The Pitmen's fast-improving form continues today with a disciplined display against an aggressive Widnes side that saw Harry Harris's side produce arguably their most rounded ninety minutes of the whole season

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Four points over Christmas had moved the Pitmen off the foot of the table and within two points of safety going into today's return to Keys Park. Harris made wholesale changes to his side with no fewer than four changes to the XI that had started the New Year's Day draw at Chasetown; Joe Thompson came in to replace the injured Tom Thorley in midfield whilst Callam Mendez-Jones was passed fit to start at centre-back ahead of Ritchie Sutton. Ryan Boothe was rewarded for his display at Chasetown with a start up front ahead of Will Mellors-Blair, with Joe Morley capping off the personnel changes as he came back into the side ahead of the injured Dan Gyasi. With regular skipper Thorley crocked for today's game, the armband was passed to recent signing Ahmed Ali in midfield

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Tenth-placed Widnes - 5-1 winners over the Pitmen back in August - made their first-ever trip to Keys Park off the back of a 2-1 reverse against play-off chasing Clitheroe on New Year's Day, with Whites manager Michael Ellison also making a large number of changes as Will Bell returned to the side ahead of Olly Wright, midfielder Brendan O'Brien was preferred to Arthur Lomax-Jones, Matt Van Wyk returned to the forward line instead of Will Jones, Ste Milne replaced James Steele and Kris Holt came in for Sean Miller

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Widnes had endured a rotten trip down to South Staffordshire due to delays on the M6, only arriving at Keys Park just before half past two and delaying the kick-off until 3.15 pm as a result whilst they were allowed to warm up

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In front of yet another superb crowd of just shy of 700, Hednesford were once again looking to Jai Verma for inspiration early on in the game. In the third minute, Jack Kelly's ball down the line had the winger scampering after it, outpacing Louis Isherwood but seeing his left-footed cross sail harmlessly out of play as he looked to pick out Boothe in the middle

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Morley was the first player to have a shot in anger for the Pitmen in the eighth minute of play as Ali's deep cross into the Widnes penalty area was cleared by Irwin as far as the youngster on the edge of the box, with Morley striking a bouncing half-volley at goal that was easily saved by Cameron Terry in the Widnes goal

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Kelly looked to get in on the attacking action for the hosts on eleven minutes as he ran onto James McQuilkin's ball before lifting his left-footed effort over the crossbar from twenty yards out

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Widnes looked to double up on the dangerous Verma at every opportunity, with O'Brien looking to support the overworked Isherwood down the right in a bid to stop the winger from creating openings for the hosts. The sprightly winger - up against multiple yellow shirts throughout the afternoon - earned his side a free-kick on fifteen minutes as he skipped past Isherwood before being brought down twenty yards from goal. From the resultant free kick, Kelly's ball into the penalty area had far too much air on it as he looked to pick out the giant Josh Endall and the danger was cleared by Bell

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Endall looked to get on the end of an inswinging McQuilkin corner kick on twenty minutes, rising highest at the far post but nodding the ball wide of Terry's far post with a weak effort

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Widnes had offered very little of the direct threat that they had shown in the reverse fixture so far, with Mendez-Jones and Endall doing well to quash the threat of the dangerous Van Wyk so far. It was Milne who had the visitors' first sight at goal midway through the first period, seizing on a loose clearance from Kelly on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area but drilling his low shot wide of Kieran Boucher's far post with a shot across goal

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This was to prove to be Widnes' best spell of the game overall as they pressed the home defence in search of an opener against the run of play; three corner kicks in a row on twenty-six minutes tested the Pitmen's new-found resilience at the back, with the Pitmen eventually clearing their lines after much struggle. The away side recycled the ball to Isherwood on the right wing, who cut the ball back to O'Brien on the edge of the box. His chipped cross to the far post was met by the incoming Milne, who got a run on Michael Williams but headed over the crossbar with a firm effort

