Hednesford returned to winning ways this afternoon in Devon as they beat struggling Tiverton courtesy of a dream debut goal from newly-signed youngster Danny Quinn

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After defeat at Bedford Town the previous Saturday, manager Rob Smith made wholesale changes to his side as he looked to return to the form that had seen them go six league games unbeaten. Out went Sean Platt, Aaron Gibson and Jay Denny, with Darren Campion, Simon Brown and Jamey Osborne all coming in. Danny Carey-Bertram had been recalled by parent club AFC Telford United in the week, meaning a return to the side for Alfie Carter alongside Marvin Robinson

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Tiverton - a side traditionally amongst the play-off chasing teams in recent years at step three - had found the going tough so far this season and started proceedings down in nineteenth place in the table. Player/manager Chris Vinnicombe - the former Glasgow Rangers defender - made three changes to the side that had been beaten 5-3 by fellow strugglers Bedford Town a couple of weeks ago as Jordan Trott, Jak Martin and Tom Gardner replaced Kevin Hill, Jamie Densham and Vinnciombe himself in the Yellows starting line-up

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Determined to get back on track, the all-red Pitmen made a bright start in the opening quarter as they pushed Tiverton back in search of an early goal. Chris Clements had an early 'sighter' from a free-kick, as his swerving effort from twenty yards missed the near post by a foot or so

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Cheyenne Dunkley was next to test Tiverton's defence as he moved up for a corner kick on ten minutes, poking the ball towards goal after the ball had bobbled around in the penalty area but narrowly missing the target

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Clements tried his luck again on fourteen minutes with another free-kick, but again failed to find his range and fired wide of goal

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Carter and Robinson were a meaty threat up front, with the two powerhouses bullying the Tiverton defenders with their physical presence. One particular chance fell at the feet of Carter, who got on the end of Robinson's flick-on before firing straight into the arms of Tivvy keeper Ryan Draper

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Hosts Tiverton were presented with a gift of a chance on the half-hour mark; Ben Bailey made a hash of his clearance, only succeeding in scooping the ball into the path of Adam Mortimer. The Tiverton man headed for goal but was denied by a smothering save by Dan Crane, who had spotted the danger early on and raced out of goal to save at Mortimer's feet

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Osborne's trickery almost created an opening for Robinson on thirty-seven minutes, as his mazy run and square ball found the in-form striker eight yards out. It took a last-ditch block tackle from a Tiverton defender to deny the big man yet another goal in a Hednesford shirt

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Two minutes later, Robinson went even closer to grabbing the opener, as Simon Brown jinked his way to the byeline to cross for Hednesford's number nine to head towards goal. However, Draper was equal to the firm downward header, tipping the ball away for a corner kick down by his right-hand post

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The Pitmen's relentless pressure was finally rewarded in the final minute of the first half, as Osborne's cross found Brown twelve yards out. He controlled the ball well, before lashing a volley through a crowd of players and past Draper to score his second goal as a Hednesford player. The Tiverton players and management felt aggrieved at the award of the goal, as they claimed that Robinson was offside and blocking the view of Draper as Brown hit his shot

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Vinnicombe's team talk seemed to do the trick for the hosts, as they emerged the more focused after the break. Indeed, they went straight onto the offensive and earned themselves a penalty three minutes in. Campion's clumsy challenge on Ian Sampson was deemed illegal by the referee, who awarded the home side a penalty. Sampson brushed himself down to dispatch a confident penalty

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The Pitmen struggled to settle in the opening fifteen minutes of the second half, with Tiverton's equaliser upsetting their balance. Passes were misplaced and chances were at a premium for the away side. Clements and Osborne linked up in midfield on fifty-five minutes to set Brown away out on the right, with the nippy winger beating his man but wasting the cross by chipping it into the arms of Draper

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Gavin Hurren made a rare foray forward on the hour mark to get on the end of a flowing move down the left-hand side, but his long-range effort lacked direction and flew wide of the left-hand post

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Clements had a chance of his own to put the Pitmen back into the lead three minutes later, attempting a curling shot from twenty yards out that Draper saw over the crossbar

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Smith decided it was high time to make changes to his team on sixty-eight minutes, making a double substitution - Denny on for Bailey and Quinn on for Carter

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The Pitmen were reduced to ten men six minutes later as Robinson was shown a straight red card by the referee for hurling abuse at the assistant referee after he failed to give the Pitmen a free kick on the edge of the Tiverton penalty area

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Smith decided to stick with two strikers up front, believing the Pitmen could still claim all three points - Brown was moved inside to partner Quinn in the final stages as the away side sensed a winner

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Brown went close to scoring the Pitmen's second goal fifteen minutes from time, as he latched onto a Clements through ball before firing across Draper and narrowly wide of the far post

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The final ten minutes saw chances at both ends, with Sampson wasting Tiverton's best opportunity on eighty-four minutes - after being played into a good position, the Tivvy scorer fired high over the bar with a scuffed effort that really should have tested Crane

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Clements crafted a chance for Brown with five minutes remaining, but Draper again came to Tiverton's rescue with a fine save down low to his left

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Just as it looked as though the Pitmen were to settle for a draw, up popped new boy Quinn, whose goalscoring record in the Midland Alliance this season has been astonishing to date for Heather St. Johns. A final push from the Pitmen saw the ball crossed in from the left by Campion, with the ball only partially cleared by the Tivvy defence. The ball dropped to Quinn, who volleyed past Draper with a fantastic first-time effort to win the game for the Pitmen with his first goal for the club

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A superb late salvo from the away side who take the points back to Staffordshire and move up to fifth place in the league table. After two weeks of away games, Smith's improving side return to Keys Park to face mid-table Cirencester Town next Saturday keen to build on today's morale-boosting win

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Tiverton Town: Draper, Sampson, Trott, Jee, Martin, Gardner, Carpenter ▆ (Hill 89), Steele, Mortimer (Densham 74), Saunders (Walter 85), Ellis    Sub Unused: Vinnicombe

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Hednesford Town: Crane, Bailey (Denny 69), Campion, Dunkley, Francis, Hurren, Brown (Platt 90), Clements ▆, Robinson ▆ (74) Carter (Quinn 69), Osborne       Subs Unused: Overfield, Gibson

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