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Hednesford blew
a fantastic opportunity to go into the Christmas period joint top of the
table, as in-form Worksop come out on top in this Evo-Stik encounter
The Tigers
had been arguably the league's form team in recent weeks, storming up
the table and beating Blue Square Premier side Tamworth in the F.A.
Trophy last week. the Pitmen's 2011 away campaign was certainly going to
end with a stern test
Following the
6-1 hammering of Mickleover last week, changes were kept to a minimum by
manager Rob Smith. Goalkeeper Dan Crane returned to the side after his
one match suspension, with stand-in Tony Breeden returning to parent
club Kidderminster Harriers. Teenager Lewis Suckling was given another
chance to impress after being named amongst the substitutes
The new-found
confidence Worksop had found in recent games was in evidence at the
start, as they knocked the ball around with confidence in the early
stages of the game. Midfielder Luke Sharry went close to opening
the scoring with the first chance of the game, firing wide of goal when
well placed
Pedro
Monteiro forced Jon Worsnop in the Worksop goal into a good save on
eight minutes, heading weakly towards goal after a good move involving
Jamey Osbourne and Chris Clements
A
minute later, Mark Danks raced onto a Gary Hay flick-on and forced
Worsnop into a fine save, only to be denied by a late offside flag
Ben Bailey -
impressive in recent games since returning to the side - played a great
ball into Danks on fifteen minutes, with the little striker again
testing Worsnop's reflexes with a low drive towards goal
Elliott
Durrell was wasteful with his effort on eighteen minutes, lifting his
shot high over the crossbar after Clements had found him with a free
kick
Worksop's
Jamie Jackson was causing the Pitmen's defence problems with his pace
and movement, forcing Crane into a save with a deflected shot midway
through the half
Cheyenne
Dunkley failed to add to his goal tally for the season on twenty three
minutes, heading a Clements cross narrowly over the crossbar
After
Monteiro had headed straight at Worsnop on the half hour mark, the hosts
went closest to breaking the deadlock as a break down the left saw
Ashley Bearbury play in Chris Wood; his miscued cross sailed towards
goal, only for Darren Campion to hack the ball off the line and away
After
Durrell had wasted another opportunity from range, Osbourne was
presented with a great chance to send the Pitmen into the break ahead.
James Cotterill failed to deal with a bouncing ball, allowing Osbourne
to pick up possession on the edge of the Worksop penalty area. However,
he dragged his shot wide of goal when it seemed easier to hit the target
Jackson was
to have the last word in the half, beating Monteiro for pace on the left
hand side of the area before dangerously firing across the face of goal
The second
half started as a scrappy affair, with both sides struggling to match
the pace of the first half. Danks should have given the Pitmen the lead
four minutes after the restart, scampering through the Worksop defence
and taking the ball around the dive of Worsnop. However, at the crucial
moment, Danks lost his footing and allowed the Worksop defence to get
back and clear the ball
This was to
prove costly, as the Tigers took the lead in controversial circumstances
on fifty five minutes. Jackson's pace took him into the area on the left
wing, coming up against the challenge of Campion. After initially
putting his leg out to make a tackle, Campion thought better of it and
pulled out, only for Jackson to take a tumble over the-now non-existent
challenge. The referee seemed unimpressed and continued with the game,
only for the assistant referee on that side to raise his flag. After a
lengthy discussion, the referee awarded Worksop a penalty kick, much to
the amazement of the Hednesford players and supporters. After lengthy
protests, Mark Hudson finally put the ball on the spot and sent Crane
the wrong way
Stung into
action, the Pitmen pressed in search of an equaliser immediately, and
Durrell forced Worsnop into a fingertip save with a fierce drive five
minutes later. However, the match officials further infuriated the
Hednesford contingent by awarding a goal kick when it was clear to
anyone in the ground that the Worksop keeper had turned the ball away
from goal
Jackson
looked to take advantage of the Pitmen's pressing by making runs into
the space being created behind the away side's defence, and he pulled a
low shot wide of goal four minutes later when well placed to test Crane
Luke Shiels
looked to have put the game out of Hednesford's reach twenty minutes
from time, heading Hudson's inswinging corner inches wide of the far
post
Frustrated by
his side's lack of penetration up front, Smith introduced youngsters
Suckling and Andre Landell in place of Danks and Durrell
respectively
Suckling was straight
into the action, using his pace to stretch the Worksop defence. He very
nearly made his way through on seventy nine minutes, but a last-ditch
tackle from Wood denied the sixteen year-old a run in on goal
Osbourne's
clever lob almost put the Pitmen on level terms with eight minutes
remaining, but Worsnop watched the ball over the crossbar. Ben Jevons
was also introduced in place of Jay Denny in the final roll of the dice
by Smith
His impact
was immediate, as with his first touch forced Worsnop into a fantastic
save, heading Hay's cross goalwards from six yards out but forcing
Worksop's man of the match into a brilliant match-winning stop
Landell also
thought he had rescued a point for the Pitmen two minutes from time,
firing narrowly wide of goal after Jevons had headed the ball into the
striker's path
Worksop moved
into the top half with this win, leaving the Pitmen to pick themselves
up ahead of the big Boxing Day derby against Chasetown. to make matters
worse, wins for Chester and Northwich moved them away from the Pitmen at
the top of the table
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