Watnall Road farewell falls flat with two defeats, but Hucknall Town boss Andy Ingle was cheered by two good performances

But, as the floodlights were switched off for the very last time, boss Andy Ingle said he was delighted with the performances in the 2-0 defeat by leaders Aylestone Park on Saturday and 2-0 loss to Basford United in the Notts FA Senior Cup Second Round on Wednesday.

Two big crowds turned out to say farewell to the old ground with the Yellows now facing eight away games in a row before moving into their new home in December.

“It was a weird night on Wednesday,” said Ingle.

“Someone showed me a video on Twitter of the actual lights being turned off for the final time which was really strange.

“I know I haven't been at the club long but you know there is a lot of history just been turned off.

“But we have to be upbeat as we have a new ground to go to which is quite exciting. We have a lot to look forward to.

“We just want to get back on it now at Newark & Sherwood on Saturday.

“Even though we didn't get the required results the performances were good. The lads were in really good spirits last night and I was really pleased with their attitudes both before and after. They are just keen to get back into the league programme which is our big focus now.

“As long as we put the performances in I can't see any issues. Any pressure we get we will make ourselves.

“It's all about keeping on improving our game, keep doing all the good things and keep doing them often.”

Saturday's game swung on two red card decisions, which both went against Hucknall, and they were only sunk by two late goals when down to 10 men.

“Saturday's game was not decided how we wanted it and the officials played a large part in that, particularly the referee,” said Ingle.

“In the first half he plainly missed a red card incident where one of our players was kicked in the face on the floor. The linesman saw everything and could have informed the referee but didn't.

“Sometimes certain things govern the way a game goes and we were not in control of Saturday and just had to keep playing. Then the sending-off didn't help us at all.

“To be fair for 80 minutes we were in the game and we had total strangers come up afterwards and said complimentary things about us.

“The supporters were brilliant – it was a massive crowd and we had people there who had not been for years and said they were definitely going to come back as they had enjoyed the excitement and liked what they saw.

“That helped. But it couldn't take away the fact we had dropped the points, though I really fancy us in the return with them, I really do. We didn't play badly at all.”

On the Basford defeat, he added: “We used the whole of the squad on Wednesday. All the subs got a run out. And I thought we did really well considering they are three levels above us. I thought we held our own.

“We conceded two sloppy goals, but it is what it is. By and large I thought we put a good performance in and there was a decent crowd again.”