Hinckley AFC came from 2-0 down to earn a draw as they picked up their first away point of the new season at Skegness Town.
Any sort of result looked unlikely after half an hour on the Lincolnshire coast as a lacklustre first half allowed Lucas Dakin’s pair of headers to put Skegness in control.
But, in a game that drew parallels with last week’s trip to Newark Town, this time Hinckley’s improved second half was enough to merit a point as goals from Zach Tellyn and Chandler Pegg brought them level after the break.
Backed by a large and vocal away following, Hinckley showed great character to earn the point and now have a level record of a win, a draw and a loss from their opening three matches in their new division.
But they were slow off the mark again, a trend that will concern Ross Innes and Adam Davies, with Skegness starting on the front foot.
Chances were few and far between until the midway point of the half, when the home side hit the front – a wide free kick was nodded back across goal and Dakin was on hand to turn the ball home for the opener.
And, just a couple of miles from the beach, it was Hinckley who were all at sea by the half hour mark. Having already lost Max Jemson to injury, they then had a mountain to climb when a neat Skegness move ended with Dakin nodding home a cross to make it two.
It was a lead that Skegness deserved at the break – but the momentum soon shifted at the start of the second half. A week earlier, Tellyn and Fin Barker had been withdrawn at half time, leading to a much improved second period at Newark, and it was ironic that this time it was the same two players’ introductions that gave Hinckley the spark they needed.
Five minutes after the break, Hinckley halved the deficit and it was a vintage Tellyn goal as he shifted onto his favoured left boot on the edge of the box and rifled one into the top corner.
And the cheers had barely died down from that when Barker was tripped in the box two minutes later, and Pegg took responsibility from the spot to send Jake Lovelace the wrong way.
In a flash, Hinckley were back on level terms again – but try as they might, neither side came too close to finding a winner with goalmouth action at a premium, and the sides had to settle for a point apiece before a break from league action next weekend for the FA Cup, with Hinckley welcoming Whitchurch Alport to Kirkby Road on Friday night.
Skegness: Jake Lovelace, Luke Rayner-Mistry, Matt Ward, Matt Clarke, Bailey Forth, Joe Braithwaite (Toby Cotton 69), Lucas Dakin, Kyle Radford (Ollie Callaby 92), Liam Adams, McCauley Parker, Josh Morrall. Subs not used: Isaac Lovelace, Danny Stevens.
Goals: Lucas Dakin (24, 31)
Hinckley: Ollie Bosworth, Lewis Warnaby, Gabe Webster, Najeem Oriola, Jacob Shilton, Max Jemson (Drew Kear 13), Charlie Williams (Dan Edmonds 66), Zaki Evans, Chandler Pegg (Matt Brown 80), Sonny Sheasby (Fin Barker 46), Luke Jones (Zach Tellyn 46).
Goals: Zach Tellyn (51), Chandler Pegg (53 pen)
Attendance: 185
