Hinckley AFC and Atherstone Town meet in a league match for the first time since 2019 on Boxing Day lunchtime for the long-awaited renewal of this A5 derby.
Hinckley and Atherstone fought out many a battle in the Midland League Division One for five seasons, before covid and league moves brought a temporary end to the rivalry.
But now, after Atherstone’s move to the United Counties League in the summer, it’s back after a long hiatus and pits two sides against each other who are separated by just two points.
And this derby takes on added intrigue with Hinckley’s management team Ross Innes, Adam Davies and Chris Tullin going up against their former club, who they got promoted to this level in 2022, while Adders boss Mitch Thomson and a number of their players count Hinckley among their old sides.
The opposition
Even before adding in the local derby and familiarity aspect, the game would look good on paper. While Hinckley have picked up back-to-back wins in December, Atherstone have won five on the bounce to move into the play-off spots.
Their most recent win came at the weekend, a 3-1 win over Newport Pagnell Town in which one of their ex-Hinckley contingent, Lewis Collins, netted a first-half hat-trick. He is their, and the league’s, leading scorer this season with 25 while former Hinckley captain Jack Edwards has 13.
On the road, they have been excellent this season – unbeaten, with seven wins from their nine games to give them the best away record in the league.
Edwards, Adam Barber and Harry Walker-Donovan all featured for Hinckley last season, but could line-up in the away side on Boxing Day.
From the dressing room
“When we took this role on, Boxing Day was one of those fixtures we put a little red circle around in our calendars for all the right reasons. Ross, Chris and I had a very successful period at Atherstone with lots of great memories.
It’s safe to say there aren’t many secrets between the sides. Mitch, alongside his assistants Nathan Haines and Alex Naughton, all played for us during our time at Atherstone and a few of the players that we signed are still there. There are never many surprises in derbies like this. But that means whoever turns up on the day with a stronger mentality is often the one that comes out with a positive result.”
Adam Davies
Key information
Kirkby Road has a large, free on-site car park, and we have both cash and card turnstiles available. Hinckley AFC members gain £1 discount on the admission prices below.
We will also be holding a bumper Christmas raffle with a one-off price of £5 per ticket and a host of great prizes available – including a first-prize hamper worth £80. Full details here.
Adults: £8
Concessions: £6
Under 16s: £2 (FREE with a Hinckley AFC Junior membership card)
