Hinckley AFC manager Carl Abbott said his side’s extra time win over Quorn in the Buildbase FA Vase was “a brilliant game”.
AFC reached the last 32 of the competition thanks to Kristian Ramsey-Dickson’s header seven minutes from time, after Quorn took the game into the additional half hour when Jack Farmer’s own goal equalised Peter Williams’ opener for Hinckley.
That sparked jubilant scenes amongst players and fans alike at the final whistle, but a hoarse Abbott said afterwards that his side made the tie more difficult than it could have been. He said: “I thought we made heavy weather of it going into extra time. We didn’t kill them like we have been doing to teams where we’ve scored five, six or seven on a regular basis.
“You got that nagging feeling that today wasn’t going to be our day. A lot of chances came and went and they (Quorn) defended gallantly.
“There were lots of shots blocked but I thought we dominated for the majority of the 90 minutes and all of the extra time.
“Quorn played their part and I thought they belied their league position a little bit in the league above, I thought they were a good side.
“It was a very good game and thoroughly enjoyable.”
Abbott said that the players knew what the tie meant, but said that although his side are aiming for the stars, their feet remain firmly on the ground.
“The lads were geeing themselves up before the game and were reminded at every juncture what it meant.
“It was a break from the league and allowed us to dream a little bit. You never know, we’ll take it game-by-game in the Vase but that’s one step closer to Wembley!
“It sounds ridiculous, but two teams have got to get there so why can’t it be us?”
The former Wolves Casuals boss was full of praise for the way his side have played over recent weeks, and believes consistency in player availability has been a huge part in that.
“(They’ve shown) fantastic consistency in their performances and the team is going out onto the field and doing the business.
“We’re trying to keep a rhythm to our play, we’re trying to stick to our style and our pattern of play and maintain it by putting the same players out there week in, week out. We’ve been fortunate to a point with injuries, certainly more so than we have in seasons gone by.
“They’re a great group and they enjoy each other’s company. They’re a joy to work with and they love the club as well. They’ve really taken the club and the supporters to heart and it’s a great place to be.”
Training is also paying off, according to Abbott, who expressed his delight at some of his side’s training ground moves leading to a goal against Quorn.
“We’ve been able to work on things in training that we’re applying on the pitch. Today, our first goal came from a pressing corner where three players went and affected the player.
“We worked on that in our last session and we’ve gone and scored a goal from it today.”
