Manager Courtney Belford said his Hinckley AFC side’s win over Hucknall Town in their play-off semi-final was “half a job well done.”
AFC reached the final with a 3-0 win with two goals from Ryan Harkin and one from Charlie Evans seeing AFC through.
And it came in front of a record crowd as more than 500 watched on at Kirkby Road.
Belford was delighted with his side’s performance but said they’re only halfway to their ultimate goal. He said: “I thought we were brilliant. The way we started the game, the shape really suits us and the lads have implemented it really well.
“The high pressure games we never quite grabbed hold of in the season but the lads were fantastic. We trained well on Tuesday, went through a lot of information and it was down to the lads to do that. Everybody to a man, whether they played or not, all backed each other.
“We’ve got over the line in a semi, it’s half a job well done. We’ve got another chance to get ourselves out of the league so bring it on.”
The manager felt his side could have been more ruthless in front of goal – both in the first half, with Hucknall still having 11 men on the field, and in the second once they went down to nine.
But he was particularly pleased with the clean sheet. The shutout was only Hinckley’s second since mid-February and came against a side that included the league’s third-leading scorer and who had fired nine past AFC in the previous two meetings.
And he said he’d laid down a challenge to his defensive line.
“We said to the lads ‘don’t rely on the strikers to do it for us all the time’.
“We needed to make sure we were combative at the back and restrict their chances. And we did that, they didn’t have many shots on goal. We dealt with the game and their threats really well. It’s a tough, high pressure situation but we learnt today that we’re ready for the challenge.
“We said we needed to be better in that situation and we did that, we learned. We want to keep as many clean sheets as we can. But if we win 7-5 next week I won’t care!”
That win sets up a date with Belper United next weekend for a place at step five next season. The Derbyshire outfit will visit Kirkby Road on Saturday for another 3pm kick off.
They beat Hinckley in both meetings between the sides this season – including a 4-3 win at St John’s Park in September when AFC used that ground as a temporary home.
Belford said the two games against Belper this year were “totally different games.”
“The game at Heather we were in a fantastic position but the team has totally changed since then. We caved in with 20 minutes to go.
“The game at their place there was nothing in the game. It was tight, scrappy, your typical midweek game away from home. And we didn’t manage the last ten or 15 minutes well.
“We know they’re a good side. When second and third play each other in a final, the best two teams other than Kimberley are playing each other for a chance to get out of the league.
“They’ve beaten us twice so we’re the underdogs in this situation. The pressure is on them to come here and beat us.
“We’re ready for every challenge, and we’ll do everything we can to get over the line. It’s going to be tough for us but we’ll give everything we’ve got. Let’s see what we’re made of.”
