‘The lads nailed it’ - Hednesford boss hails dominant display as Pitmen move to within a game of promotion

The Pitmen finished second in the race for the Step 3 title, following a 3-3 draw with Ashton United on Saturday, but that didn’t affect them in the semi-final on Tuesday.

Goals from Montel Gibson and Ollie Harrison either side of the half downed the 10-man Anchors, who had Arjun Purewal dismissed minutes before the opener.

“I thought we were really good tonight,” Davis said post-match. “We had a game plan, and the lads absolutely nailed it.

“I think we were so high with our intensity and energy levels from the start to the finish. I was really pleased with the performance.”

The victory over Stockton sets up a play-off final against Warrington Rylands, who overcame FC United of Manchester in the other semi-final.

That return to standard in terms of energy was something Davis highlighted as needing improvement from Saturday’s draw with Ashton.

“You can get it on a hot summer’s day…a bit of a lethargic feel, and it’s harder to run around in the sun than it is on an evening game like tonight,” the Hednesford boss added.

“It’s something we’ll have to be aware of on Monday. Tonight was different from Saturday, and it was all about getting back to us, getting back to how we perform at home, which we’ve done so well for so long.

“We made it difficult for the opposition and limited them to very few opportunities.”

Indeed, very few sides have come away from Keys Park with a win. Stockton are the only side to do it, prevailing back in October.

That’s now 15 league and play-off games unbeaten at home for Hednesford, 10 of which have resulted in wins, and one more victory for Davis’ side will see them join Hebburn Town in the National League North next season.