> 18.11.2006

 Another one of those frustrating games this afternoon, one in which the Pitmen dominated from start to finish but could not apply the finishing touch to any of the many chances they had during the game. Iain Screaton made a return to another reshuffled side, with Ross Dyer losing his place in the starting XI

After a tentative first twenty minutes, the home side started to take control with a flurry of efforts just before the half hour mark. Firstly, Phil Hadland beat his marker down the right and whipped in a cross onto the head of the in-form Darren Alexander, whose powerful header came back off the crossbar with the keeper stranded

 Just a minute later, Screaton, who had stayed up for a corner, found the ball drop at his feet on the edge of the six yard box. His effort, however, was brilliantly saved by Danny Trueman

 An over-fussy referee, not the first we have seen this season, protected the Mossley keeper on a number of occasions, even when it appeared as though he had simply dropped a ball from an Adams corner later in the half. The second was similarly one-sided, with the healthy 522 crowd urging the Pitmen forward

 Nine minutes after the restart, Alexander got a flick-on to Ryan Young's clearance, presenting skipper Chris White with a shooting opportunity; the Hednesford number four could only fire across goal, and wide of the target

 Finally, on the hour, there was something for Young to do, as he saw Danny Meadowcroft's shot over the bar. It was only to be a mere distraction for the Pitmen, who continued their assault on the Mossley goal. Dave Whittaker, normally such an accurate striker of the ball, fired wildly over the bar after a good move, before new new boy Gary Sucharewycz narrowly cleared the bar with an effort on sixty six minutes

 Dyer came on for Whittaker to add pace to the game, but the Pitmen's best chances were at set pieces, with chance after chance coming and going. Another excellent Adams corner was dropped by Trueman, and in the scramble that followed, Alexander, Dyer and Hadland all had swings at the ball, all to no avail as Trueman recovered to smother the ball

Hadland, easily the man of the match, almost sealed it late on, when he got hold of a White free kick, but his turn and shot went agonisingly wide

 In added time, Alexander went even closer, brilliantly turning on a sixpence just outside the six yard box and firing in a low shot that was no more than an inch wide of goal

A frustrating day was topped off with news of another Telford win filtering through to Keys Park, with the Pitmen now five points behind their neighbours cds

 Fleetwood Town (A)

.15

Action from Keys Park: 1. Man of the Match Phil Hadland looks on   2. Gary Sucharewycz and three others  in action  3. striker Dave Whittaker prepares for a corner

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