Hinckley Borough faced Barwell Ravens in a local derby with both sides knowing a win would take them to the top of U15 Division G of the L&DSJL. Hinckley had several players unavailable, with Fin, Leighton and Rylee all missing. A tweak in formation saw them line up in 3-4-1-2, with Dyl playing behind Lewis and Keerthan and Sonni in a free role in the middle four. Barwell lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with a full complement on the bench. It was noticeable how big Barwell were, the Centre Back and Centre Forward looking as though they could have played in the Sunday League game that had just finished on Pitch Two.
Barwell kicked off towards the ditch end, but Hinckley started the brighter, the new formation working well with Keerthan and Lewis quite fluid, swapping sides up front. The Barwell number 10 at Centre Back did look dominant in the air, but Hinckley were starting to play good football on the deck and Dyl was taking up the attention of both Barwell defensive midfielders, who were proving to be extremely physical opponents. The majority of Barwell’s play was a long ball aimed at the centre forward.
The best effort of the first quarter came after some good play from Hinckley saw Keerthan through on goal but the ball bobbled just as he shot, the effort skewing wide of the right-hand post. It came as a bit of a surprise when in the 27th minute Barwell took the lead, the right sided midfielder pouncing on some indecision in the home defence to shoot past Ted, who’d had little to do up to that point. Shortly afterwards the Barwell manager substituted the number 12 after some more physical play to allow him an opportunity to cool down. The physical nature of Under 15’s football is becoming more noticeable every week.
Barwell didn’t hold the lead for long, Lewis’ pass split the defence and found his partner Keerthan, who finished well from the left side of the penalty box to give Hinckley a deserved equalizer, with 34 minutes gone. The rest of the half played out with Hinckley on the attack and Sonni looking good in his free role, which was proving difficult for the away team to cope with. Just before half time right back Freddie made a brilliant run into the opposition box, his cross just evading Keerthan on the back post.
The home team made one change at the break, with Sean coming on for Harry at Left Back.
The second half started off evenly, both sides knowing that the next goal was vital. Barwell made some personnel changes, the number 6 now moving up front and the 12 back on the pitch. The 6 was proving a difficult opponent, bringing some pace up front and Ted had to come off his line quickly to pick up some through balls. He also made an excellent save from the 6 whose shot from approximately 30 yards looked destined for the top right corner.
However, Hinckley’s front three combination continued to cause Barwell problems and in the 59th minute they took the lead, Zach passing to Dyl who then slipped the ball through to Keerthan, who again finished well, this time from the right; another good team goal.
Barwell made a change and brought their big striker back on, who made a heavy challenge on Jack by the corner flag. Zach and Lewis were also the recipients of tough tackles, Lewis ending off the pitch after his and Zach landing on his head after a tackle by the 12 (again) as Barwell struggled with Hinckley’s football, particularly on the left hand side of the pitch. One move featured Sean, Zach, Sonni, Dyl (a back heel), Lewis and then a shot from Dyl which went just over; probably the best team move we’ve seen from any team this season. A deserved third goal came with 7 minutes to go, Lewis again the provider for Dyl, as his shot from the edge of the box beat the outstretched arms of the Barwell keeper.
Full Time, 3-1 to Hinckley. A superb team performance, with each player making important contributions. From a coaching perspective, it was great to see the team adapt to a totally new formation, albeit forced upon us by the missing Fin, with the defence and midfield keeping their shape and the fluidity of the attackers confusing Barwell, whose back 6 really struggled at times with their movement.
Next week is another difficult game against Stoneygate, who beat previous league leaders AFC Andrews 2-0 at the weekend. However, Hinckley will be full of confidence after this performance.