Hinckley AFC return to league action after a fortnight in cup competitions with the visit of a Newport Pagnell Town side directly below them in the table.
Hinckley have had a positive fortnight after having the better of a 2-2 draw with Northampton ON Chenecks, taking higher-level Quorn to penalties and then comfortably seeing off Rainworth Miners Welfare.
Now they return to league action looking to transfer that improving form into league wins – but will be short on numbers in doing so after Alex Vineall (ankle) and Zaki Evans (hamstring) joined Fionn O’Brien and Isa Abraham on the treatment table.
With Jack Edwards still suspended and Elliot Edwards and Josh Beeson having left the club, it means AFC will have a depleted squad heading into the clash with an improving Pagnell side.
The opposition
After beating Yaxley 5-1 on the opening day, Newport Pagnell had a tough August and September and won just one other league game until the start of October.
It was a run in which they played a number of the top sides, beating one of them in Rugby Borough, but that tough run culminated in a 6-3 defeat to Eynesbury Rovers.
Since then, they have re-signed Jake Watkinson, Christian Smail and Alfie Powell, who all played in Pagnell’s FA Vase finals at Wembley in 2022 and 2023, to lift the mood at Willen Road.
They beat Sileby Rangers 2-1 in their last league outing, meaning they have 10 points from their opening 10 games and are 14th, one place below Hinckley.
They also possess a player with considerable higher level experience – Nabil Shariff already has nine goals this season and last played against Hinckley in the FA Cup for Tamworth in 2011, a tie in which AFC assistant boss Sam Belcher played for United. He is their leading scorer while Luke Abraham has four.
From the dressing room
“We’ve seen plenty of highlights of them, and certainly enough to know that they’re probably in a false position in the league. They’re a better side than their league form and placing suggests. We all know about their Vase runs, and though they’ve had a tougher time recently I do think they’ll finish higher than they are now.
“Every team can take points off everyone else, it really is a wide open league and not a lot separates the play-off spots and fourth from bottom. It’s a big month for us, we have four big games between now and the end of October. For now, all focus is on Newport Pagnell and hopefully we can come out of it with three points.”
Joe Conneely
Key information
Kirkby Road has a large, free on-site car park, and we have both cash and card turnstiles available.
Adults: £7 members, £8 non-members
Concessions: £5 members, £6 non-members
Under 16s: Members go free, £2 non-members
