A pair of Nuneaton old-boys inflicted plenty of misery on their former team as Hinckley United made a mockery of the Blue Square North table by landing an emphatic 5-2 away win on New Year’s Day.
Richard Lavery opened the scoring with just 46 seconds on the clock while the impressive Sam Belcher added the third and fifth goals as third-bottom Hinckley thrashed their fourth-placed rivals.
Skipper Andy Gooding and the dangerous Andre Gray were also on target for Dean Thomas’ men, who gained full reward for their attacking 4-4-2 formation.
The masterstroke from Thomas was placing usual wide man Lloyd Kerry at right back to allow Belcher to wreak havoc by drifting drift inside off the flank.
With Tom Byrne, Lavery and Gooding also getting forward to support the brilliant forward duo Danny Newton and Gray, the Knitters looked like scoring every time they went forward.
That trend started from the very first attack of the game. Newton beat goalkeeper Craig Alcock to Gray’s cross from the right and his flick-on was headed home by Lavery, who paid respect to his former club by not celebrating a goal he simply could not miss.
Hinckley doubled their advantage after 14 minutes following a well-worked move down the left-hand side. Byrne jinked his way down the flank before playing in Newton, whose pass was expertly finished by Gooding from the edge of the box.
When Belcher lashed home a shot from a similar position after linking well with Gray, the Knitters were 3-0 up after just 22 minutes. It could have been even better had Gray squared the ball when well-placed rather than going for goal but no doubt the visitors were delighted with how the afternoon was taking shape.
Nuneaton needed a response and Lavery was on hand to make a block that was as painful as it was crucial. Denham Hinds then dealt well with Wesley York’s dipping shot to keep the three-goal lead intact before Gray spurned a marvellous chance to kill the game on the stroke of half-time.
The striker latched onto a super ball from partner Newton but uncharacteristically slashed the one-on-one opportunity wide. Nuneaton were fortunate to still have a sniff and no doubt received some hairdryer treatment from manager Kevin Wilkin at half-time.
The players could have done with such a device as the second half kicked off as the heavens opened during the interval. Home fans scurried for cover behind the goal they were now attacking and the Knitters knew that Nuneaton were going to throw everything at them.
The visitors needed to keep their goal intact but conceded inside two minutes as Gareth Dean lost marker Callum Flanagan to plant home a header from a free-kick on the left.
Nuneaton were well up for it now and almost pulled another back from an identical situation. On this occasion, Flanagan cleared from under his own bar after a home player flicked the ball over Hinds in the six-yard box.
It was backs-to-the-wall stuff as Nuneaton scented blood but Hinckley managed to notch a fourth goal against the run of play just before the hour-mark. Newton was again provider as he played in Gray, who turned and passed the ball into the corner for a goal that knocked the stuffing out of their rivals.
Nuneaton conceded a soft fifth goal after 71 minutes as Byrne was bundled to the ground following a mazy run and Belcher belted the penalty down the middle. Hinckley may now have sensed a sixth or seventh against a side at sixes and sevens but the home side did not give up and Adam Walker flicked home a nice finish after a period of pressure.
Hinds was forced to make another smart save as Nuneaton kept pressing but Hinckley could also easily have added to their tally, with substitutes George Thompson and Jake Holt going close.
This was definitely Hinckley’s afternoon as they built on a 1-1 draw against the same opposition on Boxing Day. The Knitters have shown what they are capable of in these games plus cup fixtures against Conference sides Wrexham, Darlington and Tamworth and a charge up the table will now surely follow.
