A hairsbreadth away from snatching all three points
By Deborah Taylor
Mistakes at either end resulted in goals, and Celtic could have snatched the three points at the end, but a draw is a shade more than the balance of chances warranted.
From the off it became apparent Hednesford’s primary aim was to not lose. They defended in numbers, but Aaron Dwyer still found the space for a shot after sweeping in from the wing. However, at the other end, a bouncing ball from Joe Morley saw Demetri Brown give chase. Connor O’Grady tried to stay between Brown and the ball, but a momentary confusion saw Luke Hewitson hesitate. This allowed Brown to nip around O’Grady, steal the ball and fire into an open goal. Hednesford looked intent on protecting the lead, but they didn’t pick up Dwyer, alone on the wing. Hewitson spotted him, launching the ball to the halfway line. Dwyer beat the only defender to go one-on-one with Ryan Brown and curl his shot past the stranded keeper. Had Celtic taken either of their next chances, the second half would have panned out differently, but O’Grady’s header flashed wide, and Dwyer shot over.
Dwyer had the only shot on target in the second half. Stooping in onto a Max Leonard cross, but Brown made the save. Despite failing to hit the target, the home side had the better chances after the interval. James McQuilkin thrice fired over, while Desean Martin shot wide of a gaping net after Demetri Brown’s initial shot failed to pierce a forest of legs, rebounding out to Martin. Reinaldo Forbes really should have scored from two yards out, but fired over the bar.
This meant as the game went into stoppage time, Celtic were in a position to snatch the three points. The visitors pressed the Pitmen and this almost resulted in Dwyer’s second as he burst through a crowded box and squeezed a shot between defender, keeper, and post. The rocket of a shot smacked the upright , flicking out for a goal kick, sharing the spoils.
