Match reports
Witton Albion 0–2 Hednesford Town
The new Witton side's unbeaten start ended on August bank holiday Monday. Hednesford Town won 2–0 at Wincham Park with a goal just before half-time and a stoppage-time penalty, and Witton had two players sent off.
Match facts
Witton Albion0–2Hednesford Town
- Date
- 25 August 2008
- Competition
- Northern Premier League Premier Division
- Venue
- Wincham Park
- Attendance
- 481
- Scorers
- Ross Dyer (Hednesford Town), 40 or 42 minutes; Penalty in stoppage time (Hednesford Town); see the note on the scorer
- Witton Albion
- G Smith; Scott, Coyne, Pritchard, Donnelly; B Thornley (Awang 18, Lugsden 37), Drew, S Smith, Gahgan (Thaker 78); Settle, R Thornley
Witton Albion had taken seven points from the first three matches of 2008–09: a draw with Frickley Athletic, then away wins at Prescot Cables and North Ferriby United. On bank holiday Monday, 25 August 2008, Hednesford Town came to Wincham Park and showed how much work Nigel Deeley's rebuilt team still needed.
Background
The win at North Ferriby two days earlier had come at a cost: six Witton players had been booked. Hednesford, by contrast, had started the season strongly and had a poor record at Wincham Park to put right; their own report of the match called it a hoodoo.
The match
Witton began well, with Mark Drew prominent in midfield and trying his luck from distance, but the visitors soon took control. Ben Thornley went off after eighteen minutes, and his replacement, Mattone Awang, was himself replaced by Kieran Lugsden before half-time.
Hednesford scored a few minutes before the break. Ross Dyer ran through the middle onto a pass from Tyrone Barnett and beat Greg Smith as the goalkeeper came out. Both Dyer and Barnett missed further good chances, and the Witton report conceded that the margin could have been much wider.
In the 70th minute Liam Coyne was sent off for striking Hednesford's Anthony Maguire after a late challenge. In stoppage time Gary Scott brought down Dyer in the penalty area and was also shown a red card, and the penalty made it 2–0. The referee was Peter Branks.
The crowd was 481.
Where the two reports differ
Hednesford published their own account of the game, and it does not agree with the Witton one on every detail:
| Detail | Witton Albion's report | Hednesford Town's report |
|---|---|---|
| Time of the first goal | 40th minute | 42 minutes |
| Scorer of the penalty | Ross Draper | Chad Sheppard, on as a substitute |
| Witton's starting eleven | As listed above | A different eleven, including Schwarz, Willis and Lugsden |
The line-up shown on this page is the one from Witton's own report. The two accounts agree on the score, the attendance, the two sendings-off and their timing.
Aftermath
Deeley said afterwards that he intended to sign two central defenders and to deal with the team's discipline, after six bookings and two dismissals in two matches. Coyne faced a three-match suspension.
Hednesford's win put them level on points with Guiseley at the top of the table. Guiseley were Witton's next opponents, the following Saturday, and won 2–0. Witton's first home win of the season did not come until 2 September, against Ilkeston Town.
Hednesford finished the season eighth; Witton finished twentieth and were relegated. All the results are in the fixtures and results archive.