The Pitmen completed back-to-back wins for only the second time this season this afternoon as they edged out fellow mid-table dwellers Tiverton Town with a late attacking salvo to take all three points at Keys Park

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Tuesday night's fine win over a toothless Grantham Town had lifted the Pitmen into the top ten of the Southern Premier League table for the first time this season. Manager Barry Powell had been enthused by his team's performance against the Gingerbreads and named an unchanged side for the visit of Tiverton, handing new signings Danny McGhee and Chris Gray another chance to impress after encouraging debuts from the pair in midweek

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Tiverton arrived at Keys Park sitting two places below the Pitmen in the league table at the start of play in eleventh place in the table, with Martin Rogers' side in mixed form over the past month or so. Tuesday night had seen the Yellows held to a 1-1 draw against Dorchester Town and Ladysmead, maintaining a recent record of only one win in their previous five games. Rogers also named an unchanged side from the one that had started against the Magpies as he looked for a response from a side that had finished fourth in last season's league table but had struggled to replicate last season's form so far

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On a bright but bracing afternoon, the Pitmen picked up where they left off on Tuesday night with a series of corner kicks in the first ten minutes; Les Hines provided his usual level of quality from the corners but failed to find any men in white in the penalty area as Tiverton did well to clear their lines

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In the eighth minute, a low driven effort from Steve Palmer had Tiverton keeper Stuart Fraser scrambling across his goal to watch the Hednesford skipper's effort just wide of his right-hand post

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Steve Anthrobus was having a combative encounter against Tiverton defender Nathan Rudge and got the better of the centre-back in the fifteenth minute by toe-punting a Chris Gray cross straight into the hands of Fraser from twelve yards out

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Tiverton responded with a quick break down the right wing on the eighteenth minute as quick throw from Rob Cousins was played down the line by Jamie Mudge and into the path of Steve Winter, whose low cross was cut out by Ryan Young before Kevin Nancekivell could get his boot to the cross

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Three minutes later, Tiverton were guilty of dallying on the ball for too long in defence as Jason Rees cheaply gave away possession to Mark Danks just outside the penalty area. Cousins was alert to the danger and managed to get a toe to the ball to divert it away from goal before Danks could get his shot in

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The Pitmen's bright start to the game was rewarded with a fine opening goal on twenty-five minutes as McGhee grabbed his first goal since joining the club last week from Rushall Olympic; Carl Palmer made a run down the right wing and pulled the ball back into the path of McGhee, who approached the Tiverton penalty area unopposed to give him time and space to lift a delightful effort over the head of Fraser and the retreating Tiverton defenders and find the net

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A nasty coming-together in midfield saw Carl Palmer and Rudge clash heads as they challenged for a high ball. Palmer received a bout of treatment from Don Drakeley and shrugged it off, but Rudge required lengthy treatment to a bad cut on the bridge of his nose and had to spend a few minutes off the pitch being patched up before returning five minutes later

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Tiverton continued to threaten from set-pieces, with Young confidently punching away a Chris Holloway cross on thirty-four minutes as he was put under pressure from Mudge

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Danks went close to doubling the Pitmen's advantage on forty minutes, firing just wide of Fraser's left-hand post after Les Hines had sent over a fine cross to the striker, who was lurking inside the Tiverton penalty area

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In the final minute of the first-half, Fraser made a good save from Carl Palmer to keep his side in contention at the break, turning the midfielder's low shot from twenty yards out around his right-hand post

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Rogers will have been disappointed that his side went in at half-time behind, whilst the Pitmen will have been satisfied at a job well done after a disciplined first-half display. However, Tiverton came back into the contest in the early stages of the second half as Winter drive a warning shot narrowly wide of Young's upright on fifty-seven minutes, followed three minutes later by a run from Mudge that saw him cut inside from the right wing and fire a shot in that Young held at his near post

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Gray had been quieter in his impact than on Tuesday night but was still threat down the left wing with his trickery, forcing his way past Winter on fifty-three minutes and sending over a fine low cross towards Anthrobus that Fraser did well to claim at the feet of the striker

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Brindley headed just wide of the far post two minutes later from a Hines free-kick after Paul Chenoweth had needlessly fouled Carl Palmer on the edge of the penalty area and kicked the ball away petulantly, earning him a yellow card

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Tiverton got themselves back into the game in the fifty-eighth minute with a great strike from Richard Pears, who picked the ball up on the corner of the Hednesford penalty area from Mudge's pass and clipped the ball over the head of Young and found the far corner of the net to equalise

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The men in yellow sensed a quick-fire double, pushing the Pitmen back as they had their best spell of the game in the next ten minutes. Pears sliced a good effort wide of goal with a long-range effort from twenty-five yards out, followed four minutes later by a cross from the midfielder from the right that was headed just wide of the angle of post and bar by Graham Power

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Nancekivell had a goal disallowed for an earlier offside flag against him on sixty-three minutes, before Danks was denied by Chenoweth two minutes later as the defender blocked the young striker's goal-bound shot from fifteen yards out

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Anthrobus's game ended on sixty-seven minutes as he was hauled off after another limited performance from the target man, offering little in the way of an attacking threat, replaced by Nathan Lamey

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The hosts took the lead once more with twenty minutes remaining with a scrappy goal that was created down the right by McGhee, whose run and cross was turned goalwards by Gray and eventually turned home from a yard out by Danks after the ball had deflected off a couple of players en route to goal

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Tiverton were still in the game and went close to pulling level once more on seventy-seven minutes as substitute Paul Milsom's lay-off was struck goalwards by Pears, only for Young to get his body behind the shot and save

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A series of corner kicks from the Yellows added extra pressure on the Hednesford defence, with Brindley and Stuart Ryder using all of their years of experience to Marshall their troops through a dicy few minutes as Tiverton pressed. McGhee's excellent game was brought to an end with nine minutes remaining, as he was afforded a warm reception from the appreciative Hednesford crowd after being replaced by Anthony Maguire

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Milsom prodded a deep free-kick from Rees just wide of the far post on eighty-five minutes before Young kept his side in front two minutes later with a fine one-handed save to push a Pears flick-on wide of goal after Milsom had headed the ball down into his path

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With Tiverton committing more and more men forwards, they left more space in behind their defence, something the Pitmen managed to exploit in the final minute of the game. Lamey's pace saw him find acres of room in behind the Tiverton defence after Steve Palmer's long punt forward, with the substitute steadying himself before passing the ball into the path of fellow sub Maguire, who fired past an exposed Fraser at the far post to settle the game int he home side's favour

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Tiverton will feel slightly aggrieved at the result after a good, battling performance, but had suffered from something the Pitmen had been suffering from for much of this season - plenty of the ball, plenty of chances, but unable to take enough of the chances presented to them to claim at leats a point. For the Pitmen, it was back-to-back wins in the league this week at Keys Park, lifting them up into the heady heights of seventh place in the table and looking forward to taking a break from league action as they face Shepshed Dynamo in the F.A.Trophy next weekend 

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Hednesford Town: Young, Simkin, Hines, McGhee (Maguire 81), Brindley, Ryder, C. Palmer, S. Palmer ©, Anthrobus (Lamey 67), Danks, Gray      Subs Unused: Brown, Dodd, P. Evans

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Tiverton Town: Fraser, Winter (Steele 59), Power, Rees, Rudge (Haines 83), Cousins, Nancekivell (Milsom 57), Holloway ▆, Pears, Chenoweth ▆, Mudge       Subs Unused: Goff, Ovens

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