Chase Cup 1st Leg

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18.7.2009

Barnett 7, Dinning 82

Wilson 30

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Next Game

Hednesford finally beat their long-standing Stafford hoodoo this afternoon, as they beat their local rivals at Keys Park to give them a slim advantage ahead of the second leg at Marston Road in a couple of weeks time. Manager Dean Edwards made plenty of changes to his side form the one that started against Bromsgrove Rovers on Tuesday night, with a more familiar XI starting the clash against their old adversaries. Gavin Ward made his debut for the Pitmen in goal, whilst Sam Aiston made his home debut after scoring on his first outing at Bromsgrove. Edwards gave a start to triallist Theo Stair at left back, who impressed for the club on Tuesday

On a bright afternoon at the Keys, the Pitmen looked to pile more misery on former boss and playing legend Chris Brindley, now boss of Rangers, who had overseen three successive defeats in pre-season with a squad containing very few of last season's Blue Square North squad. Indeed, it was the home side that were quickest out of the blacks, with new signing Tony Dinning sending a warning to the visitors with a second minute free kick that just failed to curl under the crossbar

Stafford's defence seemed slow in settling, looking disorganised and lacking in pace. On four minutes, the ball was played over Stafford left back Richard Vauls, into the path of Ross Dyer. He raced to the touchline before cutting the ball back to Elliott Durrell, who saw the ball slow in the long grass before it reached him. He still managed to get his shot in, but it allowed Rangers keeper Tom Harrison to save to his right

The Pitmen continued to press, and Dinning seemed to be enjoying his role in the centre of the park, marshalling all of Hednesford's good work. Another free kick from the former Wigan man was well held by Harrison after a foul on Durrell on six minutes. A minute later, the hosts got their noses in front; a corner from Dinning was not dealt with by the hesitant Stafford defence, allowing the ball to break to Barnett at the near post, who fired home from close range

It was all Hednesford in the first quarter, as the chances started to tot up. Aiston should have put the Pitmen two up on ten minutes, heading Durrell's cross back across goal, but Harrison reacted brilliantly and saved well low to his left

For the away side, there had been very little of anything, with wayward Ben Mills' header from a Tom Thornley cross the best they could muster in the opening twenty minutes. Richard Walker had Nick Wellecomme well shackled, and Nick Amos was been overrun in midfield by his former Rangers team-mate Carl Palmer

Harrison pulled off two wonderful saves in two minutes to deny Barnett - firstly saving low down to deny the in-form striker after he had broken clear, followed by strong hands to keep Barnett's header out

 Despite having all of the chances, the higher league side clawed their way back into the game on the half hour mark. Walker's foul on Wellecomme earned Stafford a free kick to the right of the Hednesford area. The ball in caused indecision in the ranks, allowing defender Bobby Wilson to prod home the loose ball from close range

This seemed to spark Rangers into life, as they enjoyed the better of the final fifteen minutes of the half. Wellecomme was finding more space up front, and he tested Ward with an effort from six yards out that the experienced former Stoke man did well to turn away from goal. Vauls almost grabbed a freak goal a minute later, over-hitting a cross that seemed to have beaten Ward at the far post, but the ball just dropped over the crossbar

The Pitmen responded with another breakaway chance, with Dyer racing clear of Wilson, but again Harrison was on hand to deny him with a block as Dyer looked to steer the ball into the far corner of the net

 Aiston had impressed during the first half, showing fleet of foot and some sharp passing out on the left side of midfield, with Stair supporting him with overlapping runs to win a succession of corners

Unusually for a friendly, there were no changes at the break, as Edwards and Brindley decided to stick with their starting XIs. Ward was fortunate to have Scott Lycett on hand just moments into the half, as he failed to take a cross from Stafford's right, allowing the ball to drop in front of Wellecomme. Luckily for the veteran stopper, Lycett was on hand to hack the ball away before Wellecomme could pounce

Despite the game being labeled a friendly, any Hednesford/Stafford match is never a friendly game - this was illustrated six minutes later when a tackle from Thornley on Dinning saw the Hednesford midfielder react angrily, dragging most of the players on the park into a scuffle that earned the two players a ticking off by the referee

Just two minutes later, and the players were at it again, as the simmering tension erupted again at a corner kick to Rangers. Ward clashed with a Rangers player, prompting the players to yet again wade in on each other. Being a friendly match, once again the players only got a ticking off - a league match was almost certainly have seen cards of the red variety

 Rather than firing the players up, the two 'rucks' signaled a dip in the quality of the game, with both sides failing to produce chances of any note for a good twenty minutes. This was also the cue for both managers to make a number of changes, with familiar faces Sean Platt and Danny Harvey brought on by the home side

It seemed as though a free kick may settle the game for either side, as both teams had good chances from set-pieces. For Hednesford, Dinning fired high over the bar with his effort, followed a minute later by Stafford's Thornley blasting high over the Heath Hayes end

The lower-than-expected crowd were steeling themselves for the inevitable draw up to this point, but the extra class of Dinning put the Pitmen back in front eight minutes from time. A square ball from Aiston twenty five yards out gave Dinning time to tee himself up, before he unleashed an unstoppable strike with his right foot that flew past the outstretched Harrison

The final five minutes saw a flurry of activity at both ends: Dyer should have put the Pitmen out of sight, but failed to get his shot in on time and was robbed of the ball. Stafford substitute Dorryl Proffitt was guilty of a horrendous miss with three minutes left, finding himself clear on goal with only Ward to beat, but dragged his shot wide of the far post with the goal gaping. The same player was thwarted by ward in the final minute, as his goalward header was plucked out of the air by the Hednesford stopper

It's taken a few years, but the Pitmen can finally say they've done it by beating Stafford- now they will look to finish the job in a fortnight's time, but between then, it's a visit from UniBond League foes from last season, Eastwood Town next Saturday cds

Eastwood Town (A)

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Platt

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1

Harvey

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Rix

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1

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28

Durrell

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Walker

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Stair

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Action from Keys Park:  1. triallist Theo Stair gets stuck in against Tom Thornley  2. goal! Richard Walker leads the congratulations after Tyrone Barnett's opener  3. goal! high fives all round after Tony Dinning's superb winner

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