HINCKLEY AFC 3-2 CHELMSLEY TOWN: THE MATCH REPORT & IMAGES...

 Hinckley Display The Art Of Squandering A Comfortable Lead…

Hinckley AFC 3-2 Chelmsley Town

Until home goalie Matt Hill spilled a long, innocuous free-kick at the feet of visiting defender Kane Auld, who despatched the loose ball into the roof of the Hinckley net, a tough error which was followed by a dismissal for AFC striker Sam Lockley, there had been little thought that Chelmsley would leave a blustery Kirkby Road with anything other than a comprehensive defeat. Yet a final quarter-hour during which Town’s replacement and soul legend James Brown scored with a superb volley, it became evident that the guests could well spoil the Hinckley party and steal a point…  They didn’t though and the Woolpack hung on for the victory. The Woolpack? Ah, I’m not allowed to refer to Hinckley as the Knitters any longer… 

ELLIS: "I'M GONNA FLATTEN YOU IN THE FIRST MINUTE, WEALE-DOG..."

Two first- period goals for the hosts, both assisted by Lockley’s skirmishes with visiting ‘keeper Tom Allsopp and scored by the industrious Reece Giles and the speedy Isa Abraham, looked to have grabbed a firm foothold in the game for Hinckley. Those goals were added to after the interval when skipper Tom Weale back-headed number three, following a strange third assist for Lockley, whose lofted slice had been more akin to a Rugby League ‘up-and-under’… The visitors had produced nothing during the opening 45, bar a low near post shot by playmaker Jeorge Smith, which Hill gasped at the foot of his left upright. Certainly striker Jordan Wade and winger Sam Jeeves (I was looking on the team-sheet for someone called Wooster, but in vain) worked hard but in truth the support for them was wanting.

WELLS & LOCKLEY...

THE SKIPPER YELLS: "GET YOUR HEADS ON, LADS..."

Before the recess the hosts managed a pair of headers by returning central defender Ky Green, one of which was caught by Allsopp and the other looped over the crossbar, whilst Weale just failed to get to a low right-side centre by Abraham, as well as firing way too high with a free-kick from downtown. Lockley had been flagged offside several times during the match which led to one shot against an upright, another going wide and from the third flagged attack Abraham knocked the loose ball home, but all three efforts were of course nullified anyway. However, Lockley did latch onto a long pass by Luke Edwards, found Allsopp sprawling at his feet at 18 yards and subsequently the ball ricocheted away to Giles and his low shot, rather like a bouncing bomb by a World War Two Lancaster aircraft, evaded both a defender and the recovering Allsopp, before entering the net.

GILES HAS SCORED: 1-0...

Another Lockley melee with Allsopp, following the adventurous Callum Martin’s left-flank centre, saw the ball squirm away to the right side of goal, where Abraham latched onto it and fired his firm, low drive into the far bottom corner of the net. So, as the whistle blew for the break, Hinckley led 2-0… The half had been largely dominated by the Woolpack, often passing the ball rather well, although too often things broke down when Abraham was faced by three defenders, or when Lockley stayed offside. The midfield pair of Dan Hoskins and the irrepressible Giles were the creators, although Lewis Rankin wasn’t really able to stamp his authority on the match.

IDLING ACROSS THE PITCH TO GET ON CAMERA...

THE HOME CENTRAL DEFENDERS DO A BIT OF SHADOWING... 

Drew Kear and Martin were in fine attacking form from the full-back positions and Martin often seemed to advance through challenges, like he was on an obstacle course. He’s an asset to the Woolpack and it was interesting to see Weale’s contribution, although visiting skipper Nick Ellis flattened the robust Woolpackman in the opening moments, just to let him know he was there… Odd really, for the referee warned Ellis then yet allowed him to escape punishment for several later fouls, whilst brandishing yellow cards to others whose misdemeanours were less galling. The home fans’ indignation fell upon three people: the main official, the nearby assistant, who was asked several times whether he had seen an incident, in reply to which the linesman simply shook his head. The other individual was Chelmsley’s left-back Sam Aldhouse but I’ll refer to him later…  

ALDHOUSE GETS YELLOW...

