Hednesford grabbed themselves a crucial - and timely - lifeline in their bid to escape relegation as they clinch a first win in seven games to beat fellow strugglers Worksop Town at Keys Park

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Tuesday night had seen the Pitmen battle back to earn themselves a 2-2 draw at Worskop's local rivals Hucknall Town, leaving Steve Anthrobus's side three points adrift of safety ahead of today's game. Anthrobus kept faith with the same XI that had started against Hucknall, handing home debuts to Scott Hadland and Jai Stanley as well as a second home debut to striker Nathan Lamey, who had returned to the club this week

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Worksop - one place and three points above their hosts ahead of play - had seen their league form drift in recent weeks after being sidetracked by progress to the quarter-finals of the F.A. Trophy, losing 1-0 against Boreham Wood last weekend to end their interest in the competition. Manager Ronnie Glavin made wholesale changes to his side for their first-ever trip to Keys Park as Dean Gordon, Daniel Payne, Antony Jackson, Steve Owens and Andy Lee came in for Kevin Davies, Mark Wilson, Karl Rose, Tony Crane and Blake Norton respectively

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On a crisp afternoon in Staffordshire, the hosts went closest to opening with their first attack of the game in the fourth minute of the game as a corner kick from Colin Hunter was flicked on by Barrow and into the path of home debutant Scott Hadland, whose header came back off the crossbar with goalkeeper David Ratcliffe beaten on his goal line

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Worksop striker Jackson had the visitors' first chance of the game in the seventh minute, picking up a pass from Lee but shanked his shot high and wide of goal from outside the Hednesford penalty area

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The hosts were forced into an early change of personnel as veteran centre-back Wright's injury woes continued with the former Hull City man forced off in the ninth minute holding his left leg. He was replaced by Lee Williams, himself only just returning from a long injury lay-off on Tuesday night. This saw a reshuffle of the pack for the hosts, with Colin Hunter dropping to left wing-back and Tom Marshall moving across to partner Lee Barrow at centre-back

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In the twelfth minute, Ratcliffe came to Worksop's rescue as he denied Nathan Lamey a goal on his return to the club as he parried the striker's header away from goal after Lamey had got goal side of Michael Simpkins to head Hunter's cross goalwards

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Good play from Leon McSweeney in the fifteenth minute saw the striker spin away from Payne's attempted tackle and spray the ball out to Sean Platt on the right flank. The on-loan Walsall man chipped the ball into the Worksop penalty area, where former Crytal Palace man Gordon - a recent signing after a short spell at Blackpool -  was on hand to hack the ball away from the lurking presence of Lamey inside the six-yard box

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Three minutes later, McSweeney was played clean through on goal by a delightful slide-rule pass from Hunter, only for a late offside flag on the main stand side to pull the Irishman back before he could put the ball past Ratcliffe. McSweeney remonstrated with the referee about the decision and was warned about his conduct before play restarted

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The Tigers took full advantage of this let-off as they took the lead just past the midway point of the first half; Steve Owens picked the ball up just inside the Hednesford half and was allowed time and space to make a run deep into the Pitmen's half before unleashing a twenty-five yards shot that dipped beyond the reach of the bemused Gary Hateley and found the far corner of the net

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The Pitmen responded through youngster Marshall, whose powerfully-struck free-kick on twenty-seven minutes took a nick off the Worksop wall before dropping into the arms of Ratcliffe

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Hunter was having a fine game for the Pitmen and jinked his way to the byeline down the left wing on thirty-two minutes before clipping the ball to the far post, where McSweeney - under pressure from Gordon - headed tamely into the side-netting

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Owens could have put the away side two goals to the good on thirty-five minutes as Gordon made an attacking run down the left flank and crossed for the Worksop goalscorer, whose header from eight yards out was pushed away by Hateley for a corner kick

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The same player was guilty of wasting another good chance for the Tigers five minutes before the break as Payne linked up well with Paul Demspey before crossing wide on the right flank to Owens, whose first time shot from ten yards out lacked power and was saved by Hateley on his goal line

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With a minute of the first half remaining, Hadland's quickly-taken free-kick found Williams in space just outside the Worksop penalty area, with the former Peterborough United man striking a firm shot just wide of the target

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The half-time whistle was met with muted boos from the frustrated home supporters, who had once again witnessed their side enjoying plenty of possession but created very little in the way of chances, allowing Worksop to take the lead due to more questionable defending

