Crawley Town 1 King's Lynn 0
6th October 2001
THE LINNETS' inability in the final third of the field was once again their downfall at a ground where they rarely have luck, as they slipped down into 16th with this defeat.And manager Tony Spearing will be without forward Zeke Rowe for tonight's clash at home to rapidly-. improving Chelmsford.
Rowe limped off on Saturday with a hamstring problem and may be absent for up to a month as The Walks outfit's striking problems continue to increase.
They have won only once in 12 attempts at Crawley.
Lynn had their fair share of possession, but a lack of cutting edge in and around the Crawley box was the difference between two evenly-matched teams.
Manager Tony Spearing, who handed Kevin White his first team debut 13 minutes from the end, said: "I knew it was going to be hard but I thought we deserved something from the game.
"We are getting enough of the ball in the box, but when it's dropping down we're not getting anything on the end of it.
"Last season we had that little bit of luck in front of goal but this year we're not having any"
The game was decided by a 60th minute penalty from Dave Harlow after Glen Fuff and Dave Robinson had combined to bring down Warren Bagnall just inside the box.
Robinson was immediately shown the red card for his second bookable offence of the contest, but after pleading his innocence to the referee the relieved Linnets captain remained on the pitch and it was Fuff who was punished with a yellow card.
Spearing said: "I had no complaints with their penalty but felt we should have had two ourselves. Tommy was clearly caught by a trailing leg in the first half and Lee Hudson was taken out late on."
The Wright penalty incident in the 25th minute saw two more Linnets players booked, bringing their afternoon total to four.
Wright was cautioned for diving, while Zeke Rowe, who limped off with a hamstring injury before the break, was unnecessarily booked for trying to take the matter further with the Crawley defenders.
The Linnets' lightweight attack did have their opportunities, with Crawley rarely venturing out of their own half in the final 20 minutes.
Their best chance came in the 18th minute when a Wright free-kick found its way through to Jamie Clarke, whose shot was well saved by home keeper Andy Little.
Twelve minutes before the break Bagnall's cross flashed across the face of the Lynn goal with Steve Restarick just failing to poke the ball home.
On the stroke of half-time an over-hit back-pass from Ian Payne had the Crawley keeper running back towards his goal before he scrambled the ball clear a foot from the line.
In the 56th minute Clarke picked up Wayne Anderson's through ball and cut inside on the right, only to drill wide.
Lynn's second penalty appeals were waved away-in the 81st minute after Hudson was tackled from behind by Harlow following a centre from Kristian Jones.
Five minutes from time Jones' curling shot was well dealt with by Little, but by then Lynn knew it was not going to be their afternoon.
Crawley: Little, Sargent, Payne (Holmes 60), Doherty, Pullan, Harlow (Wackett 83), Carroll, Anderson, Bagnall, Waugh, Restarick. Sub not used: Collins.
Lynn: Wilson, Dakin, March,Robinson, Fuff, Whitney, Wright, Hayes, Rowe (Hudson 45), Clarke Jones 72), Anderson (White 77). Booked: Wright (25,diving),Rowe (25, retaliation),Robinson (39, dissent),Fuff (59, foul)
Att: 774.