Hinckley AFC will head on their first away day of 2024 tomorrow with the visit to Pack Meadow to take on Chelmsley Town.
Hinckley’s two away games in January, at Stapenhill and Wolves Sporting, were both postponed meaning the trip to Chelmsley is the first time on the road since Boxing Day.
And after losing their long unbeaten record to Ingles last week, AFC will look to pick up their first win of the new year in Coleshill.
They could be boosted by the returns of Adam Barber and Harry Walker-Donovan following injuries, while new signing Drew Kear is also available.
The opposition
Chelmsley boss Steve Solomon tweeted recently that his team are going through a rebuilding phase, after a bright opening to the season.
They have lost a handful of players either side of Christmas, and as such have endured a difficult run in which they have won once in their last ten.
They started the season well – they were in the play-offs in September after losing just two of their first nine, but are now 15th albeit still 11 points above the relegation zone.
Their struggles have mostly come on the road, though, and their six wins at Pack Meadow is the most at home by any side outside the top half.
Previous meetings
Chelmsley’s bright start included taking points off Hinckley – a late penalty earned them a 2-2 draw at Kirkby Road in August after AFC came from behind at half-time to lead. Hinckley won the corresponding fixture at Pack Meadow last season when Chandler Pegg’s hat-trick helped them to a 4-0 victory.
From the dressing room
“It’ll be another difficult game, Sol’s done an unbelievable job and to be always punching around mid table with Chelmsley is a great credit. I’ve got a lot of respect for them and him, he always sets his teams up to be difficult to play against and break down.
“It will be the same tomorrow and we’ll have to be patient and clever to break them down. It’s a big day tomorrow, plenty of teams near the top are playing each other and we need to try and hit back after losing last week. They’ll want a result after a difficult run and will want to change that. So it will be tough but we trained well Monday and are confident of a good result.”
Joe Conneely
Key information
Like Hinckley, Chelmsley’s shared home at Coleshill Town’s Pack Meadow has an artificial surface. The ground can be found on Packington Lane, Coleshill, B46 3JJ.
Adults: £6
Concessions: £4
Under 12s: Free
