Hinckley AFC take a break from league action for the next couple of weeks, starting with Monday’s Leicestershire Challenge Cup visit of step four Quorn.
The second of four consecutive home games in three different competitions will be arguably Hinckley’s toughest test of the season so far, as the step four promotion-chasers come to Kirkby Road.
But it does see them return back to the primary county cup competition for the first time in five years, having spent the last couple of seasons in the Senior Cup since competitions restarted after the pandemic.
The opposition
Quorn have enjoyed a fruitful three seasons since former Hinckley favourite Richard Lavery took the manager’s job just under three years ago.
He lifted them from a step five relegation battle to comfortable safety in 2021/22, promotion via the play-offs the following season to return the club to step four.
He left last spring for Kettering Town, but the club’s fortunes continued to develop and despite losing in the play-offs last season, they have started brightly again this time around under former Nuneaton and Solihull midfield man Ryan Beswick.
They sit third in the Northern Premier League Midlands Division table, six points behind leaders Corby Town but with two games in hand. They are still unbeaten in league action this season.
Paddy Webb is their biggest dangerman – he was the division’s leading scorer with 25 last season and has six in the league already this term.
Previous meetings
The sides have met twice before in competitive matches – and this will be the first competitive game between the sides in six years. The first game in the FA Vase in 2016, when Kristian Ramsey-Dickson’s header in extra time saw Hinckley progress through the FA Vase third round tie 2-1. AFC went on to reach the fifth round that season.
The sides also met two seasons later in the Midland League Cup, Quorn running out comfortable 4-0 winners at Farley Way that night.
From the dressing room
“It’ll be a really good test. It’ll be different for us – we’ve gone from being one of the favourites for the Senior Cup competition to one of the massive underdogs in the competition with lots of teams higher up.
“They’re a very good side. We know Shaun (Wilkes, former Ingles manager) well, he’s now assistant to Bez (Beswick) and he’s a top guy. He texted me as soon as the draw was done saying he knew it wouldn’t be long until we met again! So I’ll look forward to seeing him and look forward to welcoming Quorn, which will be a really good test for us. We’ll patch some up and get ready for a really difficult game.”
Joe Conneely
Key information
Kirkby Road has a large, free on-site car park, and we have both cash and card turnstiles available. Membership discounts and season tickets are not valid for this game.
Adults: £8
Concessions: £6
Under 16s: £2
