A memorable last seven days for the Pitmen culminates in a fine league win over top-of-the-table Widnes at the DCBL Stadium this afternoon - although Steve King's side had to work hard to hang on to the three points after a second-half fightback from the hosts

​

After the elation of Tuesday night's fine win over Vanarama National League side Gateshead in the F.A. Cup, King and his side returned to the bread and butter of the Northern Premier League West looking to put together a run of form to lift them up the table. Initially, King selected the same XI as the one that had started at the International Stadium in midweek but was forced into a vital change between the posts just before kick-off as Jack Rose pulled up in the warm-up and was replaced by Ryan Brown. Recent signing Ollie Harrison had to be content with a place amongst the substitutes after being cup-tied for the two Gateshead games last week

​

Widnes had gone six games unbeaten going into today's game, moving to the top of the league last weekend after beating Congleton Town 2-1. Manager Michael Ellison made four changes to his Vikings side for today's return to the DCBL Stadium with Jadel Musanhu, Kingsley Williams, Nathan Caine and Sharif Deans coming in ahead of Ben Rydel, Matty Rain, Andy Briggs and Steve Irwin

​

Roared on by another sizeable away following that dwarfed the home crowd, Hednesford made another blistering start to proceedings and went close to opening the scoring inside the very first minute as Jack Bearne picked the ball up just outside the Widnes penalty area and tied his luck with a low angled drive across goal that was well held by Widnes goalkeeper Mark Halstead, diving full-length to his left to make the save

​

Just sixty seconds later however, Halstead handed the Pitmen the chance to take the lead with a loose pass out from the edge of his own penalty area that went straight to Dom McHale twenty yards out - the stopper managed to recover and parry away his shot at goal but only into the path of Dan Trickett-Smith, who fired home from ten yards out with a half-volleyed finish

​

Stung into action, Widnes forced Brown into his first save of the afternoon two minutes later as a cross from Jack Walls on the right fell to Caine in the six-yard box, only for the ball to prove elusive for the former Stafford Rangers midfielder as he twice tried to turn the ball home but was to be denied by both the bounce and Brown eventually making the save

​

In much the same way as last season's fixture, Widnes were content to look for the running of their forward men at every opportunity, punting the ball up towards James Steele and Dominic McGiveron at every opportunity. On seven minutes, McGiveron did well to control the ball on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area and turn, but a superb block tackle from skipper Elliott Johnson put paid the striker's attempts to test Brown

​

More direct play from the hosts on eleven minutes saw Steele break free from Kory Roberts' attentions down the left and pulled the ball back into the path of Deans, whose lay-off towards Adam Bott had a touch too much on it and was just too far in front of the on-loan Chester midfielder at the far post

​

The Pitmen felt that referee Mr Buckle should have handed Williams a yellow card in the thirteenth minute after a crude challenge on Trickett-Smith inside the centre circle left the talented playmaker on the deck

​

Two minutes later, Widnes went within the width of the woodwork of getting themselves level once more as a cross from Bott on the right was laid off by Steele into the path of McGiveron, whose first-time effort from thirteen yards out came back off the outside of Brown's left-hand post

​

The Pitmen were controlling possession and tempo well, playing the ball around at the back with confidence before looking to break through the centre. Trickett-Smith's low drive at goal from twenty yards out on eighteen minutes was deflected behind for a corner kick. The same player took the resultant corner quickly, but his flighted effort was cleared at the near post by Walls

​

Another Trickett-Smith corner two minutes later looked to repeat the same move that created Rob Stevenson's goal in midweek with a low ball into the box that was played into the feet of McHale on the edge of the box, onyl this time McHale looked to play Trickett-Smith back in, which Widnes eventually dealt with at their near post

​

On twenty-four minutes, Widnes struggled to clear their lines again as Roberts stepped in to win the ball from Caine thirty yards from goal and played Bearne into space in front of him. The winger took a touch before unleashing a powerful low shot at goal that beat Halstead down to his left but skipped a foot or so wide of the post

