Hucknall Town prepare for cup final glory after defeats over Easter
Hucknall Town will turn their focus to trying to end the season with silverware after a 3-0 home defeat by Kimberley MW in their last UCL Premier North game of the season on Saturday.
In their last game before the Notts FA Senior Cup final clash with Newark & Sherwood United next month, the Yellows lost a game that secured Step 5 football for struggling Kimberley next season.
Assistant manager Aaron Large took the Hucknall reins for the second defeat in a few days after Saturday's 3-2 loss at high-flying Bourne Town as the Yellows finished in a very respectable 11th position.
On the Kimberley defeat, Large said: Monday was a chance to rotate the squad and get valuable minutes into players returning from injury and give those who are ineligible or unavailable for the final a proper runout in the last league game of the season at home.
“That said, credit to Kimberley, they treated it like a cup final and came out with real intent from the first whistle. Disappointingly, we didn’t match that.
“We were second best in too many moments, lost the firsts, seconds and even thirds at times, and once again, similar to the Bourne match, conceded from set-piece situations again.
“We did have some good spells with the ball but consistently lost possession and turned the ball over and we lacked ruthlessness in both boxes. Ultimately, the mentality to go and win the game just wasn’t there and that’s what cost us.”
On the defeat at Bourne Town, who are now in the play-offs, Large said: “I thought we were brilliant in the opening stages.
“We dominated the game early on and controlled possession, moved the ball well and looked the better side.
“But unfortunately, a mistake gave them their first and then a set piece not long after saw us go two down, completely against the run of play.
“At half-time, we regrouped and came out with real intent.
“We were on the front foot, created chances and you could feel a goal was coming.
“We got one back through Niall, and at that point I really believed we were going to go on and get something from the game.
“Disappointingly, we gave away a soft free-kick and got punished again from a set piece to go 3-1 down.
“But credit to the lads, they rolled their sleeves up, kept going, and we got back into it again. At 3-2, we were pushing hard and I genuinely thought we’d nick a point.
“Overall, we can’t fault the effort or the levels. Intensity, commitment and belief were also right up there. That’s three title challengers we’ve gone toe-to-toe with now and that says a lot about how far we’ve come.”
At Bourne, two goals in the first half for the hosts saw them with the half-time advantage after a disappointing 45 minutes for Hucknall.
Yellows got one back quickly at the restart through Joe Ashurst only to see Bourne strike again before Niall Towle set up an exciting finish with another reply on 67 minutes.
On Monday Kimberley arrived in a really precarious position knowing they needed a win to stay up and played with an intensity to match.
They took the lead after only two minutes and doubled that six minutes after the break, adding a third on the hour.
The Yellows now look forward to a cup final at Mansfield Town's One Call Stadium in just over a fortnight and could still add silverware to what has been a good season.
“We’ve got to acknowledge the support we’ve had over the bank holiday weekend,” said Large.
“It’s been absolutely brilliant and we’re gutted we couldn’t reward that noise with a result.
“Now all focus turns to the final. We regroup, reset and go again.
“We really hope that the supporters will come out in numbers for us on the 6th May - that will be important and would help give us the edge.”
Supporters can purchase tickets online or in person from the One Call ticket office during office hours.