King's Lynn 2 Worcester City 0
13th February 1999
MARK Turner fired the Linnets further up the table - and manager Gary Mills is now looking at a top six finish. Turner hit a double to move Lynn fourth from bottom and a continued run of success would definitely seem them safe.
Obviously, that is Mills' first aim but - after seeing his side chalk up their fourth win in six games this year - the boss is looking for even more.
He said: "We've got another three points and another clean sheet but we've got to keep this run going.
"The league's very tight. We're about six points away from mid-table teams and that's nothing.
"And I want to get into the top six and turn this league right round."
Lynn have 29 points from 26 games. The team above them, Burton Albion, have 33 points from 27 games and the team in eighth, Weymouth, have 38 points from 27 games.
So, Mills' men are only nine points off eighth and are 14 behind sixth placed Salisbury with a game in hand.
If Lynn can reproduce the fantastic football they showed in a 20-minute period at the end of the first half, there's no doubt they will finish a top half side.
Woeful Worcester were caught time after time by some slick play and there should have been more goals.
Turner wasted a golden opportunity to get on the scoresheet as early as, the fourth minute. Dave Puttnam - who had a scintillating first half - slid the ball into the box and Turner scuffed his shot wide.
City threatened twice in the first period. Sam Bowen played a quick free-kick to Mark Owen and his first time effort was pushed aside by Chuck Martini and, later, Colin Hoyle had to head Owen's effort off the line.
But the half belonged to Lynn. Their defence was solid, midfield industrious and strike force inventive.
Worcester keeper Shane Higgs had to drop on to Dave Robinson's header and Lee Alien should have put his side ahead when he raced clear after a long kick by Martini but the striker struck the ball straight at Higgs.
Robinson headed over when he should have found the net from Puttnam's free-kick. Lee Wilson, who displayed an array of tricks, beat his man and charged into the box before cutting the ball back to Puttnam. His fierce drive was beaten away by Higgs.
The goal came with ten minutes of the half left. Martini launched a long kick and Puttnam did well to beat a defender to the ball. He crossed and Turner flicked the ball on to Allen.
He turned inside the box and shot, the keeper parried the ball and Turner slotted home into the empty net,
Turner was close to number two a couple of minutes later. Puttnam somehow dug out a wonderful cross, and Turner's header shaved the post.
Puttnam and Wilson combined well to find Alien but he shot over instead of passing to an unmarked Turner.
Turner turned provider when his clever flick put Allen away but, again, he shot straight at Higgs and then went over in the box but his penalty claims did not impress the referee.
Two minutes into first half injury time, Lynn effectively wrapped up the points. Robinson played the ball over a static defence, Turner ran on and he beat a defender before firing into the roof of the net.
The second half proved disappointing. City were simply not good enough to get back into the game and Lynn's play deteriorated but this was probably because they just didn't have to do a lot to ensure victory.
The only scare came when John Narbitt sent in a cross and Martini came out unchallenged but the ball struck his legs and rolled to Owen. With an open goal gaping, the Worcester man managed only to put the ball on to the top of the crossbar.
Turner came close to his hat-trick when he ran on to Craig Clark's flick but his lob bounced wide.
Mills added: "I thought we played for 20 minutes but the rest of the time we didn't press the ball and gave it away too easily. If they'd got a goal back we could have ended up drawing or even losing."
Mills had to go off in the second half with a groin injury while Paul Ramsey was replaced early on, suffering from calf problems.
Lynn: Martini, Hoyle, Spearing, Robinson, Fuff, Mills (Clark 66), Turner, Ramsey (Cotterell 19), Allen (Palmer 83), Wilson, Puttnam.
Worcester City: Higgs, Sandeman, Burnham, Jones (Narbitt 62), Heeley, Cottrill (Dukes 90), Purdie, Chenoweth, Owen, Bowen (Davis 73), Lutz.
| MATCH STATISTICS | Shots on Target | Shots off Target | Corners | Caught Offside | Free kicks Conceded |
Bookings |
| Lynn | 8 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 15 | Puttnam (90, dissent) |
| Worcester | 2 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 16 | Jones (48 foul) |