Merthyr Tydfil 1 King's Lynn 0
10th February 2001
LINNETS acting boss Tony Spearing had few complaints after his side were sunk by a sensational injury time strike.Spearing emerged from the dressing room shell- shocked but full of praise for the Welsh strugglers after a rasping 35-yard volley from Adrian Needs sent Lynn crashing to yet another last-gasp defeat on their travels.
"There's nothing you can do about goals like that, but in all fairness we didn't deserve anything from the match," admitted Spearing, still carrying the painful memories of a last minute loss at Clevedon three weeks earlier.
"Merthyr fully deserved the win. It was a stunning strike from their lad, but it hurts when it comes that late on in the game.
"For the first time in 15 matches the players let me down. We looked lethargic and heavy-legged, but I don't want to dwell on the negatives as the positives have outweighed them over the past few weeks."
There looked little danger of a goal when Glen Fuff's headed clearance fell towards the boot of Needs with literally seconds left on the clock. But the Merthyr player had other ideas and unleashed a venomous volley which whistled into the top corner of Chuck Martini's net.
For once it was hard luck on the Moroccan who put last week's horror show behind him to take the plaudits with an inspired display between the posts.
"Chuck looked a different player from last week," commented Spearing. "He was magnificent today, as were all of my back three.
"If it hadn't been for them we would have been punished a lot earlier. Chuck's made half-a-dozen good saves and we've defended superbly for long periods."
Without the agility and anticipation of Martini, Lynn would have been beaten out of sight long before the Martyrs' late wonder goal.
In the 32nd. minute, Lynn were warned of Needs shooting ability when he stung Martini's hands with a fierce drive from the edge of the box.
Four minutes later, Martini brilliantly finger-tipped a Justin Perry effort on to his post as the Welsh outfit continued to surge forward in the driving rain.
The eccentric shot-stopper was back in action three minutes after the restart when he arched his body to get a decisive touch on David Thomas's right foot shot which looked destined for the top corner.
Martini's best save was nine minutes from time when he clutched onto another Needs effort which threatened to creep just inside his far post.
Lynn did create three good scoring opportunities, with Lyndon Rowland the biggest villain in front of goal.
In the 12th minute the striker broke the Merthyr offside trap but saw home keeper Neil Thomas direct his shot onto the bar with an outstretched hand before the ball was scrambled to safety.
Fourteen minutes from the end, Jon Palmer's last contribution of the match saw him put his striking partner in the clear but, cutting in from the right, Rowland's shot deflected off the boot of Adie Hayes and left an easy save for the Martyrs' keeper.
In the 86th minute, Rowland contrived to direct a Dave Puttnam cross over the bar, but that was the last time Lynn were seen in the Merthyr half before Needs' thunderbolt in the third minute of stoppage time.
Lynn: Martini, Dakin, Clark, Robinson, Fuff, March, Lenagh, Hayes, Palmer (Anderson 77), Rowland, Puttnam. Subs not used: Spearing, McNeil.
Merthyr: N. Thomas, L. Price; (D. Ryan 63 , A. Needs, D. Carter, L. Baddeley, G. Abraham, D. Clarke, C. Loss, D. Thomas, J. Perry (P Giles 82), K. Walker. Sub not used: G. Thomas.
Att: 438.
| MATCH STATISTICS | Shots on Target | Shots off Target | Corners | Caught Offside | Free kicks Conceded |
Bookings |
| Lynn | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 21 | |
| Merthyr | 7 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 16 |