Hednesford make it three wins in a row for the first time this season as they put in a disciplined display against fellow play-off chasers Nantwich Town this afternoon at Keys Park to lift them into the top four at their visitors' expense

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With only three days having passed since their superb 3-0 win over Chasetown on New Year's Day, Hednesford manager Gavin Hurren was faced with more selection woes going into today's game, having seen striker Jake Jervis limp off on Wednesday and was subsequently ruled out of today's game. Manny Duku returned to the side in his place, which was the first of two enforced changes from the Chasetown win as Sion Spence came back in ahead of the injured Dan Trickett-Smith. On the bench, Matthew Barnes-Homer returned to the squad as the only attacking option amongst the substitutes, underlining the sudden lack of depth in the Hednesford squad with Jervis and Rob Stevenson injured and Zidan Sutherland out on loan

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The Dabbers were in the middle of a good run of recent form themselves, moving them to within seven points of league leaders Widnes after beating Newcastle Town 2-1 in midweek. Nantwich player/manager Jon Moran - a former Hednesford loanee back in 2018-2019 - elected to stick with the same XI that had started against Newcastle as he looked to continue a run of two wins out of his last three games

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The recent cold evenings and imminent threat of snow had seen the Pitmen's owners invest in a new pitch cover recently, which was used to good effect overnight as the Keys Park pitch was passed fit for play in the morning. Roared on by another superb 1,200-plus attendance, the Pitmen looked to get an early foothold in the game, with top scorer Duku once again coming up with the goods with the first meaningful attack of the game in the fifth minute; Dom McHale, almost inevitably, was the architect on the right flank with a cleverly threaded ball through to Jamie Morgan in front of him; the Pitmen's recent signing pulled the ball back into the box from the byeline and found Duku, who took advantage of Troy Bourne's slip to control the ball on the six-yard line before tucking it into the net with a low finish past Ben Garratt in the Nantwich goal

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Nantwich went in search of an immediate equaliser through Kai Evans on eight minutes, Elliott Johnson's initial clearance was picked up by Kelvin Mellor, who swept the ball out to Evans on the left. The former Wrexham forward produced a low snap-shot at goal from the corner of the penalty area that forced Ryan Brown into a save down to his right, doing enough to push the ball away from danger with Byron Harrison lurking

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A minute later, James Melhado stood up a deep cross to the far post that drifted toward the goal, forcing Brown into an unorthodox save to tip it onto the crossbar. The ball dropped at Evans's feet once more, with his hopeful effort from a tight angle deflecting off the back of Ollie Harrison and ended up in the side netting

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Duku was in the mood for more goals and thought that he was in for another in the twelfth minute as Jack Bearne's run and pass played the Dutchman through on goal, only for a tight offside call against him from the assistant on the Wimblebury side to scupper his chances of a quickfire brace as he blasted the ball over the crossbar

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Tom Pratt went close to getting Nantwich back on level terms on sixteen minutes as he stooped to meet an inswinging free-kick from Nathan Sandison but was denied by a timely nick off Simeon Maye's boot to send it wide of goal for a corner kick to the visitors

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On twenty-one minutes, another Sandison free-kick was dealt with by Brown in more unorthodox ways, as the young stopper scooped the former Wigan Athletic forward's free-kick from the right flank away at his near post with a slightly unconvincing two-armed parry to push the ball away

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Brown was a little more confident with the next ball in as he plucked Sandison's deeper free-kick from the right out of the air as he was put under pressure by Byron Harrison and Bourne

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McHale continued his purple patch in front of goal on twenty-four minutes, adding yet another wonderful goal to his end-of-season showreel to make it 2-0 to the hosts. Morgan did well to win possession off Bourne and laid it off to Spence, who in turn handed possession to McHale thirty yards from goal. The Magic Man sized up a shot before expertly curling a low shot beyond the reach of Garratt and found the bottom corner of the net with another beautifully crafted goal from twenty-five yards out

