Hednesford safely and confidently navigate their first competitive game of the new season as they beat Racing Club Warwick in the extra preliminary round of this season's F.A. Cup with two goals in each half

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The Pitmen's superb pre-season form had left the Hednesford supporters looking forward to today's curtain-raiser as they looked for a flying start to the new campaign from their expensively assembled side. Manager Steve King had plenty of difficult decisions to make ahead of today's trip to Warwickshire, choosing to start with Jake Jervis, Manny Duku and Jack Bearne as the front three ahead of Dom McHale, Zidan Sutherland and Rob Stevenson. Jack Rose - signed on a season-long loan from Sutton United in midweek - made his debut in goal in front of King's go-to defence in pre-season of Blaine Rowe, Joel Taylor, Kory Roberts and Elliott Johnson. Simeon Maye continued his return from injury with a second Hednesford debut in midfield alongside Sion Spence and the impressive Abdulrasaq Alamu-Tajudeen

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Racing Club Warwick - promoted to step four at the end of last season after winning the United Counties League Premier play-off final against Aylestone Park - had assembled an experienced outfit for their return to the level with signings such as Greg Mills, Kelvin Langmead and ex-Pitman Ryan Nesbitt. Manager Scott Easterlow named the first two in his starting XI for today's game alongside another ex-Pitman in the form of Ryan Andrews. Nesbitt and Cameron Ebbutt - another player recently connected to the Pitmen - had to be content with a place amongst the substitutes

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On a beautifully sunny summer afternoon, both sides struggled to get themselves going with a cagey and pedestrian approach to the first ten minutes. Rose was called upon to make his first contribution to the side in the third minute as a corner kick on the right from Mills was played back to him by Johnson, with Rose claiming the winger's cross ahead of ex-Redditch United man Louis Monaghan at his near post

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The all-grey Pitmen had to wait until the eighth minute to register an effort on goal as Rose's long punt forward was flicked into the path of Alamu-Tajudeen by Jervis, allowing the midfielder time and space to size up a shot from twenty-five yards out that beat Sam Lomax in the Racers goal but also drifted inches wide of the right-hand post

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Warwick continued to shade the opening exchanges with a bustling, aggressive approach to the game that stopped the Pitmen from playing the ball out of defence and forced errors from the away side in their third of the pitch. Veteran Mills was at the heart of most things, picking the ball up on the left wing in the thirteenth minute and driving at Rowe before sending over a cross that Rose managed to punch clear to deny new signing Ruben Freeman a chance to turn the ball home

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On fifteen minutes, Rose made a comfortable save down to his left as Mills managed to wriggle clear of Rowe and drive in a low shot that the experienced stopper claimed with ease

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Two minutes later, Rose was in action again as a deep free-kick from James Hancocks on the left was played deep into the box and onto the head of Monaghan, whose downward header across goal was cleared by Alamu-Tajudeen but only as far as Andrews, whose half-volley into the ground from twelve yards out bounced up and forced Rose into a fingertip save over the crossbar

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The tricky figure of Jack Bearne had already given Racers left-back Hancocks issues with his dancing feet, trying a spectacular overhead kick from twelve yards out midway through the first half as Taylor and Jervis combined to cross from the left, with the ball taking a deflection off a covering player and looping up into the air; Bearne sized up the cross but could only get the top of his boot to the ball and skied his effort high over the crossbar

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Spence tested the lanky figure of Lomax two minutes later as the former Gloucester City man took the ball into space and found play opening up in front of him, striking a firm effort from just outside the box that was straight down the throat of the ex-Aston Villa stopper

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With their next attack, the away side swept into the lead on twenty-six minutes as Spence seized upon a loose clearance from Josh Willis to play the ball into the path of Manny Duku, whose low, driven cross into the six-yard box was turned home at the far post by Jake Jervis for his first goal of the new campaign

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However, the hosts pulled themselves level almost immediately as a quick throw-in from Archie Hamp down the right was returned to him by Mills, allowing the midfielder to swing over a cross into the near post where Monaghan got goal side of Roberts to loop the ball over the head of Rose and turn the ball into the net

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The drama wasn't over just yet, however, as the Pitmen showed great resolve to take the lead once more straight from the restart; Rowe played Alamu-Tajudeen into space in the Racing Club Warwick half, with the tigerish midfielder spotting the run of Duku in front of him before sliding the ball into the path of the Dutch striker, who drilled the ball past Lomax and into the far corner of the net with a real poacher's finish from eight yards out