The players left the arena for a bag of toffees and a sniff of vinegar, whilst the masked veterans near me failed to adhere to the one-way system in the grandstand and shifted me twice more, when they fetched half-time drinks. I was made to move again, twice, when one of them had to fetch his raffle prize. Social distancing? Er, not quite… The combatants returned to carry on kicking but in truth, although the entertainment was riveting, it became unpleasant, scrappy and error strewn, so that although Abraham immediately flicked Martin’s centre straight at Allsopp, it wasn’t long before Lockley’s punt from the right side of the 18 yard line seemed to take an age to drop and even with the rather tall Clark Wells behind him, Weale simply back-headed the ball goalwards. Allsopp had made a few steps forward and was thus unable to reach the ball as it dropped over him and underneath the crossbar. 3-0, game over? Er, no, not really… 

ELLIS: "TOLD YOU I WOULD..."

Rankin looked certain to score from 10 yards but as he prepared to shoot, Town’s John Daley knocked the ball from his boot but apart from a fine 25 yard drive by Kear, which struck the crossbar, that was all the real offense Hinckley could muster for then the game changed. First a long free-kick from deep left was caught and then fumbled by Hill so that the lurking Auld had a simple job to lift the ball high into the Hinckley net. Lockley was cautioned for a rather nasty challenge too and he wasn’t to stay on the pitch for much longer. He had just escaped the officials’ notice for a kick onto an opponent’s shin but when he launched into another rather wild tackle, he knew what was coming…

ALLSOPP: "ME? REALLY?"

ALLSOPP REALLY IS BEING CAUTIONED...

A wild challenge by Auld on Weale wasn’t penalised by the referee who was by this time losing some control over the proceedings and suddenly Weale was lying on the ground, complaining that Aldhouse had caught him with an arm. I really didn’t see it but although a playground scuffle ensued, Auld wasn’t booked for his unsuitable tackle, but Aldhouse and ‘keeper Allsopp were… Hmm… Hoskins and substitute Luke Richards were later cautioned for the Woolpack too… 

LOCKLEY IS BOOKED...

YELLOW FOR HOSKINS...

Although Smith had earlier dropped a shot from distance over the home goal-frame and Hill had held onto the same player’s 30 yard free-kick, little else had looked likely to harass Luke Edwards or Green but incredibly the visitors scored again and what a goal it was… A left-side cross from downtown by Aldhouse (still receiving booing and abuse from Hinckley’s fans in masks) bounced once and there was Brown to volley it from the inside-right channel beyond the 6 yard box and the ball arrowed into the far left corner of the net. A brilliant goal by a player who was wearing 14 but should have been wearing 17, after, er, picking up the wrong shirt… Really?

LOCKLEY IS DISMISSED & REFUSES TO LOOK AT THE REFEREE, BAR A CURSORY GLANCE...

The ten men held out until the end but procrastinated when offered a great chance to settle the match at 4-2 in the dying moments, even though I heard someone say that they were actually intending to waste time… Really? 15 yards out from goal? They actually surrendered possession… However, the final whistle calmed their nerves and despite Chelmsley’s late efforts, they were not rewarded. The second period was a bit of a slug-fest but it was good to see some soccer action, just days before another pandemic lockdown…

GILES: "NO, REF, IT WASN'T ME. I THINK HE WAS GUNNED DOWN..." (GET IT?)

TEAMS:

HINCKLEY AFC:

MATT HILL, DREW KEAR, CALLUM MARTIN, REECE GILES, KY GREEN, LUKE EDWARDS, LEWIS RANKIN, TOM WEALE (CAPT), SAM LOCKLEY, DAN HOSKINS, ISA ABRAHAM.

SUBS:

BEN KENDRICK, CHRIS LLOYD, LUKE RICHARDS, DANNY HARRIS, JACK EDWARDS.

CHELMSLEY TOWN:

TOM ALLSOPP, JOHN DALEY, SAM ALDHOUSE, KANE AULD, CLARK WELLS, NICK ELLIS (CAPT), SAM JEEVES, JEORGE SMITH, JORDAN WADE, DEAN MORRIS, JAMES MEDFORD.

SUBS:

COREY SOLOMON, ROB ELLIS, TOM ELLIS, JAMES BROWN, PETER MAGUIRE (GK).