REPORT: Quorn 1-0 Hinckley LR
Quorn stretched their unbeaten start to the season to 15 games, with a 12th straight win as they edged local rivals Hinckley LR 1-0. Cain Noble scored the games only goal with a close-range finish in the 30th minute as Silvio Bello surged down the right and played a beautiful cross for the midfielder to run on to.
Noble had the first chance of the game as he burst through from midfield, only to see his shot blocked by Simon Alcott. Zak Goodson had a curling effort a few moments later that curled around the outside of the lefthand upright. Michael Armstrong tried his luck from the edge of the box and Tom Allsopp had to be at his best, driving full-stretch to his right to keep the effort out.
Allsopp was again called upon to keep the game scoreless, getting down low to deny Jordan Burrows. The Reds thought they had opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Reece Fyfe drove forward and slipped a ball down the right to Noble, who laid on an inch-perfect cross for Courey Grantham, who buried the ball in the Hinckley net, only to see the assistant’s flag raised for offside.
The goal came just three minutes later, from a similar passage, but Bello’s ball turned in by Noble, whose shot took a deflection off a defender but it wasn’t enough to divert the effort off target. Noble’s strike was his first goal since the opening game of the season, though he did score twice in the abandoned fixture with Coventry Sphinx.
Grantham had a chance from a set-piece as Ryan Beswick headed the ball across goal, but the powerful forward couldn’t keep his header down. The second half started slowly and it took until the 65th minute before either side had a shot at goal. Quorn almost scored when a corner lead to a goalmouth scramble, but ultimately the ball rolled narrowly wide.
Liam Read forced another good save from Allsopp as the game sprang back into life with 20 minutes to play. Despite the renewed vigour from the visitors they couldn’t find an equaliser, as Allsopp and Mason Frizelle pulled off some heroic blocks at the death amid mounting pressure from Hinckley. Quorn Had one last chance to double their lead but Noble’s effort from the edge of the box was held by Jake Laban.
The Reds move back to the top of the table, tow points ahead of Corby Town, with a game in hand on the Northants side, but there’s another stiff test for Quorn as they welcome 4th placed Sporting Khalsa to The Stotto Stadium on Tuesday evening (19:45 KO).