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Tom Thorley

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Boston United (H) 5.9.15

What a difference forty-eight hours makes eh! Fresh from a sound hammering at home to FC United of Manchester, Chris Brindley watched on in delight as his Hednesford side recorded their finest performance and result so far this term to beat struggling Worcester City at Aggborough on this Bank Holiday Monday

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Saturday's defeat and poor performance gave caretaker manager Brindley much to think about on his Sunday, with the Pitmen legend electing to make two changes to the side that had started against FC United. In came Tom James and Kyle Perry, with Brindley's two assistants Andy Todd and Marvin Robinson both stepping back onto the bench to support Brindley on the touchline. John Disney was deemed fit enough to take his place on the bench after recovering from a troublesome hamstring injury that had kept him out of much of the pre-season programme

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Worcester had similarly started the season to the Pitmen, recording only one win in their first six games before losing their last three games in the Vanarama National League North. Former Hednesford captain Darren Campion had left City towards the end of last week to link up with his former manager Rob Smith at AFC Telford, leaving the under-pressure management team of Carl Heeley and Matt Gardiner looking to plug gaps in their squad after failing to name a full compliment of substitutes in their weekend defeat to Brackley

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Ahmed Obeng made a flying start to the game for the Pitmen, as he continue to look for his first Hednesford goal; in the third minute, Ben Bailey's deep cross was turned goalwards by Obeng, with Daniel Lloyd-Weston making a superb stop in the Worcester goal. The rebound fell to Nathan Modest, who turned the ball home from close range, but he was denied his third Hednesford goal by an offside flag

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Both sides were clearly lacking confidence in the opening stages, with several misplaced passes and balls straight out of play a feature of the opening exchanges. On the Hednesford bench, Todd wasted no time in making his presence felt as he barked out instructions to the players in red and yellow and cajoled them into position

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Sean Geddes - the one player of real quality for Worcester - fired just over the crossbar with a rising shot from long range in the fifteenth minute

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The Pitmen took the lead midway through the first half, courtesy of the rarest of things - a goal from Tom Thorley. A long, rangy ball forwards from Ben Bailey caught out the Worcester defence, with former Worcester man Thorley nipping in ahead of Lloyd-Weston to head into the net from the edge of the penalty area

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Worcester forced a succession of corner kicks as they looked for an immediate response, but excellent defending from Bailey and Tyrone Williams kept the 'hosts' at bay

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Instead, it was the Pitmen who went close to extending their lead on twenty-seven minutes as Lloyd-Weston made a save low down to his right to deny Obeng after loanees Tyrone Williams and Kennedy Digie - both on their 'home' pitch - had seen shots blocked in the Worcester penalty area

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Kyle Perry once again wasted a good chance to silence the doubters and open his account for the Pitmen on the half-hour, firing high over the crossbar with a scuffed shot after a James cross from the left-hand side

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The big man went closer to breaking his duck two minutes later, trying a spectacular overhead kick that was turned away by the overworked Lloyd-Weston for a Hednesford corner

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Worcester were struggling to contain a confident, free-flowing Hednesford display, with Sean Williams and Thorley causing havoc with their quick, incisive passing to set Obeng and Nathan Modest away down the flanks. One such move on thirty-eight minutes produced the magic moment for Obeng, as Modest broke into the Worcester box from the left and slipped the ball into the feet of Obeng, who fired past Lloyd-Weston from close range

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The Pitmen continued to put pressure on Worcester early in the second half, as Curtis Tilt sent over a glorious cross that Thorley was inches away from turning home at the far post

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James was having arguably his best game for the Pitmen since his summer arrival, looking every inch the attacking full-back his reputation suggested at Tamworth. One such run on fifty-one minutes saw him cut inside from the left touchline and fire across goal with a driven shot that just missed the far post

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The Pitmen's dominant afternoon got even better on fifty-five minutes, as Sean Williams grabbed the pick of the goals with an early goal of the season contender. Coming inside from the left, Williams kept his composure to beat two Worcester players and curl a delightful shot beyond the reach of Lloyd-Weston and into the corner of the net via a deflection off the foot of the far post

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Worcester were offering little in terms of an attacking threat, despite having made a double change at half time in an attempt to get back into the game. Geddes was seeing plenty of the ball, but a lack of movement in front of him saw the Pitmen win the ball back regularly and supply more ammunition for Thorley and Sean Williams

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A fourth goal seemed inevitable, and it duly arrived on sixty-four minutes through the inspirational Bailey. James played a quick corner short to Thorley, with the midfielder's low cross to the near post catching Worcester out. Bailey reacted quickest to the ball, turning it past Lloyd-Weston at his near post for his first goal of the season

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The Pitmen could afford to give Jon Adams an extended run-out after he had recently overcome injury, with the experienced midfielder coming on in place of Digie on seventy-three minutes

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Worcester did claim a consolation goal to grab something from a miserable afternoon on eighty-one minutes, with Danny Jackman slipping Geddes in behind the Hednesford defence to slot past Parton from close-range

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The returning Disney was given his long-awaited first run-out in league action a minute later, coming on in place of the tiring Obeng

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Worcester had a further chance to add to their goal late on, as Nottingham Forest loan striker Nikolay Todorov headed a Geddes free-kick over the crossbar from a great position inside the six-yard box

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The Pitmen will be delighted with this reaction to their recent trials and tribulations, lifting them away from the danger zone and sealing a first win on their travels for the season. Brindley will most likely be in charge for one more game at the weekend, as Boston United visit Keys Park in another tough-looking league fixture for Hednesford

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Worcester City: Lloyd-Weston, Minihan (Gudger 74), Weir, Elvins, Sharpe, Nash (Rowe 45), Nti, Deeney, Todorov, Geddes, Gater (Jackman 45)      Subs Unused: Spencer, Morris

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Hednesford Town: Parton, T. Williams, James, Bailey ©, Tilt, Thorley, S. Williams, Modest (Ennis 89), Perry, Obeng (Disney 82), Digie (Adams 73)       Subs Unused: Robinson, Todd

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