Hednesford Town 0-3 Avro - Report
Ninth placed Avro made their first ever visit to Key Parks to face Hednesford Town in a game that the Pitmen needed to win to keep their survival hopes alive. A scrappy opening twenty minutes was devoid of any chances for either side, as the game was played at a high tempo with a distinct lack of quality. Avro opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Chiekh Thiam played a dangerous cross into the box, which was unfortunately headed into the goal by Pitmen defender MIchael Williams. The Pitmen were forced to make a change when Nathan Delfouneso was injured and was replaced by Matthew Barnes-Homer. In the 33rd minute a corner from Avro was headed in at the far post by Ginaluca Havern to double the visitors' advantage. The Pitmen only had one opportunity in the first half which saw a shot from Jai Verma cleared off the line by an Avro defender.
Any chance of a second half fightback from the Pitmen was effectively over in the 54th minute when a well placed Avro freekick was headed home, again at the far post, this time by James Dwyer. The Pitmen appeared to have the stuffing knocked out of them and were unable to offer much in terms of a comeback as Avro played out the rest of the game. A couple of corners came to nothing, before Jake Jervis went down just inside the box, however nothing was given by the referee. Jervis had another shot saved by Grant Shenton before Jack Kelly saw his freekick tipped over the bar by the Avro keeper. The game ended in a disappointing 3-0 loss for the Pitmen, which made their hopes of league survival seem further in the distance.
Hednesford Town; R Williams, McQuilkin, Kelly, M Williams, Griffiths, Thorley (Bailey 65), Verma, Moke, Delfouneso (Barnes-Homer 26), Gwilt (Farmer 83), Jervis. Subs not used; Berks, Morley.
Avro; Shenton, Thiam, Fitzpatrick, Cotterell, Dwyer, Havern, Kershaw, Rother (McKnight 21), Gomes, Ellis (Smalley 69), Grewal (Crothers 49). Subs not used; Rathbone, Woods.
