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For reports from 1st March 1997 click here
Even the weather seemed to be looking forward to the match. The sub-zero temperatures
of the past few weeks had gone to be replaced with what seemed a very mild climate. The
demand for reporting facilities exceeded any that Hednesford had ever witnessed with over
forty reporters, cameramen and interviewers descending on Keys Park. Plastic seats had to
be placed on the side of the pitch in front of the stand to accommodate the
“press”.
By 7-15 pm all the programmes had been sold and the hum of excitement gradually grew
around the ground. With a capacity sell out, around 150 people who could not get tickets
had climbed onto the higher ground at the rear of the pitch. Bryan Robson, the
Middlesborough Manager had come to see the match and check out the victors that his team
had to meet in the next round.
7-40pm arrived and the teams emerged from the tunnel to be met by a great roar of approval
from the visiting crowd. Andy Comyn’s young son, marginally larger than the ball and
fully kitted out in Hednesford strip, was mascot for the match.
It was 7-15 and the whistle blown, Hednesford’s first ever appearance at the third
round of the FA Cup had begun. You might have thought that Hednesford would be a little
overawed by the second division York City, nothing could be further from the truth.
Hednesford went straight into the attack and from an early stage took control of the game,
playing as good as they ever have, easily equal to their opponents.
As York started the brighter of the sides Hednesford were indebted to keeper Scott Cooksey
for making three vital saves as tricky winger Paul Stephenson sent over a succession of
teasing crosses towards the dangerous looking Neil Tolson and Gary Bull. Cooksey was
called into action as early as the second minute, tipping over a header from Bull as
Hednesford settled down.
Hednesford almost took the lead with what would have been one of the goals of the season.
Midfielder Stuart Lake burst clear inside the centre circle before showing superb vision
in attempting to chip over York keeper Tim Clarke from fully 40 yards. York then hit back
and came close to making the all-important break through twice in the space of two minutes
only being denied by Cooksey again when he first pushed a Tolson header over the bar and
then dived full stretch to his left to push aside Stephenson's low drive.
A spate of bookings then broke up the tempo of the game with York defender John Sharples
fortunate to receive just a yellow card after pulling down Joe O'Connor as he broke clear.
The game then erupted into life with York managing to scramble clear a Kevin Collins
free-kick in which Wayne Simpson took a hefty whack on the side of the head. York's fate
was sealed when a corner was fed into a goalmouth scramble in which O'Connor was blocked
before Paul Carty's right foot drive was handled on the line by Hinsworth. Referee Terry
Heilbron pointed straight to the spot and had no alternative but to show the red card to
Hinsworth. As Hinsworth left the pitch Keith Russell cooly took the penalty kick, sending
the keeper the wrong way, and found the net. Keys Park erupted, the goal could not have
come at a better time, giving manager John Baldwin the chance to calm the team down during
the interval and spell out what was required.
In the second half, York only once breached the Pitmen's rearguard in which former Villa
and Albion defender Andy Comyn and fellow centre half Wayne Simpson were outstanding. That
breach was wasted as Nigel Pepper headed wide of the Hednesford goal from only six yards.
That chance just three minutes into the second half gave Hednesford the reminder that the
job was far from done and they would not make any further mistakes.
The final minutes of the game saw York spring into life with a few desperate crosses but
it was too late and after knocking out Manchester United and Everton in recent cup ties
they found themselves on the receiving end.
As the final whistle neared, a large crowd of press photographers gathered to the side of
Hednesford Manager John Baldwin, waiting to record the look of joy once he knew that
Hednesford had won. The whistle sounded and the ground erupted in sound with many of the
Hednesford fans invaded the pitch, the stewards never had a chance. The high level of
emotion was contagious, no one from Hednesford wanted to leave, even the York fans were
joining in the applause with one of their fans saying to me that Hednesford deserved to
win “they were bloody marvelous”
Middlesborough here we come.
Hednesford's most likely path to Wembley came to a dead end with this defeat as
Northwich had their sights set on a return to Wembley, this time to claim the Trophy.
Hednesford dominated a scrappy first half at the Drill Field but failed to turn possession
into goals and were eventually well beaten by a well organised Victoria outfit.
