Thrapston 2 King's Lynn 4

2nd October 2010

JOINT Linnets boss Kevin Boon toasted an FA Vase treble from striker Robbie Harris as King's Lynn Town eased through to the second round at UCL minnows Thrapston Town.
Despite conceding two late goals against the lowest- ranked side left in the competition, Town were inspired by Harris' first-ever hat-trick for the senior side as they made sure of their place in the next round within an hour of Saturday's tie at Chancery Lane. Boon said: "Today saw Robbie Harris at his very best. He's an in-the-box striker and that's why we brought him to the club in the summer.
"He has worked hard and done well since coming into the side. He will keep the shirt if he continues to perform like that."
The frontman, who has now notched six goals in five games since breaking back into the team, put his good form down to a run of regular games in the side.
Harris said: "You can train
hard and do all the running' you like, but as a striker playing matches is what makes you sharp.
"I've had a run in the side and it has made a big difference to my confidence. Two or three weeks ago I probably wouldn't have scored the two goals which I did on the turn against Thrapston.
"I'm getting close to where I want to be fitness wise and hopefully I can now keep on scoring.
"I thought I actually played better against Newport Pagnell but didn't get on the scoresheet. On Saturday I just had one of them games where everything went my way." Harris opened his account by latching onto Jamie Thurlbourne's centre from the left and chesting the ball into the net, before two more predatory finishes in the first seven minutes of the second half completed his treble.
Lynn's fourth came courtesy of a Jack Defty penalty in the first half and, if Billy Smith had brought his shooting boots, they could have easily registered double-figures after Harris' replacement missed four guilt-edged opportunities in a one-sided second period.
Boon blasted his side's
soft touch, which gifted the Thrapston two goals in the dying minutes to give the final ,scoreline a rather flattering look.
"It was disappointing as we just switched off near the end and as a group of players we took our foot off the pedal, " admitted Boon.
"Even though we went into the interval two goals up, we weren't necessarily the better side. Too many players just went through the motions in the first half and it was as though the match wasn't big enough for some of them. "A few words were said at half-time and we were a lot better after the break.
"In the end it turned out to be easy win, but we didn't do it in a professional manner by conceding the way we did late on."

Thrapston Town v Linnets - match facts
Shots on target: King's Lynn 11 Thrapston 10Booked: Thrapston - Goosey
Shots off Target: Lynn 9, Thrapston 3
Goals: Lynn: Harris 18,46,54, Defty 32
Corners: King's Lynn 3, Thrapston 3 Thrapston - Coates 88, Davis 90
Free kicks for: Lynn 7, Thrapston 8 MoM: Robbie Harris
Thrapston: Jones, Willmott (Le Mesurier 56), Lord, Goosey, Harris, Coales, Ellwood, Russell, Daidy (Houghton 49), Davis, Morgan (Harrison 64). Subs (not used): Chambers, Baxter.
King's Lynn Town: Street, Bexfield, Doherty, Buhlemann, McNeil (Plumb 45), L Thurlbourne, Spriggs, White (Kelly 67), Defty, Harris (Smith 56), J Thurlbourne. Sub (not used): Hails.
Referee: A. Raynor. Attendance: 410.