The Pitmen put their name into Monday's draw for the first round of the F.A. Trophy after a thrilling second-half comeback saw Steve Burr's men overturn a two-goal deficit to win by the odd goal in seven at Dales Lane to beat local rivals Rushall

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Having finally earned their first win of the season last week over AFC Rushden & Diamonds, manager Steve Burr was forced into a reshuffle to his side for today's trip across to Walsall with both Kyle Bennett and Mason Birch suspended following their red cards against Bromsgrove Sporting a couple of weeks ago. This prompted two changes to the side that had started against Diamonds, with Ben Bailey coming back into the side ahead of Ryan Nesbitt and Samir Nabi making his full debut as he replaced Bennett in the attacking midfield role. Nesbitt's omission saw the Pitmen revert to a four-man defence once more, with Leroy Lita playing as a lone striker as Bailey slotted into the back line, also taking the captaincy from Bennett in the process. New signing Zac Hartley had to be content with a place on the bench after his midweek switch from Bromsgrove

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Rushall had also won their previous game - a 5-0 win over Stratford Town last weekend that left Liam McDonald's men ninth in the Southern Premier League central going into today's cup tie. The former Hednesford boss elected to stick with the same XI that had started against Stratford as he looked for a third win on the bounce from his side, having also beaten Redditch United two weeks previously. This meant that former Hednesford trio Jaker Weaver, Tom Thorley and Andre Landell were all included in the Pics' XI for today's clash whilst ex-loanee Callum Coyle was amongst the substitutes

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It was a cool but beautifully sunny afternoon in the West Midlands, with the home side starting strongly as they looked to make a quick start to proceedings. In the second minute of the game, skipper Sam Mantom was allowed too much time and space to take the ball forwards, striking a shot from twenty yards out that was held by Tiernan Brooks

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Successive corner kicks in the fifth minute from Rushall tested the Pitmen's back line once more, with former Rushall man Keith Lowe making a timely clearance at his far post from the second kick to deny Will Shorrock a chance from close-range

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A sloppy piece of play from the Pitmen gifted their former striker Landell a chance at goal in the ninth minute; Chris Clements' pass to Harvey Portman was intercepted by Jourdain Masidi, whose pass into the feet of Landell saw the former Stourbridge man rattle the crossbar with a powerfully struck shot from just outside the penalty area

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Sixty seconds later, Landell did well to create space for himself as he cut inside from the left flank and aimed another shot at goal, only to see former team-mate Bailey in the way with a timely block

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A free-kick from Clements on twelve minutes saw floated to the far post, where Bailey made a late run into the six-yard box but saw his looping header bounce onto the top of the net

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On fourteen minutes, the lively Landell lifted another good chance high over the crossbar as neat build-up play involving Mantom and Thorley played the striker into space, only to lash his shot high over the woodwork

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A long punt forwards from Weaver on fifteen minutes saw Landell flick the ball on to Mantom, who returned the ball immediately to the striker on the edge of the penalty area. Yet again, however, Landell was off-target as he drove his shot over the crossbar and into the small band of Rushall supporters gathered behind Brooks's goal

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Sixty seconds later, Mantom was also wasteful from an excellent position as he was played in on goal by Masidi's neat chipped pass, only for the experienced midfielder to lift his shot over the crossbar when he really should have made Brooks work from fifteen yards out

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Weaver had to be absolutely sure on eighteen minutes, pushing a deflected free-kick from Clements around his post and out for a corner as the ball threatened to bounce past the stopper and into the far corner of the net

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Mantom forced Brooks into a superb save on twenty minutes as Kristian Green's low cross from the right found his skipper inside the penalty area, with Mantom turning past Bailey but being denied a certain goal by an excellent smothering save from the on-loan goalkeeper from close-range

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Rushall's early pressure finally told on twenty-one minutes as a move down the left opened up the Hednesford defence; the Pitmen struggled to clear their lines and allowed Mantom to find Reece Mitchell, who beat Lewis Ison for pace and pulled the ball back into the six-yard box from the byeline, where Landell was on hand to tap the ball home from close-range unchallenged

