King's Lynn 2 Chesham United 0
4th March 2006
The Linnets moved into second place in the table - their highest position this season - as title rivals Salisbury and Chippenham both suffered slender defeats.
Tommy Taylor's side stuttered to their fourth successive win, but it was enough to narrow the gap up the top to just a point in what is turning out to be one of the most closely-fought title races for a number of seasons.
Before the game the Lynn boss said results rather than performances were more important at this stage of the season, and his assessment summed up Saturday's game to a tee.
Chesham arrived at The Walks with a no-nonsense and spoiling approach, but Lynn displayed some extra mettle to see off The Generals with a goal in each half.
The Generals were the better side in the opening exchanges of a game, which was frequently stopped by either referee Mr Sannerude's whistle or Chesham's regular calls to their trainer.
Lynn were grateful for a superb double save from Aaron Benstead in the sixth minute.
Benstead was at his best to foil both John Bacon and Alexis Charalambous in a matter of seconds as Chesham threatened to take a shock lead.
Lynn gradually stamped their authority on the game with Matt O'Halloran looking the main outlet of a goal, while Shaun Carey pulled the strings in midfield.
By his own standards, Jack Defty didn't have one of his better games in a Lynn shirt, but twice in the space of a few minutes he found himself on the wrong end of two cynical lunges from Ed Chemlal, who was lucky to escape with just a booking when two yellows would have been more appropriate.
Midway through the half Cedric Anselin was denied by a fine save to his right from keeper Paul McCarthy before O'Halloran pounced on the loose ball and fired wide.
Soon after O'Halloran's centre didn't quite fall right for Nolan on the turn, before the same player was thwarted by McCarthy.
Chesham lost the services of McCarthy with internal bleeding on an ankle injury and he was replaced by Andy Brown.
Brown's first responsibility was to save from O'Halloran in the dying seconds of the first half but the resulting scramble saw Sam McMahon force the ball home.
Lynn dominated possession after the interval but failed to carve out any clear-cut opportunities. Dean West just missed an Anselin corner at the far post on the hour before the second goal arrived with five minutes remaining.
Defty robbed a defender and his short pass found O'Halloran who slid the ball home.
Lynn: Benstead, West, Smith, McMahon, Cooper, Camm, Defty, Anselin (Peters 82), Nolan (Charles 71), Carey, O'Halloran. Subs (not used): Harvey, Hammond, Higgs. Goals: McMahon (45), O'Halloran (86).
Booked: McMahon.
Chesham: McCarthy (Brown 342), Chapman, McGowen, Bowden-Haase, Chemlal, Charalambous, Glasgow (Gray 71), Ridgway, Harvey, Bacon, Sullivan (Hall 64). Subs (not used): Miller, Goodhram. Booked: Chemlal, Charalambous, Glasgow, Harvey.
Referee: A. Sannerude (Suffolk). Attendance: 871. MoM: Shaun Carey.