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Elliott Johnson

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L W L

 

Newtown (H) 27.7.23

Hednesford's home pre-season schedule gets off to a losing start this evening against a young Wolves side - although Steve King's side put in a hugely encouraging, controlled display against their Premier League opponents that saw them strike the woodwork on three separate occasions

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Last week's 4-0 win at Worcester Raiders had been Hednesford's first win of the pre-season programme, with King's side returning from a midweek warm weather training camp in Spain ready to tackle three successive home games ahead of the looming 2024-2025 season. King was without several of his first team for tonight's return to Keys Park as Simeon Maye, Manny Duku, Cory Roberts, Dan Sparkes, Dom McHale and Josh Endall were all missing from the matchday squad. With the squad a little thin in both the goalkeeping and defensive areas, the Pitmen took the opportunity to give two triallists a run-out, one in goal and one lining up at centre-back

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James Collins' Wolves U21 side arrived at Keys Park after several of the squad had spent time at a training camp in Bratislava last week. Collins included six players who had featured in the first-team during spells of the 2023-2024 season but was largely a young and inexperienced outfit

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It was a beautifully sunny and mild summer evening, adding to the current feel-good factor around Keys Park and convincing a staggering 1,721 people to attend tonight's friendly. Both sides made a ponderous start to proceedings as they looked to find their feet on the new turf at the ground, getting its first outing of the new season. New signing Zidan Sutherland offered the home supporters a glimpse at his quality in the third minute as he picked the ball up twenty yards from goal from Blaine Rowe but lifted his effort high and wide of goal with a rushed effort

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Skipper Elliott Johnson - an impressive capture from National League side Dagenham & Redbridge in the summer - made his mark on the Keys Park crowd in the fifth minute as a crunching tackle on Leo Lopes halted the young striker's progress into the Hednesford penalty area, earning warm applause from the crowd

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Hednesford's trialist goalkeeper - a well-known face in local non-league football - was called into action to make a fine stop on eight minutes as Josh Esen's free-kick from the right was clipped into the box, finding the head of the powerfully-built Lopes at the far post. His header at goal was parried away by the experienced stopper, with Johnson doing brilliantly to hack the ball off the line and away from danger before the rebound could be turned home

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Sixty seconds later, a deep corner kick into the box from debutant Sion Spence on the right was played into the six-yard box and glanced just past the far post by the incoming triallist B

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Wolves enjoyed plenty of the early possession, using their pace and quick-footedness to drag their lower league opponents around the pitch as they searched for space. South Korean forward Minkyu Ji tested the resolve of Rowe down the Wolves left on several occasions, looking to get the better of the young full-back with his trickery and cross for Lopes at every opportunity

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Striker Fletcher Holman was afforded a little too much time and space to make his way into the box down the right for Wolves on twelve minutes, drilling in a shot from a tight angle that the triallist goalkeeper pushed away at his near post

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For the Pitmen, Rob Stevenson's hard running and excellent work-rate gave the teenage centre-backs of Wolves a hard workout throughout proceedings, with the experienced forward battling his way past Caden Voice in the fifteenth minute and getting into the box after receiving a pass from Omar Holness, only for the ball to run away from him and into the arms of goalkeeper Arthur Nasta

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Jacob Gwilt - one of the few survivors of the close-season cull of last season's disappointing playing squad - picked up a loose ball twenty-five yards from goal on seventeen minutes but couldn't get the ball under control and allowed Wolves to clear their lines before he could get a shot away

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Good play from Ji midway through the first half saw him play a one-two with Fletcher Holman on the corner of the penalty area, with the South Korean reaching the byeline and pulling the ball back across goal, only for that man Johnson to sweep up once more and clear the ball away from the toes of Lopes

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The Pitmen's first meeting with the woodwork this evening came on the half-hour mark as a neat passage of play through midfield saw Holness spray the ball out to Joel Taylor on the left. The full-back - a summer signing from Chester - exchanged passes with Gwilt on the edge of the penalty area before Taylor looped a first-time effort at goal with a volley that beat Nasta but came back off the crossbar

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Both teams were largely cancelling each other out in what had proven to be a highly competitive first half that was just lacking in the final third at both ends; Stevenson was once again left frustrated on thirty-four minutes as Voice cleared the ball away from his feet after Jake Jervis had done well to get down the right and look to pick out the former Leek man in the middle

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A minute later, Rowe made a darting run forward for the Pitmen and took the ball into the box after being fed by Jervis, going down under a challenge from Alfie Pond that the referee took a long look at before gesturing to the former Coventry City player to get back to his feet

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Despite an impressive, controlled display from the hosts, they found themselves going in a goal down at the break as Wolves were handed a fortuitous penalty kick with the last action of the half; Lopes looked to get on the end of a cross from Ji in the box and went to ground very easily under a challenge from triallist B. Despite the home side's arguments, Esen stepped up from the spot to confidently fire beyond the reach of triallist A and hand Wolves the lead at the break

