09/11/2024
By Chris Gibbs
Good performance not rewarded by result
It was a case of what might have been.
Despite having plenty of chances and looking strong in possession for a lot of the game, ultimately it came down to the fine margins. When the chances came, Hednesford took theirs and we didn’t.
That couldn’t have been better encapsulated than in the first quarter of an hour. Carlos dos Santos, who had to be replaced inside the opening 20 minutes, played a lovely pass into Ty Webster on five minutes but the youngster’s finish was too close to the Hednesford keeper, Ryan Brown.
At the other end, Hednesford’s deadly duo of former Leek players Rob Stevenson and Dan Trickett-Smith linked up to allow the latter a close-range effort, which he finished emphatically.
Carlos’ replacement Olly Armstrong will feel he could have reached a brilliant ball into the box from Jake Twyford not long after we’d fallen behind, though an unkind bounce probably didn’t help him.
But we had Tom Thorley to thank for keeping us at 0-1 just after the half hour mark. Two outstanding blocks kept the Pitmen out and Dom McHale’s fiercely struck follow-up was true but just arrowed wide of Slinny’s left hand post.
Bakes made a tactical tweak at half time as we needed more in the forward areas of the pitch, but it was the visitors who increased their lead on 58 minutes with a goal mired in controversy.
Tommy Van der Laan and Slinny appeared to be involved in a mix up on the edge of our penalty area but there was a push on Tommy, which was missed by the referee. In the same phase of play when the ball was worked back to the edge of the area, Jack Bearne fired a superb right footer beyond Slinny for 2-0.
We now needed to play a more open game and although Hednesford had their chances, as the game stretched, we looked very dangerous too. Slinny made a fine save from Trickett-Smith not long after we’d fallen 2-0 down but we then had a hat-trick of chances that unfortunately, we didn’t take.
First up Jack Sherratt was on the end of fine team move which went from one side of the pitch to the other. Jack created just enough space in the D to get a shot away, but he didn’t catch it cleanly, and it went wide.
Shezzer then turned provider with an outstanding pass into the feet of Olly Armstrong but though our recent loan signing from Crewe controlled the ball first time, he then placed his shot too close to the keeper.
The third chance came to the man you definitely want it to fall to – Tim Grice. There was no fault to be found with his header, but Brown was equal to the task and got a strong paw up to keep it out.
At that point you just knew it wasn’t to be our day.
Brown was eventually beaten in the fifth and final minute of injury time when he flapped at a corner and Gricey lashed it home at the back stick, but no sooner had the ball hit the back of Hednesford’s net, then the final whistle was blown.
Team: Slinn, Derbyshire, Ritchie, Sherratt, Thorley, Van der Laan, Dos Santos, (Armstrong 18), Vale, Grice, Twyford, Webster, (Avery 62).
Man of the match: Tom Thorley – time and again the big man at the back put his body on the line pulling off some fine blocks not to mention some crucial tackles. On another day they might have had more of an influence on the result.