Hinckley AFC take on Stapenhill for the first time this season as they return to action at Kirkby Road following a near-two-week break.
Hinckley’s matches at Coton Green on Saturday and Wolves Sporting on Tuesday were both postponed due to waterlogged pitches, meaning they haven’t played a league match since the defeat to OJM Black Country a fortnight ago.
Since then, an impressive return to form in the League Cup saw Hinckley through to the semi-finals at the expense of Premier Division Romulus. They will hope to back that up as they head into their final 10 league games of the season, the first two of which are against the same opponent.
Hinckley will be without defenders Ky Green and Ben Forrest, but to combat that Calum Flanagan has re-joined on a short-term deal from Redditch United to regain fitness.
The opposition
Hinckley and Stapenhill have the slightly odd task of facing each other twice in two weeks in the league, with the reverse fixture taking place in Staffordshire next weekend.
And the Swans will be boosted by back-to-back home wins over Smethwick Rangers and Paget Rangers in their last two outings to lift spirits after three straight defeats prior to that.
They sit 13th in the table, with 37 points from their 26 matches, but four games in hand on the sides above them means they will harbour hopes of a top 10 finish if they can end strongly.
They have had a level-par season in many senses – they have won the same number of games as they have lost, and scored as many goals as they have conceded.
Sam Birks, Ryan King and George Teeney are all in or near double figures for goals this season while the winter signing of Steve Hart, who has six goals in nine games since joining, will add extra forward firepower. He scored 50 goals in 40 games for Hinckley six seasons ago.
Previous meetings
This will be the first meeting between the sides this season, with January’s planned fixture at Stapenhill postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
It means that Hinckley and Stapenhill haven’t met in the league since October 2022. Hinckley won both early-season encounters last term 3-2, coming from 2-0 down at home on a sweltering August day to win 3-2. Zaki Evans scored for Stapenhill that day, but will now turn out for Hinckley against his former club.
AFC also won the League Cup tie between the sides last season 4-0 while the teams first met back in August 2018, with a 2-2 draw at Maple Grove on the opening day of that season.
From the dressing room
“Between Courtney and I, we’ve watched them a few times so we’ve done plenty of homework. They’re a good team, who have plenty of goals in them particularly with Steve Hart up front, while George Teeney knows how to score goals too. They’re an honest group, and always have been hardworking.
“They’ll come with a plan to win, which we’ve got to combat. But if we follow up the Romulus performance we’ll be ok. We’ve dropped 15 points at home this season compared to just five away so our home form has been patchy at times. Like we’ve always said, we like being at home but the 3G pitch helps the opposition play better football too and Stapenhill will be no different.”
Joe Conneely
Key information
There is a large free car park on site at Kirkby Road, with cash and card turnstiles available.
Adults: £6
Concessions: £4
Under 16s: £2 (FREE with HAFC Junior membership card)
