Hinckley AFC kicked off their United Counties Premier South campaign with three points as they won 3-1 at Eynesbury Rovers.
AFC’s step five debut went in ideal fashion as second-half goals from Josh Beeson and Preston Bitemo secured the win after Adam Barber’s opener had been cancelled out by Ryan Lewis.
It was a particularly impressive win given Hinckley’s somewhat depleted squad, as with Carl O’Neill, Joe Obi, Lewis Rankin, Jack Edwards and Isa Abraham all missing.
And though they weren’t at their best, they deserved their win and can head into Monday’s game against title favourites Aylestone Park high on confidence.
Seven of the starting eleven made competitive debuts with only Barber, Bitemo, Beeson and Zaki Evans having played for the club last season.
But they made a bright start and Luke Jones had the season’s first shot on target when he bent one straight at Reece Lewis.
Then, Evans had the best opportunity of the opening stages when he ran through on goal, but mis-kicked inside the box and the chance was gone.
Eynesbury then grew into the game, and Nathan Mullings saw a shot blocked before teenage Hinckley ‘keeper Divin Emmanuel saved from Lewis and Mullings.
But it was Hinckley who took the lead seven minutes before the break. Bryan Kohyrelon did superbly well to hold the ball up and could have fed Beeson, but instead he delayed his pass and went left, where Barber ran onto the ball and drilled into the bottom corner.
It was a goal that brought great delight to the strong travelling contingent, with the step five debut feeling like a long time coming since the title was secured back in April.
Zach Tellyn then stung the ‘keeper’s palms shortly before the break as Hinckley grew stronger again in the latter stages of the first half, and they took their lead into the interval.
They could have extended that lead but Lewis raced out quickly to deny Kohyrelon, and what could have 2-0 quickly became 1-1 ten minutes into the second half. Eynesbury’s biggest threat throughout came down their right, and that brought about their equaliser as a ball into the box found Lewis, who took a touch before firing home.
That spurred the home side on, and they had the better of the next quarter of an hour albeit only calling Emmanuel into action once, when he denied Lewis again.
But Hinckley gradually regained control and thought they’d re-taken the lead when Elliot Edwards bore down on goal. His shot should have been a routine save for Lewis, but the ‘keeper let it through him and Edwards was adamant the shot crossed the line – only for the assistant to deny them the lead.
Not that there was much doubt two minutes later – Beeson’s cross rebounded off a post and was cleared from comfortably over the line. This time the goal was given, though Edwards made doubly sure by smashing home the rebound anyway.
Now with their lead restored, Hinckley never looked like letting it slip again. They almost added a third, but Tellyn couldn’t get out of the way of teammate Riley Davoile’s shot that was destined for the bottom corner.
From the resulting corner, though, they did grab a third. The set piece was only cleared to the edge of the box, where Bitemo ran onto it and side-footed home a superb, composed finish into the bottom corner.
They came close again when Lewis fumbled Edwards’ well-struck effort, and when Harry Walker-Donovan took a heavy touch in acres of space 12 yards out and allowed the defence to recover.
But all in all, it was a successful start to life at step five ahead of Monday night’s first home game of the season.
Eynesbury: Reece Lewis, Stevan Shaw (Billy Roberts 80), Max Kimpton, Jonathan Hall, Josh Howard-Dobson, Daniel Hammer, Ryan Lewis, Michael King (Axel Owusu 80), Nathan Mullings (Tony Williams 80), Marcel Rzeszutek, Jamal Batchilly (Fraelias Mienambolo 68). Sub not used: Richard Chadwick.
Goal: Ryan Lewis (55)
Hinckley: Divin Emmanuel, Jay D’Lionga, Adam Barber, Preston Bitemo, Fionn O’Brien (Alex Vineall 73), Oli Szymanski, Luke Jones (Brady Middleton 61), Zaki Evans (Riley Davoile 65), Bryan Kohyrelon (Elliot Edwards 65), Zach Tellyn (Harry Walker-Donovan 80), Josh Beeson.
Goals: Adam Barber (38), Josh Beeson (71), Preston Bitemo (80)
Attendance: 156