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The Pitmen settled into a more comfortable rhythm after re-taking the lead, showing signs of their excellent pre-season form as they kept the ball for long periods looking to prise open the Racers defence once more. A mistake by Lomax in thirty-one minutes saw the stopper misjudge the bounce of Joel Taylor's cross at his near post, fumbling the ball into the path of Duku. The striker's angled drive was turned away by the legs of the goalkeeper but only as far as Alamu-Tajudeen, whose follow-up shot lacked power and was scuffed wide of the post

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And yet, Warwick could have been back in contention two minutes later as a Mills corner was headed goalwards by Barnett, only to be denied by a goal-line clearance from Johnson to hack the ball away from danger

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Hamp should have done better with a sight at goal ten minutes before the break as Monaghan's ball across goal found the midfielder in acres of space, only to weakly turn his shot wide of Rose's left-hand post from fifteen yards out

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Mills also looked to test debutant Rose a minute later as he tricked his way into a shooting position just inside the penalty area before firing in an angled shot that Rose diverted away and Roberts eventually cleared

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In typical F.A. Cup style, the game continued to ebb and flow, with Bearne doing brilliantly to tie Hancocks up in knots on thirty-seven minutes with a brilliant run and lay-off to Alamu-Tajudeen, whose shot from eighteen yards out lacked any real power and was easily saved by Lomax

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Spence was still looking to find his range as he again fired over the crossbar on forty minutes after good play from Duku and Joel Taylor down the left to set the midfielder up just outside the penalty area

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Referee Mr Price had made several questionable decisions in the first half, allowing play to go when he probably shouldn't have but also pulling play up for the smallest indiscretion. A coming-together between Rowe and Mills shortly before half-time saw the pair clash just outside the Hednesford penalty area, with Mills appearing to aim and arm at the full-back. Rowe looked to retaliate but was spared a potential red card by the superb captaincy of Johnson, who dragged his tam-mate away before he could carry out any retribution. The match official finally got on top of proceedings and showed both players a booking each for their part in the scuffle

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It had been a slightly disjointed half from King's side, who had looked a little rattled at the back due to Racing Club Warwick's aggressive and direct approach to the game. However, the front three had grown into the game and were looking a constant threat in the final third of the pitch every time they entered the Racers penalty area; you certainly felt there were to be more goals in the second half

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Another sighter for Spence fell at the Welshman's feet just a couple of minutes after the restart, with the midfielder drilling his shot from twenty yards out inches over Lomax's crossbar after good play from Bearne

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With the new rules on the number of substitutions in non-league football coming into effect today, the home side elected to make the first of their five allowed changes on fifty-two minutes as the already-booked Mills was taken off and replaced by Josh McKenzie

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A great chance fell at the feet of Connor Taylor for the home side three minutes later as a deep cross from the right by Willis looked to pick out the ex-Walsall man at the far post, with Rose just about doing enough to put him off and force Taylor into scuffing his shot wide from a couple of yards out

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At the other end, Rowe made a barnstorming run down the right as he picked up Duku's ball, driving into the box before pulling the ball back to Spence, who was crowded out on the edge of the box before he could get his shot away

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A quickly-taken Bearne corner on fifty-eight minutes found Alamu-Tajudeen unmarked on the edge of the box, with the ex-Bromsgrove Sporting man going within a whisker of grabbing his first Hednesford goal with a curling effort that skimmed the crossbar on it's way over

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Racing Club Warwick's second change of the afternoon came shortly before the hour mark as Andrews was brought off in the centre of midfield and replaced by former Notts County midfielder James Snedden

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Bearne picked up the Pitmen's first booking of the afternoon a minute later as he was cautioned by Mr Price for obstructing a free-kick and denying Warwick the opportunity to launch a quick counter-attack on the left

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The Racers' third change of the half came on sixty-two minutes as the left-sided Callum Carsley was brought on in place of the tiring Hancocks, who had had a torrid afternoon trying to quell the threat of Bearne. At the same time, the Pitmen made their first substitution of the afternoon as Sutherland replaced Duku in a move that saw Jervis move into the central role from the left flank to accommodate Sutherland

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The former Redditch United man nearly made an instant impact for the visitors as he ran onto a Spence pass just sixty seconds later, getting in behind the home defence before firing in a shot at goal that looked destined for the top corner until Lomax made a superb save to divert the ball over the crossbar

