Rothwell Town 2 King's Lynn 5
12th November 2002
CARL Holmes and Robbie Harris both bagged braces as Lynn recorded their first league away win of the season in emphatic style.The Linnets changed their formation from a 3-5-2 to a 4-4-2 and it worked wonders as they became the first side to beat Rothwell in the Eastern Division this season.
Manager Peter Morris, who lost Lee Stephenson before the match with a thigh strain, said: "I thought the system worked well.
"Our back four did their jobs and were protected well by our midfield and I thought we terrorised them upfront.
"I'm proud of the way my players have kept their heads up.
"I thought we outplayed them on a heavy pitch."
Morris praised the performance of Robbie Harris, who replaced the injured Paul Watts in the 36th minute, and likened the youngster to Sunderland's Kevin Phillips.
"I thought Robbie's touch and vision was superb," said Morris. "The ball he rolled in for Holmesy's goal was tremendous.
"Robbie reminds me of Kevin Phillips and he did himself a lot of good. He has lots of confidence and just wants to play football."
On David Staff and Holmes, Morris said: "They are the types of player you want in the opposition's half as much as possible.
"Teams find them difficult to cope with and they both have so much pace and ability."
Lynn took the lead in the 13th minute when Holmes continued his fine run in front of the target, but Rothwell were soon back on level terms less than a minute later when Jason Turner - The Bones' hat-trick hero at The Walks - finished a Jamie Kearns pass.
In the 43rd minute, Harris, who had only been on the pitch a matter of minutes, fed a delightful ball through to Holmes, who put King's Lynn 21 ahead.
Two minutes after the restart it was Harris' turn to get on the scoresheet, with the impressive Holmes this time the provider.
Midway through the half Staff, who played the second period up front alongside Harris, put plenty of breathing distance between Lynn and their Northamptonshire hosts with a fine individual strike.
Lynn made the points safe a minute later when the hungry Harris punished a defensive lapse to put King's Lynn 5-1 ahead.
Eight minutes from the end Turner made it five goals in two games against Lynn this season to give the final score a little more respectability. Rothwell: J. Hughes, D. Porter, R. Weals, C. Mcllwain, D. Foley, J. Kearns, R. Preston (M. Garside 56), O. Mintus, S. Underwood, J. Turner, A. Sturgess (Rice 77). Subs not used: C. Lake, D. Liquorish.
Lynn: Greygoose, Jones, Cowling, Burrows, Fuff, Deffy (Anderson 71), Staff, Raynor, Watts (Harris 36), Bacon (Weston 45), Holmes. Not used: Blake, Nobes.
Referee: Mr M. McPherson (Ely).
Bookings: Lynn - Defty (13 late tackle), Staff (33 late tackle), Holmes (37 late tackle)
Rothwell: Foley (12 late tackle), Mintus (38 late tackle), Turner (85 late tackle)
Attendance: 223.
Lynn News MoM: Robbie Harris