Manager Joe Conneely reflected on “a really good game” at St Neots and urged his Hinckley AFC side to learn from how the home side managed their lead.
Hinckley twice went ahead through well-worked goals in Cambridgeshire, but the in-form title-chasers hit back both times before going on to win with three goals in quick succession in the second half.
It extended St Neots’ unbeaten run to 12 games in all competitions but Conneely was pleased with how his young squad applied themselves.
“There wasn’t a lot between the sides, and I thought we were really good. We always looked a threat, we created some good chances and so it’s one we come away from thinking we could have snatched something.
“For how hard we worked, we deserve something but when you give good teams license to put the ball in the box you’re asking for trouble. We conceded some poor goals, having taken the lead twice. We tried to play in the wrong areas at 2-1 up.
“You’ve got to manage situations better and get through that first 10 minutes when you’ve gone 2-1 up. We said at half time that there would be chances, we scored two really good goals but it was not to be. It’s a defeat, but one we can take a lot of pride from.”
Conneely said the thorough nature of everything about St Neots’ play made them a cut above anything his side have faced in years gone by.
“They do everything properly, their centre halves clear it a long way, they turned it into good areas and have a striker who’s very good and puts you under a lot of pressure for us to clear properly.
“That’s the difference, they shut up shop and managed the last 25 minutes well. They’ve got step three and four players, it’s a fantastic club with great facilities and you live around the area you’d want to play at St Neots.
“We’re still learning that side of it but we’ve got to learn quickly because we can’t get away with those mistakes.”
It means Hinckley are left with a record of 18 points from their opening 15 games as a step five club. In a tight league, they are one of nine sides separated by just five points and the manager wants more consistency to start climbing up the ladder – both in results and availability of squad.
“Cameron (Mawer, St Neots manager) said we look like a play-off team, but we’re not because we’re only doing it in spells. We’ve got to be more consistent and pick up some wins in doing so.
“It’s killing us having so many players injured all the time, key players who start and make positive impacts. There’s something to be done here, but we haven’t had our strongest team all year.
“So that inconsistency in results comes with the inconsistency in the squad, St Neots are a lot more settled and that’s a big difference.”
