Hearn strikes as happy Hucknall Town bounce straight back from first defeat

Hucknall disappointed in Friday's 3-1 loss at West Bridgford.

But on Tuesday they came from behind to see off Radford with second half goals by Sam Sims and the returning Liam Hearn

“I asked for character at half-time and said that we were capable of turning it around if we were determined enough, and afterwards I thanked the lads because they did show me that character,” said Graves.

“I made a few changes in an attempt to spark something from certain players. Sometimes you have to do things a bit differently and we got the result so I think it worked.

“I’m obviously really happy with the result but we’re still not quite there yet in terms of the performance. The second half was more like the level where we need to be.

“In the second half, we got the equaliser and then we started to get a little bit of momentum.

“I thought Radford carried a threat on the break but their final ball was lacking and Jake (Pearson) didn’t really have any shots to deal with, which was encouraging.”

The winner was scored by veteran Hearn, who has returned to the club having played for Hucknall as a youngster, and Graves is excited to have him on back.

“Liam obviously played for Town very early on in his career, got noticed and then progressed from there and ended up playing at a really high level for Grimsby Town and Mansfield Town,” said Graves.

“I think it’s fair to say that he’s in the twilight of his career but he’s still got a lot to offer and I thought he definitely showed that tonight.”

At Bridgford the Yellows were sunk by strikes from former Town striker Matt Brian, Euan Sweeting and Nathan Kelly. Sims netted Hucknall’s only goal with a fine first-half free-kick, but the game slipped away in the second period.

“It should’ve been comfortable but two individual errors cost us,” said Graves.

This Saturday Hucknall are at home to Aylestone Park.