Hucknall Town off the mark with first point in draw at Shirebrook Town

A 1-1 draw at Shirebrook Town last weekend has lifted the Yellows' camp ahead of Saturday's visit of Lincoln United before Ashby Ivanhoe come to town on Monday afternoon.

“A point gained at the weekend against Shirebrook means we’re off the mark and it’s a small step forward,” said Hucknall boss Reece Limbert.

“Other than the penalty and a couple of goalmouth scrambles, I felt we never looked troubled and we defended brilliantly.

“We controlled the game and showed great character to come from behind to draw level.

“On another day, with the chances we’ve made, we probably walk away four or five goals to the good, but credit goes to the Shirebrook goalkeeper who had an outstanding game and kept them in the game.

“We rolled the dice in the final few minutes and, despite a couple of blocks and goal line clearances, we just couldn’t find a deserved winner.”

He continued: “We have to look at the positives when we aren’t quite getting the results we want.

“Saturday’s performance was the first time this season where we all dug in for each other and grafted to get a result.

“Sam Sims was tremendous both in midfield and at the back, when Aaron Short had to come off due to a small knock, Sam went under the radar and did the hidden side of the game and I felt he was our Man of the Match. Aaron had a scan on Saturday following his injury and has been given the green light which is good news for us.

“Cashmere Rowe also performed well and, along with our other full backs, gives me a good headache going into three games over eight days.”

Saturday's game burst into life in the 11th minute when Shirebrook were awarded a penalty after Fabio Vieira was played through one-on-one, and as he went to go round the keeper, he was brought down, Chris O'Grady sending the keeper the wrong way.

But Niall Towle scored a 31st minute equaliser from the penalty spot after Cashmere Rowe was brought down in the box.

Further chances fell to Towle and Wells in the second half, but luck was not on Hucknall's side and Shirebrook's keeper made some excellent saves.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​