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Omar Holness

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W W W W

 

Kidsgrove Athletic (H) 20.8.24

Hednesford progress into Monday's draw for the first qualifying round of this season's F.A. Cup - but left it late against a stoic and aggressive Worcester Raiders side that frustrated Steve King's dominant side for large spells of the game before doing so

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With three wins from their first three games, there was understandable confidence around Keys Park coming into today's tie against lower-league opposition. With the games coming thick and fast in the next ten days, King elected to make wholesale changes to his side from the one that had started the 2-0 win at Nantwich Town on Tuesday night as Ryan Brown, Dan Sparkes, Abdulrasaq Alamu-Tajudeen, Rob Stevenson, Dom McHale and Zidan Sutherland all came into the side ahead of Jack Rose, Joel Taylor, Manny Duku, Jake Jervis, Sion Spence and Jack Bearne

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Hellenic Premier League Raiders had forfeited home advantage for today's tie due to the unavailability of their rented Sixways Stadium, handing Jordan Lewis's an even tricker tie than the original draw after they had beaten local rivals Stourport Swifts in the previous round. Lewis made one change to his side from the one that had beaten Tuffley Rovers 2-0 in midweek as Daniel Noke came in for Harry Lewis

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In front of another fine Keys Park crowd of just shy of 800, the Pitmen looked to make their statement quick start to the game; McHale was straight into the action down the right as he made a barnstorming run into the box before laying the ball off to Sutherland on the penalty spot. Before the young striker could get his shot away, he appeared to be barged over by Raiders right-back Jake Ferron and tumbled to the ground. Despite strong pleas from both Hednesford players and supporters, young referee Mr Soulsby waved the protests away and play continued. In the melee that followed, Stevenson and Dan Trickett-Smith both saw shots blocked before Worcester managed to clear their lines

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The Pitmen's bright start to the game looked to have paid dividends in the fifth minute as Stevenson raced onto a long through ball from Kory Roberts down the right, getting in behind the Raiders defence before being flattened by a mistimed challenge from visiting goalkeeper Charlie Emery as the stopper raced out of his penalty area. Despite most people in the ground fully expecting a slam-dunk red card for the goalkeeper, Mr Soulsby only produced a yellow card for the incident, something that even some of the Worcester Raiders players could scarcely believe

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The hosts continued to pile the pressure on in search of that early goal, with Stevenson doing well in the seventh minute to hold the ball up with his back to goal and bring Trickett-Smith into play with a lay-off; the midfielder's pass into the feet of Sutherland saw the former Dover Athletic man manoeuvre the ball onto his favoured right foot before seeing his goalbound effort blocked by Ferron

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The lively Alaum-Tajudeen did well to make a run beyond Sparkes down the left a minute later, dancing past Ferron before seeing his low cross into the penalty area turned behind by Kurtis Wood for a corner kick

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The game's first booking finally arrived in the tenth minute as Worcester midfielder Dan Cottrill was shown a yellow card for a foul on Alamu-Tajudeen in the centre circle, a decision that was greeted with ironic cheers from the home crowd after the referee's highly questionable opening few minutes

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McHale was guilty of not pulling the trigger for the hosts on eleven minutes as he latched onto a ball down the line from Sutherland, taking it thirty yards into the Worcester penalty area before brilliantly wrong-footing two Raiders players with a piece of magnificent skill. However, rather than shoot from twelve yards out, McHale looked to lay the ball off to the incoming Sutherland once more, not getting enough purchase on his pass and allowing the visitors to scramble the ball clear

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Alamu-Tajudeen was involved again for the Pitmen sixty seconds later as Stevenson did well to get in behind Henry Dyde down the right, jinking his way to the byeline and crossing for the incoming midfielder. Under pressure from two Raiders defenders and stretching to meet the ball, the former Bromsgrove Sporting man could only head well wide of goal

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Set-pieces have yet to really give the Pitmen any huge benefits so far this season, despite the quality deliveries from the likes of Bearne, Trickett-Smith and Sparkes. Trickett-Smith drew yet another foul from Carrick Hill on sixteen minutes, with captain Elliott Johnson assuming responsibility for this one to the left-hand side of the penalty area. The skipper's ball in was aimed at the head of the incoming Roberts, only for Emery to claim it at his far post

