The Midland League Division One’s best attack faces up against its best attacker when Hinckley AFC travel to Heather St John’s.
Hinckley visit their old landlords and their former home at St John’s Park looking for a fifth consecutive Division One win. They’ll do so without Zaki Evans, who picked up a hamstring knock at Sutton United on Monday, but fellow central player Dec Somel is available after missing the last three games.
And it’s a game that sees Hinckley, with 107 league goals to their name this season, go up against a Heather side possessing the league’s top scorer Kyle Jardine.
The opposition
Jardine has 43 of Heather’s 76 league goals scored this season in 33 matches for the club, a record that is almost certain to secure him the league’s golden boot. He also scored twice against Hinckley earlier in the season.
With four games still to play, Heather sit just outside the play-off spots in their first season back at step six, after being relegated from the United Counties Premier North last term.
Other teams having multiple games in hand mean they face an uphill task to finish inside the top five, but four wins from their last four games, who are all against other sides in the top eight, would leave them in contention.
They’ve suffered just one defeat in eight since mid-February and are unbeaten at St John’s Park since a last-gasp defeat to Droitwich Spa in December, extending that record when they came from behind to draw 1-1 with Coton Green on Saturday.
Previous meetings
Heather won 3-1 at Kirkby Road in the opening midweek match of the season to go top of the early-season table after two games.
That was the first competitive meeting between the sides since 2018, and Hinckley’s last visit to St John’s Park in a league match came in August of that year. Hinckley, unbeaten at the time, ended Heather’s 100% record in a 2-2 draw. Grant Ryan and Kieran Harrison scored for AFC, while Heather’s second equaliser came through a future Hinckley striker Chris Lloyd. Tom Weale also played for Heather that day.
Overall, Hinckley’s record against Heather is five wins, three draws and four defeats.
From the dressing room
“They’re a good team, and have been in and around the play-offs all season. They’ve got the best striker in the league this year, stats don’t lie and Kyle’s numbers are a joke really. When you’ve got people like him, you’re always in a game. He’ll always give you a chance to nick a point or three.
“We feel like we owe them one but there’s more to football than that. They beat us fair and square that day in August, we were bullied off the pitch that day. We were outfought and outbattled and deserved to get beaten. A lot has happened since then, we’re in a good place and it’s just another step closer to where we need to be. But they’ll want to beat us and spoil the party”
Joe Conneely
Key information
Heather play at St John’s Park, Heather, LE67 2QJ. No dogs are allowed inside the ground.
Adults: £7
Concessions: £5
Under 16s: Free