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The Pics continued to press for a quickfire second goal, with Mantom going close on twenty-five minutes as Mitchell's drifting cross from the left was glanced inches wide of the far post by the Rushall skipper as he beat Lowe to the ball

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Despite being a solid second-best so far, the Pitmen grabbed themselves an equaliser just before the half-hour mark as Nabi marked his full debut for the club with a goal. A corner kick from Parker on the left was not cleared by the Rushall defence, allowing Bailey to nod the ball back across goal and into the path of Nabi, whose swivel and volley from six yards out beat Weaver at his post and rolled over the line

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Brooks was certainly earning his money for the Pitmen, making another good save on thirty-two minutes as he claimed Shorrock's rising shot on his line after the former Bromsgrove man had tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area following a Mitchell corner kick

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The on-loan stopper made an even better save to keep his side in contention on thirty-five minutes, making a superb stop to his right to push Masidi's long-range effort away, with Shorrock a matter of inches away from applying the finish as he stretched to turn the rebound home

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The in-form Leroy Lita had struggled to get any change out of the Rushall defence thus far but forced Weaver into a good save three minutes later as Portman's strong run and chip found the veteran in space just inside the penalty area, with Lita taking the ball wide before being denied by Weaver at his near post

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The Pitmen were perhaps a touch fortunate to still be level in the game at half-time, having allowed Rushall time and space to build several good chances but seeing the hosts waste some good openings in front of goal throughout the first period. Burr's half-time chat with the players appeared to have zero effect, however, as the Pics came out charging and looked to have put the game out of Hednesford's reach within six minutes of the restart

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With the first attack of the second half, Rushall worked the ball down the right flank through Masidi and Green, with the right-back sending over a low cross into the path of Shorrock, whose first-time shot beat Brooks from five yards out and nestled in the corner of the net

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On fifty-one minutes, the tie looked all over as Rushall made it 3-1 with another quick and direct move forwards. Masidi found Whittall on the right, who was allowed to take the ball unchallenged into the Hednesford penalty area before laying it off to former Stafford Rangers man Alex Fletcher. His first-time shot from sixteen yards out was beyond the reach of diving Brooks as he found the far corner of the net with a well-placed finish. Some serious question marks on the Pitmen's positioning and marking in the build-up as both Whittall and Fletcher should not have been afforded so much time and space to crave out the chance

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Rushall had their tails up, moving the ball quickly through midfield and continuing to give the hesitant Hednesford defence issues. On fifty-five minutes, Mantom saw his shot blocked by Lowe after another flowing move down the right from Masidi had pulled the ball back to the midfield man twenty yards from goal

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Burr elected to make a bold attacking change as he looked for a response from his shell-shocked side, bringing Nesbitt on to play up front alongside Lita as he took Nabi off on fifty-seven minutes

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Within sixty seconds, the Pitmen pulled a goal back as a quick counter down the right saw Cuff make a strong run into space and play the ball into the path of the onrushing Nesbitt; his square ball across the face of the penalty area found Lita, who showed fantastic vision to dummy his shot and allow the ball to run to the incoming Livingstone. The Scotsman ran onto the ball and dispatched a first-time shot beyond the reach of Weaver and into the net from twelve yards out to reduce the deficit

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There was a lengthy break in play on sixty-one minutes as Whittall was floored by an accidental clash with Lita as the pair challenged for a high ball, leaving the Rushall man on the deck and requiring treatment for what appeared to be a shoulder injury

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The Pitmen got themselves back on level terms once more midway through the second half as Nesbitt vindicated Burr's decision to bring him on with a second goal in two games; another flowing move saw Cuff pick the ball up from Lita's lay-off and shoot from the edge of the penalty area, forcing Weaver into a fine parry to deny the winger a goal. The ball ran kindly to Nesbitt, who showed great composure to slide the ball beyond the reach of the former Hednesford loan stopper from an angle and make it 3-3