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Having been given a rocket by Anthrobus, the Pitmen came flying out of the traps at the start of the second half and got off to the perfect start with an equalising goal just forty seconds into the second period; Barrow's long ball forwards from the halfway line was mis-controlled by Simpkins just outside his penalty area, allowing the ball to drop to the incoming Hunter - his first-time strike was too much for Ratcliffe, as it sailed over the goalkeeper's head and dropped into the net

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This early goal lifted the Pitmen and their supporters, who roared their players forwards in search of could be a crucial goal in the context of their season. Jai Stanley - superb on his debut on Tuesday night but more muted so far on his home debut - won the ball from Dempsey on fifty-two minutes and made a run towards the Worksop penalty area, slipping the ball into the path of Lamey with a neat pass. The striker worked the ball onto his right foot but Lamey's strike failed to test Ratcliffe as he fired wide of goal from twelve yards out

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Williams and Marshall crafted a clever free-kick between them four minutes later as the young defender tapped the ball into the path of the substitute, whose angled cross from the left was headed over the crossbar by McSweeney

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Good play from Hadland on fifty-nine minutes saw the utility man hold off a challenge from Payne before playing the ball to Platt, who in turn found Lamey to the right-hand corner of the Worksop penalty area. He held the ball up well before squaring it to Stanley, whose low shot was deflected behind by the boot of Gordon

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The hosts finally made their second-half pressure pay on sixty-five minutes as they got their noses in front through Lamey; McSweeney picked the ball up from deep and made his way towards the Worksop penalty area, before striking a left-footed shot at goal that cannoned back off the crossbar. Lamey followed the ball in and had the simple task of heading the rebound home from close range before Ratcliffe could get to the ball

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The visitors looked for an immediate response through Jackson, who got the better of Barrow on sixty-nine minutes as he turned past the Hednesford captain to latch onto a slide-rule pass from Lee, only for the striker to drag his shot across the face of Hateley's goal and wide of the far post

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McSweeney thought that he had clinched the three points for Hednesford on seventy-two minutes as he made a run into the six-yard box to head Hunter's cross home at the near post, only for the goal to be disallowed for a late offside flag against the Pitmen's number ten

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With fifteen minutes remaining, Hadland's downward header from a Williams corner was hacked away from goal by Steve Nicholson, who remained alert standing on the front post 

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Worksop substitute Ben Saunders tested Hateley's reflexes eleven minutes from time as his snapshot from just inside the Hednesford penalty area was pushed behind by the former Stamford stopper for a Tigers corner kick

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A minute later, Williams handed the hosts another injury-inflicted blow as he limped off with what appeared to be a reoccurrence of the hamstring pull that had kept him out recently. Anthony Maguire replaced the veteran for the final minutes of the game in midfield

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On eighty-three minutes, midfielder Karl Rose played a one-two with substitute Richard Carrington before shooting from twenty-five yards out that Hateley watched over his crossbar

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The Pitmen broke quickly two minutes later after Marshall cleared a Worksop corner kick to Hunter, who made a fifty-yard run down the left before playing the ball through to Lamey; the striker took a heavy touch as he got on the end of Hunter's pass and allowed Ratcliffe to make a smothering stop at his feet

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In added time, the Tigers had a glorious chance to equalise as patient play from the visitors saw them work the ball from left to right and out to substitute Miles Thorpe, whose eventual cross was somehow missed by Carrington as he made a late run into the six-yard box but failed to turn the ball into the empty net from onto a couple of yards out. A real let-off for the hosts late on in the game

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The final whistle was greeted with a combination of jubilation and relief from the home players and supporters, as the Pitmen finally won their first game since beating Lancaster City back in January. Three points lift Anthrobus's team above their visitors in the table and back level on points with Leigh RMI in twenty-first place, ahead of Tuesday night's massive Cannock Chase derby at title-chasers Stafford Rangers and a huge chance to drag themselves out of the bottom three and denting their local rivals' title hopes in the process

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Hednesford Town: Hateley, Adams, T. Marshall, Hadland, Wright (Williams 7 (Maguire 80)), Barrow ©, Platt, Stanley, Lamey, McSweeney, Hunter     Subs Unused: Briggs, Dyer, Molloy

 

Worksop Town: Ratcliffe, Nicholson, Gordon, Rose, Miller, Simpkins, Payne (Carrington 84), Dempsey, Jackson, Owens (Thorpe 65), Lee (Saunders 71)       Subs Unused: Leeson, Bowling

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