Hednesford Town travelled to ninth placed Nantwich Town, buoyant after their 3-0 victory over Witton Albion 48 hours earlier.
The first action of any significance saw Hednesford stopper Ryan Brown injured, with no keeper on the bench, Brown was forced to stay on with Josh Endall taking over kicking duties. It did not take long for Nantwich to take advantage when Kai Evans chipped the ball over Brown to give the Dabbers a 14th minute lead. The score line got worse for the Pitmen when Nantwich skipper Troy Bourne bundled the ball home from a corner to double the home advantage. A quick reply from the Pitmen saw Tom Thorley pull one back when he got on the end of Joe Morley’s cross finishing neatly at the far post in the 27th minute. The goal of the game came three minutes later when James McQuilkin played a ball to the advancing Jake Jervis who produced a superb volley to level the scores at 2-2.
HT 2-2
The second half continued to flow from end to end and in the 65th minute the Dabbers retook the lead this time when Gio Loureiro got on the end of Timi Sobowale’s cross producing a finish past Brown. The Pitmen fought back and some unconvincing defending allowed substitute Eden Bailey to break into box and fire a shot past Ben Garrett in the 71st minute. The game remained an open one but appeared to be heading for a draw, which would have been a fair reflection of both sides’ performances, however there would be late heartbreak for the Pitmen when Bourne produced his second goal with a far post finish from a corner in the 95th minute.
Nantwich Town; Garratt, Sobowale, Lawton, Moran (Raffie 71), Bourne, Milner (Loureiro 42), Connolly, Okome, Harrison, Kay, Evans (Saunders 84). Sub not used; Merner
Hednesford Town; R Brown, McQuilkin, Kelly, Thorley, Griffiths, Endall, Verma (Berks 79), Moke, Morley (Barnes-Homer 63), Jervis, Edwards (Bailey 71). Subs not used, J Brown, Farmer.
