Hucknall Town still unbeaten and still very confident insists boss

The 2-2 draw at the weekend might have ended the winning streak that Andy Graves’ men put together, but refusing to be beaten was the main objective for the manager.

“That streak brings pressure with it, but we’re still unbeaten and that’s the main thing,” he said.

“Going up there in front of a partisan crowd, it’s not the easiest place to go and play.

“I’d say I was frustratingly happy, because if we had made better decisions in the first half when we had the majority of the play, we could have come away with the three points.

“They will beg to differ of course.”

Graves counted nine goalscoring positions manufactured by his men, but still they found themselves behind after conceding two goals he wasn’t overly happy about.

But back came Hucknall to secure a point.

They’re now third in the Central Midlands South table, four points behind leaders Selston but with three games in hand.

That’s why he believes he can claim to be the happiest boss in the upper echelons of the table after Saturday.

“All in all we’re happy, we showed great character to come back and draw,” he said.

“All the pressure was on them because they’ve played three more games and have dropped seven points now, whereas we’ve dropped just two and still have our three games in hand.”

Graves leads his men into FA Vase action this Saturday at Ashby Ivanhoe, a side who sit 14th in the East Midlands Counties Football League side.

The men from Ashby de la Zouch have lost their last three league games and went down 6-3 at Stapenhill on Saturday.

Their last win came against Barrow Town.

He was due to go and watch this weekend’s hosts himself and although he’s keen to progress in the competition and pick up some much needed revenue for the club, he will have to switch things around in his squad.

“There will be changes, “ he said.

“I’ve got three players out so one or two from the reserves will come in and one or two from the bench will get a start, but that will be no excuse.

“There’s money involved, which is good for the club, but we have to be careful we don’t end up with loads of games in all these competitions.

“But I sent a very young side out at Southwell in the Floodlit Cup and they did really well, so I haven’t got any problems bringing any reserve lads in.”

Graves is content with the squad he’s assembled, with players like Kasally Danso and Ashley Witt to come back from injury and Elliot Christie expected back in action before the end of the year following his overseas travels.

Graves said: “He will be a great frontman to bring in around Christmas when he comes back from travelling.”