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A corner kick out on the left from the Pitmen four minutes later was swung into the far post by Trickett-Smith once more, where Roberts rose highest above a crowd of players but headed narrowly over the crossbar from six yards out

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Raiders were forced into their first change of the afternoon on twenty-five minutes as Wood was forced off the pitch due to injury and replaced by former Worcester City man Sam Whitton

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The Pitmen were left aggrieved once more shortly before the half-hour mark as what appeared to be yet another strong call for a penalty kick was waved away once more; Trickett-Smith found time and space down the right to pick up the excellent Blaine Rowe's pass, finding Alamu-Tajudeen in the six-yard box via a deflection off Cottrill. The midfielder looked to slot the ball home but appeared to be dragged back by substitute Whitton before he had a chance to, but quite incredibly Mr Soulsby waved play on instead

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The closest Raiders were to get to Brown's goal came courtesy of Emmanuel Olakolo on thirty-three minutes as he picked the ball up just outside the Hednesford penalty area, teasing his way past Roberts but driving in a weak low shot that went a few yards wide of Brown's right-hand post

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A minute later, Johnson went close to opening his account for Hednesford as Sparkes whipped in a delightful corner kick from the right that the former Barnet man headed inches wide of the far post

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Stevenson was getting absolutely no luck in front of goal for the Pitmen despite his hard work in dragging the Worcester defence all over the park, putting another effort wide for the hosts on thirty-five minutes after another slalom-like run into the box from the right, culminating in a scuffed effort wide of goal as he tried to sort his feet out

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Emery dealt with another Trickett-Smith corner kick well four minutes later, punching the ball away from danger as both Roberts and Stevenson lurked on his goal line

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​Stevenson's woes in front of goal continued with three minutes of the half remaining as another run into the box saw him pick up Rowe's threaded pass before shooting at goal but firing straight into the legs of Emery at his near post. The ball ran to McHale, whose follow-up effort  from twelve yards out was cleared off the line by Whitton

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It had been a frustrating first period for the hosts after forty-five minutes of missed chances and being denied by some odd and hugely inconsistent refereeing from Mr Soulsby. Despite this, King elected to stick with his XI at the start of the second half rather than react by making rushed substitutions as some may have hoped or expected

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A half-chance for Raiders fell at the feet of Dyde three minutes after the restart as a cross-field ball drifted over the head of McHale and into the full-back's path. After taking the ball down, Dyde tied his luck from the edge of the box with a low angled drive that drifted wide of Brown's left-hand post

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Another punch away by Emery from a Rowe cross denied Roberts a free header at the far post once more on fifty-two minutes after Trickett-Smith's short corner had been rolled into the path of the right-back

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The corners continued unabated from the Pitmen in the next five minutes with four more balls into the Worcester penalty area from both Trickett-Smith and Sparkes on either side of the pitch. A deep ball in from Trickett-Smith on fifty-seven minutes tested the agility of Emery once more as he stretched to punch the ball away once more before Alaum-Tajudeen could reach it from close range and nod home

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A minute later, another Trickett-Smith corner was punched back to him by Emery, with the former Liverpool midfielder recycling the ball well on the left and finding Stevenson on the edge of the box with a reverse pass. However, the league's top scorer last season remained on zero goals for this campaign as he lifted his effort high over the crossbar with an unconvincing shank over the top

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You felt that King would look to make wholesale changes to his side the longer the game remained goalless, with the Hednesford manager bringing Jervis on in place of Sutherland on sixty-four minutes to add his pace and height to the Hednesford attack

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A quick break down the left from the Pitmen on sixty-six minutes saw Alamu-Tajudeen pick up a Sparkes pass down the left, driving into the Raiders box before pulling the ball back towards Stevenson. The ball ricocheted away from danger but only as far as Trickett-Smith, who brought the bouncing ball under control just inside the box and attempted a lob over Emery that the tall stopper managed to turn over the crossbar for yet another corner

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Two minutes later, Stevenson was again left cursing his luck as Alamu-Tajudeen's run and cross from the left laid the ball onto a plate for the striker at the near post, only for a last-ditch tackle from Cottril to somehow deny him a tap-in from six yards out