​

Trickett-Smith's set pieces were causing Widnes all manner of issues, with another corner kick on twenty-seven minutes flicked on by Johnson at the near post towards Roberts, only for Musanhu to smuggle the ball clear of danger as the Hednesford defender homed in on him

​

A minute later, a deeper cross from the former Leek midfielder looked to pick out Stevenson at the far post, but Halstead was equal to this one as he claimed the inswinging ball from the left ahead of the striker

​

Roberts appeared to have picked up a blow to his face in this series of corner kicks and was instructed by Mr Buckle to go off and receive treatment for a bloody nose and change his shorts on the half-hour mark as per the FA rules on blood injuries

​

Widnes were again ruing their luck as another glorious chance to equalise was squandered on thirty-three minutes; McGiveron's corner kick from the right was met by a first-time shot from Steele, who somehow managed to side-foot his effort from just four yards out wide of goal when it looked easier to score. A real let-off for the visitors

​

Some excellent defending from the Pitmen on thirty-five minutes saw Johnson and Josh Endall both make timely blocks to deny Steele and Bott as the Widnes pair both tried their luck from the edge of the Hednesford penalty area

​

With seven minutes of a keenly contested first half remaining, Brown was called upon to make a good save to deny Deans after the striker had turned on a Walls pass and tried to curl his shot beyond the stopper from twenty-two yards out, forcing the young goalkeeper into a good save to push the ball away to his right-hand side

​

The Pitmen put clear daylight between themselves at Widnes with a well-deserved second goal just two minutes before the break; McHale - having another good game for the side - was the creator as he picked the ball up on the right from Trickett-Smith and beat Louis Isherwood with his trickery before pulling the ball back across goal to Trickett-Smith, who once again confidently fired into the net from twelve yards out with a side-footed effort past the despairing dive of Halstead

​

The final action of the first half saw Musanhu receive the game's first booking from Mr Buckle as he was penalised for hauling down Stevenson as the pair clashed thirty yards from the Widnes goal

​

King will have been pleased with his side's first-half display at the break, controlling the game well and taking their two clear-cut chances with aplomb through Trickett-Smith. Widnes had been largely nullified by the Hednesford defence and had limited the in-form hosts to only a handful of half-chances

​

The visitors put themselves into a seemingly unassailable lead with the first action of the second half as McHale capped a fine display with another wonderful individual goal; Stevenson knocked the ball down to the playmaker thirty yards from goal, with McHale going on one of his solo runs to dance past three Widnes challenges before firing beyond Halstead from twelve yards out. Outstanding from McHale, similar in execution to the fine individual goal he scored against Quorn last month

​​

In response to going three goals down, Widnes looked to change things up tactically on fifty minutes as youngster Bott was replaced by the versatile Rydel

​

A minute later, the Pitmen were forced into making their first change of the afternoon in midfield as the combative Maye picked up a knock inside his own half and limped off, being replaced by Omar Holness at the base of midfield

​

Deans earned ironic cheers from the travelling contingent on fifty-three minutes as he looked to shoot from twenty yards out but got his laces underneath the ball and shot high and wide of Brown's goal

​

Good work from Stevenson on fifty-five minutes saw him force an error out of Williams and win the ball back thirty yards from goal, playing Joel Taylor into acres of space down the left flank. After taking a touch, the left-back sent over a cross that had a touch too much on it as it sailed past the incoming McHale at the far post

​

Bearne stung the palms of Halstead on fifty-eight minutes as more tireless work from Stevenson saw him win the ball on the left wing and play it back to Bearne, who cut inside with a driving run into the box before striking a shot at goal that Halstead parried away at his near post

​

Despite the Pitmen looking like they were in cruise control, Widnes got themselves back into the game on sixty-three minutes with a goal from nowhere. A perfectly timed run from McGiveron saw him latch onto a pass from Rydel, taking a touch before finishing with a well-placed shot beyond the reach of Brown from seventeen yards out. Despite the Pitmen protesting profusely about a potential offside against McGiveron, Mr Buckle and his assistant ruled that the goal stood

