Ten men Town triumph in the Bay …
Hednesford Town followed up on a midweek victory over Gloucester City with another impressive win over league strugglers Colwyn Bay. Town travelled to north Wales aiming to consolidate the final play-off place, knowing a win would also put pressure on those teams above them.
The Pitmen didn’t take too long to threaten the Colwyn Bay goal as, with only eight minutes played, Darren Campion found space in the penalty box only to see his shot hit the side netting.
But it would be the Hednesford left back that would soon become the talking point of the first half as, with only 18 minutes gone, the Town skipper was given his marching orders for a strong tackle on Bay substitute Tom Buckley, deemed by the official as serious foul play.
Aggrieved by the decision, Hednesford reacted well and looked comfortable in dealing with any pressure that the Seagulls looked to assert on Dan Crane’s goal.
Hednesford ended the first half well with a good effort from Jack Thomas just sailing over the bar and a delicate header from Marvin Robinson going just past the far post.
Town began the second half in a similar fashion to how they ended the first, and despite the one man disadvantage always looked more likely to break the deadlock.
Ben Bailey and Paul McCone both saw headers tipped over the bar by Sanna before Glenn Walker also tested the Bay shot-stopper with a fizzing effort which he palmed round the post.
The Pitmen’s second half pressure was finally rewarded with the opening goal of the game, coming from Paul McCone in the 68th minute. The central defender, still up field from a previous free kick, latched onto Richard Batchelor’s flick to bury his third goal of the season.
Only five minutes later, McCone was able to double the lead, heading home a perfectly-placed cross from Ben Bailey to send the travelling Town supporters into delirious celebrations.
It was to become even better in the 77th minute as Hednesford made it 3-0 though when Richard Batchelor diverted home Tom Thorley’s whipped free kick into the bottom corner: a frantic ten minutes, which on the balance of play, brought about a thoroughly deserved lead for The Pitmen.
With the healthy scoreline, Hednesford were able to see out the final minutes of the game with ease to secure a very impressive away victory, having played over 70 minutes with ten men.
The Pitmen return to action next Saturday at Keys Park, as second-placed AFC Fylde are the visitors in what should be a mouth-watering contest.
Colwyn Bay: Sanna, Taylor, Moss, Wilson, Lea, Royle, Anoruo (Buckley 5), Noone, Hopley, Baynes, Bove (Haywood 70)
Subs not used: Rees, Saeil, Olapade
Hednesford Town: Crane, Hurst, Campion, Bailey, McCone, Thorley, Thomas (Melbourne 78), Walker, Robinson (Diggin 62), Rushton (McGee 75), Batchelor
Subs not used: Westwood
Attendance: 268
Star man: Jack Thomas
Entertainment rating: Four Stars
