in late heartbreaking fashion as hosts Nantwich grab a winning goal in the final minute of added time to edge out a spirited Hednesford side by the odd goal in seven

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With such a quick turnover of games, Hednesfrord head coach Paul Moore had spoken at the end of Saturday's win over Witton Albion about the need to rotate his side with two games in three days, bringing Joe Morley and Danny Edwards back into the side ahead of both Eden Bailey and Lewis Farmer for today's trip up to Cheshire

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Nantwich were still one of several sides chasing one of the play-off places, sitting just two points off City of Liverpool in eighth place going into this Bank Holiday Monday set of fixtures. Experienced manager Paul Caden made three changes to his Dabbers side from the one that had drawn at fellow play-off chasers Runcorn Linnets on Good Friday as Timi Sobowale, ex-Pitman Jon Moran and Sean Lawton came into the side ahead of Joel Connolly, Perry Bircumshaw and Courtney Meppen-Walters

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In front of a healthy Bank Holiday crowd and with plenty of unseasonal sunny weather in the air, the Pitmen looked to pick up where they carried on from Saturday with a bold and fast-paced start. In the third minute, the men in red worked the ball out to Morley, who fed the ball back to Jame McQuilkin down the right; the veteran's cross flashed across the face of the Nantwich goal as it was a touch too heavy for either Jake Jervis or Jai Verma to reach at the far post

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More good play from the Pitmen two minutes later saw Jervis lay the ball off to Verma, who was immediately doubled up on by two Nantwich defenders as he wriggled his way down the line before seeing his low cross blocked. In the aftermath, it appeared that the diminutive winger had taken a blow to the face, requiring ongoing treatment for a bloody mouth throughout the game

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Two Nantwich corners put the pressure on Hednesford's defenders a minute later, with Ryan Brown causing the away supporters some concern as he came out to claim a cross in the ninth minute before going down holding what appeared to be his groin. After a long spell of treatment from physio Adam Paget, Brown got back to his feet and gingerly carried on, although it was clear that the youngster was struggling with his mobility from this point onwards

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Nantwich were starting to take the initiative in the game after the Pitmen's bright start, playing some neat football through midfield and looking to hit their visitors with quick balls over the top for the likes of Kai Evans and Joel Connolly to run onto down each flank. A warning sign for the Pitmen came in the twelfth minute as McQuilkin gave the ball away cheaply in midfield to Connolly, who was allowed to run at goal unchallenged before firing inches wide of the post with a curling effort from twenty-five yards out

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A minute later, however, Nantwich did have the lead as another burst forward from Evans saw him collect a long, raking pass from Harrison just inside the box before seeing his shot take a wicked deflection off the outstretched boot of skipper Sam Griffiths, completely flat-footing Brown in the process as the ball sailed over the stopper's head and landed gently into the unguarded net

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With Brown still struggling, Josh Endall took responsibility for his goal kicks and launched one such ball up to Jervis in the eighteenth minute that Jervis flicked on to Verma, who was once again crowded out by Moran and Sobowale before he could get his shot away from eighteen yards out

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On nineteen minutes, a free-kick from the right for Nantwich was half-cleared by Jack Kelly as far as midfielder George Milner, whose follow-up shot from long-range was deflected upwards and just wide for a Nantwich corner kick

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Nantwich were keen to press the Pitmen into a mistake as they searched for a second goal with Harrison looking to chase down a long ball forward down the left from Lawton on twenty-three minutes that Brown could not come out and field and had to rely on the pace of old stager Griffiths to prevent the striker from getting his shot away

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However, the Dabbers did increase their advantage from another corner kick on twenty-six minutes as Evans sent over a deep cross to the far post that seemed to hit the leg of the incoming Troy Bourne, escaping the attentions of Jervis to turn it past Brown from six yards out

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To the Pitmen's credit, however, they got themselves straight back into the game the very next minute as Morley picked up a McQuilkin throw down the right and sent over an inswinging cross to the far post where Tom Thorley - scorer of the winning goal between the two sides at Keys Park on Boxing Day - turned the ball past Nantwich stopper Ben Garratt from close-range with a smart first-time finish