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Alamu-Tajudeen followed Bearne into Mr Price's notebook two minutes later as he took 'one for the team' with a blatant foul on McKenzie to stop the substitute from making an unchallenged run into the Hednesford half and setting Monaghan on his way

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Midway through the second half and Mr Price had to brandish his yellow card once more, this time to substitute Carsley after he had been turned inside out by Bearne down the right flank and could only succeed in bringing the winger down to halt his progress

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Neat build-up play from the Pitmen on sixty-nine minutes saw Jervis hold the ball up well and invite Rowe into the action with a lay-off into space down the right; the full-back cut inside but drove his shot well wide of goal when a cut-back to one of the several players in grey in the penalty area would have been a better idea

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Alamu-Tajudeen had been hugely impressive with another all-action display in midfield, with the former Shelbourne man given a well-earned rest by King on seventy minutes as he was replaced by Jamaican International Omar Holness

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A minute later, the Pitmen made a further attacking change as the talented Dom McHale was given a chance to tease and test a tiring Warwick defence as he came on in place of Spence

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It was all Hednesford at this stage, with the visitors swarming forwards at every opportunity with fresh legs on in attacking positions. A Bearne corner on seventy-four minutes was flicked on by Roberts at the near post and into the path of Johnson, who had his pocket picked by some last-ditch defending from veteran Langmead

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Bearne was afforded the luxury of generous applause from the large away following in seventy-five minutes as he was brought off and replaced by Jacob Gwilt

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And what a substitution it proved to be, as with his first touch, Gwilt put the game beyond the reach of the hosts with eleven minutes remaining; Jervis's reverse pass sent McHale away down the right flank, with the former AFC Telford United man playing the ball across the face of goal and into the path of Sutherland, who was denied a certain goal as his sidefooted effort was brilliantly saved by Lomax. the ball ran kindly into the path of the incoming Gwilt, who fired into the roof of the net from close range from the rebound to score his second-ever Hednesford goal

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There was a brief moment of concern for the Pitmen on eighty-two minutes as Rose went down in his penalty area with no one around him, clutching his hamstring. After treatment from physio Adam Paget, the stopper gingerly returned to his feet and continued to play on

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Sutherland continued to look sharp and threatening with his pace down the left, bringing the ball inside from the flank on eighty-three minutes before striking a low shot at goal that was easily fielded by Lomax at his near post

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The Pitmen put a gloss finish on a very good second-half performance with a fourth goal of the afternoon with four minutes of the game remaining; Roberts started and finished the move as he played the ball inside to Gwilt, whose attempted shot from the edge of the area was blocked and looped into the air. A deflection off the head of Barnett saw the ball fall kindly into the path of Roberts, who had followed the play into the box to turn the loose ball beyond Lomax and into the far corner of the net from a tight angle

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Sutherland had been on the pitch for only twenty or so minutes but could easily have notched a hat-trick for the Pitmen, going close once more on eighty-seven minutes as he turned the ball onto the crossbar after McHale's shot was parried by Lomax into the path of the striker, only to be flagged offside by the assistant on the left in the build-up

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With two minutes remaining, the Pitmen made their fifth and final change of the afternoon as the experienced Dan Sparkes came on for the remaining moments at left-back as he replaced Joel Taylor

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In the final minute of the game, Sutherland again caused Warwick issues with his pace on the left as he took the ball into the box and struck a powerful effort at goal from sixteen yards out that Lomax turned away with his feet

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It had been a polished second-half display from King's side, who had brought their pre-season form to the second forty-five minutes to ease their way into the next round of the World's most famous cup competition. Waiting for them there will be Hellenic Premier League side Worcester Raiders - defeated 4-0 by the Pitmen three weeks ago in a pre-season game - but before all that, the Pitmen kick off their Northern Premier League West campaign with a home game against another one of last season's strugglers in the form of Vauxhall Motors

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Racing Club Warwick: Lomax, Barnett ©, Hancocks (Carsley 62 ▆), Willis, Langmead, Freeman, Hamp (Mooney 80), Andrews (Snedden 59), Mills ▆ (McKenzie 52), Monaghan (Nesbitt 71), C. Taylor      Subs Unused: Peart, Ebbutt

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Hednesford Town: Rose, Rowe ▆, J. Taylor, K. Roberts (Sparkes 90), Johnson ©, Maye, Bearne (Gwilt 76), Alamu-Tajudeen ▆ (Holness 70), Duku (Sutherland 63 ▆), Jervis, Spence (McHale 72)     Subs Unused: Stevenson, Brown

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