Hednesford’s wretched away form continues this afternoon as a goal in each half from  hosts St. Ives Town ease the home side to three points over their hapless visitors at Westwood Road

 

The Pitmen - still searching for their first away win of the season as we head towards December - had seen Joe Cuff depart in midweek by mutual consent after his sending off late on in Tuesday night’s defeat at Stourbridge. Manager Steve Burr had brought in more attacking threat in the form of Tom Hewlett, after the 21-year-old striker had rejoined the Pitmen on a month’s loan from Burton Albion. Hewlett was one of two changes to the side that had started at the Amblecote as he replaced Levi Andoh and James McQuilkin made his first-ever start for the club after three spells at the club - stretching all the way back to the 2014-2015 season - as he came in for the out-of-form Harvey Portman

 

St. Ives had been held 1-1 by Needham Market in their midweek encounter, leaving the hosts in fifteenth place going into today’s game. Long-serving manager Ricky Marheineke made two changes of his own this afternoon as new signings Patrick Casey and Myles Cowling replaced Ed Hottor and Johnny Herd respectively

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It was a cautious start to proceedings from both sides this chilly Saturday afternoon, on the excellent 3G pitch at Westwood Road. The lively Kieran Higgs got past the challenge of skipper Lewis Ison in the third minute as he skipped away down the left wing, crossing deep into the penalty area where Tiernan Brooks made the save ahead of the incoming Dylan Williams

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More good play from Higgs three minutes later saw him drift inside from the left flank, taking Ison with him as he came across the edge of the Hednesford penalty area before striking a cross-cum-shot that drifted well wide of the target from eighteen yards out

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Higgs did eventually find a team-mate with a cross in the tenth minute as he beat Ison for pace once more and pulled the ball back into the path of Jonny Edwards on the eighteen yards line, only for the former Peterborough United midfielder to lift his right-footed effort high over the crossbar

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The away side had looked edgy and lacking in confidence in the opening exchanges, with Burr's men struggling to get the ball out of their own half in then first fifteen minutes of the game. Adam Livingstone made a rare foray into the St. Ives half in the twelfth minute as he made a forceful run down the left wing and crossed low into the penalty area, only for Jordan Williams to hack the ball clear before Leroy Lita could react to the ball

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Lita was caught offside two minutes later as he made an early move to get on the end of a through ball from Todd Parker, lashing the ball wide in frustration as the assistant's flag on the far side was raised against him

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The first meaningful shot of the afternoon fell to Edwards in the eighteenth minute as the Pitmen once again shot themselves in the foot with some sloppy play out of defence; Luke Rowe was the guilty party, giving the ball away cheaply to Michael Richens who in turn fed the ball into the path of Edwards, whose shot from eighteen yards out took a slight nick off Keith Lowe and ended up in the grateful hands of Brooks

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Rowe - struggling for form in midfield for the Pitmen in recent games - was the first player to be shown a yellow card by referee Mr Mingay on twenty minutes as he upended the livewire Higgs to stop the winger from breaking down the left once more. Skipper Richens took the resultant free-kick but was far too ambitious with his long-range effort and skied his shot over the crossbar

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Two corners in a row from the hosts ramped up the pressure on the Hednesford defence, as you felt that a goal was coming from St. Ives. Edwards did well to recycle the second corner on twenty-three minutes, crossing deep to the far post, where ex-Kettering man Richens headed wide of the target as he was put under pressure by young Stoke City loanee Luke Redfern

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The inevitable opening goal finally came four minutes later after another spell of St. Ives pressure; a long throw from Callum Milne was flocked on by Cowling at the near post before being partially cleared by the men in sky blue only for Higgs to seize upon the bouncing ball fifteen yards from goal, showing excellent close control to take the ball past Parker and Rowe before firing past Brooks and into the far corner of the net from twelve yards out

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St. Ives almost found themselves two goals to the good on the half-hour mark as yet another costly error from the Pitmen, this time from veteran Lowe, handed the home side's top scorer a chance as the defender's untimely slip allowed Edwards in on goal down the left-hand side of the box. The midfield man only had Brooks to beat but elected to delay his shot at the crucial moment and allow Brooks and Lowe to block the resultant shot between them and smuggle the ball away from danger

