Hinckley AFC will welcome back a familiar face to Kirkby Road as former coach Arron Cheshire returns with his Nuneaton Griff side for an Easter Saturday local derby.
Cheshire spent the first part of this season as a coach with Hinckley, working with Joe Conneely and Courtney Hunter-Belford before taking on the managerial position with Griff.
Hinckley only have two more games at Kirkby Road this season, the first of which sees kids go free and free Easter eggs on offer in the club shop.
The opposition
Griff had a difficult start to 2024, losing six of their first seven games of this calendar year, before arresting that slide with a 6-2 thumping of AFC Bridgnorth, a creditable draw against play-off chasing Allscott Heath and then a win over Paget Rangers last week.
In the middle of that tough spell, they also proved their credentials by beating Bilston Town and, with 38 points from their 32 games, they are comfortably clear of the bottom three and will have their eye on a mid-table finish should they end the season strongly.
They have scored the most goals of any side in the bottom eight and, despite losing top scorer Nathan McGarrity to Atherstone Town earlier this year, have continued to find the net with regularity, scoring in nine of their last 10 games.
McGarrity scored 16 times before departing but 18-year-old youth team product Dan Edmonds is nearing double figures.
Previous meetings
The sides have met twice already this season, both at The Pingles in League and Cup. Hinckley won 2-1 there in an early-season Division One meeting courtesy of Jack Edwards and Harry Walker-Donovan, before Brady Middleton’s hat-trick helped AFC to a 6-2 success in the League Cup in November.
Hinckley won the corresponding fixture 7-3 last season in a thriller, while the away fixture last season was quite the opposite, a 0-0 bore draw.
From the dressing room
“The club are letting kids in for free again, and that was fantastic last time. To see so many young faces in the crowd was brilliant, and it helped us get the highest league crowd we’ve ever had. So hopefully we can better that. It’s a good local derby against a fantastic club in the Griff. I cut my teeth as a manager there. They gave me the opportunity at 27 to manage that club.
“They’re a club that does everything properly. They’re an honest group of people and Chesh is the same. It’s hard because you’re going up against your friends, and he’s one of Joe’s best pals, so it’s always tough. They’ll want to come and not get beat, Chesh will want to spoil the party. Every game is a tough game. Everyone has something to play for, even if it’s pride or getting into somebody’s team. We need to keep doing our job and keep doing everything we can to win games.”
Courtney Hunter-Belford
Key information
Kids go free for our Easter Saturday local derby! There is a large free car park on site at Kirkby Road, with cash and card turnstiles available.
Adults: £6
Concessions: £4
Under 16s: FREE
