Pershore Town 1-4 Hinckley AFC
A clinical spell of three goals in eighteen second half minutes helped Hinckley AFC to a 4-1 victory over Pershore Town at the King George V Stadium.
Following Luke Richards’ opener midway through the first half, Marco Adaggio, Nathan Walker and Ryan Seal all found the net in a short space of time as Hinckley recorded their seventh win in nine league games despite Jacob Snape’s late consolation.
Carl Abbott made four changes to the Hinckley side that beat Bolehall Swifts on Tuesday, with three of them coming on defence. Kristian Ramsey-Dickson, Alex Morris and Rico Taylor all came into the back four, while Darious Darkin replaced Elikem Amenku in the other change.
Hinckley were led out by club captain Richards on his 50th appearance for the club, and after Sean Williams flashed a drive narrowly wide of the far post, Richards marked the milestone with a goal. His fine 20 yard strike dipped over home ‘keeper Andy Yarnold and nestled in the back of the net.
The afternoon was to become bittersweet for Richards though; he was substituted with a hamstring strain shortly before half time.
Not to be deterred by the loss of their captain, Hinckley came flying out of the blocks after the interval. Richards’ replacement Liam Smith nearly doubled his side’s lead, but he was denied by the post.
Shortly afterwards though, Hinckley did add a second. Adaggio latched onto a neat through ball from Seal and coolly lifted the ball over the advancing ‘keeper.
The three points were all but secured on the hour mark. Walker’s 20 yard free kick took a deflection off the wall and left Yarnold helplessly wrong-footed as it found the net.
Throughout the afternoon, Seal and Taylor impressed for Hinckley, and the duo combined on 72 minutes to add a fourth goal. The former collected a long ball from the latter, before controlling and finishing to put the game beyond doubt.
But Pershore continued to battle, and scored a consolation goal late on when substitute Snape, who spent pre-season with Hinckley, netted with a diving header from close range.
That denied Hinckley a fourth clean sheet in five games, but it was only a minor blemish on another afternoon where the AFC front line flourished. They now have a rare midweek off before welcoming Heath Hayes to St John’s Park next Saturday.
Pershore: Andy Yarnold, Steve Webb, Jake Donnelly, James Walker, Shaun Griffiths, Joe Walsh, Dan Carter, Pete Jenvey, Stuart Hall, Steve Roche, Grant Baker. Substitutes: Jacob Snape, Jon Speak, Luis Sone, Jake Bastable.
Goal: Jacob Snape (87)
Hinckley: Tom Cross, Jean Kalenda, Rico Taylor, Kristian Ramsey-Dickson, Alex Morris, Nathan Walker (Neil MacKenzie 64), Sean Williams (Elikem Amenku 78), Darious Darkin, Ryan Seal, Marco Adaggio, Luke Richards (Liam Smith 44). Subs not used: Justin Nisbett, Jamie Newton.
Goals: Luke Richards (23), Marco Adaggio (54), Nathan Walker (60), Ryan Seal (72)
Attendance: 110