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Still, the Pitmen struggled to make an impact in the final third of the pitch, with the front three of Stanley Obinna Anaebonam, Hewlett and Lita isolated by a midfield unable to keep hold of the ball and create openings for their front men. Livingstone's free-kick on thirty-four minutes was flicked up into the air by Lowe at the near post but easily claimed by St. Ives goalkeeper James Goff under absolutely no pressure. One of the most depressing 'trademarks' of the Pitmen's terrible season so far has been the complete lack of quality at set pieces from the various players taking them, particularly corners and free-kicks

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The visitors finally managed to carve out an opening on thirty-eight minutes as McQuilkin fed the ball to Ison out on the right flank, with the former Bristol Rovers defender finding the head of Lita at the far post with an outswinging ball. The veteran flicked the ball onto Obinna Anaebonam, whose left-footed effort failed to test Goff at his far post as he tamely fired wide from an angle

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A driving run from Obinna Anaebonam on forty minutes saw the Norwegian pick up Redfern's pass on the halfway line and make a marauding run into the St. Ives penalty area as he beat both Casey and Charlie Johnson for pace. However, the winger got his laces underneath the ball and lifted his shot from the edge of the penalty area just over Goff's crossbar via a slight deflection off Johnson

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The hosts almost grabbed their second goal of the afternoon right on the stroke of half-time as an inswinging corner from the impressive Higgs was met by the head of Milne at the near post, only for his glancing effort to be cleared off the line by the alert Rowe

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It had been another forty-five minutes that had summed up the Pitmen's season and their current predicament - error-strewn at the back and lacking in punch in any attacking role, with the midfield three once again looking far too lightweight and lacking in authority against a home side that had dominated proceedings. Burr made a half-time change as the ineffective Hewlett was replaced by Kyle Bennett in attaching midfield, tweaking the formation in the process as he looked for a response from his side.

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This change of formation seemed to have the desired effect for the away side as they started the second half with more of the ball and the momentum behind them for long spells of the second half. On forty-eight minutes, the free-running Livingstone skipped past Tyrone Baker down the Hednesford left and drilled in a cross to the near post that Johnson had to slide in and clear ahead of Lita to prevent the former Reading man from having a tap-in

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Three minutes later, Parker's quickly-taken free-kick sent Ison away down the right flank - the defender stole a yard on Casey and crossed low into the near post, forcing Goff into a smothering save at the feet of Bennett as the substitute threatened

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At the other end, St. Ives were content to play their visitors on the counter-attack, fully in the knowledge of Hednesford's regular proclivity for handing chances to the opposition. Higgs and Edwards combined well on fifty-five minutes to send Dylan Williams into space to the right-hand side of the penalty area. After holding off Lowe's challenge, the striker's intended lay-off to Cowling was a little too short and was hacked clear by covering McQuilkin 

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On the hour mark, the Pitmen had their best chance of the game so far to get themselves back on level terms as a huge goal kick from Brooks was flicked on by the head of Lita before falling to Bennett on the edge of the penalty area. The midfielder produced a deft touch to lift the ball over the head of Johnson and find Onbinna Anaebonam, whose own lob over Goff saw him just clear the crossbar from the corner of the six-yard box

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Obinna Anaebonam was proving to be a threat for the Pitmen in the second half with his pace, looking to make runs off Bennett and Lita to get on the end of clever passes from the pair. On sixty-two minutes, Goff had to be alert to sprint off his line and clear the ball away with his feet to deny the winger after he had beaten the St. Ives offside trap to run onto Parker's perfectly-timed pass

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The hosts made their first change of the afternoon before play could restart as former Tamworth, Kettering Town and AFC Rushden & Diamonds striker Nabil Shariff replaced Baker up front

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The over-worked Goff made another timely intervention midway through the second half to deny Bennett, pushing an ambitious shot away from goal from the midfielder after Bennett's daisy-cutter from ninety-five yards out bounced in front of the stopper. On closer inspection, it was most likely going wide regardless

