Cherry chuffed with Ilkeston win

Assistant manager Tom Cherry said he was proud of the way his side fought back to beat Ilkeston Town at St John’s Park.
AFC were two goals down after a lacklustre first half, Tim Hopkinson’s brace giving the Derbyshire side a cushion at the break.
But, spearheaded by Steve Hart, Hinckley hit back after the break and Hart scored four times to turn the game on its head.
It means Hinckley are still unbeaten in the league under Richard Lavery and Cherry’s stewardship, and Cherry said he couldn’t believe the second half comeback. He said: “We weren’t playing well at all but fair play to the lads for turning it around.
“We told a few home truths at half time, they know the first half display isn’t where we want to be as a team going forward.
“But you can’t knock them, they’ve come out after half time and got the job done. The lads are all buzzing.”
Much seemed to hinge on the half time teamtalk. While Cherry said some of what was said wasn’t repeatable on video, he acknowledged the need to change formation and wants to start games better in future.
“We recognised that changing the shape would help, but there are no excuses for the first half, formations are more a matter of yards.
“So as an excuse, I’m not having it.
“But we’ve had it for the last three or four games, where we haven’t started well but come out of the blocks in the second half, built a bit of momentum and got back into the game.
“Maybe there’s something we might have to change going forward to start games better, but certainly if we started today’s game like we finished it we’d have won comfortably.”
Cherry reserved praise for four-goal hero, saying he won Hinckley the game and is “fantastic in front of goal”
But he was also pleased with the way the side defended in the second half, with Ilkeston seeing more of the ball but with limited chances.
“They had a lot of the ball but weren’t really hurting us. I can’t think of many saves that Carl had to make.
“In the first half in particular, they had a lot of possession and they were 2-0 up so it did look pretty.
“But when we got a goal back, their gameplan changed as well. There was a lot less football played from both sides.”
And with much of the side still gelling and getting to know each other, Cherry said he couldn’t have asked for more from his first four league games.
“It’s a work in progress. Me and Lavs have had four league games, we’ve won three and drawn one. We’ve got to pat the lads on the back.
“They’ve had a tough time this year with lots of comings and goings, but the lads have been brilliant in training and in games.”