Manager Joe Conneely says he’s pleased with the work his Hinckley AFC side are getting into their legs, with less than three weeks to go until the start of the competitive season.
Hinckley’s three pre-season games so far have seen a 1-0 defeat to Sutton United, before wins over Coventry Sphinx and Chelmsley Town – and Conneely said he’s seeing the progress he’s after.
He said: “We’ve seen a difference playing the league above to the league below. We were poor at Sutton but that’s often the case in the first friendly. There was no tempo to the game, and it didn’t suit what we are.
“Friday was a proper game, Sphinx had a go and there were tackles flying in. They had chances, we had ours too and we took them. We got a lot out of that.
“On Monday at Chelmsley, we know how Sol’s teams will set up, and we wanted that game against a side who we know will let us have the ball and see if we could break them down. We created enough chances, but didn’t take them, and it was a good sign to win after being pegged back to 1-1.
“Results are irrelevant but we’re getting good work into the lads and we’re happy with what we’ve seen.”
He still wants to add more to his squad, particularly on the left side, but says it often isn’t until August that squads start to feel settled.
Before then, there’s another four pre-season friendlies, starting with a visit to step three new boys Quorn on Thursday night before heading to the seaside to take on Skegness Town on Saturday.
“We were settled with six friendlies but Bez (Quorn boss Ryan Beswick) was been begging me for a game, so we said we’d get one in. He’s also after some LIV Golf tickets, but I think he should be treating me to them!
“We’ll have a good game with them. Bez said he’ll play but that he’s only done one session since last season so we’ll try and get some legs around him!
“What Quorn did last year, in the league above, was sensational. We’ll look forward to the challenge and we’ll try and get something out of it.
“With Skegness, we wanted to do something with the lads and get them away. It’s a good friendly for us against a side at the same level, and a night away will be really good for team spirit.”
All that preparation is to build up for the start of the new United Counties Premier South season later this month. AFC will start with away trips to Daventry Town and Coventry United, before home games against Newport Pagnell Town and beaten play-off finalists Aylestone Park.
“It’s an extremely tough start, but I don’t mind facing these sides early on.
“Daventry will be a good opening game, with a big crowd there on a Saturday evening. The timing isn’t ideal for us but hopefully it means we’ll get a home tie in the groundhop next season.
“They’re a good team who you’d expect will be there or thereabouts come April. We’ll watch them before we start, but we’ve got good memories from last season’s game there, and I hope the crowd can enjoy it.”
Last week, the draws for the early rounds of the FA Cup pitted Hinckley at home to Highgate United for the second year in a row, while the FA Vase sees a trip to Pershore Town.
Last year, Alfie Marsden was joint-boss at Highgate but is now part of Conneely’s coaching staff – and the manager wants to repeat the result with Marsden on the right side this time.
“We’ll watch Highgate later in the month. I’m not sure where they’re at player wise after getting a reprieve from relegation.
“But it’s always nice to be at home, especially after last year when we won 3-1. We’ll have played a couple of league games by then whereas I think it’ll be their first competitive match, so hopefully we can make that count.
“Pershore away will be tough. When Danny Janes, their old manager, was there, he did a cracking job, but they’ve got a new manager now and so we’re not sure where they’ll be at. They play Highgate later this month so we’ll watch that one and kill two birds with one stone.
“We want a decent run in the Vase this year. The Cup is tough, even if we get through Highgate then it’s Long Eaton at home, which will be extremely difficult.
“But in the Vase, we’ve never got past second round in my time here so I want a decent shot at it now. We need a bit of luck from the draw but we’ll see if we can get through Pershore first.”
