The Pitmen's woeful season ends with yet another comprehensive defeat as Nuneaton Town beat their already-relegated visitors with ease at Liberty Way

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The Pitmen played out a 0-0 draw against Bradford (Park Avenue) in their final home game of the season last weekend, with caretaker manager Kyle Patterson in the midst of something of an injury crisis for their short trip down the A5 for this afternoon's final game of the season. Jack Truelove and Modou Cham joined Tom Thorley and Andy Todd on the sidelines, with Phil Trainer also missing the game as he suffered a car breakdown ahead of the game. Dan Crane and Marvin Robinson were not fully fit but were both forced to sit on the bench as Patterson only had fourteen fit players - including himself - registered for the game. Patterson made one change to his side from the one that had started against Bradford as Kennedy Digie replaced the injured Truelove

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Nuneaton still had an outside chance of the play-offs going into the last round of games, although they were reliant on results elsewhere going their way if they were to gatecrash the top five. Nuneaton's last game had also been against Bradford in midweek, winning 3-2 at the Horsfall Stadium to move Boro within a point of fifth-placed Boston United. Manager Kevin Wilson made one change to the side that had triumphed at Bradford as forward Billy Daniels replaced Vamara Sanogo

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Roared on by the home crowd, Nuneaton made a strong start to the game and went close twice in the first ten minutes; Tom Elliott's run and cross in the third minute was headed away by Francino Francis but only as far as skipper Shane Byrne, whose long-range effort drifted just wide of Lloyd Ransome's left-hand post

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Elliott Whitehouse headed narrowly over the crossbar for the hosts three minutes later as he rose highest to meet a corner kick from Elliott but got underneath the ball and cleared the woodwork from eight yards out

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Former West Ham striker Marlon Harewood was proving a slippery customer for the Pitmen, making several clever runs and taking up intelligent positions in and around the Hednesford penalty area. His clever turn on the edge of the penalty area on twelve minutes saw Harewood take the ball past Ben Bailey and striker a low shot at goal that was easily fielded by Ransome at his near post

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Kristian Scott swung in a free-kick for the hosts from the left in the fifteenth minute that Ransome did well to punch away from goal but could only find Daniels, whose rebounded effort from an angle brushed the side-netting as he fired wide of goal from ten yards out

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The visitors had offered next to nothing as an attacking threat, playing with a very defensively-minded set-up as they looked to limit Nuneaton's forward movement. The Pitmen's first forward movement of any note came on twenty minutes as a neat pass from Adam Thomas played Tom Peers into the Nuneaton penalty area, with the striker getting goal side of Lathaniel Rowe-Turner and seemingly being shoved in the back by the defender as he shaped to shoot. Despite calls for the men in red and yellow for a penalty kick, referee Mr Strain waved away the protests and the game continued

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Sean Williams made a surging run from the halfway line two minutes later, taking the ball past Scott before drilling a rising shot high over the crossbar from twenty-five yards out

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Sixty seconds later, Whitehouse was denied by tremendous defending from Francis after he had got on the end of a fine pass from Sam Warburton, shooting at goal with a first-time effort from ten yards out that was blocked by the centre-back's sliding challenge

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Liberty Way was enveloped by an intense hailstorm at this point in the proceedings, with the pace of the game slowing considerably as both sides looked to play through the storm. Whitehouse wasted another good chance for the hosts on twenty-nine minutes, dragging his right-footed shot well wide of goal after bringing down Scott's pass and taking the ball past Digie just inside the Hednesford penalty area

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Two minutes later, the Pitmen had their best chance of the game so far as a superb run from Peers saw the striker pick the ball up from deep and dribble past three Nuneaton players before laying the ball off to Williams, whose fierce volley from the edge of the penalty area was well saved by Nuneaton goalkeeper Jordan Smith

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Smith denied Peers with another good save on thirty-five minutes as he dived to his left to push the striker's goalbound shot from the corner of the Nuneaton penalty area away for a corner kick to the visitors

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The Pitmen's best spell in the game continued with Paul Ennis testing Smith once more a minute later, picking up another Thomas pass and striking a powerful effort from nearly thirty yards out that the Nuneaton stopper did well to push away from goal

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Nuneaton responded with a wayward header from the dangerous Whitehouse on thirty-nine minutes as Daniels stood up a cross from the left to the far post, where the former York City striker nodded the ball over the crossbar as Ransome did enough to put him off

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Former Nuneaton striker Danny Glover went close to opening the scoring for the visitors on forty-two minutes as his looping header from a Thomas cross was clawed away from goal by Smith at his far post

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Despite the Pitmen finishing the half well, it was Nuneaton that stole into the lead on forty-four minutes through Bryne; Harewood had won a free-kick for the hosts just to the left of the Hednesford penalty area, allowing the Nuneaton captain to curl a delightful shot over the wall and beyond the reach of Ransome as the ball nestled in the far corner of the net

