Hinckley AFC were beaten as a goal in each half earned Lutterworth Town a fifth straight away win.
In what was a tightly-fought encounter throughout, Lutterworth scored midway through each half to take control, and although Hinckley rallied late on, Jared Bradshaw’s strike proved to be in vain.
Hinckley’s availability woes showed no sign of easing – goalkeeper Keelan Fallows joined Caleb Yeboah, James Sanderson, Ky Green, Zaki Evans and Chandler Pegg on the treatment table while Reece Massey, Perry Cotton and Brady Middleton were all unavailable too.
That meant a first senior start in the league for Jake Tullin and Carl O’Neill deputised for Fallows, while Prince Ogbe was handed a place on a youthful bench after impressing for the Under 18s alongside young duo Caiden Robinson and Charlie Williams, who had signed from Solihull Moors and Atherstone Town earlier in the day.
On a wet night at Kirkby Road, a decent crowd of 240 saw a game with little to choose between two sides who started the night level on points.
Hinckley threatened early on when Zach Tellyn’s shot was blocked by Oli Bradshaw, and then Lucinee Donzo’s 25-yarder forced Luke Jeffery to tip over.
But Lutterworth looked lively too and, after wasting a couple of decent positions without testing O’Neill, they took the lead midway through the half. Courtney Lashley’s goalbound drive was blocked, and the rebound fell to Will Warren, who fired against the underside of the bar with the assistant flagging that the ball had crossed the line before bouncing out.
That gave Hinckley a challenge against one of the league’s best defensive records, and Lutterworth manned their box well to deny Hinckley many clear cut chances – Oli Bradshaw’s last ditch header to deny Lewis Rankin a tap-in a prime example.
The visitors’ biggest threat came from set pieces – either side of half-time, O’Neill made a smart save from Oli Bradshaw’s header from a free-kick, and then Lashley sliced wide following a long throw.
And around the hour mark, the game started to open up a bit. Jeffery got down to deny Jared Bradshaw and then punched Tellyn’s swerver wide, before a neat move saw Louis Baker set up Rankin, only for Jeffery to save again.
At the other end, Lashley struck wide on a quick counter before the visitors’ set pieces earned them a second. O’Neill tipped over Nathan Astill’s header from another wide free-kick, but soon after, a quick corner routine caught Hinckley out and Simon Alcott fired home for their second goal.
Hinckley made a double change to try and get back into the game, including giving Ogbe his senior debut, and the youngster quickly made an impact – getting to the byeline and pulling back for Bradshaw to steer home and halve the deficit.
And four minutes later, Hinckley came within an inch of levelling – Jeffery came out to claim Tellyn’s cross but Baker got there first and glanced a header off the inside of the post, the ball rolling along the line before Lutterworth scrambled clear.
The visitors hit the woodwork late on too – Will Groocock hitting the upright on the angle – and Hinckley were hoping for a decent period of added time in which to find an equaliser, but referee Kamani Anderson blew up after less than two minutes of stoppages had been played and the visitors held on to move into fourth place.
Hinckley: Carl O’Neill, Jake Tullin, Will Harris, Lucinee Donzo, Ben Whitehead (Henley Hadley 71), Jacob Shilton, Jared Bradshaw, Lewis Rankin (Prince Ogbe 71), Louis Baker, Jordan Clement, Zach Tellyn. Subs not used: Amari Osayande, Caiden Robinson, Charlie Williams.
Goal: Jared Bradshaw (77)
Lutterworth: Luke Jeffery, Jarred Acton, Louie Gill, Simon Alcott, Oli Bradshaw, Nathan Astill, Will Groocock, Jordan Burrows, Diego Edwards (Jake Brown 78), Will Warren (Pier Gyamfi 78), Courtney Lashley. Subs not used: Dom Bolton, Elliott Butler, Liam Read.
Goals: Will Warren (21), Simon Alcott (70)
Attendance: 240