Town survived some contentious decisions by referee Gerald Ashley who awarded Vics an
indirect free kick on the edge of the six yard box after only eight minutes when Kevin
Collins was adjudged to have played the ball back to Cooksey, who collected rather than
concede an own goal.
Hednesford threatened through Joe O'Connor who wasted two good openings with a shot and a
header that both buzzed over the bar but Paul Tait stunned Pitmen fans with a 39th minute
glancing header.
In the 53rd minute, referee Ashley blew for a free kick on the edge of the area after
Wayne Simpson had handled Eddie Bishop's pass to Lee Steele. Steele had already driven the
ball into the net but Ashley opted not to follow the advantage rule.
Paul Carty gave Hednesford something to cheer for with a 58th minute equaliser from Keith
Russell's cross which rounded off the best move of the game.
Northwich fought back and two goals from former Chester City man Eddie Bishop swung the
balance back towards last season's finalists. His first came in the 68th minute with a far
post header from Chris Duffy's superb long cross and the second was a penalty given after
unfortunate Simpson had tripped Steele.
Hednesford : Cooksey, Carty, Russell, Simpson, Comyn, Collins, Dandy, Lambert, Lake, Fitzpatrick, O'Connor. Subs : Essex, Hemmings, Devine.
Northwich : Greygoose, Ward, Duffy, Fairclough, Simpson, Bishop, Reddish, Tait, Steele, Cooke, Vicary. Subs : Humphreys, Hughes, Briggs.
Though Hednesford had won the draw for a home advantage they agreed to play the game at
Middlesbrough's magnificent Riverside Stadium. This decision enabled 27,511 people to
watch one of Hednesfords finest performances where they showed that the highly payed
Premier League players were not worth the money.
Though Middlesbrough won the game, it took them 86 minutes before one of their own players
scored a goal. Hednesford took the lead in 14 minutes when Russell had a shot blocked but
Joe O'Connor latched onto the loose ball to fire a superb right foot drive across keeper
Roberts into the corner.
Middlesbrough, shocked by the goal hit back with a relentless wave of attacks with Juninho
and Emerson being thwarted by some brilliant defending.
Middlesbrough pulled level in the 26th minute when a free kick by Juninho caused problems
in the Hednesford defence, Ravanilli and Beck moved in to attack the goalmouth, Comyn
attempted to head a ball clear but it bounced of the back of Lambert into the corner of
the net for an own goal though Beck initially tried to claim the goal.
For the rest of the game Middlesbrough attacked fiercely but were unable to break down the
strong Hednesford defence and a magnificent performance by keeper Scott Cooksey.
With the end of the first half approaching, the Pitmen threatened to take the lead for the
second time when first Lake was just wide with a right foot effort from the edge of the
area and then O'Connor just failed to pick out Russell at the far post after battling the
way past Whyte.
Middlesbrough kicked off the second half but it was Hednesford who made the first inroads
towards goal with O'Connor looking to latch onto Lambert's through ball but Roberts was
quickly out to the edge of his area to gather safely.
Middlesbrough then hit back increasing the pressure on Hednesford, pinning them inside
their own area, but were unable to break down the Pitmen's defence. Cooksey was superb,
tipping a well struck shot from Ravanelli over his crossbar. The Italian international
later tricked his way past Fitzpatrick and sent over a low cross that flew across the face
of Cooksey's goal but went out to safety.
The pressure was now relentless and Hednesford were mustering their forces bravely to keep
out the Middlesbrough internationals until when in the 86th minute Fjortoft managed to hit
the ball from the goal area into the net, Middlesbrough's face had been saved. Two minutes
later Ravanelli also managed to take advantage of a tiring Hednesford defence to make
Middlesbrough two up. Lesser teams would have given up at this stage but not Hednesford,
they immediately attacked the Middlesbrough goal and Joe O'Connor scored his second goal
of the match. Joe picked the ball from the back of the net and ran back for the centre
spot, hoping to have a chance of a further goal but it was too late, the referee's whistle
was blown for the end of the game and what a game.
