Four points for AFC from busy Bank Holiday

HINCKLEY AFC and Nuneaton Griff shared the spoils at The Pingles Stadium as their Bank Holiday Monday derby ended 1-1, writes Liam Gibbs.

In front of a bumper crowd of 382, Griff led at the break through a Tom Bates penalty.

AFC were much improved after half time, though, and despite levelling through Sam Agar, they couldn’t find the elusive winning goal.

Hinckley went close seven minutes in as Lee Butler’s 25 yard effort cannoned off the bar.

Midway through the first half, though, Hinckley’s lapse in concentration gave Griff the lead. A poor clearance fell straight to Josh Willis on the edge of the box, and he was brought down by James Williams’ clumsy challenge. Bates stepped up and sent Haydn Whitcombe the wrong way.

After the break, Hinckley dominated possession but Needham still remained untested for large spells.

The closest Hinckley came to levelling early in the half was when Peter Williams intercepted a loose pass and crossed low for Agar, but after turning neatly the striker fired wide of the post when he should have scored.

Then, Whitcombe twice prevented Griff doubling their lead, saving low first from Jack Colley after he cut in from the right, and then from Chris Tullin.

But after Hinckley introduced pace and width in the form of Isaac Cooper and Rico Taylor, the rest of the game was one way traffic.

A good move down the left involving Cooper, Darious Darkin and Lee Thomas saw a ball come in from the left, which Agar controlled on his chest and finished well from an acute angle.

Although the momentum was with Hinckley, and they should have turned the game on its head, the sides had to settle for a point apiece.

Three goals in the final eight minutes earned Hinckley AFC their first home win of the new season with a 4-1 triumph over Racing Club Warwick on Saturday.

With the game poised at 1-1 going into the latter stages, goals from Peter Williams, Sam Agar and Ryan Seal secured all three points.