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Whittall could not shake off his earlier knock, however, and was forced off on sixty-six minutes as the former Walsall man was replaced by the giant influence of veteran centre-back Liam Daly

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Lita was denied a great chance of a one-on-one with Weaver a minute later as a Parker through ball found the forward in on goal, only for an offside flag against him from the assistant on the canal side of the pitch to deny him a strike at goal

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Weaver made an excellent stop to deny Cuff at his near post on seventy-two minutes, pushing the ball away to deny the winger after a long Ison ball forwards was pulled back into the path of the winger by the willing running of Nesbitt, with Cuff's left-footed drive from an acute angle parried away at his near post by the stopper

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Rushall had very much gone into their shell since the Pitmen's quickfire double, with Masidi having a rare chance at goal on seventy-three minutes as he lifted Mitchell's low cross high over the crossbar from twelve yards out with a wild effort

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Nesbitt was proving a tricky customer for the Pics' defence, making willing runs behind the home side's back line and chasing down lost causes in the corners as the Pitmen looked for an improbable winner late on. He did well on seventy-seven minutes to hold the ball up and bring Livingstone into the game once more down the left, only for the former Clyde man's cross to be hacked away by Daly at his near post for a corner kick

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Another good save from Weaver denied Cuff again from a similar position to the chance from earlier on eighty-one minutes, once again pushing the ball away at his near post to hand the Pitmen a corner after Lita's run and cross from the left had fallen to Cuff at the far post, with the winger picking up the loose ball before drilling in an angled shot that Weaver parried away once more. The hosts struggled to clear their lines and allowed Cuff a second bite of the cherry, only to drill Ison's recycled cross over the crossbar from twelve yards out

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Brooks made another fantastic stop to deny Rushall a winner on eighty-three minutes as build-up play down the left saw Mitchell and Fletcher combine to play Mantom in on goal, only for his curling shot from the corner of the box to be turned around the post by another smart save from Brooks

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From the resultant Thorley corner, the ball reached Green at the far post but the right-back could only head tamely wide of the far post as he beat Daly to the cross

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Coyle was given a late opportunity against one of his former clubs with four minutes remaining as the former Solihull Moors and Stafford Rangers attacker replaced Landell

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Incredibly, Hednesford completed their second-half turnaround with what was to prove to be the winner on eighty-eight minutes. Bailey's long, searching ball forwards found Ison making a darting run down the right flank, with the defender cutting inside and drifting in from the touchline, beating Mitchell in the process, before drilling a shot from an acute angle across the face of goal and seeing the ball strike the crossbar and post before nestling in the net. A brilliant opportunistic strike from the defender and worthy of winning any cup-tie

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The job was not done just yet, though, as the Pitmen had to endure six long minutes of added time that saw Rushall camped inside the Hednesford half for much of it. With two extra minutes already added, Daly headed Mantom's long punt forwards down into the path of substitute Alex Cameron, who laid the ball back into the path of the veteran defender - his dipping drive from fifteen yards out looked to be heading for the top corner until a sensational instinctive stop from Brooks tipped the ball over for another corner kick

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It had been a thoroughly entertaining ninety minutes, with both sides throwing caution to the wind at various points in the game to contribute to a thrilling cup tie. Rushall will be smarting at not finishing the Pitmen off at 3-1 up, but credit has to go to Burr and Neil Tooth for making the correct tactical call at this juncture to turn the game on its head. We await the Pitmen's opponents in Monday lunchtime's first-round draw before they return to league duty with a trip to tenth-placed Basford United on Tuesday night

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Rushall Olympic: Weaver, Green, Mitchell, Thorley, Brown, Whittall (Daly 66), Shorrock (Cameron 70), Fletcher, Landell (Coyle 86), Mantom ©, Masidi       Subs Unused: Forrester, Campbell

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Hednesford Town: Brooks, Ison, Portman, Bailey ©, Lowe, Clements, Cuff, Parker, Lita, Nabi (Nesbitt 57), Livingstone       Suns Unused: Riley, Hartley, Morley, Clayton

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