Prescot Cables 1-1 Hednesford Town
Hednesford Town made the trip to Merseyside to face second placed Prescot Cables knowing that an upset in the form book could pull the Pitmen clear of the relegation zone.
Hednesford Town dealt with the windy conditions very well early on and started the game much more strongly than the home side, taking an early lead in the 12th minute when Jake Jervis produced a neat finish from Lewis Farmer's cross. The Pitmen continued to contain Prescot during the opening twenty minutes, preventing them from producing any fluidity in their play. Kyle Sambor was challenged in the box by Michael WIlliams, as the Cables had a penalty shout declined by the referee. Jack Goodwin had a shot for the Cables which Tom Thorley deflected behind for a corner, Rhys WIlliams did well in the difficult conditions to claim the ball. The equaliser came in the 27th minute with a long range effort from Francis Smith beating Williams to level the score. The game became quite scrappy following the equaliser without either side producing any clear cut opportunities and limited to shooting from distance, there would be no further goals in the first half.
Cables dominated the opening exchanges of the second half in terms of possession, however the best chance fell to Jai Verma who forced a great save from Mitchell Allen on the counter attack. Sambor had a great chance to give Cables the lead but made a mess of the opportunity provided for him by Goodwin's cross. Williams was on hand to make a save from a Cables' freekick from 30 yards as the second half reached the midway point. The Pitmen had few chances in the second half to recapture the lead, a freekick from the left of the penalty area taken by Jack Kelly was defended for a corner, which John Murphy managed to scramble away. In return from Prescot, Sambor was denied again by Williams before he shot over from 40 yards out. Cables' goalscorer Smith shot wide as the Pitmen stood up to pressure from the home side in the final fifteen minutes of the game. The Pitmen's defence was efficient and despite the pressure they were able to limit the chances of Prescot as the game ended in a draw.
Prescot Cables; Allen, McNally, M Devine, Donaldson (Owens 81), Koehler, J Devine (Glennon 72), Goodwin, Foley, Murphy, Smith, Sambor. Subs not used; E Devine, Hollett, McMahon.
Hednesford Town; R WIlliams, McQuilkin, Kelly, Thorley, Griffiths, M Williams, Verma, Moke (Edwards 86), Jervis, Barnes-Homer (Bailey 86), Farmer (Brown 66). Subs not used; Delfouneso, Berks.