Two weeks after losing on penalties in the FA Vase, this time Hinckley AFC won the shoot-out lottery as they avoided a cup upset to progress against Staveley Miners Welfare.
Hinckley twice went behind and needed levellers from Zaki Evans, and then Matt Dawson in stoppage time, to save themselves and take the game to penalties.
And AFC’s spot kicks were perfect, meaning Keelan Fallows’ save from Tom Phipps was enough to allow Will Harris, on his first appearance in over a year after a knee ligament injury, to step up and win it on debut.
Fallows was one of four changes from last week’s side – he and Chandler Pegg both returned from holiday – while Jacob Shilton started on his return from Atherstone and Jake Tullin was handed a first senior start.
In truth, it was far from a vintage Hinckley performance despite the pleasant sunshine and artificial pitch. The home side were better for much of the first half, and led when Bobbie White bent a free-kick from the very edge of the box inside the far corner.
Hinckley didn’t heed that early warning – and were fortunate to only be 1-0 down at the break after Fallows twice denied Tom Pawson with smart saves.
Those saves, combined with Lewis Reah hitting the post early in the second half, meant the game was never out of Hinckley’s reach and they levelled just before the hour mark. The home side didn’t deal with a corner, and the loose ball fell to Evans, who shot through a crowd of bodies from 12 yards.
Harris came on midway through the half, and thought he’d put Hinckley ahead with almost his first touch for the club, but saw his volley ruled out for offside.
And then Staveley restored their lead with 15 minutes to go – substitute Charlie Bingham dancing through the Hinckley defence and slotting his side ahead one more.
That looked like it had put the home side through to round one – but Hinckley had one final push in them As the game went into stoppage time, Jacob Shilton’s header was cleared off the line, and from the resulting corner, Dawson bulleted a header home to the delight, and relief, of the travelling contingent.
That sent the game into spot kicks – and Fallows gave Hinckley the ascendancy when he blocked from Phipps with Staveley’s first kick.
Because of that, Hinckley just needed to score and Jared Bradshaw, Reece Massey, Pegg and Shilton did just that, allowing Harris to mark a memorable return after a long recovery by converting the winning kick and set AFC up for a meeting with Aylestone Park in the next round next month.
Staveley: Zac Walker, Bobbie White, Ollie Ellery, Dustyn Grierson, Tim Whittaker, Ali Elkossi, Jack Deakin, Louis Reah, Tom Pawson, William Wraith, Jay Cutts. Substitutes: Mackenzie Ross, Charlie Bingham, Tom Phipps, Daniel Grierson, Harrison Torr
Goals: Bobbie White (17), Charlie Bingham (75)
Hinckley: Keelan Fallows, Matt Dawson, James Sanderson, Zaki Evans, Jacob Shilton, Jake Tullin, Jared Bradshaw, Caleb Yeboah (Will Harris 67), Chandler Pegg, Reece Massey, Henley Hadley (Oscar Marshall 80). Subs not used: Blake Kindred, Ethan Baynham.
Goals: Zaki Evans (59), Matt Dawson (92)
Attendance: 230
