Hinckley AFC fell to another narrow home defeat as Newport Pagnell Town held on to win a thrilling game 4-3 at Kirkby Road.
In what was the proverbial game of two halves, Newport Pagnell were the better side in the first half and took a 3-1 lead into the break, but Hinckley dominated after half time and twice closed the gap only for the visitors to just about hold on to all three points.
It was a pulsating game for the neutral, action-packed with chances at both ends as the meeting of the league’s third and fourth-best attacks didn’t disappoint. Hinckley were as fluent going forward as they have been in recent weeks, but they also conceded some uncharacteristically poor goals that ultimately gave them too big a mountain to climb.
The visitors started the brighter and forced two early chances – Fin Jaggard fired over a good chance when well-placed and then Jake Watkinson’s low shot was cleared off the line by Drew Kear.
But Hinckley’s respite only lasted a few more seconds – the resulting corner flew to the far post where it bounced off Ben Lynch, who didn’t know too much about it as he broke the deadlock on the quarter-hour.
Hinckley soon hit back – ‘keeper Ben Heath made a super diving save to deny Zach Tellyn, but he couldn’t do the same a couple of minutes later when Hinckley broke forward and Tellyn went alone, finding the bottom corner with a swerving right-footer from 25 yards.
Play showed little sign of slowing down, but the visitors took control again either side of the half-hour mark. The second goal came as Hinckley appealed for a foul on Jake Tullin that wasn’t given, but that didn’t detract from the fine finish from Corvell Pickering who broke forward down the left, cut inside and picked out the top corner.
And just five minutes later, Jake Watkinson rose highest to glance Ben Ford’s left-wing cross inside the far post to further extend Newport Pagnell’s lead.
The Swans were now in control, and went close again before the break – Ford clipped the bar with a sweet strike from 30 yards, and Jaggard spurned another decent opportunity from Ben Baker’s cross.
But you never felt like Hinckley were out of it – and after Tellyn bent one narrowly wide late in the half, AFC made a double change at the break, introducing Raj Palit and Chandler Pegg. The switches made an immediate impact, Hinckley looked sharper after the break and penned the visitors in their own half for decent spells.
They had two big chances in the first couple of minutes of the second half. Inside 60 seconds, Pegg ran through on goal and was tripped by Charlie Kille – it would have been a free kick and red card but the referee played advantage, allowing the defender to get goal side again. Pegg eventually got a shot off that Heath saved, and Kille breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t sent for an early bath.
Just a minute later, Heath saved again from Brady Middleton after he twisted past a defender, but AFC didn’t have to wait much longer for the goal – Pegg rising highest at the far post to meet Tellyn’s cross with a downward header.
Middleton then glanced a free kick straight at Heath as Hinckley sought a leveller, but that task was made twice as difficult midway through the half. It was another soft goal to concede from a corner, as Baker’s delivery was glanced home at the near post by Watkinson to restore Newport Pagnell’s two-goal cushion.
Still Hinckley pushed, Heath held Jordan Clement’s strike and Middleton saw a free-kick fly inches wide before AFC halved the deficit for a second time when Clement was tripped by Joel Halsall in the box and Tellyn converted the spot kick.
Tellyn came close to a hat-trick when he rifled one from the edge of the box that flew narrowly over the bar, and Jacob Shilton headed over from a corner as Hinckley pushed to complete a memorable comeback.
They had plenty of pressure, and deep into stoppage time there was still time for Hinckley to have one final frustration at the officials. Goalkeeper Carl O’Neill came forward for a long throw and there were loud penalty shouts when he was floored – but the referee waved those away, awarded a corner and immediately blew for full time to deny Hinckley one final shot at a leveller and bring an end to a thrilling encounter.
Hinckley: Carl O’Neill, Drew Kear, Gabe Webster (Chandler Pegg 46), Jake Tullin, Jacob Shilton, Charlie Williams (Raj Palit 46), Alex Lock (James Spruce 69), Zaki Evans, Brady Middleton, Jordan Clement (Prince Ogbe 82), Zach Tellyn. Sub not used: Caleb Yeboah.
Goals: Zach Tellyn (19, 76 pen), Chandler Pegg (50)
Newport Pagnell: Ben Heath, Christian Smail, Abel Damoah, Corvell Pickering, Ben Baker, Jake Watkinson, Ben Ford, Charlie Kille (Aaron Onginjo 77), Robbie Goodman, Fin Jaggard (Harrison Lynham 62), Ben Lynch (Joel Halsall 71). Subs not used: Callum Drewe, Lewis Findlay.
Goals: Ben Lynch (15), Corvell Pickering (28), Jake Watkinson (33, 68)
Attendance: 237
