Hinckley AFC earned a third win in four games after a five-star display saw them past Yaxley at Kirkby Road.
AFC followed up last week’s League Cup victory at ON Chenecks with another excellent display, showing more of their footballing qualities than they were able to in the pouring Northampton rain last week.
Brady Middleton, back from being cup tied, led the way with a brace, while Prince Ogbe also grabbed his first goal in senior football on good afternoon for the hosts.
Middleton and Luke Jones, who were both ineligible last week, returned to the starting line-up which was otherwise unchanged from last week, the management team keeping faith with the youngsters who had battled so well.
And Hinckley started the game brightly again, controlling most of the early play. Just five minutes had passed when Middleton brought down Will Harris’ long pass, goalkeeper Max Rigby saving his effort.
Rigby also got down to stop Jones’ strike from 25 yards before the opening goal came on the quarter-hour mark – Middleton rose above his man to head home Jake Tullin’s pinpoint cross from the right.
The striker nearly grabbed a second soon after, dragging a shot wide after weaving past three defenders, before the game got a bit untidy towards the mid-point of the half.
That allowed Yaxley to gain more of a foothold, and Tommy Dear curled one off-target with their best move of the half, but Divin Emmanuel was largely untroubled in the Hinckley goal.
And AFC grabbed an important second three minutes before the break. It was a goal from nothing – Tullin’s throw made its way to Reece Massey on the edge of the box, he turned it into the area and Ogbe reacted quickest to fire into the roof of the net with a real poacher’s finish – a first in men’s football for the youth team graduate.
That gave Hinckley a two-goal cushion at the break, and they flexed their muscles after it to race further into the ascendancy. Just 50 seconds after the re-start, Jones bent a corner to the far post and Jacob Shilton got past his man to power a header home.
Hinckley continued to carve out opportunities, and were clinical with them when they came. Their best move of the match brought a fourth – a number of passes ended with Jones getting to the byeline and finding Middleton, who had time to pick a spot past Rigby for his second.
Hinckley rung the changes after that, and two of those substitutes combined for the fifth – Drew Kear beat his man on the right and pulled across for Ashton DeMulder to find the bottom corner for his third in two games since joining.
With another game on Tuesday, the management team had made all five substitutes by the 72nd minute and that understandably took a bit of the momentum out of the Hinckley performance. Emmanuel made his first save of the day from Yaxley’s own replacement, Ben Skellett, who got the wrong side before Emmanuel raced from his line to block.
And the visitors soon grabbed a consolation when Hinckley half-cleared a set piece, and from the recycled ball, Kaylum Timberlake slammed home.
That denied Hinckley a first home clean sheet since Yaxley’s last visit in January, and the visitors continued their late charge when Emmanuel saved the rebound after a deflected free-kick, and Jay Chilvers shot over from the resulting corner.
And they grabbed another in stoppage time when a quick break down the right ended with Tommy Dear steering into the top corner.
Despite that taking a bit of the gloss off the scoreline, it was still a dominant afternoon for Hinckley who visit Sileby Rangers on Tuesday before the reverse fixture at Yaxley next weekend.
Hinckley: Divin Emmanuel, Jake Tullin, Henley Hadley, Reece Massey, Will Harris (Ben Whitehead 72), Jacob Shilton, Charlie Williams (Drew Kear 60), Lucinee Donzo, Brady Middleton (Jared Bradshaw 60), Luke Jones (Caiden Robinson 67), Prince Ogbe (Ashton DeMulder 52).
Goals: Brady Middleton (14, 59), Prince Ogbe (42), Jacob Shilton (46), Ashton DeMulder (71)
Yaxley: Max Rigby, Luke Gilbert, Ben Roberts, Jay Chilvers, Robbie Sutherland (Callum Pratt 65), Adrian Bilicz, Frankie Webster, Ben Arnold (Ben Skellett 67), Dimagio Robinson (Kaylum Timberlake 67), Julinho Gomes (Max Meredith 75), Tommy Dear.
Goals: Kaylum Timberlake (83), Tommy Dear (92)
Attendance: 199
