King's Lynn 4 Ashton United 1
1st December 2001
A TRIP to the town made famous by the late comedian Eric Morecambe is the Linnets reward for finding their scoring touch on Saturday.But Lynn fans are unlikely to see the funny side of the draw against the high-flying Conference side on January 12, with the clash presenting them with a 450-mile round trip to North-West Lancashire.
Despite this, manager Tony Spearing believes his side are capable of causing a major upset Spearing said: "Morecambe will be a stern test for us, but I fancy us to beat anyone away from home."
Morecambe, who have former Bullseye presenter Jim Bowen as their honorary president, are ninth in the Conference - one place below Farnborough, who knocked Lynn out of the FA Cup.
Spearing was full of praise for his three-pronged attack of Jamie Clarke, Lee Hudson and Danny Bloomfield, who ran the Ashton defence ragged.
He said: "Dodge (Lee Hudson) ran his heart out, Danny is a real goal-poacher, while Jamie ran the show after the break.
"We played into Ashton's hands a little early on but put Jamie wider and that opened it up for the other two."
Clarke was the pick of the front three and player-coach Tommy Wright admitted that Clarke should be playing at a higher level.
Wright said: "Jamie is big, strong and has two quick feet, but it takes him 15 minutes to get switched on in a game.
"I keep telling him that he should be playing in the league with his ability but he needs to sort himself out."
Defender Roger Joseph and midfielder Kevin White also shone, as Lynn won at a contemptuous canter after Ashton had briefly threatened to heap more misery on a crowd of 814.
They took the lead with a breakaway goal of the highest quality in the sixth minute when dangerman Chris Cornelly nodded home a Phil Denney centre after a slick move involving four players.
The goal spurred Lynn into life, although the Manchester side were still a menace on the break.
Both Bloomfield and White had headers scrambled off the line, before a 30-yard pass from Glen Fuff opened up the Ashton defence in the 39th minute and Clarke slid the ball under the legs of Karl Dean to equalise.
Lynn took the lead three minutes later when Adie Hayes' free-kick was knocked into the path of Bloomfield by Simon Dakin and the on-loan striker made no mistake with his third goal in four games.
Lynn's third came in the 70th minute when White climbed above Ashton's defence to head home his first goal for the senior side after another Hayes free-kick.
Six minutes later, Clarke, who made the Ashton defence toil in the second period, slotted home a Hudson cross to complete a rampant win.
Lynn: Wilson, Dakin, Clark, Joseph, Fuff, White, Anderson (Suiter 87), Hayes (Evans 81), Bloomfield (Bush 81), Hudson, Clarke. Not used: Wright and Jones.
Ashton: Dean, Morris, Dormer, Carmody (Carty 58), Riordan, Royle, Calvert, Blackshaw, Denney, Johnson, Comelly.
Att: 814.
| FACTfile | Shots on Target | Shots off Target | Corners | Caught Offside | Free kicks Conceded |
Bookings |
| Lynn | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 18 | |
| Ashton | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 17 | Royle (6, foul) Morris (41, foul) Johnson (60, foul) |
| Lynn News Man of the Match - Jamie Clarke | ||||||