Wasteful Hucknall Town lose two in a row

Hucknall manager Andy Graves - furious over finishing.Hucknall manager Andy Graves - furious over finishing.
Hucknall manager Andy Graves - furious over finishing.
Two 3-1 defeats in five days have taken the wind out of depleted Hucknall Town's sails after an eight-game unbeaten run.

With half a team of key players missing in both games due to a variety of circumstances, the Yellows lost at Radford on Saturday and then at home to Dunkirk on Wednesday.

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But, despite everything, boss Andy Graves believes they had enough chances to get something from the games and slammed his players' finishing.

“It's very frustrating,” he said. “There were a lot of mitigating circumstances for the defeats with so many players missing with unavailability, suspected Covid, two kept out after a clash of heads, and we had players playing out of position.

“But at the end of the day we didn't take our chances.

“That's been the story all season, even when we've been winning.

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“Players don't mean to to miss but, to be brutal, that is what's costing us.”

He continued: “A lot of people blame the defence. But they only have to make one mistake and it's punished and highlighted. But I think misses should be classified as mistakes. They get the glory but the misses don't get highlighted.

“On Wednesday we had a dozen chances and you should be putting at least 25 per cent of the chances you create. Take those and you win games.

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“Taken into context, performances have not been that bad. It's just silly individual errors.

“Defenders put their hands up when they make mistakes, maybe those in front of goal should do the same.

“I have protected them over the last few games but I can't protect them any more as they have been so wasteful. It needs addressing.

Hucknall will look to get back to winning ways away at Hinckley on Saturday, but Graves said: “We won't know until Friday what players we have available. The petrol situation is also a worry.”

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