Chase Cup 2nd Leg

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1.8.2009

Nisbett 12, Barnett 66

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Next Game

 Hednesford clinched the first ever Chase Cup in confident fashion this afternoon, beating local rivals Stafford at Marston Road for this first time in many years to continue their impressive pre-season charge. It was not all good news, however; striker Ross Dyer had been laid low with a serious virus, meaning new signing Justin Nisbett was given his first start for the club. There was no sign of defender Danny Harvey neither, with speculation linking him with a move away from the club. Otherwise, manager Dean Edwards picked pretty much the same team that had competed in the previous two games against Stafford and Eastwood, with Portuguese triallist Romen Domingos Buttiam the only new face

A torrential downpour half an hour before the game saw the players emerge to a greasy and slick pitch, before another heavy dumping of rain just before kick off made conditions even worse. There was also a well-received one minute's applause in honour of former England manager sir Bobby Robson, who died the previous day

The Pitmen, looking to hold onto their slim goal lead, set about their task straightaway, with Nisbett eager to impress in Dyer's unfortunate absence. He was first to test Rangers' resolve, racing onto a clever ball from Elliott Durrell, but was denied by Stafford's new signing from Chasetown, keeper Lee Evans

The away side seemed to get a grip of the conditions quickly, as Stafford struggled to get the ball over the halfway line. Three corners in a row followed, as the pressure built on Chris Brindley's struggling side, who have lost every major friendly they have played so far this pre-season

With Durrell and Tyrone Barnett both looking dangerous, you got the impression that it was a matter of how long, not whether, the visitors were going to score. For the large traveling faithful, they only had to wait until the twelfth minutes, when Stafford failed to clear a cross from the Pitmen's right, allowing Nisbett to rifle home from the penalty spot to score his first goal for the club

Stafford were lacking in ideas all over the pitch, with their young midfield being overrun by the experienced trio of Carl Palmer, Sam Aiston and Tony Dinning. Up front, Nick Wellecomme's efforts were snuffed out by the tight defensive pairing of Ben Bailey and skipper Richard Walker

Evans' game was soon to come to an end, after a clash with Barnett left the Rangers number one hobbling. After treatment and five minutes of limping, he was eventually replaced by 'stocky' substitute keeper Danny Allen

With the rain relenting for a spell, the hosts enjoyed a better spell of possession, working an number of good chances on the edge of the area. However, Bailey and Walker, ably assisted by full-backs Sean Platt and Theo Stair, protected Gavin Ward's goal with a number of timely interceptions and blocks as the Pitmen stayed on top

Ward was forced into a smart diving save just before the half hour mark, denying Wellecomme low down after a bundled effort looked to be sneaking in the far corner of the net

The first game at Keys Park could have been all over in the first half hour, had Barnett have taken a number of chances presented to him. There was a sense of deja vu in the air three minutes later, as Nisbett and Durrell combined to split the Stafford defence open again, allowing Barnett a free run at Allen. However, Barnett's shot lacked conviction, and Allen made a fairly comfortable save to his left

Nisbett and Durrell seemed involved in everything at this point, with the Stafford defence being pulled to pieces at will. The little playmaker thought he was through on goal twelve minutes from half time, as he made a late run to get onto the end of a Nisbett ball, but a late linesman's flag denied him as he looked set to fire past Allen

Barnett was also denied by a very late flag two minutes later as he looked to race onto a Durrell through ball down the centre of the pitch as Hednesford dominated proceedings

And yet, Stafford almost snatched an equaliser just moments before half time, with Bobby Wilson heading narrowly wide from a corner kick after he was left by the Hednesford defence for the first time in the game

Rangers thought they had grabbed themselves a lifeline just a couple of minutes into the second half, with the ball bundled home from a corner after Gavin Ward had been forced into fumbling the ball. The referee immediately blew for a foul, much to the delight of the away support

The Pitmen were stung into life following the disallowed goal, as they had been slack in their passing since coming out from the half time break. Durrell was getting himself back onto the ball, and he provided the pass for Nisbett to fire narrowly wide with a rasping drive past Allen's right hand post

Everything seemed to be flowing through Durrell, but the supporting cast in midfield was doing an excellent job; Dinning was relishing his role as midfield creator, playing just in front of the defence and timing some of his tackles to perfection. Palmer's bullish play saw him beat three Stafford players down the right, before Platt sent over a cross that Barnett headed wide of the far post

Barnett had again been guilty of wasting chances, but pre-season's top scorer always looked like he would grab a goal from somewhere, and just after the hour mark, he got his fourth of the close season. Another flowing move saw Palmer, Durrell and Nisbett cut the Stafford midfield to ribbons, allowing Barnett to drive an unstoppable shot past Allen from just outside the area - his best goal of pre-season to date

Five minutes later, he almost added to his tally, heading Platt's cross just wide of the far post with Allen struggling to get to the ball had it gone in

With the Pitmen looking a safe bet to take home the new Chase Cup, Edwards made a couple of late like-for-like changes, with Ben Rix coming on for Aiston and Aaron Gibson making his first appearance since the Heath Hayes game in place of the impressive Stair

Barnett again had the Hednesford fans and management ripping their hair out in frustration in the closing minutes, as he again raced clear of a static Stafford defence, but again only managed to fire straight at Allen

Nisbett's late shot wide of goal was to be the final act in this year's local derby game, and with it the Chase Cup, which will nestle nicely next to the Birmingham Senior Cup in the trophy cabinet. For the Pitmen, they will hope this will be start of a year of silverware, as they have been extremely impressive during pre-season. For Rangers, Brindley and co. have their work cut out if they are to stay a Blue Square North side in 2010-2011. Bring on the Blues!   cds

Birmingham City (H)

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Gibson

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1

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Rix

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0

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Stair

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Aiston

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Action from Marston Road: 1. Ben Bailey closes in on Nick Wellecomme  2. Goal! Justin Nisbett (10) gets the congratulations from his team-mates after opening the scoring  3. skipper Richard Walker shows off the Chase Cup

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