Hednesford Town 8-1 Clitheroe - report

First-half goals from Dan Sparkes, Jake Jarvis and Dominic McHale put the game out of sight ahead of the break before McHale added another, Clitheroe’s Sam Olawumi had a moment to forget, and Jack Bearne and Manny Duku completed the scoring. 

The new Pitmen boss certainly enjoyed his first experience of Keys Park and now has two wins from two matches after being appointed last week.

The victory saw Hednesford to seventh in the Northern One West table, two points adrift from the play-offs. 

From the off it was apparent that Hurren is a vocal and active manager on the sidelines as he bellowed praise for his Pitmen’s electric start.

After 14-minutes of battling, Dan Sparkes stood over a Hednesford free-kick - his breath visible in the crisp November air - eyeing the top right corner. And, the full-back made no mistake with his sumptuous curling effort that brought the first fist pumps from new boss Hurren in the dugout. 

The Hednesford fans were soon cheering again less than ten-minutes later, but at the other end, as skipper Elliot Johnson was alert to clear Louis Potts’ goal-bound effort from the line. 

And, the defender’s heroics led to striker Jake Jarvis extending the home side’s lead, converting at the near post after Jack Bearne’s trickery and low cross.

The Pitmen’s first period then got even better as Dominic McHale danced through the poor Clitheroe defence before slamming home from close range, and Hurren was jumping for joy.

McHale and Hednesford then continued their emphatic scoring touch just more than five-minutes into the second period as the goalscorer ran onto Jarvis’ flick and produced a composed finish. 

The game was out of Clitheroe’s sights and the mood was as good as it could be at Keys Park. It got even better four-minutes later as Clitheroe’s Sam Olawumi made a mess of his clearance and was left embarrassed after it looped into the net to make it five.

And, the scoring did not stop there. Jack Bearne was left alone arriving in the box to collect and convert, and Hurren paced up and down the touchline.

However, in the opposite dugout, frustrations only grew, and Clitheroe boss Jimmy Bell saw red from the referee.

The drama was not done as Bearne slotted home his second and Hednesford’s seventh minutes from time before Manny Duku powerfully struck an eighth, but just seconds before the end Johnson nodded into his own net and the clean sheet was gone. 

The 778 Hednesford fans showed their appreciation to Hurren after the conclusion.