What a difference a week makes. Seven days after a drab defeat in Mansfield, Hinckley AFC produced a memorable display to overcome setback after setback and reach round three of the FA Vase for the first time in eight years.
Hinckley were already depleted in numbers before kick off, missing six players, but those problems were multiplied when they lost Ky Green to injury 20 minutes in, Prince Ogbe to a hugely debatable red card and Danny Fraser to a sinbin.
But the remaining players stood up to the challenge superbly, they showed no end of resilience and character and plenty of quality too, to score goals even when down to nine and 10 men and give the travelling support arguably the best win since promotion three years ago.
Chris Tullin was so short on numbers that he named himself and assistant manager Adam Cooper on the bench, as well as recalling Jordan Gray from his dual registration with Saffron Dynamo.
The game started evenly, half chances from the edge of the box came and went at both ends as Danny Fraser called Ben Townsend into a routine early save, before Ollie Bosworth held from Nathan Moss and Ollie Ellery struck wide in similar circumstances.
Then came Hinckley’s biggest moment of concern – Green characteristically threw himself into a 50/50 tackle but he came out of it worse, and had to be stretchered off after a six-minute delay. That was a blow for Hinckley, Green one of those best placed to deal with the hosts’ robust style, as Gray’s introduction came sooner than expected.
Gray’s first impact was to get bodychecked in the box but the referee waved away those strong penalty appeals, before Townsend then made a full length save from Chandler Pegg’s header on the half hour.
But it was a half without too much goalmouth action until the game burst into life in the seven minutes of stoppage time. Staveley substitute Charlie Reece spent most of his first 10 minutes on the pitch wrestling Pegg, but when he did so on the edge of the box, Zach Tellyn stepped up to deliver far from his sweetest free kick, it was straight at Townsend but the Staveley ‘keeper delivered a Halloween horror show to let it slip through his fingers and hand Hinckley the lead.
Not that it would last. Hinckley had already had a warning about Dan Grierson’s long throws when only a last-ditch block denied Moss, but the same combination wouldn’t be denied again when the striker turned home another missile into the box eight minutes into time added on.
That gave the hosts a boost and they started the second half on top. Danny Deakin headed straight at Bosworth when he ought to have done better, and then Tomas Poole rattled the base of the post with a sweet strike from 25 yards.
Townsend pushed wide from Gray in a Hinckley foray forward but the hosts continued to be on top when Bosworth read Grierson’s attempt well.
Then came the game’s most contentious incident – Ogbe attempted to block a clearance, there was minimal contact but the referee decided it was worthy of a red card, and then Fraser was sent to the sinbin for giving his opinion on the decision.
So that reduced Hinckley to nine men for the next 10 minutes, they’d no doubt have accepted still being level at the end of that period but instead it got even better while they were two men down. Pegg’s willing running earned a free kick out wide, Luke Jones delivered it into a magnificent area and Gabe Webster got across his man to deftly glance Hinckley back into the lead.
Staveley’s best chance to level came when Poole blazed over at the far post, and then Hinckley, against all the odds, made it three with six minutes to play – Pegg peeled off to the far post, Tellyn picked him out with a sensational delivery and the number nine’s serene header back across goal nestled inside the far corner.
Not that the game was done there. Reece brought Staveley back within a goal with a header from a corner, and Hinckley then had a rare moment of fortune when another cross fell to Tom Wood six yards out – home fans were already cheering their equaliser but were left ruing going too early when Wood somehow scuffed his effort onto the inside of the post and Hinckley hacked clear.
And when Poole fired off target at the far post again in stoppage time, Staveley’s final chance had gone – Hinckley saw out the remaining few minutes in the corner to seal a memorable win, the home side’s frustrations summed up when one of their players booted the ball at Pegg after the final whistle and was sent off too.
For Hinckley, though, this will be a day that fans will cherish for a long time and they were greeted with a rousing ovation from the travelling fans when they headed back into the changing rooms, and they now wait with anticipation for Monday’s third round draw.
Staveley: Ben Townsend, Bobby White, Ollie Ellery (Tom Wood 80), Charlie Oglesby, Dan Grierson, Mitchell Langton (Charlie Reece 35), Jack Deakin (Dustyn Grierson 80), Kurtis Turner, Nathan Moss, Danny Deakin, Tomas Poole. Subs not used: Freddie Norris, Freddie Marshall.
Goals: Nathan Moss (45+8), Charlie Reece (88)
Hinckley: Ollie Bosworth, Max Jemson, Danny Fraser, Jake Tullin, Ky Green (Jordan Gray 25), Charlie Williams, Luke Jones, Gabe Webster, Chandler Pegg, Zach Tellyn, Afonso Mvula (Prince Ogbe 59). Subs not used: Max Kirby, Chris Tullin, Adam Cooper.
Goals: Zach Tellyn (45+6), Gabe Webster (70), Chandler Pegg (84)
Attendance: 329
