King's Lynn 3 Folkestone 2
8th December 1984
THE LINNETS have now gone 17 games without defeat against non-League opposition.Folkestone on Saturday were the latest victims in this excellent run which stretches back to an unhappy four-goal defeat at Fisher in September.
But the South Coast team came as close as anyone to ending the sequence.
They went into the interval leading 2-1, perhaps reflecting a should have been a bigger margin, and looking yards faster than the Linnets.
"I was a bit worried at that stage." admitted manager Colin Foster.. "We were not sharp and Kevin Ready was hampered with a pulled hamstring."
Foster set the example of what he wanted from the Linnets in the early stages of the second half. Driving on from mid-field, with Steve Hines and Maria Ippolitto in close support, Foster put urgency into the game that had been missing.
It was not long before the equaliser carne. The initial break was made by Hines and when he ran into trouble Foster picked out Easthall coming up on the left.
Folkestone pushed out looking for the offside, but Easthall's centre was too quick and found Martin Twigger unmarked near the penalty spot. The centre forward unhurriedly pulled the ball down and steered it wide of keeper Maurice Munden.
Hines was also involved in Lynn's winner, which came in the 59th minute. He retrieved a centre hit too long. by Twigger and sent it back into the goalmouth where Munden desperately punched out.
Ippolitto was first to react to the chance and instinctively crashed in a 15 yard volley high into the net.
It was an excellent goal by the former Peterborough player who had his best game since joining Lynn, a verdict shared by Foster.
The Linnets then lost their momentum and Folkestone were were inches from an equaliser when they broke forward quickly after Martin Coupe carelessly lost possession and the final shot was drilled just wide by Terry Jolley.
But in the later stages Lynn stifled Folkestone's efforts and were adept at keeping play deep in the visitor's half.
There should have been a penalty when Hines went round full back Kevin Smart and was taken out, but the referee considered it a fair challenge.
And in the last ten minutes substitute Mark Howard came on for the ineffective Ready, time enough to make a couple of darting runs down the left,
So in the end the result was the right one, but in the first half the Linnets were far from their best.
There had been a promising start, with Coupe forcing in a fifth minute goal when Foster got the knock-down from Readv's corner.
Foster himself went close when he chested the ball down and knocked in a shot which flew wide of the post.
But with Ready clearly not mobile there was not enough variety about the Linnets' attacks.
Defensively, with Chris Watts replacing Richard Johnston. the balance was not right and Folkestone began to look menacing.
Andy Claxton turned away an angled shot from Neil Cugley, but was beaten in the 37th minute when a low cross by Cugley was swept in by winger Pat Hilton.
In Folkestone's next attack some pushing on Hampshire was spotted by the referee and the penalty was put away by defender Kevin Smart, although Claxton was close to saving it.
The topsy-turvy nature of the first half was such that Lynn gained 10 corners to 4 by Folkestone and from one Ready corner Adams at the near post headed against the bar.
But Folkestone finished the half full of running and it was desperately close as first Smart and then Cugley were stopped by last-gasp tackles. Lynn survived and picked up the pieces in the second half to get the result which keeps them well in contention in the top half of the table.
Lynn (4-3-3): Claxton; Mercer, Watts, Adams, Easthall: Ippolitto. Foster, Hines; Ready (sub Howard 79 rains), Coupe, Twigger.
Folkestone: Munden, Smart, Fusco, Hill (sub Binder 84 mins), Plews, Wilson, Hampshire, Harrop, Cuglev, Jollev, Milton.
Referee: D. Potter (Cambridge).
Attendance: 405.