Late strike sees Hinckley deny Hucknall Town a share of the spoils in nine goal thriller

A late goal condemned Hucknall Town to a narrow defeat against fellow play-off hopefuls Hinckley AFC on Saturday afternoon (9 April).

The result was galling given The Yellows had produced a memorable second half fightback to drag themselves level having been 4-1 down. This was largely thanks to a 13-minute hattrick from talismanic striker Craig Westcarr.

However, just as Hucknall looked to have secured a point, and had gone agonisingly close to taking the lead, Ryan Harkin worked his way into the box and lashed the ball into the top corner beyond the reach of goalkeeper Keaton Sharpe. This proved enough to give Hinckley all three points.

It was a below par first half performance from the hosts in which they struggled to get out of their own half for much of it. Hinckley, to their credit were clinical pouncing on defensive errors to surge into a 3-0 lead by half-time.

It took just five minutes for the visitors to break the deadlock. Liam Cairns rose highest to head home Joe Cairns' inviting free kick from the left edge of the penalty area.

Hinckley pressed for a second with Sharpe forced to into action on a couple of occasions, making smart saves following shots from distance whilst Joe Cairns and Tom Weale saw their efforts go narrowly wide of the post.

At the other end, Westcarr went close when Hucknall had a rare foray forward. The striker flicked the ball over a defender's head before firing a shot goalwards which was well blocked.

With five minutes of the half remaining Liam Cairns added his second from a corner to give Hinckley the cushion they'd been looking for.

Before the half time whistle sounded, things got even better for the visitors as Joe Cairns got in on the goalscoring act, drilling a shot from the edge of the area into the bottom corner of the net.

Hucknall Town battled their way back into the match in the second half.

At the start of the second half it was clear that Hucknall had been on the end of a severe talking to in the dressing room as they came out rejuvenated and played with far more intensity.

This paid almost immediate dividends as Joe Ashurst pulled a goal back for Hucknall less than two minutes after the restart.

The Hinckley goalkeeper flapped at Westcarr's freekick and the loose ball landed at Ashurst's feet. A good first touch allowed him to control the ball and work it into a shooting position before he smashed the ball high into the top corner of the net.

The hope that this goal gave the home fans was quickly dampened when Hinckley responded with their fourth goal just four minutes later. A poor clearance from Lenford Jenkins rolled straight to Harkin who hit it first time from the edge of the box and the ball flew into the net.

For around ten minutes, that goal seemed to have ended the game as a contest but Hucknall were given a lifeline when Jamie Crawford was upended by a rash challenge from Weale and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Westcarr duly dispatched the spot kick to reignite the belief around the ground that a comeback was on the cards.

This sense was further heightened when Cayne Maxwell was bundled over in the area just a few minutes later and the referee had no choice but to point to the penalty spot for a second time. Westcarr again kept his composure to smash the ball into the net and reduce Hucknall's deficit to one.

Hucknall were relentless in their pursuit of an equaliser and after Courtney Bartley had gone close, Westcarr completed his hattrick to make it 4-4. Grant Ryan's deft flick on from a long ball forward sent him clean through and he calmly chipped the ball over the onrushing 'keeper to level the scores.

The momentum was with the hosts and when a nervy Hinckley backline made another error, the ball dropped to Ashurst on the halfway line with the goalkeeper way out of his area. Ashurst tried an audacious lob and was incredibly unlucky to see the ball just go over the crossbar with the goalkeeper stranded.

Then, seemingly against the run of play Harkin struck again to put Hinckley in front with five minutes left.

Hucknall created chances to equalise with Ryan, Crawford and Westcarr all denied late on but Hinckley held on to claim all three points and confirm their play-off place.

It wasn't all bad news for Hucknall though as a surprise slip up from Aylestone Park, who were held to a 3-3 draw by Clifton, means they still occupy the final play-off spot. This means their fate is still very much in their own hands and if they win all three of their remaining fixtures they will still earn a play-off place.

Their next match sees them host midtable Birstall United at Watnall Road on Saturday (16 April).