Joint Manager Joe Conneely labelled his Hinckley AFC side’s 2-0 win at Ingles as “the best of the year”.
AFC continued their winning run in Division One with three points over an Ingles side whose home and defensive records were among the best in the division heading into the game.
Two set pieces did the damage with Ky Green and Isa Abraham netting before half-time to maintain Hinckley’s lead at the top.
And Conneely said the nature of the win, and how they adapted to the conditions, made it a memorable Boxing Day success.
He said: “It wasn’t the most enjoyable to watch, it never is here because the pitch is really bad.
“They’re really good at what they do but we were better at that than they were. We stripped it back and took it away from what we’re good at, and defended brilliantly well.
“I’m delighted for Brandon, who had a tough day on Saturday and didn’t have loads to do but what he did was superb. I’m really pleased, it was a really good day.”
In the build-up, Conneely and Courtney Hunter-Belford spoke of how they would need to deal with Ingles’ threat from set pieces, including long throws.
But it was a long throw of their own that made the breakthrough on the half-hour mark and Conneely took great satisfaction from that
“We don’t get many from throw ins! We knew it was going to be tough to come here and deal with balls in the box, we dealt with them in our box brilliantly and always looked a threat.
“There will be plenty of teams who will come here and drop points, so to come here and win is a massive testament to the boys.”
He says the way his players adapted to the conditions was another crucial factor, and admitted it’s something they haven’t always done as well as they are now.
“We’ve had to find a different way to win games. We’ve been that expressive teams who score a lot but we’ve had to find a different way. We’ve sometimes tried to outplay teams on pitches like this which is impossible to do.
“We’ve now got people like Charlie Swingwood who loves these types of pitches and really came into his own. Harry Sawyer played left-back on Saturday, right-back today and was the best player on the pitch. All over we were brilliant all day.
“You’re asking lads who have filled their bellies on Christmas Day to meet at 10.30am on Boxing Day for a midday kick off so to come through it how we have is really pleasing.”