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Neat play from the Pitmen on sixty-nine minutes saw Jervis and McHale link to work the ball down the right flank, with McHale looking to pull the ball back into the path of Jervis in the penalty area. A clever step-over from Jervis gave Trickett-Smith time to pick his spit with a first-time effort, only to pull his shot from sixteen yards out inches wide of the post

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On seventy-one minutes, Raiders made their second change of the afternoon as ex-Coleshill Town man Ben Sanogo was brought off after a tough afternoon for him up against the superb Omar Holness as he was replaced by Nigerian striker Simeon Okoro

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The pressure had been incessant from the Pitmen all half long, but still Worcester remained stoic and stuck to their task well in the face of constant bombardment of balls into their box. Neat play down the right from the Pitmen on seventy-three minutes saw McHale cleverly chip the ball into the path of Rowe, whose run in behind the Raiders defence saw him drill in a low cross to the far post where Jervis came within a matter of inches of turning the ball home

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The Pitmen went bold with their next raft of changes as three of their big hitters were brought on to try and push them over the line on seventy-seven minutes; Jack Bearne replaced Alamu-Tajudeen, Duku came on up front in place of the luckless Stevenson and box-to-box schemer Spence gave the hosts a different option to Trickett-Smith in behind the strikers

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A quick punt upfield from Brown looked to play the giant Jervis in behind a retreating Worcester defence on seventy-eight minutes, with the substitute reaching the ball ahead of Emery and looping a header over the goalkeeper and towards goal, only to be denied by a goal-line clearance from the covering Noke

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Duku's first involvement a minute later saw him also played clean through on goal by a beautifully flighted pass from Holness in midfield that landed at the striker's feet. However, the Dutchman dallied on the ball perhaps a second too many as he shaped to shoot and allowed Emery enough time to make the stop with his legs

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Worcester's final change of the afternoon came on eighty-three minutes as ex-Walsall man Connor Deards was brought on to add his experience to the ranks as he replaced Olakolo

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Two minutes later, Bearne's pace and trickery down the right for the Pitmen saw him drive past the backtracking Murphy, who cynically took the winger out with an aggressive late challenge on the substitute that left him in a heap on the touchline. After yet another long consultation with his assistant, Mr Soulsby rightly showed the Worcester skipper a straight red card and sent him off for the terrible challenge

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The red card added another layer of pressure onto the already overworked Worcester defence and you wondered if they had enough in them to see the game out and earn themselves a hard-fought replay at Sixways. More corner kicks came and went before Bearne quickly took another corner kick on eighty-eight minutes and rolled it into the path of McHale, who took a touch on the corner of the penalty area before surprising everyone with a snap-shot at goal towards the near post that took a heavy deflection off the boot of Whitton and nestled in the bottom corner of the net

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With the Pitmen now just looking to run the clock down with McHale's mate goal, left-back Taylor made a late appearance from the bench as he replaced the goalscorer in the final minute of the game in a move that saw Bearne moved back to the right flank and Sparkes pushed further up on the left

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A narrow win for the Pitmen is still a win regardless, which makes it four wins out of four for King's side at the start of the campaign and puts them in the hat for the first qualifying round on Monday. Kidsgrove Athletic's 6-0 win at Atherstone Town sees them progress in the F.A. Cup also, which ensures that Tuesday night's Northern Premier League West fixture between the two sides will go ahead as the Pitmen look to make it a fifth win on the bounce

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Hednesford Town: Brown, Rowe, Sparkes, Roberts, Johnson ©, Holness, Trickett-Smith (Spence 77), Alamu-Tajudeen (Bearne 77), Stevenson (Duku 77), McHale (Taylor 90), Sutherland (Jervis 64)     Subs Unused: Barnes-Homer, Rose

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Worcester Raiders: Emery ▆, Ferron, Dyde, Noke, Wood (Whitton 25), Hill, Olaloko (Deards 83), Cresswell, Murphy © ▆ (85), Cottrill ▆, Sanogo (Okoro 71)      Subs Unused: Clay, Taylor-Bradley, Moran

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