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The Pitmen went agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock on the half-hour mark as Verma once again saw the woodwork deny him another superb goal; Kelly's deep, overhit cross was rescued by Morley on the right, who in turn supplied the ball to Ali - his pass found Verma unmarked in the edge of the penalty area, with Verma striking a right-footed shot that beat Terry but came back off the goalkeeper's right-hand post

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The pressure being exerted on the Widnes defence finally told two minutes later as Hednesford were awarded a penalty kick for the third time in the last four games. A through ball from Williams played McQuilkin into the box, with the veteran midfielder going down under pressure from O'Brien. Despite the contact looking minimal, Mr Constable had no doubt about the decision and awarded the Pitmen a spot kick. With Thorley not available to take the penalty, Ali stepped up in his absence and coolly fired past Terry to the goalkeeper's left to give the hosts the lead with his first Hednesford goal

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The away side's aggressive approach to the game continued despite falling behind, with one over-the-top challenge too many from O'Brien seeing him incur the wrath of the Keys Park crowd on thirty-three minutes as he crudely hacked Verma down on the Hednesford left, leaving the former Walsall Wood man in a heap and perhaps luckily only picking up a yellow card from referee Mr Constable when many were expecting a red card. Verma was subject to a lengthy spell of treatment from physio Adam Paget before he could get back to his feet and continue with the game. Bell was also booked for his part in the protests as the Pitmen were awarded a free-kick just inside the Widnes half

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Morley became the Pitmen's first booking of a feisty first period with ten minutes of the half remaining as he was shown a yellow card after a coming-together with full-back Matty Rain down the right

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The Pitmen's goal led something of a charmed life two minutes later as a goalmouth scramble somehow failed to conjure up an equaliser for Widnes. Rain's free-kick on the right was turned goalwards by O'Brien, with Boucher palming the ball away at the far post but back into play. The ball ran to Jack Byrne, whose follow-up shot hit the midriff of Mendez-Jones on the line and ran to Milne, whose shot back across the face of goal was eventually cleared by Williams as he beat Bell to the bouncing ball

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This was to prove a sliding doors moment in the game as the Pitmen doubled their lead with their next attack through Boothe; Ali and McQuilkin linked up well in midfield to feed the ball to Morley on the right, with the winger turning past Rain and crossing for Boothe, who stole a yard on Bell to turn the ball almost apologetically past Terry at the near post from close-range; as with Ali's goal, it was a first Hednesford strike for the striker since his recent move to Keys Park

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With a minute of the half remaining, Widnes should really have been reduced to ten men as another dreadful high and late challenge on Verma, this time from Holt, flattened the winger in full flight. With many expecting a red card on this occasion, Mr Constable continued to show an annoying conservatism to his game as he only booked the former Runcorn Linnets midfielder for the awful challenge

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The Pitmen took their deserved two-goal lead into the break, having controlled the pace of the game for long periods of the first half and looked a threat in the final third. Boothe had worked hard as the lone striker, ably supported by the two wide men and an impressive display in midfield from the trio of McQuilkin, Thompson and Ali

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With many inside Keys Park expecting Widnes to come out strongly in the early part of the second half, the men in yellow struggled to get a foothold in the game as the hosts continued to have more of the ball on the break. Verma - again double-marked out on the left - turned provider for Kelly as he played the overlapping full-back into space on fifty minutes, only for Kelly's low cross to be hacked away from Ali by the covering O'Brien

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With Widnes struggling to make any headway up front, Ellison elected to make a change up front on fifty-six minutes as Van Wyk was taken off and replaced by Steele - the man who had plundered four of the Whites' five goals against the Pitmen at the DCBL Stadium five months ago

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Terry had to be alert on his goal line on fifty-seven minutes as he claimed a McQuilkin corner kick underneath his crossbar to deny both Endall and Ali as the pair put pressure on the ex-Port Vale youngster