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Pratt was left a frustrated figure two minutes later as Melhado provided a great chance for him with a low cross into the box from the right, although the ball was a touch behind the former Guiseley man as he looked to turn the ball home from six yards out

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Sandison was at the heart of everything good about Nantwich in the attacking third, playing in another challenging ball for Brown to deal with on thirty-two minutes that the former Kidsgrove stopper had to claim at the second attempt at his near post after Sandison had chipped a corner kick into the six-yard box

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Two minutes later, Brown made a comfortable save to deny Pratt as his cross-cum-shot from the left was smothered by the Hednesford goalkeeper down to his left before Byron Harrison could sneak in and claim the rebound

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Spence - scorer of the Pitmen's brilliant second goal in the reverse fixture back in August - forced Garratt into a flying save on thirty-seven minutes as he chested down Duku's flick-on eighteen yards from goal and unleashed a half-volley at goal that looked to be dipping in under the crossbar until Garratt tipped the ball over the crossbar for a corner kick to the Pitmen

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With six minutes of the first half remaining, Pratt picked up the game's first booking of the afternoon as he was shown a yellow card by referee Mr Hales for a bout of dissent after the official stopped the Dabbers from breaking by halting play for a head injury to Duku inside the Nantwich penalty area

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Brown was once again equal to the Nantwich threat on forty-one minutes, tipping Paddy Kennedy's looping header back over the crossbar for another corner kick after Pratt had picked out the defender at the far post with an inswinging ball into the box from the left

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Kennedy met the resultant Pratt corner once more as he was allowed time to run onto the ball, but saw his firm header way goal blocked by Maye before eventually being cleared by the Pitmen from inside their own six-yard box

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Morgan followed Pratt into the referee's notebook with two minutes of the first half remaining as the Pitmen's recently acquired right-back from Radcliffe was booked for a foul on Evans. This drew cheers from the small band of Radcliffe fans that were in attendance, who had seen their F.A. Trophy tie at Woking cancelled due to the poor weather today and chose to visit Keys Park on their journey back up north. Kennedy was given a third sight at goal as Sandison's inswinging free-kick was met by the defender's looping header that narrowly cleared Brown's crossbar from eight yards out

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Within sixty seconds, Taylor also picked up a yellow card for the Pitmen as the left-back was pulled up by Mr Hales for a foul on Melhado down the Nantwich right and booked for the challenge

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The flurry of late yellow cards continued in the first minute of added time as Bourne was booked for pushing Duku over on the Hednesford left, a decision that was to come back to haunt the centre-back later on in the game

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Deep into four added minutes, Evans tried his luck from long-range after Pratt had launched a quick counter-attack and sent the forward away down the left, with the striker turning inside of Morgan and firing in a shot that Brown once again managed to push away​

 

It had been a fine first-half display from the hosts, who had shown a ruthless streak in front of goal whilst also looking solid and organised in defence. Joe Doyle-Charles and Maye had been superb in the defensive midfield role, breaking up play and protecting the back four using every ounce of their vast experience at higher levels. McHale - nursing a muscle issue throughout the first half - was brought off at the break with Dan Sparkes replacing him; this saw Bearne moved to the right flank to compensate for the change

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Nantwich were to have the better of the opening exchanges at the start of the second half, with Pratt being denied a great chance to break through the heart of the Hednesford defence on fifty minutes by Ollie Harrison's brilliant, timely challenge to ease him off the ball at the crucial moment

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Bearne looked to make a run in behind the Nantwich defence four minutes later, bending his run as best he could to get on the end of a pass from Morgan but was still pulled back for a marginal offside call against him

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Pratt really should have reduced the deficit for the Dabbers on fifty-eight minutes as Pratt glanced Melhado's inswinging cross straight into the hands of Brown from twelve yards out. Any more movement on the ball either side of the stopper and Brown may have been struggling to get there

 

A minute later, Sandison was handed arguably Nantwich's best chance of the game as he was played clean through on goal by Matty Tweedley's long punt forward but tamely sidefooted his shot straight at Brown from ten yards out and gave the stopper an easier save to make than he really should have

