Gainsborough 3 Hednesford 1
It was another frustrating afternoon for Hednesford Town on their travels, as a poor first-half defensive display was punished by some sharp finishing which left them with too much to do in the second period.
After a bright start in the wet and windy conditions – which had led to two pitch inspections in the morning – a cross into the Hednesford penalty box was not cleared and the ball ricocheted to Marc Newsham, who finished smartly on nine minutes to give his side the lead.
Hednesford goalkeeper Dan Crane was called into action again a few minutes later, saving from Gainsborough man-of-the-match Liam Davis as the home side looked to extend their advantage.
The Pitmen were desperately trying to get their foot on the ball and forced two half-chances around the 20-minute-mark, with Ahmed Obeng and Sean Williams both going close.
In the 29th minute, things went from bad to worse when Newsham got in front of young Hednesford defender Tyrone Williams to double the lead with a fine finish on the turn giving Crane no chance.
Six minutes later, Obeng was denied again when former Wolves goalkeeper Jan Budtz stopped his goal-bound effort right on the line.
As they looked for a way back into the game, the Pitmen finished the first half strongly with loanee Tom Peers – who had joined the club the day before from Chester – going close as he showed great composure in the box, but fired his left-foot shot straight at Budtz.
The half-time interval saw striker Kyle Perry being introduced for midfielder Kennedy Digie as the Pitmen desperately looked for a way back into the game. And the big striker had two half-chances, but skewed his efforts wide on both occasions.
Manager Bernard McNally introduced another frontman in Danico Johnson just after the hour-mark but immediately after this change disaster struck for the visitors.
A Gainsborough free-kick crashed against the crossbar and when the ball was crossed back into the box Davis reacted first to score the third to kill off any hopes of a revival in the 63rd minute.
Just after the restart, some good play by the Pitmen put in Andy Todd and his searing 25-yard drive just missed the post with the home goalkeeper well beaten.
Hednesford were now getting much more of the possession, with the home side seemingly content to protect the three-goal lead and it was no surprise when a cross into the box was headed home by Peers in the 86th minute, although Perry thought that he had got the final touch.
