Halloween hell for Hucknall as late goals leave them empty-handed

Yellows looked like they had held out in a resilient display in the GCE Fleet Hire United Counties League clash before goals from home substitutes Laheed Ahmada on 92 minutes and Yassine Haffane on 96 minutes ensured it was trick and no treat for Hucknall as they suffered a fourth defeat in their last six in the Premier Division North.

Hucknall defended with discipline for much of the contest but paid the price for struggling to turn spells of possession into a sustained attacking threat.

Yellows boss Tris Whitman acknowledged Aylestone’s superiority but praised his side’s defensive effort.

He said: "My overall thoughts are that they were the better team, probably for large spells.

"But that being said, I felt that we defended the box really well, and then the two goals that we've conceded at the end kind of killed it a little bit."

Whitman also identified a need for more attacking ideas, explaining that the focus so far has been on defensive organisation and building from the back:

He continued: "It's something that we've not really worked on.

"We've worked a lot on kind of being a bit resolute at the back and being able to build out, but we're definitely aware that we lack ideas when we get in the opposition's half.

"It's still things that we need to work on, hopefully with time, we'll see a few more patterns in and around the attacking third ."

Attacking midfield Lewis Belgrave is back at the club and the return of others, including Reece Sugars and Callum Orange is also a positive for Whitman, although he stressed that some players are still working towards full match fitness.

He said: "There are a few lads in there that are probably not fully at match fitness and then it's just around connections and relationships on the pitch which takes a little bit of time."

Whitman also suggested that ‘new faces’ could join the squad before the next game, which is at home to Gresley Rovers on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).