A proud Hinckley AFC manager Carl Abbott praised his side for their “brave account” despite being knocked out of the Emirates FA Cup by Mickleover Sports.
Abbott’s side defied a three-step and 55-place deficit in the non-league pyramid to come within a whisker of forcing a replay against the Evo-Stik Premier side, and matched them for large spells of the game.
In the end, Mickleover’s higher level class told but Abbott was delighted with the account his side gave. He said: “We’ve given a great account of ourselves. The lads have worked their socks off and represented our club, our league and our level really well.
“We said we’d have a little bit of the game in the middle but the beginning would be tough and the end would be tough. That’s how it proved.
“We’ve been brave enough to risk failing badly in order to try and get something from the game. We could have set up for damage limitation from that start but we didn’t. The lads have stood up and been counted in a tough game, because that was a big jump of levels and they’re a good side.”
The former Wolves Casuals boss said his side were defeated by two goals that showed Mickleover’s higher level class, with both St Kitts and Nevis international Zeph Thomas and former Burton Albion man John McGrath scoring with super goals from outside the box.
“The first goal was from a free kick that for me is not a free kick. That gave them a shot on goal which was kind to them, but that’s not to take away from what was an unbelievable execution. No goalkeeper is keeping that out.
“They toiled but they couldn’t carve anything out of open play. We defended so well and concentrated really hard. We could have cleared our lines prior to the second goal a bit better but it spilled to the edge of the box and it was another unbelievable finish from a seasoned professional footballer.
“By the end, they were hanging on by their fingernails. We were so close to taking them back to a replay at St John’s Park and that in itself would have been a huge feat.”
But now, Abbott says he’s looking forward to stringing together some league games to try and make up ground on the sides above them.
“We’re happy to get back to the league. Because we’ve lost two games (to Walsall Wood and Atherstone) there’s been a bit of negativity about our start to the season but this has been a good start. We’ve won five games, two in the FA Cup, including a heck of a result at Worksop in what was a really tough game against a higher level side.
“Yes, we’ve had disappointing results against two good sides in our league but we’re looking forward to building some momentum and playing some back-to-back league games to catch up with the other sides.”