The professional pundits had ruled Hednesford out of having any chance of beating
Middlesbrough but they had been proved wrong. Middlesbrough had been given a shock - a
further shock may be when people start asking why some of their international players are
payed such inflated salaries when they could be held for such a long time by part timers
four divisions lower.
After the game the Hednesford team were applauded and cheered by both Hednesford and
Middlesbrough fans. The Middlesbrough fans had come to witness a slaughter but saw in its
place one of the most exciting games they have witnessed for a long time and were relieved
when Middlesbrough pulled disaster out of flames in the dying minutes of the game.
Hednesford : Cooksey, Carty, Russell, Simpson, Essex, Comyn, Collins, Lambert, Lake, Fitzpatrick O'Connor. Subs : McNally, Hemmings, Devine.
Middlesbrough : Roberts, Whyte, Vickers, Emerson, Kinder, Mustoe, Beck, Juninho, Ravanelli, Moore, Festa. Subs : Fjortoft, Liddle, Ormerod
With the largest Conference crowd of the season at Keys Park, the Pitmen made a
determined effort to make an early impression. In only the second minute Russell was free
down the right wing to send over a teasing cross which Brown headed away. The ball came
straight back to Russell but his second attempt was plucked out of the air by Woking's
keeper Batty.
In the eighth minute Woking's Cup Run supremo Clive Walker darted down the left but after
skipping past Fitzpatrick he found Simpson there to stop him.
A slip by Cooksey almost gave Woking a goal in the tenth minute when he dived onto a
through pass only to slide just outside his area to concede a free kick. Walker shaped up
for a curler but squared for Jones to hammer a shot against the foot of the post from 20
yards. Cooksey could only watch as the effort richocheted out of danger.
There was more danger for Hednesford when Thompson won a mid-field dual but Jackson failed
to pursue a nice pass. As the play switched to the other end, a long throw from Lake was
only partially cleared and Collin's high ball into the Woking box was knocked away by
Batty.
Hednesford were dicing with danger by leaving Walker in space on the edge of the area but
in the 34th minute his curling drive was held by Cooksey and four minutes later the Pitmen
took the lead when Lake had time to turn and thread a defence splitting pass to Russell
who calmly fired past the advancing Batty.
Woking were stung into action and Walker hammered a ground hugging 25 yarder into the arms
of Cooksey. The icing was placed on the Hednesford cake when just a minute before the
break they doubled their advantage when Russell dragged the Woking defence to the left
touchline and his infield pass was cheekily flicked through to Lake who almost arrogantly
side stepped Batty then rounded a defender on the line and waltzed the ball into an empty
net. The ground went wild and Manager John Baldwin was dancing at the dugout.
The Pitmen started the second half where they had left off - on the attack but it didn't
all go the Pitmen's way. Woking constantly hammered home their attack on Hednesford's
goal, hitting the post, firing wide and high but no matter what they did they just could
not score. Hednesford did score twice more, once in the first and once in the second half
but they were disallowed following the linesman flagging for offside in the first instance
and foul in the second.
It was a very enjoyable game and it was great to watch Hednesford playing at the level we
always know they can and the skill of Woking especialy Clive Walker. He will be a big loss
to the Woking when he leaves them.
Hednesford : Cooksey, Hemmings, Russell, Pinson, Essex, Collins, McNally, Devine, Lake, Fitzpatrick O'Connor. Subs : Street, Lawrence, Dandy.
Woking : Batty, Howard, Taylor, Foster, Brown, Jones, Thompson, S.Wye, Steel, Jackson, Walker. Subs : Timothy, Hay, L.Wye
This was definitely a night to forget for Hednesford fans. The seven game unbeaten run
came to an emphatic end as the Pitmen slumped to their biggest ever Conference defeat.
Though the Hednesford side was depleted by injuries they should have played much better
than this. For the first 30 minutes there was little to choose between the sides who were
both struggling with a water-logged pitch.
At 29 minutes the referee dealt harshley with Gary Fitzpatrick when he tried to block Neil
Sorvel's cross and accidently handled the ball. The ref. pointed straight to the spot and
Richard Landon shot at Scott Cooksey who got a hand to it but was unable to prevent the
ball from slipping into the net.
