King's Lynn 0 Team Bath 0
5th April 2008
THE Linnets failed to take their title bid by the scruff of the neck in a dour top-of-the-table clash at The Walks.
Lynn, who sorely missed the attacking flair of Joe Francis, created very little in front of a bumper crowd of 2,336 – their biggest league gate for more than a decade.
With Halesowen only drawing at home to Swindon Supermarine in an amazing game, Lynn were left kicking themselves at another missed chance on the final whistle.
A frustrated Webb said: "I'm a little bit flat to be honest and maybe we could have come out of our shells more.
"It wasn't a case of me telling the players to go out and not lose the game. I wanted us to be disciplined and knew we'd create chances.
"The game was exactly what I expected, a tight affair with very few chances. We tried to play football, but Team Bath made it very difficult for us."
It's now as you were for the Linnets and Webb admitted: "We've got the edge on both of them, but there's still a long way to go.
"We've now got another two tough home games coming up and we'll take nothing for granted."
Team Bath boss Ged Roddy said: "I thought we perhaps carved out the better chances, but in the end a draw was probably a fair result as both sides gave it their all.
"Both of us wanted the win, and perhaps we needed it more than King's Lynn."
Linnets boss Keith Webb surprisingly chose to start Steve Melton ahead of Michael Frew in a more defensive-looking line-up.
The rest of the team took care of itself with injuries and suspensions forcing Webb's hand.
Rob Murray replaced the suspended Scott Howie between the posts, while Rikki Bains played alongside Greg Crane at the heart of Lynn's defence and Dean West filled the right-back berth.
Lynn's best spell of the match came in the final 20 minutes of the first period and four minutes before the break John Turner failed to connect with Jack Defty's lay-off from three yards out.
But it was Team Bath who carved out the best two chances of a tense 90 minutes.
In the 30th minute Joe Arnold burst through the Lynn defence, but goalkeeper Murray denied the in-form Team Bath striker with a brave save with his legs.
And midway through the second half it was the woodwork which came to Lynn's rescue when Takumi Ake's lob cannoned back off the bar with Murray well beaten.
A nasty head injury to Mark Camm in the dying seconds saw the midfielder rushed off to hospital with concussion after the final whistle.
Lynn: Murray, West, Chapman, Bains, Crane, Camm (Fisk 90), Turner, Sedgemore, Defty, Nolan, Melton (Frew 83). Subs (not used): Bloomfield, Deane, McAnally. Booking: Defty.
Team Bath: Meredith, Adams, Barnes, Abbott, Lamb, El-Abd, Wring (Perrot 80), M. Canham (Dillon 37), Arnold (Coper 76), S. Canham, Ake. Subs (not used): Green, Cooper. Bookings: Arnold, Barnes.
Referee: C J Miller (Kettering). Attendance: 2,336. MoM: Greg Crane.