Bury Town 2 King's Lynn 0
12th September 2009
LYNN bowed out of the FA Cup at the very first hurdle on Saturday after an exhilarating second half performance by the home team at Ram Meadow on Saturday.
A large and vocal crowd witnessed an end to end encounter, with a string of remarkable saves and the woodwork denying Lynn.
The travelling army of 300 supporters were confident of victory before kick off and the opening 20 minutes did little to dampen their belief.
The Linnets, who are a division above Bury in the non league pyramid, asserted their authority early on.
After Callum Lloyd saw his snap shot well saved on nine minutes, Andrew Boyce flashed a header inches wide.
Carl Heggs' team were dominating the midfield battle and threatened to run riot. A neat move found Spencer in space but the striker's volley was superbly thwarted by the Bury keeper.
However, Bury came back into the game and hit the bar on 21 minutes. They then went close with a looping header as the game became less one-sided.
Lynn weathered the mini-storm and finished the half in the ascendancy. Jordan Smith burst through a static home defence, only to crash a thumping effort against the underside of the bar. The ball fell kindly for Matthew Birley, who could only shoot tamely at the keeper.
Still Lynn attacked and when Spencer curled an instinctive top corner-bound effort he forced home keeper Garnham into a another stunning save.
From the resulting corner, Craig McAughtrie's header seemed destined for the bottom corner before Garnham somehow dived full length to claw the ball away to safety.
After the break The Blues forced the issue and should have taken the lead on 48 minutes.
Defender Nunn's header was well saved by Gay before Gavin Johnson's rebound was cleared off the line.
Bury took the lead after 51 minutes when former Ipswich player Johnson unleashed a stunning 25-yard drive into the top corner of the net.
Lynn rallied and Spencer was again denied by Garnham's finger tip save. Soon after, McAughtrie's well timed header clipped the top of the bar.
The visitors could do everything but score and swiftly lost heart.
A reckless challenge by substitute Jamie Oliver on Callum Kearns saw him pick up a yellow card.
Bury then took hold of the game. Sam Reed guided a header against a post before Leabon fired over when well placed. Their spot in the next round was finally sealed after 78 minutes when Gay made another fine save, only for Kearns to bury the rebound from 10 yards.
Attendance: 604. Report by permission of the Lynn News