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Incredibly, just three minutes later, the visitors were on level terms once more - and in quite spectacular style through the hardworking Jervis. McQuilkin was involved once more down the right as he picked up Thorley's raking cross-field pass and clipped a ball into the path of the striker, standing in the 'D' outside the penalty area. Without breaking stride, the former Birmingham City unleashed a brilliant, arrow-like volley that sent the ball flying past a bemused Garratt and finding the top corner of the net. A truly wonderful strike and most likely the Pitmen's goal of the season. Game on once more

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Morley picked up the game's first booking on thirty-four minutes as he was penalised by erratic referee Mr Vieira for a high boot when challenging Lawton for the ball out on the flank

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The Pitmen were playing with more verve and belief since the equaliser, with Jervis involved again as he flicked on another McQuilkin cross into the path of Adriano Moke on thirty-seven minutes, only for the brand new 4G pitch at the Swansway Stadium to take the ball away from the Portuguese player as he looked to sort his feet out twenty yards from goal

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Another ball over the top from the hosts on forty minutes saw Connolly launch a ball through to Evans once more, who escaped the attentions of Griffiths once more and looked to chip the ball over the head of the onrushing Brown, only to get his angles all wrong and tamely slice his shot wide of goal

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Nantwich were forced into their first change of the afternoon a couple of minutes before the break as Milner appeared to fall awkwardly in midfield and had to be helped off by Sobowale before being replaced by debutant Gio Loureiro, who had joined the club on loan from Bolton Wanderers until the end of the season last week

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Kelly was alert to some late danger inside his own penalty area as the game moved into four added minutes at the end of the first half, hacking the ball away from the clutches of Harrison as a free-kick from Evans looked to pick the big striker out at the far post

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It had been an enthralling end-to-end encounter from both sides, who had shown strength in attack but weakness in defence during a first half that had swung one way then the other from the start. The visitors' confidence in being unbeaten in their last four games had brought them back into the game after a poor fifteen-minute spell that had threatened to take the game away from them, with Jervis's brilliant goal just reward for a hard-working display from Moore's team. You did, however, feel that this wasn't the end of the goals for the afternoon though...

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Within sixty seconds of the restart, Evans went close to restoring Nantwich's lead from a free-kick as he lifted his effort high and wide of Brown's crossbar from twenty-five yards out

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Despite his obvious lack of mobility, Brown looked to come out and command his box wherever he could, making an excellent claim ahead of Bourne on fifty minutes as a deep cross from Sobowale on the right looked to pick out Harrison once more

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Nantwich had started the second half with real gusto, winning three corners in quick succession as they continued to test the injured Brown and his defence, particularly in the air. More balls in from Evans on the right on fifty-five minutes saw the former Wrexham forward slightly overhit his ball in towards the giant Harrison, with it sailing harmlessly out of play on the far side of the pitch with no one in green being able to apply the finishing touch

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Verma looked to counter for the Pitmen on fifty-eight minutes, losing Sobowale momentarily with some fine wing play before being brought down by the covering Louieiro. Kelly came across to take the free-kick but was, perhaps expectedly, wasteful with his ball in and Bourne easily headed clear unchallenged

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The Pitmen went agonisingly close to taking the lead for the first time in the afternoon just after the hour mark as Verma won another free-kick on the left, which Edwards elected to take with his right boot; swinging the ball into the far post, Edwards picked out the head of Kelly, whose powerful effort came back off the outside of Garratt's left-hand post and back into play before Nantwich frantically cleared their lines

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Evans followed Morley into Mr Vieira's notebook on sixty-two minutes as he was rightly booked for a foul on McQuilkin to stop the auxiliary right-back from breaking down the flank

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Two minutes later, the away side made their first change of the afternoon as Saturday's goal hero Matthew Barnes-Homer was given another run-out as he looked to return to match fitness, replacing Morley in a move that saw Jervis move out onto the right flank and Barnes-Homer playing as the target man

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It was the home side who were to grab the all-important next goal, however, as Louriero capped his Dabbers debut with Nantwich's third of the afternoon midway through the second half; Garratt's long punt forward found Sobowale down the right, with the full-back wriggling past two half-hearted challenges before pulling the ball back into the six-yard box, where the Portuguese teenager was on hand to sidefoot the ball home to make it 3-2