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​On the hour mark, Duku got on the end of Spence's low cross on the six-yard line but, under pressure from Bourne, toe-poked his effort over the crossbar. This was to be the Dutchman's final action of the game as the hosts made a surprising second substitution of the afternoon as the was taken off and replaced by Jacob Gwilt, presumably for injury-related reasons. This left the home side without a recognised striker on the pitch, with Spence manfully playing as a target man out of position

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There was a hopeful but not convincing shout for a penalty from Sandison two minutes later as he went to ground under Taylor's challenge to the right of the Hednesford penalty area, but Mr Hales was having none of it and the Pitmen were allowed to clear their lines

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Spence's short stint as a target man was brought to an end on sixty-nine minutes as 39-year-old Barnes-Homer made his first appearance since August in place of the midfielder

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Nantwich's first change of the afternoon came with twenty minutes remaining as youngster Kofi Moore - who had returned to the Dabbers on loan from Oldham Athletic yesterday - came on in place of Sandison

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With fifteen minutes of the game remaining and Nantwich pressing for a goal, Moran made his second change of the game as Joe Robbins came on in place of Tweedley

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Brown had to help the ball over the crossbar and deny Sandison from a left-flank cross on seventy-six minutes as the wind caught the ball in flight and forced the stopper into action to turn it behind

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​Byron Harrison picked up Nantwich's third booking of the game from the resultant corner kick as he was shown a yellow card for a bout of pushing and shoving inside the Hednesford penalty area as Sandison played another ball into the danger zone

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Darren Thornton had to be alert to stop the Pitmen in their tracks on eighty minutes, coming across to take the ball away from Bearne as the winger looked to catch the Nantwich defence cold on the counter-attack down the right

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Maye was taken off as a precautionary measure on eighty-two minutes after coming off worst in a challenge with Byron Harrison inside the Hednesford half, replaced by Omar Holness in midfield for the last eight minutes

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Moran and his bench were furious at the Pitmen a minute later as Brown went down holding his leg in what appeared to be a deliberate act that meant that Hurren could conduct a team meeting whilst the stopper could receive 'treatment'

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Nantwich's final change of the game came in the first of five added minutes as young midfielder Lewis Bailey - another recent capture by Moran on loan from Stoke City - came on in place of Pratt

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Bourne - sent-off in last season's corresponding fixture - repeated this impressive feat deep into added time as he dived in on the flying Bearne and brought the winger down in full flight down the right flank, leaving Mr Hales with no option but to show the defender a second yellow card and send him off, much to the delight of the home fans; it was Bourne's fifth red card for the Dabbers in little over eighteen months

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There was still time for Gwilt to pick up a yellow card from Mr Hales with the final action of the game as the Hednesford man was booked for a foul on fellow substitute Moore down the Nantwich right

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It had been a good display from the Pitmen, who produced a balanced, composed performance that had showcased their ability to be ruthless in front of goal but also highlighted their newly-found grit and determination to dig in and defend well against a very, very good Nantwich side, frustrating the visitors and seeing the game out in a professional manner in the second half. Hurren's side move above both Chasetown and Nantwich and into fourth place on the NPLW table, a full ten points off Widnes at the top of the table but moving in the right direction heading into a month full of winnable games. This starts with a first-ever trip to twentieth-placed Wythenshawe on Saturday, with the Pitmen looking to make it four wins in a row

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Hednesford Town: Brown, Morgan ▆, Taylor ▆, Doyle-Charles, O. Harrison, Johnson ©, Spence (Barnes-Homer 69), Maye (Holness 82), Duku (Gwilt 60 ▆), McHale (Sparkes 45), Bearne    Sub Unused: Roberts

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Nantwich Town: Garratt, Melhado, Mellor, Thornton, Bourne © ▆ ▆ (90), Kennedy, Sandison (Moore 70), Tweedley (Robbins 75), B. Harrison ▆, Pratt ▆ (Bailey 90), Evans

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