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Hednesford
sluggishly kicked off their home campaign for 2012 with a hard-earned
point against one of their fellow play-off hopefuls Bradford (Park Avenue)
Coming off
the high of completing an historic double over local rivals Stafford
Rangers earlier in the week, manager Rob Smith unsurprisingly stuck with
the same side that had won at Marston Road on Monday. There were two
changes to the substitutes, as new signings Mark Beesley and Liam
Blakeman were added after their midweek switches to the club
Smith's side
started briskly, with Nick Wellecomme getting the beating of his man
before crossing for Kyle Haynes at the far post; the youngster's header
was weak, however, and was easily fielded by Bradford keeper John Lamb
Bradford were
forced into an early change to their defence, as Adam Clayton limped off
with a suspected hamstring injury and was replaced by James Riley
The visitors
gradually grew into the game, and could have taken the lead on eleven
minutes through Richard Marshall. His low shot after picking up a
partially-cleared corner was deflected narrowly wide of the post by
Cheyenne Dunkley, conceding another kick
Five minutes
later, Michael Duckworth wasted Avenue's best chance of the game thus
far; Dan Crane pushed a cross out as far as Duckworth, whose rising shot
brushed the crossbar and went over
Hednesford's
response came in the form of a low drive from Chris Clements a minute
later, just missing the foot of the post with a venomous shot
Jay Denny was
booked for a mistimed challenge midway through the half, which lead to a
great opportunity for Avenue. The resultant free kick found James
Knowles unmarked, but the defender headed inches over the angle of post
and crossbar
There was a
feeling of inevitability that Bradford would notch sooner rather than
later, and on thirty two minutes they did just that. A quick throw from
Rob O'Brien found Marshall, who managed to hold off the attentions of
Dunkley before standing up a ball to Tom Greaves, who headed home from
close range
Nicky Bushell
almost made it 2-0 five minutes later as he rushed onto a through ball
from Greaves, but failed to test Crane with a shot that cleared the
crossbar
Clements went
close to equalising for the Pitmen a minute later, firing a swerving
ball towards goal after getting the ball back from a corner, but was
denied by the legs of Lamb
Marvin
Robinson joined Denny in the book for an aggressive challenge, leading
to another dangerous looking free kick that Crane was at full stretch to
save
Smith's half
time team talk could have been a very different affair, with Darren
Campion providing the final action of the half in driving a shot right
across the face of the Bradford goal, but neither Wellecomme nor
Robinson could react quickly enough to knock the ball home from a couple
of yards out
Clearly
unhappy with the balance of his team in the first half, Smith brought on
the attack-minded Elliott Durrell in place of right back Haynes at the
start of the second half. The playmaker made an immediate impact, using
his pace to good effect down the Hednesford right wing. His tricky run
on forty eight minutes brought a foul from Bushell, and earned the
Avenue man a yellow card for his troubles
Clements took
the resultant free kick, whipping in a dangerous ball that was taken off
the head of Wellecomme by Lamb, who made a confident catch
Two further
changes for the Pitmen followed, as Jamey Osbourne replaced Ben Jevons
and Beesley made his debut wide on the left in place of Robinson
On fifty
seven minutes, Bradford very nearly wrapped up the game as a contest. A
Jordan Deacy corner was met by substitute Riley, whose firm header was
expertly saved by Crane as he looked to pile more misery on the Pitmen
from set-pieces
There was
also a loud shout for a penalty for Avenue on the hour mark, as
Marshall's shot appeared to strike the arm of Dunkley. the referee was
unimpressed with the calls, and continued with the game
Campion,
Clements and Durrell all looked to take responsibility for a free kick
three minutes later, won after a foul on Wellecomme twenty five yards
out. After much discussion, Clements leathered a shot towards goal but
got it all wrong with a wasteful effort that flew well wide of the
target
The Pitmen
finally got their lifeline on sixty eight minutes, with Beesley winning
a free kick after a foul on him by Knowles. Campion struck a long range
free kick towards goal, perhaps in more hope than expectation. The ball
took a slight deflection off a Bradford defender, doing enough to divert
the ball past the wrong footed Lamb and find the bottom right hand
corner of the net
Roared on by
the resurgent crowd, the Pitmen went in search of a winner in the final
twenty minutes. Clements was finding more space to create chances for
the side, and was also taking responsibility for all of the set-pieces.
A Clements free kick was played towards the far post on seventy two
minutes, with Dunkley throwing himself towards the ball. However, the
ball was just too high for the youngster to get his head to, and the
ball sailed out of play for a goal kick
Bushell, who
was arguably Bradford's man of the match, made another marauding run
forward on seventy five minutes, but chipped the ball wide of the far
post with a clever shot on the run
There was
almost a winner for the home side with ten minutes remaining, as Pedro
Monteiro attempted to scramble the ball home after a Campion corner had
dropped in the six yard box. The big defender managed to poke the ball
towards the net, but Bradford's Ross Daly did enough to clear the ball
off the line
The final
minutes saw both sides seem content to settle for a hard-earned point,
as chances came at a premium; Durrell's wild shot from an angle was the
closest either side came to winning the game
Neither side
will be particularly happy with a point, as it does neither club any
favours in their quest for a play-off place. However, on the balance of
play, both can be content it was all they deserved from a hard Northern
League encounter
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