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On sixty-eight minutes, Rowe picked the ball up from deep and made an unchallenged run fully thirty yards into the St. Ives half before playing the ball into the feet of Bennett, whose long-range effort had Goff scrambling across his goal to see the ball dip just wide of his left-hand post

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Livingstone and Bennett linked up down the left for the Pitmen two minutes later to play the ball back to Parker, standing on the edge of the St. Ives penalty area. The former Wolves youngster tricked his way past Richens and curled in a shot from twenty tards out that Goff claimed with ease

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On seventy-three minutes, Obinna Anaebonam was played through on goal by Lita's quick turn and pass, but another offside flag was raised against the in-form forward and he was denied a run at Goff

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With the Pitmen chasing an equaliser, the gaps started to show at the back once more and St. Ives exploited this by doubling their advantage on seventy-six minutes courtesy of more absolutely dreadful defending. Parker lost the ball to Richens in midfield and then gave up the ball as he allowed the experienced midfielder to surge into the Hednesford half. Richens laid the ball off to Dylan Williams, who nutmegged the hapless Rowe twenty-five yards from goal before playing Shariff through with a neat outside-of-the-boot pass. The substitute did not need a second invitation as he slid the ball past the onrushing Brooks from twelve yards out with a first-time shot

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Bennett followed Rowe into Mr Mingay's book a minute later for a petulant foul on Richens in midfield which was the Hednesford substitute's fourth yellow card of the season so far

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With eleven minutes of the game remaining, the hosts made their second change of the game as former Hednesford winger Enoch Andoh came on in place of Edwards

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The Pitmen continued to press, however, despite this looking likely to be yet another reverse for the visitors, with Obinna Anaebonam going close to narrowing the deficit back to one on eighty-two minutes as McQuilkin's neat pass down the left flank sent the winger away beyond the St. Ives defence. After taking a couple of touches and creating some space for himself, Obinna Anaebonam tried his luck from a tight angle, despite the presence of Jordan Williams, and curled his shot inches wide of the far post via a touch from Goff

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With the game starting to drift to a conclusion and both sides seemingly content to see out proceedings, the Pitmen were denied a route back into the game on eighty-four minutes as Parker's corner kick was played back to him, with the midfielder's return cross headed back at goal by Bennett, only to be denied by a goal-line clearance off the head of Milne

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Andoh went close to grabbing a goal against his former side two minutes later as Casey played the diminutive winger into the Hednesford penalty area down the left-hand side, with the Ghanian turning past McQuilkin's half-hearted challenge and driving in a shot from an angle that Brooks saved at his near post. Perhaps if Andoh had looked up he may have seen both Shariff and Dylan Williams screaming for the ball inside the six-yard box for a tap-in

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Ison picked up the game's final booking of the afternoon in the final minute of the game as he hauled down Andoh in full flight to stop the substitute from taking the ball into space down the left flank

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In the first minute of added time, another slalom-like run from Andoh saw the former Porto winger beat both Ison and McQuilkin before laying the ball off to Cowling, who elected to pass to Shariff rather than shoot just inside the penalty area. The substitute hit a low shot that beat Brooks but was cleared off the line by Parker, who had got back to cover behind his goalkeeper

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A fifth defeat in succession leaves the Pitmen a full eleven points from safety, with the games being ticked off quickly and absolutely no suggestion that this squad has it in them to find the form required to escape what feels like the inevitable drop. The Pitmen finally return to the RACE Stadium after a month's absence next Saturday as they play host to Stratford Town, who sit in nineteenth place in the table

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St. Ives Town: Goff, Milne, Casey, Richens ©, J. Williams, Johnson, Higgs, Cowling, Edwards (Andoh 79), D. Williams, Baker (Shariff 62)       Sibs Unused: Lembikisa, Kaziboni

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Hednesford Town: Brooks, Ison © ▆, McQuilkin, Rowe ▆, Lowe, Redfern, Obinna Anaebonam, Parker, Lita, Hewlett (Bennett 45 ▆), Livingstone       Subs Unused: Portman, Akinwe, Hartley, Clayton

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