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On the hour mark, Williams followed Morley into the book for the Pitmen for petulantly kicking the ball away in front of the referee after Widnes were awarded a free-kick just in front of their bench. At the same time, Widnes made their second change in quick succession as the experienced Jones - a thorn in previous Hednesford sides for the likes of Marine and Witton Albion - came on up front in favour of Irwin

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A minute later, Mendez-Jones was in the right place at the right time for the Pitmen as he diverted Steele's effort back onto the shin of the substitute and out of play after Milne's cross from the left had been headed into the path of the striker by Isherwood

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At this juncture, the Pitmen looked to control the tempo of the game and slowed it right down by breaking up play at every opportunity, thus not allowing Widnes to build up a head of steam. McQuilkin - having an excellent game in midfield - played a delightful through ball into the path of Morley through the eye of a needle on sixty-five minutes, with Morley doing well to keep the ball in on the right-hand byeline but saw his low cross cleared at the near post

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Milne was the latest in a long line of Widnes players to receive a booking on sixty-eight minutes as he was booked by Mr Constable for a foul on Ali in midfield

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More Verma magic almost sealed the three points for the hosts on seventy-three minutes as he raced onto Ali's fine threaded ball down the left, turning past Isherwood with some superb skill before laying the ball off to Boothe. Bell did enough to deny the striker a shot at goal but could only play the ball back into the path of Verma, who attempted a cheeky chip at goal from a tight angle that just cleared the crossbar

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There was a half-hearted shout for a penalty kick from Widnes with fifteen minutes remaining as a cross from Milne struck Williams, but Mr Constable was unimpressed and continued with play

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The Pitmen were now looking to take advantage of the gaps appearing at the back as Widness looked to commit more men forwards, with Boothe breaking the flimsy offside trap on seventy-seven minutes as he raced onto Ali's pass down the left, only to get caught in two minds with his ball in and saw his weakly-hit ball towards McQuilkin cleared

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With eleven minutes remaining, Widnes made their final change of the afternoon as the experienced but already-yellow-carded Bell was taken off in favour of Lomax-Jones

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It was once again left to that man Verma to apply the gloss finish to a fine Hednesford home win as the winger capped another superb display with his third goal for the club on eighty-four minutes; Ali was the provider once more as he capped off a man of the match display by picking up Terry's weak clearance and playing Verma into space down the left. Verma took the ball into his stride, teasing his way past Isherwood before confidently firing beyond Terry and finding the far corner of the net with another great strike from twelve yards out. After celebrating with the overjoyed masses in the Heath Hayes terrace, Verma earned himself a slightly harsh yellow card from the inconsistent Mr Constable for his actions

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With the game now won, the Pitmen could afford to make changes with a Birmingham Senior Cup game against Romulus on the horizon next week as Thompson was replaced by Jacob Gwilt on eighty-six minutes as Callum Niven was given a late run-out by Harris as he came on for Verma with a minute remaining

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All in all, a fine display from the hosts and arguably their most complete of the whole season. as they controlled the game for most of its duration and took the opportunities that came their way with aplomb. That's now three home wins in a row  - with three goals scored in each one - and ten points from the last fifteen available for Hednesford, which doesn't quite lift them out of the drop zone but has pulled the teams directly above them within a handful of points. Indeed, the bottom of the Northern Premier League West is so tight that only six points cover today's opponents Widnes in twelfth down to the Pitmen in nineteenth position. Harris's men will look to continue this fine and encouraging vein of form next weekend when they make the short journey to the north of the county to face seventh-placed Kidsgrove Athletic

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Hednesford Town: Boucher, Williams ▆, Kelly, Thompson (Gwilt 86), Mendez-Jones, Endall, Verma ▆ (Niven 89), Ali ©, Boothe, Morley ▆, McQuilkin    Subs Unused: Sutton, May

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Widnes: Terry, Isherwood, Rain, Byrne, Bell ▆ (Lomax-Jones 80), Battersby, Irwin (Jones 60), O'Brien ▆, Van Wyk (Steele 56), Holt ▆, Milne▆         Subs Unused: Wright, Hassall

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