Hednesford Town 2 Redditch United 2 - Report
The Pitmen faced the Reds at the PRG Stadium, Keys Park in the Pitching-In Central Premier League three days earlier than scheduled, as both clubs found themselves with a free Saturday due to postponements caused by their original respective opponents making progress in the FA Cup.
Rather than making the trip to table topping Peterborough Sports, Hednesford kicked off at home, in front of another good crowd, seeking to re-establish themselves in a play-off position against mid table Redditch United.
An uneventful opening 25 minutes saw both sides fail to create any danger. The Pitmen dominated possession but kept stuttering around the edge of the visitor's area, frequently over complicating promising movement. Former Pitmen Dan Sweeney looked dangerous for the Reds but in reality had very little to feed on.
A superb cross from Shaquille Master on the left found Andre Brown at the near post who hammered home to give Hednesford the lead in the 27th minute. Sweeney should have done better with a chance moments later but placed his shot wide of the post. A late foul on Andre Brown by Asa Charlton, resulted in a booking for the Redditch man, with the home support on the Wimblebury Terrace calling for a red card.
Redditch equalised five minutes after the restart when the impressive Nassuncolo was tripped in the penalty area, inevitably Sweeney stepped up to score the penalty. Master continued to to be the Pitmen's greatest threat with a couple of efforts from range forcing saves from Boucher. It was a cross from Master that was scrambled away, setting up skipper Todd Parker to drive home for the Pitmen to regain the lead after 69 minutes.
The Pitmen should have wrapped up the win in the 75th minute, when the Redditch defence unsettled by another Master cross conceded a penalty, leading goal scorer Andre Landell failed to convert from the spot. The miss proved to be costly when substitute Jade Ferron beat his marker to go through on goal and equalise with seven minutes left. Despite late pressure from both sides the game ended as a draw.
Hednesford Town; J Brown, Atkinson Lycett, Mendez-Jones, Ison, Hill (Richards Tilt, Parker, Brown, Landell (Morley 84) Master. Subs not used Rowley, Burns, Williams.
Redditch United; Boucher, George (Djurovic 43) , Wollacott, Day, Cox, Charlton, Rowe, Sweeney, Nassuncolo, Greaves (Rankin 69) Jemmett-Hutson (Ferron 78). Subs; Roke, Sanogo
Attendance 404
Entertainment 4
Man of match; Shaquille Master