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Nevertheless, it had been an encouraging half from King's men, who had looked strong, very organised and a periodic threat going forward despite lacking the talents of first-picks Duku and McHale for tonight's game. Another one of their notable summer signings - Dan Trickett-Smith - was brought on for the second half as he replaced Gwilt in midfield. For the visitors, Alfie White and Dani Angel came on in place of Wesley Okoduwa and Holman respectively

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Trickett-Smith almost had an instant impact on the game as he went close for the Pitmen within three minutes of the restart. Voice was caught napping by the former Liverpool man as he tried to play his way out of defence, allowing Trickett-Smith to pick his pocket and take the ball into the penalty area, where his angled drive was saved by Nasta at his near post

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Angel was guilty of missing a gilt-edged chance to extend Wolves' lead on fifty minutes after Lopes and Ji doubled up on Rowe down the left with Lopes pulling the ball back across goal to the substitute, who made a complete hash of a simple tap-in and only succeeded in scuffing the ball straight at triallist A

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Lopes himself was involved two minutes later as he got in at the far post to turn a Ji cross into the net, only to be denied a goal by an earlier offside flag raised in the build-up

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The big, powerful Lopes had been impressive for Wolves as he put himself about up front for the visitors, attempting an overhead kick at goal on fifty-five minutes after Voice had headed a corner kick into his path, only to send his effort high over the crossbar

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Wolves made two further personnel changes on fifty-six minutes as Ji was replaced by Tom Edozie on the left flank and Italian midfielder Temple Ojinnaka came off in favour of Filozofe Mabete

 

These substitutions appeared to upset the Wolves' flow as Hednesford's experienced players started to take control of the play in the final half hour of the game, creating several good chances to equalise in the process. The quick-footed Sutherland - now playing on the right flank after a half-time switch with Jervis - made a slalom-like run into the box on sixty-one minutes before drilling his low shot straight at Nasta from sixteen yards out

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The Pitmen went incredibly close to grabbing a leveller three minutes later as Trickett-Smith's corner kick was played back to him by Holness, with the midfielder standing up a cross to the far post that was glanced goalwards by Johnson, only to see his effort cleared off the line by Mabete before Jervis could turn the loose ball home. the Pitmen recycled the ball well and found Trickett-Smith once more on the right flank, with his neat header setting up Holness on the edge of the box to fire in a shot that came back off the underside of the crossbar with Nasta well beaten

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Johnson's man-of-the-match display continued at the back as the experienced centre-back did brilliantly to track and dispossess Angel seventy minutes, making a superbly-timed challenge to take the ball away from the substitute and then calmly play his way out of defence with some fine footwork

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The Pitmen elected to make a double change with twenty minutes remaining as goalkeeper Ryan Brown returned to the fold as he replaced triallist A and recent signing Abdulrasaq Alamu-Tajudeen came on in place of Holness in central midfield

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It had been a frustrating night in front of goal for the hosts, who were denied by the woodwork for a third time on seventy-seven minutes; a quick break through the centre of the park saw the pacy Alamu-Tajudeen sprint into space and play the ball onto Stevenson, who tricked his way past Mabete before curling a shot beyond Nasta but seeing the ball come back off the far post. Agony for the Northern Premier League West's top scorer last season

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On eighty-two minutes, Taylor played a raking ball across the pitch from left to right to find Sutherland in acres of space - the former Redditch United forward got the better of Pond and took the ball into the box but saw his weakly-struck effort easily saved by Nasta

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The Pitmen continued to press in the closing comments, winning successive corner kicks as Trickett-Smith's fine delivery tested the resolve of the young Wolves defenders. One ball in on eighty-five minutes was met by the header of Jervis, who couldn't quite divert his effort at goal and the ball was hacked clear inside the six-yard box

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In the final minute of the game, more excellent play from Sutherland on the right saw him run past Pond once more and drill in a delightful cross into the six-yard box that was just begging to be turned home, only for both Stevenson and Jervis to just fail to make the connection at the far post as the ball span wide of goal

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In the first minute of added time, Sutherland did well once more to take the ball past Pond, drawing a foul from the defender just outside the box. Trickett-Smith stepped up from the resultant free-kick and curled his effort over the Wolves wall but also just over the crossbar as Nasta came across to cover

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It had been a fine evening's entertainment for the big crowd to witness, with the Pitmen demonstrating plenty of positive points over the ninety minutes to suggest they will be serious challengers for the Northern Premier League West title in the coming months with the array of talent at their disposal. They move onto perhaps more of a barometer of their progress on Saturday afternoon with Welsh Premier League side Newtown visiting Keys Park in the second of three home games this coming week, rounding off with Tuesday night's visit from a Wrexham XI

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Hednesford Town: Triallist A (Brown 70), Rowe, Triallist B, Johnson ©, Taylor, Spence, Gwilt (Trickett-Smith 45), Holness (Alamu-Tajudeen 70), Jervis, Stevenson, Sutherland,  Sub Unused: Barnes-Homer

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Wolves U21: Nasta, Okoduwa (White 45), Pond, Ojinnaka (Mabete 56), Voice (Igbinoghene 56), Whittingham, Ashworth, Esen, Lopes, Ji (Edozie 56), Holman (Angel 45)     Subs Unused: Hardy

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