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This seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Pitmen, who were now heavily reliant on punting the ball up to Barnes-Homer and hoping for some good luck in the final third with the ball dropping their way. The good one-and-two-touch attacking football from the first half had disappeared somewhat, with the away side looking a little ragged tactically at this point and you felt that Nantwich may go on and grab another goal as they kept possession well and looked to catch the Pitmen on the counter-attack

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On seventy minutes, Sobowale was allowed far too much time and space once more down the right as he beat Kelly before seeing his low cross towards Harrison put behind by Josh Endall for a corner kick

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Two minutes later, Nantwich made their second substitution of the afternoon as former Hednesford loanee Moran was brought off and replaced by Australian midfielder Akiel Raffie

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The Pitmen also elected to make a change around this time as striker Bailey was brought on to add to the firepower up front on seventy-three minutes as he replaced the ineffective Edwards

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And what a substitution this was to prove to be, as within twenty seconds of coming on, Bailey got his name on the scoresheet to level the game once more at 3-3; Endall's goal kick was flicked on by Barnes-Homer and fell to the feet of Verma, whose clever reverse flick played Bailey in behind a flagging Nantwich defence. With only Garratt to beat, Bailey calmly curled a shot beyond the reach of the former Barrow man and found the far corner of the net with a composed finish - it was the young striker's first goal for the club since arriving from Clitheroe last month

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You felt that the momentum was now starting to swing back towards the Pitmen, who had plenty of firepower on the pitch to enable them to go on and win the game to claim what would be a crucial three points in their bid to avoid the drop. Moke did well to win the ball in midfield on seventy-eight minutes and play the ball out to Jervis, whose run and pass to Barnes-Homer saw the burly striker control the ball well but fail to get his shot away as Bourne picked his pocket

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The Pitmen's final change of the afternoon came on seventy-nine minutes as Verma - still struggling with that blow to the mouth he received early on in the game - came off and was replaced by Joe Berks on the right flank

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Jervis went close to sealing his man-of-the-match performance with a winning goal on eighty-four minutes after Kelly burst forward from left-back and sent over a deep cross that Barnes-Homer flicked into the path of the forward. After turning inside of Lawton's challenge, Jervis unleashed a shot across the face of Garratt's goal that flew inches wide of the far post

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Nantwich also made their final change of the game before play could restart as the talented Evans was taken off and replaced by the experienced former Crewe Alexandra and Stafford Rangers man Callum Saunders

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There was to be late drama at both ends of the pitch, starting with a Hednesford corner kick in the ninetieth minute - Kelly whipped the ball in from the right which was headed goalwards by Moke at the near post, with Endall inches away from turning the midfielder's header into the net at the far post as he just failed to make the connection

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Following this let-off, Nantwich turned the screw on the Pitmen in the five minutes of added time as they camped inside the away side's half in search of a late winner of their own. Brown made a commanding catch in the second of the added minutes to take the pressure off his defence, claiming a cross from Connolly as the Dabbers swung the ball in from the right to deny Bourne a free header from close range

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However, the hosts managed to nick it with the final chance of the afternoon as another corner from the right did the damage; Connolly's outswinging ball into the box was met by the boot of the unchallenged Bourne, who confidently sidefooted the ball through a crowd of players in front of him to grab his second of the game and leave the Pitmen down and out whilst the home fans celebrated their late, late winner

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It was a sickening way to end the afternoon for the visitors, who had shown real spirit to battle back twice to level matters and will have felt that they had done enough to deserve a point for their efforts. However, some of the team's familiar defensive failings from earlier in the season had crept back into an erratic display that had seen them struggle with Nantwich's direct play and pace on the counter attack. With Trafford suffering defeat against Avro, it's all still to play for at the foot of the table although the games are now quickly running out for Moore's side to salvage their season, starting with a daunting-looking trip to yet another play-off chasing side in the form of Prescot Cables on Saturday

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Nantwich Town: Garratt, Sobowale, Lawton, Moran (Raffie 72), Bourne ©, Milner (Loureiro 43), Connolly, Okome, Harrison, Kay, Evans ▆ (Saunders 85)      Sub Unused: Merner

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Hednesford Town: R. Brown, McQuilkin, Kelly, Thorley, Griffiths ©, Endall, Verma (Berks 79), Moke, Morley ▆ (Barnes-Homer 64), Jervis, Edwards (Bailey 73)     Subs Unused: J. Brown, Farmer

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