Abbo on Racing Club Warwick Draw

Hinckley AFC manager Carl Abbott said his side felt ‘mixed feelings’ after yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Racing Club Warwick.

The points looked to be heading Hinckley’s way until Jamie Corrigan’s last minute equaliser for the visitors, and Abbott said that although his side are disappointed with the result, they created enough chances to win the game.

‘There’s mixed feelings in the camp tonight. We’re really disappointed with the result because all the players, supporters and management associated with this club know that we’re expecting and needing maximum points to keep in touch with teams around us.

‘From that point of view it’s disappointing, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s 22 unbeaten with three draws. That’s an unbelievable run by anyone’s standards and the lads should be proud of themselves. In a run of games that long you will draw games, you will lose games. It doesn’t matter who you are.

‘Today we’ve created enough chances in the game to win five games. The ball just didn’t want to go in for us, it certainly didn’t want to go in for Marco (Adaggio). Some inspired goalkeeping by the Racing Club Warwick goalkeeper, who was fantastic, and you just have to say it’s one of those days.

‘You’re left ruing the start of the season again really, because that sort of game happens in the run of games we’ve had. That result should be tolerable, and it’s not. We move on and we learn from this season.

‘I never really consider us to be a side that will draw many games, I’m surprised how many games we have drawn this season. We’re such a goal threat, and at the start of the season haphazard defending cost us so I never really saw draws in us.

‘We’ve tightened up at the back but the ball didn’t want to go in for us today. We’ve still scored two goals in the game, we should have and could have scored a lot more, should have won the game.

‘How critical and how hard on the players can you be? We weren’t good today, we were too slow and laborious in possession, we weren’t sharp enough and didn’t move the ball quickly enough.

‘That started right from the kick off: the first five minutes had a testimonial feel about it. But, when you get into a groove of playing that way it’s hard to get out of it.

‘Seven losses on the trot at the start of the season is what we look back on today – it’s not about this game, it’s about the start of the season and it’s really, really unlikely that we can get back in the hunt.

‘But we’ll keep going, we’ll keep the unbeaten run going and if it turns out that it’s not to be this year, which it probably won’t be, we’ll learn from it. I can assure everybody that we won’t have a start to next season like this year.’

Abbott said that his side’s inaugural season will not be defined by draws, though, but by the start of the season that saw seven defeats in eight.

‘We were the dominant team today, and because of the quality we do have, we don’t have to play particularly well to dominate teams and create chances. We were poor today and weren’t necessarily that happy with our performance. ‘

‘There was only one side that, when you look back on the game, created enough chances and deserved to win the game but that’s just the way it rolls in football.

‘We still didn’t lose today, though, and our season’s not going to be defined by drawing with Pilkington XXX, it’s not going to be defined by drawing with Lichfield City. It’s going to be defined by what happened in August and September.’

Yesterday’s Man of the Match award went to Luke Richards. The forward will be a key player in AFC’s run in, and Abbott praised the former Hinckley United man’s contribution yesterday.

‘He’s fantastic. He’s been a little but more in and out than we would have liked this season because he’s found himself a little susceptible to injury, but when he’s playing and when he’s on song he’s fantastic.

‘He’s a lovely player to watch, he’s elegant when he drives at players with the ball, he’s a goal threat. If you get the ball out to Luke and he gets it out of his feet, you just feel like something is going to happen.

‘It’s going to be key that we keep him fit for the run in, and we’ll work on his conditioning in the summer to hopefully keep him injury free. What a player we have on our hands at the football club, he’s absolutely terrific and is very much the heart and soul of the club.’

Finally, Abbott spoke of the importance of the club’s ‘Evening with Barry Fry’ this coming Thursday 19th March at Gadsby’s.

‘It is important, because the club doesn’t run on thin air. There are a lot of overheads at the minute which aren’t ideal, in terms of our ground arrangements and being out of the town.

‘Everybody is working incredibly hard to keep the club going, and sometimes it needs people who are so involved since the club’s inception, and are happy to give up time and even money to a degree, and supporting an evening like this is vitally important.

‘Whether it really turns you on, coming and listening to Barry Fry or not, the club needs people to get together and have a social event, and I guess the nuts and bolts of it are ‘put your hand in your pocket’ because we want to keep things moving at the football club.

‘It takes cash injection from time to time and that means the supporters of a club like ours, a fan owned club, going the extra mile and supporting events like these.’