Hednesford Town 1 Stalybridge Celtic 1 - Report
Harry Harris got off the mark as the new Hednesford Town boss with a hard earned point against Stalybridge Celtic.
The visitors made the stronger start in terms of possession and attacking intent in the opening quarter of an hour. However they were undone by a long ball forward for Demetri Brown, who beat his defender and rounded Luke Hewitson before slotting home in the 16th minute to give the Pitmen the lead. The Pitmen took control of the game and looked good for their lead until the 30th minute when Lucas Yeomans lost possession, allowing the ball to be squared to Aaron Dwyer who drove past Ryan Brown to level the score. There would be no more clear cut openings as a fiercely contested yet even half drew to a close.
The Pitmen made a strong start to the second half with goalscorer Brown forcing two early saves from Hewitson before Desean Martin found soke space and shot wide of the target. Reinaldo Forbes took the ball to the byline and picked out Brown who blasted over from close range as the Pitmen continued to knock on the door.
A scuffle on the floor saw both Yeomans and Brandon Newell booked. James McQuilkin forced another save from Hewitson with a rasping long range drive.
Hednesford broke quickly up the field from a Celtic corner through Tom Thorley who found Joe Morley, with the winger shooting straight at Hewitson in the Celtic goal.
The game continued in an end to end fashion for the remaining minutes, the Pitmen hung on for a valuable point despite Dwyer having a shot charged down and then hitting the side netting in the closing minutes.
