The scoreline indicates a thrashing.

It was anything but.

However a treble from Tyrone Barnett and an Elliott Durrell strike condemned Matlock to a third straight league and cup defeat.

Down to ten men for the second successive game before half time following Ryan Laight's extremely harsh 40th minute dismissal, the Gladiators gave as good as they got and more.

One thing is for certain, Tamworth referee Simon Barrow will not be on any Matlock fan's or official's Christmas card list following an awful display in which he got several key decisions hopelessly wrong.

The Gladiators made two changes from the team beaten by Boston at the weekend.

Ashley Foyle's knee and ankle injuries saw him make way for Ryan Davis in central defence while Matty Caudwell replaced the injured Jamie Jackson, operating on the left with Gary Webster on the right.

Just looking at the huge Hednesford side as the teams took to the field had Matlock's fans fearing a tough night and the sharp contrast in styles soon became evident.

The Pitmen belted the ball long and hard at the earliest opportunity in a direct manner while Matlock, to their credit, played football throughout.

Their game was pleasing on the eye and all they lacked was the run of the ball at the end of their attacks and some more favourable decisions from the man in the middle.

Ross Hannah was soon scampering down the left and it took a fine interception from Tom Marshall who cleared the danger with Simon Barraclough waiting to pounce on his strike partner's teasing low centre.

Hednesford replied instantly as Durrell shot from distance and his effort flashed a yard wide of Andy Richmond's left hand post, but controversy wasn't far away.

In only the third minute, right back Sean Platt's hand blocked a Barraclough cross from the left for what looked an excellent penalty shout.

Mr Barrow waved away the vociferous appeals from players and crowd alike to award a corner which was headed clear by one of the many giants in the home side.

Undeterred, Matlock came again for Matty Thorpe to drive wide from 25 yards, before Barraclough robbed Danny Harvey to feed Hannah who fired straight at goalkeeper Danny Woodhall as Harvey harried him, atoning partly for his slip.

Ross Dyer returned a sliced Richmond clearance well off target before a tremendous break down the right from the Gladiators could so easily have given them the lead.

Laight began the move finding Steve Warne who in turn fed the overlapping Liam King on the right.

The full back's penetrating cross was snatched at full stretch off Barraclough by Woodhall.

But shoddy defending cost Matlock dearly on 31 minutes as a big punt forward through the centre of the sleeping Gladiators defence saw Barnett ease his way clear to tuck a neat finish beyond Richmond.

How many times have Matlock given the initiative to their opponents in similar fashion this season?

In a bid to repair the damage, Barraclough turned quickly from a left wing throw and his cross caused a hasty and unconvincing clearance from Decco Gomes.

Hednesford though, got away with it.

Then soon afterwards came another defining moment as Laight and Barnett challenged for a through pass on the edge of the Gladiators' penalty box.

It looked a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other as Barnett went down with both players leaning into one another, but Barrow could not get his red card out quickly enough and for the second time in three days Matlock's hopes of a fightback looked doomed.

And that feeling was increased as Barrow heaped more misery on them just before the break.

Harvey took Barraclough out deep in the penalty box, but again the hapless official ruled against the Gladiators.

But they should have been level within two minutes of the restart.

Another well worked move ended with Webster crossing from the right and star man King had raced half the length of the pitch to meet it with a powerful eight yard header which was a foot too high.

Matlock were giving it all they had and Barraclough's ball from the left was met by Warne whose goalbound shot struck Marshall who in truth knew little about it.

A Davis error though let in Dyer, but King again came from nowhere to produce an awesome tackle to keep Matlock in it.

But Matlock were soon on the offensive again.

Woodhall advanced quickly to nick Hannah's clever pass off Barraclough's toes, before Hannah returned the compliment with the skipper's shot having the sting taken out of it.

Then after Warne's effort was charged down, Caudwell came steaming in but his fiercely struck shot was down Woodhall's throat.

With the ten men on top, Hednesford doubled their lead on 64 minutes when Barnett escaped down the left to loop a shot into the opposite corner.

Almost immediately Richmond and King combined manfully to block from Ross Dyer, but even at two down they took the game to the hosts.

And on 76 minutes they surely got the feeling that it wasn't going to be their day again as substitute Dene Cropper knocked a back post corner into the danger area for Barraclough's acrobatic effort to hit Woodhall on the knees at ground level and loop high before dropping on the roof of the net.

A couple of Cropper headers went wide and high respectively before two late goals gave the scoreline a totally unrealistic look.

Hednesford at last made their extra man count in the 82nd minute as a move from left to right was finished comprehensively by Durrell, with Ryan Davis being booked for his offside protests.

Barnett made it four with two minutes remaining, his hat-trick goal being a header at the far post although there was a case for Richmond being impeded.

Matlock also had Lee Featherstone booked while Hednesford's sole caution was Marshall for dissent as several rash challenges by the hosts went unpunished.

Yes, Matlock need a change of luck but they also need to be more ruthless, at both ends of the pitch, the sooner of course, the better.

Matlock Town: Richmond, King, Featherstone, Thorpe (Harrison 73), Laight, Davis, Webster (Cropper 73), Warne, Hannah (Benger 80), Barraclough, Caudwell. Other sub: Foster.

Referee: S J Barrow (Tamworth)
Attendance: 373
Star man: Liam King.