Hinckley AFC return to the Welfare Ground when Nuneaton Griff visit tomorrow – and manager John Ramshaw knows it’ll be a stern examination for his side.
AFC have won one and lost one in 2019 so far, and will go in search of a second home win when Nuneaton are the visitors for a local derby.
Griff, second bottom of the table and with just eight points to their name, have the fewest goals scored and the most goals conceded in the division.
But they have had a positive air under new boss Dave Stringer, and held Studley to a goalless draw in his first game in charge before going 3-1 up at Brocton on Saturday – only to surrender it and coming away with nothing.
And with former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie in their ranks, Ramshaw knows the task that will face his side come kick off.
He said: “Looking at Nuneaton’s performances over their last couple of games, they’ve been vastly improved on their previous few weeks.
“They gave us a good game at their place, and especially with them having brought in Lee Hendrie now they’ll have something a bit extra.”
Speaking after the Boxing Day defeat to Heather, Ramshaw said individual errors were costing his side dearly.
But he feels AFC are making progress in that regard, and is confident of a tighter defensive unit going forward.
“I hope we’re starting to see an improvement. It was great to get a win under our belts against Stapenhill and keep a clean sheet.
“Then on Saturday, again as a unit we were pretty solid and didn’t make any individual errors – we just fell foul of their combination play in the box where it’s always hard for defenders to stick a leg out because people go down so easily.”
AFC won the reverse fixture 2-1 back in August, when Grant Ryan and Kieran Harrison scored to overturn Griff’s lead.
And with Ryan now back in their ranks, Ramshaw hopes he can help the side start to score goals on a more consistent basis – starting with tomorrow’s visit of Nuneaton.
Adults: £6
Concessions: £4
Under 16s: £2 (FREE with HAFC Junior membership card)
