With four games left to play, Hinckley AFC take on Northampton Sileby Rangers at Kirkby Road tomorrow hoping to get back to winning ways and end the season on a high.
Three straight defeats for the first time since November 2022 have seen Hinckley slip back from the play-offs, as Joe Conneely continues to battle with a series of injuries in the squad.
So it will be a severely depleted squad that takes on Sileby Rangers, with Adam Barber (hamstring) the latest issue to add to an already-packed treatment table.
And it means a number of the club’s Under 18s team will feature in the matchday squad, after five of them finished on the pitch at Leicester Nirvana last week.
The opposition
Like Hinckley, Sileby Rangers were promoted from step six last season and the Northampton side have comfortably secured their place at step five again next year with a mid-table finish.
After a tough start – their first win didn’t come until 10th September – they now sit 12th, with 12 wins and six draws from their 32 games.
Taking four points off fourth-placed March Town and an away win at Rugby Borough are their standout results, and their home and away records are identical – six wins, three draws and seven defeats both at home and on the road.
Their top scorer Nathan Burrows departed for AFC Rushden and Diamonds last month, but Ben Fitzjohn and the former Brackley Town and Spalding United man Elliot Sandy have six each.
From the dressing room
“We’ve been crippled with injuries in the last few weeks in particular, and we aren’t able to replace what we’ve lost. We always try and give the youth team lads a chance, Preston (Bitemo) and Oli (Szymanski) have both been brilliant over the last couple of seasons, and now we’re waiting for the next couple to come through.
“The message to the young lads has been to just enjoy the experience and the challenge of men’s football. We’ve told them to not be scared to make mistakes, to be brave and show the personality they do for the Under 18s. It can be hard and more intimidating in men’s football, but we want them to be themselves.”
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: £2 non-members, junior members go FREE
