King's Lynn 1 Nuneaton Borough 1

2nd September 1997

Ten-man Nuneaton left The Walks with a point after a niggly match against their West Norfolk adversaries.
Defences were on top as midfielders and strikers struggled to get into an unimaginative game.
But it was livened up with a couple of controversial moments.
The first talking point came when Brett McNamara was left grounded on the touchline by a vicious two-footed over the ball challenge from Ian King. After some deliberation, referee Michael Webb showed the Borough midfielder the deserved red card.
After the Linnets had taken the lead through a superb Jason Pascoe strike, the second piece of controversy reared its head.
With only 11 minutes left, Tyron Street played in Ian Drewitt, who went up in a challenge with home keeper James Hollman.
The ball squirmed out of Hollman's hands and Drewitt bundled it home for the equaliser with the Lynn custodian livid at what he felt was a foul on him.
But the fact was that the Linnets should have killed the game off against a side that was with ten men for 72 minutes of the match.
On the other hand credit must go to Nuneaton who took the game to the hosts in the second half and fully deserved their draw.
Expectations were high before kick-off but the game just never got going. The first chance fell to Steve Williams on seven minutes after an intelligent throw-in from McNamara had sent him clear of the defence but Williams dragged his shot wide.

After King's dismissal, Pascoe played a neat one-two with Richard Skelly but headed the wing-back's cross straight at keeper Paul Hayward.
Lynn came close twice in one attack. Glyn Roberts cutting the ball back to Lee Hudson but his goal-bound strike hit a defender and Martin Matthews' follow-up flew just over.
Dave Crowley was booked for a foul on Hudson before Tony Spearing ventured forward and struck a 30-yard bullet inches wide.
The goal came on 43 minutes, McNamara feeding Pascoe, whose drilled effort was too hot for Hayward. Nuneaton almost levelled immediately, Straw capitalising on hesitant defending but his chipped effort floated wide.
The visitors were the better side in the second half, Drewitt floating an intelligent shot narrowly wide and Straw causing havoc in the Lynn defence.
Barry Williams also found his way into the referee's book for a cynical foul on Hudson before Crowley's centre was missed by Hollman but Matthew Wright was on hand to hook the ball clear in front of a gaping goal.
Hudson then produced the match's best piece of action. He picked up the ball midway in his own half, beat two defenders and sped towards goal, rounded the keeper, but saw his left-foot shot come back off the bar instead of nestling in the empty net.
That would have killed Nuneaton off. As it was, just four minutes later Drewitt grabbed the equaliser to pick up a hard-earned point. Lynn: Hollman, Matthews, Skelly, Wright (Darton 81), Hoyle, Spearing, Pascoe, Roberts (Mead 87) Williams, McNamara, Hudson. Sub not used: Stock
Nuneaton: Hayward, Donald, McGinty, B. Williams, Brown, Crowley, Bailey, King, Straw, Drewitt, Street. Subs not used: Everitt, Symonds, Beckett.

MATCH STATISTICS	Shots on Target	Shots off Target	Corners	Caught Offside	Free kicks Conceded	Bookings
Lynn	6	6	4	1	14	Spearing (foul, 53)
Nuneaton	4	9	3	1	14	Crowley (foul, 39) B Williams (foul, 65) Drewitt (dissent, 84) King (violent conduct, 39)