Hyde failed to make it 3 wins in a row falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat at Hednesford Town. Once again Hyde fielded a youthful side, featuring 7 academy players in the squad, but this time with Dave McGurk in charge due to Darren Kelly being away.
Hyde started well looking to get the ball into the channels for Tom Pratt to run into but the game was halted as early as the 8th minute when Wells put pressure on Brownhill, forcing him to go back to Crook with a weak header, the hosts number 9 making no mistake in picking up the loose ball and placing it into an empty net.
From there on in the tigers failed to really create any clear cut chances, or make the most of dead ball situations, Preston in the Hednesford goal having little to do throughout. Brownhill and Platt were replaced with McConville and O’Connor during the second half but couldn’t make much of an impact. The home side managed the game well, being physical and not letting Hyde into the game. A few rash tackles and questionable decisions followed until the final whistle where the tigers couldn’t have many complaints about returning home with a defeat.
A chance to bounce back away at Workington on Saturday which will be another tough game, the tigers looking to get back to winning ways.
By George Rothwell