Hucknall stun league leaders with Taylor-made victory

Hucknall Town secured a superb 2-0 victory over league leaders Belper United at the RM Stadium, delivering a massive three points for the Yellows and proving they are rapidly becoming a tough nut to crack under Tris Whitman.

In horrendous weather conditions at the RM Stadium, Yellows mastered the wind and the rain better in the first half as Taylor Jaine bagged a double on 22 and 37 minutes to put the hosts in control at half-time.

With the elements agains them after the break, Yellows changed shape to be more compact and proved they are becoming a tough nut to crack again under Tris Whitman as they held out for a vital win.

Boss Whitman said: “On a personal note, it's nice to win a game.

"Briefly, when we (he and assistant Aaron Large) came back to Hucknall, they were on a run of bad form and near the bottom end of the league.

"We played Belper two weeks ago (in the FA Vase) and we weren't quite ready for that game at the time.

"But it gave us a little bit of insight into how they might play.

"The conditions were horrendous for both teams, especially in the first half.

"We had the wind and the rain (in our favour) and we needed to capitalise on the moments that we had.

"We know Taylor's a threat from set-pieces but the quality of the delivery is the most important thing.

"I think Parksy (Luis Parks) used the wind really well just to kind of leave the ball up there, and it's dropped in two dangerous areas and Taylor has reacted first to land on both."

"Second half, we knew it was going to be difficult in terms of how we wanted to play and get out through the pitch.

"But it was a case of going to a different shape out of possession and nullifying their threat in wide areas.

"Even though they created several half-chances – I think one real opening they had – we defended really well throughout the team."