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The Pitmen had certainly played their part in the game as the half had worn on, but Byrne's superb effort late on in the half was probably a deserved half-time lead for the hosts, who had looked more accomplished on the ball and had threatened regularly through Harewood and Whitehouse

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Nuneaton started the second half well and were camped in the Hednesford half for much of the opening stages as they searched for a second goal; Daniels tried his luck from long-range on forty-eight minutes after taking on a pass from Scott and holding off a challenge from Digie before firing wide of Ransome's goal

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Peers saw a low, bobbling shot from twenty yards out easily fielded by Smith on fifty-one minutes after Glover had chested down a Thomas pass into the path of his strike partner

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Harewood was denied a clear shot at goal on fifty-four minutes by a late offside flag against him on the main stand side of the ground as he broke into the Hednesford penalty area to reach another fine through ball from the excellent Scott

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The lanky Rowe-Turner headed straight into the arms of Ransome on fifty-six minutes as Elliott's corner kick was flicked on by Harewood at the near post and found the head of the centre-back, standing eight yards from goal but not being able to get enough purchase on his effort

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Nuneaton's early second-half pressure finally told as the hosts doubled their lead on the hour mark; Elliott's corner kick caused the Hednesford defence all sorts of issues as they struggled to clear their lines, with Harewood showing his years of experience in the top flight as he fired low into the far corner from ten yards out to make it 2-0 and leave the Pitmen with a mountain to climb

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The Pitmen made their first change of the afternoon on sixty-four minutes as the barely-fit Robinson was brought on to add his presence to the Hednesford attack as he replaced Digie

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A clever chip from Byrne on sixty-seven minutes had Ransome backtracking as the midfielder got on the end of a flowing move down the centre of the park involving Elliott and Joe Maguire before looking to lift the ball over the head of the goalkeeper from twenty yards out

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The Pitmen were dealt another blow on sixty-nine minutes as they were reduced to ten men with on-loan Jonathan Royle shown a straight red card by Mr Strain after he had gone straight through the back of Scott with a wild two-footed challenge on halfway, earning him a justified sending-off

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The visitors were now very much in damage limitation mode, with Robinson spending more time in his own penalty area helping out his defence as Nuneaton's flow of corner kicks threatened to add to the home side's tally. On seventy-three minutes, substitute James Reid saw his shot deflected away from goal by the boot of Jack Fitzwater before Scott fired high over the crossbar on the rebound

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The home side finally settled the game as a contest on seventy-six minutes as Elliott's free-kick found Byrne in the penalty area, with the midfield man cleverly backheeling the ball into the path of Reid who fired confidently past Ransome from ten yards out as he was given time and space to pick his spot

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Peers lifted an eighty-first minute shot over the crossbar before Fitzwater's run and cross from the right was volleyed well, well wide of goal by Glover from twelve yards out a minute later

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In a season punctuated with woeful displays, comical defending, dreadful tactical decisions and several poor managerial appointments, it was perhaps fitting that one of the most embarrassing moments of the whole campaign was saved for the eighty-fifth minute of the final game of the season, as substitute Robinson pulled up with a calf injury and was forced off the pitch holding the back of his leg. With manager Patterson and a half-fit Crane the only options left, it was goalkeeper Crane that donned the shirt and came on to play the final minutes outfield for the Pitmen. In any other context, this would be a moment of great humour, but only proved to be the final humiliation in the Pitmen's woeful 2015-2016 campaign as they had simply run out of players fit, willing and able to play for the club

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News was filtering in from elsewhere of a big win for fourth-placed Harrogate Town over Corby Town and a late equaliser for Boston at Stalybridge Celtic, meaning that Nuneaton could not overhaul either side in the race for the final play-off spot, leaving the final minutes to tick away without incident

 

Many of a Hednesford persuasion will be glad to see the back of the 2015-2016 campaign; a season that started with much promise, but since the departure of Rob Smith and Larry Chambers early on has slowly turned into a nightmarish few months as their side lurching from one crisis to another on and off the pitch with a high turnover of both managers and players. The club will once again go in search of a new permanent manager in the summer months as they look to adapt to life back in the Northern Premier League and attempt to bounce back at the first time of asking

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Nuneaton Town: Smith, Elliott, Warburton, Morgan, Maguire, Rowe-Turner, Scott, Byrne ©, Harewood (Ironside 64), Whitehouse (Reid 53), Daniels       Subs Unused: Waite, Lane, De La Paz

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Hednesford Town: Ransome, Digie (Robinson 64 (Crane 85)), Fitzwater, Bailey ©, Francis, Ennis, Williams, Royle ▆ (69), Glover, Thomas, Peers      Subs Unused: Patterson

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