Royston Town 1 Hednesford Town 0 - Report
Hednesford Town travelled south to Hertfordshire, following a two week weather enforced break, to face in form Royston Town in the BetVictor Premier Central League. Royston had only lost once in the league since the middle of November in a run of form that has seen them surge to fourth in the table. The Crows were further buoyed by a 2-0 victory over National League Ebbsfleet United in the FA Trophy. The Pitmen’s recent fortunes have been somewhat in contrast, sliding into mid-table some twelve points behind Royston after five games without a win.
The visitor's nearly opened the scoring early on when Dan Sweeney saw his header cleared off the line following a corner. Rhys Thompson was judged to have fouled Adam Watkins on the edge of the Pitmen area, however Scottt Bridges' free kick was easily blocked. Danny Glover looked to thread a pass through for Sweeney but home 'keeper Joe Welch was first to the ball.
The Pitmen continued to look the slightly better side as they played down the slope with the wind behind them, Elliot Hodge won a corner on the right from which his shot hit a defender. A foul on Glover on the edge of the home area saw Ben O'Hanlon hit the side netting from the free kick as the half ended goalless.
HT 0-0
The second half threatened to be a non-event as the blustery conditions lead to a midfield battle of attrition with neither side carving out any goal scoring opportunities. Sweeney almost opened the scoring five minutes from time forcing a great save from Welch who tipped the ball over the cross bar.
In the final minutes of the game an apparent foul on Pitmen substitute Jed Davies went unnoticed by the match officials allowing Royston to break downfield. A foul was given on Josh Castiglione on the edge of the Pitmen area, setting up Luke Warner-Eley to step up to find the top corner of the net from the free kick, providing a quality end to an other scrappy game.
Royston Town; Welch, Scott-Morriss, Warner-Eley, Bridges, Parr, Braithwaite, Castiglione, Watkins (Asafu- Adjaye 46), Adams (Ofusu 69), Bateman, Green (Martin 80). Subs not used;Brighton, Smart
Hednesford Town; Wycherley, Griffiths, O'Hanlon, Bailey, Mendez-Jones, Hallahan, Hodge (Davies 85), Thompson, Glover, Sweeney, Adadaki. Subs not used; Hewlett, Gatter, Reid, Veiga
Attendance 387
