Match Report: Hednesford Forest FC vs Ball Haye Green FC Reserves

Our trip to Hednesford Forest FC in the Macron Cup on Saturday afternoon had all the ingredients of a proper cup tie — intensity, momentum swings, and late drama — but it was one that ended in frustration for Ball Haye Green FC Reserves after a penalty shootout defeat.

From the opening exchanges, we looked comfortable on the ball and played with confidence, moving it well across the pitch and asking plenty of questions of the home side. We enjoyed the better spells in the first half, creating the clearer openings and playing much of the football, but couldn’t quite find the breakthrough before the interval.

The second half started in the worst possible way for us, with Hednesford Forest scoring straight after the restart to take the lead and briefly shift the momentum.

To our credit, we responded in exactly the right way. Heads stayed up, the tempo increased, and we gradually took control of the game once again. Our pressure and persistence finally paid off on 75 minutes, when Joel Asplin showed great composure to finish well and bring us back level — a goal that felt fully deserved based on our attacking play.

The closing stages belonged to us. We pushed forward relentlessly, kept Hednesford Forest pinned back, and threw everything at finding a winner. Chances came and went, bodies were committed forward, but the decisive goal just wouldn’t come.

With no extra time, the tie went straight to penalties. Despite a strong effort from us in the shootout, Hednesford Forest edged it 4–3, bringing our cup run to an unfortunate end.

It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but there were plenty of positives to take from the performance — our attacking intent, our response to going behind, and the way we finished the game on the front foot. One to be proud of, and plenty to build on as we turn our focus back to league action.