Hinckley AFC took a step further to competitive action in a 5-2 pre-season friendly win over Tamworth Under 21s.
On a warm afternoon at The Lamb Ground, Hinckley raced into a lead that they never looked like relinquishing for their second win of the friendly campaign.
Luke Richards was the hat-trick hero, and gave his side an early lead with a precise header from Sam Reuben’s cross.
The same player then doubled the lead five minutes later, when Tamworth didn’t deal with Jake Healy’s cross and Luke Delaney set up Richards to find the bottom corner through a crowded box.
Richards then made it a first half treble inside half an hour, but the third was all about the perseverance of Healy as he chased down a lost cause, kept the ball in play and crossed for Richards to head home a third.
The home side pulled one back shortly after through a free kick which looked like being the goal of the half, until Lewis Collins had his say on the stroke of half time. The forward chased down a defender, won the ball back and curled one into the top corner on the turn from 25 yards to restore AFC’s three goal cushion.
As expected, the second half was a more scrappy affair as both sides made a number of rolling substitutions, but Hinckley stopper Zack Stretton was forced into a pair of smart saves, while AFC substitute Michael Wright was denied by a similarly good stop.
Tamworth looked like having their day when they pulled another back courtesy of a neat finish into the bottom corner, but Bekir Halil has the final say with a 25-yard free kick which nestled in the corner to wrap up the scoring at 5-2.
Hinckley are back in action next Saturday for the first of three home friendlies, Nuneaton Borough the visitors to the Welfare Ground.
