The Pitmen left it late to earn themselves a well-deserved point against Workington this afternoon as youngster Chekaine Steele grabbing his first goal for the club to earn the hosts a draw with a late, late strike

 

Looking to put Tuesday night's disappointment behind them, Hednesford made three changes to the side that started against Halesowen, with James Wren returning to the side after illness; Jordan Graham made his full debut after being named in the starting XI in favour of fellow loanee Lewis Collins, whilst Darren Campion made a third debut for the Pitmen with Tyler Weir ruled out due to illness

 

Workington - last season's play-off semi-finalists - were looking to complete an early league double over the Pitmen, having triumphed 1-0 at Borough Park last month early on in Rob Smith's return. The Reds' recent good form of four wins in a row had been brought to a shuddering halt in midweek with a 1-0 defeat at Witton Albion

 

The Pitmen were bright and constructive in the early stages of the game with on-loan Reece King flashing an effort wide of goal in the second minute of the game as the hosts pushed forwards early on

 

Mansfield loanee Graham put himself under pressure for the remainder of the game in the fourth minute, as he was rightly booked for throwing himself down in the penalty area after the lightest of contact from a Workington defender

 

The Pitmen went close to opening the scoring in the seventh minute after James Lawrie's free-kick was deflected behind for a corner. Tom Thorley's deep corner was headed goalwards by Ben Bailey, whose effort was saved on the line by Workington keeper Aaran Taylor

 

Danny Glover followed his team-mate Graham into the book on thirteen minutes, coming to blows with Josh Calvert after a tussle on the ball and inciting the wrath of the referee, who showed both players a yellow card

 

Despite dominating the early exchanges, the Pitmen were to fall behind midway through the first half. A neat piece of play involving Anthony Wright and Dave Symington opened up the Hednesford defence, playing in Sam Smith. His progress was halted abruptly by Reece King, who fouled the full-back in the penalty area for a clear penalty. Scott Allison stepped up and fired into the net from the resultant penalty, although Wren very nearly kept the ball out after getting a hand to the shot

 

The Pitmen responded strongly, forcing a series of corner kicks in an attempt to get back into a game they felt they should not be behind in. There was a half-hearted handball shout inside the Workington penalty area after Lawrie's free kick appeared to be handled by a Workington defender

 

Graham's trickery forced a free kick for the Pitmen on the edge of the Workington penalty area on thirty-seven minutes, which eventually fell to the feet of Alex Melbourne. However, the right back was leaning back with his long range effort and lifted his shot high over the crossbar

 

The Pitmen continued to go close with no reward at the start of the second half, with Lawrie trying his luck from the halfway line with an audacious effort that only just dropped with of Taylor's post on forty-nine minutes

 

Wren - who had had very little to do other than pick the ball out of the net after the penalty kick - made a superb save to keep the Pitmen in the game on sixty two minutes. A ball played into the back post found Allison, whose goalbound shot was brilliantly turned away by Wren for a Workington corner. From the resultant kick, Fitzpatrick made a superb late block to deny Symington on the follow-up

 

Lawrie's final act of the game was to sky a shot from twenty yards well wide of goal before being replaced by young former AFC Telford man Steele on sixty-five minutes

 

The Pitmen followed this up with a second substitution six minutes later, as Joey Butlin came on for the luckless Glover, who appears to have lost his confidence in front of goal at present. Two minutes later, Collins came on in midfield for the impressive King for the host's final change of the afternoon

 

Further chances came and went for the visitors, with Wright curling a shot over the crossbar before wren made another great stop to deny Allison a second goal of the afternoon at the far post once more

 

Butlin had been bright and breezy since replacing Glover, offering a more physical approach to the game with his back to goal. An opportunist strike from Butlin on eighty minutes saw him drive a low shot just wide of goal, with his wait for a first Hednesford strike ongoing

 

A delightful cross from Butlin on eighty-six minutes was begin to be slotted home by anyone in a white shirt, but his ball across goal drifted across the face of goal and away from danger

 

Just when it looked as though it was to be another frustrating afternoon for the Pitmen, they earned themselves a lifeline as the game headed into added time; Substitute Steele picked the ball up just outside the penalty area and drove towards goal, unleashing a low drive beyond the reach of Taylor and into the corner of the net to equalise

 

There was still time for more drama, as a cross from Symington was headed against the crossbar by Nathan Waterston. In the ensuing melee, Allison felt that he had been taken down by Campion as the pair tussled for the loose ball, only for his protests to be waved away by the referee

 

All in all, a fair point for both sides, with both having chances to win the game outright. It's another useful point for the improving Pitmen, who are growing in spirit and confidence as Smith and Chambers continue to get to grips with their squad. A long trip to the North East coast is next up for the Pitmen, who travel to Whitby town next Saturday as they look to keep their positive run going

​

Hednesford Town: Wren, Melbourne, Campion, Bailey, Mutton, Fitzpatrick, King (Collins 75), Thorley ©, Glover ▆ (Butlin 72), Graham ▆, Lawrie (Steele 65)      Subs Unused: Weir, Davies

 

Workington: Taylor, Douglas, Smith ▆, Wordsworth ▆, Calvert ▆, Wright, Earl ▆ (Wilson 70), Holt, Waterston, Allison, Symington      Subs Unused: Joel, Mellen, Rowntree, Fowler

​