Hucknall Town bolster play-off hopes with win at Ingles

Despite falling behind with just six minutes on the clock, the Yellows kept their composure on a windy afternoon in Leicestershire and turned the game on its head to secure three important points.

Two goals from Craig Westcarr – who has now scored in each of Town’s last seven away matches – ensured that Andy Graves’ side led at the break, before Oliver Brown found the net in the second half.

A contentious penalty award allowed Ingles to reduce Hucknall’s lead to just one goal in the closing stages, but the visitors held on to remain within touching distance of their play-off chasing rivals.

The Yellows did not come out of the blocks particularly well in Shepshed and conceded a penalty after only five minutes when captain-for-the-day Jordan Phillips misjudged his challenge on Aboo Younis inside the area. Ingles forward Laithan Hammond stepped up from 12 yards and powered the ball home confidently to give his side an early lead.

However, the hosts were only in front for a matter of minutes, as Westcarr soon levelled proceedings by heading Brown’s whipped cross from the left past goalkeeper Joe Bickerstaffe, with the ball flicking off the crossbar on its way in.

Westcarr was unsurprisingly heavily involved in all of Town’s attacking ventures throughout the first half and netted his second goal of the day shortly before the half hour mark. Grant Ryan’s left-footed cross was glanced on nicely by Phillips, and Hucknall’s top scorer took full advantage by poking home from close range.

There was an argument to suggest that the Yellows deserved to be more than one goal ahead at the interval, as in the 38th minute, the influential Sam Sims looked to have been pushed over in the box by Ingles’ Harry Smith. The alleged push was evidently not spotted by referee Dave Brennan, who quickly dismissed any appeals for a penalty.

Town’s eagerness to increase their advantage was clear to see from the start of the second period, and they got their reward for showing such positive intent in the 56th minute when Brown received the ball from Joe Ashurst before firing home coolly.

Hucknall were not prepared to simply rest on their laurels and continued to pose questions of Ingles’ defence and keeper, most notably when Sims’ left-footed cross bounced off the crossbar. At the opposite end of the pitch, Yellows stopper Keaton Sharpe also played his part, making a number of useful saves and clearances.

Then, with nine minutes of normal time remaining, the home side were awarded another penalty, with Sharpe accused of committing a foul while colliding with Hammond.

The striker rose to his feet quickly and tucked the spot-kick away to set up a nervy finale, but Hucknall stood firm until the last whistle, restricting Ingles to very few opportunities.

Speaking shortly after full-time, Yellows boss Graves was full of praise for the way his players navigated themselves through some difficult in-game periods.

“Our quality shone through,” Graves said. “We responded really quickly [to going behind] and we didn’t panic so we were pleased about that.

“We were in control of the game, but football is strange and things can be taken out of your hands at times through no fault of your own.

“I had no complaints about the first penalty, but the second one was a bit of a shocker to be honest. [Hammond] was five yards wide and there was no contact until the ball was out of play.

“When the second penalty went in, it would’ve been easy for us to start panicking, but I thought we dealt with the situation really well.”