​

Incredibly, with their very next attack, Widnes reduced the deficit to one as Walls headed the ball back inside to Deans, who took full advantage of some less-than-convincing defending from Endall as the centre-back failed to clear his lines and allowed the striker to control the ball and striker a low shot beyond the reach of Brown from eighteen yards out and find the far corner of the net. Game on

​​

Off the back of conceding these two quickfire goals, King made the immediate decision to make a defensive change as Endall was hauled off after his part in the second Widnes goal and replaced by Harrison, who made his Hednesford debut in the centre of defence alongside Johnson. This also saw a change in formation with Roberts moving to right-centre-back and Holness to right wing-back as the Pitmen went to three centre-halves

​

With the games having come thick and fast in recent weeks, there had been a sudden, noticeable drop in some Hednesford players' fitness levels as the second half was progressing, with several players struggling to cover the ground as they had done in the first hour. Widnes continued to pump the ball long to Steele and McGiveron, although some excellent defending from Johnson on sixty-eight minutes saw him dispossess the lanky Deans inside his own penalty area and clear the ball from the striker's clutches

​

With twenty minutes remaining and Widnes still pushing for an equaliser, Ellison made his second change of game as striker Briggs - a recent signing from Bury - came on in place of Steele

​

More pressure from Widnes saw them win back-to-back corner kicks on seventy-five minutes, with Roberts heading one clear at the far post and Brown claiming an awkward deep corner from the left from Caine ahead of Musahnu and Williams as the hosts pressed

​​

Two quickfire substitutions inside two minutes for the home side saw young forward Josh High come on for Caine on seventy-seven minutes, followed soon after by attacking midfielder Joe Adams coming on for his Widnes debut ahead of Williams after his midweek switch from Atherton Collieries

​

The raft of changes for Widnes seemed to affect their formation and tactical approach, as the Pitmen started to reaffirm their authority on the game in the closing stages as the hosts started to run out of ideas. More excellent Johnson defending on eighty minutes saw him step across not just one, but two, Widnes players and make a block tackle that took the ball away from both men in white before he could clear upfield to Stevenson

​

​McHale was one of the players showing visible signs of fatigue and given a well-earned rest on eighty-two minutes as utility man Jacob Gwilt replaced him to add energy to the centre of the park

​

Johnson and Harrison both stood firm to a Widnes free-kick from the left on eighty-four minutes, with Harrison initially clearing the ball away before another ball into the penalty area was hacked clear by the Pitmen's skipper

​

Bearne was also visibly struggling to cover the ground and was also replaced by King a minute later as Manny Duku was given a late run-out on the left flank

​

With a minute of normal time remaining, Stevenson was finally given a well-deserved rest after another tireless performance up front for the away side as Zidan Sutherland. For Widnes, right-back Walls was also taken off at the same time and replaced by striker Ethan Danku. Sutherland was to pick up a late, late yellow card in the last of four added minutes for a foul on Adams as the Widnes man looked to play the ball forward

​​

It had been a pleasing three points earned by the visitors, who had shown determination, grit and character to see off the late challenge of the hosts to hang on to a vital three points that moved them up to thirteenth in the table. It's now seven games unbeaten in all competitions for King's side, who now face a home double header against the two sides at the foot of the table - Hanley Town on Tuesday night and Atherton Collieries next Saturday - and will be confident at picking up more points as they continue their excellent recent form and move further towards the top of the NPLW table

​

Widnes: Halstead, Walls (Danku 89), Isherwood, Battersby, Musanhu ▆, Williams © (Adams 79), Caine (High 77), Bott (Rydel 50), Steele (Briggs 70), McGiveron, Deans     Subs Unused: None

​

Hednesford Town: Brown, Roberts, Taylor, Maye (Holness 51), Endall (Harrison 65), Johnson ©, Trickett-Smith, Spence, Stevenson (Sutherland 89), McHale (Gwilt 82), Bearne (Duku 85)    Sub Unused: None

​​​