It was only six minutes later when Phil Power received a cross from Chris Byrne and
smartly shot it past a helpless Cooksey. Moments later Cooksey was again in the action
saving an impressive shot from Sorvel.
Just before the interval a late challenge from Steve Wood on Paul Carty resulted in an
angry exchange which included managers John Baldwin and Sammy McIlroy. Wood was booked for
the challenge and was lucky not to have been sent off after appearing to strike out at
Hednesford skipper Colin Lambert.
The second half continued Hednesford's misery and more bookings followed as Macclesfield
made their physical presence tell - Hednesford seemed too easily knocked aside.
It was well into the second half of the game before Hednesford registered their first on
target effort when Ryan Price saved low to his right from Stuart Lake, but by then it was
all over for Hednesford and in the 61st minute Landon grabbed his second of the night,
nodding home from close range after Cooksey had failed to hold on to a corner. Then on the
stroke of full time Hednesford were further humiliated when Woodtook advantage of some
hesitancy in the Hednesford defence to stride through and finish neatly from just inside
the area.
Hednesford : Cooksey, Carty, Hemmings, Comyn, Essex, Collins, Lake, Lambert, Street, Fitzpatrick, O'Connor. Subs : Harnett, Dandy, Broadhurst
Macclesfield : Price, Tinson, Gardner, Payne, Howarth, Sorvel, Davenport, Wood, Landon, Power, Byrne. Subs : Bradshaw, Askey, Mitchell
In a scrappy encounter at the International Stadium, Gateshead, the pitmen were dealt a blow in the 35th minute when midfielder Stuart Lake was dismissed for what appeared to be an elbow in the face of Gateshead striker Wayne Edgcumbe. Sheffield official Paul Pawson booked four players as well as the sending off in a crazy seven minute spell around the half hour mark. And Hednesford manager John Baldwin was ordered to leave the dug out after a confrontation with the overzealous referee as things went from bad to worse.
There were few clear cut chances for either side in a mediocre match and Hednesford were indebted to prolific striker Joe O'Connor for grabbing the games only goal in the 68th minute. Paul Carty, who made some promising runs down the right flank all afternoon, played an inch-perfect ball across the box to the unmarked O'Connor who made no mistake with a shot into the far corner.
It was a long way to go to see such a poor performance
Hednesford : Cooksey, Carty, Hemmings, Comyn, Essex, Collins, Street, Lambert, Lake, Fitzpatrick, O'Connor. Subs : Devine, Harnett, Broadhurst.
Gateshead : Sherwood, J.Robson, Rowe, G.Robson, Wrightson, Kitchen, Pearson, Edgcumbe, Thompson, Proudlock, Skedd. Subs : Key, Lowe, Cuggy
The first half of this game was unbelievably boring, any excitement shown by the crowd was by those listening to another game on their radio's.
Hednesford seemed to have the run of the ball but were unable to complete any move near the goal mouth. On more than one occasion Hemmings took the ball down the left wing but seemed lost with what to do with it when he was near the box. Street ran around like a headless chicken and if it hadn't been for the excellent Hednesford defence you would have thought that the Pitmen wanted to lose. The second half started in the same way as the first until Morecambe's Ceroalo scored past a clumsy Hednesford goal mouth in the 54th minute. The Morecambe fans who had visited Keys Park to shout on their players at last had something to cheer about which is more than the Hednesford fans. This at least sparked some life into the two teams, Morecambe suddenly realised that they could win this game and Hednesford realised that they were about to lose it.
Four minutes later O'Connor shot past keeper McIlhargey to the relief of the Hednesford supporters but it took another 20 minutes of mediocre play before Street managed to tap the ball into the net again during a goal mouth scramble. Street has the nack of playing poorly during most of the game, losing the ball more than keeping it, but being in the right place at the right time for these scrambles.
Last week, Manager John Baldwin said that Hednesford didn't have much chance of winning the league - by this performance I'm inclined to agree with him. You have to wonder why he had three better players sitting in the dugout during most of the game.
Copyright � 1997 Dennis Dixon
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