Tommo on ‘Fabulous’ Result
Hinckley AFC assistant manager Paul Tomlinson said his side’s extra time win over Leicester Road in the Jelson Homes Senior Cup was a ‘fabulous result’.
In a game that swung this way and that, AFC were 2-0 up at half time and then 3-2 down early in extra time.
Despite being a man down, goalkeeper-come-winger Sam Arnold’s header and Ryan Seal’s penalty snatched the win for Hinckley that secures their place in the Semi Finals.
Speaking after the game, Tomlinson spoke of his delight in the performance and the result. He said: ‘The result is fabulous. The performance itself over the 120 minutes was fantastic, and there were two good sides having a go at each other tonight.
‘I want to pay the respects to Leicester Road because they’re a good side. They’re well coached, well managed and they’re a credit to their manager (Neil Lyne).
‘But it’s a fantastic result for us. To go down to ten men, and play the whole of extra time a man light, the lads deserve so much credit. We’re all so proud of them at the moment. We’re on a bit of a high, we’re buzzing and the lads were brilliant tonight for us.’
Having previously suffered two consecutive defeats and missing several players through injury and unavailability, ‘Tommo’ said morale was a little low in the changing room before the game, but that he and Carl Abbott got the response they were after.
‘Because of everything that’s been going on in the last 7-10 days and the injuries we’ve had, the changing room was a little bit flat before the game if I’m honest.
‘We were really positive before the game and the lads have taken that on themselves tonight. It was a really good performance and it was a performance for Abbo as well.
‘As a manager, I’ve never met anyone who works so hard in football as Carl Abbott does, his emotions have been up and down but tonight’s performance was one for Carl from the players themselves. They’ve dug deep and to a man they were absolutely outstanding.
‘The two goalkeepers in Crossy (Tom Cross) and Sam (Arnold) playing centre forward and left wing respectively, what can you say? Out there tonight was lads who have got the club at heart, and I’m a bit lost for words to be honest because the emotions are just so high at the moment.
‘I hope the people that paid money to come and watch that, whether they be Hinckley supporters or Leicester Road supporters, got their money’s worth and I hope they enjoyed it.’
