Town Hold Out to Earn Derby Day Victory - Match Report: Hinckley AFC 1 Nuneaton Town 2

By George Kirk

Nuneaton Town showed resilience to retain bragging rights on the road, against Hinckley AFC in the A47 derby.

An action packed first half saw Boro take a two goal lead, thanks to goals from James Harrison and Eesa Sawyers, with Chandler Pegg pulling one back in stoppage time for the knitters. 

Acco and Doddsy’s men were forced to dig in, battling hard to gain their seventh league victory on the bounce, extending their lead to seven points at the top of the table. 

Kick-Off:

Backed by a bumper away following, Town started the game full of confidence, with hot shot striker Kyle Jardine forcing Divin Emmanuel into two top saves, only 30 seconds between each other.

It took only nine minutes for Nuneaton to take the lead, when James Harrison received the ball from Callum Carsley’s throw-in, cut inside and smashed past the keeper from just inside the box.

From then on, Boro would continue to cause problems for the home side, pinning them in their own half, whipping in a frenzy of crosses, putting serious pressure on the knitters.

Town would eventually grab a second after huffing and puffing for so long, with Eesa Sawyers bundling home Carsley’s cross in the 43rd minute, to extend their advantage.

This would awaken the home side, who pulled one back before the end of the half, thanks to Chandler Pegg’s cool finish in the 2nd minute of added time. 

Half-Time: Nuneaton Town 2-1 Hinckley AFC 

The second half was a much more scrappy affair, with the game spicing up as Kai Thomas, Loyiso Recci and Charlie Jones all picked up bookings, adding to Aaron Williams yellow card in the opening fourty five. 

Despite a flurry of cards, there were only two key chances in the second half, as Nuneaton gave the woodwork a good hammering, thanks to efforts from Carsley and Harrison, hitting the crossbar and the outside of the post.

Hinckley did establish themselves a lot more in the games, having a lot more possession, hitting Boro on the counter attack, but were unable to break down the defence effectively and create any clear cut chances.

Acco and Doddsy’s men were able to see out the game, and secure a monumental three points on Derby Day.

Full-Time: Nuneaton Town 2-1 Hinckley AFC

MOTM: Eesa Sawyers

Attendance: 775

Team: Brandon Bache, Kai Thomas (Y, 86’), Callum Carsley, Michael McGrath, Loyiso Recci © (Y, 34’), Stuart Hendrie (Somel, 59’), Kyle Jardine (Marsden, 81’), Aaron Williams (Y, 29’), James Harrison (G, 9’), Eesa Sawyers (G, 43’), Charlie Jones (Y, 69’)

Substitutes: Declan Somel, Dante Hesson, Justin Marsden, Courtney-Joshua Nyakuhwa, Kamol Campbell

Next-Up: Nuneaton Town are back on the road, as they take on Eynesbury Rovers at the Alfred Hall Memorial Ground, on Saturday 31st January with a 3pm kick-off time.