Manager Joe Conneely labelled Hinckley AFC’s 4-0 win at OJM Black Country as the best of the season so far.
Chandler Pegg and Joe Obi both scored twice as Hinckley leapfrogged their hosts in the table with a comprehensive win over their play-off rivals.
They also restricted OJM to not having a shot on target as Brandon Bache and the defence kept a third clean sheet in six games.
And Conneely said the manner of the win, as well as the three points themselves, was particularly pleasing.
He said: “It was the way we had to do it, on not the greatest of pitches. We’ve struggled at these kind of grounds in the past.
“Everyone to a man, from one to 15, have done their jobs well. Brandon didn’t have a save to make all game, we defended well and it’s a really important clean sheet for us.
“It’s a big mental turn. We went to Droitwich not long ago and had our bellies tickled, that was a different performance today. In terms of the context of it, that’s the best win of the year.”
In a game where chances were always likely to be limited, he said going ahead early was particularly crucial and felt his side scored at perfect times throughout.
“We had to try and get on the front foot early. We knew they’d try and grow into the game, so getting the ball calms us down. We managed the game well and got a really important second before half time. That’s five in four starts for Joe, he’s fitting in really well.
“We started the second half poorly, got scrappy straight from kick off but then again we got a goal which settled us down and that killed any chance they had.
“We said to get through a 15-minute spell in the second half, so to score in that spell was a bonus.
“It was a really good day, and hopefully gives us a cushion if we can between ourselves and sixth. We’ll keep focusing on ourselves ahead of a tough run in and we’ll need to recover properly.”
Joe McNulty was taken off in the first half with what Conneely revealed was a hip flexor problem, although one that’s not too serious.
But Hinckley adapted to the unplanned change of personnel well and Conneely says that adaptability will serve his side well.
“People are probably bored of me saying that games are different away from home. We set up a different way, we like to try and play at home but this wasn’t a day for that. It was a day for capitalising on mistakes.
“The remit is to try and finish as high as we can in the play-offs to try and get home advantage if we can. Firstly we’ve got to make sure we finish in them, because it’s still extremely close, but we want to try and get as many home games as we can.”
