Boss Andy Graves wants Hucknall Town to do better with the ball

The Yellows boss was disappointed with how his side handled possession in the early stages of their 1-0 defeat to table-topping Ollerton Town at the weekend.

The prolific Gav King the winner in the 46th minute as Ollerton made it five wins and five clean sheets in a row.

“We did not start very well and gave the ball away far too much in the opening 15 minutes, they got behind us three times in that spell,” said Graves.

“The disappointing thing was that we weren’t even forced into giving the ball away. It was sloppy and it gave Ollerton a foothold in the game.

“If you look after the ball and have the ball then they can’t hurt you.

“After that we settled down a bit more when we stopped given the ball away.

“Their keeper had to make some good saves in the first half. We knew the game would be tight.

"We spoke at half-time how the game would be won by a lack of concentration, either by them or us. The last thing I said was how we had to concentrate.

“Then we miss a tackle on the halfway line and concede two minutes after half-time.

“I was pleased that we did not panic, we responded well and their keeper made two good saves and we hit the bar at the end.

“It wasn’t as though it was all one way and we were always in the game.”

“You have got to be switched on all the time. It is small margins but we weren’t good enough.”

Town are expected to face point-less Teversal at the weekend - though the game could be in doubt after one of the Teversal players took a test for COVID-19.

But Graves is warning that his troops must show respect to the Tevie Boys and not take them lightly.

“We won’t take them lightly,” he said. “It will up to us to bounce back.

“We have to bounce back but any team can beat anyone in this league if you are not on your game.

“We will not underestimate anyone and we will be looking to take care of the ball better on Saturday.

"We have got players coming back from injury who we did not want to risk. Hopefully after Saturday I will have a full strength squad to choose from.”